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Hi, I've read quite a few "slow speed" threads on here, and tried some of the various tips that were suggested in them but none seem to make a difference. In the other threads I saw a lot of people ask the same questions for info, hopefully I've included everything you need to know below. There is also a link to a shared google photos album where I have put some screenshots. Also not sure if it's relevant, but I'm in the UK.
First off equipment, then we'll get into it.
All cables are cat6 and tested as working full speed (via ISP router, & via switch)
BT openreach modem>EE Smart Hub>TP Link switch>PC and was comfortably getting speeds over 100 constantly.
BT openreach modem>EE Smart Hub>Phone (via 5ghz)
Current setup is-
BT openreach modem>XR300>TP link switch>PC and haven't gotten over 24 yet.
BT openreach modem>XR300>Phone (via 5ghz)
I have tried turning off Qos, I have tried it with always on and also never. I have put my expected speeds in (as you can see with the images) but nothing seems to make a difference.
With the ISP router I was getting speeds greater than 100 on both my phone and my PC, and now with the XR300 I am getting less than 25. I read in one of the threads that it might take a few days to "settle with your ISP" so I have waited a few days and no change, so here I am.
In Internet Setup change the MAC address of the router to the MAC address of your previous router. Also did you disable QoS from the Anti-Bufferbloat menu where you enter your speeds in? I wasn't sure if that was what you were referring to.
The more complexity you add, the harder it is to help diagnose.
Start back at basic to figure out where the bottleneck is. First get the hardwired speeds up to where they need to be. I'd also recommend starting with the XR300 in default configuration so an old setting isn't causing the issue.
modem------PC: speed?
modem-----xr300-----pc: speed?
modem---xr300---switch--pc: speed?
it wouldn't be the first time a cable, old setting, or even base modem was causing the issue.
Hi, appreciate your response. And I'll try the pc straight into the modem (didn't know you could do that) but regardless of complexity I was getting my expected speeds with the ISP router, but not with the xr300 in its place and everything else the same. I have swapped the xr300 back to the ISP router (again with everything else EXACTLY the same) and my speeds go straight back up. So the issue is most definitely with the xr300
I will also try a factory reset and leave settings as default. Although that's what they were to start with and I only played with settings to get my speeds back up
I'd also try re-installing the firmware. A factory reset only removes the settings, it doesn't re-install firmware. If something wasn't installed correctly or was corrupt, a reset won't fix that.
In Internet Setup change the MAC address of the router to the MAC address of your previous router. Also did you disable QoS from the Anti-Bufferbloat menu where you enter your speeds in? I wasn't sure if that was what you were referring to.
Just wanted to check because the true way to do it is via that menu - it also disables Bandwidth Allocation and Traffic Prioritization. If you just do it by selecting never or 100% then it's just the Anti-BB feature disabled. Usually you should be able to tell as they have a sticker on the underside of the router.
1. Factory reset XR300 - no change <25 on PC (wired)
2. Rolled back firmware on XR300 - no change <25 on PC (wired)
3. Disabled Qos again (the box underneath where you specify your expected speeds, so everything disabled) - no change <25 on PC (wired)
4. Changed the MAC address to that of the ISP router - helped, a lot actually but still not at the speeds I was getting with the ISP router 60-80mbps
I then tried steps 1-3 again, but each time putting in the MAC address of ISP router, and each time was the same 60-80.
When I check internet speed in the nighthawk app on my phone it is continually saying 110-130 (which is what my ISP said I would expect to get) - am I right in thinking the nighthawk app is testing the speed from modem>router, and not what my device (phone in this case) is getting? If so then this solidifies my thoughts that my ISP modem is providing the correct speeds but then the XR300 is bottlenecking it for some reason.
At least with the MAC address change putting it up to 80 makes the internet usable again and I can play a few not-too-competetive games but still I would like to get back to my 130 that I was getting with my ISP router. I may just send this back and stick with ISP router. I wasn't having any issues with my PC wired speeds, I only got the nighthawk to make the wifi in the house better, but I could just get an AP/repeater instead.
Haven't tried the earlier suggestions of modem>PC and modem>XR300>PC (without switch) because even if they make a difference, the way I have my network setup that wouldn't work for me. And as previously said, with my current setup straight switchin the XR300 for my ISP router puts me back at full speed.
Thanks for all advice so far, and thanks in advance for any more things to try.
The changing of the MAC address causing the speeds to rise would indicate to me that it does still need time to sync but weird that full speeds weren't restored. Is the router using PPPoE/IPv6 or VLAN at all? Have you tried speed tests with all the LAN ports? The speeds are still slower even when using 5GHz compared to 2.4GHz?
Hi Fraser, I'll be honest I haven't done any speed tests on my phone (wifi) as I've only really been concerned about my PC, all other devices can have 10mbps for all I care LUL but I will check if there is any difference between 2.4 & 5ghz.
I have only used port 1 on the XR300 but will try the others to rule that out and report back.
As for settling, lets hope that's what it is as all the reviews said this was a good buy and I was excited for new tech. I'll give it another few days (with the now correct MAC address) and see what happens if using ports 2-4 doesn't change anything.
Update: since my last post I haven't changed and settings and ice just woken up and done a speed test (on my phone, 2.4 WiFi) and got 111 so fingers crossed it was just a case of "settling" I'm still in bed so will check the pc out in a bit. But thought I'd post quick before any more suggestions came in as seems like it might be ok now.
If it was just a settling issue then hopefully I can turn QoS back on as seems a bit pointless having this router and not being able to use that feature. Will report back if speeds stay after turning stuff back on.
Thanks again Fraser for the mac address tip, I've a feeling that rushed along the settling
OK so I've turned QoS back on, and speeds are still full and as expected. So I think it was a case of setting the MAC address to that of my ISP router, and waiting for it to settle/sync.
Thanks everyone for their suggestions & help. Very much appreciated 😄
