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Forum Discussion
speed slows down Orbi
My iMac is connected through wifi to my orbi system. The orbi has 1 satellite. My internet service is AT&T gigspeed and when I test it with a CAT5 connection I get 950mbps up and down, but I don't usually use the CAT5 connection since this disables my Itunes remote play, the iMac has to be connected to the same wifi as my other apple devices for that to work. When I first turn on my iMac when it is connected to wifi I am getting speeds in the 200-300mbps range when tested with the online AT&T speedtest and also with the Speedtest app. However after a short time if I test again I am only getting maybe 40mbps on both tests, then if I restart my speed will again be in the 200-300mbps range for a while. The Orbi app shows that the iMac is connected to 5G at 866mbps. I have a number of devices also connected to the wifi, such as cameras and Apple Tvs, however when I was using an Apple router the speed was constant so I do not believe it is "wifi interference" Can anyone please tell me what the hell is going on, because I am about ready to chuck this Orbi in the trash and go with an actual mesh system? Thanks
16 Replies
Before you trash your Orbi system, please know that it's not the Orbi system that is at fault. Your wireless devices are the culprit here and most other client side HW. Depending upon actual design of the HW, most client devices are limited by there actual throughput speeds. At most you'll not see anything much over 400-500Mb in actual throughput speeds. This differs from the connection rate speed you see 866Mb. This is a coonnection rate speed between the physical layer of the client device and the phsyical layer of the routers wifi only. Has nothing to do with actual data speed flow at your client device.
You need to contact Apple and ask them what there actual or theoretical speeds are with there devices.
Most wifi devices won't see anything around 900Mb. Current tech capabilities at the moment.
That may be true, however it is completely irrelevant since I am not expecting the wifi of the iMac to achieve even 400mbps, I would be happy with 200mbps and actually it is quite capable of 800mbps according to the Apple spec. My issue is I am only getting 40mbps, which is unacceptable. Got anything else?
Besides pissing you off, are you experiencing any issues with the "slower" 40Mbps speeds?
What FW are you using?
What channels are you using? Try manual 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any manual channel on 5Ghz. I have mine set for 48.
Any other wifi neigbors near by? if so, how many and what channels are they using?
Try disabling MIMO, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming and IPv6.
Try disabling 20/40Mhz coexistence.
Try speed testing with Safari, FF or Opera on your Mac with speedtest.net to test for differences.
Whats the Mfr and model of the ISP modem/ONT?
FW is latest, tried all of those suggestions before posting, makes no difference. When it comes to testing this trust me theonly thing I had not tried prior to testing was slaughtering a goat and reading its entrails while watching the flight of birds. I have tested in Firefox and Safari and with the Speedtest app and using various different test sites, results are always the same. The iMac registers 200-300 mbps for a bit when restarted and then drops to 30-40mbps. Rinse and repeat. Sadly I doubt there is anyone living anywhere even in Outer Mongolia that doesn't have neighbors who have wifi, none of their systems have been a problem in the past and none of this was happening before I changed to the Orbi. I only bought the Orbi because my Airport would not support gigspeed. The ISP modem is ATT Gigspeed, it tests out fine, when I run a CAT5 to it I get 950mbps.
To confirm which version of HW, please give the actual version of FW. There are some versions that could be recent. LOL
What do other devices you have speed test at and what are there results. Do these also see a decline in speed? Wondering if the iMac maybe the only device doing this.
I have iPhone 6sP, Mac Book Pro 2008 and other devices. I don't see this decline in my testing. Beamforming enabled, MiMO disabled, manual channel 48. WPA2 and AES only.
It is the RBR50, the firmware is V2.1.2.18 which is apparently the latest. I do not have a way to test the Apple Tvs or the cams etc, but my Ipad and iphones all seem to test reliably at the same speed which is somewhere in the 200-300mbps range up and down, so yes this seems to be iMac related.
You can try the v2.1.3.4 beta which is available. If you, factory reset the router after applying th update then set up from scratch.
I kind of doubt this will fix this. If your other devices are getting higher speeds vs the iMac, I presume the iMac would be the issue. What year is this iMac?
The iMac is 2017, the old one got hit by lightning last year so I had to buy a new one. I would rather not mess with a beta FW and as you say it is unlikely to fix the issue. I think my options here seem to be either live with it and accept that I spent $400 on something that does not work quite as well as I would like, or take the orbi and satellite out into the yard and blast them with a shotgun, smash them with a sledgehammer then load the remains onto a small hastily assembled raft of old software boxes and discs, launch said raft onto my pool and then set fire to it by shooting a flaming arrow at it. All the while filming this. After some careful editing I would upload this to youtube and email a link to Netgear's CEO and every single magazine reviewer who gave this soon to be pulverized object a glowing review. Then I will go buy myself the Google mesh or maybe something else, at this point it hardly matters as long as it's not a Netgear product.
I would contact Apple first to see if there is any help and information regarding there HW and wireless speeds on the iMac. Understand the frustrastions, however this should be pointed towards Apple, not NG. :smileyfrustrated:
I would connect the iMac via LAN cable as a alternate work around for this issue.
