Computers & Electronics

Low speed with an AC1750 router

  • Last Updated:
  • Feb 2nd, 2019 11:14 pm
Jr. Member
Jun 3, 2017
189 posts
147 upvotes

Low speed with an AC1750 router

The offer in my building had me moved from a 100/25 to 500/500 fibre for the same price. The old wifi router topped out at 100Mpbs, so I replaced it with a D-Link DIR-859. The speed at the jack is as advertised, but the speed tests over wireless range between sub-100Mpbs to 250Mpbs over 5GHz (Channel set to Auto) sitting centimeters from the router.

I do understand that the wireless spectrum in a condo building is crowded, but I didn't expect speeds this low and variations in speeds that high.

Any ideas on whether or not this is just the reality of things, or there are higher end routers that can deliver higher speeds.
18 replies
Deal Guru
Dec 10, 2004
13194 posts
7650 upvotes
Kanata
What device(s) are you testing with?
Do you get the full speed if you test wired to the router?
Deal Guru
Feb 9, 2006
13378 posts
8308 upvotes
Brampton
You never hit pure theoretical speeds unless you're inside of a faraday cage in the middle of an open field. That sounds about right for your speeds.
As under AC spec if it detects interference it will start dropping in width starting at 160mhz to 80mhz the finally to 40mhz.

Being in a condo you'll be between 80-40mhz and spending most of the time in 40mhz until everyone's devices go to sleep and there's more airtime.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Dec 11, 2003
3079 posts
1699 upvotes
Toronto
Maybe your wifi cards can't handle the high speeds. I had a wifi card in my laptop that maxed out at 300 Mbps. I upgraded it and now it's at the full 500 Mbps (during the non-peak times).
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Deal Fanatic
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Oct 13, 2008
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AnotherDesiredUsername wrote: The offer in my building had me moved from a 100/25 to 500/500 fibre for the same price. The old wifi router topped out at 100Mpbs, so I replaced it with a D-Link DIR-859. The speed at the jack is as advertised, but the speed tests over wireless range between sub-100Mpbs to 250Mpbs over 5GHz (Channel set to Auto) sitting centimeters from the router.

I do understand that the wireless spectrum in a condo building is crowded, but I didn't expect speeds this low and variations in speeds that high.

Any ideas on whether or not this is just the reality of things, or there are higher end routers that can deliver higher speeds.
I have the SAME router - D-Link DIR-859 AC1750 Wi-Fi Router. The advertised speed is ALWAYS WIRED ... never wireless!!!

PLAN: Rogers Gigabit Unlimited Internet (advertised 1024Mbps download 30Mbps upload)
MODEM: Hitron CODA-4582U located in the basement
ROUTER: D-Link DIR-859 located in the living room
WIRING IN HOUSE: pre-wired with CAT5e in the walls

From the CAT in-wall outlet in the living room, I ran a CAT5e into the D-Link Router DIR-859. There I ran a CAT5e back down to the basement under the floor and back up into the living room to the back of the TV where I have an ASUS GX-D1051 Gigabit Switch.

My Desktop Computer that is used as an entertainment system is connected to the Asus via CAT5e. My Smart TV and 7.2 HT Receiver is connected via CAT5e (for ONLY software updates ... don't like using WiFi).

Just ran a Speedtest using the PC ... 955.61 Mbps Download ... 32.74 Mbps Upload

The speeds for WiFi on my Huawei P10 Plus ... 2.4 GHz connection (68.1 Mbps download ; 23.7 Mbps upload) ... 5 GHz connection (351 Mbps download ; 32.7 Mbps upload) ...

IMG_20190122_144558.jpg
Screenshot_20190122-162851.jpg
Screenshot_20190122-163040.jpg
Last edited by jdmfishingonly on Jan 30th, 2019 1:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
16'x11' Living Room 11' Cathedral Ceiling. Hisense 65Q8G. Denon AVR-S740H 7.2 setup. Jamo Classic 10 280W Towers - FR+FL; Polk S35 - Center; Klipsch R51M - RR+RL; Klipsch R14M - Dolby FHR+FHL; Polk HTS10 Subwoofer x2. Unlocked Android Boxes from Taiwan x2
Newbie
Jun 19, 2011
94 posts
27 upvotes
SCARBOROUGH
One thing to check... is the firmware on the router fairly current? I have installed a few routers in my time, sometimes they work great out of the box. A few times, have had to upgrade firmware due to flaky behaviour ( of the router, that is).. AC-Fishing has verified that the router is capable of delivering. I believe that router has 6 or 8 antennae. IF they are directional, you will need to be where they are pointed. In that case, speed will be dependent on antenna direction, not all proximity. When the router manufacturers started with the MIMO-type technology, I found that pointing the antennae towards the general positioning of devices made a difference.

Good Luck.
Jr. Member
Jun 3, 2017
189 posts
147 upvotes
Corndogs wrote: One thing to check... is the firmware on the router fairly current? I have installed a few routers in my time, sometimes they work great out of the box. A few times, have had to upgrade firmware due to flaky behaviour ( of the router, that is).. AC-Fishing has verified that the router is capable of delivering. I believe that router has 6 or 8 antennae. IF they are directional, you will need to be where they are pointed. In that case, speed will be dependent on antenna direction, not all proximity. When the router manufacturers started with the MIMO-type technology, I found that pointing the antennae towards the general positioning of devices made a difference.

Good Luck.
Firmware is up-to-date. It was the first thing I checked into even before hitting the advanced section of the configuration page.
AV-Fishing wrote: I have the SAME router. The advertised speed is ALWAYS WIRED ... never wireless!!!

PLAN: Rogers Gigabit Unlimited Internet (advertised 1024Mbps download 30Mbps upload)
MODEM: Hitron CODA-4582U located in the basement
ROUTER: D-Link DIR-859 located in the living room
WIRING IN HOUSE: pre-wired with CAT5e in the walls

From the CAT in-wall outlet in the living room, I ran a CAT5e into the D-Link Router DIR-859. There I ran a CAT5e back down to the basement under the floor and back up into the living room to the back of the TV where I have an ASUS GX-D1051 Gigabit Switch.

My Desktop Computer that is used as an entertainment system is connected to the Asus via CAT5e. My Smart TV and 7.2 HT Receiver is connected via CAT5e (for ONLY software updates ... don't like using WiFi).

Just ran a Speedtest using the PC ... 955.61 Mbps Download ... 32.74 Mbps Upload

The speeds for WiFi on my Huawei P10 Plus ... 2.4 GHz connection (68.1 Mbps download ; 23.7 Mbps upload) ... 5 GHz connection (351 Mbps download ; 32.7 Mbps upload) ...


IMG_20190122_144558.jpg

Screenshot_20190122-162851.jpg

Screenshot_20190122-163040.jpg
So what's interesting about your speed is that since it is asymmetrical, it's a good test case to see if things just seem to fade out after a certain speed, which seems to be the case. I think that's enough for me to just give up and let it be as is. The speed is enough for streaming anyway and I got it for the same price.
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Oct 13, 2008
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Durham
Corndogs wrote: One thing to check... is the firmware on the router fairly current? I have installed a few routers in my time, sometimes they work great out of the box. A few times, have had to upgrade firmware due to flaky behaviour ( of the router, that is).. AC-Fishing has verified that the router is capable of delivering. I believe that router has 6 or 8 antennae. IF they are directional, you will need to be where they are pointed. In that case, speed will be dependent on antenna direction, not all proximity. When the router manufacturers started with the MIMO-type technology, I found that pointing the antennae towards the general positioning of devices made a difference.

Good Luck.
I have the DIR-859 located in one corner of my living room. 3 antennas. Direction pointed: towards backyard window.

IMG_20190129_212238.jpg
16'x11' Living Room 11' Cathedral Ceiling. Hisense 65Q8G. Denon AVR-S740H 7.2 setup. Jamo Classic 10 280W Towers - FR+FL; Polk S35 - Center; Klipsch R51M - RR+RL; Klipsch R14M - Dolby FHR+FHL; Polk HTS10 Subwoofer x2. Unlocked Android Boxes from Taiwan x2
Deal Expert
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Dec 23, 2003
18021 posts
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Toronto
I have the Rogers Coda modem and can easily get 550 mbps on the wifi. Here are some tips:

- Make sure you turn off 2.4 Ghz band
- Check to see if your devices support 5 Ghz AC and set the router to AC only
- On the router, set the 5 Ghz to channel to 80 mhz
- Set the wireless channels to 149 + as that offers more wifi power to the antennas

This should help you get the max speed
Newbie
Jun 19, 2011
94 posts
27 upvotes
SCARBOROUGH
Ok, so the firmware is up to date. I was mistaken earlier about the number of antennae....was thinking about a more current version (sorry). Anyhow, the troubleshooting is the same. Hightech has a good suggestion, which will force the router to use the 5 Ghz channels only. Its a start...you may also:
- instead of auto-choosing the channel, test by stepping through the channels using a manual mode.
- look at the wifi SSIDs which your device is picking up. If you're not getting the router you're sitting next to as the strongest signal..you know it is a signal strength issue.
- if the above suggestions are not working, turn off wifi OFF on your other devices, so that your test device is the only one active. This should help reduce any network re-sends. If you have a device which is barely connecting, it may be doing a bunch of resends due to dropped frames.
- I don't know what the admin panels may offer regarding network monitoring.
- There are usually a bunch of options which control network parameters, but that detailed troubleshooting would be really lengthy on a forum conversation.
Hope you get closer....
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Oct 13, 2008
8428 posts
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Durham
hightech wrote: I have the Rogers Coda modem and can easily get 550 mbps on the wifi. Here are some tips:

- Make sure you turn off 2.4 Ghz band
- Check to see if your devices support 5 Ghz AC and set the router to AC only
- On the router, set the 5 Ghz to channel to 80 mhz
- Set the wireless channels to 149 + as that offers more wifi power to the antennas

This should help you get the max speed
OP was referring to the WiFi speeds on the DIR-859, not the CODA modems WiFi.

Would your suggestion work on the DIR-859?

I'm not complaining about the speeds that I get off of the DIR-859. They're great but would like to see how much more can I gain.

As for the CODA, I don't connect to its WiFi at all since it's not necessary. Would turning off the WiFi function on the CODA give better wired speeds? (I think that was a stupid question)
16'x11' Living Room 11' Cathedral Ceiling. Hisense 65Q8G. Denon AVR-S740H 7.2 setup. Jamo Classic 10 280W Towers - FR+FL; Polk S35 - Center; Klipsch R51M - RR+RL; Klipsch R14M - Dolby FHR+FHL; Polk HTS10 Subwoofer x2. Unlocked Android Boxes from Taiwan x2
Deal Fanatic
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Oct 13, 2008
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I just thought about giving it a shot to test and compare the WiFi speeds on my Huawei P10 Plus.

I stood beside my CODA-4582U modem in the basement and got:

2.4GHz Connection: 85.1 Mbps download ; 30.4 Mbps upload
5GHz Connection: 349 Mbps download ; 28 Mbps upload

IMG_20190130_133457.jpg
Screenshot_20190130-132409.jpg
Screenshot_20190130-132549.jpg

Then went back upstairs to the living room beside my D-Link DIR-859 Router and got:

2.4GHz Connection: 69.5 Mbps download ; 27.6 Mbps upload
5GHz Connection: 361 Mbps download ; 31.4 Mbps upload

IMG_20190130_133754.jpg
Screenshot_20190130-133705.jpg
Screenshot_20190130-133841.jpg
16'x11' Living Room 11' Cathedral Ceiling. Hisense 65Q8G. Denon AVR-S740H 7.2 setup. Jamo Classic 10 280W Towers - FR+FL; Polk S35 - Center; Klipsch R51M - RR+RL; Klipsch R14M - Dolby FHR+FHL; Polk HTS10 Subwoofer x2. Unlocked Android Boxes from Taiwan x2
Deal Expert
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Dec 23, 2003
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Toronto
AV-Fishing wrote: OP was referring to the WiFi speeds on the DIR-859, not the CODA modems WiFi.

Would your suggestion work on the DIR-859?

I'm not complaining about the speeds that I get off of the DIR-859. They're great but would like to see how much more can I gain.

As for the CODA, I don't connect to its WiFi at all since it's not necessary. Would turning off the WiFi function on the CODA give better wired speeds? (I think that was a stupid question)
My suggestions should work for any Wireless AC router.

I would suggest you turn off the WIFI on the CODA modem and turn it into Bridge mode. This basically turns off all the wifi features and it becomes a modem. This link will tell you how to do it: https://www.rogers.com/customer/support ... e-coda4582

Do keep in mind that on the Rogers devices, you might get better WIFI speed using the CODA modem than using a separate router. The Reason is that the modem has some hardware acceleration built in the WIFI mode that seems to be turned off in Bridge Mode.

I would also suggest if you have a windows PC handy to install this software: https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_info ... _view.html

It will scan the networks in your area and help you select a channel that is not being used by other routers. Think of channels as lanes on a highway. More vehicles in one lane and the road slows down. Similar thing in Networking. If all wifi networks are on the same channel, there is congestion which slows down both your and others networks. Most people never really fine tune their routers and set it to AUTO. Newer routers have improved channel detection algorithms but I still like to tweak things manually.
Deal Addict
Sep 13, 2011
1894 posts
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Québec
AV-Fishing wrote: I have the SAME router - D-Link DIR-859 AC1750 Wi-Fi Router. The advertised speed is ALWAYS WIRED ... never wireless!!!

PLAN: Rogers Gigabit Unlimited Internet (advertised 1024Mbps download 30Mbps upload)
MODEM: Hitron CODA-4582U located in the basement
ROUTER: D-Link DIR-859 located in the living room
WIRING IN HOUSE: pre-wired with CAT5e in the walls

From the CAT in-wall outlet in the living room, I ran a CAT5e into the D-Link Router DIR-859. There I ran a CAT5e back down to the basement under the floor and back up into the living room to the back of the TV where I have an ASUS GX-D1051 Gigabit Switch.

My Desktop Computer that is used as an entertainment system is connected to the Asus via CAT5e. My Smart TV and 7.2 HT Receiver is connected via CAT5e (for ONLY software updates ... don't like using WiFi).

Just ran a Speedtest using the PC ... 955.61 Mbps Download ... 32.74 Mbps Upload

The speeds for WiFi on my Huawei P10 Plus ... 2.4 GHz connection (68.1 Mbps download ; 23.7 Mbps upload) ... 5 GHz connection (351 Mbps download ; 32.7 Mbps upload) ...


IMG_20190122_144558.jpg

Screenshot_20190122-162851.jpg

Screenshot_20190122-163040.jpg
b

This router wired speed is one gigabite. The advertised speed are for wireless, but they are a bit marketing because it's simultaneous 2.4 Ghz + 5.8.

Here for more info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac
Deal Addict
Sep 13, 2011
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tebore wrote: You never hit pure theoretical speeds unless you're inside of a faraday cage in the middle of an open field. That sounds about right for your speeds.
As under AC spec if it detects interference it will start dropping in width starting at 160mhz to 80mhz the finally to 40mhz.

Being in a condo you'll be between 80-40mhz and spending most of the time in 40mhz until everyone's devices go to sleep and there's more airtime.
Tha'St not how adapative modulation work. The bandwithh in Mhz stay the same, it's the coding that drop from 1024QAM to 256QAM, 16QAM, QPSK...
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Oct 13, 2008
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hightech wrote: I have the Rogers Coda modem and can easily get 550 mbps on the wifi. Here are some tips:

- Make sure you turn off 2.4 Ghz band
- Check to see if your devices support 5 Ghz AC and set the router to AC only
- On the router, set the 5 Ghz to channel to 80 mhz
- Set the wireless channels to 149 + as that offers more wifi power to the antennas

This should help you get the max speed
Just looked at the DIR-859 Router settings (Hardware Version: A3 Firmware Version: 1.05) ...

WiFi Channels available: 9 plus AUTO
Channel Width available: AUTO 20/40 or AUTO 20/40/80 ... two options only

Can't access 192.168.100.1 on Chrome ... but can on IE.

DIR859-WIFI-1.jpg
DIR859-WIFI-2.jpg
16'x11' Living Room 11' Cathedral Ceiling. Hisense 65Q8G. Denon AVR-S740H 7.2 setup. Jamo Classic 10 280W Towers - FR+FL; Polk S35 - Center; Klipsch R51M - RR+RL; Klipsch R14M - Dolby FHR+FHL; Polk HTS10 Subwoofer x2. Unlocked Android Boxes from Taiwan x2
Jr. Member
Jun 3, 2017
189 posts
147 upvotes
So here's an update from my end. With the DIR-859, I did connect specifically to the 5Ghz spectrum (AC) and as I mentioned in the OP, channel was selected to Auto. I cycled through all 9 channels manually doing a speedtest.net for each one and found that Auto does the best job. But the speeds were still suspiciously low.

I picked up Google WiFi and tested the two side-by-side. Google WiFi consistently gets exactly twice the speed of the DIR-859. The common speed that seems to stick is ~170 on the DIR-859, and the subsequent test on the Google device is always ~360. Turning off either device (to reduce interference) yields the same results.

I'll give up at this point and stick with Google WiFi despite the price premium; the DIR-859 is going back. It's twice the price and gets twice the speed... seems "fair enough".
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Oct 13, 2008
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Durham
AnotherDesiredUsername wrote: So here's an update from my end. With the DIR-859, I did connect specifically to the 5Ghz spectrum (AC) and as I mentioned in the OP, channel was selected to Auto. I cycled through all 9 channels manually doing a speedtest.net for each one and found that Auto does the best job. But the speeds were still suspiciously low.

I picked up Google WiFi and tested the two side-by-side. Google WiFi consistently gets exactly twice the speed of the DIR-859. The common speed that seems to stick is ~170 on the DIR-859, and the subsequent test on the Google device is always ~360. Turning off either device (to reduce interference) yields the same results.

I'll give up at this point and stick with Google WiFi despite the price premium; the DIR-859 is going back. It's twice the price and gets twice the speed... seems "fair enough".
You mean you got the Google Wifi AC1200 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi System (NLS-1304-25)?

If it was the DIR-859 that really gave you the issue ... I would have went with the NETGEAR Nighthawk Wireless AC1900 Dual-Band Router (R7000) or the Linksys Max-Stream Wireless AC2200 Tri-Band Gigabit Router (EA8300-CA). The Nighthawk is one my buddy swears by.
16'x11' Living Room 11' Cathedral Ceiling. Hisense 65Q8G. Denon AVR-S740H 7.2 setup. Jamo Classic 10 280W Towers - FR+FL; Polk S35 - Center; Klipsch R51M - RR+RL; Klipsch R14M - Dolby FHR+FHL; Polk HTS10 Subwoofer x2. Unlocked Android Boxes from Taiwan x2
Jr. Member
Jun 3, 2017
189 posts
147 upvotes
AV-Fishing wrote: You mean you got the Google Wifi AC1200 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi System (NLS-1304-25)?

If it was the DIR-859 that really gave you the issue ... I would have went with the NETGEAR Nighthawk Wireless AC1900 Dual-Band Router (R7000) or the Linksys Max-Stream Wireless AC2200 Tri-Band Gigabit Router (EA8300-CA). The Nighthawk is one my buddy swears by.
Yeah, that's what I got. Google Mesh WiFi was $20 off today, so I'll just stick with it. They're all in the same price range anyway. It works better than the DIR-859, and it's good enough.

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