Re: Gigabit internet shows up as 400Mbps

JoelM3d · ‎2017-09-16

I have Centurylink gigabit internet service to my house. I have my Orbi directly connected to my provided ONT. My pc which is connected by ethernet to my Orbi shows between 800Mbps and 900Mbps on the Ookla speedtest. Doing an speed test on my Orbi shows only a speed of 400Mbps download and around 200Mbps upload. My wifi speeds vary between 350mbps to 120mbps when I repeat a test at the same location. Is this normal? Is my satelite too close to my main Orbi?

st_shaw · ‎2017-09-17

Orib's client WiFi connection speeds are: 400 Mbps for 2.4 GHz and 866.7 Mbps for 5 GHz. You will only achieve a maximum of 50% to 60% of the connection speed as data throughput, due to overhead in the WiFi protocol. So, your results are normal. If you need maximum throughput, then wire your device to the Orbi router. Wired to the satellite should achieve around 500-600 Mbps, because the data must traverse the wireless backhaul.

View solution in original post

st_shaw · ‎2017-09-17

Orib's client WiFi connection speeds are: 400 Mbps for 2.4 GHz and 866.7 Mbps for 5 GHz. You will only achieve a maximum of 50% to 60% of the connection speed as data throughput, due to overhead in the WiFi protocol. So, your results are normal. If you need maximum throughput, then wire your device to the Orbi router. Wired to the satellite should achieve around 500-600 Mbps, because the data must traverse the wireless backhaul.

rjeitani · ‎2017-09-17

That doesn't explain why the upload speeds are half the download speeds. I had the same problem with my Orbi. Fixed it by putting it in AP mode (and had the Centurylink modem be the router with its radio off). Now I get 420mbps both up and down.

JoelM3d · ‎2017-09-17

st_shaw,

Thanks for the reply.

Just to be clear. I have 1000Mbps incoming internet. Direct lan connection to my orbi shows speeds I'd expect:

890Mbps Download 188Mbps Upload

But when I run the speed test on the Orbi app or in the Orbi web interface I can expect half that speed:

389Mbps download 195Mbps Upload

And my actual speed tests on my mobile device is anywhere from 350Mbps if I practically place my phone onto my Orbi satellite right down to an average of 200Mbps when connected to 5Ghz.

Just for fun here are my Orbi stats:

My wifi connection seems ok although my cell phone always seems to connect to my satellite even when I'm right next to my Orbi router. It just seems like the speed I'm getting is a bit on the slow side. What does WLAN AC 866Mbps really mean then?

Sorry for asking, I've just set up my Orbi after switching from Google Wifi and I'm still within the 15 day return window. So far I really like what the Orbi does, just want to make sure I have expected speeds for gigabit internet.

Thanks,

JoelM3d · ‎2017-09-17

After posting my last reply I checked my devices and ran a speed test on my phone.

My phone is 2 feet away from the Orbi Router, is connected to it on the 5Ghz channel but speed test was an abismal 42Mbps download and 42Mbps upload. Connected Lan speed test resulted in 786Mbps down and 187Mbps up. Seems really weird that wifi is so slow right next to router.

I did upgrade firmware this morning to latest V2. I have not done a factory reset, maybe I should?

st_shaw · ‎2017-09-17

@JoelM3d I understood what you wrote. Speeds of 200 to 400 Mbps are as expected. The achievable WiFi speedsactually has nothing to do with your Internet connection speed.

1. The 866 Mbps link rate means this is the MAXIMUM rate that the router and a client can exchange data. This rate is only achieved under ideal conditions, such as in the same room, no obstructions between devices, and with no sources of interference. This rate is not achieved through walls, etc. The rate also adjusts constantly with time, and will be different for communications from the router to the client, and from the client to the router. The connection from the client to the router is often less, especially with a phone, which has weak radio, poor antenna, and is blocked by your hand. This is why uploads can be less. As I wrote earlier, the expected THROUGHPUT is no more than 50% to 60% of the link rate, so the maximum you should ever see is 430 to 520 Mbps on 5 GHz and 200 to 240 on 2.4 GHz. This is because WiFi has a lot of management traffic that eats up the link rate. So, your WiFi results of 200 to 400 are in the normal range.

2. If you want to test and optimize your WiFi performance, then you should use a proper tool like iperf3. Download a copy of iperf3, run iperf3 as a server on a desktop or laptop wired to the router, and run iperf3 as a client on a WiFi laptop. On my iPhone 7+ connected to the Orbi router, I measure between 385 and 520 Mbps using iperf3 to a wired server connected to the Orbi router. I wouldn't use the Orbi speedtest or pay much attention to, as it's not measuring speed through the Orbi to your clients.

In your latest post you said you were only getting around 40 Mbps. That is lower than expected. Yes, I would try a reset. You might have other devices in the home causing interference though, such as neighbors' routers, wireless speakers, etc.

waynealight · ‎2017-09-17

several online reviews of the orbi system have shown problems if a client is within a couple feet of the access point, moving a few feet further away fixes that issue.

Mikey94025 · ‎2017-09-17

5Ghz is not going to be able to support the full speeds of your gigabit ethernet, so expect the max to be slower. 2.4Ghz is much, much slower so don't expect more than 10s of Mb/sec. Don't obsess over your Orbi speeds unless you notice a problem affecting your real use.

You will see different speeds if your phone decides to connect over 2.4Ghz instead of 5Ghz. It's not easy to tell with iOS how it's connected so check the Orbi's attached devices listing. If you must test your phone's speeds, turn on and off the phone's internet after you've first moved it next to your router, or else you can't be sure that it connects to your router vs. satellite. Even so check Orbi's attached devices listing before trying to conclude anything over wireless.

JoelM3d · ‎2017-09-18

st_shaw,

Thanks for the very indepth response, it is much appreciated.

After my last reply I ran a test in my living room and was getting 425Mbps. So everything seems fine according to your response.

I've moved my router up on a high shelf above my pc and reset to factory default with the latest firmware. Speeds near my router are now showing reasonable speeds again (350-250 range).

Thanks for all the replies and I'm very happy with what I'm now seeing.

st_shaw · ‎2017-09-18

@JoelM3d Sounds like very good results. I hope it keeps working like that for you.

rjeitani · ‎2017-10-05

This doesn't explain why upload speeds are abysmal when in router mode and only improve in AP mode. Getting 300-400mbps downloads for a gigabit connection is normal but 20-30 mpbs uploads for the same connection is not. This bug needs to be fixed. It's only when I use AP mode and turn off the routing that I get 400mbps for both downloads AND uploads. The post marked as the solution is not correct.

st_shaw · ‎2017-10-05

@rjeitani wrote:

This doesn't explain why upload speeds are abysmal when in router mode and only improve in AP mode. Getting 300-400mbps downloads for a gigabit connection is normal but 20-30 mpbs uploads for the same connection is not. This bug needs to be fixed. It's only when I use AP mode and turn off the routing that I get 400mbps for both downloads AND uploads. The post marked as the solution is not correct.

Yes, you should be getting more than 20-30 Mbps uploads in router mode.

After moving his router and performing a factory reset, the OP marked this thread as solved, because his issue was solved.

If you would like to create your own thread, and provide some more information on your specific issue, then perhaps someone can help you solve your issue.

waynealight · ‎2017-10-05

also remember that 866 is a maximium if your client was 2x2 or greater connection ability, most people dont and portabile devices like tablets and phones definately don't.

that being said there has been a lot of questions reguarding the built in speed test and qos. lots of people say if you ever ran the built in speed test it activates qos, which will affect individual device speeds. The fact that netgear still has it natively disabled and unable to be accessed is bothersome. maybe there is a issue of a double nat that is slowing down speeds, do you apply a dmz rule for the netgear when it is in router mode?