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Forum Discussion

Tutor

Jul 12, 2020

Nighthawk RAX50 Wifi Capped at 200mbps

Hi there, I’m trying to troubleshoot why my wifi speeds are so much slower than the signal that the router is receiving from the modem, especially when it’s below the max for the RAX50. I have a...

Guru - Experienced User

Jul 12, 2020

Are you testing wireless?

Many things impact wireless speeds from device used, antenna configuration of your device, distance, interference, drivers, etc.

What wired speeds do you get when directly connected to the router?

Firmware on the router?

kqcef
Tutor
Jul 12, 2020
Yep! Testing wirelessly. I don’t have any devices that have an ethernet port to test with unfortunately.
- plemans
  Guru - Experienced User
  Jul 12, 2020
  Its tough to tell you if theres an issue or if its related to the device you're testing with based off your info.
  - kqcef
    Tutor
    Jul 15, 2020
    Sorry about that. Just got an ethernet adapter, speeds clocking in around 380-410 on a Macbook Pro. Any ideas what might be throttling the WiFi throughput?
kqcef
Tutor
Jul 15, 2020
Firmware version is v1.0.2.30_2.0.37
- plemans
  Guru - Experienced User
  Jul 15, 2020
  it might actually be the wireless devices themself.
  a couple things.
  1. 2.4ghz is much slower than 5ghz.
  2. 5ghz speeds drop off quickly with distance/obstructions
  3. a 1x1 antenna device isn't going to be as fast as a 2x2 antenna device
  
  What link speed are your devices showing? your actual throughput speed is going to be roughly 55-65% of what your link speed is.
  - kqcef
    Tutor
    Jul 15, 2020
    plemans Yes, sorry, should specify that I'm testing WiFi speeds on the 5ghz network directly next to the router to reduce any sort of interference or distance variables.
    
    From my MacbookPro, the Tx Rate (which I believe is the Link Speed) is currently 780mbps