Slow router throughput

[bmorrison]

I have just purchased an installed a pcWRT router, but am not getting the speed out of it that I had hoped. I have a 100Mbps (download) internet connection and when speed testing connected directly to my modem I get speeds just above that. However when connected to the new pcWRT router (both wired and wireless) I can get at max 30Mbps. On Amazon it is advertised as “802.11n 300Mbps” which may be correct, but if the router can’t handle that speed back to the modem then all that WiFi capacity is wasted.

Is this just a problem with the unit I have, or a general problem of the router being underpowered – probably in performing NAT? I really like the parental controls, but also need to be able to get the internet speed I am paying for. What options do I have to keep both?

[support]

@bmorrison The 300N router we are offering on Amazon is not adequate for a 100Mbps WAN. To properly handle a 100Mbps WAN, you’ll need a router with a gigabit WAN port and 802.11ac wireless. We have a 802.11ac router with gigabit WAN in the working, but at this moment there are no concrete timelines. My advice at this moment would be to get a gigabit 802.11ac router and connect it to your modem, then attach the pcWRT to the gigabit router as a secondary router. Have your kids connect to the pcWRT, while you connect to the main router.

[bmorrison]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I can’t afford two expensive routers so am going to have to sacrifice the good parental control software on the pcWRT and go with a less capable, but fast router.

[support]

@bmorrison Thanks for bringing this issue to our attention. In a recent firmware update, we pushed the max throughput above 50Mbps, with parental control for whole router. For profiles where parental control is turned off, the throughput is close to 100Mbps. So maximum whole network throughput should be somewhere between 50Mbps and 100Mbps, depending on the mix of devices under parental control and without parental control. In a future update, we expect to push the maximum throughput for the router up to the 100Mbps physical limit, with parental control.

[wwarner]

How is that speed update coming along? I’m getting between 22 to 45 Mbps throughput right now using parent controls. The router controls are a Godsend– saving me weeks of coding– but the speed is a drag.

[support]

@wwarner It’s taking longer than we were expecting. For now our suggestion is to put your streaming devices on a separate profile and disable parental control for that profile. I’m assuming that other applications don’t consume a lot of bandwidth, but I could be wrong.

[Transversal]

I have one of my devices with parental control using only the calendar, and my speed is still slow on that device. What is the best setup for using only the calendar and getting max speed?

[support]

@Transversal Do you know what kid of speed you are getting in terms of Mbps? Or is this just a general feeling that it’s slow? What activities are affected? Such as general browsing, watching YouTube, or playing games?

The calendar does not affect speed at all. You might want to vary the WiFi channel the router is using and see if that improves your speed. If the WiFi channel is Auto, set it to a specific channel, change the channel to see if you get different results.

[Transversal]

Ok, thanks, I will research that. I have the PCWRT router plugged into ethernet port 1 of our XFinity modem/router. I know it has two channels, but not sure if I can change the channel on that port, or if it’s set.

[support]

FYI, if WiFi is turned on for your XFinity modem/router, you might have RF interference between the routers, which will degrade WiFi performance for both. If you are not connecting to the XFinity via WiFi, it’s advisable to turn off the WiFi for the XFinity. If you need both WiFi, then you should choose WiFi channels so that they don’t overlap each other (e.g., 4 channels apart).

[Dan]

Hey, just found this topic after having a similar streaming experience.
I LOVE the router capabilities but not so much the throughput…

Normally my streaming devices just vary quality in order to provide seamless service but I’ve been stuck waiting for buffering lately (since the switch to PCWRT) on most, if not all, streamed video content.

Just wondering though, I found the “TP-Link Archer C7 AC1750 pcWRT” on Amazon with a reference to PCWRT, is this a new model? How does the performance compare? Very intrigued.

I’m hoping it is actually yours (PCWRT) as I can’t actually find it on your website…

[support]

Yes, the Archer C7 pcWRT is ours. However, the 300Mbps TORONTO-N should be adequate for streaming in general. Are you experiencing buffering with WiFi? Is there any difference when you connect via wire? If you have problems with both, you might want to see if there’s any difference with parental control disabled.

[Author]

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