poor wifi anything can be done?

[srichar3]

Why is the X7's wifi so poor and can any anything be done about it? I have big issues streaming movies on the x7 that I don't have on my Sony z1. Just done a wifi speed test side by side from my usb drive on my media server. z1 9100Kbit/s, x7 4400Kbit/s less than half what the z1 is downloading at.

Think that's pretty poor considering the z1's size and fact it has no external areal like x7 has.

[srichar3]

Odd thing is, the x7 is faster on upload than the z1, and also uploads faster than it downloads, where the z1 is significantly faster at downloading thab uploading.

[adrenalize]

No nothing can be done - the WiFi chip in the X7 is limited to 65MBps by design.

[srichar3]

Appreciate hardware limitations but I'm not getting anywhere near to that limit and also faster uploading (50% faster) than downloading which on a media device like the X7 seems downloading would be most important.

[Android Bob]

Minix NEO X7 WiFi throughput

I have done a few quick bandwidth tests to check the overall throughput of the Minix NEO X7.

The following test is done on a LAN which removes any bandwidth issues by introducing Internet congestion/capping/etc..

Linksys E4200v1 test router

I tested using a Linksys E4200v1 router with TomatoUSB fw over Gigabit LAN
2.4GHz 300Mbits connection speed (NEO X7 seen as 65Mbit connection speed)
5GHz 450Mbit connection speed (NEO X7 seen as 65Mbit connection speed)

Noise floor on 2.4GHz and 5GHz is approx -87dBm which indicates low interference from other WiFi AP.

Distance from router to NEO X7 is 2metres.
Signal strength at NEO X7 as seen by WiFi Analyzer is -35dBm (excellent)
2.4GHz is tested over a 20MHz channel with no conflicting/competing wireless APs.

I use iPerf to test bandwidth to/from a QNAP NAS on a Gigabit LAN.

The following results have been tested over time on different firmware and have given similar results.

Minix NEO X7

65Mbit - 2.4GHz (20MHz channel) download speed = ~32Mbits
65Mbit - 2.4GHz (20MHz channel) upload speed = ~33Mbits

65Mbit - 5GHz download speed = ~35Mbits
65Mbit - 5GHz upload speed = ~42Mbits

100Mbit Ethernet download speed = 85Mbits
100Mbit Ethernet upload speed = 93Mbits

Finless v1.9 (Minix NEO X7 v10)

65Mbit - 2.4GHz (20MHz channel) download speed = ~40Mbits
65Mbit - 2.4GHz (20MHz channel) upload speed = ~40Mbits

65Mbit - 5GHz download speed = ~43Mbits
65Mbit - 5GHz upload speed = ~40Mbits

100Mbit Ethernet download speed = 91Mbits
100Mbit Ethernet upload speed = 89Mbits

The above quick test indicates Finless v1.9/Minix NEO X7 v10 shows some improvement in the 2.4GHz frequency and a more balanced upload/download speed.

What could cause slow WiFi data throughput?

WiFi conflict with other AP(SSID) on same channel.
WiFi over long distance and or WiFi Range Extenders.
802.11g devices on the same connected 2.4GHz AP reducing connect speed.
More than one device using the WiFi AP which creates queuing (WiFi CSMA/CA)
Low speed/cheap media cards/USB with throttled write/read speed at either end.

Summary

NEO X7 will not win prizes for WiFi throughput in 2014, but still good enough for ADSL2 broadband(24Mbit download) connection if signal is good.
65Mbit WiFi ticks a box in available connectivity options.
100Mbit full-Duplex Ethernet is the only real solution for NAS access on a LAN and high speed broadband

[and4468]

The new firmware (10) by minix have match better wifi and ethernet performance.
The new custom rom Finless 1.9 is based on new fw.