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Should I return the Nighthawk XR500?


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So I purchase this router about a week ago and still can not get it to work properly. I upgraded from the R1 to the XR500 because the antenna was not strong enough was getting about 50 Mbps down on WiFi and gaming was not very good at all. At first I plugged it in seemed to be pretty much PnP set every thing up and ran some speedtests. I got pretty much the same results even worse. Some computers were at 25Mbps on the 2.4.  So I disabled the smart connect and connected via the 5.0 and the wireless went to 120Mbps. So I think this problem was solved although I don't understand why the speed is so slow on the 2.4Ghz signal. I almost can't use the 2.4. If I turn on the QOS I lose bandwidth on XBOX my tests go to about 140Mbps  and around 7Mbps Upload cutting it in half and gaming seems way worse. So I was told just to turn off the QOS which seems to solve the problem. The geo-filter on PUBG only connects to one server in Virginia and if this are is not included in the game it times out not allowing me into a game. 

Now I have more problems, the device manager shows I am offline on the computer I am on right now. Also shows I am offline when I am on my xbox. I had a CPU permanently on the LAN when the only thing on there was an XBOX. Basically the device manager is broken on the table view it shows connected to port 4 and all the devices I just mentioned are either not showing online or in a wrong position. I did a factory reset twice which seemed to solve the tree view but quickly got screwed up again with in 24hrs. 

So basically I have a router that 

1. Can't use the geo-filter in the game I like because there is only one server and half the time does not show anything like it is not working. 
2. Device Manager that shows incorrect devices connected and not connected
3. 2.4Ghz signal that lowers my speed so low that I don't want to connect to it.
4. Network Monitor that does not show connected devices and usage. 
5. A QOS that is turned off because its makes gaming worse. 

I think I should return this and get an AC1900 with out all these features that don't work for a third of the cost. 

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I responded to your other topic so I'll address the other points here that you didn't mention there. Would be easier if we keep it all to one topic so you may want to include your reply to the other topic here instead.

I believe not too long ago PUBG for some reason removed region selection and implemented region locks so you'll be locked to NAEast. If I remember correctly they did have at least 2 servers in that region though it may have changed since they've locked it. What are your Geo-Filter settings? I.e. how big is your radius on the East coast?

What are the speeds that you pay for? On 2.4GHz you may need to use a WiFi analyser and select the least congested channel in your area, there may be a lot of 2.4GHz networks around you interfering. Also most wireless devices such as headphones, even microwaves run use 2.4GHz so if they're in close proximity to the router they will interfere also and would suggest moving them as far away as possible.

The network monitor will show the top 5 devices by data usage so if you have a lot of devices it may not show the one you're looking for until it's data usage breaks the top 5. 

You're saying with QoS on it throttles your speeds, that's expected behaviour to ensure your network cannot be saturated. The speeds you've indicated the console is getting is absolutely plenty, gaming barely uses any bandwidth, much less than 1mbps so I don't think that will necessarily be causing the issues.

What is your physical setup? ISP hub (WiFi enabled) > XR500? 

If you haven't already done so I'd recommend going through the optimal settings for DumaOS: http://support.netduma.com/en/support/solutions/folders/16000090646

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Sorry about the multiple posts I think I fixed the device manager issue by unplugging everything > Power cycling the HUB which gave me a new WAN IP address  > attaching the router and powering it up again. It seems to be back on real time as I connect and disconnect devices. I will let you know if this changes, may have screwed things up by factory restarting the router and having it connected to the HUB or something.

As far as PUBG I know its not your fault if they lock me into servers in Virginia I have posted about this on the PUBG forum to no avail they say the are on the Azure servers which has locations in Ohio and Northern Illinois but it never connects to them ever. 

I have attached my speed tests to show you the 2.4Ghz is absolutely awful in my home not sure whats interfering with it or if there is a setting but this can't be correct also when it was on smartconnect it was choosing the 2.4 which does not seem to smart to me. 

Ethernet

image.png.9b773f5602b764d9c9cbaeab7527f4b4.png 

5.0 Ghz

image.png.949e0a71f9e42728b8fc50740bbd946a.png 

2.4Ghz

image.png.70a8f7e4692aa2316f7d444c96131ce4.png 

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Great to hear that! Unfortunately with PUBG/Fortnite in order to force a server put your radius just over the server you want then you'll have to wait for it to disconnect you back to the lobby when it finds a game or have in spectating mode and quit until it gives you the one you want. It's just the way the game works, they don't actually try connecting you to a server until it tries to load in.

Did you try my previous WiFi suggestions regarding wifi analyser/channel selection and identifying wireless devices nearby? Also if you could take a screenshot of the advanced wifi settings that would be helpful.

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Changed the channel went up to around 40-50 Mbps but still seems slow when my connected speeds are around 300. I also replaced the R1 with this one one of the reasons being the WiFi was supposedly slow and 50Mbps was the same speed I was getting on the R1. Also came home today and for the last hour the internet on the LAN is gone now. just no internet flowing though the LAN. Was working fine last night, any ideas on this now new issue? 

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Guest Killhippie
17 hours ago, Chf Wiggum said:

Changed the channel went up to around 40-50 Mbps but still seems slow when my connected speeds are around 300. I also replaced the R1 with this one one of the reasons being the WiFi was supposedly slow and 50Mbps was the same speed I was getting on the R1. Also came home today and for the last hour the internet on the LAN is gone now. just no internet flowing though the LAN. Was working fine last night, any ideas on this now new issue? 

A screenshot would definitely help, its possible its a WAN issue of course. Look in your logs and check with your ISP as it could be a network fault causing the net to be down, its worth ruling out. (I take it the internet light is white not orange)  If its orange that could be your modem/ISP After screenshots and looking in logs, it may be time to do a full factory reset and don't use a backup to restore, but I'll leave all that down to Fraser.

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Thanks Fraser, that is what I figured but one has to go back and the DumaOS software does not work. The device manager does not recognize the devices so it does not list them in the network monitor. My QoS is disabled, because it slows down my speeds and was basically told with my speeds makes sense to turn it off. Geo-Filter is off because PUBG only has one server in Virginia and GOW4 does regional filtering. I do like the look a lot better but I am having trouble justifying the difference for the software. 

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Network Monitor, is it just for those devices showing as offline when they're online? While it's unlikely you'll saturate your network it's still possible that you could and QoS would help. Traffic Prioritization would still help to put your gaming packets ahead of the queue. Have you verified it only has one server in that region?

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Network Monitor: Yes, when the device shows offline there is nothing for it in network monitor, but how can you be sure of the accuracy  or if network monitoring is even working when it can't even ID all the devices using bandwidth?

PUBG: People say there multiple servers but it only connects me to Virginia. If Virginia is not in the filter I will never get into a game, then I can put a 50 mile radius on Virginia and it connects me. I realize this has nothing to do with NetDuma. 

Can QoS, Anti-Bufferbloat, or traffic prioritization actually make gaming worse or slower? It seems like it operates better with all these off, I usually have traffic prioritization always on by default but don't really notice a difference.  I think what I am going to do is run a test with the network just saturated and try to play some games and see I can notice a difference. 

Is there any known bugs with device managers that IT is aware of any working on? I feel like I am noticing problems that IT is not aware of. Any firmware updates coming? Would like to stay with the DumaOS but the way it is operating at the moment I am thinking I rather have the cash in my pocket. 

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Guest Killhippie
23 hours ago, Chf Wiggum said:

So I just purchased the Nighthawk X4S 2600 7800 and from what I can tell is this is the same exact hardware for $120 less. Am I missing something or is this the same hardware with the DumaOS?

R7800 has 128mb less flash NAND whereas the XR500 has 256mb in total that's the only hardware difference, the R7800 does not have CTF/ Hardware acceleration with QoS though unless you go down the third-party firmware avenue, the XR500 does. Latest R7800 firmware 1.0.2.62 released today fixes 5Ghz unstable Wi-Fi and a bunch of other stuff. Both are very capable routers but the R7800 is three years old now thats the only thing I would think about, and DumaOS its still in development, so its always possible the R7800 may reach EOL before the XR500, but who that's just a guess. Both are good routers, it depends how much you want the gaming side of DumaOS vs set and forget streamboost really.

 

 









 

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Thanks for the info killhippie I have seen you on some other posts comparing the two. At first I did notice the XR500 range and speeds seemed better but after multiple back and forth testing it has been really all over the map for both routers. I agree with you on pretty much every thing else and I do want to stick with the XR500 but when the device manager does not recognize devices and there for does not add them to the network monitor. I have to question if the router is even working efficiently as it should or the whole thing is a show.  Here is my screen at the moment showing the PC I am on right now showing as offline and does not show any traffic on network monitor even if I use it to use a lot of bandwidth. Maybe I should just drop Netgear all together. Asus? 

image.thumb.png.3c023c5e11daeb0c47c8a8a7d1da077b.pngimage.thumb.png.02cb6aab28c6c2deb10634e80624d126.png

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and the XBOX is showing connected to the LAN even though I unplug the Ethernet cord from the console and sometimes will also get stuck offline and if it does not recognize the gaming console. What is the point of a "professional gaming router"? 

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Guest Killhippie
1 hour ago, Chf Wiggum said:

Thanks for the info killhippie I have seen you on some other posts comparing the two. At first I did notice the XR500 range and speeds seemed better but after multiple back and forth testing it has been really all over the map for both routers. I agree with you on pretty much every thing else and I do want to stick with the XR500 but when the device manager does not recognize devices and there for does not add them to the network monitor. I have to question if the router is even working efficiently as it should or the whole thing is a show.  Here is my screen at the moment showing the PC I am on right now showing as offline and does not show any traffic on network monitor even if I use it to use a lot of bandwidth. Maybe I should just drop Netgear all together. Asus? 

image.thumb.png.3c023c5e11daeb0c47c8a8a7d1da077b.pngimage.thumb.png.02cb6aab28c6c2deb10634e80624d126.png

That is reallly odd, mine does not look like that at all. There is a bug but I think it may be just cosmetic. This is the thing you have Netgear and DumaOS as a sandwich. I dont have your issue, which does make me wonder if the routers memory is actually corrupt. It can happen, you have certainly had more issues than I have have thats for sure. The bug with the device manager will get fixed, if its just cosmetic then there should be no issue, if QoS is working and all devices act as they are meant to just ignore the device manager. I would unplug your devices, set QoS up with  antibufferbloat to 70%  reset bandwidth allocation for both download and upload, with just your Xbox and PC both attached via Ethernet then fire up the Xbox start playing and do a speedtest from your hard wired PC, if the speed drops by the amount QoS says it will with share excess on and the red indicator for high priority traffic is on, then all is good and its a visual glitch.

 The R7800 had six or seven really buggy updates, but now its working fine. Asus make great firmware and RMerlins third party is very good, but the hardware not so much, lots of radio failures and recently memory issues on the RT-AC86U. No router is perfect. Netgear make I believe better hardware, so try a testing your QoS as suggested, if it is its working then just wait for a patch. Having used this router since launch its been bumpy now and then I'll admit, but for gaming I love it, and it does work for most people, just remember on a forum you see the worst of the worst generally, not praise because all is okay.

DumaOS  is not for show but I can understand the doubts, its just not a set and forget router but it does work very well most of the time and the team will sort this out, as will Netgear if its their issue I belive it has been reported to them. I cant give you the answer you want but you can at last rule out the router not working at least, and then just ignore the device manager until its fixed. Feel sorry for the people with Wi-Fi 6 Asus and Netgear routers both running draft 3  of the new spec. Some of them may well think they are future proofed and running tested tech, when they are really guinea pigs on a draft version which may not be finalised until November, and the silicon they have probably wont support Wi-Fi 6s final features.

 Try the QoS test with just the xbox and your PC and tell us how that goes. Also if you have ever used the Xbox wirelessly resetting network settings may help if it has that feature (I use a PS4 Pro so don't know) as that may be worth it just to be sure, in fact I would do that anyway just to make sure there are no issues with the network settings for your own sanity. Hope that helps. :)


 

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8 hours ago, Chf Wiggum said:

and the XBOX is showing connected to the LAN even though I unplug the Ethernet cord from the console and sometimes will also get stuck offline and if it does not recognize the gaming console. What is the point of a "professional gaming router"? 

Wiggum we share a lot of the same issues.. I have similar issues as yourself but also think I have maybe a couple things going on and not just one.. Imo when things start to get mixed up in the Device Manager and Network Monitor the router seems to take a performance hit.. When things get like this I do a hard reset.. And when I get online my gaming is decent for a few hours or even a couple of days.. When im gaming I can tell because it begins to play slow.. Things become sluggish.. Its a suttle but definitely noticeable.. The minute I do a hard reset when this takes place my gaming is fine again.. Very strange and hard to actually describe.. The hard part is ive been trying to figure out if its this issue with the Device Manager or if its something else.. Its hard to diagnose because in my case im not sure what part of my router is correct or accurate.. Heck I may even have a bad router.. I just don't know.. Ive had this for over 4 months so im out of my return for refund.. And can now only hope for either a exchange or the next new firmware might fix this..  I seem to be caught between a rock and a hard place.. Do you have any errors in your routers log? Or do you have anything in your routers logs that looks out of place? I have a couple of errors and was curious if you have any and if they are the same ones that I get... If you do let me know.. Thanks!!

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11 hours ago, Zippy said:

Wiggum we share a lot of the same issues.. 

I should think the performance issues are unrelated - from my understanding the Device Manager is more of a visual representation of your network rather than back-end. I shouldn't think QoS or anything else will be misbehaving as a result of the Device Manager not labelling devices correctly.

That said, things like this don't go unnoticed. I've already passed this to our development team to have a crack at, so if there's any developments there I'll let you guys know!

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11 hours ago, Chf Wiggum said:

Any updates on this? 

Thanks 

We have not been able to replicate this, so at this point we're thinking it could be a hardware issue. Are you able to contact your seller to arrange a replacement? 

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1 hour ago, Netduma Fraser said:

Sorry to hear you've had to replace it but do let us know if the new one behaves correctly!

Fraser if this cant be replicated and those of us that have similar issues as Wiggum what should we do if we have had this router over like 4-5 months..we are out of our return policy.. Which is only usually 30 days.. Anything suggestions?  Thank you!

Zippy..

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59 minutes ago, Chf Wiggum said:

I won't be going with this router as I don't think its a hardware issue. 

Sorry to hear that, we do hope you'll consider us again in future after more firmware updates.

4 minutes ago, Zippy said:

Fraser if this cant be replicated and those of us that have similar issues as Wiggum what should we do if we have had this router over like 4-5 months..we are out of our return policy.. Which is only usually 30 days.. Anything suggestions?  Thank you!

Zippy..

As we can't reproduce it it's pretty hard for us to give advice on what to do. I would suggest downgrading to a previous firmware and seeing if you still experience the issue.

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