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Forum Discussion
AX1800 Nighthawk wifi extender...not improving my internet speed with PS4 hardwired into extender
i have a router that is provided to me by my cable company and it has to be upstairs in the closet because that is where the panel is to connect it. I am supposed to have 200/200mbps internet but I am only getting about 65mbps. I have my gaming setup downstairs directly below the router. I bought the AX1800 Nighthawk wifi extender and have it next to my PS4 so I can hardwire the PS4 into the extender. I test my speed and it doesnt improve it at all and now I lag all the time when playing games because of the extender. Am I doing something wrong? Do I need to buy a new router to help improve the speed and situation or am I just out of luck?
3 Replies
What router did the isp supply?
that's kind of key. As the router is the backbone of the whole system.
how a base extende works is it has to receive and then retransmit. And it can't do both at once. So if you're using it for wireless, its going to be at half the speed of the router. The tri-band extenders help mitigate that somewhat as they reserve 1 chip just for router---extender communcation.
If you're running of a crappy router or a router that isn't getting full speeds, then your extender isn't going to be any better than it. only worse.
What speeds do you get hardwired into the router?
Are you speedtesting on 2.4ghz or 5gh?
- I believe the router is an Arris or something. I did hardwire my PS4 into the router in my closet so i can download the update for a game that was around 100gb. I did speed test it there and it was 200mbps download and about 100mbps upload. I did speed testing on both 2.4ghz and 5ghz. If I got a better router like a Netgear Nighthawk, will it make it better? The extender is connected wireless and my PS4 is hardwired into the extender.
so if you're on a 200mbps connection. you absolute best case speed for an extender (not triband) is 100mbps. For the reasons I outlined above. It'll be slower based upon distance from the router and obstructions in between.
for instance, if you're phone can only pull 130mbps where the extender is (with phone connected to router), then your extender is only going to get that 65mbps.
A better router might help. It might not.
What would help?
1. hardwiring in the devices that need low latency and high speed. That can be done via ethernet, powerline, or even a moca adapter (ethernet over coax)
2. a triband extender
3. a full mesh system like orbi and not just a mesh extender
