802.11ac slower than 802.11n???

I bought a TP-Link AC1200 802.11ac router because my iPhone was only getting 60 mpbs on 802.11n even though I am on a 110mbps connection. To my surprise I noticed that 802.11ac is not any faster on wifi, and on Ethernet it's considerably slower. I have a Motorola modem/ wifi router combo and in port one I have my TP-Link router connected. I have wifi disabled on the modem because I am using the TP-Link wifi. My desktop sits right next to my router and modem so I use Ethernet for connectivity. I noticed that if I plug my desktop directly into the TP-Link router, I max out at around 60mbps which is the same max speed as all my wifi devices that are connected to the router. However, if I bypass the TP-Link router and connect my desktop straight to my modem/ router combo I get 110mbps. That means that the TP-Link is only operating at half the speed of the modem. I have all the settings on both the modem and router set to default so there are no bandwidth management systems enabled or port limiting systems of any sort. I dont know what the connection speed is between the router and modem, but safe to say it's 1gbps since it's an AC router.

Any ideas why a router plugged into another router is only operating at half the speed of the cable connection?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0168G0KZY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1'
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Do you have the ethernet cable plugged into an lan port on the tp link? Or are you using the internet port? You should use one of the lan ports. You would have to change the internal IP of the TP link though.
 
I was using the Internet port. Why should I use the LAN port instead?

Anyway, I think I figured out the problem. It looks like this router is a complete scam. It's rated for 1200 mbps 802.11ac. However, the specs show that it only has 10/100 Ethernet ports including the 10/100 WAN port. There is consequently no way to get anywhere close to 1200 mbps from the router. What a total scam, I am returning the thing.
 
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johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
If you use the lan port then you can share files from any devices attached to either router.

You would need a gigabit AC router. What is the model number of modem/router do you have from internet provider?
 

Geoff

VIP Member
Check and make sure there isn't a Quality of Service or bandwidth control service being used on the router, make sure the modem/router combo is plugged into the WAN port on your new 802.11ac wireless router, and enable bridge/DMZ mode on your modem/router to the new 802.11ac router.

Which iPhone do you have? Are you connecting to the 5GHz SSID or the 2.4GHz one? Even if they share the same name, it's not a guarantee it will prefer the 5GHz network.
 
The modem is the Motorola SBG6580. The iPhones are the 6 and 6s, both of which are 802.11ac capable. I am connecting to the 5 GHZ which has a different SSID from the 2.4 GHz band. There is no QoS enabled or bandwidth control service on either the modem or router as all settings are at default on both. I havent tried enabling DMZ but I am not sure how that would affect speed. Either way I tried both the WAN and LAN ports and the speed is the same either way. It's looking like the limiting factor is the 100-base connection ports which is absolutely ridiculous that a 1200 mbps capable wifi router would have ports with a max speed of 100 mbps. That's such a false advertising statement it's questionable if it's even legal...

However, even with T-100 I should be getting at least 90 mbps, which I do when I connect my desktop via Ethernet but my wifi devices are only connecting at around 60. I tried both iPhone with them sitting right next to the router and both max out around 60 mbps on the Speed Test app. If I connect to the 2.4 ghz band, the speed drops to about 30 which is silly because 2.4 GHz 802.11N 40 Mhz band should be good for 400 mbps. I also tried connecting to the 5 Ghz band with my 802.11n laptop computer, and again I cant get much faster than 60-70 mbps.
 

Agent Smith

Well-Known Member
If you're gonna replace the router I'd get an ASUS. Or you could speend more and get something form Ubiquiti.

I never did like TP Link. I rank them in there with Belkin. All shit. LOL

Note that if you plug in a router to your modem you need to access the modem's IP address and set it to bridge mode. I had to do that with my router and Comcast modem. My modem uses the IP address of 192.168.100.1 Others may be similar.
 
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