NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Solved
Speed issues depending on which channel I connect - Possible hardware issue:
Hi, I purchased a R8000 about 1 month ago and it worked pretty well. Last week, I was reading a review on the router which suggested turning on the Smart Connect. That's when the issues started. ...
Since I started the topic, let me give it a closure. My issue was that I had a USB Wireless Dongle from Panda which performed well in the Secondary Channel (High Channel) but ridiculously poor in the Primary Channel (Low Channel). Since I had Smart Connect turned on, I couldn't control which channel my computer connected and appeared the problem was with the router.
That said, I noticed a better balancing between devices when I disabled the dynamic QoS option. I don't know if the algorithm for the dynamic QoS is just bad or its implementation by the current firmware (V1.0.3.4_1.1.2) is bugged.
Anyway, right now everything is working fine at my home. Comcast Blast of 150Mbps and the speedy tests getting between 157 to 153Mbps in the tests using any of the 5G channels.
This interesting in that I came here looking for any solutions to a very similar problem with my R8500. I have not tried disabling smart connect, yet, but will give that a try when I return in one week. My issue has been that since upgrading to the Comcast 150Mbps tier, Business Class, my bandwidth seems to slowly degrade on the LAN side. A test from the router using the speed test in the dynamic QoS shows that Comcast is not degraded and I am at least getting the expected bandwidth to the router. Passing through the router I experience degradation over time. A reboot sets me back to the expected bandwidth but over a few hours I will experience degradation and even the appearance of no internet connection. Using the Speedtest website and testing against a nearby Comcast server as well using Comcast's own speed test site I see my bandwidth, over time, creep as low as 30Mbps. Interestingly, running the same test from a Galaxy Note 5 on the WiFi side obtains about 130Mbps and I have yet to see any degradation there. Other devices such as my Smart TV, my Roku, and various laptops on WiFi will lose internet; i.e. no internet access but still connected to the router. During these moments I have noticed that accessing the router via the web UI is also problematic---laggy or non-responsive. I should mention here that the my primary machine that experiences the slow degradation is wired to the router using CAT6 STP, 10ft.
It appears to me that this may be a thermal problem. I have noticed there were more problems today than others (had to reboot four or five times) and invariably the temperature in the home was considerably warmer. I will be on vacation for a week and will continue troubleshooting upon my return. My first thought is to put a little fan near the router to circulate the air better. Should that not resolve the issue, the I will swap out the router for my previous router, the R7000, to see if it experiences the same problem. If the R7000 doesn't experience the same problem then I will revert to the R8500 and begin an in-depth analysis of the problem.
It should be noted, too, my previous tier was at the 50Mbps speed. With this tier the performance was consistant and never dropped below 50Mbps. On the 150Mbps tier I have seen the performance drop to less than 50Mbps.
What are the firmware versions installed on your respective routers?
Have you tried flashing the firmware of the router?
After firmware reflash, reset the router by using a paperclip for 10 seconds and then reconfigure.
Make sure that there are no other wireless devices that may interfere with the wireless connection.
Avoid devices like microwave ovens, cordless phones, baby monitors, etc.
Thank you, I guess I already figured this out. The problem seemed to be BOTH the Wireless USB Adapter, which stopped working at the Primary Channel (because of the lower frequency channels). The second issue was the Smart Connect option, after disabling it the speeds get back to the appropriate range. In fact, I also disable Dynamic QoS but I don't know if this was responsible for the fix.
Thank you for the update.
You may perhaps try to redo it one by one to see which one made it work.
- Elaine,To answer a previous question, my current firmware is 1.0.2.54_1.0.56. I loaded this firmware update after backing up the configuration and then followed the update with a factory reset. Upon completion of the factory reset I reloaded the configuration.Some other details I have come upon are as follows?Preliminary information: ISP speed is 150Mbps and problem did not exist or wasn't evident when the ISP speed was 50Mbps.1. Connecting directly to the cable modem/router reveals no speed degradation even after an entire day.2. I can run a speed test from the NetGear router (Advanced-Setup-QoS Setup) through out the day and see no speed degradation.3. Initial connection to the Ethernet port on the router shows no degradation but after a two or three hours the speed has dropped.4. The same occurs even over WiFi. My WiFi card is an Intel 802.11ac card.*****Interestingly, a Galaxy Note 5 connected via 802.11ac does not seem to be afflicted with the same problem.5. It should be noted that when 3 or 4 above occur, the test in item 2 shows no degradation.6. Also note that the degradation exhibits a speed drop to between 50Mbps and 30 Mbps.7. Disabling Smart Connect does not change the results.8. There is no QoS implemented.More testing to follow.Sincerely,Charles