Orbi Throttling Wired Ethernet connection

[RBTP]

All,

I'm new to the forum, and having an issue regarding my Orbi RBK50 limiting/throttling my wired Ethernet.  The WiFi portion works great, it is only an issue with the wired ethernet.  Here is what is happening.

I've been using the Orbi for a few months now on my cable Internet system (Xfinity) getting the signal through an older Motorola Surfboard modem with pretty decent speed of around 120Mbps.  I upgraded my service to 250Mbps but found out my old cable modem was not capable of the new speeds, so purchased a new Xfinity recommended cable modem, an Arris Surfboard SB8200, capable of up to 1Gbps.  No problems hooking it all up and getting the new modem activated.  WiFi works great, as my wireless speeds are now over 250Mbps!!

The problem is my direct Cat5e cable connection to my desktop from the Orbi.  Running the cable from the connection on the back of the Orbi to my computer doesn't reflect even the old speeds, but results in only 20Mbps speeds (yes...20), a fraction of what I was getting before and what I am getting on WiFi.  It is not the cable as I can bypass the Orbi completely by plugging the same Cat5e cable from my computer directly into the Arris Modem and get almost 300Mbps speeds.  I've also tried plugging the cable into a different Ethernet port on the back of the Orbi (3 available) with the same very slow results.  Orbi WiFi is good...wired horrible.

My concern is I will eventually be setting up my satellite via a wired backhaul due to the location, and that I will get this limited very slow speed rather than what I am supposed to be getting.

I saw some old posts regarding doing a full factory reset as a possible fix.  Is there some other setting or option available to correct this problem?

Thanks

[RBTP · Accepted solution]

Problem solved!

I obtained a friends laptop computer and connected it via ethernet to my satellite, got full speed, with wireless also got the same high speeds.  Then I tried connecting the same laptop to the ethernet from the RBR and got full speed!  Now I realize it is something in my desktop, rather than the Orbi router!

Not having this desktop for very long, after digging into the settings, I found it has a "Killer" E2400 Gigabit ethernet controller, with an associated application that was preset to controlling the speed of each application.  Turned this off and viola...full speed now coming in via the ethernet cable!

One of the reasons I was stumped is I had been getting good speeds (120Mbps) prior to installing my new modem, and then started getting limited speeds via ethernet and full speeds with the wireless...weird.  Somehow the Killer application must have started limiting the wired speed for some unknow reason, and allowing the full WiFi speeds (go figure)

Anyway, greatly appreciate all the help and advice...learned a lot during the process!

[FURRYe38]

What FW is currently loaded?

Factory reset maybe needed if one has not been performed. Be sure that when you do reset, reset the router and set up from scratch. After setting up, only set up wifi SSID and PW. Don't enable QoS, Traffic Meter or Access controls on the router. First do a speed test with a ethernet connected PC using a web browser to speedtest.net or your ISP speed test set. Check your speeds first. IF good, then connect the satellite via wireless. If good there, you can connect the Ethernet cable to the satllite, wait 5 minutes for the top led to turn on BLUE. Do a IP address reservation for the satellite and PC as well ON the router.

Also when speed testing, make sure your PC/Browser security SW is temporarily disabled. Also speed test with different browsers and some browser results may differ.

There a network switch in the mix? If so, Mfr and model# please.

[RBTP]

Thanks for the quick response!

Current firmware is V2.1.4.16 on both the Router and satellite, so that is up to date

As per the speed test, I use a variety of devices, browsers and speed test sites.  There are always some differences, but nothing close to the extreme loss as I get hardwired with the direct ethernet cable.  The wired ethernet was working normally at full speed prior changing my modem, and nothing else was changed in any settings, so it must be an Orbi router glitch when it connected to the new modem.

I'll try a factory reset with the options you suggested, and will let you know if the reset fixes the issue.

Thanks

[FURRYe38]

Besure to swap out LAN cables between the modem and router. Some inbox cables dont' work well. Recommend using good quality CAT6 LAN cables. DeepSurplus or MonoPrice.

Keep us posted.

[RBTP]

Sorry, forgot to answer the external switch question, which is no.

One of the reasons for purchasing this model is because it has several LAN ethernet ports on each module, letting me use the Orbi to connect wired devices.

[RBTP]

CAT6 LAN cables...will do

[FURRYe38]

Reason for asking is that Orbi doesn't seem to like Managed switches or the IGMP protocols on them. You can always add a switch for more ports. I have 24 port on the back of my router.

[RBTP]

Did the full factory reset on both the router and the satellite...same results.  With WiFi, awesome speed, around 289Mbps.

With ethernet cable connected, still only 20Mbps.

Any other thoughts?

[FURRYe38]

I'm thinking there is a problem with the RBR. If your setting at Speeds direct with modem and thru RBR via wifi and your not via ethernet, something is wrong on the RBR.

I presume you have tested with a different wired PC to be sure? If so, I would probably contact NG support and ask for help on this and a RMA.

@Christian_R

[RBTP]

Sorry, I don't know what the RBR is

[FURRYe38]

RBR is the router portion of the RBK system. RBS are satellites.

[RBTP]

Got it, thanks. I figured that out after a bit!

Going to do a test to see if it is just the Orbi router that is affected by connecting my computer via cable to the satellite ethernet port.  If I get full speeds through there, I will know the satellite is passing the signal through ok and the ethernet port issue is restricted to the Router itself.  BTW I did try all the ports on the back of the router to see if it was limited to any particular one, however all have the same issue.

I looked into contacting Netgear regarding a warranty replacement, it is pretty hard to find out how to get in touch with them.  I was finally able to find a number, will try to contact them after I do the last test with the satellite.

Will keep posting as things progress...

[FURRYe38]

Let us know how it turns out. 

@Christian_R

[RBTP · Accepted solution]

Problem solved!

I obtained a friends laptop computer and connected it via ethernet to my satellite, got full speed, with wireless also got the same high speeds.  Then I tried connecting the same laptop to the ethernet from the RBR and got full speed!  Now I realize it is something in my desktop, rather than the Orbi router!

Not having this desktop for very long, after digging into the settings, I found it has a "Killer" E2400 Gigabit ethernet controller, with an associated application that was preset to controlling the speed of each application.  Turned this off and viola...full speed now coming in via the ethernet cable!

One of the reasons I was stumped is I had been getting good speeds (120Mbps) prior to installing my new modem, and then started getting limited speeds via ethernet and full speeds with the wireless...weird.  Somehow the Killer application must have started limiting the wired speed for some unknow reason, and allowing the full WiFi speeds (go figure)

Anyway, greatly appreciate all the help and advice...learned a lot during the process!

[FURRYe38]

One of those odd ones for sure. Glad you found the root cuase.

Enjoy.