Wireless Repeater Slow Speeds

[maxwatkinson1989]

I really could do with some help! I currently have a bt home hub 6 with a Linksey Archer AC1200 being used as a repeated.

The setup works but the BT HH6 is producing between 50mbps and 60mbps but the repeater router is only producing between 2mbps and 10mpbs this is hard wired into the back of the router.

Just to make you aware it runs off a different SSID as is being used in the annex.

Please can anyone help

ps the distance between the router and the repeater is around 30 metres but i have been told that as long as it doesn't go over 100 meters it should be fine.

 

[bill001g]

If you have the 2 units cabled together you want to run the remote unit as a AP and not a repeater. A repeater intentionally sends out interfering signals that degrade performance. If you were using it as a actual repeater it is not uncommon to get 1/2 or more reduction in speed.

If possible run them on different channel groups. It tends to be kinda hard now days because of how crowded wifi is but on the 5g band you should be able to set one to the lower set of channels and the other to the upper.

 

[maxwatkinson1989]

If you have the 2 units cabled together you want to run the remote unit as a AP and not a repeater. A repeater intentionally sends out interfering signals that degrade performance. If you were using it as a actual repeater it is not uncommon to get 1/2 or more reduction in speed.

If possible run them on different channel groups. It tends to be kinda hard now days because of how crowded wifi is but on the 5g band you should be able to set one to the lower set of channels and the other to the upper.

________________________________________________________

I have tried this and still only getting 9 mpbs?

I have self taught all this by using youtube and google.

is there another solution?

 

[bill001g]

First would be to plug into the remote AP with a ethernet cable and be sure you get good speeds. I would then sit very close to the AP and connect via wifi on the 2.4g and 5g bands and see if there are difference.

It is a pretty simplistic thing it almost has to be a wifi setting in the AP.

 

[maxwatkinson1989]

First would be to plug into the remote AP with a ethernet cable and be sure you get good speeds. I would then sit very close to the AP and connect via wifi on the 2.4g and 5g bands and see if there are difference.

It is a pretty simplistic thing it almost has to be a wifi setting in the AP.

Do you think the distance of the cable could alter the speeds? As a complete novice i was told that it doesn't matter unless the cable is longer than 100m?

 

[bill001g]

Ethernet runs at 1gbit to 100meters. If you try to exceed distance that it most times completely fails but everything under that it runs at 1gbit. It does not run at a slower speed.

Now you could be getting packet loss if the cable is bad. You can ping your router IP and see if you see packet loss.

 

[maxwatkinson1989]

Ethernet runs at 1gbit to 100meters. If you try to exceed distance that it most times completely fails but everything under that it runs at 1gbit. It does not run at a slower speed.

Now you could be getting packet loss if the cable is bad. You can ping your router IP and see if you see packet loss.

I did think this i have a cat 6 cable so should be half decent? my ping is around 8ms so pretty good, i have tried changing the channels so they shouldn't clash.

It is really driving me mad.

really appreciate the help.

 

[bill001g]

8ms is kinda high unless you are doing that on wifi. Be careful testing on wifi since wifi issues can hide other network problems.

The next step is still to plug a device into your AP with a ethernet cable. This will eliminate other parts of your network as the cause and narrow it to the wifi.

It is very strange you should get different rate on the 2.4g radio and the 5g radio. The 5g is running 802.11ac which has 2-3 times the bandwidth so you would think both would not be limited to the same 2mbits.

 

[maxwatkinson1989]

8ms is kinda high unless you are doing that on wifi. Be careful testing on wifi since wifi issues can hide other network problems.

The next step is still to plug a device into your AP with a ethernet cable. This will eliminate other parts of your network as the cause and narrow it to the wifi.

It is very strange you should get different rate on the 2.4g radio and the 5g radio. The 5g is running 802.11ac which has 2-3 times the bandwidth so you would think both would not be limited to the same 2mbits.

I think I'm going to have to call someone out. i have plugged my windows laptop(as this doesn't have a ethernet port) in and the ping is 7ms DS 9.60 UP 9.36.

Its identical to the wifi speeds that I'm getting on my mac and phones. These results are consistent whether the router has been set up individually and as an access point.

My TV, Phone and Mac are all running at 5G.

Could it be the master router BT Home Hub restricting the cabled output to the Slave?

 

[bill001g]

It guess it could be. The ports may have negotiated to 10mbps. It is very rare for that to happen and indicates a faulty cable. You can not set the port speed on a router like you can on a pc but some will display the speed it is connected.

You could try plugging you pc into the cable coming from the main router and see what speed you get. You can see the speed negotiated by looking at the properties on the ethernet connection. Unfortunately bad cables will run at different speeds on different equipment.

Maybe take a short cable and try it with the AP sitting next to the main router. If that works then you know it is the cable. It is not that the cable is shorter fixed it just that it is a different cable.

 

[maxwatkinson1989]

It guess it could be. The ports may have negotiated to 10mbps. It is very rare for that to happen and indicates a faulty cable. You can not set the port speed on a router like you can on a pc but some will display the speed it is connected.

You could try plugging you pc into the cable coming from the main router and see what speed you get. You can see the speed negotiated by looking at the properties on the ethernet connection. Unfortunately bad cables will run at different speeds on different equipment.

Maybe take a short cable and try it with the AP sitting next to the main router. If that works then you know it is the cable. It is not that the cable is shorter fixed it just that it is a different cable.

This is the cable i purchased, do you think this could be the issue?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Tronic-Ethernet-Network-Colour-Grey/dp/B079Y99GG7/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1539212678&sr=8-6&keywords=cat6+ethernet+cable

I will do that tomorrow thank you.

 

[bill001g]

Yup a piece of crap.

CCA cable is not certified cable it must be pure copper. It has major issue going distance. Also the connectors have issue with connectivity because of the dissimilar metals. Even when you get the ends on they can work loose over time because of dissimilar metals.

CAT means nothing it must say eia/tia certified. You still get vendors that outright lie on amazon and try to say the CCA cable is certified cable.

At least most admit it is CCA cable, amazon stomped a bunch for implying it was pure copper but they really should ban all this fake cable. Price of copper metal is so high people get tempted by the price of this junk.

 

[maxwatkinson1989]

Yup a piece of crap.

CCA cable is not certified cable it must be pure copper. It has major issue going distance. Also the connectors have issue with connectivity because of the dissimilar metals. Even when you get the ends on they can work loose over time because of dissimilar metals.

CAT means nothing it must say eia/tia certified. You still get vendors that outright lie on amazon and try to say the CCA cable is certified cable.

At least most admit it is CCA cable, amazon stomped a bunch for implying it was pure copper but they really should ban all this fake cable. Price of copper metal is so high people get tempted by the price of this junk.

Ok what cable would be best i have seen this?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Duronic-Network-CAT6a-Ethernet-Shielded/dp/B00KY17NK0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1539250325&sr=8-4&keywords=50+metre+ethernet+cable

If not could you point me in the right direction?

Again thanks for the help.

 

[bill001g]

That cable is kinda overkill. You would only buy cat6a if you want 10g.

Cat5e is perfectly fine it will run 1gbit. The key is to find pure copper cable with wire gauge 22-24. That flat or thin cable is also not certified cable. It is going to depend if you want raw cable or patch cords. You would want to search for "cat5e solid copper".

In some ways it might be best to buy from your local home improvement store so you can look at the box and maybe the cable itself. The cable will be marked eia/tia. When you add in the cost of shipping there is not a huge difference in price between the local store and amazon.

The problem with amazon is it depends on the seller. Even amazon themselves sells junk. There are companies shipping cable directly from china that sell cable with fake eia/tia markings on CCA cable. Seems nobody reads the reviews.

 

[maxwatkinson1989]

That cable is kinda overkill. You would only buy cat6a if you want 10g.

Cat5e is perfectly fine it will run 1gbit. The key is to find pure copper cable with wire gauge 22-24. That flat or thin cable is also not certified cable. It is going to depend if you want raw cable or patch cords. You would want to search for "cat5e solid copper".

In some ways it might be best to buy from your local home improvement store so you can look at the box and maybe the cable itself. The cable will be marked eia/tia. When you add in the cost of shipping there is not a huge difference in price between the local store and amazon.

The problem with amazon is it depends on the seller. Even amazon themselves sells junk. There are companies shipping cable directly from china that sell cable with fake eia/tia markings on CCA cable. Seems nobody reads the reviews.

I will give it ago thanks for your help buddy ill let you know how i get on

 

[maxwatkinson1989]

That cable is kinda overkill. You would only buy cat6a if you want 10g.

Cat5e is perfectly fine it will run 1gbit. The key is to find pure copper cable with wire gauge 22-24. That flat or thin cable is also not certified cable. It is going to depend if you want raw cable or patch cords. You would want to search for "cat5e solid copper".

In some ways it might be best to buy from your local home improvement store so you can look at the box and maybe the cable itself. The cable will be marked eia/tia. When you add in the cost of shipping there is not a huge difference in price between the local store and amazon.

The problem with amazon is it depends on the seller. Even amazon themselves sells junk. There are companies shipping cable directly from china that sell cable with fake eia/tia markings on CCA cable. Seems nobody reads the reviews.