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A ridiculous question about a ridiculous problem.

I have a USB wifi device and when i plug it in 2 of the USB slots in the back it is ridiculous slow. It goes <10k a second, usually 1k. When i put it in the other 2 slots it can get up to 200k. When i put it on my USB hub (which is connected in the front) i get my full speed. What gives? Is there something wrong with the usb device? How do i test it?

I did grab the latest driver from the manufacture website.

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  • Where is the hub relative to sources of radio interference? Where do you place this Wifi device when connected to the hub? Try using a USB extension cable and place the Wifi device at the same spot as if using the hub. Your Wifi device is a radio transmitter+receiver with an antenna. Its location is crucial for proper operation/performance.
    – sawdust
    Apr 7, 2012 at 9:17
  • @sawdust I tried plugging it on all ports (several in the back, two in front). I'll try physically holding the extender by the ports i plug it into and see what happens. I doubt anything woukd
    – user3109
    Apr 7, 2012 at 10:49
  • It sounds like 2 of the ports are not USB 2.0
    – Ramhound
    Apr 11, 2012 at 15:34
  • @Ramhound incorrect. Related superuser.com/questions/411027/…
    – user3109
    Apr 12, 2012 at 5:47

2 Answers 2

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Someone has connected a USB 1.1 case/card extender to one of the motherboard's USB 2.0 connectors. That's not a supported configuration. Cables and extenders cannot negotiate, and so they must support the highest mode supported by both ends of the things they connect. You cannot connect a USB 2.0 device to a USB 2.0 controller through a USB 1.1 cable or extender. (You can through a USB 1.1 hub, because a hub becomes the device at both ends.)

You should either not use the ports on the extender or replace the extender with a USB 2.0 extender such as this one, this one or this one.

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  • Actually, its messed up so much you either misread or misunderstood. All the ports except the 2 i didnt test on are USB 2.0. The other 2 are USB3 ;). The extender is 2.0 as well but why it doesnt work directly connected baffles me.
    – user3109
    Apr 7, 2012 at 8:28
  • The extender is the problem. It appears to be 2.0 because it's connected to a 2.0/3.0 port. But it doesn't actually support 2.0 speeds. It can't negotiate a lower speed because it's not a device, it's just wires/connectors. Apr 7, 2012 at 8:30
  • No no no. I mean. IT WORKS on the extender. IT DOES NOT WORK ON THE TOWER. I'll repeat again. I can get expected speeds with the extender but NOT on the tower (which gives me 10k or 1k)
    – user3109
    Apr 7, 2012 at 10:41
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    What does "on the tower" mean? Does it mean a USB port on your case that is connected to an extender that connects to the motherboard? If so -- that extender is the problem. Apr 7, 2012 at 10:42
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    You and I mean different things by "the extender". I mean whatever is between the USB connector in the case and the USB connector on the motherboard. That is where the problem is. Apr 7, 2012 at 11:14
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Two ideas:

Power - is the hub bus powered or self powered? If it's self powered it may be supplying more power to the wifi adapter than your pc does.

Antena - the USB cable between the pc and hub may be acting as an antenna. Try using just a USB extension cable instead of the hub.

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