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R8000 2.4Ghz connection really slow, 5GHz super fast
Hello, I have a R8000 fully updated 1.0.3.4_1.1.2. The 2.4Ghz band is running at 600Mbps (according to the advanced netgear menu). I noticed on my wifi device that it would not losd webpages fast,...
Quick update, I got a Netgear 6400 (AC1750) for 120$ at Bestbuy, replaced the R8000 and all my devices on the 2.4Ghz WiFi are scoring best results than before and on my router GUI administration page it shows 450Mbps. The results are similar on the 5Ghz WiFi network.
Conclusion, the R8000 could be a great device, unfortunately is too buggy and the firmware is not stable enough.
If you don't have more then 12 people streaming at the same time in your 5Ghz, forget the triband routers, go for the dual band ones (AC1750 or AC1900), they are cheaper and most of the time offer the same speeds the standard WiFi devices support - plus the 2.4Ghz band works better and its more stable!
Yes, 600 Mbps is a marketing number and basically impossible to achieve in practice. It uses 256-QAM, which is not standardized for use at 2.4 GHz. Good luck finding any device that supports it. Certainly not any Apple product.
600 Mbps also relies on using a 40 MHz channel width. The 20/40 MHz Coexistence setting is relevant, here. It determines whether the router is forced to use 40 MHz channels. But there are two issues with disabling coexistence (i.e. forcing the use of 40 MHz).
- Wi-Fi standards require that routers fall back to a 20 MHz channel width whenever conditions warrant. Usually, this means whenever other Wi-Fi networks are present.
- Many devices will only work properly with 20 MHz channels. Such devices can set a Fat Channel Intolerant indicator to routers, which are supposed to respect it by dropping down to 20 MHz. Apple is well known for supporting only 20 MHz. If your router is using 40 MHz, things are not going to work well, if at all.
So, what's the practical reality? If you live in an isolated area with no neighbors, then 64-QAM with a 40 MHz channel is capable of 450 Mbps. With neighbors present, 64-QAM with a 20 MHz channel is capable of 216.7 Mbps. Mind you, all these speed numbers are link speeds. A good rule of thumb is to cut these numbers in half to get real world "speed test" numbers.
What settings should you use? Leave 20/40 MHz coexistence on, especially because you have Apple products. Alternatively, set the mode to Up to 289 Mbps. This will force the router to use only 20 MHz channels and will, thus, insure this best experience with your Apple products.
Better yet, use 5 GHz with those devices that support it (i.e. all your Apple products) and you will have none of this nonsense. In my experience, 5 GHz is always faster than 2.4 GHz. Superior modulation (256-QAM is supported) and wider channels (80 MHz) more than make up lower signal strength. Even the criticisms about 5 GHz having lower range I feel are overblown.
Another thing that I have been testing:
If you leave the Channel opton in AUTO, I can see that it changes a lot, for example: for 5 minutes it stays at channel 6, then it oscilates to channel 11, then it goes to a different channel.
I forced it to a single channel, for example 11 and I'm getting more reliable results.
Test1:
32.45 Mbps down 2.21 Mbps up
Test2:
32.83 Mbps down 2.28 Mbps up
Test3:
53.01Mbps down 19.52 Mbps up
Test4:
37.58 Mbps down 19.76 Mbps up