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Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

KC5
Tutor
Tutor

Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

Hello community. I'm struggling to figure out why I'm not getting nearly the internet speed I should be getting from my AC1750 (R6400 v1) router to my ISP (Comcast). Comcast increased my speed to 800mbps which was confirmed recently by a service tech at my home. My old Netgear modem did not support this higher speed and was no longer supported so I purchased a new Netgear CM2050V modem. I connected this new modem to my AC1750 router via the new ethernet cable that came with the new modem.

 

I have the latest firmware (V1.0.1.78_1.0.50) on the router. I use the Netgear Nighthawk app on my iPhone to log into the router and use the Internet Speed test function in the app. I believe this is testing the speed from the router to my ISP. I consistently get 375mbps, roughly half the 800mbps Comcast confirmed is coming into my home. I've read several other slow speed posts. I confirmed QoS is off and I turned off Traffic Meter which did not make any difference. I use to us Parental Controls but Netgear no longer supports that and I don't believe is in place.

 

I believe the AC1750 should handle 800mbps and is still supported by Netgear. Maybe it can't. Any thoughts?

Message 1 of 23

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KC5
Tutor
Tutor

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

Thanks. I am researching with Lenovo. My ethernet connected HP is now much quicker at the 900+ speed vs the 300+ speed I was getting. Factory reset of the router was the trick. I appreciate all the help!

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Message 23 of 23

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plemans
Guru

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

a couple things. 

1. try hardwiring a pc/laptop into the router to test it. The built-in speedtest isn't that accurate. 

2. after the upgrade, did you try factory resetting and reinstalling the router? Always good to try after a speed change. Make sure to leave qos, access controls, traffic monitoring, and parental controls all disabled. 

Message 2 of 23
CrimpOn
Guru

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router


@KC5 wrote:

 confirmed recently by a service tech at my home.


Did I read correctly that the service tech confirmed that 800MB speed before the modem was switched out for the CM2050V modem?

 

One first step may be to connect an Ethernet capable device directly to the CM2020V modem and perform a speed test.

(desktop or laptop).  It could be that the new modem needs to be provisioned by Comcast.

 

 

Message 3 of 23
KC5
Tutor
Tutor

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

I did not try a factory reset of the AC1750 router after installing the new modem. I'll give that a try.

 

The reason I ran the speedtest from within the Netgear Nighthawk app is because I wanted to eliminate my laptop and its ethernet cable to the router as a possible cause.

 

I did run an Ookla Speedtest from my newer windows laptop ethernet cabled to my router which also shows an ~375Mbps download speed.

 

Lastly, the Comcast service tech just happened to be at my house for another issue after I had already installed the new modem so I asked him to verify the incoming speed since I was not seeing it via speedtest. His comment was maybe the router could not handle the speed.

Message 4 of 23
CrimpOn
Guru

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router


@KC5 wrote:

I asked him to verify the incoming speed since I was not seeing it via speedtest. His comment was maybe the router could not handle the speed.


"Maybe your router can't handle it" does not sound like verify.

 

How long will it take to connect the laptop directly to the modem and run a Speed Test?

If the laptop does not get more than 375MB directly from the modem, then the Orbi cannot, either.

Message 5 of 23
KC5
Tutor
Tutor

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

I connected my laptop directly to the single ethernet port on the modem but I do not get any connection. I spoke with Netgear Support who told me the CM2050V is only a modem, no router function within it so connecting a computer directly to it will not work. Must connect a router to it. I did not realize that when I purchased it so based on this I have no way to test a connection directly from the modem.

Message 6 of 23
CrimpOn
Guru

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

See page 3 of the CM2050V Product Data Sheet

https://www.netgear.com/images/datasheet/networking/CableModems/CM2050V.pdf :

CrimpOn_0-1670286362002.png

The CM2050V can be connected to either:

  • One desktop or laptop computer, or
  •  A Wireless Router

Netgear support is correct.  A laptop computer is not a router (unless the user has loaded router software on the laptop, which most users are not likely to have done).  But, there is no need for a router to test the modem connection.

Message 7 of 23
KC5
Tutor
Tutor

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

Thanks CrimpOn. So maybe Netgear Support misunderstood my issue then. I will try connecting a different windows laptop to my modem directly so see if I get an internet connection. The one laptop I tried this with did not connect me to the internet.

Message 8 of 23
plemans
Guru

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

Most isp's only support one device to be contacted to it. So if you want your laptop, disconnect the router from it and power cycle the modem. Then connect the PC to it
Message 9 of 23
KC5
Tutor
Tutor

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

Thanks, Will give that a try. All I did while the modem was on was unplug the router and plugged my laptop in. Hoping this is why I didn't get any connection to the laptop.

Message 10 of 23
plemans
Guru

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

Did you try the factory reset? 

I have also seen users downgrade the firmware on that router with success to getting speeds to gigabit. 
its not the fastest router being pretty basic for hitting gigabit. it should be able to do it but not using any of the traffic monitoring, qos, access controls, parental controls. 

Message 11 of 23

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router


@KC5 wrote:

All I did while the modem was on was unplug the router and plugged my laptop in.


Not usually good enough. The devices can get their IP addresses in a twist.

 

The least you could try would be to leave the modem on, connect and reboot  the laptop. 

 

If that doesn't work, then, as @plemans says, reboot modem and laptop – in that order.

 

 

You don't need that laptop reboot when you connect to the router's network. The router knows how to handle that incoming connection. Modem only means no router to do the heavy lifting.

Message 12 of 23
CrimpOn
Guru

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

The discussion seems to have wandered off from the original issue:

 

Comcast's tech claimed that 800MB was being delivered to the customer, but the Nighthawk app consistently reported only about 375MB.  If it is like the Orbi app, the Nighthawk app simply reports the results of a Speed Test by Ookla run on the R6400 router. When asked to verify that Comcast was delivering 800MB, the tech said "maybe your junky old router can't handle it."

 

In order to determine if the R6400 might be responsible for the reduced speed, I suggested temporarily unplugging the router, which places the entire house network off-line, and connecting a laptop directly to the modem to run a Speed Test.  Although rebooting the modem might not be required (an interesting thing to test), it is a trivial 2-minute process.  (It did not help the process that Netgear support claimed a laptop could not be connected to the modem.)

 

Results of a laptop Speed Test will help focus attention in the right direction.

  • Maybe the Nighthawk Speed Test actually runs on the smartphone itself rather than the router?
    Testing with a laptop connected directly to the router might be useful.
  • Maybe the R6400 needs to be rebooted?
  • Maybe an R6400 cannot handle higher speed than 375MB?

If the tech had simply pulled out a laptop, connected it to the modem, and said, "Behold.  800MB!" The user would have been saved time and frustration.

Message 13 of 23
KC5
Tutor
Tutor

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

Let me try to clarify. The Comcast tech connected the ISP cable coming from the wall outlet to a device he had which measured the speed and confirmed 800+Mbps coming to his device. He then made the comment that the slower speed I was seeing was maybe caused by my older AC1750 router.

 

So I wanted to run a speedtest on my windows laptop while ethernet connected directly to my new CM2050V modem port, removing the older AC1750 router from the picture. When connecting my laptop to the modem, I get no internet connection. This is when I called Netgear Support and they said CM2050V is only a modem, not a router also, and I will not get an internet connection. I thought this odd but they insisted. So I could not run a speedtest from the modem.

 

Based on the much appreciated input provided by you all, I will power off my modem, unplug the router, and plug in my windows laptop. Then I will power on the modem and see what happens. If still no connection, I will perform a factory reset of the modem and try again.

Message 14 of 23
plemans
Guru

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

Did you try the factory reset on the router yet? 

I agree that check the modem is key in ensuring you have full speed but a reset of the router is also a good idea. 

 

btw, the majority of the time when techs hook up, they're just checking the line strength, not actually speedtesting. Not all the time but a lot. 

Message 15 of 23
KC5
Tutor
Tutor

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

I have not factory reset the router yet, hoping to have time this evening. Thanks.

Message 16 of 23
KC5
Tutor
Tutor

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

Thanks to the suggestions provided by you all, I have resolved two of my three problems. Thank you.

 

1) Modem: I now understand why I was not getting any internet connectivity from a laptop ethernet connected to my modem. I needed to reset the modem after unplugging my router and plugging in a laptop. An Xfinity Speedtest from my newer HP windows laptop confirmed 900+ Mbps.

 

2) Router: I did have to perform a factory reset of my router. Once I did that, connecting the same HP windows laptop to the router via ethernet cable also confirmed a speed of 900+ Mpbs.

 

3) The remaining problem I have is with another Lenovo windows laptop I have. Running the same speedtest on this laptop only shows ~375Mbps. I get this same result regardless of whether it's connected to the modem or connected to the router. I was expecting this Lenovo laptop (a year old) to also shows 900+ speed but it doesn't. I will now begin to research why this is.

 

Message 17 of 23
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

Is the laptop wired or wireless connected to the router? If wireless, you'll never see anything near 900Mpbs with this router over wireless. Wired yes. 

 

Message 18 of 23
KC5
Tutor
Tutor

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

Wired connected. HP laptop speedtest shows 900+ while this Lenovo T14 shows only 375. The Lenovo has a 1G ethernet card in it so it should be higher.

 

Message 19 of 23
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

Something on the laptop needs to be looked into. 

Be sure the ethernet drivers are up to date for that adapter in the laptop. 

Check to be sure it's connecting at 1000Mpbs at the router. 

Swap lan cables. 

Try booting the laptop in to safe mode and run a test in that mode...

Message 20 of 23
CrimpOn
Guru

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router


@KC5 wrote:

3) The remaining problem I have is with another Lenovo windows laptop I have. Running the same speedtest on this laptop only shows ~375Mbps. I get this same result regardless of whether it's connected to the modem or connected to the router.


I agree.  My five year old Lenovo laptop runs Ethernet at full speed and this one year old laptop should, too.

 

Off to "Lenovo Land" you go.  Good Luck!

Message 21 of 23

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router


@KC5 wrote:

Wired connected. HP laptop speedtest shows 900+ while this Lenovo T14 shows only 375. The Lenovo has a 1G ethernet card in it so it should be higher.

 


Check that you have the latest LAN drivers for whatever version of Windows is installed on the laptop.

 

This may not be the easiest thing to track down. The Ethernet is managed by a chip that could come from various sources. HP should maintain its own library of drivers, but sometimes you have to track down who made the chip in your PC and then see if there is something better on the maker's site.

 

One thing that you could try is to uninstall the device in Device Manager and leave it to Windows to recreate it when you next use the LAN.

 

But it might be a good idea to lay your hands on the driver package before you go down that road.

 

If the worst comes to the worst, and you really need that speed, a USB/LAN adapter might be faster. As it is, you aren't doing much better than WiFi.

 

Message 22 of 23
KC5
Tutor
Tutor

Re: Slow speed using AC1750 (R6400 v1) router

Thanks. I am researching with Lenovo. My ethernet connected HP is now much quicker at the 900+ speed vs the 300+ speed I was getting. Factory reset of the router was the trick. I appreciate all the help!

Message 23 of 23
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