05-28-2020, 09:16 AM
I have been noticing this problem too (for quite a while, I think, maybe ever since 20.02 or so) - on the 5GHz band with good signal conditions, it seems to top out at 54 Mbit/sec, which is the characteristic maximum link speed of 802.11a. This is odd, because even very old 802.11n gear (e.g. my 2008 Thinkpad T500) can easily pull close to 150 Mbit/s, and I recall measuring a throughput very near the maximum single-link capacity for 802.11ac (433 Mbit/sec) shortly after I first obtained my Pinebook Pro. That was with an older, better Comcast wireless access point, though, so I haven't been sure if this was something else on my end that was causing the apparent fallback to 802.11a.
I do feel it bears mentioning that 54 Mbit/s is still plenty for the majority of my needs, and I have other ways (e.g. USB) of transferring data off-platform at high speeds - it's just nice when the hardware works to its full specifications. With fully-functioning 802.11ac support, the Pinebook Pro is actually my fastest wireless device of any class, which is really something.
Anyway, it's good to know that this is a known issue with work being done to improve it. I only wish I had the familiarity with Linux kernel development and device firmware necessary to contribute to this myself.
I do feel it bears mentioning that 54 Mbit/s is still plenty for the majority of my needs, and I have other ways (e.g. USB) of transferring data off-platform at high speeds - it's just nice when the hardware works to its full specifications. With fully-functioning 802.11ac support, the Pinebook Pro is actually my fastest wireless device of any class, which is really something.
Anyway, it's good to know that this is a known issue with work being done to improve it. I only wish I had the familiarity with Linux kernel development and device firmware necessary to contribute to this myself.
