NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.

Forum Discussion

Bka315's avatar
Bka315
Aspirant
Jun 07, 2023
Solved

Orbi rbr850 speed test faster in portal, than on PC

I'm stumped. And I'm sure it's something super simple. My RBR850 speed test (wired) through the admin portal is pushing 1500Mbs However, when running a speed test through my browser (also wired) It...
  • CrimpOn's avatar
    CrimpOn
    Jun 07, 2023
    Bka315 wrote:
    If it's an Orbi issue, and I have to replace equipment-so be it.

    And, THAT is indeed a puzzle.

     

    Internet gaming is "not my thing", but it is apparent from posts on the forum that

    • Raw speed and latency are significant factors to gamers.  (Perhaps the reason they invest in gaming computers and greater than gigabit ISP connections).
    • To make use of the raw speed, the WiFi router will need to have both
      • A WAN connection capable of greater than gigabit, and
      • At least one LAN connection capable of greater than gigabit.
      • The only Orbi system capable of this is the RBRE960. This 'top of the line' product has a price tag to match ($1,500 for a package) and comments on the forum are not entirely positive.
    • Latency is not one of Orbi's strong suits.  There is one Netgear router aimed at the gaming market.
      https://www.netgear.com/home/online-gaming/
    • Where Orbi excels is the tri-band (or even quad-band) seamless mesh.  Notice that Netgear's Nighthawk gaming router makes no mention of "mesh".  There are Nighthawk routers with mesh capabilities, but not the one squarely aimed at gaming.
    • Notice also that the Nighthawk gaming router has only gigabit ports, so the higher speed ISP connection cannot be utilized.
    • Physical appearance matters to some people.  Orbi units have a totally different appearance than typical gaming routers with all those ugly antennas poking up.
    • And..... what about WiFi6E?  It is not really a factor in 2023, but in a few years people may begin to own devices that are capable of using the 6GHz frequency band. (How many years?)  My guess is that 6E is not a serious issue right now.

    My guess is it will not be a trivial exercise to find a WiFi router that will satisfy every requirement:

    • Raw Speed
    • Gaming Latency
    • Mesh
    • Appearance

    TP-Link's Archer AX11000 looks promising and gets top marks from review sites. ($300 at Costco)  Asus has more 'gaming routers' than I can count and also does well in reviews.

    • What do customers say about alternative products?
    • What kind of support do those companies offer?  (We're on the forum because Netgear offers only 90 days of 'complimentary support'.  Who knows what other companies provide?

    I would for certain purchase only from a retailer with a generous return policy.

     

     

Bka315's avatar
Bka315
Aspirant
Jun 07, 2023

I didn't want it to be the Router
Is there any settings that it's worth looking into? Every thing  is default but changing SSID and enabling IPV6  (which was suggested to solve my issue)
I haven't changed anything

 

Or am I going to be looking at a new router/satellite combo if I want to get the most out of my speeds?

FURRYe38's avatar
FURRYe38
Guru - Experienced User
Jun 07, 2023

Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6A STP is recommended.

Be sure ethernet drivers are up to date as well. 

Again, you'll only see near 900Mpbs on anything connected to the LAN ports on the RBR850 due to the limitation of the 1Gb LAN ports. 

 

Be sure your speed testing with Ooklas installable speed test app. Don't use a web browser for speed testing. 

 

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and 📡 satellite(s)? 30 feet or more is recommended in between RBR📡 and RBS🛰️ to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected.
https://kb.netgear.com/31029/Where-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite ‌‌🛰

 

 

 

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and 40 to 48 channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

 

Try disabling the following and see:
Armor, Smart Parental Controls or Circle, Traffic Meter.

 

Has a power off for 1 minute then back ON with the ISP modem and router been performed since last update?
Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:
Turn off and unplug modem.
Turn off router and computers.
Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on computers and rest of network.

 

Has a factory reset and setup from scratch been performed since last FW update? A complete pull of the power adapters for a period of time after the factory reset then walk thru the setup wizard and setup from scratch with a wired PC and web browser. Recommend setting the default DHCP IP address pool range to the following after applying and a factory reset: 192.168.#.100 to 192.168.#.200.
https://kb.netgear.com/24089/How-do-I-specify-the-pool-of-IP-addresses-assigned-by-my-Nighthawk-router

 

Enable SIP ALG on the RBR as well.