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Forum Discussion
Orbi in AP Mode slow wifi
Installed the Orbi system on a new home. AP Mode connected to the provider router. (1GB connection) All connections to the Orbi Router seem to run at half the speed from provider 1GB. And...
It would help to know which model of Orbi system this is.
Who the Internet Service Provider (ISP) is and what equipment the ISP provided.
What download speed the ISP has guaranteed to deliver.
Has a computer been connected directly to the ISP equipment and what download speed was recorded?
The same computer has been connected to the Orbi router?
There should be no difference in performance between the Orbi being in router or access point (AP) mode.
(This may seem like nit-picking, but....) There is a difference between a "connection" being gigabit and the ISP delivering a gigabit internet speed. One is simply the speed that Ethernet adapters negotiate and the other relates to what the ISP is actually delivering. For example, my connection to a Spectrum modem is definitely gigabit, but Spectrum has promised to deliver 200mbps. (Spectrum exceeds their promise.)
There is also a difference between download speed realized by devices connected using Ethernet ('wired') and devices connected over WiFi.
Thus, without more information it is difficult to analyze this situation.
Ok, so difference in performance between AP and Router modes, ruled out, great one less thing to worry about 🙂
PC wired to provider router = 950 mbps
PC wired to orbi satellite = 290 mbps
Orbi system is a 3 piece RBK50 (?) AC3000.
ISP and its equipment is irrelevant really, you wouldn't know them. It's just a regular ISP and Fiber router.
So what could be causing such a drastic reduction in speed when connected to Orbi Satellite?
Orbi own "Speed Test" runs at 900+ mbps...
iPhone wifi to ISP Router = 900+ mbps
iPhone wifi to Orbi Satellite = less than 200 mbps
iPhone wifi to Orbi Router = less than 500 mbps
Thanks for providing details. One additional number would be helpful:
- PC to provider router = 950, which is about the maximum possible with a gigabit connection.
- PC to Orbi satellite = 290, which is the issue.
It would be useful to know - PC to the Orbi router.
One would expect this speed to match the speed reported by the Orbi's internal Speed Test.
I now see two issues:
- The router to satellite link, and
- This Original Orbi is an WiFi5 "ac" system, which was designed in 2016 before 802.11ax was in common use.
With ac, the maximum theoretical bandwidth of a 5G WiFi connection is 866mbs (the middle number of the "Marketing Speak" on page 4 of the Product Data Sheet:https://www.netgear.com/images/datasheet/orbi/RBR50.pdf
Contrast that with the theoretical 5G connection rate of 2400Mbps for the RBR850 product, which is a WiFi6 802.11ax based design.
The ISP router is obviously a newer ax product, which the newer iPhone can take advantage of.
The original question of satellite speed being lower than router speed may be a case of distance between them and building materials in the radio pathway between router and satellite. A simple (but better done when the family is not around) test would be to temporarily use an Ethernet cable to connect router to satellite. A 100ft Ethernet cable can be found on Amazon for under $20. Snake the cable through the house to switch the satellite from WiFi link to 'wired' link.
Is it time to rush out and buy a WiFi6 (or even WiFi6E) system? If that one iPhone is the only device in the house capable of WiFi6 (ax) then..... maybe?