inSSIDer result...confused

[samguan]

So I replaced my Asus RT-N13U with the RT-N66U, the RT-N66U is a much better and powerful router than the N13U, it's consistently ranked top in wireless performance.

I have the router placed on the second floor and the reason why I upgraded was because my iPhone had really weak signal, I couldn't even browse web pages when I am on the main floor, laptops are fine because I think they have more powerful adapters.

I downloaded inSSIDer and tested both the N13U and N66U from my main floor and both showed similar wifi signal in dbm. However, with the N66U, I could take full potential of my internet speed(did speed test using my iPhone) while I couldn't even browse web page properly with the N13U.

Any opinions? The confusing part is similar signal but with N66U, the speed test show full potential of my internet connection while I couldn't even browse web pages with the N13U and the speed test was really bad.

Another confusing part is shouldn't the N66U have better signal power?

 

[stevech]

Different receiver-side sensitivity?
Signal strength from the WiFi router is less than half the story, as most client devices transmit less power by far than the WiFi access device.