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Yesterday, I upgraded my R8500 fireware to 1.0.2.130. All functionality seems to be working the same. However, SpeedTest shows my download performance dropped from months of data points in the 170-180 Mbps, to a consistent 70-71 Mbps across the last two days.
I swapped out my R8500 for my older Netgear N750 and the download performance was back to normal 170-180 Mbps.
It appears the R8500 with 1.0.2.130 has much poorer internet performance.
Is there a setting I should be checking somewhere? I have tried a lot of them without any improvement.
Or is there a way I can get back an older version of the firmware without the performance hit? I don't see back versions on the website.
Re: R8500 Firmware Version 1.0.2.130 Performance Drop
Answers to your questions:
1) I started in the advanced menu and went page by page turning off most features to see if any fixed the performance.
2) I looked for the past firmware versions in two places. There was no link on the current 1.0.2.130 download page, and none listed next to it in the previous page.
What I learned after that:
1) The missing link to previous versions was actually on the "Downloads" page but not listed with the current version. It was seperate in a different font at the bottom of the list. It was easy to overlook it there after all the other links that were clearly not what I was looking for.
2) Once I downloaded an older version and reset to factory defaults the performance was restored. I then tried upgrading again to the current version and performace was still good. I then reload the saved configuration since it had large tables of access list and other setting likely to take several hours to reenter manually. The problem came back.
3) Another pass at the settings by hand looking for the problem and I found it. Dynamic QoS seems to have been locked down to a low number in the update install, without a way to restore the performance. Turning off Dynamic QoS restores performance. SpeedTest seems to be limited by its own previous low value. Manually setting reasonable values for the expected performance restores good results to SpeedTest runs. I manual set it as 190Mbps and now measure it with Speedtest at 178 Mbps.
Re: R8500 Firmware Version 1.0.2.130 Performance Drop
> Is there a setting I should be checking somewhere? I have tried a lot of > them without any improvement.
Which "a lot"? You might try a settings reset, and manual reconfiguration.
Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look for Documentation. Get the User Manual. Look for "Factory Settings".
> Or is there a way I can get back an older version of the firmware > without the performance hit? I don't see back versions on the website.
Where did you look on which "the website"?
Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look for Downloads. (For older versions, under Firmware and Software Downloads, look for "View Previous Versions".) Find the kit(s). Download the kit(s) you want. Read the "Release Notes" file for instructions.
Re: R8500 Firmware Version 1.0.2.130 Performance Drop
Answers to your questions:
1) I started in the advanced menu and went page by page turning off most features to see if any fixed the performance.
2) I looked for the past firmware versions in two places. There was no link on the current 1.0.2.130 download page, and none listed next to it in the previous page.
What I learned after that:
1) The missing link to previous versions was actually on the "Downloads" page but not listed with the current version. It was seperate in a different font at the bottom of the list. It was easy to overlook it there after all the other links that were clearly not what I was looking for.
2) Once I downloaded an older version and reset to factory defaults the performance was restored. I then tried upgrading again to the current version and performace was still good. I then reload the saved configuration since it had large tables of access list and other setting likely to take several hours to reenter manually. The problem came back.
3) Another pass at the settings by hand looking for the problem and I found it. Dynamic QoS seems to have been locked down to a low number in the update install, without a way to restore the performance. Turning off Dynamic QoS restores performance. SpeedTest seems to be limited by its own previous low value. Manually setting reasonable values for the expected performance restores good results to SpeedTest runs. I manual set it as 190Mbps and now measure it with Speedtest at 178 Mbps.
I then reload the saved configuration since it had large tables of access list and other setting likely to take several hours to reenter manually. The problem came back.
That is where things go wrong.
By reloading the settings you are also reloading whatever bug or broken settings was causing the problem.
It is a pain that seems to be common to all makes of router, perhaps because they all use the same basic chipsets. A complete fresh setup is the answer. For something like the tables of access list, a screen grab is your friend.
If nothing else, doing this all over again can prompt you to rethink all those settings and if you really do need them.
Re: R8500 Firmware Version 1.0.2.130 Performance Drop
The best answer would be for the interface to let the user export & import the tables and lists seperately from the rest of the configuration.
Setting up most of the configuration is actually fairly quick and most of the defaults are fine. The real labor in a complex configuration is all the time putting in those long lists of addresses and names. They are seldom the problem but are most of the work. Also, upgrading to a newer router could be much faster and easier if those could be moved from the old to the new one quickly.
