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I have a Dual Boot Windows 10 / Ubuntu 20.04. When connected to the Wi-Fi, my download speed is much faster on Ubuntu than on Windows (about 5x faster). How can that be explained ? I tried about anything I found on Google to make the download speed faster on Windows.

Details:

  • I have Windows 10 (no product key activated) : This is my biggest suspect, I suspect that Windows throttles my download speed on purpose because I have a free version.
  • I am using a USB dongle for my Wi-Fi connection : RTL8812bu.
  • The internet speed according to both windows and ubuntu is about 144 Mb/s (but the download speed is only about 34 Mb/s on windows).
  • I am using a 5GHz Wi-Fi on ubuntu and on Windows but it seems like the 2.4 Ghz version is better on Windows (it definitely is not on Ubuntu).
  • I am using a MSI motherboard, if that can help.
  • The windows partition is on a 1TB SSD and the Ubuntu partition on a separate 500GB SSD.

Once again, I tried about anything I found (troubleshooting with windows, installing drivers, running commands I don't fully understand and so on). I can provide any details if that can help, the only thing I can not do is physically access my router (it is shared with my neighbour and they are not home).

Leop
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    This is not an Ubuntu problem. This is a Windows problem, – user68186 Jun 29 '22 at 23:20
  • Indeed, but it is a question that people using Ubuntu can have the answer to. Eventhough I am hoping for a solution, the answer could be "because Ubuntu is better, here is why [...]". I did ask the question on the Microsoft Community as well, of course and I reckon I will have more answers there. – Leop Jun 29 '22 at 23:48
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    highly unlikely your network speed is being throttled by Windows. Possibly a bad Windows driver, or some interaction between your router and driver is working better with linux – Esther Jun 30 '22 at 02:42
  • I answered the opposite direction in https://askubuntu.com/a/1398819/274245 the tips still apply except most interactions are through Windows Device Manager (assuming the driver exposes these settings, which they usually do) – Matias N Goldberg Jun 30 '22 at 05:57
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    Another stupid reason is that Windows Update may be downloading a huge update, hoarding most of the BW for a very long time. It's annoying AF. Make sure you're looking at all Network usage and not just file download speeds – Matias N Goldberg Jun 30 '22 at 06:01

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