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RAX40 Slow WiFi in AP mode
I've been using my RAX40 with Comcast/Xfinity cable internet. I have 300MB service. Router is connected to CM1000 modem. I consistently get around 350 MB/s from Speedtest on both 2.4 and 5 Ghz. Smart connect is off. All was well until...
I wanted a WireGuard server to be able to remotely access my home LAN. Since the RAX40 doesn't support WireGuard, I got a cheap used Ubiquti EdgeRouter which does. I connected the EdgeRouter to the CM1000. I put the RAX40 into AP mode and connected it to the EdgeRouter.
When I connect my Mac via wired Ethernet directly to the EdgeRouter or to any of the 4 ports on the RAX40, Speedtest still shows 350 MB/s. But the WiFi speeds are now much slower. About 100 MB/s on 2.4 and 200 MB/s on 5 Ghz. I get similar slow WiFi speeds on all my devices, all of which support WiFi 6.
Turning 20/40 Coexistence off seems to make the 5 GHz network faster. This makes no sense to me since it is an option under 2.4 GHz. AX is enabled.
I haven't been able to do much more debugging because I need to keep my home network running, but I'll have a chance to do more tomorrow. I'm posting now in the hope that someone has seen this problem before.
Another strange issue with AP mode: When I first turned it on, I could get to the router's GUI using routerlogin.net. After a while that stopped working, but routerlogin.com worked. After a while more both stopped working, and I can only access the router via it's IP address. Perhaps a factory reset of the router is needed?
RAX40 Firmware Version V1.0.6.106_1.0.1
I get slow speeds with the following devices:
MacBook Air M4 (WiFi 7)
iPad Pro M4 (WiFi 6)
iPhone 16 Pro (WiFi 7)
I noticed this problem as soon as I switched to AP mode. I tried multiple reboots which didn't help.
However, I am happy to report that since I made the configuration change to 20/40 coexistence I am now consistently getting well over 300 MB/s on 5Ghz. Given I had flakey inconsistent behavior earlier, I believe that my reloading the config was what fixed the problem and had nothing to with 20/40 which only affects 2.4 Ghz. Just to be sure, I turned the option back on and I still get the faster speeds.
I agree with Plemans about slower speeds from 2.4Ghz. I think my memory failed me about seeing faster speeds from it in the past. I'm now getting 50 to 65 MHz/s.
In AP mode, the RAX40 now consistently responds to the routerlogin addresses.
All my tests were done with speedtest.net with the devices about 5 feet away from the RAX40.
Thanks for the help!
4 Replies
I noticed this problem as soon as I switched to AP mode. I tried multiple reboots which didn't help.
However, I am happy to report that since I made the configuration change to 20/40 coexistence I am now consistently getting well over 300 MB/s on 5Ghz. Given I had flakey inconsistent behavior earlier, I believe that my reloading the config was what fixed the problem and had nothing to with 20/40 which only affects 2.4 Ghz. Just to be sure, I turned the option back on and I still get the faster speeds.
I agree with Plemans about slower speeds from 2.4Ghz. I think my memory failed me about seeing faster speeds from it in the past. I'm now getting 50 to 65 MHz/s.
In AP mode, the RAX40 now consistently responds to the routerlogin addresses.
All my tests were done with speedtest.net with the devices about 5 feet away from the RAX40.
Thanks for the help!
- I've never seen a 2.4g signal hit 350mbps. Not even close. Even the flagship/peak performing devices are usually only around that 100mbps. So when you say you were hitting that, it makes me doubtful of how you were calculating speed/performance. If you were testing in the app, its now always accurate. Test using speedtest on a wired and wireless device.
- when you switch to AP mode, the edgerouter it handing routing/nat. it might not direct routerlogin to the correct address. Not abnormal for a different device. You'll have to log into the edgerouter and find the IP address is assigned to the RAX. Use that to access it. Might set it with a static address in the edgerouter so it stays the same so you can remember it easier.
- 5ghz speeds very greatly with distance. How far away from the router were you testing? Also, test the wired speed from the RAX. Some of the edgerouters had protection features that slowed their throughput down. Its worth checking.
- AP mode shouldn't impact speed. I'd be checking how you're testing performance and the wired performance.
I wanted to use Wireguard to access my home network and loaded Wireguard on a Raspberry Pi that was already connected to my LAN. Wireguard uses port 51820, so I forwarded port 51820 through my Netgear router to the Raspberry Pi. No change to the Netgear router. It remains in 'router mode'.
That said, I see no reason why connecting the RAX40 to the Edgerouter should have any effect on the speed of devices connected to the RAX40 WiFi.
Additional info: turning off 20/40 Coexistence caused the router to once again respond to routerlogin .net and .com. The router appears to be very flakey. I will do a full reset tomorrow.
