WAX 610 Slow, Rebooting Mitigates Issue

[andrewrama]

Hi,

I have a Netgear WAX610PA.  It's currently running firmware V10.7.5.3.  Recently I've experienced issues where the wi-fi becomes slow.  I've run speed tests from my phone and from a laptop, and both show slow and inconsistent speeds.  I've run the speed check diagnostic from the AP's admin portal, which shows about 600Mbps up and down.  But my wireless clients sometimes report 12Mbps down and 28Mbps up.  Sometimes the speed gets a bit better on its own, like today after the 12/28 result, I got 336/155.  After restarting the AP I got 403 down and 267 up.  Both the laptop and phone are right beside the AP (between 1 and 2 meters away).

I _think_ I started seeing this issue after upgrading to the V10.7.5.3 firmware.  I just tried restoring the backup firmware (V10.7.0.10), which I didn't realise would delete my config.  oops.  Maybe I'll notice a difference.

Has anyone else experienced this?  Or do you have any suggestions on how to diagnose this issue?

[schumaku]

Interesting numbers - hard to say anything about, especially when considering (very) different bands and bandwith can be in use. Always look on which channel (and band) the wireless client does associate to the AP.

[BrianL]

Hi @andrewrama,

Is the device locally or Insight managed? Is the issue both seen in 2.4GH and 5Ghz? 

Kind regards,

[Halcyonon]

I'm seeing the same issue on the WAX630E, on 5 or 6ghz channels, and have been seeing it in all firmwares since October.. right after a restart I can easily get 500Mbps+ downloads from the AP, then over the next day or two performance degrades until it is a max of around 90Mbps.  The only thing that fixes it is a hard reset.    Have tested right next to the AP, on either channel, and confirmed there is no interference from any other APs on those bands at all.

I was also dismayed to learn that you only get 90 days of support from netgear then you can't even contact them?  How the crap do you solve software issues like this if you can't even report it??

[BrianL]

Hi @Halcyonon,

When the issue occurs, can you do a speed test from the local UI to see if the speed has been degraded from the AP itself?

Management -> Diagnostics -> Speed Check

Kind regards,

[Halcyonon]

@BrianL I don't seem to have that option on my device...

When I run Speedtest from a wired PC hooked in to the same switch as the AP, I get full speed:

vs my phone when 2ft from the AP

Or a desktop over wireless with a wall between

After a reboot both of those wireless devices get full 500+ speed.

[schumaku]

Appears the Speed Test no longer available on the recent WAX6xx (have not compared the WAC5xx) builds, neither on the local Web UI, nor on Insight.

[BrianL]

Hi @Halcyonon,

You may want to run a packet capture from the same local UI "Capture Packets" after a reboot and stop it when the issue occurs again. Then upload it here so I can take a look. By the way, is your device locally managed or onboarded in Insight?

Kind regards,

[Halcyonon]

Hi @BrianL locally managed. I'm not likely to be willing to share a pcap, what specifically would you be looking for in the data?

[BrianL]

Hi @Halcyonon,

Thanks! No worries. It would be best to have this checked by our support team to investigate the issue that you have.

Kind regards,

[andrewrama]

Hi @BrianL,

Thanks for your reply!

The device is locally managed. I'm not sure whether it's 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz. The wireless networks I have setup are both 2.4 and 5. The next time it happens I'll check the frequency.

[andrewrama]

Thanks @schumaku,
I'll check that next time

[BrianL]

Hi @andrewrama,

Thanks! Just let us know the result then.

Kind regards,

[andrewrama]

Hi again everyone, an update on the issue:

Good news, I haven't experienced the issue since downgrading and upgrading again.  Speeds have been solid.  Performing the same test as before (running Speed test from my phone, about 1.5m from the AP) I just got 545Mb/s down and 553Mb/s up.  That's great!

Some things to note:

my AP is configured to reboot itself twice a week (Sunday and Wednesday).  Previously I had it configured to reboot only once a week, then increased it to twice a week when I started experiencing the problems.  The scheduled reboots didn't seem to help.  I've left it set to reboot twice a week.

After downgrade and upgrade I also changed a few settings.

I enabled band steering on one of my wireless networks and left it disabled on another.  I tried testing both but after realised I may have made a mistake in my testing.

I also enabled rate limiting on my third wireless network, which is 2.4Ghz only for IoT devices.

I'll keep monitoring and report back if I notice anything interesting.