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Forum Discussion
slow wifi speeds with c7000 and xfinity
My internet speed through my computer (ethernet) is 350. Using wifi on my cellphone on 2.4, the speed is only around 70. This occurs when phone is next to modem/router or 20 feet away. Changing to 5G, I get 150. I get even lower results with my Firestick. I tried changing the channels but did not exceed these values. Netgear support said that 5G should get 80 or more percent of the ethernet speed and 2.4 should get 50 percent. I am getting approximately 20% and 59% respectively.
* Is there something I can do with the modem/router to correct this?
* Is this something Xfinity can fix?
* If not, should I purchase a separte router and connect it to the C7000? Will that increase the speed? If so, do I just plug it into the C7000 and run both wifi networks or are there some adjustments I need to make to the C7000.
12 Replies
Varioious wifi mobile devices may not support high speed wireless speed testing. Most wifi devices max out at around 400-500Mpbs depending on what the device really supports. You'll need to contact the devices Mfr to see what actual thruput speeds they support on there device.
Along with what FURRYe38 said, much is dependant on your phone and its capabilities. If you think about it, most phones use a 1x1 antenna. Some have 2x2 but the average phone is more likely to be a 1x1 configuration.
The C7000 in 2.4ghz can do 200mbps over a 1x1 antenna arrangement with 256-qam if your device has that capabilites. Many devices don't as its a non-standard extension to wireless-n. If your devices is a 64-qam device its going to connect at 150mbps over 2.4ghz (probably). Which if your getting 70mbps is pretty much optimal. Frankly, thats pretty good. I've got way to many 2.4ghz networks in my area and struggle to get past 30-40mbps for any stretch of time.
Your 5ghz potentially could be optimized a bit but again, a lot depends on the device and your setup. 5ghz doesn't have as much penetration capabilities and can't transmit as far.
There's much more info on this here: https://www.duckware.com/tech/wifi-in-the-us.html
Is there a reason you want faster speeds on a phone? Most 4k streaming maxes out at 40mbps and its usually the phone that's the bottleneck on tasks when you get past a certain download/upload speed. Even netflix only needs a 25mbps for ultra HD.
- Actually, I am not concerned about the phone connection speed, only using that as a quick test where I can easily move it around. My concern is my FireStick which is in the next room and getting less than the phone. My expectation is that with blast speed over 350, I am only getting about 40 on the FireStick. With a VPN, I get less than 20.
1. vpn's are going to slow the speeds because of how they operate.
2. What firestick do you have? 1st gen firestick was fairly worthless and struggled.
3. How far away is the firestick from the router and how many walls in between the router and firestick?
4. What is the materials of your houses internal structure?
Another thing to keep in mind is that hvac and foil lined insulation do great jobs of blocking wifi signals. Sometimes a small move to the side helps open up that line of sight.
Be sure that Beamforming and WMM is enabled on the modem as well.
Here what the modem supports:
AC1900 (600 Mbps @2.4GHz with 256 QAM
support +1300 Mbps 5Ghz 11ac)
• Simultaneous Dual Band WiFi—Tx/Rx 3x3
(2.4GHz) + 3x3 (5GHz)
• Beamforming+—For more reliable connections
on 2.4 and 5GHz bandsPossible you may either need to add a extender, like a EX7000/7700 or the radios on the modem are not good enough possibly. You can configure the modem for modem mode only and then connect up a new wifi router. Maybe a Orbi MESH system.
