Netgear Orbi Performance Slow

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donalcombright wrote:

st_shaw, not 100% sure why my post that I wrote up 3 times got wiped, but here is the short answer as I don't have the exact figures now:

 

ONT -> USB-C ethernet laptop (directly plugged into ONT)

1. SpeedTest: 950/900 (tested about 20 times and works consistently)

 

ONT -> USB-C ethernet laptop (directly plugged into ONT however through the junction box, so basically took the "Internet" plug out of my Orbi and plugged it into my laptop)

1. SpeedTest: 950/900 (tested about 20 times and works consistently)

 

ONT -> Orbi -> USB-C ethernet laptop

1. SpeedTest: 400/400 (about the best I have ever gotten

2. Verizon: 150/900 (tested 5 times, best result given. It timed out 3 times and 1 time I only got 24/800).

3. DSLReports: 800/650 (tested about 5 times, best results given)

 

To me, that means the router is causing something of a bottleneck. Regardless of SpeedTest being good or not, it should be consistent no? So it should not have degraded going through the Orbi.

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Thanks.  Your results illustrate a couple points.

1.  As I wrote, "You must use a speed test that utilizes multiple parallel streams to get maximum throughput with Orbi."Dslreports uses 32 parallel  streams when you click the Gigabit/Fiber button.  Did you click this button each time? I don't know what the other speed tests do, but it looks like they might use fewer streams, or even one stream.

2. You results also may vary with different broswers.  You could try different browsers and use the latest version of the most modern browser you have. Make sure you have a modern computer with a good network card also. You said you have a USB-C laptop.  If you are using a USB dongle, maybe the dongle, or its device driver, is part of the issue.

3. Routers do tend to be a bottleneck.  Note that when you test connected to the ONT you are directly connected to the Internet.  You have no router and no firewall in place.  All routers and firewalls must process the packets going through them, and are liable to slow down the connection, depending on how they are configured.  Expect them to get slower as you add more firewall rules.

I'm a bit surprised by the Verizon results, but their site says it's in beta.  I don't know what happened to their old speed test.

Bottom line: it can be difficult to test a gigabit connection, especially if you go outside your ISP's network. The differences between test sites say more about the sites than your router. Network congestion can cause varying results.  If you get reasonablly consistent results with the Dslreports test, your gear is probably working fine. If you feel like you need more speed you could run Orbi in AP mode behind another router.  I get 940/920 through Orbi in AP mode.