EX8000 connected to R7000 but speed has dropped on 5G

[BuzzH]

Hi all.  Newbie here.  I've been reading through some of the posts but have not yet found one that deals with my question.

I have an R7000 Nighthawk and today I connected the EX8000 extender to it. All firmware is current.  All seems to be working except when a device is connected wirlessly to the EX8000 on the 5G channel, I am only getting 20-30MBPS on a speed test, whereas when I an connected wirelessly to the router itself, I am getting close to the 200MBPS I'm paying for.

I kow the R7000 is only a dual band and I am learning new concepts like "backhaul," but from what I have read hear, even if those contribute to the issue, a speed reduction of 85-90% seems excessive.  Is it? Or is this what I should expect?

On another note, I initially wanted to set everything up using Smart Connect, but couldn't get it to work.  When I tried to connect using WPS, it told me two devices were attempting to connect at the same time and the setup failed.  I haven't bothered to enter setting manually yet, but my question is, if I wish to use Smart Connect, would I enable it on the router first, then use a manual connection of the EX8000 to include enabling Smart Connect in the EX8000 as well?  What's the best way to do this, and is it even considered preferable to use Smart Connect.  Up to now, I've been telling my devices which band to use.

Thanks in advance.

Buzz

[galileos]

I had the same problem after installing 2 very pricey EX8000 to my home network with cable modem and a R7000 Nighthawk. I think it’s a huge #fail that the EX8000 doesn’t work properly when it’s connected to a R7000 Nighthawk Router that has the latest firmware installed. I’ve had to downgrade the router to V1.0.9.42_10.2.44 for it to function properly with the Mesh Range Extenders. I would expect this for users that are not loyal to Netgear and have mix and match of providers, but my las router was Netgear, this one is Netgear and I also have a whole home Arlo Camera Setup with 5 cameras. I’m questioning my judgement on relying on Netgear. Please, Netgear Support Specialists/Engineers/PhDs: work harder, recreate this problem that we are all experiencing, release a new version of the firmware and fix this!