I recently bought an R8000P Netgear router, replacing a nearly 10 year old router. I expected to get better performance, but the old router actually performed better. Here are the issues I am currently experiencing: Background: I am NOT running the current firmware. I rolled it back to factory settings after updating the firmware failed to improve any performance, and after reading several posts wherein Netgear owners said that rolling the firmware BACK solved their issues, owing to faulty programming in the new firmware. And yes, I disabled CoQ. The issues seem to be affecting my desktop computer, which is connected to the internet through the router via hard wire connection. And the router is connected to the internet jack.
My current provider delivers service with appx. 51mbps download speed, with appx. 10.5 mbps upload speed. I achieved these speeds consistently with my old router, on every speed test, no exceptions.
With the R8000P router, I get 51 mbps download speed. But my UPLOAD speed tops out between 3.5-4 mbps. I have tried: Rebooting the router Switching cables to different ports Resetting the router to factory defaults Turning CoQ on and/or off Pretty much every suggestion in these forums, as well as on Youtube
Nothing has worked. For a brief period of time, after resetting to factory defaults, I got a 10mbps upload speed. But after a few days, it dragged back down to 3.5 mbps and that seems to be where it's currently staying. I did NOT update the firmware or do anything else to the router. The upload speed went back down seemingly by itself.
So far the ONLY commonality is the router, and I have to believe the router itself has some setting, buried somewhere amid the dozens and dozens of options, that is letting me download at normal speed, but won't let me upload at full speed. What is going on here?
Plus, every time I try to use the internet on my computer, it blocks my access. When I go to a web address, it acts as if it can't connect, but if I hit the refresh button 2-3 times, it will eventually connect and then function normally.
What's going on with this router? I kind of wish I could go back to my old one now. It may be out of date, but at least it WORKED without any bugs, problems or quirks. I thought new technology was supposed to improve over time, not degrade.
If this issue has been experienced by others and resolved, please point me to the threads, bearing in mind the list of things above which I have already tried.
The firmware version is v1.4.2.84. But again, I say that I have tried updating to the most recent firmware, and it has accomplished nothing. Upload speeds at my desktop computer are still nearly 70% lower than what they should be. I rolled it back because there are so many posts and complaints which say the new firmware causes more problems than it solves.
There is no 'modem', and therefore I cannot give you a model number for the modem. My internet is a fiber connection through Centracom. There is one network port in the house, a simple plug-in internet port that's in the wall. The router is plugged into the wall connection, and the other devices are connected to the router. The internet provider network port, and the wifi router, and the desktop computer, are all located in the same room. The router is therefore the source of the problem, given that the old router had NO such issues, and these problems did not manifest themselves until after I'd gotten the new router.
Should I return this router and buy another brand? I have seen many threads, posts, and compliaints about these newer Netgear routers, and none of the solutions that others have posted anywhere have done anything to resolve my issues.
There is no reason why this router should be strangling my upload speed, or refusing to connect me to any web pages until after I've refreshed them 2-4 times. It's incredibly frustrating and I wish I hadn't already gotten rid of the old router.
I rolled it back to factory settings after updating the firmware failed to improve any performance, and after reading several posts wherein Netgear owners said that rolling the firmware BACK solved their issues, owing to faulty programming in the new firmware.
When you rolled back the firmware did you also reset to factory settings?
Rolling back on its own does not do that. It leaves you with the same settings that you had before the firmware changed.
There is no 'modem', and therefore I cannot give you a model number for the modem. My internet is a fiber connection through Centracom. There is one network port in the house, a simple plug-in internet port that's in the wall. The router is plugged into the wall connection, and the other devices are connected to the router. The internet provider network port, and the wifi router, and the desktop computer, are all located in the same room. The router is therefore the source of the problem, given that the old router had NO such issues, and these problems did not manifest themselves until after I'd gotten the new router.
This is an odd setup that is hard to figure out.
In the past those "LAN socket" arrangements have sometimes proved to be connections to a router. So users and up with router piled on router.
Talk of a "fiber connection" is essentially meaningless. Show me an Internet service that does not have a fiber connection somewhere on the network.
It sometimes refers to an optical fibre to the premises. No modem there either, just something called an "OTN". But in your case, the Internet speed is so slow that it is hard to see how fibre can come anywhere within a mile of the property. The speeds you get, 51 Mbps down and 10.5 Mbps up, are more like DSL than fibre. True fibre can hit 1000 Mbps, sometimes even higher.
Unfortunately, I see no sign that anyone else here uses Centracom. (Where are you?) So there is not much in the way of background history to draw on.
Does it offer any advice on how to configure routers on its network? Is there a self support group for Centracom users? There may be some hidden tweak in the settings that could fix your problem.
Yes - I both rolled back the firmware, AND powered down at the same time, AND reset to factory settings. When I did that - the upload speed went to 10.5 mbps - but only for a couple of days. Then it went back down to 3.5 and has hovered there ever since. So it seems to only be a temporary fix. The blackhawk app keeps telling me my upload speed is 9.8 or thereabouts. But that's NOT what I'm getting on my desktop computer, where the Ookla netspeed test consistently comes up at 3.5 or lower for upload speed.
I find it hard to believe that nobody here has ever heard of a setup 'like' this before. It's quite common for internet service providers to rig a house so that there is one network/internet jack in the wall. Then you plug your router into that jack. Then you plug any devices into the router so that they're 'behind' it. That's where the whole jargon of 'behind the router' came from.
I called Centracom, and they confirmed that it's a fiber speed connection. However, the deal for our condo complex was to get a certain level of speed only. So it is not that our fiber optic connection isn't capable of faster speeds. It's just a matter of the amount of money the Homeowner Association was willing to pay the ISP for blanket condo complex coverage, vs. the amount of speed Centracom was willing to provide for the price.
Centracom (and my condo) are in Utah. They list Arrus as being the most compatible modem equipment, but I don't need a modem. I just want a reliable router to get all my devices (and desktop computer) 'behind', so they will have some security, and NOT throttle my upload speed, or refuse to let me view a website unless I hit the 'refresh' button multiple times.
If it's a hidden setting, I'm sure it's hidden very well. The people at Centracom seem just as befuddled by my specific questions as the people here at Netgear. The tech people are just reading pre-fabricated answers off of a screen, and since my questions don't fit anything on their lists, they don't know what to say. They've suggested going into the router settings page and 'changing the wireless channel', which I'll do later this evening. But it's not the wireless connection that seems to be throttling my speed - it's the wired connection from router to the desktop computer....
Yes, I rolled back the firmware, and reset to factory defaults, and powered down/powered up all at the same time. After doing that, my desktop computer went to 10.5 mbps upload speed. But after a day or two, it went back down to 3.5. So there's something about this Netgear router which does NOT seem to like my desktop computer being connected to it, and keeps trying to both throttle my upload speed, and prevent me from viewing websites - unless I refresh each site 2-4 times.
I rolled it back to factory settings after updating the firmware failed to improve any performance, and after reading several posts wherein Netgear owners said that rolling the firmware BACK solved their issues, owing to faulty programming in the new firmware.
When you rolled back the firmware did you also reset to factory settings?
Rolling back on its own does not do that. It leaves you with the same settings that you had before the firmware changed.
It's quite common for internet service providers to rig a house so that there is one network/internet jack in the wall. Then you plug your router into that jack. Then you plug any devices into the router so that they're 'behind' it. That's where the whole jargon of 'behind the router' came from.
You need to hang around here a bit more. That is not a common arrangement except with cable to the premises.
This 'behind the router' thing does not seem to be a current terminology. Not something used here much.
What does it mean beyond the obvious? "I have a router connected to a modem to feed my network."
But everything suddenly changes with this bit:
However, the deal for our condo complex was to get a certain level of speed only. So it is not that our fiber optic connection isn't capable of faster speeds. It's just a matter of the amount of money the Homeowner Association was willing to pay the ISP for blanket condo complex coverage, vs. the amount of speed Centracom was willing to provide for the price.
That's the first mention of any "condo". A house is not the same thing as a condo. A house gets it own line. A condo gets one to share. College students are in the same boat. These can have a router of their own somewhere in the basement.
What does your landlord advise?
Previous conversations about similar arrangements in apartment blocks suggest that the LAN port sometimes connects back to a router. And router plus router = chaos.
Have you ever tried using your R8000P in access point mode?
I called Centracom, and they confirmed that it's a fiber speed connection.
That sounds like marketing speak. It means not much. Out in the real world "fibre speed" means something that delivers an Internet at the speed of a fibre-optic connection. That means up to 1000 Mbps, higher in some places.
But it's not the wireless connection that seems to be throttling my speed - it's the wired connection from router to the desktop computer....
In that case, have you looked at the settings on this desktop computer?
I hear what you're saying, but none of that explains why the old router worked just fine, and the new one doesn't. The settings on my desktop computer were untouched, I didn't do anything to any of them.
In the Network settings in Windows 10, it says I'm on 'network 5'. It used to be just 'network'. In the turning on and off of the router, and various resettings, could window have added additional network protocols that are now defunct? Would going in and deleting those be of any help at all?
I hear what you're saying, but none of that explains why the old router worked just fine, and the new one doesn't.
Some routers try to be "helpful" and to negotiate their configuration during the setup process.
For example, if you add a router to an existing router – always an unwise move – the new one will spot the conflict and give itself a local IP address that isn't the same as the first one.
I have also seen reports here – unreliable I admit – that a router has put itself into wireless access point mode after spotting a router during the setup process.
Did you tell us what the old router was? Do you have a detailed record of the settings on it?
The bottom line is that these things are networks, and networks consist of more than one device. That's why the first question asked when someone turns up here is about the rest of the network.
Some updates after a few days, which make this all the more bewildering: I tried uplugging the desktop computer's internet connection cable from the router completely, unplugging the router, and plugging the desktop computer directly into the condo's internet jack. It was still throttling the upload speed to about 4mbps.
Running the Blackhawk app internet speed test consistently says that I'm getting upload speeds of 8mbps or higher. Doing the speedtest through on routerlogin.net through my web browser yields the same results. But running the Ookla Speedtest.net on my desktop computer through any web browser, the upload speed is only around 3mbps.
So perhaps the problem does lie with the desktop computer itself. But that leaves me in a bind, because how in the world do you determine, among the potentially thousands of settings in Windows 10, exactly which setting might be the culprit?
Also, is there a setting which makes Blackhawk app, or the routerlogin.net update the firmware automatically? I thought I had kicked it back to factory defaults. But checking the blackhawk app the other day, I was suddenly back to the most recent firmware with no updates available. I did NOT update the firmware again after rolling back to the factory settings. Does it install updates without asking sometimes?
Running the Blackhawk app internet speed test consistently says that I'm getting upload speeds of 8mbps or higher. Doing the speedtest through on routerlogin.net through my web browser yields the same results. But running the Ookla Speedtest.net on my desktop computer through any web browser, the upload speed is only around 3mbps.
Is that the Nighthawk app? (Blackhawk is new to me.)
When you run a speed test on the Nighthawk app, it measures the speed between your router and your ISP. It is not a test of the speed at which your wifi operates.
The Ookla speedtest is not a simple process. The web browser negotiates a connection to a server somewhere out there. The location of that server is a random choice. Different servers will show up at different times.
When I want to test speeds, I do not rely on a single test site. Ookla is just one of many.
Is this PC connected via wifi? That will also be slower than wired tests.
I do not understand this bit:
Also, is there a setting which makes Blackhawk app, or the routerlogin.net update the firmware automatically? I thought I had kicked it back to factory defaults.
Firmware version and factory settings are two completely different things. Going to factory settings has no effect on your firmware.
Some routers do have an autoupdate features. (Experienced users often turn that off.) I see no sign of this for the R8000P. But it may be something added in new firmware, after they wrote the manual.
If your router does support this, you will see this in the browser graphical user interface (GUI).
Advanced
Administration
Firmware Update
Router Auto Firmware Update
A factory reset does nothing to the firmware. To change that, follow this procedure:
