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Re: Speed listed on Netgear Genie much slower than speedtest.net

heelsfan
Aspirant

Speed listed on Netgear Genie much slower than speedtest.net

I am using a netgear C3700  N600 Wifi cable modem router. The router/mdodem is hardwired to my computer

When I do a speedtest on Netgear Genie to www.netgear.com it says my download speed from this website is 631 Kbps.

When I do a speedtest from www.speedtest.net is says my sownload speed is 88Mbps.

 

Why the marked difference? What is my actual download speed?

 

Message 1 of 9
Daenerys
Luminary

Re: Speed listed on Netgear Genie much slower than speedtest.net

Speed test result to www.netgear.com shows how fast your computer can download website content while speed test result from www.speedtest.net shows your ISP broadband speed. 

Message 2 of 9
heelsfan
Aspirant

Re: Speed listed on Netgear Genie much slower than speedtest.net

So why the marked difference? Why is my download from netgear < 1 Mbps but the broadband speed from the comcast is > 80 Mbps

Message 3 of 9
TheEther
Guru

Re: Speed listed on Netgear Genie much slower than speedtest.net

There are one or more possibilities, not all mutually exclusive:

  1. Netgear's own connection to the Internet is really slow
  2. Somewhere in the Internet between you and Netgear is really slow.  This is a generalization of #1.
  3. Netgear's download server is overloaded
  4. Netgear limits the speed for individual downloads

The Internet is like a patchwork of roads.  The one from you to Comcast is a freeway with no traffic, while Netgear could be off of a freeway exit to an unpaved, mountain road with a herd of sheep.  Smiley Tongue

Message 4 of 9
tpanc13ng
Aspirant

Re: Speed listed on Netgear Genie much slower than speedtest.net

Thanks for initially asking this question, but I'd like to know why ALL websites are this slow and mostly significantly even slower than 700Kbps. Makes owning 50Mbs cable service an overkill, doesn't it, when NO website tested exceeds 700 Kbps. Are we being told that the Netgear router isn't faulty and that all Internet sites transfer less than 700Kbps (Yahoo, Google, Fidelity, etc.?

Message 5 of 9
DexterJB
NETGEAR Moderator

Re: Speed listed on Netgear Genie much slower than speedtest.net

Hi @tpanc13ng,

 

Having high Internet download speed has it's positive sides even if it is more than what a certain server requires when showing you a webpage. Considering that there are situations wherein you will be opening multiple pages simultaneously, multiple devices use the Internet at a given time, and there are programs or applications that require more bandwidth than a normal webpage would (i.e. online games, video streaming) then, that is where having a good Internet download speed will benefit a network or user.

 

Regards,

 

Dexter

Community Team

Message 6 of 9
TheEther
Guru

Re: Speed listed on Netgear Genie much slower than speedtest.net

@tpanc13ng

 

What speed do you get from speedtest.net or your ISP's equivalent speed test site (e.g. speedtest.comcast.net, att.com/speedtest or http://my.verizon.com/services/speedtest/)? If it's fast then, yes, we can generally say that your home router is working

 

If your ISP's speed test is fine but all other Internet sites are slow then, yes, we can generally say that your Netgear router is not faulty. Perhaps your ISP's connection to the Internet is congested. Yes, it can happen. Read up on the spat between Netflix and Comcast that occurred last year. Many Comcast subscribers had a terrible time streaming Netflix because there was inadequate bandwidth between the edges of their two networks. The issue had nothing to do with home Internet connections for Comcast users.

 

If your speed test is not fine, then the answer is less clear. It could be the router. If the router is separate from the modem, then this is easily tested by rerunning the speed test while directly connected to the modem. If the router and modem are combined together, then it may be necessary to look at the logs and modem signal levels for clues. Sometimes asking the ISP to send a technician out is the only option.

Message 7 of 9
tpanc13ng
Aspirant

Re: Speed listed on Netgear Genie much slower than speedtest.net

When cable attached to the Netgear WNR2000v4  N-300 router, I get the rated Suddenlink speeds of 50Mbs/5Mbs, Wireless I get only 20Mbs/5Mbs. So, yes I have the available CAPACITY from my ISP. I have just ordered a new network adapter to replace my older 1397 G protocol one. Hopefully, the new dual band running N protocol will help there. 

 

I was really questioning the speeds the Netgear speed test reports (0.7Mbs the fastest) to any site. I suppose it's speed tests are for very small packages and not considered "download" file transfers. In other words, typical browser transactions. I would really like to understand what they are doing so I can put the 0.7Mbs in perspective. That is all I was hoping.

 

Thanks for confirming my beliefs.

Message 8 of 9
TheEther
Guru

Re: Speed listed on Netgear Genie much slower than speedtest.net

Yeah, if you have a 802.11g Wi-Fi adapter, then 20 Mbps is about the best it can do. A dual-band 802.11n adapter will reach about 60 to 70 Mbps at 2.4 GHz and maybe 120 to 130 Mbps at 5 GHz.

 

I wouldn't trust the speed test results provided by the desktop Genie program. I don't think its test methodology is documented anywhere and, like you said, it's probably testing a very small sample size.

Message 9 of 9
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