Netgear PR2000 Trek N300 - as range extender: WiFi VERY slow / wired connection fast

[rustygearhead]

I'm using my Netgear PR2000 Trek N300 as a range extender and when I connect to the LAN-only (yellow)  port as wired connection with my laptop I get speeds of ~10Mb, however when I connect via wifi speeds are only about 0.5 to 1.5Mb ...

I have tested the wifi speed across two laptops and an iPhone and all three are slow via wifi, so I know it is not the receving computer that is the issue

I am using channel 11 on the PR2000 and the pull-down menu is gray-ed out so I am not able to try using a different broadcast channel....

I have latest firmware in the device  xxx.14

Any help appreciated!

[DarrenM · Accepted solution]

Hello rustygearhead

Since only one wireless device can transmit at once, wireless transmissions are doubled (router to repeater and then repeater to client versus just router to client), and so Wireless throughput is reduced by at least 50%.

DarrenM

[ElaineM]

Welcome to the community, @rustygearhead

I have enabled AP mode on my PR2000 and didn't get the same problem.

I was able to change my channel.

Have you tried re-flashing the firmware of the router?

If not, try to reload the same firmware then reset the router after.

Push the reset button at the back of the router for 10 seconds and then reconfigure it.

Keep us updated!

[rustygearhead]

something very odd is going on................

I have my unit in repeater mode .... sorry if i did not mention that ....

I think that is why I can not change the channel on the unit.

I re-flashed the xx.14 firmware into the unit and did a hard reset and then set it backup with correct profile (which had been lost of course)

with the WIRED connection I get 15mb down and 6mb up

with the wireless connection I only get about 7mb down and 6mb up

I tested the wireless speed on both my laptop and iPhone 5s

so download speed is roughly cut in half with wireless connection and it does not appear the problem is related to the device since it tests with same speed on multiple devices....

😞

[DarrenM · Accepted solution]

Hello rustygearhead

Since only one wireless device can transmit at once, wireless transmissions are doubled (router to repeater and then repeater to client versus just router to client), and so Wireless throughput is reduced by at least 50%.

DarrenM

[rustygearhead]

Darren: 

Thank you ... that makes sense ... well I think it makes sense ....

There are now two wireless hops and the PR2000 is setup such that both hops are are on the same channel ...

It would seem throughput would be better if the repeater could be set to be on a different channel .... ???

As an experiment I may plug a wifi router into the LAN port of the PR2000 set it to a different channel and test wireless throughput that way....

What results would you expect to see from such a setup given that the wifi channel is good up to 54Mbps+ and my is only 15Mbps  ???

Thanks!

Jim

[DarrenM]

Rustygearhead 

If you have the PR2000 plugged in via ethernet to your router you should be getting full speeds over the wifi.

DarrenM

[rustygearhead]

Darren:

Thanks for your help!

Here is my setup:

Main house---------------------------------------------------------->Workshop

Netgear SB6141 Router wnr2000v3                                    NetGear Trek N300 (Model PR2000)

hard-wired to cable modem                                                 Set in window facing main house

Speed: typically ~17Mb  wired OR wireless                         NO WIRED connection to main house but has

                                                                                            an "almost" line-of-sight to Sb6141 in main house to pick up the "primary" WiFi signal

                                                                                            Speed: using yelllow LAN port (wired): 12Mb

                                                                                            Speed: using N300 Wifi - alas only : 6Mb

I think I understand that the "repeated" WiFi connection is why I see 12Mb wired vs. only 6Mb wireless in the workshop.

If I took another wifi router and plugged it into the LAN port of the N300 and set it to use a non-conflicting wifi channel I would think that I would then be able to take advantage of the "full" 12Mb that is available at the LAN port of the N300 over Wifi in the workshop rather than only having 6Mb of bandwidth?

Would that work? Did I miss something here?

Thanks,

Jim              

[DarrenM]

rustygearhead

If there is not interference then yes you are correct that should work.

DarrenM

[rustygearhead]

Thanks for helping me figure this out Darren -- I was puzzled!

Does NetGear make a  range extender that puts this gear together in one box so that WiFi speeds are not cut in half when repeated?

I'm sure it would be more expensive due to the extra circitury required, but I'd cough up the extra $$$   😉

Jim