Re: Can't Get Close to Gigabit via WiFi

d4dr0ck · ‎2019-04-08

I recently, with great help from @Chuck_M and others here, reset and rebuilt my Orbi network. Content that all was well again at home, I allowed myself to be talked into trying Xfinity's Gigabit service. I swapped out the modem and restarted the RBR50. When everything came back up, I wasn't getting close to gigabit on wifi -- maybe around 400-500 mbps. None of the laptops in the house have an ethernet adapter (thanks, Apple), so I brought an older Thinkpad home from the office with a gigabit ethernet jack. That showed that I was getting around 700 mbps or so. Comcast "sent a signal" that seemed to push things into the upper 800s, but a couple days later, it was back to the 600-700 range, with WiFi being a fraction of that.

Xfinity came out, and their "gig tester" showed the modem was pushing out high 900s - I saw it myself. The tech replaced the modem anyway, got the same speeds on his tester, and went on his way. I'm still getting slow (relative to what the modem is delivering) WiFi speeds all over, including when ten feet from the router, staring at it. I realize that you can't expect to get the same speed via WiFi as via ethernet, but on the other hand, when I was getting Xfinity's 150 mbps service, I would see speeds very close to and in excess of that on my iPhone all over the place.

So, are there any settings I should check on logging into the router that might help get me closer to what I'm paying for? I don't have all the firmware versions in front of me, but as of a couple weeks ago, everything was up to date. The network is the router (RBR50) on the ground floor, a satellite (RBW30) on the second floor, an RBS50 on the third floor, and an outdoor satellite (RBS50Y) in the garage, which is piggybacked to the RBW30. I double-checked the cable from the modem to the router, and it's new Cat 6.

Any help would be most welcome, as always.

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-04-08

What Firmware is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too?

Some wifi devices will not get anywhere near 900Mb. Most average around 400-500Mb.

If you have devices that support 160Mhz then maybe. You'll have to talk with each device Mfr to see what bandwidth and speeds are really supported by them.

Ethernet should see on average 900Mb +-.

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected.

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO and WMM. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings.

plemans · ‎2019-04-08

Agree with @FURRYe38 . The max you're probably going to get out of this is that 400-550mbps. Thats under optimal conditions. Its a issue of the wireless ac spec and throughput on your individual devices. Smallnetbuilder did a great review that shows speeds based upon attenuation. It also ranks Orbi in comparission to other mesh systems. You're getting great speeds from the wifi.

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/33132-wi-fi-system-retest-netgear-ac3000-o...

One thing to check with your gigabit testing is try another product and several websites. the 2 sites I like to use are:

speedtest.xfinity.com

speedtest.googlefiber.net

Also see if you can find another computer to test with. Some of the older products I've tested with have tested the cpu a bit when testing gigabit speeds. Its always good to have more than one sample to test with.

d4dr0ck · ‎2019-04-08

@FURRYe38 wrote:

What Firmware is currently loaded? 2.3.1.44

What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem the NG router is connected too? Xfinity calls it an XB6. I don't know who builds it for them or what it might really be called.

Some wifi devices will not get anywhere near 900Mb. Most average around 400-500Mb.

If you have devices that support 160Mhz then maybe. You'll have to talk with each device Mfr to see what bandwidth and speeds are really supported by them.

Ethernet should see on average 900Mb +-.

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between them to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected. No need to take you down this road. Bottom line is before swapping out the modems in support of the gigabit service, the network was solid and just about anywhere inside or out I could peg the needle at what I was paying for (150-170mbps). It's still solid, but just not delivering enough of what I'm paying for to justify the added cost.

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO and WMM. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings. That stuff is all enabled.

Thanks for your thoughts and information. At this point, if I can't realize gigabit in real world uses, as a result of a limitation in the WiFi standards or whatever, I'll probably just tell Xfinity to cut me back down to where I was. No big deal. Thanks again.

d4dr0ck · ‎2019-04-08

@plemans wrote:

Agree with @FURRYe38 . The max you're probably going to get out of this is that 400-550mbps. Thats under optimal conditions. Its a issue of the wireless ac spec and throughput on your individual devices. Smallnetbuilder did a great review that shows speeds based upon attenuation. It also ranks Orbi in comparission to other mesh systems. You're getting great speeds from the wifi.

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/33132-wi-fi-system-retest-netgear-ac3000-o...

Thanks for that info, and the link, which I'll read. As I said in reply to @FURRYe38's helpful post, if the real world max is going to be 400-550 mbps, I'm minded to just go back to the 150 I'd been paying for, which was delivering that or more on my WiFi devices all over the house.

One thing to check with your gigabit testing is try another product and several websites. the 2 sites I like to use are:

speedtest.xfinity.com

speedtest.googlefiber.net

Also see if you can find another computer to test with. Some of the older products I've tested with have tested the cpu a bit when testing gigabit speeds. Its always good to have more than one sample to test with. This is a fair point, but maddening because my main machine is a MacBook Pro from mid-2018, and not only is there no ethernet jack, to get one will require not one, but two, dongles. One is a Thunderbird 2-Ethernet dongle. That won't work on the latest MBPs, though, so I also need a Thunderbird 2-Thunderbird 3 dongle, or so I'm told. I'm not willing to do that unless absolutely necessary, just on principle!

Thanks again for the help.

michaelkenward · ‎2019-04-09

As others have explained, Gigabit via WiFi is unrealistic. (I'm surprised that anyone expects to get those speeds.) However, if speed is important to you before you drop back to a slower Internet service, think about other options.

Wired devices are inherently faster than wireless. If you can wire some of your stuff, that will squeeze more speed out of the system.If it is a case of avoiding running wires all round the place, the Powerline Ethernet can be faster than wifi albeit not as fast as direct wired ethernet.

Then again, apart from speedtests I wouldn't expect to see much difference between 500 Mbps and 1 Gbps.

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-04-09

Reason for asking about placement and distance, this is key in good operation, at any ISP speed, to ensure the system is setup well.

Ya, I had 1Gb service for a several months last year. Nice and all however just can't see paying for what wifi can't really use. Not alot of wifi that can support it. Honestly, I don't see a real need for wifi having that bandwidth anyways. Most straming and gaming don't need that kind of speed and bandwidth. Maybe if you had a business and everyone was on wifi, or a house full of users all streaming and gaming all at once maybe. I think bandwidth really depends on what people are doing. For the most part lower speeds would be sufficient to satisfy most anyone.

Will see what the new WiFi 6 has in store.

Good Luck.

d4dr0ck · ‎2019-04-09

@michaelkenward wrote:

As others have explained, Gigabit via WiFi is unrealistic. (I'm surprised that anyone expects to get those speeds.) However, if speed is important to you before you drop back to a slower Internet service, think about other options.

As I said, I understand there's a dropoff between the speed a modem delivers and what you see via WiFi. My surprise is just that the dropoff is so pronounced, but now I know. The truth is I don't need gigabit, and on more examination, the real world gain I'm seeing with it is far from worth the additional cost.

@michaelkenward wrote:

Wired devices are inherently faster than wireless. If you can wire some of your stuff, that will squeeze more speed out of the system.If it is a case of avoiding running wires all round the place, the Powerline Ethernet can be faster than wifi albeit not as fast as direct wired ethernet.

Yep, I've got a switch next to the router that supplies the things that are either most dependent on max bandwidth or most susceptible to WiFi flakiness. I appreciate hearing that Powerline Ethernet is a good option.

Thanks for taking the time to weigh in.

d4dr0ck · ‎2019-04-09

@FURRYe38 wrote:

Ya, I had 1Gb service for a several months last year. Nice and all however just can't see paying for what wifi can't really use. Not alot of wifi that can support it. Honestly, I don't see a real need for wifi having that bandwidth anyways. Most straming and gaming don't need that kind of speed and bandwidth. Maybe if you had a business and everyone was on wifi, or a house full of users all streaming and gaming all at once maybe. I think bandwidth really depends on what people are doing. For the most part lower speeds would be sufficient to satisfy most anyone.

Will see what the new WiFi 6 has in store.

Good Luck.

I've pretty quickly come to agree with all of this. The lesson here for me has been that gigabit to a typical home with lots of wireless devices will deliver very little in terms of appreciable gains. Thanks.

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-04-09

Good Luck.