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Wifi performance suddenly poor
I have been using an R8500 and a EX7000 extender for some time with good performance.
In recent days (possibly following an update of the R8500), performance on the 5GHz channels has become terrible.
1. Often the 5GHz channel either doesn't appear at all or appears after several minutes, so devices are all connecting to the 2.4GHz channel and using 802.11n. These devices are all connecting through the R8500 not the extended network and applies to Windows PCs and an Android phone.
2. When the EX7000 connects at 5GHz, speeds are around 14Mbps, where previously it was claiming the 1300Mbps and achieving transfers of around 400-500Mbps. It is about 3 metres away from the R8500.
According to Genie on my Android phone, the signal strength in the room with the EX7000 is about 91%.
Why is this happening and what can I do to troubleshoot or fix these issues?
Firmware on R8500: V1.0.2.122
Firmware on EX7000: V1.0.0.66_1.0.126
Forgive me for replying to the wrong party.
Thusfar, the behavor and issues you are describing are often the result of bad FW flash or misconfiguration. Its good that you have disabled WiFi and DHCP, etc on your ISPs modem, but you should really look at getting in into Bridge or Pass Through mode. No way for us to rule out this not being related to your issue(s) unless this is done. The 8500 needs to be running the show. I recommended taking the extenders out of the mix (for now) because you have zero stability from a performance standpoint.
Flashing FW - should only be done from a PC connected via ethernet. Genie or automatic update might work 90% of the time, until it doesn't. Eliminate as many variables as possible.
Reset, good idea. Now use an app to see what other networks are broadcasting in your vicinity, and what channels they are using. Choose something else.After saving, I suggest fully restarting your router before testing again. While its not alway neccessary, I've found it to be reliable.
QoS - Avoid it. You're asking for trouble.
Smart Connect - Also not a fan... Why not create your own networks, name appropriately. Connect your devices based on capabiity. Also gives you greater flexibility with channel selection. Up to you. But remember, if one of your 5Ghz devices get put on a 2.4Ghz broadcast, performnce is going to suffer.
You've got some more troubleshooting to do. I've not had a router forget its port forwarding or address reservation settings once set. Hope you;ll figure it out.
10 Replies
Have you connected any new devices to the network when you started to see this happen? Have you tried to resync the extender?
DarrenM
Hi Darren,
Not before the problem started, although since writing this, I have tried many things, including replacing the EX7000 with an EX8000; and yes I have resync'd it very many times. I even tried contacting Netgear support, but they were less accessible than the crew of the Marie Celeste.
I am pretty sure that the problem lies with the router.
Yesterday I noticed that the table of attached devices was shuffled.
The device names and types were not those of the IP address and were changing each time I went back.
I have switched off QoS as this shuffling was causing mayhem - putting the extender on low priority for instance.
In the end, I did a full factory reset of the router, but that did not change the firmware and the problem persists.
What do you have in front of your 8500? Is this device operating in Bridge Mode?
Start here:
Disconnect your extender. Power it off.
Now download whatever FW you wish to run and reflash the 8500 directly from a PC connected via ethernet. Now perform a factory reset. Configure the 8500 from scratch, changing only what is absolutely neccessary for you to connect. Do NOT enable QoS, Traffic Meter or any other unneccessary services. You can even stick with the default SSID names (wireless) for the time being. Test your wired and wireless performance.
What speeds are you provisioned for? What speeds are you seeing on each interface? Less is more here. Don't make a bunch of changes. If your speeds are acceptable, you can change the broadcast names of your SSID's and use WiFi Analyzer or Genie to make addiitonal adjustments to channels to further optimize performance.
The desired result is getting the 8500 to a point of stability and acceptable performance. Post back with any questions and results and we'll move forward from there. You have introduced too many variables which will only lead to further frustration.
You can re-introduce the extender once things on the 8500 are stable.
Tips, things to avoid:
-Don't use Genie to update
-Don't enable Auto Updates
-Don't use the GUI to check and update, only flash from a PC connected via wire
-Don't enable QoS or Traffic Meter
-I wouldn't enable Smart Connect while testing
-Use a tool such as Genie or WiFi Analyzer to evaluate other broadcasts or interfearence in your vicinity
-Don't make successive changes to WiFi broadcast channels without restarting the router in between changes. When you change and save, the radios restart, but in some cases its better to restart completely before retesting. Use the tool.
