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Slower FTP file moves over a home network

Slower FTP file moves over a home network

R
RepoRizer
Posting Freak
872
03-10-2026, 09:15 AM
#1
I am using a TP-Link Archer C1200 router with Dual-band Wi-Fi to share my external HDD over FTP. The hard drive is plugged into the router via USB, and the router has built-in sharing that turns it into an FTP server right there. The problem I have is that when trying to move media files from my phone, laptop, or tablet connected to 5Ghz Wi-Fi, the transfer speed only reaches about 7-8 MB/s (roughly 60-64 Mb/s). On a PC, even with a LAN cable connection, the speed is similar. I have set my Wi-Fi standard to 802.11ac and used an 80 MHz channel width, but there are no other Wi-Fi networks nearby. I need help on how to get faster data speeds for these file transfers.
R
RepoRizer
03-10-2026, 09:15 AM #1

I am using a TP-Link Archer C1200 router with Dual-band Wi-Fi to share my external HDD over FTP. The hard drive is plugged into the router via USB, and the router has built-in sharing that turns it into an FTP server right there. The problem I have is that when trying to move media files from my phone, laptop, or tablet connected to 5Ghz Wi-Fi, the transfer speed only reaches about 7-8 MB/s (roughly 60-64 Mb/s). On a PC, even with a LAN cable connection, the speed is similar. I have set my Wi-Fi standard to 802.11ac and used an 80 MHz channel width, but there are no other Wi-Fi networks nearby. I need help on how to get faster data speeds for these file transfers.

Z
Zoleks
Member
237
03-10-2026, 09:54 AM
#2
That router is not good enough for a real home server. A small network builder tested it and found that the write speed was only 10MB/s while the read speed hit 14MB/s. https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...ro...2-reviewed You might want to adjust your MTU value or format your hard drive as NTFS depending on whether you have a specific board revision of this router. The processor gets slower if it's an older version. Instead, get yourself a proper NAS, a Raspberry Pi, or even just an old PC that can work as one for storing stuff.
Z
Zoleks
03-10-2026, 09:54 AM #2

That router is not good enough for a real home server. A small network builder tested it and found that the write speed was only 10MB/s while the read speed hit 14MB/s. https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...ro...2-reviewed You might want to adjust your MTU value or format your hard drive as NTFS depending on whether you have a specific board revision of this router. The processor gets slower if it's an older version. Instead, get yourself a proper NAS, a Raspberry Pi, or even just an old PC that can work as one for storing stuff.

L
lillomik
Junior Member
10
03-10-2026, 10:24 PM
#3
does it work well with an SSD?
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lillomik
03-10-2026, 10:24 PM #3

does it work well with an SSD?

T
Tyranosauruspe
Junior Member
1
03-10-2026, 11:39 PM
#4
The file sharing feature on a router is just a little extra thing they put in for free to make the list of features look longer. Many routers actually do a very poor job at this. Also, external hard drives plugged into USB tend to be low quality stuff. The real way to get good speed? Use a dedicated NAS, but even those can work slow if you use cheap disk drives inside them. You will have to test things out to see what limits the performance. Since it works just like on WiFi or ethernet, I don't think your network is the problem. I start by connecting the drive directly to your PC using a USB port and seeing how fast you expect to go from there. Then try sharing files with Microsoft or set up an FTP server on your PC if you really want to use that. See how fast you can transfer data while doing it to another machine.
T
Tyranosauruspe
03-10-2026, 11:39 PM #4

The file sharing feature on a router is just a little extra thing they put in for free to make the list of features look longer. Many routers actually do a very poor job at this. Also, external hard drives plugged into USB tend to be low quality stuff. The real way to get good speed? Use a dedicated NAS, but even those can work slow if you use cheap disk drives inside them. You will have to test things out to see what limits the performance. Since it works just like on WiFi or ethernet, I don't think your network is the problem. I start by connecting the drive directly to your PC using a USB port and seeing how fast you expect to go from there. Then try sharing files with Microsoft or set up an FTP server on your PC if you really want to use that. See how fast you can transfer data while doing it to another machine.

I
iMakeDadJokes
Junior Member
16
03-11-2026, 12:24 AM
#5
Besides what @bill001g said, the other thing that kills speed is using NTFS format on your hard drive. Your router runs Linux. NTFS doesn't work well with that system. For best results, you should format it as EXT3 or EXT4 instead.
I
iMakeDadJokes
03-11-2026, 12:24 AM #5

Besides what @bill001g said, the other thing that kills speed is using NTFS format on your hard drive. Your router runs Linux. NTFS doesn't work well with that system. For best results, you should format it as EXT3 or EXT4 instead.

T
63
03-26-2026, 10:02 PM
#6
I can't fix my hard drive yet, so I'll test this pen-drive instead.
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TheMightyBritt
03-26-2026, 10:02 PM #6

I can't fix my hard drive yet, so I'll test this pen-drive instead.

W
Wa3llklick
Junior Member
37
03-27-2026, 02:09 AM
#7
I've set up two PC's on Windows 10 using a LAN cable and a Router so they can talk to each other over my network. When I try to move files back and forth, the speed is really slow. It only gets about 5 or 6 megabytes per second, but it never stays steady; things keep dropping down to just 2 or 3 MB/s. The router shows both its receive and transmit speeds are set to 100/100 Mbps. Is this maybe because of the router?
W
Wa3llklick
03-27-2026, 02:09 AM #7

I've set up two PC's on Windows 10 using a LAN cable and a Router so they can talk to each other over my network. When I try to move files back and forth, the speed is really slow. It only gets about 5 or 6 megabytes per second, but it never stays steady; things keep dropping down to just 2 or 3 MB/s. The router shows both its receive and transmit speeds are set to 100/100 Mbps. Is this maybe because of the router?