Slow connection in the basement and upstairs areas
Slow connection in the basement and upstairs areas
He friend has a router and modem combo. Nearby internet speed is about 90mbs, which is acceptable. But upstairs or downstairs it drops to around 10mbs, which isn’t enough for him. It seems the modem might be limiting the connection while the router appears fine and was recently replaced. His plan likely won’t cover the higher speeds he needs. The idea is that replacing the modem should boost the base speed close to the router, yet speeds still fall by roughly 80mbs upstairs and in the basement. With a base of 250mbs nearby, the drop should only reach about 170mbs, not more than that. This reasoning seems plausible. Also, this guide is really helpful. His current modem is an Arris TG1672G Touchstone Telephony. The gateway router is a NetGEAR Nighthawk AX6 6-Stream AX5200 WiFi Router (RAX48). He might consider upgrading to a NetGEAR Nighthawk Cable Modem CM1200, which works with all cable providers including Xfinity by Comcast, Spectrum, Cox. It supports plans up to 2 Gigabits, has four 1G Ethernet ports, DOCSIS 3.1, and is black.
Wireless connections follow this pattern: move away from the signal source, reception weakens and speeds drop. Eventually the link drops. The signal struggles through concrete and metal, and people moving around can block it. Test speeds using a wired modem for accurate results. If you’re on Wi-Fi only, verify it’s functioning well first. Use a Wi-Fi analyzer app on your phone to check signal strength and interference. Keep the text clear—avoid jargon and organize your points for better understanding.
Thanks for the input! For testing, you could use apps like Speedtest or OpenSignal to compare speeds. Since your friend’s connection is showing low speeds despite being close to the router, it might point to interference or distance issues. If you move the device further from the modem and router, you can see if the speed improves. Based on what you described, yes—adding an extra modem could help maintain a consistent 250 Mbps, and the remaining speed should stay around that level unless there are other obstacles.
It’s more about the percentage. With a base of 100 and a result of 50 in another room, you’ve lost 50%. Not a simple 50, but a significant drop. So if you receive 900, you’d expect around 450, not 850. As mentioned before, Wi-Fi performance drops with distance, obstacles like walls or pipes, reflections, etc. What speed is he actually paying for? Let’s begin there. His router is more than sufficient—indeed, it’s far beyond what his needs require. Don’t rush to replace it until the root issue is identified.
If he needs to buy a $5 Ethernet cable at a store to verify the results, let him do it. It won't be essential, but it will ensure his payment is complete.
Problem might occur anywhere, though it often starts with the modem. If a reset didn’t help, the ISP would inspect the whole setup. Wi-Fi typically drops to about half strength immediately. I subscribe to 900Mb Comcast, but performance falls sharply beyond 400 feet from the router—don’t rely on strong Wi-Fi connections.
Sounds good. Next time I go over I will bring a ethernet cable to test the direct speed. Thanks for your help regarding my problem.