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XR500 WLAN Issues

Firebush935
Tutor

XR500 WLAN Issues

I am usually able to get 132mbps download from my phone on my XR500...  I am now only able to get about 2mbps what's going on???

Message 1 of 9
plemans
Guru

Re: XR500 WLAN Issues

what speeds do you get hardwired into it? 

What device are you using? 

are you testing on the 2.4ghz band or the 5ghz band? 

Message 2 of 9
Netduma-Fraser
NetDuma Partner

Re: XR500 WLAN Issues

Have you got the speeds you pay for/expect entered into the Anti-Bufferbloat option menu? Are you using QoS? Are you using Smart Connect for WiFi? If so disable that and manually connect to 5GHz, do you get faster speeds then?
Message 3 of 9
Firebush935
Tutor

Re: XR500 WLAN Issues

Hardwired: 128mbps

Device: XR500

Testing: I tested both the 2.4 and 5ghz networks.  They were both performing at the same speed.  

Conclusion: It was a local test server issue.  I manually switched testing servers and it tested fine.  I don't think I could select which server to use from my ISP without configuring a VPN into the router but I'm not even sure that would work...  What was weird is that my wired speeds were good but my wireless was suffering... It's odd... like my wired connection was using a different server address than the wireless speed test software 'speedtest.net'.  I got the wired speed from my xbox which I'm sure uses Microsoft servers and those were perfect.  My local ISP did go down shortly after I realized the issues and now it's operating fine.  I'm using a bridged router to 'firewall' if you will because my local ISP throttles wireless speeds somehow.  All is good now.  Shouldn't the router tell me which wireless channels have interferance?  I know it automatically switches between five or six channels on the fly dependent on which one is best I just wish I could view the RF of what's in my area.  I know my old router used to do that... maybe they ran into FCC accredidtaion issues with privacy? 

Message 4 of 9
Firebush935
Tutor

Re: XR500 WLAN Issues

I just use the minimum 54mbps option for the 2.4ghz network and the maximum for the 5ghz network.  I only have 100mb service and I always get a solid 132mbps on wired and wireless connections.  My local ISP somehow throttles most wireless routers to half bandwidth hence why I'm using a bridged router to my XR500 so they can't limit my wireless bandwidth.  They can only see a limited MAC address table from the bridged router since they'll run into credentialling issues once they hit my XR500.  I use dual band 2.4 and 5ghz.  Testing both from my phone on 5ghz I got 3mbps and from the laptop on the 2.4ghz network I got 3mbps and from the router it was testing at 8mbps bandwidth last night.  This is far less than my 130mbps average over the last year.  Like I said the weird thing is when I switched servers on speedtest.net app on my phone to one outside of CA I got my usual speeds, and my wired network didn't loose bandwidth until midnight last night.  This morning I was testing at 132mbps again from local servers.  My local ISP did go down shortly after my issues.  They must have had a local server issue.  I just wish I knew the specifics so I could manually assign a server farm... although it is their job to keep my bandwidth up... maybe I won't worry about it unless it becomes a recurring issue...  Thoughts?

Message 5 of 9
Netduma-Fraser
NetDuma Partner

Re: XR500 WLAN Issues

Glad you managed to resolve the issue. It does sound a bit weird, they shouldn't be throttling you. I would monitor the whole situation and if it happens again perhaps reach out to the ISP. If you wanted to test which channels were best you'd need to use a WiFi analyzer.
Message 6 of 9
Firebush935
Tutor

Re: XR500 WLAN Issues

I know they shouldn't but they do. Their statement is "they only guarantee half bandwidth over wireless". And from my experience they're doing it on purpose. When you rent their routers they manage the device and you can't ever get any better than half bandwidth over wireless. I purchased a bottom end wireless router and didn't use theirs and they try to steal your credentials by re-routing you to their website when you try to log into the router when it's hooked up. I disconnected the input from my ISP, managed the device with my custom credentials and wouldn't you have it... I had a TON of service issues had to constantly restart my router (like more than once a day). I wasn't smart enough to check the audit logs then to see what they were doing but they're shady as heck. So, now that I'm 'fire-walled' using a POS router bridged to my B.A. XR500 I get phenomenal results. They only see the one 'device' attached to the bridged router and I get full bandwidth I was thinking about upping my service to 500mbps but I haven't ran into any bandwidth issues running ten phones, a smart TV, XBOX One, and a printer. Granite the most bandwidth usage I get is two phones and the TV streaming movies while I'm on my Xbox One... no need for QoS although if I had to of course I'd give the most to the Xbox... 😛 Our ISP had major issues before they upgraded their entire network... but now we're doing pretty good in our little valley. They were about to get sued by about 15,000 users but they managed to upgrade right before people started taking action. I mean it was BAD you couldn't game, watch a movie, you could BARELY stream music without interruptions. BAAAAAD. This is the first outage in almost nine months so I'll cut them some slack haha. Although it would be nice if there were some companies that would come to town and give these guys some competition. Their only contender is the most vial company EVER Frontier Communications. They'll bring you T1... I tried them once and said I wanted both T1 pairs for a total of 4mbps and they couldn't deliver more than 1.2mbps over a single pair because they don't listen to their customers... and it still cost me $200 for the whole fiasco. They don't negotiate AT ALL. I ran one speed test and they said that's 'data' and since I had received 'data' I owed the installation and first months service fees... criminal is all I have to say. Anyway, long rant. I'll post updates if I get any more information on what was happening.
Message 7 of 9
Firebush935
Tutor

Re: XR500 WLAN Issues

Any idea on a good wifi analyzer?  

Message 8 of 9
Netduma-Fraser
NetDuma Partner

Re: XR500 WLAN Issues

Wow that is bad, I feel your pain there! I'm glad you're able to enjoy it with the XR500 though! Any should be fine as long as it can scan for WiFi networks and tell you what channels they're on. Here is one for Win10 that should do the job https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/p/wifi-analyzer/9nblggh33n0n?SilentAuth=1&wa=wsignin1.0&activetab=pi...
Message 9 of 9
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