Router Slowing Internet Speeds?

[AceCurby99]

Router: Asus RT-AC88U

Modem: Arris SB8200

Internet: Gig-speed, but due to line issues max is ~700

Provider: Comcast

 

First, I know the reason I'm only getting 700 down is due to new lines incorrectly installed in my house. That will be fixed. 

 

My CURRENT issue is that my speed has dropped to ~250 down. Comcast support told me it was a modem issue, but when I plug directly into the modem I get my typical ~700mb. When I plug in through my router, I get only ~250. No settings have been changed in over a year. Also, there are two phones - Pixel 2 and iPhone 8 - where any app that uses data sometimes "pause". In other words, my wife will be scrolling through Instagram and all of the sudden nothing will load, or I'll be watching a Linus Tech Tips video and it will stop and give me the loading wheel of doom.

 

Could the router be going bad? There are a LOT of devices hooked up to it - 10 wired (4 through an additional switch) and at any given time another 6 wireless. Again, up until two days ago, it was fine. Any tips/info/help/suggestions you can toss this way would be appreciated. 

 

[Rainbow Dash]

Check if the router is overheating, cause my Asus router gets really toasty when there is a lot of traffic. Plus having 10 wired devices and 6 wireless would probably get pretty toasty.

[Alex Atkin UK]

1 hour ago, AceCurby99 said:

Router: Asus RT-AC88U

Modem: Arris SB8200

Internet: Gig-speed, but due to line issues max is ~700

Provider: Comcast

 

First, I know the reason I'm only getting 700 down is due to new lines incorrectly installed in my house. That will be fixed. 

 

My CURRENT issue is that my speed has dropped to ~250 down. Comcast support told me it was a modem issue, but when I plug directly into the modem I get my typical ~700mb. When I plug in through my router, I get only ~250. No settings have been changed in over a year. Also, there are two phones - Pixel 2 and iPhone 8 - where any app that uses data sometimes "pause". In other words, my wife will be scrolling through Instagram and all of the sudden nothing will load, or I'll be watching a Linus Tech Tips video and it will stop and give me the loading wheel of doom.

 

Could the router be going bad? There are a LOT of devices hooked up to it - 10 wired (4 through an additional switch) and at any given time another 6 wireless. Again, up until two days ago, it was fine. Any tips/info/help/suggestions you can toss this way would be appreciated. 

 

Have you accidentally turned off NAT acceleration on the router?

Darn, I hear its hidden from the UI these days so not sure how to check.  Maybe worth factory resetting and configuring it from scratch to be sure?

You could check that QoS is disabled though as that would also likely cause too much CPU load for Gigabit.

[AceCurby99]

Sorry I didn't reply sooner, and I appreciate the input. It's working again, randomly. 

It definitely does get toasty that's for sure - something I'll keep an eye on. I checked all the routers settings and are ok - QoS is off, etc. The speed is back up, but the router continues to do funky things - it'll drop connection from our phones randomly, and then won't allow me to log into it either via a browser or the app. It will still function, but I can't access the UI. I have to turn it off then turn it back in order to get it to work. I'm leaning toward a heat/it's old issue I think.

[Falcon1986]

@AceCurby99

 

With WiFi, you can’t leave settings and expect them to work forever. Neighbors have WiFi too and their networks can overlap with yours causing interference and traffic queuing for the client devices. A wireless survey would help you here. Rename your SSIDs so that you can force high priority devices onto the 5GHz SSID and leave lower priority/legacy devices  to connect to the 2.4GHz SSID. And make sure you’re using WPA2-AES for wireless security/encryption.

 

I find Asus’ wireless routers to have so many high-tech features that they suffer at the very basic feature... To provide a reliable wired/wireless internet connection for client devices. The CPU can only do much and as the amount of clients expand, the CPU will become overloaded and overheated.

 

Try to disable unnecessary features such as deep packet inspection (DPI) or AiProtection if that is available, game accelerators that perform on-the-fly route optimization and adaptive QoS.

[Donut417]

On 4/23/2020 at 9:17 PM, AceCurby99 said:

Router: Asus RT-AC88U

Modem: Arris SB8200

Internet: Gig-speed, but due to line issues max is ~700

Provider: Comcast

 

First, I know the reason I'm only getting 700 down is due to new lines incorrectly installed in my house. That will be fixed. 

 

My CURRENT issue is that my speed has dropped to ~250 down. Comcast support told me it was a modem issue, but when I plug directly into the modem I get my typical ~700mb. When I plug in through my router, I get only ~250. No settings have been changed in over a year. Also, there are two phones - Pixel 2 and iPhone 8 - where any app that uses data sometimes "pause". In other words, my wife will be scrolling through Instagram and all of the sudden nothing will load, or I'll be watching a Linus Tech Tips video and it will stop and give me the loading wheel of doom.

 

Could the router be going bad? There are a LOT of devices hooked up to it - 10 wired (4 through an additional switch) and at any given time another 6 wireless. Again, up until two days ago, it was fine. Any tips/info/help/suggestions you can toss this way would be appreciated. 

 

 

Check for firmware updates. When ever Ive had issues with routers in the past this generally fixed the issues. 

 

Not surprised that Comcast blamed a customer owned modem. Thats there main way to not take the blame for crappy services, and go figure they sent you a barely trained contractor to install the service. just wanted to also give a heads up, according to Small Net Builder your router is rated for about 800 Mbps: https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32910-asus-rt-ac88u-dual-band-wireless-ac3100-gigabit-router-reviewed?showall=&start=2. 

[AceCurby99]

@Falcon1986

 

Yes sir, I generally do this randomly - much the the dislike by the wife. Rename the SSIDs, change passwords, force the high priority devices to the 5GHz, etc. Also, all the QoS game stuff is turned off. I didn't know about AiProtection, as I didn't see it on the web interface, but it is an option on the app. It was set to "off".

 

@Donut417

 

I'm a stickler for updates. I routinely check firmware updates all the things. I didn't realize though that the router had been tested and only rated for that speed by Small Net Builder. I'll have to look into that more. As for Comcast, I called their bluff and took my modem outside and hooked it directly into the line coming in from the street. My speeds at the street, with no router between the modem and my PC, was still only ~700, which meant to me that it wasn't the lines in my house but their line. They then told me it wasn't the lines but the modem. Thanks Comcast. Thanks a lot.