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Forum Discussion
Limited download speed on Netgear Orbi AC3000 RBK50v2
Hi folks, I have a Netgear Orbi AC3000 RBK50v2 system with one router and one satellite which has been working fine with my TPG 100Mbps Internet plan. My wifi-connected PC routinely showed 100+Mbps whenever I did a Oookla speed test.
So, I just upgraded my TPG Internet to their UltraFast plan, advertised as having 800Mbps as a typical evening download speed. I have run download speed tests using the router's built-in Ookla-powered speed test and it shows consistent results of around 640Mbps which I'm satisfied with. However, my wifi-connected PC routinely delivers just under 200Mbps - I have scheduled Ookla speed tests on the hour and the results are consistent.
My wifi-connected PC is an Intel NUC 12 Extreme which supports gigabit wifi so I'm puzzled as to why I'm only getting around 200Mmps when the router gets 640Mbps. Is roughly a third to be expected? My PC is the only active client during some of these tests so I was expecting closer to the 640Mbps.
Are there wifi settings I should investigate that might improve my situation?
11 Replies
TyBreaker wrote:
My wifi-connected PC is an Intel NUC 12 Extreme which supports gigabit wifi so I'm puzzled as to why I'm only getting around 200Mmps when the router gets 640Mbps.
If I read the specifications correctly, this Intel product contains an Intel WiFi 6E 211 module (page 32)
However, the Orbi RBR50/RBS50 product (from 2016) is a WiFi5 device. (i.e. it does not support WiFi6 or WiFi6E.) These WiFi standards came on the market long after this product was designed and all the major WiFi vendors (including Netgear) introduced new products which support them. There are even products out now that support WiFi7. Older products cannot be updated to the new standards because they are built around WiFi chips that are WiFi5.
If located within a foot or two of the router, a WiFi device can achieve a speed of over 300Mbps. At a distance of 10-12 ft, considerably less. At 25-30 ft. not so great.
The only practical way to get greater speed to the PC is to connect it with an Ethernet cable.
Hi CrimpOn, thanks for responding! I acknowledge the different wifi standards between my PC and my router, though the newer standard is backward compatible so should allow the older standard to achieve its maximum speed? Wifi5 still allows nearly 7Gbps apparently, though the Orbi doco seems to indicate 3000 max.
I may not be completely across the maximums but I was expecting to receive close to what the router can deliver and it's receiving approx 640Mbps.
Yes, the new PC WiFi adapter is "backward compatible". After detecting that the Orbi does not support the 6GHz frequency band (WiFi6E) and does not support WiFi6 (802.11ax), the adapter will connect to the Orbi 5GHz band using WiFi5 (802.11ac). It might be worth doing a bit of internet search with terms such as "realistic connection speed for WiFi5".
When companies market their WiFi systems, they seem to enjoy adding together all the theoretical WiFi link speeds to arrive at some "magic number". For the RBK50, the maximum theoretical Link Rate for 2.4G is 400Mbps, for user 5G is 833Mbps, and the backhaul 5G WiFi link is 1,733Mbps. (400+833+1,733 = 2.999Mbps) So, Netgear markets this system as AC3000. Wow! (Not just Netgear. Every vendor does similar arithmetic.) Never mind that the WiFi backhaul connects the router and satellites and is not available for user connections. Never mind that those theoretical maximums are conceptual calculations rather than "real world" observations.
What Firmware version is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?Try disabling the following and see:
Armor, IPv6, Smart Parental Controls or Circle, Traffic Meter.Has a power off for 1 minute then back ON with the ISP modem and router and satellites been performed ?
Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:
Turn off and unplug modem.
Turn off router and computers.
Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on computers and rest of network.This happen on a 2nd computer to compare results?
Hi FURRYe38, thanks for responding!
What Firmware version is currently loaded? I have the latest: 2.7.5.6
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too? I'm on the NBN with FTTP so it's whatever they installed. It appears to allow 640Mbps through to the router so I'm confident it's working OK.Try disabling the following and see:
Armor: already not activatedIPv6: already disabled
Smart Parental Controls or Circle: already disabled
Traffic Meter.: already disabled
Has a power off for 1 minute then back ON with the ISP modem and router and satellites been performed ? Yes, I did this as part of activating the faster Internet plan.
Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:
Turn off and unplug modem.
Turn off router and computers.
Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on computers and rest of network.This was done as part of activating the faster Internet plan.
This happen on a 2nd computer to compare results? My Google Pixel Pro mobile phone does better and gets between 300-400Mbps on wifi. Maybe this means my Windows PC needs tweaking in some way?
