I have the RAX120 and a ex8000 and I notice no issues, but the wife and kids are complaining things are getting bad. i have done all I can and get good signal everywhere, used heatmap software to map out and eliminate dead zones, but I wonder if I need more... currently there are 41 active devices on the network and there are others that are off. 5+ rings on the 2.49+ amazon echo or equivalent5 laptops5 phones4 ipadsswitchxbox3 tvs3 firesticksan an Apple TV in a pair tree would tri band from the rax200 help or should I buy a lower end router for the less demanding devices and risk signal saturation and channel fighting between the two networks?

I forgot to mention a plethora of smart outlets, bulbs an a few hubs connected as well, but mostly the hubs use WiFi and the rest use whatever protocol they speak, but some of the outlets and switches are WiFi

What actual issue are you having? is the wireless dropping? Is it the 2.4ghz thats having issues? the 5ghz? both? do wired devices drop? What modem/gateway do you have? What speeds (upload/download) do you pay for? What speeds do you get hardwired into the router? Firmware on the router and extender? You did a great job of describing how many devices you have but a poor job of the actual issues and details of your devices.

Sorry, new to this _I_ don't really notice much, if nothing, we seeem to steam movies fine, the few games I play on my iPad don't seem to have any issues, but they aren't bandwidth hogs either. my wife says her work vpn (we both work from home and one child is remote schooling all day) lag, cuts out and she has to reconnect. both kids complain about speed slowness and lag, the youngest 12 gets very frustrated, especially if it causes him to die. The oldest says his streaming (upload) is laggy too... ookla speed test from my iPhone says 229.x to 208.y mbps download and 9.x to 7. Upload when I hit various spots all over the house. we have basic spectrum internet which is supposed to be 200mbps, so I think i am ahead of the game, yet everyone else still complains. I understand it's cable internet so subject to the load on the line from my neighbors. we have the standard spectrum modem the gave me e31u2v1 docs is 3.1 both router and extender have latest firmware updates

You're RAX120 and EX8000 will easily cover 200mbps. I'd be looking at several things. Problem with vpn's is both how/what type of encryption they use and how much bandwidth they're using. Most only look at their download speed but upload is just as important. You might have 200mbps down but vpn's typically use more upload speed because everything is routed (on that device) through the vpn. This takes more bandwidth. And your upload is only 10mbps. Have the kids noticed a difference from when mom's using the vpn to when its shutoff? With the gaming, are they gaming over the 2.4ghz connection or 5ghz? 2.4ghz is slower and more sensitive to interference.

The kids mostly complain when the wife and I are not working. everyone should be using 5g , it sometimes the kids switch back and fourth because they say one is better than the other. i don't quite know what might be the issue, not sure if signal just isn't strong enough and instead of the extender I need mesh or if all the iot devices are interfering or just their imaginations

Time to upgrade? RAX120+ex8000 | NETGEAR Communities

11 Replies

WickedJr
Aspirant
Nov 24, 2020
I forgot to mention a plethora of smart outlets, bulbs an a few hubs connected as well, but mostly the hubs use WiFi and the rest use whatever protocol they speak, but some of the outlets and switches are WiFi
- plemans
  Guru - Experienced User
  Nov 24, 2020
  What actual issue are you having?
  is the wireless dropping?
  Is it the 2.4ghz thats having issues? the 5ghz? both?
  do wired devices drop?
  What modem/gateway do you have?
  What speeds (upload/download) do you pay for?
  What speeds do you get hardwired into the router?
  Firmware on the router and extender?
  
  You did a great job of describing how many devices you have but a poor job of the actual issues and details of your devices.
  - WickedJr
    Aspirant
    Nov 25, 2020
    Sorry, new to this
    
    _I_ don't really notice much, if nothing, we seeem to steam movies fine, the few games I play on my iPad don't seem to have any issues, but they aren't bandwidth hogs either.
    
    my wife says her work vpn (we both work from home and one child is remote schooling all day) lag, cuts out and she has to reconnect.
    
    both kids complain about speed slowness and lag, the youngest 12 gets very frustrated, especially if it causes him to die. The oldest says his streaming (upload) is laggy too...
    
    ookla speed test from my iPhone says 229.x to 208.y mbps download and 9.x to 7. Upload when I hit various spots all over the house.
    
    we have basic spectrum internet which is supposed to be 200mbps, so I think i am ahead of the game, yet everyone else still complains. I understand it's cable internet so subject to the load on the line from my neighbors.
    
    we have the standard spectrum modem the gave me e31u2v1 docs is 3.1
    
    both router and extender have latest firmware updates

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Time to upgrade? RAX120+ex8000