Nighthawk XR500 Internet speed and lan port issues.
Hi
I have just purchased the Netgear Nighthawk XR500 router for gaming on my Playstation 4 Pro. I bought this router with the purpose of optimizing my home network for when i play Call of Duty. I was really drawn to the features of viewing in game ping while playing as this is usually not possible with PS games(although some titles are incorporating this feature nowadays). Also being able to set the Geo filtering, monitor network usage and devices, prioritizing traffic and keeping the whole family happy so that i can game without issues. This is offcourse what this device sells on in short.
I have spent the whole weekend reading forum after forum after forum to get this router to work as it should, but every forum seems to end up on the down side leaving clients unhappy and returning the product with no clear resolution to the issues.I also noted all the detail required to investigate and solve issues on these forums, so here goes my lengthy attempt to give concise information needed to get a clear perspective.
My ISP details:
I have a 20mbps UL and 20mbps DL Fibre connection from Web Africa in South Africa.This uses a CPE box where the Fibre connection is terminated and has 4x Lan ports of which only Lan port 1 works and is used for connecting to a router.
Original Router Setup: TP-Link Archer AC750 C20(EU)Ver4.0 router connected with cat 5 cable from CPE box Lan port 1 to WAN port of router.
I have no issues with the above mentioned setup, connection or line speeds when using this configuration. I use the recommended speedtest.net to test ping and bandwidth and get my full bandwith as provided by my ISP( only the upload is a bit under).
Problem 1:
When swapping out the ISP router with the Nighthawk XR500 router i can’t seem to get internet connection using the CAT 5 cable which was used with the original TP-Link router setup. I have tried 3 different CAT5 cables(i even made my own cable to ensure a proper RJ45 connection).
When using the supplied CAT5e cable that uses a steel covered RJ45 connector then i get internet connection as expected.
I bought a 2mtr CAT5e patch cable today to go test and see if its the cable specification as i know that the Nighthawk XR500 provides 1Gbps speeds and the CAT5 cable is rated at 10mbps-100mbps whereas CAT5e delivers 1000mbps(1Gbps). I don’t seem to think why this should be an issue because i only have access to 20mbps, but like i said, i spent the whole weekend and have exhausted all my ideas and looking at the simple things now.
Question1:
Can it be that the Nighthawk XR500 router checks the ethernet cable bandwith and if it doesn’t meet the requirements it doesn’t use it? Or is the RJ45 connection without the steel covering a weeker connection not fitting properly into the WAN port of the XR500 router?
Problem 2:
Connecting CAT5 cable from ethernet port 2 on the XR500 to my PS4 Pro lights up white on the LED(which according to me shows a 1Gbps connection) which is fine( so here CAT5 cable works and i terminated the cable), however, this connection doesn’t work on ethernet port 1 and the LED doesn’t even come on, using the supplied CAT5e cable to test if the port is dead, i connected it from the TP-Link router( after reverting back to my original TP-Link router setup) Lan port to the XR500 LAN port 1 and then the LED flashes Amber(indicating a 10-100mbps connection). All other ports seem to be working as expected except Lan port one.
Question 2:
Why does Lan port 2 work with my CAT5 cable connected to my PS4 Pro, but Lan port 1 doesn't even come on(no led), nor does my Samsung smart tv work which shows a amber LED on lan port 3, but nothing when connected to Lan port 1.
Problem 3:
When testing my bandwidth through the setup wizard that occurs when initially setting up the XR500 router, it shows me speeds of 9.6mbps DL and 1000mbps UL.On speedtest.net i get at best 9.6 DL and 9.6 UP. This was all tested on the latest firmware version 2.3.2.32, after reading forums with a suggestion of reverting to version 2.3.2.22 i still get the same results, except now on the initial DumaOS speed test i get 1000mbps DL and 1000mbps UL, when i run it again then i get the same as with the latest firmware version: 9.6 mbps DL and 1000mbs UL, after that i tried every firmware version found on the netgear site from version 2.1.0.4 to 2.3.2.22, and i get all the same issues regarding the ports as stated in problem 1 and 2 and the speed issues stated here.
This was tested with QoS on and off and every other configuration mentioned on every other forum concerning this matter. I’ve overlooked these isues and specified my ISP speeds in the QoS section, but it still makes it difficult to know whats heppening. I’m not sure if what i’m seeing on the XR500 router interface is correct or not when i monitor my network because it can’t even detect my speeds properly. I saw this work on other youtube reviews etc so there must be an issue somewhere.
My final configuration:
I reverted back to my original TP-Link router and connected the XR500 to the TP-Link Lan port 1. I did a speed test on my TP-Link router and i get my ISP speeds, i connect my laptop to the XR500 which is connected to my TP-Link and run a speed test and i still only get 9.6mbps DL and 9.6mbps UL( remember that the Duma Os initial speed test gave me 9.6 mbps DL, but 1000mbps UL, so my speed test colates to the Duma OS DL values). I have since then allocated 10mbps of my TP-Link router to other devices in my household under bandwidth controll and 10mbps to the XR500 which is connected to my TP-Link router.
What i am expecting:
I need to know how to get the router to work as a stand-alone machine and not having to run two routers to manage internet speeds and bandwidth. I also need to have the Lan ports work as expected, everything should actually work as expected.
Thanks in advance and i hope we can get this resolved
I have submitted the same on the NetDuma Forum as i see that sometimes these issues are passed on.
Re: Nighthawk XR500 Internet speed and lan port issues.
Hi there - we will do our best to help you on our Netduma forum, but I think the funamental problem here is you're not getting Internet when directly connecting to your modem and this is not somethin we are as good at troubleshooting as it's not DumaOS related.
So the fact your TP Link router can connect properly and your XR500 cannot is the root cause of the problem. Are you just using standard DHCP to connect? Or do you need PPPoE?
