ISP Modem Download is 30mbs, Router LAN speed is 2~3Mbs???

injunear · Jun 27, 2019

My intuition tells me that something's amiss here but I thought I'd run it by you guys because you're smarter than I regarding this network stuff.

Anyway, I've noticed for the past few months that there's a lot of buffering going on when I'm on Youtube. So I started playing around this morning to take some measurements.

I know that wifi can affect these speed tests so I went straight to the ISP modem itself, plugged in a spare laptop to the ethernet connection (disconnected the router) and did the speed test. It was 30mbs download, don't recall the upload speed.

I then plugged the router back in to the modem and plugged the laptop into a LAN channel. I only get
1.8mbs ~ 3.1mbs download and about the same as upload!!!!

Less than 1/10 the speed? Of course I tried two different speed test sites.
This can't be right, can it?

P.S. the router is Linksys EA6350...It's about 5 years old if memory serves me....

Walrus · Jun 27, 2019

Correct.. shouldn't be like that. When was the last time you rebooted the router? Also check for firmware updates.

bp2008 · Jun 27, 2019

First off, mbs is not a standard unit.

bp2008 · Jun 27, 2019

That router looks plenty new enough to handle 100+ Mbps. See if it has a current speed readout or graph anywhere in the router configuration web interface. This might clue you in if something else on the network is using a ton of bandwidth.

injunear · Jun 27, 2019

bp2008 said:
That router looks plenty new enough to handle 100+ Mbps. See if it has a current speed readout or graph anywhere in the router configuration web interface. This might clue you in if something else on the network is using a ton of bandwidth.

I removed everything from the network (unplugged all cables) except the laptop I'm using to test speed.

The only thing connected is the Modem>>>Router>>>Laptop....

It connects to the internet but the speed is as I said, anywhere from .6mbs (lowest yet) to 3mbs, never over about 3.2mbs....There's nothing in the web interface but a speed test option. It measures the same as the laptop.

I hesitate to do a full reset because I have 25+ gadgets connected to this thing, some with fixed ip's (cams) and don't want it to dynamically re-assign all my devices.....

bp2008 · Jun 27, 2019

Ah, that is unfortunate. I have no idea what setting might make it slow down so much. My recommendation would be to update the firmware. Make a configuration backup first maybe just in case.

SouthernYankee · Jun 27, 2019

What software are you using to test the speed ?
How did you test the speed with the modem only without a router ?
Please post screen shots of the speed test with and without the router

injunear · Jun 27, 2019

SouthernYankee said:
What software are you using to test the speed ?
How did you test the speed with the modem only without a router ?
Please post screen shots of the speed test with and without the router

What software are you using to test the speed ?
I used two different web based speed test: one at Spectrum (my isp) and one from another site via the router itself.

How did you test the speed with the modem only without a router ?
A router is optional in a system. The modem provided an internet connection via an ethernet port. That's all that is required. I used the spectrum site to test the ISP's (via the modem) download speed. It is around 33mbs at the output of the modem (router disconnected).

Please post screen shots of the speed test with and without the router.
????? Well, one screen says 33mbs and the 'needle' is 1/3 of the meter scale (0-100mbs scale) for the modem output test and the other screens, with router connected to modem, says .6mbs, 2.1mbs, etc. with the highest speed achieved around 3.1mbs after multiple tests.......

mat200 · Jun 27, 2019

injunear said:
What software are you using to test the speed ?
I used two different web based speed test: one at Spectrum (my isp) and one from another site via the router itself.

How did you test the speed with the modem only without a router ?
A router is optional in a system. The modem provided an internet connection via an ethernet port. That's all that is required. I used the spectrum site to test the ISP's (via the modem) download speed. It is around 33mbs at the output of the modem (router disconnected).

Please post screen shots of the speed test with and without the router.
????? Well, one screen says 33mbs and the 'needle' is 1/3 of the meter scale (0-100mbs scale) for the modem output test and the other screens, with router connected to modem, says .6mbs, 2.1mbs, etc. with the highest speed achieved around 3.1mbs after multiple tests.......

Also Check your ISP, spectrum.. they're known to have issues at times
Spectrum outage or service down? Current problems and outages | Downdetector

injunear · Jun 27, 2019

Well, lucky for me (or unlucky depending on how you look at it) I still had an old router squirreled away so I used that to make the Lan measurement and it's close to 22mbs....I tried the original again and it's still stuck on around 3mbs, so the problem's definitely the router. Now my choices are limited: try downloading the latest firmware update, or reset the device or both.
I think the router's toast.
Thanks for the help....

bp2008 · Jun 27, 2019

If you buy a new router, I'd recommend Asus RT-AC68U. You can get it cheap with firmware that is slightly customized for T-Mobile subscribers here or here. Then you can run it like it is or find one of the guides to convert it to stock Asus firmware or DD-WRT or Tomato. I know this router to work great up to at least 200+ Mbps on the WAN side. Never tried it with a faster connection but it probably works well enough at gigabit speed even.

injunear · Jun 27, 2019

I'll have a look at it, thanks.

TonyR · Jun 27, 2019

injunear said:
I hesitate to do a full reset because I have 25+ gadgets connected to this thing, some with fixed ip's (cams) and don't want it to dynamically re-assign all my devices.....

I don't get this part: by "fixed" if you mean "static" and those items (cams) were configured with unique static IP's then resetting the router won't "dynamically re-assign" the IP's.
Granted the router may lose any "IP reservations" you have made but you can restore those.
IMO, it's best anyway to assign IPs to those device you made static by using only IP's that are OUTSIDE of the router's DHCP pool.

Mike A. · Jun 27, 2019

bp2008 said:
If you buy a new router, I'd recommend Asus RT-AC68U. You can get it cheap with firmware that is slightly customized for T-Mobile subscribers here or here. Then you can run it like it is or find one of the guides to convert it to stock Asus firmware or DD-WRT or Tomato. I know this router to work great up to at least 200+ Mbps on the WAN side. Never tried it with a faster connection but it probably works well enough at gigabit speed even.

They work fine with gigabit. ~930-ish is tops for gig fiber with anything due to overhead. It will hit that once in a while. Practically usually runs ~800-ish depending on day/time/etc. But the router itself seems capable of full gig line speed. Below is all the way through to my BI server as the end point running the test.

injunear · Jun 27, 2019

TonyR said:
I don't get this part: by "fixed" if you mean "static" and those items (cams) were configured with unique static IP's then resetting the router won't "dynamically re-assign" the IP's.
Granted the router may lose any "IP reservations" you have made but you can restore those.
IMO, it's best anyway to assign IPs to those device you made static by using only IP's that are OUTSIDE of the router's DHCP pool.

Yes, of course, static. I don't know what I was thinking. I have three 'el cheapo', unbranded cams I bought years ago that have no web interface and I never found a way to change the ip on them. That's what I was talking about. That would have no impact on my router reset though...

bp2008 said:
That router looks plenty new enough to handle 100+ Mbps. See if it has a current speed readout or graph anywhere in the router configuration web interface. This might clue you in if something else on the network is using a ton of bandwidth.

Mike A. said:
They work fine with gigabit. ~930-ish is tops for gig fiber with anything due to overhead. It will hit that once in a while. Practically usually runs ~800-ish depending on day/time/etc. But the router itself seems capable of full gig line speed. Below is all the way through to my BI server as the end point running the test.

Wow, I would be ecstatic if I had that kind of speed!

Mike A. · Jun 27, 2019

injunear said:
Wow, I would be ecstatic if I had that kind of speed!

Really doesn't make that much difference in day-to-day use since you're almost always limited by device and/or waiting on things at the other end or somewhere in between. Only reason that I have it is that it was the cheaper option with a promo they were running. I wouldn't pay extra for it over 100 unless maybe I had a particular use-case. About the only time that I really notice it much is when I run huge backups to an off-site on the same provider. Wasn't really practical to do at 50. Zips right along at gig speed.

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