Wifi speeds slow Please read - Troubleshoot and nothing.

[PeteD123]

Hi All, 

I have 1 gig internet through Cox. 

I have a Nighthawk CM1200 modem, and Speed tests on Orbi App show constantly 890-960. I am using RBR50 and satellite with Firmware version v2.7.4.24 

The home is 2 story 2000sqft. Router is in the downstairs laundry room, approx 30' from one of my main devices. Satelite is upstairs in the office, 3' from the PC I am writing this from. I bought both router and modem new at the same time when I moved in about 2 years ago, I believe this has always been the case, but now it is getting annoying. 

Running speed tests on any wifi device in my home range between 60-300 depending on device. 

Two best devices get approx 250 down on speed tests.

So, troubleshooting I have done so far, in order.

I confirmed my wifi channel has low traffic (2)

I have unplugged all devices, including modem

I have modified advanced settings in the router, Disable Daisy-Chain, and enable BEAMFORMING and enable MU-MIMO

I had hardwired 2 devices (1) PC went from 270 down wifi to 650 wired to the satellite. 

(2) TV connected to satellite as well went from 100 wifi to 300 wired.

I kicked my brand new phone off and got it to connect to the RBR50 while standing right next to it. Speeds peaked at less than 400 on wifi.

I have approx 20 devices split between 2.4 and 5, all major devices indicated above are all on 5.

So, I believe I have an issue with the Orbi system. 

I know there are probable 20 posts similar to this, but reading through some I don't find the same consistent issue, or issue persisting after the above troubleshooting. 

[CrimpOn]

There is a newer firmware release, v2.7.5.4, which can be downloaded from the Netgear support web site and used to manually update the Orbi (satellite first, then router).  I am reasonably confident that this has no bearing on the issue.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-Wi-Fi-5-AC-and-Orbi-with/New-RBR50-RBS50-Firmware-Version-2-7-5-4/td-p/2296598/jump-to/first-unread-message

The RBS20 satellite connects to the RBR20 router over a 5G WiFi link (called a "backhaul") with a maximum theoretical link rate of 866Mbps.  (See the product data sheet on page for Radio 3 on page 4:

https://www.netgear.com/images/datasheet/orbi/RBR20.pdf )  As the footnote points out, this rate is almost never achieved in real world deployments because of (a) distance between router and satellite, and (b) building materials in the path which attenuate the signal.  Alas, Netgear does not provide a way to display what the actual connection rate is.  I have the RBR50 product, which claims a backhaul rate of "up to" 1,733 Mbps.  The actual link rate between router and satellite is 780Mbps.  i.e. less than half what the Marketing department so proudly displays on the product data sheet. *** This satellite is about 25ft from the router and the radio signal has to pass through at least three walls and one floor.

Depending on the distance and building materials between the RBR20 router and RBS20 satellite, the actual backhaul rate will certainly be less than 866, so nothing connected to the satellite will achieve a faster performance than whatever that rate is.  (WiFi suffers from tremendous overhead and interference issues, so I would not be surprised to learn that the maximum rate is in the 300-500Mbps range.)

One easy way to confirm this is to temporarily connect the router and satellite with an Ethernet cable.  A 100ft. Ethernet cable is available on Amazon for under $20US.  The family will be amused (and hopefully tolerant) while the cable is snaked up the stairs and the two units connected.)  After a few minutes (maybe 5-6?) the backhaul will switch from WiFi to 'Wired".

[plemans]

@CrimpOn has went over it nicely.

You'll get faster speeds directly connected to the router as it doesn't need to run through the backhaul and the backhaul is going to be one of your bottlenecks with the speeds you have. The 866mbps link speed for the backhaul? That's not actual throughput. Throughput tends to be around 55-65% of what the link speed is. 

HItting that 270+mbps is pretty reasonable for connecting through a satellite. 

Mesh systems won't be as fast as a traditional flagship router when in close proximity but their strength comes in their coverage. they'll have faster speeds/most consistencies at the periphery of the coverage zone. Its a tradeoff. 

Faster speeds close by the router or better coverage with more consistent speeds. 

Most people choose the better coverage with more consistent speeds because they don't NEED the absolute fastest at the periphery. Reason why is it doesn't take that much bandwidth to stream/browse/game. A 4k streaming only needs 25-40mbps to stream reliably.