[SOLVED] Slow Internet Speeds, Time For New Cable Modem?

[anon2856]

I have an up-to-400Mbps plan with Xfinity and when I run an Ooku speedtest I am only clocking in at about 100 Mbps with a direct ethernet connection. Xfinity sent me an email recommending I upgrade to a modem capable of faster speeds in order to improve my service, however I am not sure if the modem is necessarily the culprit as my old Netgear CM500-100NAS is still capable of up to 370 Mbps. The math doesn't seem to pencil out but is there something I might be missing?

 

[USAFRet]

I have an up-to-400Mbps plan with Xfinity and when I run an Ooku speedtest I am only clocking in at about 100 Mbps with a direct ethernet connection.

That indicates a bad cable or LAN adapter.
Something in the chain is not gigabit capable.

 

[USAFRet]

Okay will try a brand new ethernet cable.

Good quality Cat5e. Not 'flat', not copperclad alu.

 

[anon2856]

That indicates a bad cable or LAN adapter.
Something in the chain is not gigabit capable.

Okay will try a brand new ethernet cable.

 

[anon2856]

Good quality Cat5e. Not 'flat', not copperclad alu.

Wow, got a Cat8 cable and that definitely made a difference. Getting well above 400 Mbps now.

 

[bill001g]

Wow, got a Cat8 cable and that definitely made a difference. Getting well above 400 Mbps now.

Unless you paid about $50 for a 10ft cable it is likely not a actual cat8 cable. Actual cat8 cables are only used in data centers and are sold only by special equipment providers. Almost everything you see on sites like amazon are fakes.
Now maybe they sold you a cat5e cable and called it cat8 that lie would not matter much since you can't use better than cat5e anyway. What is more likely is the cable is either not made from pure copper wire or the wire size is not between 22-24.

These fake cable many times will work at short distances on some but not all equipment. You never really know since they do not meet any official standards. You could have random problem if you are lucky it will work and you might have just paid too much.