Nighthawk M2 Router - Issues with Intra-Network Data Transfer Speeds

Hello everyone,

I've encountered some significant issues with the Nighthawk M2 router regarding the speed of data transfer between devices connected to the same WiFi network. Please note that these issues do not affect internet browsing speeds, which are functioning perfectly.

Problem Description

After conducting several tests, I've observed the following:
- When the WiFi profile is set to "Dual-Band WiFi", two computers connected to the same network can exchange data at speeds of 10-18 Mb/s, regardless of whether they connect via the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz band.
- When the WiFi profile is set to either "2.4 GHz Only" or "5 GHz Only", the data transfer speed between two computers drops drastically to about 0.1 Mb/s, with numerous data losses.

Testing and Results

To support this, I've conducted tests using the iperf3 software, both between two MacBook Pros and between a MacBook Pro and a Raspberry Pi. These tests indicate that the issue persists across different devices.

Dual-Band WiFi

[  5] local 192.168.1.65 port 5201 connected to 192.168.1.72 port 49200
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-1.01   sec  1.12 MBytes  9.39 Mbits/sec
[  5]   1.01-2.00   sec  1.75 MBytes  14.8 Mbits/sec
[  5]   2.00-3.00   sec  1.75 MBytes  14.6 Mbits/sec
[  5]   3.00-4.01   sec  1.50 MBytes  12.5 Mbits/sec
[  5]   4.01-5.01   sec  1.62 MBytes  13.6 Mbits/sec
[  5]   5.01-6.00   sec  1.50 MBytes  12.6 Mbits/sec
[  5]   6.00-7.00   sec  1.50 MBytes  12.6 Mbits/sec
[  5]   7.00-8.00   sec  1.62 MBytes  13.6 Mbits/sec
[  5]   8.00-9.00   sec  1.62 MBytes  13.6 Mbits/sec
[  5]   9.00-10.00  sec  1.50 MBytes  12.6 Mbits/sec
[  5]  10.00-11.00  sec  1.75 MBytes  14.7 Mbits/sec
[  5]  11.00-12.00  sec  1.75 MBytes  14.6 Mbits/sec
[  5]  12.00-13.00  sec  1.50 MBytes  12.6 Mbits/sec
[  5]  13.00-14.01  sec  1.50 MBytes  12.5 Mbits/sec
[  5]  14.01-15.00  sec  1.62 MBytes  13.6 Mbits/sec
[  5]  15.00-16.00  sec  1.62 MBytes  13.7 Mbits/sec
[  5]  16.00-17.00  sec   256 KBytes  2.09 Mbits/sec
[  5]  17.00-18.00  sec  2.25 MBytes  18.9 Mbits/sec
[  5]  18.00-19.00  sec  1.75 MBytes  14.7 Mbits/sec
[  5]  19.00-20.00  sec  1.75 MBytes  14.7 Mbits/sec
[  5]  20.00-20.51  sec   896 KBytes  14.4 Mbits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-20.51  sec  32.1 MBytes  13.1 Mbits/sec

2.4GHz Only

[  5] local 192.168.1.65 port 5201 connected to 192.168.1.72 port 49207
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-1.00   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   1.00-2.01   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   2.01-3.00   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   3.00-4.00   sec   128 KBytes  1.05 Mbits/sec
[  5]   4.00-5.00   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   5.00-6.01   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   6.01-7.00   sec   128 KBytes  1.05 Mbits/sec
[  5]   7.00-8.00   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   8.00-9.00   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   9.00-10.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  10.00-11.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  11.00-12.00  sec   128 KBytes  1.05 Mbits/sec
[  5]  12.00-13.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  13.00-14.01  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  14.01-15.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  15.00-16.00  sec   128 KBytes  1.05 Mbits/sec
[  5]  16.00-17.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  17.00-18.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  18.00-19.00  sec   128 KBytes  1.05 Mbits/sec
[  5]  19.00-20.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-20.01  sec   640 KBytes   262 Kbits/sec

5GHz Only

[  5] local 192.168.1.65 port 5201 connected to 192.168.1.72 port 49192
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-1.01   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   1.01-2.00   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   2.00-3.01   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   3.01-4.00   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   4.00-5.00   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   5.00-6.00   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   6.00-7.01   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   7.01-8.00   sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]   8.00-9.00   sec   128 KBytes  1.05 Mbits/sec
[  5]   9.00-10.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  10.00-11.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  11.00-12.01  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  12.01-13.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  13.00-14.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  14.00-15.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  15.00-16.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  16.00-17.01  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  17.01-18.00  sec   128 KBytes  1.05 Mbits/sec
[  5]  18.00-19.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
[  5]  19.00-20.00  sec  0.00 Bytes  0.00 bits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-20.03  sec   256 KBytes   105 Kbits/sec

Additional Observations

- I have reset the router multiple times, but this has not resolved the issue.
- Furthermore, when one device is connected to the 2.4 GHz network and another to the 5 GHz network, they cannot communicate with each other at all. TCP data transfers are blocked by the router, and only ICMP traffic (e.g., ping) is allowed.

Impact

To facilitate data exchange between two computers using the Netgear M2, it is necessary to keep the "Dual-Band WiFi" option enabled. This results in higher power consumption and shorter battery life, which is not ideal for a device that should efficiently manage client communications.

I hope this problem can be addressed in a future firmware update, as it significantly impacts the router's performance in enabling client-to-client communication.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Andrea