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Netgear N300 - time to change?

f513toy
Grafter
Posts: 46
Registered: ‎09-10-2010

Netgear N300 - time to change?

Had my Netgear N300 since I went onto the FTTP trial back in 2010 I think. My profile is 300mb but I actually get 70mb if I can be bothered to plug my PC into the router using cable.

On wifi however, I get a download speed of about 12mb which really sucks - that is the same on all the laptops and tablets, TV's  we have around the house.

I have tried switching channels from 6 to 1, but no difference. Security is WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES]. I have a Netgear range extender upstairs in the house to deal with dead spots.

So, is it time for a new router I wonder and, if so, which one? 

Help?

13 REPLIES 13
arturox
Rising Star
Posts: 100
Thanks: 37
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎05-06-2016

Re: Netgear N300 - time to change?

I'm no expert on this subject, but It has always been my understanding that LAN Wifi is always slower than a cable connection.

I have LAN here in the house with both cable and Wifi. Most of the computers are connected by CAT cable as the the transport speeds are noticeably greater than the couple of kits that require Wifi connections.

Arturox

 

 

Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Netgear N300 - time to change?

The quality of your WiFi speed is of course determined by the quality of the signal but I would also suggest the quality of what is transmitting and receiving that signal. My iPad uses an AirPort Time Capsule for it's WiFi connection as does my Kindle Fire HD (but I don't know how to take a screen shot on that!). As you can see from the image below my iPad's WiFi speed is as fast as my LAN speed.

I'm not suggesting you rush out and buy a Time Capsule but if you're considering upgrading your router then you will also need to give consideration to the devices you intend to connect to it as they may well require new network adapters as well.

Going by the tone of your post (... if I can be bothered to plug my PC ...) it suggest to me that you are at least content with the current operation so why incur any unnecessary costs at least for now.

iPad-Fast.jpg

SpendLessTime
Hero
Posts: 3,000
Thanks: 928
Fixes: 86
Registered: ‎21-09-2009

Re: Netgear N300 - time to change?

@f513toy

 

Other issues are:

  1. Do the laptops/phones etc have fast WiFi built in (5Ghz)?
  2. Can any of them currently support 5Ghz AC mode?
  3. Will you need to buy WiFi AC adaptors to get the higher speeds?
  4. 5Ghz signals do not travel as far as 2.4Ghz signals so would you gain anything if your building is so large as to reduce the current 2.4 signal so you need extenders?

 

If you want to maximise speed then the 5Ghz AC mode is needed in any new router and new WiFi adaptors capable of the mode. 

 

Finally, finding any reviews which mention actual WAN speed is hard as most reviews are American. Americans tend to have direct IP connections so have low overheads on the router. While the UK uses PPPoE to connect to the ISP which drags down performance from your property to the ISP.  

However saying that, any router tests showing an 800 Mbps WAN connection speed test result would more than likely be capable of handling your FTTP line.

 

I'm on FTTP but only on the 80/20 product so my TP-Link Archer C5 is more than capable of running it at the maximum speed.

Ex - Plusnet Customer (2009 - 2023) now with BT
f513toy
Grafter
Posts: 46
Registered: ‎09-10-2010

Re: Netgear N300 - time to change?

Hi, it's not that I can't be bothered to connect my PC by a cable, the problem is my router is in one corner of my house and the PC is upstairs in the opposite corner. To check it out I bought a 100ft reel of cable and strung it across the house, something I can say with some certainty will not be accepted by the significant other as a permanent solution - and then there are the various tablets that the kids fritter away their lives on either on Facebook or YouTube. 

12mb is the best I can get on wifi recently, but a few months back I was getting around 40mb so, something has changed.... Only thing I have done recently was to add a range extender upstairs recently, could that be the culprit?

 

So, I'll check out the time capsule suggestion but, if I decide to upgrade my router - particularly for range, anybody got any suggestions.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Netgear N300 - time to change?

@f513toy - Here's a link for the Time Capsule : https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DCR3SNE

As regards a suggestion for a new router, well there's a can of worms. I'd say buy a DrayTek but others will no doubt  suggest other kit. There is many a thread regarding this subject but really the choice boils down to how you intend to use it and ultimately how deep your pockets are.

Have you considered power line adapters for your connection? I use TP-Link devices and they can all support my 74± download speed.

P.S. Make sure the extender uses a different SSID name from the main router.

SpendLessTime
Hero
Posts: 3,000
Thanks: 928
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Registered: ‎21-09-2009

Re: Netgear N300 - time to change?

Well to my mind, the range extender is adding an extra hop for the signal (PC - Extender - Router) so they would be change that it is slowing things down. I've never needed one in my house so cannot comment on its effectiveness.

 

Perhaps you might want to load a WiFi Analyzer product to a smart phone/table such as https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer and then map out your house to see what the signal strength is in various rooms and what external WiFi channels are interfering with yours.

Ex - Plusnet Customer (2009 - 2023) now with BT
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Netgear N300 - time to change?


@f513toy wrote:

 

12mb is the best I can get on wifi recently, but a few months back I was getting around 40mb so, something has changed.... Only thing I have done recently was to add a range extender upstairs recently, could that be the culprit?


 

Consumer grade WiFi repeaters are notorious for halving the wireless bandwidth, compared to a typical WiFi connection from a router.  This is because they have to service two radio hops often using a single wireless transceiver, by communicating over one hop in one direction at any given time.

The overall effect can be that the maximum achievable wireless bandwidth is reduced to a quarter of a cabled solution between the same endpoints, before any wireless losses are taken into account.

It is therefore possible that introducing the wireless repeater has halved your wireless speeds. Embarrassed

 

More expensive WiFi repeaters contain double the electronics (i.e. at least two transceivers) and can simultaneously operate each hop on a different frequency, thereby increasing the effective throughput.

They will still not achieve the same throughput or latency of a single wireless point solution.

 

My suggestion would be to use mains powerline adaptors to get the internet connection across the house, and then add wireless access points (plugged into the powerline adaptors) in the rooms where WiFi is most required.  The speed you achieve will only be limited by your choice of WAP, and how good the quality of your mains wiring is for the powerline adaptors to communicate with each other.

 

I would never recommend using WiFi repeaters, but using WiFi bridges instead can be successful without the drawbacks of repeaters.

f513toy
Grafter
Posts: 46
Registered: ‎09-10-2010

Re: Netgear N300 - time to change?

Well thanks to SpendLessTime and Nibiru, I've figured it out. Thd downloaded wifi analyser showed to signals from my router as I walked around the house and as soon as I turned of the extender, one disappeared. Then using speedtester, my speed has more than doubled to around 35mb. 

Once of the rooms no has virtually no signal now, so I'll look into a homeplug solution instead.

Again, thanks everyone for chipping in.

Now I've got to figure out why if my profile is 300mb download, why am I getting only 70mb at the box - something for Plusnet tech support I guess. But, for now, I am happy again.

 

Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Netgear N300 - time to change?

Glad to see you've got a solution.

David_W
Rising Star
Posts: 2,305
Thanks: 33
Registered: ‎19-07-2007

Re: Netgear N300 - time to change?

The reason you only get 70 when plugged into the router is simple, the router is 100Mb not 1Gb, so you will never be able to get 300Mb out of it, the Ethernet ports just ain't fast enough.

f513toy
Grafter
Posts: 46
Registered: ‎09-10-2010

Re: Netgear N300 - time to change?

David_W. Any recommendations on 1GB routers - range is important too as that is why I went down the extender route in the first place. My budget is up to £100 and has to be simple to set up as I am not a Tech guy

David_W
Rising Star
Posts: 2,305
Thanks: 33
Registered: ‎19-07-2007

Re: Netgear N300 - time to change?

I use N66U it's dual band (2.4/5Ghz) with GB Lan, works perfectly with 300Mb, but is getting a bit old so you should be able to find it at a much better price than Amazon (install Merlin firmware on it though).

 

An alternative, ask if the guys from PlusNet have a GB router that'll work with FTTP, they may give you one for just postage, and obviously would be better supported by the guys from PN.

 

For range on the N66U, not sure, I live in a flat so don't really have much in the way of being able to test as everything is close by, it should have decent range though and comes with a built in scanner so you can find all the other routers out there, which channel they are using so select a channel which isn't in use by any other router.  But, as I say, it is getting a bit old this one, so only b/g/n, doesn't do the new ac so might be worth looking at newer (or one from PN if they have any).

sebasao
Newbie
Posts: 1
Registered: ‎30-08-2016

Re: Netgear N300 - time to change?

Hi, I'm struggling to make my N300 Netgear Wifi Extender to work. It connects successfully to my PlusNet router but the speed is very slow. On Plusnet router I get up to 64 Mbps while in N300 I get no more than 9 Mbps.

 

 

I followed some of the suggestions above, installed WiFi Analyser on my phone, moved my Plusnet channel to a less busy one and speed improved from 3 Mbps to 9 Mbps

 

N300 only supports 2.4 GHz network.

 

Anyone dealt with the same issue? Any suggestions?

 

thanks in advance

Sebastian