Limits the router's maximum speed to 200Mbps for a 1Gbps connection
Limits the router's maximum speed to 200Mbps for a 1Gbps connection
I own a TP-Link 450M Wireless N Gigabit Router (TL-WR1043ND) purchased a few years back, perhaps 5 or 6. At the time, when I set up cable internet at home, I achieved speeds near 1Gbps (DL) and 500Mbps (UL), matching the service agreement. However, over the years, my tests connected through this device consistently reported only up to 200Mbps (DL). I thought something had changed, so I contacted my ISP who advised switching to a fiber connection directly into the home and setting up a new dial-up broadband PPPoE link using their credentials. After making that change, my connection returned to the expected 1Gbps/500Mbps range. Clearly, the router or modem I’ve relied on for years was not performing as it should. I updated its firmware and reset it to factory defaults, then tried a fresh PPPoE setup, but the maximum speed remained at 200Mbps. I’m unsure what further steps could help identify whether the device harbors a rootkit or if wear had affected its hardware after five to six years of use. It wasn’t an inexpensive model, yet it consistently caps at 200Mbps DL. Throughout these trials, I used different cables, suggesting the issue isn’t tied to a specific connection type. I also turned off Wi-Fi to confirm no other devices were interfering, except the one machine running these tests. Is there a way to pinpoint the exact cause of this drastic speed drop? I also experimented with using a switch instead of a router, but the ISP restricts connecting more than one client at once with the same login. Installing a Wi-Fi card in my computer wasn’t an option, as it would prevent household members from joining if the device was powered down. This has left me reliant on a router that must authenticate each client individually, allowing multiple devices to connect, yet still delivering only 200Mbps.
It might be time to swap out your router because it can fail over time from heat and other issues. If you have an ISP contract and are renting, ask them for a replacement. If you own it, get a new one—preferably from Amazon or similar sites that let you return items within 30 days just in case.
It seems the router you received is not the same one you were expecting for Gigabit speeds. It appears to lack sufficient power.
The same router was used, but the naming of these products aimed to highlight their Wi-Fi features (the 450 number) instead of Ethernet capabilities. The spec sheet confirmed it had Gigabit WAN and LAN ports, meaning it supported Gigabit speeds. Initially, I expected slower performance due to network traffic or an aging system, but after upgrading to a newer machine with better hardware (i5-11500, 16GB RAM, 2.5Gbps LAN port), I found the router was actually limiting speed. Plugging the Ethernet cable straight into the motherboard achieved speeds close to 1Gbps without any router interference.
@Alex Atkin UK Here is proof (pic attached) that back in 2017 with this router I could get above 900Mbps download speed: Yes, I know that ISPs collaborate with Speedtest to inflate their numbers, but then I've done the same test with the same router recently and now I can only get about 200Mbps. And that's even on the new much improved system. So it's quite clear this router is the bottleneck in the current setup. It either picked up some rootkit or something on the board got busted due to bad heat dissipation.
This was my interpretation. The earlier outcomes seem off. That device likely only handles up to 650mhz with a single core MIPS processor. It definitely isn’t managing NAT at 1gbps without hitting very low speeds. That’s why I needed to install a pfSense box when I upgraded to Gigabit—my original Asus RT-AC66U, with a similar CPU around 600mhz, actually struggled near 400mbps. Clearly, the router is functioning properly as intended, and whatever testing the original user did years ago at 'Gigabit' isn’t reflective of the current setup. It’s possible the old connection created separate IP addresses for each PC, which would explain the NAT being disabled. That’s an unusual but plausible explanation for handling the heavy NAT workload on a legacy wireless router.
I chose to accept whatever I thought was true. My download rates exceeded 900Mb/s or 90MB/s on every program I used. Sadly, I don’t have all the screenshots from those times—I only have the one I shared above. If Speedtest.net was exaggerating results four years ago, then there’s no reason they stopped doing it now when I achieve 200Mbps with the same router, cables, and subscription. If the technical details say LAN and WAN ports are gigabit ready, why would anyone buy it if it never performed near those specs? It would be a false claim, and the product would be marked as a scam.
You can easily handle a gigabit through the switch ports, but NAT consumes significant CPU power. The more packets per second you send, the greater the demand becomes. I'm sorry, but it seems there must be a reason you haven't used NAT before—like the previous 900 Mbps connection. With a single 650 MHz MIPS core, you simply can't reach that speed with NAT.
I set up a straightforward configuration. The IPS fiber-to-the-home cable was plugged into the router's WAN port, while two patch cables linked to the LAN gigabit ports. These connections linked two distinct computers to the WAN—one heavily used for testing, achieving stable speeds near 1Gbps for several years, and another less frequently used, mainly for browsing the web. The router functioned almost like a modem and switch combined. I required a device capable of handling authentication with the ISP credentials, allowing the internet signal to be split for two PCs. A switch alone wouldn’t support that setup because my ISP restricts multiple authenticated connections using the provided username and password. I didn’t enable any extra features, such as a NAS or a printer on the LAN.
I don’t know what to say besides there’s no chance you’re handling NAT at 1gbps on a single core MIPS chip in an old Wireless N router unless you had another solution. Honestly, even the latest consumer routers that focus on NAT struggle when users need gigabit speeds. You really need substantial performance for high-bandwidth NAT tasks. I’m actually using my 1gbps fiber connection through an Intel J4005-powered pfSense device because my RTAC66U maxed out at around 500mbps. I had to choose between getting a newer all-in-one router with multi-core ARM or building my own setup. I went for the pfSense box and used the AC66U just as an access point. With the Intel CPU handling NAT, it easily supports 1gbps. I’m not sure how you managed to push 900mbps over the WAN port with NAT before, but the point is—it shouldn’t be feasible.