New router

[Paul Ryan]

Hi, I’ve currently got a netgear Orbi 5 mesh system but I’ve never achieved my isp advertised speed with it, even when I attach an Ethernet directly to the Orb, I only achieve 300 mpbs when my actual speed is 640, when I run the speed test on the Orbi app whIch have indicates the actual speed the Orbi is recei from the isp hub, it shows that it’s receiving the full speed, can you please advise a WiFi 6 system, the virgin media hub is in the furthest room upstairs and the room downstairs furthest away from the hub doesn’t receive WiFi when using the supplied hub, I get WiFi with the Orbi with the Orbi router up stairs and 1 satellite downstairs but I don’t get the speed I pay for, I am considering the Orbi 6 pro with 1 satellite but it is very expensive and was wondering if there’s anything else worth considerin?

 

[Tech9]

What Wi-Fi speeds are you getting with your current system and to what clients? Common Wi-Fi clients are 2-stream and on AC you may see up to 500Mbps, on AX up to 800Mbps, in close to ideal conditions. Usually much less than that further away from router/AP or in busy Wi-Fi environments. No matter what you upgrade to, your clients may be the speed limiting factor. If you run any QoS or bandwidth limiters, disable them and try again wired. 300Mbps wired may be a CPU limitation, if you hit an option incompatible with hardware acceleration.

 

[Paul Ryan]

everything whether wired or wireless gets about 300, but when connected to the vm router I can get the full 640 on wired and wireless, devices range from iPhone 12 to old laptop

 

[Paul Ryan]

The 300 speed is in the same room as the Orbi router

 

[Tech9]

Sounds like Orbi running with hardware acceleration off, limited by what the CPU can process. I don't think you need to upgrade. Check the settings on your Orbi. If you see nothing wrong, reset the system to factory defaults and set your SSID/user/pass only. Test the speed again.

 

[Paul Ryan]

I will try that tomorrow

 

[Tech9]

Is it Orbi RBK50 system?

 

[Paul Ryan]

not sure what model t router only has 1 internet port and 1 lan port, I think it is the RBK20

 

[Tech9]

This system should be able to do about 400Mbps on Wi-Fi in real world use and 940Mbps on wired. Don't worry about phones/tablets - they have nothing to do with 640Mbps speeds. How often do you need your ISP full speed? Instead of upgrading the Wi-Fi system, I would downgrade my ISP line to match what I already have and save some money. RBK20 is pretty decent 2x2 AC router + satellite system with dedicated wireless backhaul channel.

 

[Paul Ryan]

I can’t downgrade my speed as it’s part of the bundle And I’m in contract

 

[Tech9]

What do you need 640Mbps for and on what device(s)? What improvements do you expect after Wi-Fi system upgrade? I'm not a big speedtest happy upgrades supporter. Most of the time it's a waste of money.

 

[Adooni]

this could be the reason of your internet speed issues https://community.netgear.com/t5/Or...tings-on-Orbi-RBR50-router/m-p/1813573#M73199

could you advice home area - a lot times people are using Mesh system when 1 good router can manage it if placed correctly. Good router with good wi-fi is Asus RT-AX86U. If needed you can add AiMesh node to it.
alternative I use a lot Ubiquiti solutions you can look at EdgeRouters, Dream Machine and wi-fi AP

I am not a fun to increase not necessary internet speed - In my case I got in same point 1Gb then downgrade to 500Mb now 300Mb and in new place I will go with 150Mb. I do not see need for it and it is more like ISP marketing . Even with very good router like AX86U when you use QoS, VPN etc you will not achieve more than 300Mb than why to use faster speed. If you need more you need to use dedicated hardware or miniPC that will handle PFsense/ OPNsense ore OpenWRT.

 

[Paul Ryan]

being honest it's more the ability to separate the bands (2.4ghz, 5ghz) I want to add which my orbi doesn't allow? I would prefer a good router with really good wifi instead of the mesh system, unfortunately I can't move the isp hub to a more optimal position.

 

[Paul Ryan]

hI, I've just factory reset the orbi and it improved speeds to 400, which is an improvement of 1/3, I just wish I could separate the 2.4 and 5 radios

 

[Tech9]

improved speeds to 400

This is about right for wireless, RBK20 is a 2x2 AC system, up to 866Mbps link speeds. Band separation will cost you entire new setup. The ISP speed upgrade chase may lead to ever increasing hardware upgrade costs. If you are not a heavy content downloader, the higher speed is only a number. I also pay for 500Mbps ISP line, but my firewall stats show no traffic over 150Mbps for weeks. We are family of 4 and everyone watches videos, work/learn from home, usual Web browsing. Sometimes makes me wonder why I pay for 500Mbps service. If I downgrade the service to 300Mbps or upgrade it to Gigabit, no one is going to notice. Do what you think is right based on your Internet use.

 

[Paul Ryan]

it's more about separating the radios really, some of my devices will use the 5ghz radio and work great then for no reason swap to the 2.4 radio and start buffering on plex

 

[degrub]

do you have coax going near any of the locations where you need APs ?
If so, you should be able to use MOCA 2 or 2.5 modems to extend the wired ethernet to the APs and then turn off the 2.4 GHz if the system allows it.

The device swapping to 2.4 GHz won't go away unless you can disable in the device or in the AP.

 

[Paul Ryan]

no

 

[alba666]

WiFi performance is very dependent on router/hub placement. I ran coax behind a couch to get away from outside wall to center of house and was able to go to single router instead of a mesh.
Also think about number and type of walls between router and endpoints. In my experience, RF travels better through air, then wood, then drywall, then brick/masonry. Try to align your devices to take advantage of doorways.

 

[Tech9]

it's more about separating the radios really,

If you think out of the box, one additional 2.4GHz router in access point mode may solve your problem. I needed better 2.4GHz Wi-Fi range in one location and instead of changing the existing setup, a $50 router was added. In this particular case it was an Asus RT-N19 router. Hard to believe, but this is a new model router with single 4-stream 2.4GHz radio and very good range, better than most dual-band routers.