Many factors can affect your Internet connection speed for devices on your home network. Before troubleshooting, remember that your router can’t create speed that your Internet connection doesn’t provide.
For example, if your Internet service provider (ISP) only delivers 500 Mbps to your home, your Internet speed cannot exceed 500 Mbps. Even if your router supports faster speeds over Ethernet or WiFi, it can’t exceed your Internet speed.
However, sometimes your ISP will give you more speed than you pay for, and you don’t want your router to restrict your Internet speed. To prevent your router from “bottlenecking” your network, we recommend using a router that’s capable of faster speeds than your Internet connection.
To see how much bandwidth your ISP delivers to your home, connect a computer directly to your modem with an Ethernet cable and run a speed test. The speed test results show the fastest speed that your devices can reach. For more information, see How do I check my Internet speed?. If the test results are much lower than the speeds that you pay for, contact your ISP for help.
If you use a router that’s capable of more speed than your Internet connection and you still aren’t getting the full speed that your ISP provides, you might have one of the following problems:
Your devices don’t support the latest WiFi or Ethernet standards
WiFi (wireless) and Ethernet (wired) connection standards evolve over time to support faster data transfer rates. However, older devices can’t fully use the capabilities of newer standards. Older hardware limits the speed of old devices.
For example, a typical WiFi 6 router with Gigabit Ethernet ports can deliver 1200 Mbps per wireless stream in ideal conditions, or 1000 Mbps per wired connection. An older device that only has WiFi 4 (Wireless N) and 100 BASE-T Ethernet cannot reach those speeds. WiFi 4’s limit is 150 Mbps per wireless stream, and 100 BASE-T Ethernet’s limit is 100 Mbps per wired connection.
Older standards affect accessories like Ethernet cables and switches as well. For example, older Category 5 (Cat5) Ethernet cables have a 100 Mbps limit. Using an old Ethernet cable in your wired network can handicap the connection speeds of all devices connected through that cable. Even if you have Gigabit-speed Internet with a fast modem and router, if you connect the modem to your router with a Cat5 cable, the cable limits all connected devices to 100 Mbps.
Your router firmware is out-of-date
NETGEAR regularly releases firmware updates to improve product performance, add features, and enhance security. To ensure that your NETGEAR device works at its maximum potential, make sure that it's running the latest firmware. For more information, see the following articles:
- How do I update the firmware on my NETGEAR router with the Nighthawk app?
- How do I update the firmware on my NETGEAR router with a web browser?
- How do I update the firmware of my Orbi WiFi System?
You’re connected to the 2.4 GHz band
If your devices connect over WiFi, you might connect to the 2.4 GHz wireless band instead of faster WiFi bands. 2.4 GHz sacrifices connection speed for more WiFi range.
Some devices made before 2010 can only use the 2.4 GHz band. Also, some newer WiFi devices that don’t use much bandwidth (like smart appliances and printers) only use the 2.4 GHz band by design. Check your device’s specifications to see if it can use the 5 GHz or 6 GHz bands.
If your router is set up to broadcast SSIDs for each WiFi band, make sure that you connect to the SSID for your fastest WiFi band. If your router uses Smart Connect and your devices still only connect to the 2.4 GHz band, you might need to reset your device’s WiFi settings and start over.
For more information, see What is the difference between 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz wireless frequencies?
Your WiFi signal broadcast is weak due to environmental factors
Your NETGEAR router features high-powered amplifiers and antennas to maximize your WiFi coverage. However, router placement, home layout, or wireless interference from other devices can affect your WiFi range.
It’s also normal for your speeds to decrease as you move away from your router, because your WiFi device must switch to lower frequency wireless bands to maintain its connection. Higher frequency bands enable faster connections, but they have less range and cannot penetrate solid objects like walls and floors. For more information see the following articles:
- How do I resolve poor wireless range or a weak WiFi signal from my NETGEAR router?
- Where should I place my Orbi satellite?
Your custom configuration is throttling your speeds
Most NETGEAR routers feature the ability to configure various settings that can affect the speed of your connection, like quality of service (QoS) and wireless link rate. Some routers feature extra settings that allow you to restrict bandwidth to specific devices on your network. If your router uses any custom configuration, it might be affecting your connection speed. For more information, see the following articles:
- I have a Nighthawk router; what is Quality of Service (QoS)?
- How does Dynamic QoS help improve my Nighthawk router's Internet traffic management?
- How do I change the wireless mode (link rate) on my NETGEAR router?
- How do I set up Quality of Service (QoS) on my Nighthawk Pro Gaming router?