XR500 Upload Speed

[maroonSully]

Hello. This is about the hardware/firmware defect of the XR500. This is part informative and part support question.

Issue:

XR500 on Gigabit FIOs speed test results indicated 900mbps down and only 2 mbps up. That's not a typo 2 MbPS!

Diagnostic Results with 3 computers:

- Wired. PC was getting 2MbPS upload. 900mbps down.

- Wired. Mac(Linux OS) was getting ~400mbps down and ~200mbps up (?!).

- Wireless. Mac (macOS BigSur) was getting 600mbps down and 500mbps up.

- Wireless. Phone (Moto G Power) was getting 250mbps down and 200mbps up.

What I've Done:

- Plugged FIOs ethernet directly into PC: Confirmed over 900 upload and download from Verizon.

- I am on the latest Firmware 2.3.2.66. I also downgraded to 52 and got the same results

- QoS was completely disabled (and enabling it with varying settings never budged the 2mbps upload of the pc).

- Tested on each LAN port with the same results (across both Mac and PC wired). With differing cables.

- Hard (30 second+) factory reset.

- DHCP Release

What I've Done with Netgear Tech support:

- All of the above except for the DHCP Release and firmware downgrade.

I have a pending RMA request where I had to pay $20 to have them send me the router first.

The Kicker

I went to the Verizon FIOs store and had them give me the included router with my subscription. I wanted to sanity check this was a Netgear problem. After a quickstart installation (no config modifications) my PC speed test is now reporting 900mbps download and 900mbps upload. Confirming this is a defect with the XR500.

The advertised speeds of the XR500 are grossly off from real-world experience. I've seen similar posts about people complaining about upload/download speed of the XR500 and I wanted to post these tests to show that they are not crazy and the XR500 has egregious problems and is unable to handle advertised speeds.

At what point will Netgear process a refund if the new RMA'd device is still having problems? What has Netgear done to resolve these XR500 issues? Has an RMA worked for anybody? I want to get a DumaOS router as I like GeoFilter and other features, but one that is not defective...this RMA process seems like a waste if it's a model defect. I'd rather pay the difference for an upgrade.

 

[Newfie]

When did you purchase the router?

when you reset did you test before altering any settings?

[maroonSully]

I ran around 50 speedtests between my self testing and on the phone with the tech. We would change one item, test, repeat.. Purchased April 2020.

Edit: Actually attached the 45 speed tests executed. You can see when I plug in the Ethernet directly to the PC and of course when I switch to the Verizon Router.

Edited December 31, 2020 by maroonSully
Add screenshot of speedtest timeline

[Netduma Fraser]

This is a very odd issue because the other devices were all able to achieve more speed via WiFi or ethernet so it would indicate an issue with the specific PC but then that works completely with the ISP router/modem. Out of curiosity if you enable QoS again, leave Anti-Bufferbloat on Never, then make a manual rule for the PC - 1-65535 Source, 1-65535 Destination, TCP/UDP then do a speed test, what speeds do you get then?

[maroonSully]

5 hours ago, Netduma Fraser said:

This is a very odd issue because the other devices were all able to achieve more speed via WiFi or ethernet so it would indicate an issue with the specific PC but then that works completely with the ISP router/modem. Out of curiosity if you enable QoS again, leave Anti-Bufferbloat on Never, then make a manual rule for the PC - 1-65535 Source, 1-65535 Destination, TCP/UDP then do a speed test, what speeds do you get then?

When I receive the new device through RMA I will test if it still has problems. Honestly if the new one just works I probably will not perform the test and Netgear can figure out what's wrong with it when I send it back.

[Netduma Fraser]

Okay keep us posted.

[maroonSully]

Posting a follow up with the new RMA XR500. The upload speed on the ethernet Windows 10 machine is now showing 450-550 Mbps upload (When QoS set to Never AND when totally disabled) . While this is "better" it does not compare to the 850+ Mbps I'm getting from the provided FIOs router.

This router is advertised as being able to handle these speeds. If I go back to tech support showing the inability for this router to perform at advertised speeds (in comparison to a router of a different brand) will I be able to get a refund or different device?

 

When I attempted to create the manual rule I get:

 

The specified port(s) are being used by other configurations. 
Please check your configurations of USB Readyshare, Remote Management, Port forwarding, Port Triggering,
UPnP Port Mapping table, RIP, and Internet connection type

 

EDIT:

When I booted it updated the firmware. I forgot to power-cycle the router and just did. After an upload speed around 550mbps I ran it a second time post power cycle it it hit 940mbps. It now appears to be hitting the desired speeds (QoS set to never). I'll keep an eye on it over the coming weeks.

[Netduma Fraser]

Glad to hear it seems better now after a reboot, hopefully that's all sorted now.