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Forum Discussion
R7000 - Disney Circle - Internet speeds through router slowdown
Creating a new thread to focus on this one issue. I don't believe this is a general slow wifi/slow internet issue, but is clearly Circle related.
All tests done on wired connection via my Netgear R7000. I have a cable internet plan advertised as 150/15.
This was all done on firmware 1.0.9.14, and I did a factory reset and setup my options yesterday fresh. I have never enabled QoS or Web Traffic.
I do have IPv6 configured and it works.
Circle was enabled now for 24 hours. Speed slowly sinks down to 37Mbps. I see this speedtest:
Turn off Circle via webpage on router and hit apply. This saves quickly, no reboot of router. Now I see full speed, and see how solid the download speed is?
I turn Circle back on, hit apply and I get this speed test. All tests run inside 2 minutes:
Turn Circle back off, and retest. Going to leave it off for 24 hours now to test:
Looking for any support from Netgear if this is expected, and if it is fixable. Willing to help test if needed, as Cirlce seems like a great feature.
43 Replies
Seems there are some other threads speaking on similar issues. Curious if there was an update on the mentioned fixes coming.
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Home-Networking-Apps/Loss-of-internet-after-enabling-Circle-by-Disney-on-R7000/m-p/1438717#M7396
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Home-Networking-Apps/R7000P-Circle-Performance-Issues/m-p/1429172#M7323Me too. Terrible slow down when Circle is enabled. I've never had IPV6 enabled.
- I happen to have a stand-alone Circle cube that I used before I got the R7000. I disabled the internal Circle function and reattached the external device. Now my internet is back to full speed. So it is definitely something to do with the internal setup.
Yes, I updated to the latest firmware and yes, I did a reset after updating.I received a beta firmware that supposedly fixed the slowdown issue. I updated to this firmware and did a hardware reset, rebuilding all my settings (not restoring a backup file).
Now I cannot enable the Circle protection. If I try thru the app I get an error saying "something went wrong, try again." If I try to enable Circle thru the web interface I get an error saying to "check my connection to the DSL/Cable modem".
I also noticed that on the web interface, it is supposed to list "Agent Version:" and "App Database Version:". Both of these are blank.
I reported these issues to Netgear support thru my case number but have not heard back from them.
Having the same issue. When I have Circle enabled, it cuts my speeds in half. Disabled, I get full speed. With OpenDNS I get full speeds, so I'm going back to using that.
I did NOT have IPV6 enabled at all.
- https://community.netgear.com/t5/Nighthawk-WiFi-Routers/Neato-Robot-and-R7000/m-p/1615905/highlight/true#M100992
Try my suggestions in this thread. After a firmware update and resetting the machine a few times, mine is working now. It may have had something to do with my switch to tomato and back again.- Same problem here, didn't notice so bad until recently, but with the latest firmware update, page loads from my phone (Android Oreo on HTC U11) are brutally slow, and similar slowness on other devices too, with 80Mbps service. Will try a reset I guess and see if it makes any difference. I really like the Circle functionality for limiting my kids' access, but it's looking my connection does. IPv6 disabled here too.
R7000 owner here.
I cannot express how disappointed I am with Netgear. One year since the OP started this thread, and we still don't have an answer to this issue.
I guess that the resource use of having Circle turned on is just too much for these routers. It is a pity but the Circle service on these routers is just a pure marketing trick. The R7000 just cannot handle the load Circle produces.
In my case having 1Gbps fiber connection I normally get 946/946mbps with Circle disabled, on Ethernet, with Circle enabled (and having chosen to not monitor the PC I am testing with in the Circle app) I barelly get 750-800mbps download and 700mbps or less upload speeds. This means that activating Circle is costing us 20% of the bandwidth or in some of the reported cases even more.
To Netgear: If activating this service on your product is going to degrade the throughput so much please do tell your costumers, don't just advertise this knowing that activating it is going to transform your internet experience into a crawl.
Hi there, same issue here. I'm not sure if it was this thread or a different one, but someone had recommended resetting the device back to factory defaults after doing a firmware update each time and enabling Circle again. Although I feel we shouldn't have to do that, I really do like Circle so I figured I give it a go. So when I updated to FW V1.0.9.42_10.2.44, I did exactly that. I reset the router back to factory defaults and changed settings back to the way I had them, like setting DNS to use OpenDNS, enabling Smart Connect for my wifi, etc. So after doing all that, my download and upload speeds have been consistent to what my isp advertises now. I figured on the next FW update, I'll try updating without having to reset factory defaults and see how that goes. Anyway, just wanted to share my experience.
I also like Circle and what it offers. What are your internet speeds with and without Circle activated?
Reseting the router to factory defaults and configuring everything manually again is a PITA. I have multiple IP reservations in the DHCP scope, static DNS, multiple static port forwards, this is going to take an eternity to configure again, and if this indeed work as you are posting and this has to be done after every single firmware update the cost of mantaining this solution in time is going to be really high.
Does anyone know of another product that offers time control similar to what Circle does and that doesn't involve the level of frustration Circle on Netgear devices has?
- Once you get everything set under a stable release, you can stop upgrading the firmware and you won't have to upgrade every time a new one is released. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a stable release that works in OVER A YEAR!!!
I went to Tomato firmware and abandoned the Circle functionality. I want to get a new mesh system but will avoid Netgear at all costs when I do.
Solution
what i was able to do was turn circle off, then i turned Qos on and ran a speed test multiple times with nothing pulling data on my router while speed testing till i got the full speeds that my ISP provides me with which is 400mbps down and 20mbps up. Then in the Qos page i hit save settings. once i hit the save button the router rebooted. once it rebootedd i turned circle back on and hit apply and i am now getting full bandwith and circle protecting the network. 400mbps down and 20mbps up most of the time it never falls below 80% of what my ISP provieds me with. hopefly this helps everyone.
- Does it persist? I've found the speed would be ok for a while after restarting, then degrade again over time. Do you have any/many custom rules setup, and how many devices?
- The speeds have been consistent 80% of ISP provided speeds. I don’t have any rules other than circle settings.
What modem are you using from your isp?
I had att fiber with a gateway modem/router that caused issues I was able to clear it up by turning of the firewall in the modem and used My routers firewall.
I’m currently with spectrum for ISP and so far no more issues with speed.
Also my wired devices to the R7000 has been 99% speeds provided by ISP.
My R7000 has V1.0.9.64_10.2.64 firmware.
I've been dealing with this issue since the latest update Firmware Version
V1.0.9.64_10.2.64 . Model: R7000|Nighthawk AC1900 Dual Band WiFi Router
As you mentioned, the speed drops off drastically :-(
Enabled Disney circle at Parental control. (basic service) Cable or WIFI Internet speed drops
If the device you're testing on doesn't need to be scanned by Cicle, set it to unmanaged and re-test. Also, disable IPv6 on the router.
I’ve already done what you asked me to do before posting. The issue is definitely the firmware since the problem started right after the update. These are what I have done so far:
- Upgraded to the new firmware 0.9.64_10.2.64.
- Factory reset the router.
- Enabled the circle and did speed test. slow speed
- Deactivated Circle, speed test. Max, full speed
- Disabled internet traffic meter, disabled QS and IPv6 (by default = off) re-enabled saved, and on both cases, speed test same result, no change.
- Finally, connected the mac with the wire directly to the router, factory reset, re-downloaded the firmware from the Netgear, updated the firmware, factory reset the router. Speed test = max Enabled the circle, speed = slow again did step 5 without any luck.
- Final attempt, in my cell, circle app. Unmanaged device = same result and also tried with cell and my pc without any luck againnnnn :-(.
- Conclusion, firmware problem either with circle or the router.