XR500 low speeds on gigabit with extender

[DelTacoBoi]

Hello friends!  I am currently on a gigabit speed plan (1000mbps up/40mbps down) with my internet provider (Cox Communication) and I am using the Netgear XR500 Nighthawk router with an Arris Surfboard sb8200 modem, capable of up to 2gig down.

From the router, hard lined with a cat 6 ethernet cable I am of course pulling the advertised speed of around 980mbps down.  However on my PC, via Wi-Fi about 60 feet away from the router I am pulling around 550-600mbps. 

I purchased a Netgear Nighthawk Extender (EX-8000) which I am hard lined into my PC with the same cat 6 ethernet cable, again about 60 feet away from router, and the speeds are the same as without the extender via Wi-Fi.  Around 550-600mbps down.

I have turned off QoS and the issues persist.

I live in an 1800sqft 2 bedroom apartment.  My internet provider sent their tech who came and laid all new coax cable and splitter in the line and we both confirmed the advertised speed is being pulled on their end in the apartment.  There is no obstructions with the exception of 1 plaster wall and the extender next to the door which is open.   And yes all the router antenna are facing upward.

Can someone run through settings and channels to make sure I have everything set up correctly?

[Newfie]

That’s not bad speed with WiF at that distance. If you move closer I’m guessing you would see an increase but 60ft on 5Ghz is pretty amazing.

even close up you will not hit a gig on WiFi. 
 

The EX8000 has a max 1733Mbps connection rate on 5Ghz but in extender mode it’s normally broadcasting an 866Mbps and a backhaul of 1733Mbps if set up correctly. AP mode allows 1733mbps to be broadcast. The inside is the same board as an Orbi but with less memory. 

The thing to remember with Wi-Fi is the max throughput figures that are issued by companies are theoretical which means you will never achieve the max throughput on Wi-Fi. It’s also a device dependent but at the end of the day if you were close to your router and you hit say 850mbps that would be about right. Some may see a slightly better figure and some might not even see tests in the 800s as it all depends on on the environment around you.

The next step up in WiFi is WiFi 6 which offers more throughput on AX devices, again though its device, range and environment dependant. 

 

[Netduma Fraser]

Great advice above. The further away you are the further speeds will be reduced, I'd recommend placing the extender somewhere to provide optimal coverage of the home.

[DelTacoBoi]

Hey guys, thanks for the swift response. I have removed the extender from the situation, and moved the pc within 30 feet of range directly to the router. Same speeds persist. Up to what speeds wirelessly can the XR500 on the 5ghz broadcast up to from 30 feet of range?

[Newfie]

There is no real answer to that as it depends on RFI, EMI, the environment, devices and so on. 
Pop over to smallnetbuilder, the closet router to look for is the R7800 and that will give you rough figures of what’s possible but it’s different for everyone.

[Netduma Fraser]

Good advice above, use a WiFi analyzer and find the least congested channels and change to that - if it was congested then that will help.