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Forum Discussion
RBE771 slow download fast upload
I've just upgraded from a 2019 Orbi to the WiFi 7 Orbi 773. I'm on Ziply fiber, with 1GB each direction. The net connection comes into a pfSense router, which is connected to a switch. The Orbi is connected to the switch in AP mode.
Running Ookla's speed test, sitting about 10 feet from the main Orbi, I'm getting huge disparities in upload and download speed. Upload will be in the (Mbps) 800ish to 950ish range, but download will only be 200ish to 350ish. This is using a MacBook Air that the Orbi shows as using a 6GHz connection. I see similar results using an iPad and a Mac Studio, both of which also show as using the 6GHz connection.
If I run a speed test directly in the Orbi app on the phone, it shows perfect connectivity, with near-identical upload and download speeds in the (Mbps) 800ish to 950ish range. Yet if I run the actual Oookla speed test on that same phone, it shows 250ish Mbps down and 650ish Mbps up. This makes no sense to me, as the Orbi app's speed test is powered by Ookla.
My Orbi devices are all on the latest firmware (10.5.18.3), and I haven't tweaked any settings other than trying a different channel (44 instead of 40) for 5GHz, which made no difference.
I sort of suspect Netgear Armor, but I don't see it listed where it's supposed to be listed, in Orbi app > Settings > Security: I don't have a Security entry there, just Router Settings, WiFi Settings, and Anywhere Access.
Possibly related: I am randomly unable to connect to the Orbi, either using the app or directly in a web browser. No lights show indicating any issue with the router, but it's simply unreachable—yet wifi continues to work fine, so it's functioning, but not manageable. Then a few minutes later, all will be normal again.
I'd really like to figure out what's throttling my download speeds—upload should be tougher and slower, not 4x to 5x faster.
13 Replies
Are you speed testing over ethernet or wireless with a device? Wired is preferred for most accurate speed results.
Please connect the RBR to the Fiber ONT unit in router mode with out the PFSense device connected and run some speed test to compare results.
What is the brand and model# of the Fiber ONT unit?
Armor will not have anything to do with this as when you have the Orbi RBR in AP mode, this mode disabled Armor features.
"Are you speed testing over ethernet or wireless with a device? Wired is preferred for most accurate speed results. "
Wired is irrelevant, because nothing is wired to the Orbi—it's acting strictly as a wifi connection point. My wired connections are all via the switch. I'm just trying to figure out why the wireless download speeds are so slow."Please connect the RBR to the Fiber ONT unit in router mode with out the PFSense device connected and run some speed test to compare results."
I was hoping to avoid that, given the huge hassle involved in switching between modes, but I may have to do so. I will report back once I've done that."What is the brand and model# of the Fiber ONT unit? "
It's a Calix 722GE ONT, though I'm not sure why it matters—I get the proper speeds on my Ethernet-connected devices.
"Armor will not have anything to do with this as when you have the Orbi RBR in AP mode, this mode disabled Armor features. "Thanks, that explains why I don't see it in the options :).
I just ran another set of tests at a satellite that's relatively far from the base station. Using wifi, download speeds were about 140mbps; upload was again in the high 800s. Then I connect to the Ethernet port. Download speeds increased, but still only to 235mbps; download was essentially unchanged.
I'll get the pfSense box out of the loop next.
WiFlying wrote:If I run a speed test directly in the Orbi app on the phone, it shows perfect connectivity, with near-identical upload and download speeds in the (Mbps) 800ish to 950ish range. Yet if I run the actual Oookla speed test on that same phone, it shows 250ish Mbps down and 650ish Mbps up. This makes no sense to me, as the Orbi app's speed test is powered by Ookla.
My understanding is that Orbi's speed test function occurs at the base router, not in the client where you are running the Orbi app or a browser connected to orbilogin.com. The Orbi app speedtest page says "It detects the download and upload speed from your router to the Internet". So the Orbi speed test does not measure or include your home network connectivity between the base router and your device (phone or laptop).
When you run the Ookla speed test on the phone, via their phone app or via their website in the phone's browser, then it does measure the speed all the way to your device (phone or laptop). This method does includes your home network connectivity, 2.4Ghz/5Ghz/6Ghz wireless, etc. between your router and your device.Does this difference in testing help to explain your measurements discrepancy? Is there something in your home wireless path (router to phone) that would limit or cap download speeds but not upload speeds?
Thanks for explaining what the speed test on the Orbi itself is measuring; that explains the good results there.
>> Does this difference in testing help to explain your measurements discrepancy? Is there something in your home wireless path (router to phone) that would limit or cap download speeds but not upload speeds?
No, and the problem is that it's not just the phone, it's every single Apple device: Phone, desktop Mac, laptop Mac, and iPad all have the exact same results: Download speeds are 3x to 5x slower than upload speeds. But my Windows box does not have that problem; it's showing the same upload and download speeds.
This would say there's either a problem with iOS and macOS, or there's a problem with the Orbi when talking to iOS and macOS. I honestly don't know which it is, but I suspect the Orbi more, only because a buddy of mine is also with my ISP, also at gigabit speeds, also on Macs and iPads and iPhones, but *not* on an Orbi ... and he isn't seeing these issues.
In looking at the speed test results I ran on my old Orbi, before I installed the new Orbi, I was seeing the same thing—but it didn't stick out as much because overall both the upload and download numbers were much lower overall. Hopefully Netgear support will be able to help me figure out what's going on.
After more investigation, I believe the real problem here is with Ookla's speed test, not anything particular to Apple's hardware or my network. I tried a bunch of web-based speed tests, and I couldn't ever get results like I was seeing with the app on my network.
As an example, here's what I got from Cloudflare's speed test:
Immediately after that ran, I ran Ookla's app (this was using my Mac laptop), and got download speed (using the server they chose) of 120Mbps and upload of 670Mbps. Then I spent some time choosing servers manually in Oakla's test, and found one where I consistently saw equal upload and download speeds in the 850 to 925 Mbps range. I found a couple more like that, as well as a bunch where the download would be anywhere from 50 Mbps to 250 Mbps.
In short, it seems Ookla's results, at least on Apple hardware, are *very* dependent on the server chosen for testing, and the auto-selected server may not be the best.
This still doesn't explain why I don't see the same issue when running the test on my Windows machine on a server that reported slow Mac results, but at this point, my thinking is that it's either an issue with those servers and file transfers to Apple hardware, or with Ookla's protocols on those servers for Apple hardware.
Either way, to back up the speed test results, I found some sites that offer test file downloads, and on those sites, I was seeing download speeds well in excess of what Ookla was reporting using its default servers. So in the "real world," my results are much better than the Ookla speed test results, and I don't think I have an issue here at all.Sorry to have wasted everyone's time.
