R7800 - connects at 100 Mbps, when ASUS AC68p manages 1 Gbps

[mcb]

I recently purchased a Netgear R7800, based in part on the impressive performance as tested here. As soon as I connected and configured the router I went to speedtest.net to verify the connect speed. To my surprise, I was seeing 94Mbps up and down, vs the 940Mbps up and down I previously saw. I have Webpass which provides an ethernet connection - I bypassed the router by directly connecting my computer to the ethernet and saw the same slow down. I thought this test implicated the wiring. I was wrong.

A Webpass tech came out and found nothing wrong in the wiring. He told me the router will negotiate a speed based on signal strength (or noise floor). When I bypassed the R7800, I still was using the previously negotiated line speed (100 Mbps).

Sure enough, I go back to my previous router, an ASUS AC68p, and I am back to 1 Gbps.

The tech said there could be a router config option to make the line speed negotiation more noise tolerant, but I couldn't find anything in the Netgear router UI.

Any suggestions for tweaking my R7800 so I can get back to my 1 Gbps connection?

Thanks!

 

[psychopomp1]

Have you tried a hard reset on the R7800? Otherwise the only reason I can think of is that the WAN port on the R7800 is providing a link rate of 100 Mbps instead of 1 Gbps which suggests a duff port, ie you should get it replaced.

 

[RogerSC]

You might also look at the speed set for the port on the computer...it's buried in the device manager in Windows, if you're using a Windows system. Anyways, you might try setting that directly to 1Gbps. if it isn't already. I'm suggesting that because you seem to be saying that you are only getting the 100Mbps when you bypass the router by connecting your computer directly to the modem. That tells me that something's going wrong in the speed negotiation with your computer, and that it's worth a try to set the computer network port to 1Gbps. I haven't had problems with artificial speed limitation with my R7800. I just get whatever speed's coming in from my modem. Right at the moment, that's about 180Mbps. download.

If you are getting the same 100Mbps when you "bypass the router", as you say, don't know what the router has to do with it, in that case. Sounds like it's most likely on the computer end.

As a long shot, you might also try resetting your modem, it's conceivable that there's something going on there as well.

 

[Sizzlechest]

Voxel discovered that the multiple CPUs in the stock formware were not being utilized properly. Speedtests were coming out slower than with much older firmwares. His custom firmware fixes this issue.

 

[maxbraketorque]

Voxel discovered that the multiple CPUs in the stock formware were not being utilized properly. Speedtests were coming out slower than with much older firmwares. His custom firmware fixes this issue.

Wow. Amazing oversight by Netgear.

 

[mcb]

More data and some conclusions but also another question.

See my other post for context: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/advice-for-3-compact-floors-unusual-wiring.40818/

The Webpass tech measured wire distances for 3 of 5 wall connection boxes - all but one jumpered as seen in my other post. The first level bedroom measures 116 feet to the Webpass box in the garage, 88 feet to my second level dining room, and 165 feet to the third level loft office. So it seems the phone wiring enters my unit on the second level and spreads upward and downward.

The tech's other suggestion was to move the router to the dining room connection. Sure enough, at this connection the R7800 connects at 1Gbps. And if I connect my computer to the ethernet in the loft, it also gets 1Gbps in Speedtest.net (actually 940Mbps). The problem is I have multiple wired clients in the office. So swap the R7800 for the AC68P and move the R7800 to the office as an AP. Sadly, using the R7800 as an AP drops the connection speed - I now see 230Mbps and ping is 2ms (vs 1 or 0 before).

So now my next question: is this 4x speed reduction fixable?

I will also add that line noise tolerance for the WAN connection strikes me as a crucial performance parameter. This potential 10X performance factor dwarfs all others.

 

[mcb]

More data. Less certainty.

I just updated the firmware on the AC68P to the latest. Went to speedtest.net and my speeds are back to 940Mbps. Not sure what to make of this. I note that the firmware reboot caused all but one wireless client to migrate to the R7800 - at least this is my interpretation as they show up as wired clients in the ASUS router interface.

 

[maxbraketorque]

More data. Less certainty.

I just updated the firmware on the AC68P to the latest. Went to speedtest.net and my speeds are back to 940Mbps. Not sure what to make of this. I note that the firmware reboot caused all but one wireless client to migrate to the R7800 - at least this is my interpretation as they show up as wired clients in the ASUS router interface.

Low internet speeds were a problem on several ASUS routers due to a bug in the firmware that was recently fixed.

 

[mcb]

I'm not sure if you mis-interpreted my posts. The ASUS always connected at 1Gbps. However, when I attached the R7800 as an AP and connected my workstation to it (via 1Gbps ethernet) I initially saw 230 Mbps. However, since the previous post I consistently see 940+/940+ up and down with the same configuration (but with more firmware upgrades...).