Re: Very slow wired speed

flash99 · ‎2017-11-11

I have an Orbi with one satellite running latest firmware. No QOS or other non-usual settings.
When I copy between two wired devices, one of them connected to the main unit and the other to the satellite speed is simply terrible
I tried to switch ports, switch devices nothing works
On the devices, LAN speed shows 1G. Tried to set it to manual 1G instead of auto negotiations same problem

flash99 · ‎2017-11-12

Spent the whole evening trying to understand what’s wrong and test different settings and configurations.
Nothing worked.
The last thing I did is to make DHCP reservation for the satellite
Now I’m not sure if after this I tested the speed or not.
This morning transfer speed jumped from 3-4 to 35-40.
So either this reservation helped or suddenly the 5G connection between the satellite and the router become much better.

riznick · ‎2017-11-12

I am having the same problem with wired port speeds. I can do a clean firmware install and the wired port will work fine for a few weeks and then it gets really really slow.

Plugging a wireless USB device into my computer get's it up to speed, but I'd very much rather be wired if I can be.

This has been problematic for a few firmware revisions

Current Router Firmware Version V2.0.0.74

epsilonkore · ‎2018-03-06

I have a gigabit connection with Comcast. When my Macbook Pro (2017) is directly wired to my Xfinity modem, I obtain 942~Mbps down using Xfinity Speedtest site

If I connect my Orbi to the Xfinity modem, then wire my Macbook Pro to the Orbi, all with brand new (verifed to run gig speed) Cat 5E cable, my performance drops to 290Mbps.

If I unplug the Macbook Pro's wired ethernet connection and turn on wireless, I achieve 600Mbps+ from my Orbi. My iPhone X hits around 498Mbps.

WIRED IS SLOWER THAN WIRELESS. To a significant degree. It has not always been this way. When I first bought the Orbi, back in version 1.xxx days, I was able to see 940Mbps wired with the Orbi in the configuration. I have done a 30-30-30 reset, downgraded to the recommended 2.0.1.4 firmware and it still runs slower on wired. My old X6 Nighthawk could easily maintain the 940Mbps wired speeds. What has happened to my Orbi? Could this be hardware related (its switch failing?) or is this from the 2.X firmware (will downgrading to 1.X restore performance only to be "auto upgraded" back to 2.X as soon as the router detects its out of date? What is my solution? Is there a solution? I see others on this thread have similar issues... any solutions from Netgear?

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-03-06

What is the Mfr and model# of the ISP modem? Built in router by chance?

I'ts possible that the Orbi system doesn't have or support NAT HW accelleration or Cut Thru support.

After doing a factory reset with the Orbi router while you have a ethernet connected PC to the back of the router, try a speed test first before setting up the router. Then after you set up the router, only set up wifi ssid names and don't touch, QoS, Access Control and Traffic Meter and test speeds.

Do you have any Windows PCs by chance?

@epsilonkorewrote:
I have a gigabit connection with Comcast. When my Macbook Pro (2017) is directly wired to my Xfinity modem, I obtain 942~Mbps down using Xfinity Speedtest site

If I connect my Orbi to the Xfinity modem, then wire my Macbook Pro to the Orbi, all with brand new (verifed to run gig speed) Cat 5E cable, my performance drops to 290Mbps.

If I unplug the Macbook Pro's wired ethernet connection and turn on wireless, I achieve 600Mbps+ from my Orbi. My iPhone X hits around 498Mbps.

WIRED IS SLOWER THAN WIRELESS. To a significant degree. It has not always been this way. When I first bought the Orbi, back in version 1.xxx days, I was able to see 940Mbps wired with the Orbi in the configuration. I have done a 30-30-30 reset, downgraded to the recommended 2.0.1.4 firmware and it still runs slower on wired. My old X6 Nighthawk could easily maintain the 940Mbps wired speeds. What has happened to my Orbi? Could this be hardware related (its switch failing?) or is this from the 2.X firmware (will downgrading to 1.X restore performance only to be "auto upgraded" back to 2.X as soon as the router detects its out of date? What is my solution? Is there a solution? I see others on this thread have similar issues... any solutions from Netgear?

epsilonkore · ‎2018-03-07

Manufacturer of Xfinity supplied modem is Technicolor TC4400-CMT.

I have a Windows 10 custom built desktop (gaming rig) that also reproduces the same results, though I didnt supply it as a test as it is two switches and 600ft away from this Orbi and not very transportable (hence why I used my MBP). All the way across the house, two netgear switches away, it still pulls down 290~Mbps using Xfinitys speed test. If I direct wire it in (cutting out all of my switches and satellite Orbi's) I get about the same as the MBP, 945Mbps (slight Mb or two faster than the MBP).

I have downgraded from the glitchy 2.1 firmware to the 2.0.1.4 that Netgear recommended.

When I did it, I did the 30/30/30 flash method on the main router, then booted into the router and did an "erase". I have also reflashed it probably 3x's, erased it countless times, and 30/30/30 it maybe 3 or 4 times. I test it immedately (well as soon as I go through the initial steps that allow for internet to flow) with no additional QOS (I find QOS to hurt max throughput anyway) setup. Last time I didnt even setup the SSID first, I tested on a raw rebuild and still hit less than 300Mbps on wired (directly into the Orbi router also, not the extenders).

I hesitat to blame the Orbi for any hardware NAT acceleration or cut through support (like my switches have) as when I first bought it, it was able to push the entire 940Mbps bandwidth through. If it didnt, I would have taken it back immediately. I pay for gigabit, and I have brand new "gaming" switches and a new house full of brand new cabling, I EXPECT full wired speed. (my X6NightHawk can still push full wired speed when I plug it in to test) That being said, I dont test daily, and I only discovered this 1/3 wired speed about two months ago. I searched and searched for an answer, and never really spoke out till this thread.

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-03-07

Factory reset from the button or the web page ui is enough. 30/30/30 isn't needed for factory FW.

I can only surmise that the Orbi router may not have NAT HW accelleration capabilities which IS needed to to gain upto 900Mb speeds.

You can give this a try and see what the Orbi router is doing:

https://www.duckware.com/tech/router-wan-to-lan-throughput-test.html

Let us know what you find out...

epsilonkore · ‎2018-03-07

I will test using the site you provided when I am home again, but as stated before, I have achieved over 900Mbps wired with my Orbi, so I know it can do it. Specifically when I first got it I ran a slew of benchmarks to be sure it was up to the task of equaling performance to my older NightHawk. If it couldnt do gig speed routing over wired, it would have gone back in December.

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-03-07

Please post your results.

Did you do any FW upgrades since when you first got it?

What FW version did you test with initially when you got 900Mb on the Orbi router?

@epsilonkorewrote:
I will test using the site you provided when I am home again, but as stated before, I have achieved over 900Mbps wired with my Orbi, so I know it can do it. Specifically when I first got it I ran a slew of benchmarks to be sure it was up to the task of equaling performance to my older NightHawk. If it couldnt do gig speed routing over wired, it would have gone back in December.

epsilonkore · ‎2018-03-07

I will post soon. When I bought it from Costco it came with 1.X firmware (which version of 1.X I am not sure). Soon after it auto updated to 2.0.X and later to 2.1 which is when i started having so many issues I had to roll back to 2.0.1.4. It was during 2.1 that I noticed the WAN to LAN speed being so greatly reduced, so when I rolled back to 2.0.1.4 I hoped it wouldl fix it. It did not. While I cant reproduce my performance from December's original unboxing, I can show that SmallNetBuilder ran performance benchmarks showing that it was hitting int he 924Mbps range in thier labs. (not sure if this link will copy on this forum, but the benchmarks are halfway down under WAN-LAN) TCP https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/33028-netgear-orbi-reviewed?showall=&start...

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-03-07

Ok, this is something to bring to the attention of NG support. You might see if a v1.x FW is still available to test with...

@epsilonkorewrote:
I will post soon. When I bought it from Costco it came with 1.X firmware (which version of 1.X I am not sure). Soon after it auto updated to 2.0.X and later to 2.1 which is when i started having so many issues I had to roll back to 2.0.1.4. It was during 2.1 that I noticed the WAN to LAN speed being so greatly reduced, so when I rolled back to 2.0.1.4 I hoped it wouldl fix it. It did not. While I cant reproduce my performance from December's original unboxing, I can show that SmallNetBuilder ran performance benchmarks showing that it was hitting int he 924Mbps range in thier labs. (not sure if this link will copy on this forum, but the benchmarks are halfway down under WAN-LAN) TCP https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/33028-netgear-orbi-reviewed?showall=&start...

st_shaw · ‎2018-03-07

@epsilonkore wrote:

I will test using the site you provided when I am home again, but as stated before, I have achieved over 900Mbps wired with my Orbi, so I know it can do it. Specifically when I first got it I ran a slew of benchmarks to be sure it was up to the task of equaling performance to my older NightHawk. If it couldnt do gig speed routing over wired, it would have gone back in December.

Like you, I used to get 940 Mbps using the Orbi as a switch in the past and now it's slower. I'm currently getting 600-700 Mbps. This is between machines across the LAN ports, in AP mode, and does not involve the Internet. Netgear must have introduced a change with the daisy-chain and/or wired backhaul that impacts the wired speed.

I will try it with daisy chain disabled when I get a chance. Did you try it with daisy chain topology off?

epsilonkore · ‎2018-03-08

I just disabled daisy chain, rebooted, and get the same WAN-LAN performance 😕 I think my next step is to go down to the 1.X firmwares to see if that restores performance (before it auto upgrades me)

st_shaw · ‎2018-03-08

@epsilonkore wrote:

I just disabled daisy chain, rebooted, and get the same WAN-LAN performance 😕 I think my next step is to go down to the 1.X firmwares to see if that restores performance (before it auto upgrades me)

Thanks. It was worth a shot. My Orbi is at a remote site a couple hours away, so I cannot try any throughput tests until the weekend.

epsilonkore · ‎2018-03-08

I have a little time before I leave for work, so I tried downgrading to the last of the 1.x firmware. Pre Daisy chain, to see if your theory is correct (makes sense to me...) I tried to downgrade my satellite and then router to 1.12.0.18... by the time I was done downgrading one satellite, then moved to the second satellite, the first satellite had already auto upgraded back to 2.0.1.4. I suppose I could unplug the internet from the Orbi so it cant detect a newer firmware, downgrade both satellites and then the router... but as soon as I plug it in for testing its going to upgrade again... we really need a way to disable auto upgrades. Wish I had woke up earlier, I need more than 30 minutes to test with.

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-03-08

Turn the Satellites off. They don't need to be tested. What you need to test is the Orbi router with v1.x FW. The WAN speed on the router is what needs to be checked. If you can do this before it updates.

You can try this test and see after you down grade the FW:

https://www.duckware.com/tech/router-wan-to-lan-throughput-test.html

It will have you do a factory reset then connect to the main internet behind a different router. IF you don't use the setup wizard, I presume the router shouldn't auto update till after the test is ran. I suppose you can do this as well if you manually downgrade the router on your current system and then factory reset it and run a speed test after it seems to be online and don't run the set up wizrard.

@epsilonkorewrote:
I have a little time before I leave for work, so I tried downgrading to the last of the 1.x firmware. Pre Daisy chain, to see if your theory is correct (makes sense to me...) I tried to downgrade my satellite and then router to 1.12.0.18... by the time I was done downgrading one satellite, then moved to the second satellite, the first satellite had already auto upgraded back to 2.0.1.4. I suppose I could unplug the internet from the Orbi so it cant detect a newer firmware, downgrade both satellites and then the router... but as soon as I plug it in for testing its going to upgrade again... we really need a way to disable auto upgrades. Wish I had woke up earlier, I need more than 30 minutes to test with.

epsilonkore · ‎2018-03-13

OK, so over the weekend I fixed my Orbi's performance! I now have 943 WAN-LAN and 955 LAN-LAN wired performance! I am not quite sure what step in my madness actually fixed it, but I know it was a sequence of firmware flashes/erase/30-30-30 and flashing to a different ROM that finally did it. This is a system I perfected back in my WNDR3700/R6300/R8000 Tomato/DDRT flashing days. Sometimes certain flashing combinations with older ROMs would restore functionality after a custom ROM broke it. So I theorized that going from start to finish in the Orbi OEM firmware history might restore it back to factory performance.

My steps: Basically I downloaded to my desktop, the very first 1.x firmware for satellite and router, then I downloaded the 1.x halfway in the middle of its run, and then the final 1.x firmware. I downloaded 2.0.14 for good measure. I then unplugged my internet connection to the Orbi Router to prevent auto updates. First I did a software ERASE, once it booted back up, I did a 30-30-30 erase on the Router and Satellites (something I had not done in the past, I didnt know the satellites had a reset pin as well). I then flashed all of them to the original 1.x firmware, rinsed and repeated to the mid point 1.x, and again to the final 1.x. At that point I did some LAN-LAN tests and noticed speed was restored! Still, without internet and auto upgrade messing with my mix, I manually updated to the final 2.0.1.4 version I am using now. LAN to LAN still rocked around 950-955Mbps! I then plugged it back into the internet and my LAN to WAN has hovered in the 920-945 range (just a few Mbps less than a direct PC to Modem setup!). I then restored a backup from before (a true test to see if the backup and my custom settings were part of the problem) and everything has held! All services installed/configured and running perfectly along with full performance!

I tested your "no satellite" theory in the start, and while it didnt change what happened, I did notice that wireless performance is way faster with the satellites off. (if you are in range of the router that is) My iPhone X with satellites on, his a max of 584 standing next to the router. With the Satellites off, it hits 641! Same for my Macbook Pro/Surface/AppleTV's, they all have a healthy improvement when the Satellites are off, hitting new household records. Of course, the satellites on provides superior coverage, and they will be left on (thats the point of the Orbi purchase for me) but it was interesting to see how much wireless backhaul impacted performance. I wonder if wired backhaul in 2.1 (when its finished) will aleviate this deficit?

Everything being said, I am back in the "Happy Orbi User Camp". Its a robust trio of hardware, that still needs some software refinement, but even with 2.0.1.4 I am very happy now that my LAN speeds have been restored.

epsilonkore · ‎2018-03-13

I have posted a reply here 4x's with various information about how I have fixed my Orbi switching performance, but each and everyone posts for a few minutes and is removed. Not sure why?

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-03-13

Have you tired the suggestions?

Are you posting too fast or making duplicate statement or putting in a bad link?

epsilonkore · ‎2018-03-13

I have posted four times since Saturday (when I did all of this), the posts were visible, and I even edited two of them, came back and inspected them on my phone and work computer... then they vanished. Maybe I said something that was against policy by mentioning my older routers and "3rd party" firmware flashing. Who knows. I have tried the suggestions, I have been testing LAN to LAN speeds the entire time (not using your app, a different one for Mac, and iOS as I only have one wired Windows 10 device, the rest are Wifi based) and achieved the same slow 300Mbps~ speeds as I did with my Gigabit WAN connection. I also tried turning off the satellites, that did nothing other than boost my wifi speeds, wired was still not better. I ended up disconnecting my Orbi from the Internet to prevent auto updates, then flashing the Orbi Router and Satellites all the way back to the original 1.x firmware. I then upgraded to a middle of the releases 1.x firmware, and then to the final 1.x firmware. I did a 30/30/30 reset and a software ERASE at each firmware update. LAN to LAN and LAN to WAN speeds at that point returned to full 950Mbps~ range. I then upgraded to the 2.0.14 firmware and the speeds remained at full speed. I then restored my backup settings and everything was STILL at full speed. The above method used to work for me when I had odd results with my older Netgear routers and custom ROMS from DDWRT/Tomato etc. Often regressing to original firmware, then slowly stepping up the release chain would fix wifi and built in switch issues. It apparently did with the Orbi as well. So I am fixed, I am happy with my Orbi again!

Jake5280 · ‎2018-08-27