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SimonP71's avatar
SimonP71
Aspirant
Sep 23, 2022

Slow speed on RB50 on BT FTTP 900

Hello all,

 

I am wondering whether anyone can shed some light on why my Orbi router only achieves speeds of around 460 mbps when connected directly to the BT open reach box on my wall when the home hub will achieve over 900 Mbps.

 

I am on the BT 900 Fibre to premise service.

 

The connection shows the downlink and uplink speed as 1000Mbps

 

If I use the BT Hub 2 and put the Orbi into AP mode, I get test speeds of over 900 Mbps when I run the speed test on the router.

 

Remove the BT Hub and switch the Orbi to Router mode, plugged direct to the wall, my speeds drop by half to around 460 Mbps. Admittedly still fast but nowhere near the BT Hub 2.

 

My upload speed achieves higher than the anticipated speed of 100 achieve it 111 Mbps upload on both Orbi and BT Hub.

 

I am talking about when the router runs the speed test, not running a speed test on my iPhone or IPad etc. I understand the limitations of speed test on connected devices particularly on wireless networks.

 

Any help would be appreciated as I would love to remove the BT Hub 2 altogether.

 

Cheers

Simon

16 Replies

  • 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?
    Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6 is recommended. 

     

    Try a factory reset and setup from scratch on the RBR. I would power OFF the ONT and RBR for 30 seconds then back ON with the ONT then RBR then walk thru the set wizard. Do enable Armor, Access Controls, Circle, SPC or Traffic Meter. 

     

    After the RBR is setup, use a wired PC connected behind the RBR and run a speed test with Ooklas installable speet test app on the PC. 
    Try a different PC to compare results.

    • SimonP71's avatar
      SimonP71
      Aspirant
      Hey. Thanks for the reply. Router firmware is latest. Says not update available. Version 2.7.3.22.

      I have good quality cables. The same cable will lets the BT home hub run at over 900Mbps.

      Speed test when Orbi plugged into BT Home Hub in AP mode = 900 Mbps. Speed test when BT Hub removed and Orbi set to Router mode and plugged in directly, drops to 460 Mbps.

      This is what I cannot understand or fathom out.

      It is not a wireless / wireless channel problem.

      The speed test is performed by the router not an attached device.

      I haven’t done a full factory reset yet but will as a last resort.
  • KevinLiT's avatar
    KevinLiT
    NETGEAR Moderator

    Hello SimonP71,

     

    Welcome to the NETGEAR Community!

     

    I understand that you are having speed issues with your RBR50. Try changing the channel settings on your RBR50 to improve your network speed. The best practice is to use channels 1,6 or 11 for your 2.4Ghz network band and 36, 40, 44, or 48 for the 5Ghz network band. 

     

    To change the network channel on your RBR50 please follow the directions below:

    • Navigate to Orbilogin.com
    • Select Wireless
    • Select "channel menu"
    • Select desired channel

     

    Best,

    Kevin

    Community Team

    • SimonP71's avatar
      SimonP71
      Aspirant
      Hi. Thanks for the reply.
      Speed test when Orbi plugged into BT Home Hub in AP mode = 900 Mbps. Speed test when BT Hub removed and Orbi set to Router mode and plugged in directly, drops to 460 Mbps.

      It is not a wireless channel problem as far as I can tell. The speed test is performed at router level not by a connected device. I could for example login remotely and get the router to perform a speed test. The result is the same only around 460Mbps when the Orbi is set to router mode. When connected to BT Hub in AP mode speed test = 900+ Mbps.

      Strange !
      • KevinLiT's avatar
        KevinLiT
        NETGEAR Moderator

        Hello SimonP71,

         

        The network channels currently used by your Orbi could be congested in your area. Congested network channels result in result in slower speeds. When the Orbi is in AP mode it does not use router capabilities. In your case, when your Orbi is not using router capabilities the speeds are 900Mbps. However, when you change the mode on your Orbi from AP mode to router mode the speeds slow down. This could be the result of a configuration error due to network congestion. 

         

        I noticed that your RBR50 is on firmware version 2.7.3.22. Please update your RBR50 to the current firmware version which is 2.7.4.24 at this time. 

         

        Please navigate to the link below to download the current firmware version 2.7.4.24 for your RBR50:

        https://www.netgear.com/support/product/RBR50.aspx#download

         

        Best,

        Kevin

        Community Team

         

    • SimonP71's avatar
      SimonP71
      Aspirant

      Thank you for your help so far. I have updated the firmware. For some reason, the Orbi app said it wasn’t available, so had to sort hat manually. I am now the most recent.

       

      I have changed the channels for 2.4 and 5ghz to what you suggest, but speed tests are the same 460Mbps.

       

      I’m at a loss with this to be honest.

      • FURRYe38's avatar
        FURRYe38
        Guru

        Are you testing speeds with a wireless device or a wired device. You should be seeing near 900Mpbs with a ethernet connected PC if it's connecting at 1000Mbps to the back of the router after a reset and setup from scratch. Don't enable Armor, Access Controls, Circle or Traffic Meter. Don't use a saved backup configuration file. 

         

        Wireless device, you'll not see much over 300-500Mpbs on 5Ghz AC due to limitations of devices and connections rates at 80Mhz seen here. Nature of this beast.