Question Help with new router

[QueBert]

Got a TP-Link AX-1500 the other day, it replaced a Segemcom FAST5280 AC from Spectrum, at least I think that's what I had. I already returned it and don't remember the model, but Googling it looks exactly like it. Any ways, I wanted to try and get a bit better reception in the house and have more control over settings. My main PC the wifi signal's a lot better, it stays 90-100%, with the old one it would hover around 30-50%, and would drop connection from time to time and YT videos almost always had to buffer. This PC has a TP-Link RE205 range extender. The speeds are still slow even with the new router, speedtest gives me 10/3. On my new Laptop (Asus Zenbook 13 UM325) I'd get around 90-95/10 on speedtest with the Spectrum router, now I get about half that in both directions. I get 30-50/8 on 5G and 25/6 on 2.4 now. The Spectrum had smart connect I think because there was just 1 SSID. I went thru the router settings and played with settings but nothing's helped. On my desktop the bit of YT I watched there was no buffering, but the speedtest is bothering me. I know this is a cheaper range extender and I plan to get a better one in about a month. But I should be able to get a lot better than 10/3 with this, well the 10 any ways, my uploads always suck lol. I'm confused at why the speedtest was so much higher on my laptop with the old router. I've tried enabling smart connect on the TP-Link and trying it 4 or 5 times throughout the day 50mb/s was the best I could do.


I understand the AX-1500's a budget level Wifi 6 router, but my assumptions were it would be better a good step up from the one Spectrum uses. We've had to return 3 here in about a year because of random dropping of connections and just oddities. I haven't had enough time with the TP to know if it's better there, but I haven't noticed any drops yet. I'm just trying to figure out the speed thing overall, especially why the speed on the extenders so poor. Right now it's reporting 100% signal when I run netsh wlan show interfaces. So I'm lost, I'll get their AX-1500 onemesh extender but that's not for another month or so.

If anyone has any ideas here, I've tried everything I can think of and am just stumped.

 

[JackMDS]

This PC has a TP-Link RE205 range extender. The speeds are still slow even with the new router, speedtest gives me 10/3.

Extender is rarely a Good solution.

If you can wire to the computer, or at list used a wire part of the distance and put thier a good access point you might get better solution.

 

[QueBert]

Extender is rarely a Good solution.

If you can wire to the computer, or at list used a wire part of the distance and put thier a good access point you might get better solution.

Thanks, I understand that but I should get better speeds still, I don't expect to get 100mb but 25'ish doesn't seem unreasonable. Then there's the fact my laptop's getting 56mb when I tested it right now, and it was consistently right around 100 with the Spectrum router. This router was an upgrade but performance wise it feels like I downgraded.

I've tried every channel, I haven't tried each channel with each of the 3 different bands, but I plan to knock that out tonight. I did get it to hit 50'ish from 35 using a different channel, so maybe a channel+band will be the solution and I can still get speeds like I use to get *shrug*

 

[mxnerd]

Probably worth reading.

Understanding Wi-Fi 4/5/6/6E/7 (802.11 n/ac/ax/be)

 

[JackMDS]

Probably worth reading.

Understanding Wi-Fi 4/5/6/6E/7 (802.11 n/ac/ax/be)

Nice article, but actually it is part of the problem that “plague” regular none pro users.

Running to Walmart or Logging to Amazon ensures spending more money, but Not necessarily solving the problem

Most computers’ problems are inside the boxes and the cables.

Wireless "Wires" are "invisible". Real pro instrumentation, knowledge, and be in the actual environment is needed many times in order to deal with it...

In many cases you can install a Wireless hardware that its rated Speed (bandwidth) is much more than what the user has at the moment and it will Not add much (or anything) to the current functional Wireless power.

Getting more Powerful Gizmo does not changed the blockages in the environment and the propagation that it is generating.

 

[VirtualLarry]

In many cases you can install a Wireless hardware that its rated Speed (bandwidth) is much more than what the user has at the moment and it will Not add much (or anything) to the current functional Wireless power.

Getting more Powerful Gizmo does not changed the blockages in the environment and the propagation that it is generating.

But it does also help to know what your client hardware is capable of.\

I fairly recently deployed a D-Link AX4800 router, with WPA3 support. Which is supported by all of my Ryzen / Athlon APU-based laptops. (I have a 3200U, a 3020e, and a 3050e.)

The 3050e seems to support the newest stuff, I think that it has a Realtek AX 2x2 chipset inside. Maybe only AC.

But you could tell the difference, with the 3200U, which is probably two years old at this point, which only rated like 180Mbit/sec down and 80-100Mbit/sec up. (I have 300/300 FIOS.) The 3050e, is consistently 200/200, or maybe even close to 300/300.

The new AX4800 router, one of the reasons which I purchased it, was not only was it an AX router with WPA3, but it supports 160Mhz channels, which can allow certain capable AC client chips their effective maximum speeds, depending on how many spatial channels that they support.

 

[QueBert]

thanks for all the replies, I tried every channel with every band and the best speedtest result I got was 58/10. I guess the Spectrum router just works better with my setup for whatever reason. I was never expecting the new router to be faster. I thought I could get slightly better range and equal speeds. The range is definitely improved, but the 50% drop in download speed sucks, oh well

 

[DaaQ]

thanks for all the replies, I tried every channel with every band and the best speedtest result I got was 58/10. I guess the Spectrum router just works better with my setup for whatever reason. I was never expecting the new router to be faster. I thought I could get slightly better range and equal speeds. The range is definitely improved, but the 50% drop in download speed sucks, oh well

I had a customer that had issues with Wifi calling, Basically it would drop the ability to do the wifi calling.

Long story short, the router they were using, had band steering enabled by default. and that was causing the drop, when it switched from 5g to 2.4g.

Maybe you are having a similar issue where the router is not properly band steering. So if you are able to get into the GUI and disable that and create a 2.4 and 5g network separate names, you may have better results.

I have a feeling the third band, which should be for backhaul is what that is.

 

[QueBert]

I had a customer that had issues with Wifi calling, Basically it would drop the ability to do the wifi calling.

Long story short, the router they were using, had band steering enabled by default. and that was causing the drop, when it switched from 5g to 2.4g.

Maybe you are having a similar issue where the router is not properly band steering. So if you are able to get into the GUI and disable that and create a 2.4 and 5g network separate names, you may have better results.

I have a feeling the third band, which should be for backhaul is what that is.

Thanks for the reply, I'd already disabled smart connect, that's what TP Link calls band steering I guess. When it was turned on I'de get single network where it would auto switch to what frequency was fastest and I was unable to set the channel or the channel width.

I think I've changed every wireless setting on the router even if I didn't know exactly what it did. Just to see if it made a difference running a speed test. I might just return this router and get a different model, I'm getting 6/4 on my desktop now. I know it's a $30 range extender but I should be getting a lot better speeds. Their AX-3000's routers only $30 more and should be a decent step up.

 

[mxnerd]

As the article has pointed out, the client device is as important as the AP. It's probably the client device in your case, the TP-Link RE205 was unable to negotiate a good connection with your TP-Link AX router.