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D7800 slower than ISP’s router

hinesg
Aspirant

D7800 slower than ISP’s router

I have a D7800 router connected to a British Telecom (BT) FTTP service.  My service was upgraded from 150Mbps to 500Mbps but all devices connected to the D7800 get no more than 130Mbps both Wi-Fi and Ethernet. When I use BT’s router, I get 500Mbps on Wi-Fi and Ethernet. 

I have done factory reset. QoS is turned off, but if I turn it on and run the Speedtest on the QoS config page, it shows a 433Mbps download speed so it seems that the D7800 is getting the full speed from the fibre service but not passing it on to the attached devices. 

Is some other setting throttling the speed of attached devices?

Message 1 of 11

Re: D7800 slower than ISP’s router


@hinesg wrote:

I have a D7800 router connected to a British Telecom (BT) FTTP service.  


The D7800 is a DSL modem/router. It works on BT's VDSL service which has a maximum speed of about 65 Mbps.

 

It will not work as a modem on an FTTP service.

 

You can use it in router mode behind whatever BT gave you to deliver FTTP.

 


My service was upgraded from 150Mbps to 500Mbps but all devices connected to the D7800 get no more than 130Mbps both Wi-Fi and Ethernet. When I use BT’s router, I get 500Mbps on Wi-Fi and Ethernet. 

You won't get 500 Mbps on most WiFi clients, certainly not 2.4 GHz wifi. Your D7800 should deliver full whack on the Ethernet service, so long as you have set it up correctly.

 

Visit the support pages:

Support | NETGEAR

Feed in your model number and check the documentation for your hardware.

Read the bit Change the Physical WAN Connection Preference

 

If you are using the D7800 behind a BT device, you need to beware the "NAT" problem. It is unwise to have two routers on your network.


What is Double NAT? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

 

and

 

How to fix issues with Double NAT | Answer | NETGEAR Support

 

 

 

Message 2 of 11
hinesg
Aspirant

Re: D7800 slower than ISP’s router

I originally bought the D7800 when I had a VDSL service but when I upgraded to FTTP it continued to work OK, and has been for a couple of years now.  My original service was 150Mbps and the 130Mbps I was actually getting seemed reasonable.  It is only now that I have upgraded to 500Mbps that the speed discrepancy is an issue.

 

The D7800 manual has sections for connecting to a "fiber service" (p32 in my copy) - is this somehow different to what BT's FTTP service is?  When I did a factory reset and let the router configure itself, it successfully connected to the service (albeit with the limited speed already mentioned) so it wouldn't seem outside its capabilities.  And, as I mentioned in the original post, the Speedtest within the QoS setup screen was recording >430Mbps speeds.

 

I have now replaced the D7800 with BT's Home Hub 2 and am getting just over 500Mbps to my Ethernet-connected PC and about 490Mbps on my iPhone from either the Home Hub directly or from a Netgear WAC 124 access point.

 

I have trawled through the user guide, Netgear's support pages, this forum and elsewhere on the Internet for a solution; it seems I'm not the only one who has had this problem but I can't find a solution.  As I bought this unit about six years ago, the complimentary support has long expired and I'm not sure what it would cost to buy support but given that I now have a workable solution with BT's equipment, I guess I'll stick with that until/unless it doesn't work out. 

 

It's a shame that Netgear isn't a little more flexible with its support offering because I now have what may well be a perfectly serviceable piece of equipment that's heading into my loft for early retirement.  It would be better if they offered a fixed number of support tickets over the lifetime of a product rather than limiting it to one year (or whatever it is). I have never needed support previously but now that I do need it, I can't get it.

Message 3 of 11

Re: D7800 slower than ISP’s router


@hinesg wrote:

I originally bought the D7800 when I had a VDSL service but when I upgraded to FTTP it continued to work OK, and has been for a couple of years now.  My original service was 150Mbps and the 130Mbps I was actually getting seemed reasonable.  It is only now that I have upgraded to 500Mbps that the speed discrepancy is an issue.

How did you measure the speed? 500 Mbps is wildly optimistic, sometimes impossible, over Wi-Fi. As I said, it is faster than 2.4 GHz can deliver. And the aged 2015 vintage D7800 is several generations behind the curve on WiFi technology.

 


The D7800 manual has sections for connecting to a "fiber service" (p32 in my copy) - is this somehow different to what BT's FTTP service is? 

That is effectively "router mode". It should be fine with the FTTP, but that depends on what you are using to connect to BT's FTTP. If it is another router, then you are in "double NAT" country with two routers fighting for control and possibly leading to the speed loss you see.

 

If you want the D7800 just for Wi-Fi, then you might want to consider wireless access point (AP) mode.

 


It's a shame that Netgear isn't a little more flexible with its support offering because I now have what may well be a perfectly serviceable piece of equipment that's heading into my loft for early retirement.

That is what this place is for.

 

Let me know when you track down a brand that offers free lifetime support for an inexpensive bit of consumer hardware.

Message 4 of 11
w3wilkes
Prodigy

Re: D7800 slower than ISP’s router

For consumer grade products I'd look to ASUS. Their support and warranty puts Netgear to shame. ASUS's Trend Micro security software is free for lifetime where Netgear charges for their Armor security software. Just saying that Netgear has a way to go if they want to stay competitive in the consumer grade product environment.

Message 5 of 11
hinesg
Aspirant

Re: D7800 slower than ISP’s router

I measured the speed using Ookla - in a browser on the PC and using their app on the iPhone (see below).

 

IMG_5619.PNG

 

In terms of my setup, I have a BT modem (ONT) that was plugged into the D7800.  I don't think this constitutes two routers, does it?  As far as I know, the router (D7800 or BT Home Hub) does things that the ONT doesn't do (e.g. Wifi, provides multiple Ethernet ports, firewall, access control etc.). 

 

I'm not looking for unlimited lifetime support but part of the money I handed over to Netgear was for them to provide me some support.  I can understand that some people want this when they first install it; I didn't and haven't had the need to use their support because I've figured things out myself by reading the user guide.  However, now I do need some help and I can't get it.  I'm suggesting a more flexible approach - not unlimited - but something along the lines of offering a fixed number of support requests during the product's lifetime and after that you pay.  I don't think that would be unreasonable because I have sort of paid for it upfront.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Message 6 of 11
hinesg
Aspirant

Re: D7800 slower than ISP’s router

For the moment, I'm just going to use the BT Home Hub and see how that works out.  I switchted to Netgear routers because early BT Home Hubs weren't that good but the latest one seems to be better.  Time will tell...

Message 7 of 11

Re: D7800 slower than ISP’s router


@hinesg wrote:

In terms of my setup, I have a BT modem (ONT) that was plugged into the D7800.  I don't think this constitutes two routers, does it? 

 

 


No, an ONT should just provide an Ethernet output, but some ISPs provide ONTs with router capability. Given BT's past history, I wouldn't be surprised if it went down that route.

 


I'm not looking for unlimited lifetime support but part of the money I handed over to Netgear was for them to provide me some support.  I can understand that some people want this when they first install it; I didn't and haven't had the need to use their support because I've figured things out myself by reading the user guide.

 


 

Read the small print and you may find that the 90 days of free support s for set up assistance.

 

More serious issues are down to the warranty process. That is at least a year (in the US) and probably longer in Europe. (I wonder what Brexit did to consumer rights in the UK.)

 

As I said, this place is free and is often quicker and better informed than "official channels". Any my experience is that, thanks partly so its size, Netgear's user community wipes the floor with rival brands.

 

Oddly, the only user group that I find equally impressive is BT's.

 

 

Message 8 of 11

Re: D7800 slower than ISP’s router


@hinesg wrote:

I switchted to Netgear routers because early BT Home Hubs weren't that good but the latest one seems to be better. 


Oh so true. I have a couple still sitting in their shrink wrap.

 

But I also have one of BT's newer "set top boxes" and it seems to be better technology than older stuff.

 

I guess it depends in what you want the hub to do. Newer BT boxes should be more advanced than an aged D7800.

 

If you want a more capable router, with better WiFi and something like Mesh capability, you might want to look at newer models.

 

I get by mostly with an R7800, the router equivalent of the D7800. I tried an Orbi system, but it lacks the controllability of the R7800.

 

Message 9 of 11
hinesg
Aspirant

Re: D7800 slower than ISP’s router

I don't really have great demands from my router so we'll see if the new BT Home Hub does the trick.  The previous owner of my house had the foresight to cable the whole place wwith Cat 5E when he did some renovation work so I've got Netgear access points all over the place so WiFi isn't a problem.

Message 10 of 11

Re: D7800 slower than ISP’s router


@hinesg wrote:

The previous owner of my house had the foresight to cable the whole place wwith Cat 5E when he did some renovation work so I've got Netgear access points all over the place so WiFi isn't a problem.


Lucky you.

 

Message 11 of 11
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