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Forum Discussion
Disappointing Nighthawk speed--worse than old FIOS Quantum GW router
Hello all. I'm quite confused by these results, so appreciate any helpful tips. I have Verizon FIOS with a gigabit internet connection. My measured speed to the router is 625 Mbps up and 598 M...
A couple things.
1. 2.4ghz is much slower than 5ghz. its also more sensitive to interferece. So if you're looking for speed, make sure you're on the 5ghz.
2. 5ghz doesn't broadcast as far as 2.4ghz or through as much materials. so if you're devices are a ways away from the router or theres materials between the 2, it can degrade the signal.
3. wifi broadcast power is limited by the FCC. And routers long ago were maxing that out. Most speed improvements are seen by increases in efficiency, not becauses of broadcast power. So most routers have roughly the same range (cheap routers not included). They might see a little bit of differences in speeds but interferece/channel selection/even the device you're using can impact that.
How big is your home?
what are the interior walls made of?
Are you testing over 2.4ghz of 5ghz?
What device are you testing on.
Thank you plemans!
I am using the built-in Smart Connect feature that claims to automatically select the fastest WiFi band for each device. But maybe manually assigning 2.4 vs 5 is a better idea.
To answer your questions:
My router (before and now) is inside a wooden cabinet on the first floor of my house. My office is on the second floor in a different section. My house is not especially big (maybe 2500 sq feet). Walls are made of timber and drywall.
I've tested the speed in different locations using a laptop PC as well as iphone/iPad. Alll findings are pretty consistent across devices.
One post I read suggested that one could use the Verizon router as a bridge (router) and simply use the Nighthawk for the WiFi. Would that make a difference?SmartConnect doesn't necessarily put you on the fastest network. It simply uses the same ssid for both and devices can use the 2.4ghz or 5ghz. It works well for some and not at all for others. 2.4ghz is good for devices that are far away or has materials blocking versus 5ghz is much much faster. Problem with 2.4ghz is that its also slower when theres interference.
so try it without using smart connect. separate out the 2.4ghz and 5ghz and then you can manually assign your devices to either band based on the speeds they're needing.
You could use the verizon router in router mode but make sure to put the netgear in access point mode if you do this to prevent a double nat.
Thanks again for the intell! Does using the Nighthawk in Access Point mode typically help its performance?