In this article, we will look at several solutions to the problem when, after connecting a laptop or computer to the Internet via cable, the connection speed is very low. And in the properties of the Ethernet connection in Windows, the line speed is 100 Mbps instead of 1000 Mbps. There is no gigabit connection and the speed is limited to 100 Mbps, while the computer and router, or Internet provider (if connecting directly) supports speeds above 100 Mbps.
The problem is precisely in the low speed of connecting to the Internet using a network cable (twisted pair). At the same time, very often, the speed over Wi-Fi, or the speed over cable on another device is much higher. In the comments to other articles on this site, there have already been many questions about this problem. And based on this experience, I want to clarify a few important points:
- Network card in your computer or laptop (this may be an external USB adapter) must be gigabit. It must support speeds up to 1 Gbps or higher. Now there are already network cards that support speeds up to 2.5 Gb / s or even up to 10 Gb / s. All new PCs or laptops, and even not very new ones, have gigabit network cards. This can be seen in the specifications. Also in device manager. The name of the network adapter will most likely be written Gigabit Ethernet.
- If you have a connection through a router, then in order for the speed to be above 100 Mbps, the router must have gigabit ports (LAN and WAN). They must support speeds up to 1000 Mbps or higher.
- Speed according to the tariff of the Internet provider. For many, it is up to 100 Mbps. You must be sure that your ISP provides speeds above 100 Mbps. It can be up to 300 Mbps, up to 500 Mbps, etc. Depends on your ISP and plan. You can check the speed on Wi-Fi. With this problem, the speed over Wi-Fi may be higher than over a network cable.
- Network cable (twisted pair)with which you connect the computer to the router. Or a cable from an ISP. For speeds above 100 Mbps, it must be 8-wire. To get speeds above 100 Mbps, all 4 pairs must be used. And they must be properly crimped. All wiring must be involved. Very often the problem is in an incorrectly or poorly crimped cable. Or when there is no contact on one conductor. Read more in the article how to compress a twisted pair in RJ-45.
So we found out that you must have a PC / laptop with a gigabit network card, a router with gigabit ports, the provider must provide speeds above 100 Mbps, and the cable must be 8-core and preferably factory-made, not self-made. This is usually Category 5e cable. If everything is so, and the speed of the Ethernet connection on the computer is not higher than 100 Mbps (at the same time, on other devices through this connection, the speed is higher, including via Wi-Fi)then try to apply the solutions from the article.
Why is the Ethernet line speed in Windows 11, 10, 7 100 Mbps and how to raise it to 1000 Mbps?
I want to show how this problem looks in Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows 7. When there should be a gigabit connection, and in the properties “Line speed (reception / transmission)” only 100 Mbps is indicated instead of 1000 Mbps.
In my case, Windows 11 does not detect this Ethernet connection as gigabit. Although the network card and LAN ports in the router are gigabit. If you have in properties (state) The Ethernet connection speed is 1000 Mbps, but the actual speed when checking is not higher than 100 Mbps, then most likely the speed is limited by your Internet provider.
Our task is to make sure that in Windows the speed of the wired connection is 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps). This will mean that the system is using all the possibilities of a gigabit connection, and the speed will be limited only by the Internet provider (by tariff).
A few simple solutions
- Restart your router and computer.
- Disconnect the network cable from the computer and router and reconnect. On the router, you can try to connect to a different port.
- Try connecting another device. Another computer or laptop. Check if it has a gigabit ethernet connection. So we can find out what is the reason.
- Replace cable. Make this connection with another cable. It is best to use the cable that came with the router.
- If you connect an external gigabit network adapter via USB, then connect it to a USB 3.0 port.
- Connect the Internet directly from the provider to the computer. No router.
Setting “Speed and Duplex” in Windows 11, 10, 7
In the properties of the network card in the device manager, there are settings “Speed and duplex” (“Spped & Duplex”). The default is usually set to Auto. You can try to set a specific speed in the properties of this item.
- Open device manager. You can right-click the Start menu button and select “Device Manager”.
- Next, open the “Network adapters” tab. Right click on network adapter (the name will most likely be Gigabit Ethernet, or GBE Family Controller) and open properties.
- In the new window, go to the “Advanced” tab, find the “Speed & Duplex” property and set its value to “1.0 Gbps Full Duplex”. If some meaning has already been set there, then try setting “Auto Negotiation”.
After changing the settings, click Ok, restart your computer and check the connection. You can experiment with different values.
The line speed (reception / transmission) in the properties should be 1000/1000 Mbps.
If you set a specific speed in the properties (for example, 1.0 Gbps Full Duplex)but this did not affect the real speed and performance in the Windows settings in any way, then it is better to set the automatic setting “Auto Negotiation” and look for another reason for the low speed of the Ethernet connection.
Network card driver update
Be sure to update the Ethernet adapter driver. If updating the driver did not work, then you can try to roll back the driver, or replace it from the list of installed ones.
You need to update not through the device manager (when we click on the adapter and select “Update Driver”), and download the driver from the website of the manufacturer of the adapter, laptop, motherboard and install it. Since when updating through the Device Manager, Windows almost always reports that the most suitable driver has already been installed.
I have two instructions to help you with this:
You can rollback or replace the network card driver in the device manager, in the adapter properties on the “Driver” tab.
Additional Information
Some routers also have speed and duplex settings for LAN ports. True, I saw them only on some models from TP-Link. LAN ports on routers operate in auto-negotiation mode. The maximum speed is automatically set depending on the capabilities of the cable and network adapter.
From my own experience, I can say that very often the reason for the low speed with a wired connection to the router is in the cable. Just a bad connection on the conductors. Therefore, I recommend first of all to exclude this cause.