On the Orbi mobile app (Android), I am seeing speed test results of about 100-170Mbps for download. If I use the very same mobile device to go to speedtest.xfinity.com, I can see about 300+Mbps. How is it possible for ONE mobile device to see a speed, connecting THROUGH the RBR50, that is (significantly) higher than the router is testing? The Orbi app says that this utility is also powered by Speedtest, so they should not be so dramatically different. I have all kinds of other issues that I will fight Xfinity on, but this one seems like a genuine discrepancy in the Orbi app.
What suggestions do you have to pinpoint the issue?
So... I logged a ticket with Netgear support to try and figure out why the router is showing slower than real connection speeds. That was quite a frustrating experience, to be honest. One of the worst technical support calls I've ever had. I have proven (screenshot evidence exists) that both the Android application AND the browser administration interface of the RBR50 are significantly under-reporting the speed that is accessible through the router. The router uses Speedtest (www.speedtest.net) functionality, which is clearly stated in both the browser and mobile app interfaces.
The router is self-reporting between 100-150Mbps. When using ANY device in our home network to access the Speedtest home page (or the Xfinity version: https://speedtest.xfinity.com), the results are between 350Mbps and 500Mbps. As I tried to communicate with the Netgear team, this access can only happen THROUGH the very same router that is clearly under-reporting. A router cannot deliver 450Mbps to my desktop if the router itself is only able to experience 100Mbps. Simple truth.
They wanted to remotely access my computer. What?!? Why? I am a very technical user, so I asked them to step me through the procedures that they would use to troubleshoot the router. They could not articulate the steps they were going to take... they were just going to "look around" to try and find possible issues. Nope. Not on my watch. Even their "advanced" support team member was nothing more than a barely informed help desk individual. They suggested restarting the router... AFTER being told that I had done this multiple times over the past 5-7 days with no improvement on the reported speeds. I asked them if we can change which speedtest server the router uses to run its tests (they are not all equal). They had no idea. In the end, they started suggesting that I factory reset the router. Nope. Done with the call. Thanked them for their time as politely as I was able and hung up.
Though the demonstrable speeds of 350-500Mbps are still short of our contract speed with Xfinity, it's not worth chasing any further with the Netgear team. The team members I spoke with are just not good enough to make a dang bit of difference.
#RBR850 (not in the Model pulldown list) Just a #MeToo about the Orbi App Speed Test showing #unreliableResults We have 50Mbps connection here,.. The app consistently shows values between 0-9Mbps whereas all other apps on intranet devices show 45-55Mbps. The app used to work a week ago, but now it can't be trusted (2020.04).
