Nighthawk won't accept 1GB speeds

Nighthawk R7000 AC1900

Firmware version
V1.0.9.88_10.2.88

Nighthawk is in Router Mode.

I have AT&T Optic Fiber with 1GB download speed.

Before I got the 1GB speed, I had the 100 Mbps which worked flaweless with AT&T modem and Netgear Nighthawk router.

Ethernet and WiFi speeds were always at 122Mbps for download and upload.

So I decided to add more speed and got the 1GB plan.

With the 1GB plan.

Nighthawk wifi speed
Download: 60Mbps
Upload: 58Mbps

Nighthawk Ethernet
Download 230Mbps
Upload 255Mbps

I have reset my Nighthawk back to factory and I am using the default settings.

QoS: Disabled
Parental Controls: Disabled
Traffic Meter: Disabled

[If I enable QoS

QoS: Speedtest powered:
Download: 275Mbps
Upload: 234Mbps

But using Speedtest by Ookla and 2 others reports

Download: 60Mbps

Upload: 55Mbps

I will keep QoS disabled.]

I had AT&T Tech come to my house today. He comfirmed that I was getting the correct speeds on my modem.

ARRIS BGW210-700

Modem Speed
Download: 976Mbps
Upload: 921Mbps

So why is my Nighthawk WiFi speed stuck at 60Mbps?

iTony888
Mar 25, 2020
So I went to the manufacture of both my computers and it's comfirmed that I do have gigabyte internet card in both computers. I also made sure that my drivers were updated too.

I even checked the specs on my Xbox but all I could find was that Xbox One has 600Mbps. I have Xbox One S so it should either have 600 or more.

I think I am now done messing around with this NightHawk as it no longer puts out more than 60Mbps. It was a good router while it lasted and I have used it for many years.

8 Replies

antinode
Guru
Mar 18, 2020
> [...] why is my Nighthawk WiFi speed stuck at 60Mbps?

   One possibility:

> Firmware version
> V1.0.9.88_10.2.88

   Not the most popular version. A quick Web or forum search for that
version number might find any number of complaints. The current
consensus seems to be that V1.0.9.42_10.2.44 is a better bet.

   Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look
for Downloads. (For older versions, under Firmware and Software
Downloads, look for "View Previous Versions".) Find the kit(s).
Download the kit(s) you want. Read the "Release Notes" file for
instructions. Near Downloads, there should also be Documentation. Get
the User Manual. Read? Look for "firmware"?

> Model: A7000|Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi USB Adapter - USB 3.0

   Not a router. This has nothing to do with anything?
- iTony888
  Aspirant
  Mar 18, 2020
  I installed the firmware V1.0.9.42_10.2.44 and did a factory reset.
  
  Wifi speed
  Download is still 60Mbps
  
  Ethernet Improved
  Download 367Mbps
  
  So the firmware slightly improved my Ethernet speed but had no effect on Wifi speed.
  - antinode
    Guru
    Mar 18, 2020
    > Wifi speed
    > Download is still 60Mbps
    
    Have you considered the possiblity that the bottleneck there is the
    client device, rather than the R7000?
    
    Which radio band are you using? 5GHz can be faster than 2.4GHz.
antinode
Guru
Mar 25, 2020
> [...] I do have gigabyte internet card in both computers. [...]

   Gigabit.

   Assuming that "internet card" actually means "Ethernet card" (or,
these days, more likely, "Ethernet chip"), then that's related to your
wired-network speed, not to your wireless-network speed.

> [...] my modem.
> ARRIS BGW210-700

   That's a gateway (modem+router), not a "modem".

> [...] worked flaweless with AT&T modem [...]

   What was that "modem"? Was it actually a modem?

   Rather than cascading multiple routers, you might configure the R7000
as a wireless access point.

   Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look
for Documentation. Get the User Manual. Look for "Use the Router as a
Wireless Access Point".
- iTony888
  Aspirant
  Mar 25, 2020
  Even my wired speed is low. It's limited to 230Mpbs.
  
  You are correct.
  ARRIS BGW210-700 is a gateway. I am used to calling it a modem.
  
  My NightHawk is already setup as a wireless acces point and it's all I have ever used.
  
  I do have the user manual and already read through it.
iTony888
Aspirant
Mar 26, 2020
I finially tracked down the problem. I had a AT&T Optic Fiber tech come to my house today.
He changed out the AT&T modem/router. The speed remained the same.

He did some calling and found out that even though I have optic fiber with speed set to 1GB, AT&T is throttling the speed down to 300Mbps. This has been going on for over 1 month now (in my area) according to the tech.

So my problem is weird.
Internet speed 230Mbps is transfered from AT&T router to Nighthawk router by ethernet.
But if I use the Nighthawk or AT&T WiFi, the speed drops down to 60Mbps (on all my devices). I am in the same room with my routers so my signal is full strength.

So the tech told me to downgrade my speed plan to either 100 or 300.

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Nighthawk won't accept 1GB speeds