WiFi Help

[Jerry1]

I'm trying to help my neighbor and I can't figure out why his wifi speed is not good. He's paying for 1Gig. On WiFi we're not getting much over 200Mbps and usually, much less. If I take my phone and stand right next to a wireless base unit, I can maybe get high 200's but it's definitely not consistent.

I plugged his laptop into the router using an ethernet cable and I can get about 500 and at the same time, standing next to the wifi gateway, I'm only getting a few hundred.

The picture below is from his phone. It's a picture of the eero app and, if I'm reading it correctly, the app is showing that the gateway is getting 908Mbps. It certainly doesn't appear to be putting that much through the wifi.

His modem is a Arris TG4352 which is rated at 1Gig. It also supplies wifi. I had him buy an eero mesh system and I shut off the wifi on the Arris and while this improved his situation, you can see from the above numbers, we're still not getting anywhere near what I think we should be. FWIW, I have an ORBI system and I pay for 300Mbps and when I do a speed test on my phone, I get in the high 200's and have even seen 300Mbps. So, it's hard to believe that standing right next to the new eero unit plugged directly into his modem, we can't even get up to half of what he's paying for.

Any help would be appreciated. I feel like I must be missing something.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Call the wifi provider's support and explain the problem. Many times these ISP companies have a circuit that throttles the modem to much lower speeds than advertised. The ISP can reset the modem and you'll get the high speed wifi for awhile and then the modern will get throttled again.

 

[braumeister]

Call the wifi provider's support and explain the problem. Many times these ISP companies have a circuit that throttles the modem to much lower speeds than advertised. The ISP can reset the modem and you'll get the high speed wifi for awhile and then the modern will get throttled again.

I have heard of this happening, so it's most likely a good first step.

 

[Jerry1]

Call the wifi provider's support and explain the problem. Many times these ISP companies have a circuit that throttles the modem to much lower speeds than advertised. The ISP can reset the modem and you'll get the high speed wifi for awhile and then the modern will get throttled again.

Good point, and I will do that, but that doesn't explain how I could get 500Mbps when I physically plug in a laptop and only get 200Mbps and less at the same time through the wifi.

 

[aja8888]

Good point, and I will do that, but that doesn't explain how I could get 500Mbps when I physically plug in a laptop and only get 200Mbps and less at the same time through the wifi.

WiFi will not be as efficient as a solid cat 5 connection. I used to get 500 MB on Wifi but 1.0 Gig when wired up.

 

[MBSC]

Good point, and I will do that, but that doesn't explain how I could get 500Mbps when I physically plug in a laptop and only get 200Mbps and less at the same time through the wifi.

Is WiFi set to 2.4Ghz? It's max speed will be slower than 5Ghz or wired connection with 1Gbps service.

A 2.4 GHz connection travels farther at lower speeds, while 5 GHz frequencies provide faster speeds at shorter range. Your choice of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz will depend on where and how you use your WiFi connection most.

2.4 GHz vs. 5 GHz WiFi

Learn about when to use 2.4 GHz vs. 5 GHz WiFi with CenturyLink. The difference between these frequencies can affect your speed.

www.centurylink.com

 

[Jerry1]

Is WiFi set to 2.4Ghz? It's max speed will be slower than 5Ghz or wired connection with 1Gbps service.

I'll see if I can verify which band it's using but it should be automatically assigning the band so I hope it's using the 5Ghz band. I know we did not specifically select a band. We just did a normal install.

 

[Jerry1]

WiFi will not be as efficient as a solid cat 5 connection. I used to get 500 MB on Wifi but 1.0 Gig when wired up.

I'll have to plug into my modem. I know I'm getting 300Mpbs through wifi and that is what I'm paying for. However, I've never tested it by plugging into my modem directly. Maybe I'm actually receiving 600Mbps.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

How old are your actual devices/phones? Older WiFi standards were not nearly as fast as new devices offer. Even a wired, older computer may not be able to support 1000. If the router software says it’s receiving 908, and he’s paying for 1000, he’s probably getting what he’s paying for. Chances are it can get above 1000 during times when net traffic in the area is not at a peak. But older devices won’t benefit from that speed.

I pay for 500 and my router software shows me getting very close to that. A test done just now on my iPad showed 459 and my iPhone showed 353. Both taken while sitting in my recliner a room away from the router. Also, don’t stand right beside the router. It’s best to be about 10 feet away from it to get a “best” test.

 

[Al18]

Your phone screen shot shows 908 Mbps, which is essentially 1 Gbps.

 

[Spock]

How old are your actual devices/phones? Older WiFi standards were not nearly as fast as new devices offer. Even a wired, older computer may not be able to support 1000. If the router software says it’s receiving 908, and he’s paying for 1000, he’s probably getting what he’s paying for. Chances are it can get above 1000 during times when net traffic in the area is not at a peak. But older devices won’t benefit from that speed.

I pay for 500 and my router software shows me getting very close to that. A test done just now on my iPad showed 459 and my iPhone showed 353. Both taken while sitting in my recliner a room away from the router. Also, don’t stand right beside the router. It’s best to be about 10 feet away from it to get a “best” test.

This.
Last time I had a new ISP install the techs were going nuts because the speed test on the devices was a fraction of what their meters showed. Turned out the devices were antiques using the old wifi 802.11n/a/c vs. the new ax.
Also watch the obvious Mb/s vs. MB/s. Your differences don't seem to be on that scale, but it's a frequent head slapper for debugging throughput problems.
The other "duh" is a VPN routing you through Sweden instead of through Kansas.

 

[Jerry1]

One thing I think I realized is, as noted above, the equipment. When I hook up to the modem through a ethernet cable, the laptop doesn't have an ethernet port, so I used a USB adapter. It's at least 10 years old so I'm guessing that it is the bottleneck in the wired view that I'm getting.

As for the wireless, if the eero app recognizes that the modem is delivering 908Mbps, I don't understand why I'm not getting something close to that over the wifi. I get 300Mbps at home on my phone. It's an iPhone 13mini. I don't know how to verify, but I don't think it's the bottleneck. Further, I'm seeing a lot of fluctuation in the speed and that's not my phone. Another symptom that I'm seeing is that the mesh router isn't producing a good signal throughout the house. It's an eero system with three units (base and two satellites) in a 2100 sqft house, rated for 4500 sqft and for some reason, the speed drops down under 100Mbps when I go into the kitchen. From the kitchen, one of the satellites is just upstairs with a line of sight about 15 feet away. Note, the eero system was just bought today. See here:

https://www.amazon.com/eero-reliable-gigabit-connect-Coverage/dp/B08ZK2BHP2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1N8U9URUHZL3R&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.r8uj8FJaL0ZExxUnVsRTrPvlPt1zaEpTB0-UwFQPuWoMFDVRMKyd6rbOZtcwVAnD_EoKRUwVJOSEX2T0bilghOQYh1epypfoUBZArOKWPcbufkGcbmgtdkjL2rRzIrLlfA-Xv8yY4LAgDnJexMtGLfhY0n-sgOOX0Q_8fQIZjkJsNgwUkdwzIRCf0KvHnDcJfKg4KOBKGZwv6U7E02tVaCKTqkpsRftZP_w1R8xU3zs.8sNPDxaivOt221jJ4G8FEynku8cBiofIshcmNEIaxsE&dib_tag=se&keywords=eero&qid=1763335999&sprefix=eero%2Caps%2C262&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.ed73e2ba-4d06-4781-aee7-c317fe036206&th=1

 

[ncbill]

cable modem, fiber ONT, or something else feeding the wireless router?

modem/ONT may not be configured properly for 1 GB.

regardless of the wireless router.

 

[MTB4me]

A few considerations:
- Lots of noisy appliances in the kitchen which could degrade the Wi-Fi signal.
- Agree that your old USB Ethernet adapter is likely a bottleneck to making accurate wired tests.
- You should get better throughput on the 5Ghz band, but the signal also doesn’t go through walls as effectively at that frequency.
- Make sure the central Eero unit isn’t near anything that could generate electrical interference. Fluorescent lights, motors of any kind, etc. Same for the satellites in the mesh.
- If you can plug into the satellite Eero mesh units directly, you might also test throughput at each satellite. This will tell you how well your mesh is connecting up.

 

[threeonesix]

If the ISP is providing data through coax than I would recommend using a coax cable modem that does nothing but be a modem. Not one that "has wifi built in but turned off". Then, use a wifi router for routing and wifi needs. The more "features" they add to cable modems the worse the cable modems perform.

 

[Jerry1]

If the ISP is providing data through coax than I would recommend using a coax cable modem that does nothing but be a modem. Not one that "has wifi built in but turned off". Then, use a wifi router for routing and wifi needs. The more "features" they add to cable modems the worse the cable modems perform.

That’s what I’m thinking of doing next. The issue is that they want a land line which the current modem supplies. I’m afraid that if I ask for a new modem, I’ll get the same thing. I did read about shutting off the wifi though and that’s my next step. I just shut off the wifi but in reading I learned that I should shut it down differently by setting NAT to Bridged. I was going to do that today, but neighbor is not feeling well (today was a chemo day - ugh).

 

[FIREd_2015]

If other nearby routers are already using the same channel it'll slow down your throughput. I'm guessing most routers from the same manufacturer are probably shipped configured to the same channel. You might try downloading an app onto your phone to see which channels are already being used. I use Wifi Analyzer (free) which shows channels that are already occupied and their signal strength. The app supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz as long as your phone supports both. Find a channel that is open and switch your router to that channel. You may also want to try increasing the channel width.

 

[Jerry1]

OMG, this is embarrassing. After fiddling with this thing for a couple hours, I did something that screwed up the router so I had to do a factory reset. Guess what, everything started working well after that. I thought unplugging it was sufficient, but I still had issues. Once I did the factory reset (using a paperclip to push the button in the back of the modem), I started getting good numbers from the new eero wifi system. Who would have thunk it.

I'm still not comfortable with why he's not getting much over 300Mbps when he has 1Gig service, but it's clearly way better than the under 100Mbps that he was getting when we started.

 

[target2019]

It's possible that the equipment was not factory when first installed?

 

[Jerry1]

It's possible that the equipment was not factory when first installed?

No idea. He said it was a box he brought from his previous residence with a different cable company so it entirely possible that it was setup for a different company and wasn’t fully working with this new provider. Who knows? He did just send me a text about how much better it is so that makes me happy.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I'm still not comfortable with why he's not getting much over 300Mbps when he has 1Gig service, but it's clearly way better than the under 100Mbps that he was getting when we started.

If the service provider sells a 500 Mbps service he should probably downgrade to it and save some money. Most devices using WiFi aren’t going to leverage that extra speed. Unless he’s got a family all using their devices a lot, and probably streaming video, he doesn’t likely need 1 Gig. My house (1 person) does just fine at 500 Mbps. I stream video every day, but only on 1 device at a time. I also have at least 20 SmartHome devices on my WiFi.

 

[Jerry1]

If the service provider sells a 500 Mbps service he should probably downgrade to it and save some money. Most devices using WiFi aren’t going to leverage that extra speed. Unless he’s got a family all using their devices a lot, and probably streaming video, he doesn’t likely need 1 Gig. My house (1 person) does just fine at 500 Mbps. I stream video every day, but only on 1 device at a time. I also have at least 20 SmartHome devices on my WiFi.

I'm working on that with him. I have 300 through the same provider (WOW) and it works fine. If he can get 300 and pay for 300, I think he'll be ahead. He should at least drop down to 600 which is their next step up from 300.

 

[Al18]

1 full HD stream requires a minimum 5 Mbps according to Internet Speed Requirements for Streaming 2025 and a family would require 50-100 Mbps.

 

[KarenF]

Call the wifi provider's support and explain the problem. Many times these ISP companies have a circuit that throttles the modem to much lower speeds than advertised. The ISP can reset the modem and you'll get the high speed wifi for awhile and then the modern will get throttled again.

Exactly this. I had a pre-written tweet I sent Comcast every couple of weeks with an "I am paying for x and only getting y" with a picture of the actual speed y. They fixed it every time, but they re-throttle so you have to keep reminding them.

 

[SirJon]

I'm trying to help my neighbor and I can't figure out why his wifi speed is not good. He's paying for 1Gig. On WiFi we're not getting much over 200Mbps and usually, much less. If I take my phone and stand right next to a wireless base unit, I can maybe get high 200's but it's definitely not consistent.

I plugged his laptop into the router using an ethernet cable and I can get about 500 and at the same time, standing next to the wifi gateway, I'm only getting a few hundred.

The picture below is from his phone. It's a picture of the eero app and, if I'm reading it correctly, the app is showing that the gateway is getting 908Mbps. It certainly doesn't appear to be putting that much through the wifi.

His modem is a Arris TG4352 which is rated at 1Gig. It also supplies wifi. I had him buy an eero mesh system and I shut off the wifi on the Arris and while this improved his situation, you can see from the above numbers, we're still not getting anywhere near what I think we should be. FWIW, I have an ORBI system and I pay for 300Mbps and when I do a speed test on my phone, I get in the high 200's and have even seen 300Mbps. So, it's hard to believe that standing right next to the new eero unit plugged directly into his modem, we can't even get up to half of what he's paying for.

Any help would be appreciated. I feel like I must be missing something.

View attachment 59933

This is a pretty common occurrence; I have the same "problem" in my house and I am a network expert. His router is simply not designed to handle 1Gbit speeds. The only way to actually get 1Gbit is to upgrade to a very expensive data center quality router. His modem is designed to handle 1Gbit network connections, but that doesn't mean that the CPU inside can actually move that much data. This is a common misconception.

Also wired will be faster than Wi-Fi. But his laptop may be too slow to handle 1Gbit - even wired. A better test is to run speed tests on 5 or more devices at once and add the aggregate together.

Why does he NEED 1Gbit I don't and I guarantee you that I am moving more data than most anyone reading this. Just because my car can go 120 MPH doesn't mean I ever do - and the same applies to networking. Is there a less expensive plan that only provides 200Mbit? He'd save money and likely never notice the difference.