Real World Speed

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causecelebre

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Wannabe Geek

#280566 23-Dec-2020 23:05

Hi all

I have just signed up with NOW and am disappointed with the throughput. I am on the 900/400 plan. i've tested both wired and wireless connection to the router and only get around 250 down on average. I've see it as bad as sub 100. There is no real difference between the direct ethernet connection and the wireless one. The ethernet can support 1000BaseT.

The router is a TP-Link AX20 so not top notch but no slouch either. There was no other connection to the router or the modem.

I accept there are mitigating losses but i should expect far better performance than what I am getting?

TIA

michaelmurfy

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#2626142 24-Dec-2020 01:28

Look at this thread: https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=85&topicid=280564

Namely this:

Open Command / Powershell in administrator mode:

netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal

Reboot

Also your router is actually a slouch - it can't route full Gigabit I'm afraid. Always use Ethernet for any testing as WiFi isn't great for this sort of thing and if you've got the router provided by NOW then test that also instead of the TP-Link.

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Jase2985

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#2626164 24-Dec-2020 07:38

michaelmurfy:

Also your router is actually a slouch - it can't route full Gigabit I'm afraid.

have you got the testing to back that up?

causecelebre

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2626198 24-Dec-2020 09:02

michaelmurfy:

Also your router is actually a slouch - it can't route full Gigabit I'm afraid.

The specs imply it should.

https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/wifi-router/archer-ax20/

Plus, I always use ethernet for speed testing

Jase2985:

have you got the testing to back that up?

Thats a good question. Be interested to hear the answer :)

causecelebre

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Wannabe Geek

#2626207 24-Dec-2020 09:28

michaelmurfy:

Open Command / Powershell in administrator mode:

netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal

Reboot

I'm on OSX not Windows but thanks anyway

michaelmurfy

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#2626233 24-Dec-2020 10:15

causecelebre:

The specs imply it should.

https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/wifi-router/archer-ax20/

Plus, I always use ethernet for speed testing

Jase2985:

have you got the testing to back that up?

In regards to this yes, I have tested this router. I found it could handle around 800Mbit throughput maximum and didn't appear to be using any form of hardware offloading on the firmware I was testing on and so the more streams of traffic, the slower it got. It just simply wasn't great with a Gigabit connection. There are many, many consumer grade routers that can't route Gigabit speeds despite it having "the best of the best" in WiFi. This is why I always recommend using your ISP's provided router if possible as I know that the routers provided have been tested and can route a Gigabit connection.

This is why I rarely recommend consumer grade routers to people especially on Gigabit connections - it isn't just TP-Link, I've seen very similar results from Asus and Netgear also. As I've said, router manufactures normally have zero issues also sending me routers - I have gotten routers from D-Link, Cambium, Ubiquiti, Gradstream and also a single router from Netgear. With the Netgear router they attempted to stipulate how I test in order to get the best speed however their testing was flawed (they didn't want me testing NAT performance but instead asked I test from device to device) and so I returned the router to them and didn't post anything because NAT performance in this case was around 400Mbit. TP-Link and Asus also asked for the same sort of testing and so they have not sent me any routers as I've declined to review them but the routers I had physically gotten have performed very poorly with NAT throughput.

Routers like the Ubiquiti Edgerouter, Huawei HG659, Fritz!Box for example have no NAT throughput constraints on a Gigabit connection.

I get _a lot_ of routers that I test sent to me by ISP's, manufactures etc but unless if they agree to a non-bias review and let me go into the technical side of things such as testing NAT performance, firewall performance etc then you won't see me post anything and instead only use any results I gather for future knowledge.

You'll also note on the forums we've experienced this many times where the speed constraints were caused by the customers own hardware. Just because a router claims it can route something doesn't mean it actually can - have a look here: https://www.duckware.com/tech/wifi-in-the-us.html as while it explains WiFi only, it does show the common problem with this sort of marketing and how it can deceive customers.

So to the OP - if you still have your ISP provided router please test against this. It can route Gigabit no problems so this rules out for example a firmware update that has slowed things down. We've already seen this with the Grandstream GWN7000 where a firmware upgrade broke routing speeds limiting it to around 400Mbit where normally it could route full Gigabit - this was fixed in an update around a year later but this is an example of this occurring in the real world.

michaelmurfy

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#2626236 24-Dec-2020 10:18

Also please provide more information on how you're testing - have you also got any Antivirus / third party Firewall applications running? Always test via Ethernet only. As you're using MacOS then do your testing either on the official Speedtest app (https://www.speedtest.net/apps) or in Safari. If you've got another computer that can connect via Ethernet then test against this also.

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#2626238 24-Dec-2020 10:26

michaelmurfy:

- have a look here: https://www.duckware.com/tech/wifi-in-the-us.html as while it explains WiFi only, it does show the common problem with this sort of marketing and how it can deceive customers.

Some really good info in there

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causecelebre

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2626244 24-Dec-2020 10:41

michaelmurfy:

Also please provide more information on how you're testing - have you also got any Antivirus / third party Firewall applications running? Always test via Ethernet only. As you're using MacOS then do your testing either on the official Speedtest app (https://www.speedtest.net/apps) or in Safari. If you've got another computer that can connect via Ethernet then test against this also.

Wow, thanks for the info! Really interesting to what you have to say about the routers!

Would it make such a difference if you were expecting say 800 and received 250 and that was down to the router alone?

I will have NOW send one of their routers for comparison - good suggestion!

Yes, always tested using Ethernet which is shown in the router to offer 1000BASE-T and a short cat6 cable
Yes, always speednet.net - same server
No Antivirus
No Firewall
Disconnect all other devices
No VPN
Have tried windows laptop, several mac laptops and several mobile devices (ipad, iphone and android phone)

michaelmurfy

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#2626246 24-Dec-2020 10:44

It does really sound like the router then in your case. Always a great idea keeping your ISP provided router around just in case! You could always try a factory reset and firmware update on your TP-Link to see if this improves things. Also goes without saying, ensure you’ve rebooted everything (ONT, Router, any Switches).

Let us know when you have received it and tested against it.

causecelebre

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Wannabe Geek

#2626247 24-Dec-2020 10:45

michaelmurfy: It does really sound like the router then in your case. Always a great idea keeping your ISP provided router around just in case! You could always try a factory reset and firmware update on your TP-Link to see if this improves things. Also goes without saying, ensure you’ve rebooted everything (ONT, Router, any Switches).

Let us know when you have received it and tested against it.

Will do. And thanks for taking the time to help out with this.