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[tigeralum2001]

Hi,
Experiencing very slow download speeds.  Internet is fiber to house (no modem, just cat 6 to the WAN port) 250Mbps up/down.  Region- Eastern USA

Anyhow, my phone was lagging horribly so I ran speed test on it and got 1Mbps down, 75 up.  Googled for a while and followed many suggestions, including downgrading the firmware.  Nothing worked.

After more troubleshooting, I turned off Smart Connect and gave each band its own SSID.  This is where things get interesting.  On 2.4Ghz band, I get 30 down/75 up.  On Primary 5Ghz, I get 55 down/100 up.  On Secondary 5Ghz, I get 0.39 down/ 66 up.

What on earth is causing the secondary band to have such a low speed?  Apparently it is causing conflicts when in Smart Connect.

I'm fine with 30+ down for my purposes (heavy use devices are hard wired), but I hate that Smart Connect is useless.  Does that mean MU-MIMO is also not working?  Any ideas on how to fix this?

[FurryNutz]

Link>Welcome!

• Link>What Firmware version is currently loaded? Found on the routers web page under status.
• Are you wired or wireless connected to the router?

What devices are you using to test speeds?
What are results of using a wired PC?

• Was a Factory Reset performed before and after any firmware updates then set up from scratch?

Link> >FW Update Process

[tigeralum2001]

Same results with firmware 1.15 and 1.21. Historically, I found similar complaints about 1.2 and going to 1.0 fixed them. I’m not willing to go back that far and lose security improvements.

Speeds quoted per my phone on wireless. Wired has a solid 240 up/down. Wired is not an issue.

I did not do a full factory reset as I didn’t want to redo all of the settings, it was power cycled a few times.

[FurryNutz]

What is the Mfr and model# of this phone your using?

[tigeralum2001]

iPhone X. It’s not the phone, it’s the router...

[FurryNutz]

What iOS version is loaded on the X?

Is this the only wireless device you have tested with?

I'll pass this onto D-Link for review.

[tigeralum2001]

All iOS devices are 12.0.1. I can replicate on another iPhone and and iPad.

[FurryNutz]

Thank you for this information.

[GreenBay42]

Can you turn off encryption and test the speeds?

MU-MIMO should not be affected. I do not believe the iPhone X has MU-MIMO so not a factor.

The secondary 5GHz band definitely should not be that slow. Have you contacted tech support?

[FurryNutz]

Not sure if this would show anything relevant, you might try loading v1.11 and test...I see v1.02 then it jumps to v1.11. 

Trying to see where the drop in performance came in at is all...

[FurryNutz]

Any status on this?

All iOS devices are 12.0.1. I can replicate on another iPhone and and iPad.

[tigeralum2001]

Interesting development. I thought the router was dying/losing radio strength. Couldn’t figure out why on earth it was behaving this way.  I started researching new routers in preparation for buying a new one, then decided to give it a last ditch effort. I installed DD-WRT firmware, configured it the same (separated the 3 bands, tested them separately, etc. my 2 5Ghz bands were getting max speed, no problem (250Mbps), but 2.4 was getting only 3 down and 6 up. Again, makes no sense. Then I noticed a setting that I didn’t recall on d-link OEM firmware. The channel width was set to “narrow - 20 MHz” I switch it to “wide- 40 MHZ” and my speeds went to 150 up/down. That is good enough for me on the 2.4Ghz band.

I don’t recall “Channel Width” option with OEM firmware or what it was set to if it existed. Maybe it is there, but I’m sticking with DD-WRT. Love the extra configurations, specifically greater number of Static IP addresses it allows. Tons of other great features- and a much newer release than the D-Link firmware.

[FurryNutz]

There is Auto Channel Width and 20Mhz Only think on stock FW. Would have been something to try on stock FW.
Possible issue here maybe however you would have to load up Stock FW to see. Sounds like WRT is working however so Enjoy.
 

[tigeralum2001]

TL;DR - Changing the Channel Width setting to Auto 20/40 Mhz increases throughput a lot.  May have issues with my secondary 5 Ghz radio on D-Link firmware.  Better performance to be gained with the power of tweaking settings available in DD-WRT compared to stock firmware.  Secondary 5 GHz radio functions better with DD-WRT, but clearly has issues since it stopped working.  Updates if I figure that out.

---full, long post --

Hopefully this will help others in the future.  I had too much time on my hands, so I ran a bunch of experiments.  I installed D-Link firmware v. 1.21B05 and put it through a bunch of scenarios.  Wired computer is getting 254 Mbps up and down (I pay for 250, so this is great - faster than full speed).

All of the following tests were done sitting in the same spot 10 feet from the router in the line of sight (no obstructions).  all using the Ookla SpeedTest app on my iPhone X.  Baseline 2.4Ghz test - 76 down, 74 up.  Repeated multiple times with very little variation.

5GHz bands both on, same SSID, Both set to 802.11ac only, Wifi Channel - Auto, Transmission power High, Channel Width - Auto 20/40/80 Mhz.  Ran 3  tests, average results were 0.5 down, 65 up.
 
Next, I turned off the secondary 5Ghz band, other settings the same.  Results average 80 down, 65 up.

Next, I changed the channel width to Auto 20/40 Mhz.  Average 180 down, 140 up.  Changed the channel from Auto to each individual channel (36, 40, 44, 48) and had about the same results as Auto channel.

Then I switch off the Primary 5Ghz and turned on the secondary with the original settings listed above.  3 test results average - 1 down, 26 up.

Changed the channel width to Auto 20/40Mhz.  Tests averages 3 down, 70 up.  Changing the channels to 149, 153, 157, 161, and 165 did show variation in speed, with the lower channels at 1.25 down, 44 up, and the best being channel 165 at 3 down, 70 up.

Conclusion - Changing the Channel Width setting to Auto 20/40 Mhz increases throughput a lot.  May have issues with my secondary 5 Ghz radio on D-Link firmware.  Could disable the secondary radio and call it all good, though what is the point of paying for such a device if it doesn't function well.  I also have no hypothesis as to why the narrow channel is faster - is that normal?  I'm about to apply DD-WRT again and run similar tests to confirm if it is the firmware that is the issue or the hardware.

EDIT - DD-WRT v3.0-r38993 std (2/28/19) firmware installed.

Tests
2.4Ghz baseline - Channel Auto, Channel Width 20 Mhz 48 down, 55 up
2.4Ghz channel width - Wide HT40 (40 Mhz) 52 down, 55 up (no significant change)
2.4Ghz channel width - Wide HT40 (40 Mhz) Explicit beam forming enabled - 50 down, 46 up (no significant change)

5 GHz both active, AC-only, Channel - Auto, Channel Width - VHT80 (80 Mhz), extension channel - lower lower, beam forming disabled. 67 down, 103 up
5 Ghz both active, adding explicit beamforming - 66 down, 87 up

Primary 5 Ghz only -AC-only, Channel - Auto, Channel Width - VHT80 (80 Mhz), extension channel - lower lower, beam forming disabled. 40 down, 20 up (odd!)
Adding explicit beamforming 66 down, 55 uo
Changing Extension channel to lower upper - 76 down, 110up
Changing Extension channel to upper lower - 94 down, 112 up
Changing Extension channel to upper upper - 109 down, 117 up
Changing channel width 40 Mhz - 75 down, 125 up (lower & upper extension chanels made no difference)
Changing channel width 20 Mhz - 66 down, 50 up

Changed channel width to 80 MHz, extension channel to upper, upper, enabled NitroQAM (QAM1024 support) 103 down, 112 up
Changed channel to 48 - 246 down, 215 up!!!  Tested in disbelief 5 times.  Never seen these type of speeds wirelessly!


Secondary 5 Ghz only -AC-only, Channel - Auto, Channel Width - VHT80 (80 Mhz), extension channel - lower lower, beam forming disabled.  57 down, 46 up
Adding explicit beamforming  68 down, 58 up
Changing Extension channel to lower upper - 76 down, 41 up
Changing Extension channel to upper lower - **Radio stopped broadcasting SSID**

After much work, determined radio is broadcasting at very low power.  Signal drops further than 2 feet away.  Even when close, 3 down, 10 up is the best I can get.  Changing to previous settings didn't fix the issue.

Conclusion - Better performance to be gained with the power of tweaking settings available in DD-WRT compared to stock firmware.  Secondary 5 GHz radio functions better with DD-WRT, but clearly has issues since it stopped working. Updates if I figure that out.

[FurryNutz]

Possible you have a faulty router, however DD-WRT maybe causing problems with the 2ndary radio and it's failing. You would have to test with a 2nd router to see if same thing happens.