Linksys Router Speed Problems

dwang040 · October 23, 2018

Setup - Router: Linksys WRT 1900ACS Modem: Netgear CM500 ISP: Comcast (250 mbps)

A week ago (and for a year now), my avg internet speed has been more or less 300mbps download and 11mbps upload. However, recently, this week, my speeds have only been 100mbps and less download and 11mbps upload (still good, but not good when you're paying for more). I've tried power cycling and resetting the modem, contacted comcast multiple times, they ended up sending a technician over but nothing much happened. So, it's probably a router problem? I say this because if I power cycle or restart the router through linksys smart wifi, I can get my speeds back up to 300mbps, but the next day, it'll just drop back down to 100mbps or less. I've also tried factory resetting it, but again, no such luck. It went back up 300mpbs for a day, then dropped the next day. I can't see anything out of the norm in terms of settings (media prioritization is off, no settings are really checked on tbh), bios is up to date, nobody else, other than my roommates and I, is connected to the internet...

My warranty just ended 2 months ago (oh nice) so I can't really contact them and I'm running out of ideas as to why my speeds keep dropping. All speed tests were done through a wired connection, 2.4GHz and 5GHz speeds aren't as reliable due to all the interference (townhome).

Any help/ trouble shooting ideas? Would swapping router bios help? I used to run lede with sqm but my roommates said it was screwing up their league ping.

Thanks!

amusedschrodinger · October 23, 2018

If you connect your computer directly to the netgear modem, do you get the 300/11 speeds consistently?

Skiiwee29 · October 23, 2018

Have you done a firmware update on your router at all?

dwang040 · October 23, 2018

22 minutes ago, amusedschrodinger said:

If you connect your computer directly to the netgear modem, do you get the 300/11 speeds consistently?

Just tested it out and the numbers are as specified on the modem only.

22 minutes ago, Skiiwee29 said:

Have you done a firmware update on your router at all?

Checking again online, I already am running the latest firmware for my router.

amusedschrodinger · October 23, 2018

In my experience, my routers have never degraded internet speed. It either works or stops working entirely. These are what I do to troubleshoot:

1) Connect to modem directly and check speed. If all is good, go back to router.

2) Turn off/on router and check speed. If same issue, move on.

3) Hard reset (reset to all settings to default, new wifi ssid/password/channel) and check speed. If same issue, move on.

4) Flash latest firmware and check speed. If same issue, try a different router.

Linksys support will ask you to do all of the above. If within warranty, they can offer RMA but that's about it.

If the issue remains, then your it's your ISP. Throttling or just general slower internet when the usage is up.

dwang040 · October 23, 2018

1 hour ago, amusedschrodinger said:

In my experience, my routers have never degraded internet speed. It either works or stops working entirely. These are what I do to troubleshoot:

1) Connect to modem directly and check speed. If all is good, go back to router.

2) Turn off/on router and check speed. If same issue, move on.

3) Hard reset (reset to all settings to default, new wifi ssid/password/channel) and check speed. If same issue, move on.

4) Flash latest firmware and check speed. If same issue, try a different router.

Linksys support will ask you to do all of the above. If within warranty, they can offer RMA but that's about it.

If the issue remains, then your it's your ISP. Throttling or just general slower internet when the usage is up.

I guess that's the confusing thing for me. I've done those steps, and the only solution is resetting/ restarting. Only for the issue to temporarily fix itself for a day or so, then the speeds drop back.

I've questioned Comcast about this and they all told me the same thing, no, we're not throttwling (and no, I'm not close to that 1tb limit). I have noticed that when I run the built in speed test on my linksys and the xfinity speed test, I get 300mbps, but sites like Google, speed test.net, ds reports... They return 90mbps. Unfortunately, my warranty expired so linksys won't help me anymore.

I probably should try it with another router, but unfortunately, I don't have a spare router.