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Orbi AX with Gig Internet - Wi-Fi speeds cut in half
Was excited about putting in Orbi Ax so upgraded to Spectrum Gig internet, Wi-Fi speeds are less than half what is coming in via modem.
Orbi app reports gig speed download (940) and the correct upload speed (40)
I’ve had technicians check the incoming signal to the modem.
I’ve switched out the cables between modem and router and switch (Cat 7)
Modem is Spectrum E31U2V1
The router is a NETGEAR GS316 and is connected to the Orbi for internet (MoDem-Orbi-Switch-devices/rooms)
All the downstream Ethernet wired connections are all at Gig speeds
So why is my Wi-Fi so slow - using iPhone 11 Pro to measure - what should I do?
Orbi app reports gig speed download (940) and the correct upload speed (40)
I’ve had technicians check the incoming signal to the modem.
I’ve switched out the cables between modem and router and switch (Cat 7)
Modem is Spectrum E31U2V1
The router is a NETGEAR GS316 and is connected to the Orbi for internet (MoDem-Orbi-Switch-devices/rooms)
All the downstream Ethernet wired connections are all at Gig speeds
So why is my Wi-Fi so slow - using iPhone 11 Pro to measure - what should I do?
Iphone 11 only supports 80hz wide channels. So its best case connection is 1200mbps. Reason why is a 2x2 antenna arrangement is going to hit max link speed of 2400mbps if its running in 160hz. a 2x2 in 80hz max links speed is going to be 1200mbps. That's link speed, throughput is average of 55% of link speed. Some devices do a bit better than this. so hitting 650mbps is within what you'd expect. Again, some devices can hit faster speed either through using 160hz, lower overhead, or 3x3 antenna arrangements.
29 Replies
so you're wired speeds hit gigabit?
but not your wireless?
Try reading through wireless speed specs and checking out reviews.
the overal speed of wireless has more overhead so your link speed isn't the same as your throughput speed.
If your seeing near 900Mpbs on the Download then the Orbi is working correctly. You'll not see much more than this.
Check with the phones Mfr to see what actual speeds are supported by the phone. Some phones may max out at around 400-500Mpbs depending upon design and support.
Make sure your mobile device is connected to a 5Ghz frequency. Install WiFi SweetSpots and test the phone with the RBR. Turn OFF the RBS temporarily.
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between RBR and RBS to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected. https://kb.netgear.com/000036466/How-far-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite-from-my-Orbi-router
Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings
"The router is a NETGEAR GS316" < This is a switch, not a router.
how do you set the co existance to 40 only? In my software, you can either check the box to enable it, or uncheck it; there is no choice of 20 or 40..
thanks
Unchecking the 20/40 box sets 40Mhz only. Then apply the change.
It sounds like you are getting normal speeds over WiFi. The advertised WiFi speeds are only theoretical and are probably not even achievable under perfect laboratory conditions and they definitely do not reflect real world usage.
On my previous Orbi RBK53 AC system, I had a 300 Mbps service and averaged pretty close to that level of throughput on my devices. For the Orbi RBK852 AX system, I upgraded to 1 Gbps service and my average WiFi speeds now run in the 400-450 Gbps range. I wish they were higher, but they are at least an improvement over what I had before. I do have an iPhone 11 Pro Max and one laptop that both have AX WiFi capability. The iPhone runs quite a bit faster than the AC devices, but the laptop doesn't.
If I take the iPhone into the office, where the router is located, and have it a few feet from the router, I can get about 820 Mbps, which is pretty good, but it drops off to 500-550 Mbps when in the rest of the house. So, it sounds to me like your speeds are within the right ball park.
The throughput speeds that the WiFi router manufacturers claim are the theoretical speeds and do not reflect what you'll actually see in real life. They are not even close.
On my Orbi RBK852 AX system, I typically see around 350-400 Mbps on my AC devices, but do a little better on my AX devices at around 550 Mbps where I normally use them. If I take my iPhone into the office where the router is just a couple of feet away, I can get 820 Mbps.
One thing to keep in mind though is that when performing a speed test, you want to try different servers as you will get differing results. My speed test app defaults to the nearest AT&T server as I have AT&T fiber. I get about 940 Mbps from the router itself, but from WiFi-connected devices I get around 350 Mbps. If I switch to a new HiPoint server in my area, I get 450 - 500 Mbps. It doesn't make any sense that my WiFi speed would vary depending on the server at the other end, but clearly this one server is capable of delivering more data to my clients. Perhaps the HiPoint server has a higher speed Internet connection or maybe it receives less traffic, but it's the only server that consistently gives me greater throughput at my devices.
The one thing that I am still trying to understand is why upload speeds are only about half of download speeds. My fiber connection is symmetric, so I get 1 Gbps both ways, yet my upload speeds at best are half my download speeds over WiFi. Go figure.
of course their claimed speeds are just pipe dreams; however, many folks post how they get near gig speeds with these things on wifi, so not sure if they are lying, or just quoted their "wired" speeds, instead of wifi speeds..
As far as upload speeds, I will say the Velop MX 10 wifi 6 gave me almost identical down and upload speeds; the orbi does not do that, so if asymetrical speeds are important to you, you might want to look elsewhere..
interesting point about trying different servers; I usually just use Cox servers or the closer ones to my house, but I'll try. your idea and see if there is any difference
thanks
I also tried the Velop AX system, but had somewhat slower speeds, ~50 Mbps or so, in general than the Orbi gave me. I also had regular bad behavior with the Velops. Everthing would indicate that all was well, but I would be unable to access the Internet for 2-20 mins, then suddenly it would start going through again. This would happen several times a day, and Linksys was clueless. This was on my second set, too. The first set I purchased wouldn't sync the satellites no matter what we did. So, they got exchanged, but as I said the second set had the wierd freezing issue, so I ended up returning them too.
Netgear isn't perfect, but so far I've had a pretty good experience with the Orbi AX system and similar to the Orbi AC system, no one else seems to be able to match Netgear's overall speed.
- I am also wondering this, I have symmetrical gig and 99% of the time my upload speed is less than my download speed via WiFi. Also my laptop has WiFi 6 (Intel AX201) and I notice the upload is less. Can hit almost 900 down but barely 400 up. Thought it may be the speed test servers causing this. The RBR850 reports 940+ both up and down so I am stumped.
that 940 for up and down is for your WIRED ethernet speed, NOT your wifi speeds..As others have noted, your wifi speeds will rarely, if ever, be more than 50% of your wired ethernet speeds...
