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Netgear R6700V3 router running terrible. 600mbps going in, less than 60 coming out?

Micah19900
Tutor

Netgear R6700V3 router running terrible. 600mbps going in, less than 60 coming out?

I noticed my internet getting extremely slow lately. I actually updated my internet to 1Gbps speeds, and started checking out the router/modem. 

 

From the modem now, I'm getting over 600 Mbps. From the router, I'm getting 50-60 on both bands. At one point, i did get 160Mbps from the 5Ghz band, however when i tested 3 devices at once on the same network, all three totalled that same 160Mbps speed, meaning it split the speed. 

 

The lights are white, and it shows 1000Mbps connections for both LAN connections. No QoS is enabled. 

 

I updated to the latest firmware, checked multiple bands, and tested several feet away from the router. 

 

There are a million topics on this, and I read what I could and tried those things, but nothing seems to work in my scenario. Isn't this router good for up to 1300Mbps? I mean, 600Mbps shouldn't be an issue?

 

 

Message 1 of 7
plemans
Guru

Re: Netgear R6700V3 router running terrible. 600mbps going in, less than 60 coming out?

1300mbps link speed is 433mbps link over a 3x3 antenna (433x3=1300)

And thats link speed, not actual throughput speed. Actual throughput speed is usually 55-65% (ish) of link speed. 

so depending on if you're testing on a 1x1 antenna device or a 2x2 device (most pc's/tablets/phones are 1x1 or 2x2), you're link speed is going to be 433mbps or 866mbps.

read more about it here: https://www.duckware.com/tech/wifi-in-the-us.html

 

60mbps is pretty reasonable for 2.4ghz but not for 5ghz. 

What device are you testing on? 

What firmware is on the router?

Also, if you ever had qos, traffic monitoring, access control, or parental controls enabled, try factory resetting the router and doing a clean install (not from backup). Make sure to leave those services disabled. 

 

What modem/gateway do you have? 

that's another question as if you're paying for 1gig and only getting 600mbps, you should be able to get full speeds from the modem. 

Message 2 of 7
Micah19900
Tutor

Re: Netgear R6700V3 router running terrible. 600mbps going in, less than 60 coming out?

What device are you testing on?
Several, iPhones and laptops. Ranging from 8 year old work computers to two week old gaming rigs. All of them can connect to the 5Ghz band. The most I have gotten was 160 on the 5gbz band, and that wasn’t for long. Generally, both bands produce around 60.

What firmware is on the router?
The newest firmware available ( I had updated it before posting)

Also, if you ever had qos, traffic monitoring, access control, or parental controls enabled, try factory resetting the router and doing a clean install (not from backup). Make sure to leave those services disabled.
I did a factory reset and checked those settings as well.

What modem/gateway do you have?
It’s an arris, by Armstrong.

that's another question as if you're paying for 1gig and only getting 600mbps, you should be able to get full speeds from the modem.
I agree, however at this point I’m not able to utilize 1/4 of what is available with the current router. So I decided to work on that first.

From what I’m reading , these routers just have insane overhead. For a 600mbps-900mbps connection I’d need a 6000 router, not the 1750 I have, which is insanely expensive.

I have started to use a switch, and running Ethernet everywhere I can, to the TVs and other items that can connect that way for now. What would a typical speed for this router be? In general over WiFi 5Ghz band?

Thank you for your help.
Message 3 of 7
Micah19900
Tutor

Re: Netgear R6700V3 router running terrible. 600mbps going in, less than 60 coming out?

From what you said, 60ish percent of that 433 is close to the 160 I randomly get. however that is on the gaming rigs/iPhone, other devices only run around 100 or so.

What kind of router would you recommend for a 600-900mbps link speed? I hate to waste your time and I think I was expecting too much from this router. It gives decent coverage, but just not very good throughput. I have read your other replies to questions similar to mine, and tried most of those things to no avail. From reading reviews and research, it seems like maybe this router just isn’t capable of anything close to what I’m asking from it. In general, I’m looking at 20-30 devices connected. Some are 2.4, some are 5. Most are idle, like printers, smart outlets etc. I did try the speed with those things disconnected as well.
Message 4 of 7
plemans
Guru

Re: Netgear R6700V3 router running terrible. 600mbps going in, less than 60 coming out?


@Micah19900 wrote:
.

What firmware is on the router?
The newest firmware available ( I had updated it before posting)-----Which version? The latest isn't always the greatest. Sometimes we have people downgrade firmware. 



What modem/gateway do you have?
It’s an arris, by Armstrong.-----Which one? 

that's another question as if you're paying for 1gig and only getting 600mbps, you should be able to get full speeds from the modem.
I agree, however at this point I’m not able to utilize 1/4 of what is available with the current router. So I decided to work on that first.----Not always a good idea. If the line quality isn't that great and is only periodically hitting 600mbps, then that could be part of the issue. We usually recommend starting at base 1 and getting the modem running full speed or the best it can. Maybe your modem can only hit 600mbps but its why we ask about modem. 

From what I’m reading , these routers just have insane overhead. For a 600mbps-900mbps connection I’d need a 6000 router, not the 1750 I have, which is insanely expensive.-----an AC router isn't going to hit gigabit speeds over wireless. the new wifi 6 (AX) is only just hitting gigabit speeds and thats at close range. But it isn't about hitting gigabit its about all devices having enough speeds concurrently (at the same time). Reason why is most devices, don't actually need a whole lot of speed. Gaming/or 4k streaming only need 20-40mbps max. so unless your transfering large amounts of data, hitting 160mbps is more than capable. 

I have started to use a switch, and running Ethernet everywhere I can, to the TVs and other items that can connect that way for now.------thats an awesome plan regardless. I make sure to have all my 4k tv's hardwired in becaues it takes a burden off the wireless system.  What would a typical speed for this router be? In general over WiFi 5Ghz band?  The R6700 is a pretty solid router. Its actually a R7000 that's had the 2.4ghz speeds dropped down (256qam support dropped). and that performs quite well. I'd read through the review on the r7000 for expectations over 5ghz. 
Router - NETGEAR R7000 (smallnetbuilder.com)
We should be able to get your speeds better than 160mbps depending on the device you're testing on and how close it is. 

 

Message 5 of 7
Micah19900
Tutor

Re: Netgear R6700V3 router running terrible. 600mbps going in, less than 60 coming out?

Firmware: V1.0.4.106_10.0.80

 

I made a mistake, it's not an arris. That was my old modem before we moved. its a Hitron CDA3-35

 

IF I connect directly to the modem, it's 600mbps everytime. ( i have to reset the modem everytime I plug something different into it or it never has access to the internet). All tests mentioned were made right beside the router, the speeds actually don't drop at all 20 feet away though. 

 

Only the wifi is inconsistent. I haven't tested the ethernet speed wired through the router, just directly from the modem. I assumed it would be the same, but maybe not. I'll check that out too, since I notice some users have issues with that too. The ethernet cables going to the Tv's are showing up orange, indicating a 100mbps connection, but they work fine as far as I can tell. 

 

I agree, I don't need those speeds necessarily. My company has a 1TB monthly data cap, and released a new plan for $18 more without a data cap, and with the 1gbps speeds ( 940mbps). The line coming in to the house is fiber and just installed a few months ago directly from the pole. Before the upgrade, my wifi was transferring around 60mbps, on both channels to all devices combined. It was limited to 100mbps from the cable company so I assumed this was normal. 

 

To break it down, we received two gaming laptops, and a couple game systems for Christmas ( us and our kids) and it's a struggle for them to work more than one or two at once on the 5Ghz band, about 20 feet away, even on the 2.4Ghz band. 

 

The specific items I'm using to test with would be an Iphone 11, An Iphone 8 plus, Xbox one, and the gaming laptops which have a Wifi card of: Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz.

 

Both systems yeild the same results. If I test both at once, one will have more than the other, but equal the same cap of around 160mbps combined. The old Probook 6470b gets 60Mpbs if its 5 feet away, or 40 feet away on both bands. 

 

I don't know the exact speeds, but even with just data transfer within the network also takes quite a while. Sometimes just printing something(160Mb File), the printer will pause and resume several times during printing. That is on the 2.4Ghz band, getting full reception based on the indicator. 

 

I'd love to get it working better than that, In reality most of these things are not used at the same time, except the tv's. ( We don't have cable). I understand network congestion, but these tests described above are with everything removed. 

 

Thanks, I'll check out that link. 

 

 

 

 

Message 6 of 7
plemans
Guru

Re: Netgear R6700V3 router running terrible. 600mbps going in, less than 60 coming out?

1. wireless ac isn't going to max out the 600mbps. Plus we want to ensure the router is getting full speed. Try speedtesting hardwired it it. 

2. Try installing version. 1.0.3.66 of the firmware to the R6700v3. Some devices didn't play nice with netgear armor. Maybe yours is one. When changing, do it over an ethernet connection, downgrade the firmware, then factory reset and do a clean install (not from backup). Then disable auto updates and try it a for a bit. 

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