I have internet service from Spectrum advertised at 200 mbps. I tried plugging the coax into my Netgear CM400 High Speed Cable Modem then directly into PC and did a speed test and verified this service speed. When I plug the modem into my Netgear N300 Wireless Router and choose the option for a maximum of 300 mbps, then plug it into my computer and do a speed test I only get about 70-80 mbps. How do I get the 200 mbps out of my router? As a side note, I have had Spectrum for quite a while and using the same equipment, with Spectrum service at 100 mbps I got the same speed out of my router when I hooked that up, 70-80 mbps.

MYnetGD49 wrote: When I plug the modem into my Netgear N300 Wireless Router and choose the option for a maximum of 300 mbps, then plug it into my computer and do a speed test I only get about 70-80 mbps. You don't say what that router is. It is an important factor. N300 is not a reliable guide to model number. Many devices come with that tag, but it is essentially a label that Netgear, and other brands, attach to hardware to describe wifi speeds. The bad news is that N300 technology is seriously old, a decade or more. One consequence of this is that their LAN ports are also old standard. For many of those old devices, the LAN and WAN support only 10BASE-T or 100BASE-TX. (That's 100 Mbps.)That makes it slower than many newer internet services and most modern network hardware. This may not matter to you, but be warned that it will hobble you if you ever sign up for faster Internet. It also slows down whatever is going on in your local network. Newer devices support 1000BASE-TX. MYnetGD49 wrote: How do I get the 200 mbps out of my router? If my guess is right, you can't. But tell us the model number and you will get a more informed answer.

OK, Thank you for the reply. All issues settled.

A n300 device isn't going to hit anywhere close to 200mbps over wireless. Even wired won't get that close if it only have a 10/100mbps connector as michaelkenward said. If its only a 10/100mbps connector your going to max out around that 90mbps. Most N300 routers are only going to hit roughly 30-40mbps over 2.4ghz. The "up to 300mbps" is a very overinflated level and is an industry wide issue of overrating them. I'd recommend reading through a review of a N300 router from netgear (or others). The WNR2000 is a fairly standard N300 NETGEAR WNR2000 Wireless-N Router Reviewed - SmallNetBuilder - Results from #3

My Router is a Netgear N300, WNR2000-100NAS. The box, for what it is worth, says Speed up to 300 mbps. The speed I am recording is with a direct cable connection between the router and the PC, NOT WIFI. Something is throttling down the speed and I am wondering what? I did choose the setting in the router for up to 300 mbps, changing it from the lowest setting which I think was up to 147 mbps. Just as a side note, I have read all the submissions from other people asking the community for help and have not seen one reply that actually provides a step by step on how to make things better and the original poster to say thank you all is now well. I am not trying to pick on volunteers, only to presenting what I see. Maybe the problem is with Netgear. I did see one person that bought something and when contacting Netgear for support they said he had the unit for 2 years when it was only about 3 months old. I know I bought a wireless usb plug in wifi unit for an old pc which totally messed up my computer and internet connection and had to pay over $100 to have Netgear walk me through fixing the problem their software created. What can one say?

MYnetGD49 wrote: My Router is a Netgear N300, WNR2000-100NAS. The box, for what it is worth, says Speed up to 300 mbps. The speed I am recording is with a direct cable connection between the router and the PC, NOT WIFI. You have confirmed my suspicions. The wifi speeds, and the numbers on the box, have nothing to do with the speed of the link between the modem and the router. The WNR2000 router comes in five different versions. The newest (V5) dates back to 2014. The original was in 2008. The bad news is that all of the LAN and WAN specifications are 10BASE-T or 100BASE-Tx, RJ-45. That means that nothing on your local network will travel faster than 100 Mbps. It won't even manage that, as plemans says. The modem can deliver 1000 Mbps to your router. But the router cannot accept it. No amount of fiddling around with settings will change this. The bottom line is that nothing is "throttling down the speed". There is nothing wrong with your router, the modem in front of it, or anything else. It is just too old and slow for your internet service. MYnetGD49 wrote: I know I bought a wireless usb plug in wifi unit for an old pc which totally messed up my computer and internet connection and had to pay over $100 to have Netgear walk me through fixing the problem their software created. What can one say? That is suspicious. Netgear provides free help up to 90 days for new equipment. Too many people put a search into Google and phone the first number they find. Those numbers have nothing to do with Netgear and are set up by scammers.

Router Output Speed - Netgear N300 Wireless Router

13 Replies

michaelkenward
Guru - Experienced User
Apr 21, 2021
MYnetGD49 wrote:

When I plug the modem into my Netgear N300 Wireless Router and choose the option for a maximum of 300 mbps, then plug it into my computer and do a speed test I only get about 70-80 mbps.

You don't say what that router is. It is an important factor. N300 is not a reliable guide to model number. Many devices come with that tag, but it is essentially a label that Netgear, and other brands, attach to hardware to describe wifi speeds.

The bad news is that N300 technology is seriously old, a decade or more. One consequence of this is that their LAN ports are also old standard.

For many of those old devices, the LAN and WAN support only 10BASE-T or 100BASE-TX. (That's 100 Mbps.)That makes it slower than many newer internet services and most modern network hardware. This may not matter to you, but be warned that it will hobble you if you ever sign up for faster Internet. It also slows down whatever is going on in your local network. Newer devices support 1000BASE-TX.

MYnetGD49 wrote:

How do I get the 200 mbps out of my router?

If my guess is right, you can't. But tell us the model number and you will get a more informed answer.
plemans
Guru - Experienced User
Apr 21, 2021
A n300 device isn't going to hit anywhere close to 200mbps over wireless. Even wired won't get that close if it only have a 10/100mbps connector as michaelkenward said. If its only a 10/100mbps connector your going to max out around that 90mbps.

Most N300 routers are only going to hit roughly 30-40mbps over 2.4ghz. The "up to 300mbps" is a very overinflated level and is an industry wide issue of overrating them.
I'd recommend reading through a review of a N300 router from netgear (or others). The WNR2000 is a fairly standard N300
NETGEAR WNR2000 Wireless-N Router Reviewed - SmallNetBuilder - Results from #3
- MYnetGD49
  Guide
  Apr 21, 2021
  My Router is a Netgear N300, WNR2000-100NAS. The box, for what it is worth, says Speed up to 300 mbps. The speed I am recording is with a direct cable connection between the router and the PC, NOT WIFI. Something is throttling down the speed and I am wondering what? I did choose the setting in the router for up to 300 mbps, changing it from the lowest setting which I think was up to 147 mbps. Just as a side note, I have read all the submissions from other people asking the community for help and have not seen one reply that actually provides a step by step on how to make things better and the original poster to say thank you all is now well. I am not trying to pick on volunteers, only to presenting what I see. Maybe the problem is with Netgear. I did see one person that bought something and when contacting Netgear for support they said he had the unit for 2 years when it was only about 3 months old. I know I bought a wireless usb plug in wifi unit for an old pc which totally messed up my computer and internet connection and had to pay over $100 to have Netgear walk me through fixing the problem their software created. What can one say?
  - michaelkenward
    Guru - Experienced User
    Apr 21, 2021
    MYnetGD49 wrote:
    
    My Router is a Netgear N300, WNR2000-100NAS. The box, for what it is worth, says Speed up to 300 mbps. The speed I am recording is with a direct cable connection between the router and the PC, NOT WIFI.
    
    You have confirmed my suspicions.
    
    The wifi speeds, and the numbers on the box, have nothing to do with the speed of the link between the modem and the router.
    
    The WNR2000 router comes in five different versions. The newest (V5) dates back to 2014. The original was in 2008.
    
    The bad news is that all of the LAN and WAN specifications are 10BASE-T or 100BASE-Tx, RJ-45. That means that nothing on your local network will travel faster than 100 Mbps. It won't even manage that, as plemans says.
    
    The modem can deliver 1000 Mbps to your router. But the router cannot accept it. No amount of fiddling around with settings will change this.
    
    The bottom line is that nothing is "throttling down the speed". There is nothing wrong with your router, the modem in front of it, or anything else. It is just too old and slow for your internet service.
    
    MYnetGD49 wrote:
    
    I know I bought a wireless usb plug in wifi unit for an old pc which totally messed up my computer and internet connection and had to pay over $100 to have Netgear walk me through fixing the problem their software created. What can one say?
    
    That is suspicious. Netgear provides free help up to 90 days for new equipment. Too many people put a search into Google and phone the first number they find. Those numbers have nothing to do with Netgear and are set up by scammers.

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Router Output Speed - Netgear N300 Wireless Router