Slower WiFi speeds on cell phone than on computer using AX3000

[gr8campr]

Good morning!  Wondering if I can get some information and assistance on how to increase WiFi speeds on mobile devices like cell phone(s), namely an iPhone 11, please?  I have a NETGEAR - Orbi 650 Series AX3000 Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (3-pack) with an additional add on RBS750 satellite.

I recently had fiber optic internet installed by Spectrum, upgrading from Frontier DSL.  With the DSL from Frontier, I was only getting around 3 MBPS, so internet speeds weren't all that different (read SLOW!).

My computer is hardwired using Cat 6 Ethernet cable on both connections between the Spectrum modem and the RBR750 router and between the Orbi router to my computer).

My question is this - when I now run a speed test using the Speed Test on the main computer and through the Orbi app on my iPhone, I get the following speeds:

SpeedTest:  Ping - 44 ms;  Download - 947.53 MBPS; Upload - 942.87 MBPS

Orbi SpeedTest: Ping - 17.84 ms; Download - 946.26 MBPS; Upload - 953.61

However, when I run a SpeedTest using the app on my iPhone, I am getting the following results:

SpeedTest:  Ping - 16 ms; Download - 280 MBPS; Upload - 214 MBPS

As you can see, there is quite a difference in speeds.  Tests were run in the same room as where the router and

computer are located.

Are there any settings in the Orbi app on my desktop computer that I can tweak to improve the speeds on my iPhone and other mobile devices to increase the internet speeds?

Running Firmware Version V4.6.14.3_2.3.12 on desktop app, and all satellites and router show V4.6.14.3 after checking for updates.

Appreciate any input that might be able to help me please.

Thank you!

[CrimpOn]

Assuming "in the same room" means within 6-8 ft. of the Orbi router, these results appear lower than expected.  The iPhone 11 is capable of WiFi6:

(2x2 MIMO means the iPhone has two antennas)  This leads to a theoretical "Link Rate" of about 1.2Gbps.  It is common for WiFi devices to achieve about half the Link Rate in actual transmission.  Thus, one would expect with a Gigabit internet connection that the iPhone would achieve over 400Mbps in Ookla Speed Test.  (My ancient WiFi5 Android phone measures over 350Mbps when connected to my 2016 WiFi5 Orbi RBR50. This is with an ISP connection of about 350Mbps.)

So what could be causing the low speed?

• It might be the iPhone. Perhaps one of the antennas is not connected?  Since phones are portable, it would be (relatively) easy to connect the phone to a different WiFi system and perform a speed test.
• Is the ax feature turned on? (default is "on")  This can be found on the Orbi web interface, Wireless menu (at the top). There are options to enable/disable ax on the 2.4G and 5G WiFi bands. (alas, there are devices which are not only do not support ax, but simply will not function if ax is enabled on the WiFi network.)  The default is to enable ax unless one of those specific devices is on the network (and the customer does not want to get rid of it - or cannot easily remove it, like a thermostat).
• Is the iPhone connecting at 5G?  (This will show up on the iPhone Network settings and on the Orbi 'app' Device Manager.

[gr8campr]

CrimpOn-

Thank you for your reply and suggestions.

You asked me to look at the following:

So what could be causing the low speed?

• It might be the iPhone. Perhaps one of the antennas is not connected?  Since phones are portable, it would be (relatively) easy to connect the phone to a different WiFi system and perform a speed test.

          Answer:  Without taking the iPhone to a repair shop to check on this, I am going to say that the antenna(s) is/are                            connected.  FYI, my iPhone 11 is the basic iPhone 11.

• Is the ax feature turned on? (default is "on")  This can be found on the Orbi web interface, Wireless menu (at the top). There are options to enable/disable ax on the 2.4G and 5G WiFi bands. (alas, there are devices which are not only do not support ax, but simply will not function if ax is enabled on the WiFi network.)  The default is to enable ax unless one of those specific devices is on the network (and the customer does not want to get rid of it - or cannot easily remove it, like a thermostat).

          Answer:  Looking in the Orbi app on my desktop computer, under ADVANCED -> Advanced -> Advanced Wireless   Settings, it is set to this -

Advanced Wireless Settings (5 GHz 802.11a/n/ac/ax)

Enable WMM (Wi-Fi multimedia) settings (5 GHz a/n/ac/ax)

This is the only setting that I could locate that included the ax setting, and it is set to Enabled (both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz).

• Is the iPhone connecting at 5G?  (This will show up on the iPhone Network settings and on the Orbi 'app' Device Manager.

          Answer - The iPhone is connected to 5 GHz WiFi.and the Link Rate is showing as 1201 Mbps. However,  I just ran a SpeedTest when I was sure that I was connected to the router in my office, and came up with the following results:

Ping Idle - 12; Download 624 MBPS; Upload - 567.

This appears to be in line with your statement regarding the 'theoretical' nature of the connection at the first part of your reply.

This leads me to think that I may be connecting to a satellite when running the SpeedTest, and due to the nature of the satellites being located in the house (unfortunately, in my case, my router/modem is positioned in my office in a downstairs corner, as this is the only place that I could place it instead of a central location - could not run phone lines initially for DSL, and no access to a central location, and unable to run Spectrum fiber optic cable to a central location.  Which means that the modem is connected to the Orbi RBR750 in the office with a short Cat 6 Ethernet cable, and I have one satellite located on the other side of the downstairs (50 - 75 feet), another satellite located upstairs, not quite above the 1st satellite, and again about 50 - 75 feet.  So, I would expect some degrading of the wireless signal connection between the router and the 2 satellites.

Might you or anyone possible have a solution to improve the satellite connection speeds without relocating the router/satellites?

Again, thank you for your reply!

Sincerely,

gr8campr

[CrimpOn]

50-75 ft. is a relatively long distance.  A bit amazed that the satellite achieve a "Good" connection to the router.

Thanks for the comprehensive report.