N600-WNDR3400 Router Speed Issue

[PerkySourPuss]

Let me start by saying that you may have to explain things to me like in a 5 year old. I have the technical skills of an elderly person who thinks a VCR is moderm technology. 

Ok, so now that thats out of the way. Here is my setup and issue

I am using a Netgear CM400 + Netgear N600 (WNDR3400) Router. Both say they can handle speeds up to 300mbps. My Current internet plan with comcast gives me 200mbps. 

When I am connected directly to the cable modem with my laptop, I get 220-245mbps. When I add the router and I wire my laptop to it, my speeds are 50-85mbps.

Things I have tried:

• Changing the channels (6 and 11 for 2.4/40, 44 and 48 for 5.0)
• 30-30-30
• Changed "Router MAC Address" to "Use Computer MAC Address"
• MTU: 1400
• WMM is Enabled

Current Firmware Version: 1.0.0.52_20.0.60

I downloaded version 1.0.1.8 but when i try to upload the .chk, it I get an error message saying it failed.

The Netgear Agent told me that I had an IP Conflict and said i needed to fork over $90 for him to fix it.

Adding the following, dont know if it helps:

Router Status
Hardware Version	WNDR3400
Firmware Version	V1.0.0.52_20.0.60
GUI Language Version	V1.0.0.50_2.1.17.1
Internet Port
MAC Address	60:02:92....
IP Address	69.139.xx.xxx
Connection Type	DHCP
IP Subnet Mask	255.255.248.0
Domain Name Server	75.75.75.75 75.75.76.76
LAN Port
MAC Address	E0:91:F5:71...
IP Address	192.168.1.1
DHCP	On
IP Subnet Mask	255.255.255.0
Wireless Port
Wireless Settings (2.4GHz b/g/n)
Name (SSID)	2.4G
Region	North America
Channel	6
Mode	Up to 145 Mbps
Wireless AP	On
Broadcast Name	On
Wireless isolation	Off
Wi-Fi Protected Setup	Configured
Wireless Settings (5GHz a/n)
Name (SSID)	5G
Region	North America
Channel	40(P)+36(S)
Mode	Up to 300 Mbps
Wireless AP	On
Broadcast Name	On
Wireless isolation	Off
Wi-Fi Protected Setup	Configured

Any Help will be greatly appreciated.

Please and thank you.

[William10a · Accepted solution]

No the router has hadware limit of 100mb no way around it just you car engine only go so fast the hardware in router have limits too.

[William10a]

Please do not take this posting in the wrong way to get the 200mb speed of the service you pay for you need a new router let me show you why.

The wndr3400 only has a 100mb max speed rating its like to tying to drive a two lane highway though a one lane street you will never get the full flow of traffic on the wired lan ports and the wifi speeds will never reach any thing close to 200mb either.

The best the port speed you need are 1gb ports for the Internet and lan and this should help with wifi speed as well when looking for a router the AC standard has replaced the N standard of the wndr3400 but will still support N standard devices.

The 1gb lans ports turn the  two lane highway into a 8 lane super highway which should more then enough to handle the 200mb internet speed you have 

I am not sure about the size of your home or your needs from a router how ever the R7000 is a good basic router which may fit your needs and the AC standard too will take your network in to the future.

Sorry can not say what type of wifi speeds you would get but your wired lan speed should very close the 200mb you pay for.

If using very old cat 5 lan cable may need to upgrade to Cat 5E or cat6 lan cable.

I know this not what you wanted to hear but I hope this helps.

[PerkySourPuss]

Thanks for the reply William. What you said makes perfect sense. I'm a little confused at why it's advertised on the box that the router can handle up to 300mbps but if what you say is true, it can only really handle up to 100mbps. Wouldn't that be false advertising?

Forgive me if that was a stupid question and thanks in advance.

[PerkySourPuss]

Also, what did the netgear agent mean by an "IP conflict"?

[William10a]

On paper the wifi can handle 300mb but the wireless devices can not also support the speed and other factors out of your control also cause issues and limits to a wifi connection speed.

[PerkySourPuss]

Forgive my ignorance, but I have no idea what that means.

Is there anyway this router can exceed 100mbps? Even wired I'm not getting over that.

[William10a]

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@PerkySourPuss wrote:
Also, what did the netgear agent mean by an "IP conflict"?

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That there may another device on your network a Ip address the same as another device on the network.

The Ip address is the piece land that a device is assigned to used on the street and they are saying that another device is trying live there too.

[William10a · Accepted solution]

No the router has hadware limit of 100mb no way around it just you car engine only go so fast the hardware in router have limits too.

[PerkySourPuss]

So the advertised 300mbps is BS?

[PerkySourPuss]

What's the best "budget" router that can handle more speed?

[William10a]

To tell the truth no wifi speed will reach the speed on the box the wireless device has to be prefectly match to the router, no other wifi signals around you and many other factors all play a part in your wifi speed on any router.

[PerkySourPuss]

Will this work:
https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Dual-Band-Gigabit-Router-F9K1103/dp/B004N625AK

[William10a]

There is the r6400 and the r7000  if your willing to have a little lower wifi speed you can find down to the AC1200 and some lower but walmart sales the r6400 for $109 and the r7000 for $159 may be better deals around your area or bigbox stores.

[William10a]

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@PerkySourPuss wrote:
Will this work:
https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Dual-Band-Gigabit-Router-F9K1103/dp/B004N625AK

---

It should it is a N satndard router with 300 mb 2.4ghz and 450 mb 5ghz band again thats on paper but should handle 200 mb just fine. Sorry to see you leave netgear your welcome to drop in anytime.

[PerkySourPuss]

I just did a quick search for a gb router and that one came up. Now that you I know what to look for, I'll look into the netgear ones. Thank for all your help. Very informative

[William10a]

I wish good luck  hunting.

[michaelkenward]

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@PerkySourPuss wrote:
So the advertised 300mbps is BS?

---

Not really. It hasn't been explained that well to you so far. Experts sometimes find it hard to step back and get into five-year old mode. Let's have another go.

There are two ways to connect devices to your router, wifi and LAN.

LAN is the wired sockets at the back. A wired connection is usually more reliable than wifi for stuff that you do not move around.

But LAN comes with different speeds. Old school LAN ran at 100 Mbps. If you have a laptop that is a few years old, there is a good chance that it has 100 Mbps LAN. (Fortunately, your laptop doesn't seem to have that issue.) So it will never connect to a wired network at faster than 100 Mbps. Even if your Internet service runs at 100000 Mbps. (That'll be the day.)

On the other hand, your laptop may make a faster connection over wifi. But then only if it has the chips needed to support the faster "5 GHz" wifi bands.

In any case, claims of "Up to 300 Mbps at 5GHz and 145 Mbps at 2.4GHz" – that's what the specs say – are theoretical. Notice that is says up to.

References to your limit of 100 Mbps relate to the LAN bits on the back of the modem. The specification says that this is 100BASE-Tx. That's another way of saying 100 Mbps.

All these bits of 100 Mbps kit were designed and sold long before Internet suppliers got anywhere near that speed with their services. Most of us were lucky to get 8 Mbps.

The manual for your modem is dated March 2010. Technology has moved on a lot since then. Most modern modems will have 100BASE-Tx for their LAN ports.

Time to treat yourself. When you make a choice, you could consult the list of recommended modems from your ISP, if it has one. But be warned that it is probably out of date. If the ISP has a user forum like this you could see what people there suggest. If nothing else, they may have warnings about stuff that has caused problems, or any special configuration needs.

[michaelkenward]

To add one more point about the LAN speeds.

If you check the specifications for your modem, you will see that it has Local: 10/100/1000 RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet port.

In other words, this is the "new generation" hardware I mentioned.

[PerkySourPuss]

Thank you. I'll check Comcast forums and call support before making an upgrade purchase. I'm looking at a few that have a gig port now

[michaelkenward]

As you are already using a Netgear modem, talking to Comcast may not be essential. It is just a case of finding out if there are any strange login issues.

To help pick a suitable router, visit the Netgear product pages:

Wireless Routers for Home | NETGEAR

Check the features that you want to have. Find something that fits your budget!

[billn11791]

Hi I'm interested in this thread as I'm having a very similar issue and have the same modem/router set up that you do.

One point I wanted to make is that the limitation as far as I can see it is that the ports on the router have a hardware limitation of 100Mbps.  This is not related to the cable or the wifi it's the port itself.  If you read the description information on Amazon, it specifically describes the ports as fast 100mb ports.  So you will never get your 200Mbps when connected directly.

On the other hand I'm still baffled by the Wifi issue.  I'm seeing max rates of 40Mbps for my Wifi connection speeds.  I'm in the same room with no walls or interference and I've tested all my devices and get the same limitation.  The information for the wifi speed is documented as 300+300 Mbps.  

[michaelkenward]

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@billn11791 wrote:

On the other hand I'm still baffled by the Wifi issue.  I'm seeing max rates of 40Mbps for my Wifi connection speeds. 

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Apart from the fact that 40 Mbps is good for some wifi clients, and that the quoted speeds are marketing magic rather than science, if you are checking connection speeds with anything that uses the Internet, you have already answered the question.

The fastest you will get on the WNDR3400 is less than 100 Mbps. The wifi can be as fast as it likes between the client and the router, but nothing is going to come in or out faster than 100 Mbps. Probably less given the usual overheads.

The WNDR3400 first launched in 2010, is ancient. The Internet, and the equipment on it, has changed a lot over those years.