Hi All,

I recently moved into an apartment, and just had Xfinity 300Mbps installed. I'm used to only being on a hard-wired connection, so a wireless home network is new to me, and I think I might be having some issues.

My equipment:

Netgear DOCSIS 3.1 CM-1000 Modem
ASUS RT-AC66U Router

When checking my speed while hard-wired, I'm using the Xfinity speed test, and typically getting anywhere from 340-360 down, and 22-25 up. Then, I'll go to speedtest.net seconds later, and I'll have a wide range. Anywhere from 160-340 down, the upload usually stays consistent in the 22-25 range. I understand that different servers can provide different results. However, I'll test one server and get 160 down, then test the same server again within seconds after the first test, and get 350 down.

Also, I'm streaming through my Roku wirelessly. If I try to stream a 4K Youtube video, there's constant buffering. I'm in an apartment, so there's not a lot of walls or distance for the signal to travel through. I've also tried using the 2.4 and 5.0 modes on my router, same result with both.

I've also tried running speed tests while streaming on my Roku. On my hard-wired connection, my speed will be cut in half to around 160 down. Wireless speeds are anywhere from 30-80 down while streaming.

Is this normal? The connection just seems really unstable to me.

mrblond
is your wifi secure? id double check some dude in a van is not in your parking lot DLing kiddie porn off your wireless.
 
 Plus, back when I used wireless i found that the weather had an effect on my signal, things may have changed since then though.

Yes, set up the Network SSID and password. WPA-2 AES. I've checked the devices that were connected several times and nothing else besides my laptop and Roku.

EyeDeeNo
One sometimes overlooked aspect is what channel has less users using in the vicinity.
 

How to Find the Best Wi-Fi Channel for Your Router on Any Operating System

 
 
Edit: Okay that article is kinda old. But what you want to do is check what channels both 2.4G and 5G have cleaner signals. Most WiFi users will just setup the router without moving off the factory default channel.
 
If ASUS dose not have WiFi channel analyzer software the Microsoft Store has some.

Cool! I'll give that a shot. Thank you.

Sajin
Sounds like you got packet loss. Time to contact your isp.

How to Minimize Packet Loss on a Wireless Network
 
Edit: Ah now I see,

Link Congestion

One of the major causes of packet loss is link congestion. A simple analogy is rush hour traffic when there are more cars on the road than the road can sufficiently handle. Another analogy is a 4-lane road merging into 2 lanes. What happens is that there are more packets arriving on a link than that link is designed to handle.
In some cases, even if the link can technically handle the amount of traffic reaching it, it has been configured to drop packets after a certain limit. An example of this is an organization that purchases 2 Mbps from its ISP.
Even if the link can technically support up to 100 Mbps (e.g. MetroEthernet), the ISP will configure their devices to ensure that the organization can only push 2Mbps worth of traffic. Anything more will usually be dropped (depending on the maximum burstable agreement the organization has with the ISP).
Another example of network congestion is when service providers intentionally oversubscribe a link. The rationale is that all the subscribers of that service will not be using the link simultaneously. However, what happens during peak periods when more people are using the service than its capacity is that there will likely be packet loss resulting from congestion.