CAT5e wired back-haul slower than wifi back-haul
I have upgraded the wiring for my local network to CAT5e and am getting much slower speeds from my Deco x55 network when connecting everything via wired back-haul than when I disconnect the x55 satellites from Ethernet back-haul and connect via WiFi back-haul instead.
I have 250 Mbs fiber optic service, and consistently get about 220 Mbs using WiFi back-haul, and about 90 Mbs when using Ethernet back-haul, no matter the device...phone, ipad, laptops
Setup is:
Main Deco hooked to WAN port on Modem
CAT5e from Main Deco to brand new TP-link 8-port Gigabit switch
Two Deco satellites CAT5e connected to TP-link switch
Apple TV CAT5 (not 5e) connected to TP link switch
Apple Time Capsule (NAS) connected to one of the satellites via CAT5e cable.
All indicator lights on the switch are green, not yellow, so it says everything is a gigabit connection.
If I simply unplug the satellites from Ethernet I get the full speed
I've tried disconnecting everything except the satellites thinking that maybe the NAS or the Apple TV were slowing things down, but no difference.
Needless to say I'm disappointed after investing in cabling and the switch.
Why would this be?
Steve
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Thank you very much for the details.
Can I have the model number of the TP-link 8-port Gigabit switch, like TL-SG108?
Can I also have the model number of the client that is used to test the speed from Deco X55? It seems like an Apple device.
---Have you checked on the Deco APP to make sure this Apple device is actually connected to the closest satellite Deco X55, Not the main X55?
In the meanwhile, I would like to follow up on your case via email. Please check whether you could get an email from me.
Thanks again.
Best regards.
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log into your switch IP address (i assume you changed it from its default since its usually also the routers IP address) and check your port settings. do you have the default speed/flow control settings enabled and limited to 100Mb/s? that could explain why you arent seeing over 100 when wired. the switch wont allow any speeds faster than 100 if the port settings are somehow enabled across the board (effectively throttling you). by default, they should be disabled and you should have full duplex and set to auto.
on a side note, when i hooked up my old previous generation AppleTV via ethernet and did a speed test via the Speedtest.net app, i was pegged at 92-93 Mbps and couldnt figure out why. i realized that the previous gen (non 4K) Apple Tv's only have Fast Ethernet, not Gigabit. just keep that in mind if that is your case as well.
also, if you unplug the switch from the main deco and connect to ONLY it wirelessly and wired, what are your speeds?
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David-TP wrote
Thank you very much for the details.
Can I have the model number of the TP-link 8-port Gigabit switch, like TL-SG108?
Can I also have the model number of the client that is used to test the speed from Deco X55? It seems like an Apple device.
---Have you checked on the Deco APP to make sure this Apple device is actually connected to the closest satellite Deco X55, Not the main X55?
In the meanwhile, I would like to follow up on your case via email. Please check whether you could get an email from me.
Thanks again.
Best regards.
@David-TP The switch is TL-SG108. I am running Fast.com for speed testing on an iPad Air (3rd gen), an iPhone X, A current gen MacBook Air, and a 2016 MacBook. All devices return similar speed results, and all devices are connecting to the nearest satellite.
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1st thing to check is if your LAN cable is real Cat5e or Cat6 that can transmit a high speed bandwidth. You can do that by simple plugging it directly to your main modem and PC(make sure the wifi is disabled to avoid using the wireless connection). if the speed your getting doesn't go beyond 100mbps, then the issue is your cable. Get a good Cat6 or Cat6e cable.
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Thanks for everyone's help. I isolated the problem to one bad cable between the switch and one of the Satellites, which happened to be the satellite that most devices are connecting to. I replaced that cable and am now getting full throttle from all units.
Thanks especially to the technician who walked me through a testing methodology via email that isolated the bad cable quickly. Great support from this community!
Steve
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@SZDBLLC do one bad cable brought down the entire speed of the whole network instead of just that one portion? Did that bad cable supply the main Deco?
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dictoresno wrote
@SZDBLLC do one bad cable brought down the entire speed of the whole network instead of just that one portion? Did that bad cable supply the main Deco?
@dictoresno No, it was a cable that goes between the switch and the kitchen satellite. It only slowed the kitchen satellite. It is a cable that I ran myself, from my structured wiring box in the cellar to a wall plate in the kitchen. Luckily I installed two runs from the structured cable box to the kitchen wall plate, and only one of the runs was slow for some reason. Maybe I damaged the cable while pulling it.
I tested by connecting to each unit sequentially starting with the main unit. Only the kitchen unit was giving slow connection speed. First I tried using a different port on the kitchen unit, to no effect, then I switched to the alternate cable from the switch to the kitchen unit. Problem solved.
I initially installed all the structured wiring a long time ago after taking a structured wiring class, I want to say at least a decade ago. For some reason the runs from most of the locations are only CAT5 wire while the runs from the room where my modem are cat 5e wire. It must have been just at the time things were switching over to CAT5e. I was able to install new runs to the locations where I have the satellite units, so I lucked out, because re-running cable to the room with the modem would have been far too much effort. I did change out all the jacks to CAT5e jacks instead of the CAT5 jacks that I initially installed.
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