I recently switched internet providers and should now be getting 500mbps. I bought a Jetstream ac1900 router because it was a reasonably priced option that is suppose to be rated for 600mbps 2.4ghz, and close to 1300mpbs 5ghz. I only need the 2.4ghz band so I was hoping to get the full 500mbps with it, but even if I only saw 450mbps I would be satisfied. Right now I see about 50mbps with the 2.4ghz through a speed test using an iPhone 6 right next to the router, and just over 100mbps on 5ghz. Is there something I’m missing? I’ve spent days going through settings trying to optimize things. The only device I can wire to the router is a laptop with a 100mbps network card so I have no way other than through WiFi to test the speed. I’m upset i’m not getting results any better than from my older netgear n300 on the 2.4ghz band. And like I said I’m only getting just over 100 on 5ghz so somethings not right (I am using cat5e cable) please help
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Darkbreeze
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You switched internet providers and changed routers. Are you on cable or DSL and are the speeds you are talking about that you are getting actually the Local network speeds OR the speeds you are seeing between you and the online speed test site if you are using one?
It’s a fiber optic connection, I’m not sure what you mean by the second part. I chatted with my Internet provider customer service before buying the new router (I was wondering why I was not getting 300 with the netgear n300 only to realize the wan port was only 100) I asked if I was getting the full 500mbps to the ONT because I have no device to wire directly to it that is able to get more than 100. They didn’t think there should be an issue getting the speed I’m paying for to the ONT.
Stop believing the marking guys lies.
At least you know about lie number 1 where they add the 2.4g and 5g speeds together. You now must learn all the other lies they tell to get those numbers. Those numbers are not actually speeds they more represent the data encoding.
So addition "lies" that affect your rates. They have added the transmit and receive speeds together kinda like calling your 100mbps ethernet 200mbps. Wifi unlike ethernet is half duplex so it can't actually do transmit and receive at the same time. Next to get numbers like 600mbps they assume you can use 3 over lapping signals with no loss. This is 3x3 mimo. If this was actually true they would just use 100x100 mimo. To even attempt 3x3 mimo you must have 3 antenna on both ends. Almost every end device only has 2 so it will only run 2x2 or 1x1 if there is only 1 antenna. In addition to get the 600 number they are using a data encoding method that is not part of the wifi standard. Apple in particular does not support things that are proprietary.... at least as long as it wasn't apple that invented it. This means the 600 number becomes 450.
There are lots of other things that affect wifi performance.
The numbers you see are slightly low but it may depends on the exact model of iphone. If it is not one of the newer ones it maybe only has 802.11n radios.
In any case even if you had the best wifi cards you seldom get 100mbps on 2.4 and you might get 350mbps on 5g. You might get more with a desktop that has a 4x4 mimo card sitting next to the router but then you just use ethernet.
Pretty much the only way you are going to be able to use the connection at full speed on a single device is if you connect via ethernet on a gigabit port.
At least you know about lie number 1 where they add the 2.4g and 5g speeds together. You now must learn all the other lies they tell to get those numbers. Those numbers are not actually speeds they more represent the data encoding.
So addition "lies" that affect your rates. They have added the transmit and receive speeds together kinda like calling your 100mbps ethernet 200mbps. Wifi unlike ethernet is half duplex so it can't actually do transmit and receive at the same time. Next to get numbers like 600mbps they assume you can use 3 over lapping signals with no loss. This is 3x3 mimo. If this was actually true they would just use 100x100 mimo. To even attempt 3x3 mimo you must have 3 antenna on both ends. Almost every end device only has 2 so it will only run 2x2 or 1x1 if there is only 1 antenna. In addition to get the 600 number they are using a data encoding method that is not part of the wifi standard. Apple in particular does not support things that are proprietary.... at least as long as it wasn't apple that invented it. This means the 600 number becomes 450.
There are lots of other things that affect wifi performance.
The numbers you see are slightly low but it may depends on the exact model of iphone. If it is not one of the newer ones it maybe only has 802.11n radios.
In any case even if you had the best wifi cards you seldom get 100mbps on 2.4 and you might get 350mbps on 5g. You might get more with a desktop that has a 4x4 mimo card sitting next to the router but then you just use ethernet.
Pretty much the only way you are going to be able to use the connection at full speed on a single device is if you connect via ethernet on a gigabit port.
Thank you for the additional info I knew I had to be missing something. So is there any router out there that can get +100mbps on 2.4ghz? I have very few devices that can even use 5ghz (wish this could be simpler, all those frickin marketing numbers man. More deceptive than space heater marketing) is there any way to get close to 500mbps through WiFi? My internet service provider recommends these routers for 500mbps connection: Asus ac1300, asus ac1750, Nokia beacons. For 750mbps: netgear nighthawk ac5000, netgear nighthawk r7000, Asus ac1900 / ac3100 / and ac3200. And for gigabit: Asus dual band WiFi gaming router ac3100. I would love a single band 2.4ghz router that could actually get 450mbps but that’s seeming more and more like a pipe dream.
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Make sure you dig and find out what the numbers mean.
wifi6 can get slightly better performance on 2.4g BUT ...and a extremely important BUT....you must replace your phone/end device so it also has wifi6 radios.
It is easy to make routers with big numbers. Most wifi devices are portable and they trade off the size and battery life for performance. Your problem maybe your iphone and not the router.
The ISP recommends those routers because they know that most peoples end device for example only have 2 antenna. This pretty much limits your speed/data encoding to 300 on 2.4 and 900 on 5g.
The thing is even a very inexpensive router that has gigabit wan/lan ports can actually run at gigabit speed using ethernet.
In some ways it doesn't really matter. Very high speed is mostly for downloading large files and that is something done on a desktop or maybe a laptop both which tend to have gigabit ethernet ports. Nobody is going to download a 100gbyte game to their phone. A phone or pad type device would need the ability to say watch netflix at 4k which only takes about 30mbps. Many people want to see the big number on speedtest on their phone but when it comes to actual usage there is little need for extremely fast internet on a phone.
wifi6 can get slightly better performance on 2.4g BUT ...and a extremely important BUT....you must replace your phone/end device so it also has wifi6 radios.
It is easy to make routers with big numbers. Most wifi devices are portable and they trade off the size and battery life for performance. Your problem maybe your iphone and not the router.
The ISP recommends those routers because they know that most peoples end device for example only have 2 antenna. This pretty much limits your speed/data encoding to 300 on 2.4 and 900 on 5g.
The thing is even a very inexpensive router that has gigabit wan/lan ports can actually run at gigabit speed using ethernet.
In some ways it doesn't really matter. Very high speed is mostly for downloading large files and that is something done on a desktop or maybe a laptop both which tend to have gigabit ethernet ports. Nobody is going to download a 100gbyte game to their phone. A phone or pad type device would need the ability to say watch netflix at 4k which only takes about 30mbps. Many people want to see the big number on speedtest on their phone but when it comes to actual usage there is little need for extremely fast internet on a phone.
Ok this has helped. But I’m kinda getting sick of digging, only to continue to not hit paydirt.
I’ll detail my situation, I no longer have cable, and am now using sling. I have two older TVs with Roku express+(the version with rca hookup they stopped making, getting a second one of those was another frustrating situation) my bedroom tv upstairs above the router has ps3, ps4, and a Roku express. I have an iPad I use when in that bedroom. I have a laptop with a 100mbps network card that’s by the router but 360 days out of the year it’s not even powered on. An iPhone 6, a flatscreen Roku tv, and an AirTV 2.
So at most using the 2.4ghz WiFi at any time is 2 TVs being used to stream (or one for gaming) and the iPad and iPhone being used to surf the Internet possibly watch YouTube and the AirTV 2 is always on. I need the Rokus to be on the same WiFi as AirTV 2 for it to work, and all the Rokus except the new tv can only use 2.4ghz. Same with ps3, ps4 they can only use 2.4ghz. I could put the iPhone the laptop and possibly the iPad on 5ghz but they are the least used least important devices.
My microwave is unfortunately centrally located in the house so any time it’s running the 2 TVs located furthest from the router (maybe 40ft away through1-3 walls) loose connection. And changing the WiFi channel helps but doesn’t solve the problem. Those TVs only seem to get 1-15 mbps on 2.4ghz. So I was hoping I could get 3x-4x more speed than that, idk if that would solve the drop outs from interference. But I could always set another router as a repeater on the other side of the house to hopefully help. My only other thought to solve the microwave interference problem would be to run Ethernet from router through basement to other side of house and probably bridge with another router.
I would just like to be getting 400+ on 2.4ghz when testing speed right next to the router. But really anything 100+ would be an improvement. I was getting usually 80mbps with speed test on iPhone 6 next to the netgear n300 before I switched. Now it’s like halved with what should be a faster router. I’m probably gonna return this Jetstream ac1900. So any recommendations on a router I could actually see 100+mbps on 2.4ghz? Is there a good one from those listed by my isp that I could actually see 300mbps on 2.4ghz as mentioned above? Then I could use the netgear n300 as a repeater or a bridge.
I just want to get the most out of a 500mbps connection using 2.4ghz with older devices.
I’ll detail my situation, I no longer have cable, and am now using sling. I have two older TVs with Roku express+(the version with rca hookup they stopped making, getting a second one of those was another frustrating situation) my bedroom tv upstairs above the router has ps3, ps4, and a Roku express. I have an iPad I use when in that bedroom. I have a laptop with a 100mbps network card that’s by the router but 360 days out of the year it’s not even powered on. An iPhone 6, a flatscreen Roku tv, and an AirTV 2.
So at most using the 2.4ghz WiFi at any time is 2 TVs being used to stream (or one for gaming) and the iPad and iPhone being used to surf the Internet possibly watch YouTube and the AirTV 2 is always on. I need the Rokus to be on the same WiFi as AirTV 2 for it to work, and all the Rokus except the new tv can only use 2.4ghz. Same with ps3, ps4 they can only use 2.4ghz. I could put the iPhone the laptop and possibly the iPad on 5ghz but they are the least used least important devices.
My microwave is unfortunately centrally located in the house so any time it’s running the 2 TVs located furthest from the router (maybe 40ft away through1-3 walls) loose connection. And changing the WiFi channel helps but doesn’t solve the problem. Those TVs only seem to get 1-15 mbps on 2.4ghz. So I was hoping I could get 3x-4x more speed than that, idk if that would solve the drop outs from interference. But I could always set another router as a repeater on the other side of the house to hopefully help. My only other thought to solve the microwave interference problem would be to run Ethernet from router through basement to other side of house and probably bridge with another router.
I would just like to be getting 400+ on 2.4ghz when testing speed right next to the router. But really anything 100+ would be an improvement. I was getting usually 80mbps with speed test on iPhone 6 next to the netgear n300 before I switched. Now it’s like halved with what should be a faster router. I’m probably gonna return this Jetstream ac1900. So any recommendations on a router I could actually see 100+mbps on 2.4ghz? Is there a good one from those listed by my isp that I could actually see 300mbps on 2.4ghz as mentioned above? Then I could use the netgear n300 as a repeater or a bridge.
I just want to get the most out of a 500mbps connection using 2.4ghz with older devices.
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Darkbreeze
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And THAT, is the problem. You CAN'T get the most out of ANY fast connection, using older devices. Older devices simply DO NOT have the ability to utilize the bandwidth.
My isp recommends these routers for 500mbps connection: Asus ac1300, asus ac1750, Nokia beacons. For 750mbps: netgear nighthawk ac5000, netgear nighthawk r7000, Asus ac1900 / ac3100 / and ac3200. And for gigabit: Asus dual band WiFi gaming router ac3100. Is there a good one from those listed by my isp that I could actually see 300mbps on 2.4ghz as mentioned above? Or any recommendations on a router I could actually see 100+mbps on 2.4ghz? (When testing speed with iPhone 6 right next to router)
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I’m thinking about purchasing an Asus ac1300. Here is the specifications page https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RT-ACRH13/specifications/ . As I understand it I should be able to get near 400mbps on 2.4ghz band as long as end device has 2 antennas. Or is there something else I’m still missing?
You really need to get realistic expectation on what you can actually do with wifi.
This linked site has some of the better testing where they control things a bit more than others. Unfortunately they have not been testing large numbers of routers, mostly they test very high end models.
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/charts/router/bar/117-2_4-ghz-profile-dn/35
You will see that even with the very best routers and the very best end devices they come nowhere close to 100mbps on the 2.4g band when used at average distances.
This linked site has some of the better testing where they control things a bit more than others. Unfortunately they have not been testing large numbers of routers, mostly they test very high end models.
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/charts/router/bar/117-2_4-ghz-profile-dn/35
You will see that even with the very best routers and the very best end devices they come nowhere close to 100mbps on the 2.4g band when used at average distances.
I’m not talking about getting 100+mbps on all devices all around the house. I just mean seeing 100+ when setting the phone next to the router and running a speed test. The netgear n300 v3 would at times show 90 something mbps in that situation and it only has a 100 wan port. I thought that was the limiting factor. But now with the jetstream ac1900 with a 1000 wan port I only get 50 something mbps at most. Is there no router with a 1000 wan port that I could hope to see an improvement in speed at the router through 2.4ghz? Will the asus ac1300 still only give me less than 100mbps through 2.4ghz when testing speed through phone when placed right next to router or can I expect to see an improvement?
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The iPhone 6 has been tested to max out at 280mbps on a speed test to a device on the exact same physical network as the phone. Which means the fact you're getting 100mpbs connecting to the internet on such an old device is pretty damn good.
I'm not going to rehash what was said above, suffice to say just because the device is technically capable of "500mbps" does not mean that it is physically capable of those speeds. There are 100 factors that all need to be perfect to get that to a wireless device.
I'm not going to rehash what was said above, suffice to say just because the device is technically capable of "500mbps" does not mean that it is physically capable of those speeds. There are 100 factors that all need to be perfect to get that to a wireless device.
jadenwoolworth
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Thanks almost everyone for all the info. I thought I would see an improvement with a router that has faster max speeds with a 1000 wan port instead of 100. But I realize there’s many factors. I just don’t want to buy another new router to again find no improvement. At least if I go with one recommend by my isp I can get support figuring things out better through them.
Darkbreeze
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My Galaxy S7 edge for example, sitting right next to a brand new TP-link Archer AX1800 router, shows connected at network speed of "Very strong 780Mbps" yet when I run any kind of speed test, I am hitting about 112Mbps.
My phone has good, fairly recent network adapter support for Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot and was released in 2016.
Your iPhone 6 by comparison, was released in 2014, and has Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot, so, pretty much the same.
I suspect you will be limited to about the same maximum that I am, no matter WHAT router or internet connection you have, at least for that device. If it had WiFi 6 / AX, you might be able to do a little better, but there would still likely be a bunch of other factors involved as well.
My phone has good, fairly recent network adapter support for Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot and was released in 2016.
Your iPhone 6 by comparison, was released in 2014, and has Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot, so, pretty much the same.
I suspect you will be limited to about the same maximum that I am, no matter WHAT router or internet connection you have, at least for that device. If it had WiFi 6 / AX, you might be able to do a little better, but there would still likely be a bunch of other factors involved as well.
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