Consistent low WiFi speed

[sandys]

Mesh systems unless hardwired use half the bandwidth or something ridiculous just to talk to each other.

Just tested on mine and it is basically a ~50% drop to my satellite if I pull the wire as I am only dual band and don't have the 3rd comms band.

Wired devices connected to the remote mesh node see ~8-900Mb via the Wifi link to main node but if I use a wifi device on the remote node it is around 380Mb-450Mb due to relaying and of course if I relay to a third unit the drop off is approx half again.

If I use same wifi device on main node I get 900+ as there is no relaying going on and I have Wifi 6 160Mhz compatible devices, standard 80Mhz channel will see less but should still be capable of getting at least 700Mb on main node.

Looking at specs RBK353 is only 80Mhz compliant, so its throughput ability will be less than mine unless it does 80 + 80 for comms and dsata which is not unusual , I'll try 80Mhz perhaps to give a ballpark but if we assume half the channel width leads to half the bandwidth 170Mb might be on the money for connectivity off of a remote node but far too little for main?

 

[wizard]

So they are Dual band devices, meaning the communications for mesh will be getting done through the same channels as the devices using it but should still be pretty fast on the main one but can be a significant drop.

Turn all Wifi hardware you have off, the extra satellites routers for mesh, the asus thing, any repeaters you might have forgetten about/not considered (Sky minis for example)

The enable the ONT and one master mesh node, what are the speeds then? Will be good to see the connected device connection page, you can use somwthing like Wifi analyser on android, to show the phones connected channel, channel width and Phy Rates.



Nope your ISP is good, you have proven that wired, it is your infrastructure setup that's gone screwy somewhere.

Surely not. As I said before, I have tried "switching off" all devices except the Pixel phone. Also, VMedia did work. When I connect the ISP Technicolor router or the Asus RT-AC86U router directly to the ONT, I have the same low speeds. These last two routers do not get connected to any devices except the Pixel phone as well.

 

[wizard]

Was the VM connection using the Orbi too? Also stop testing 2 meters away, test it directly next to the main one. Turn off the other Orbi units so it's not reserving wireless bandwidth for keeping all the mesh units together.

The VM was in modem mode and the Orbi was connected to it in Router mode. I meant 2 meters away from the Main Orbi router. Will try switching the 2 sats off.

 

[wizard]

@wizard I'd personally ditch those 353's. As mentioned, they're dual-band so you'll be loosing bandwidth straight away (more if dasiy chained) and they only have 2 internal antennas so I can't imagine the signal strength or quality being very good for a detached house.

So, what would you recommend instead? Tri-band and which make / model?

 

[wizard]

170Mb might be on the money for connectivity off of a remote node but far too little for main?

Exactly my point - far too little for main router.

 

[ChrisD.]

So, what would you recommend instead? Tri-band and which make / model?

What exactly is your requirement, and budget? There's no point in blind recommendations as different APs/meshes do things differently.

Do you want an all in one 'router'? Do you want to use your own router/firewall and have a separate wireless AP? Any requirement for VPNs, VLANs, routing, filtering etc? Are you able to run a cable to be able to place an AP in the best location (upstairs and on the ceiling)?

This is my UniFi nanoHD (not Wi-Fi 6), and a MacBook Pro client. FTTP 900/100. The AP is upstairs on the ceiling, I'm downstairs, and there's a wall and ceiling in between the client and AP.

Lots of wireless devices currently in use, although I steer my IOT devices to another AP which is downstairs. Wi-Fi is something I rarely think about in my house, it just works and I never get any complaints from SHMBO.

 

[Turn]

What ISP is that, CityFibre Limited? Haven't seen that before, leased line w/ CityFibre?
https://cityfibre.com/partners/products/ethernet-services

 

[ChrisD.]

What ISP is that, CityFibre Limited? Haven't seen that before, leased line w/ CityFibre?
https://cityfibre.com/partners/products/ethernet-services

It's Aquiss on the BT FTTP network. I've no idea why the IP reports as City Fibre as it isn't them.

 

[wizard]

It's Aquiss on the BT FTTP network. I've no idea why the IP reports as City Fibre as it isn't them.

On a side issue - how do you fine Aquiss? I am considering them if I change.

 

[ChrisD.]

On a side issue - how do you fine Aquiss? I am considering them if I change.

I find them excellent. UK customer service, very fast to respond, great pings and speed never fluctuates.

 

[wizard]

What exactly is your requirement, and budget? There's no point in blind recommendations as different APs/meshes do things differently.

Do you want an all in one 'router'? Do you want to use your own router/firewall and have a separate wireless AP? Any requirement for VPNs, VLANs, routing, filtering etc? Are you able to run a cable to be able to place an AP in the best location (upstairs and on the ceiling)?

This is my UniFi nanoHD (not Wi-Fi 6), and a MacBook Pro client. FTTP 900/100. The AP is upstairs on the ceiling, I'm downstairs, and there's a wall and ceiling in between the client and AP.

Lots of wireless devices currently in use, although I steer my IOT devices to another AP which is downstairs. Wi-Fi is something I rarely think about in my house, it just works and I never get any complaints from SHMBO.

So, on 900/100 you get approx half the speed on wifi?

 

[ChrisD.]

So, on 900/100 you get approx half the speed on wifi?

Well, I get whatever Wi-Fi 5 can do. I get full speed if I plug it in, which I do for large downloads.

I could get 900 if I got 6e Wi-Fi APs, but I don't really see the point, it's plenty fast for my wireless devices.

 

[wizard]

I find them excellent. UK customer service, very fast to respond, great pings and speed never fluctuates.

If I am not mistaken, when I spoke to Martin at Aquiss regarding couple of points, I think he said their platform was Cityfibre.

 

[ChrisD.]

If I am not mistaken, when I spoke to Martin at Aquiss regarding couple of points, I think he said their platform was Cityfibre.

They have nothing to do with the City Fibre platform, they use BTW as backhaul, and are unlikely to get on the CF platform in the near future due to contractual issues CF have managed to get themselves into.

We are getting CF around here next year, I'm in two minds about switching as I'm not a huge fan of the ISPs that use their network, except perhaps Giganet. I would genuinely miss Aquiss.

 

[wizard]

They have nothing to do with the City Fibre platform, they use BTW as backhaul, and are unlikely to get on the CF platform in the near future due to contractual issues CF have managed to get themselves into.

We are getting CF around here next year, I'm in two minds about switching as I'm not a huge fan of the ISPs that use their network, except perhaps Giganet. I would genuinely miss Aquiss.

Why would you leave Aquiss if you are happy with them? Price?

 

[ChrisD.]

Why would you leave Aquiss if you are happy with them? Price?

The City Fibre network has 900 Mbps upload, BTW only has 100. I work from home and I move large files around often, having higher upload is extremely useful.

 

[wizard]

The City Fibre network has 900 Mbps upload, BTW only has 100. I work from home and I move large files around often, having higher upload is extremely useful.

Got it. I have Openreach and no sign of Cityfibre

 

[sandys]

So, what would you recommend instead? Tri-band and which make / model?

You've tried two different routers an Asus Wifi 5 and an Orbi both put out same numbers despite being capable of more, suggesting something else is up, what makes you think a new router will fix the problem?

You should be seeing ~500+ on the Wifi 5 Asus and ~600+ on the Wifi 6 Orbi (if your internet went that fast of course), if you can only get 160 on both suggests something else is up. If you are seeing the full speed by Ethernet to a device connected on these routers as suggested then the ISP is fine. If you go to someone elses house and the phone does full speed, then it is fine too.

It would suggest to me that you have either made the same Wifi configuration error on both routers or you have connected to something else that could be a repeater of signal as mention like Sky boxes, Ring door bell etc.

 

[Turn]

So, what would you recommend instead? Tri-band and which make / model?

My speed w/ Laptop.
Router is a Archer C6 V3.2, spent about £35 for one, so very affordable and works perfectly for me - running OpenWRT.

 

[wizard]

You've tried two different routers an Asus Wifi 5 and an Orbi both put out same numbers despite being capable of more, suggesting something else is up, what makes you think a new router will fix the problem?

You should be seeing ~500+ on the Wifi 5 Asus and ~600+ on the Wifi 6 Orbi (if your internet went that fast of course), if you can only get 160 on both suggests something else is up. If you are seeing the full speed by Ethernet to a device connected on these routers as suggested then the ISP is fine. If you go to someone elses house and the phone does full speed, then it is fine too.

It would suggest to me that you have either made the same Wifi configuration error on both routers or you have connected to something else that could be a repeater of signal as mention like Sky boxes, Ring door bell etc.

The ISP router was reset by them and we tested it giving low speeds. As I said above, I did disable ALL devices and still the same issue.