@tryx wrote:
@so I upgraded to 400/20 internet speed like 4 months ago. I have a 3000 Sq foot home and have the Orbi router RBR50 on the first floor and then a RBS50 in the basement and then 1 on the 3rd floor. But when I test the wifi speeds on 5g band it shows I'm connected at 866 speed but no matter if I test next to the router or either satellite I get speeds from 230 to 360 or so and then very rarely get up to 480 down speeds. It seems to be all over the place and when I test I make sure nothing else is using the internet. Now if I reboot the router it will sometimes help bring up the speeds I get from the Wi-Fi and I test with a few different devices that can connect @ 866 right next to the router or satellites but they all have the strange result with speed being anywhere from 230 to 360 with the average around 300 or so. Even when I plug my computer right into the satellite by way of ethernet I will get solid speed of 482/23 on the 3rd floor on it at the same time my wifi off the same satellite was showing 345 down. Hardwired to the modem gives me 483/23 so it's not that that the speed isn't there, it's just that the wifi won't push it. No matter what time of day I test I get 482/23 right from either the router ethernet or the satellite ethernet but wifi is all over the place with an average of around 300. Does anyone have any idea of why it's doing this or how I can fix it? I will add that it's running the latest firmware V2.1.4.16.
Your results are actually quite good and don't really indicate a problem. Your expectations may be too high for what WiFi can do.
First you need to consider how WIFi works and set your expectations accordingly. If your client connects at 866 Mbps that's just the underlying link rate. That's not going to be the effective throughput! WiFi has a lot of overhead that limits effective throughput. You should expect no more than 50-60% of the link rate as throughput. You also need to use a test that utilizes multiple parallel streams to get maximum throughput. Use the Dslreports speed test.
Second, the link rate varies constantly based on the current WiFi signal quality. If you have any interference, other APs in the area, etc, the link rate will go down. If the link rate is less than 866, then the throughput will be no more than 50-60% of the actual link rate. Many windows computers will report the maximum link rate, not the current effective link rate, so you might not actually be connecting at 866 when you think you are.
Third, your results will depend very strongly on your WiFi client's capabilities. I can get over 625 Mbps throughput with Orbi and a 2018 MacBookPro. That's at an actual link rate of 866 and MCS 9, which means ideal signal quality. It's easy to see the link rate on a Mac, but it's actually the rate in the upload direction, not the download link rate, which is usually higher. An iPhone 7+ gets 470 Mbps throughput. A 2011 MacBookPro gets 150-200 Mbps measured throughput.
So, again, if you are getting an average of 300 Mbps, that's actually excellent and there's nothing wrong with your Orbi. If you think you need to improve something, you need to have highly capable client devices, and you will need to focus on your RF environment to try and minimize anything else in the house that might be interfering with your WiFi. You really cannot change 5 GHz channels on Orbi, so you'll need to look at other devices not Orbi. There may be nothing you can do, but again you don't really have much to gain if you are averaging 300 Mbps.
