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Forum Discussion
RBR750 Ethernet ports limited to 100Mbps?
All three Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports on my Orbi router seem to be limited to 100Mbps, despite apparently auto-negotiating a 1Gbps connection to the other device. The uplink to my ISP's router appear...
Thanks for introducing the Whitebox to the forum. Had never heard of this gizmo before. (lead a sheltered life) The web site certainly obscures how people get one.
Most unusual:
- The router Advanced Tab home page, Show Statistics box shows the Ethernet connection as 1000/Full, and
- The WhiteBox (or laptop) network information also shows the Ethernet connection as 1000/Full, yet
- The actual transmission is suspiciously "just under" 100mbs which is a clear sign of the link being negotiated at 100/Full.
- This happens on all four Ethernet ports and with different cables.
I would have advised the same test: plug the cable going into the WhiteBox into a laptop, which would seem to rule out the cable and the connection at the router end. Gigabit ethernet requires all four pairs of wire, while Fast Ethernet (100mbs) requires only two pairs. (20 years ago it was a common trick to 'split' one Ethernet jack into two lines and use all four pairs. Can't be done with Gig Etherent.)
If you have additional equipment (dektop or another laptop), I like to do an iPerf3 test between two Ethernet ports. https://iperf.fr On my ancient RBR50, iPerf3 will consistently reach about 950mbs, which is the practical limit for a gigabit connection.
Since the Orbi router is connected to an ISP router, another test would be to connect the WhiteBox (or the laptop) directly to the ISP router.
Hi CrimpOn
Thanks for your reply.
Shortly after posting my question I decided to reset the Orbi system to factory settings, just in case a hidden/obscure setting had become corrupted or something along those lines. Long story short, it hasn't made any difference.
I could connect the WhiteBox or laptop to my ISP's router, but given that the Orbi router itself is receiving the correct download speed - as are my devices connected wirelessly to the Orbi - all that would confirm is that the connection between the ISP's router and the Orbi is OK, which I'm confident is the case anyway.
I could understand both the WhiteBox and my laptop being limited to a 100Mbps maximum download if that was the negotiated speed of the connection, but it isn't. Part of me wonders if I need a brand new Ethernet cable, rather than swapping between my existing cables, but my current stock of cables is only a few years old and don't tend to be disturbed much. I think it's unlikely that both the cable which had connected the Whitebox to the Orbi and the spare I swapped it with could be faulty. That being said, I'm running out of ideas for things to swap/try/change!With regards to the WhiteBox, have you read both What are the benefits of being a volunteer? - SamKnows Help Centre and How do I signup and receive a Whitebox? - SamKnows Help Centre for more information?
Sounds like a good case for a warranty claim, provided that the router is less than one year old (sigh).
The only thing to be gained by connecting the WhiteBox to the ISP router would be to completely nail down "it's NOT the WhiteBox." (or the laptop, either)
Yes, I did find "How can I join up?" My guess is that Spectrum is heavily covered already and there's not much chance in them wanting more data. Such a cool idea!
Hi again
The bad news is that the Orbi router and satellites are over a year old and therefore out of warranty. However......
I logged into the WhiteBox dashboard to run another instant speed test, and was surprised to notice that the result of the scheduled test appeared to have recently increased. I ran an instant test, and the results are back to normal!I can only assume that it took a while for the Orbi factory reset to rectify the issue.