You required an upgrade to your router.
You required an upgrade to your router.
I used a Net Gear Wireless N router with about 95 MBPS speed. After switching to an Asus RT-AX100S, the provider became the limiting factor, capping performance at around 115 MBPS via coaxial cable. A Steam download improved from 11 to 15 MBPS. Moving to a router with higher throughput—up to 1800 MBPS—was much better. Now I can see the full bandwidth available from my router. Security-wise, my Net Gear N300 is outdated (XP/Vista), and it was frequently attacked, dropping to 10 MBPS. I had to reset it to regain around 95 MBPS. I’m hoping the Asus model is more stable.
This information is helpful. Just a note, since you're not clearly separating Mbps and MBps, keep this in mind. You can find more details in the FAQ. One measures data in megabits each second, while the other tracks megabytes per second—this latter is what Steam shows automatically unless you adjust your settings. I’d guess that if these values were in MBps, you’d be receiving the bandwidth your ISP guaranteed at any given time. In reality, you moved from a WiFi 4 device to a WiFi 6 one. The newer standard offers better performance for multiple connections and more data per device, as long as the connected devices support it. The maximum speeds mentioned—150Mbps and 1800Mbps—are only achieved when both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands are active together. For more on this topic, check out the "advertising hype" section. Unless you run a high-traffic site or service, I doubt your router’s slowdown was caused by DDoS attacks. Do you have any evidence of such attacks? What makes you think you’re a target for them? WiFi devices from the 4th generation were known to lag in today’s crowded network because so many people use Wi-Fi. Wireless-N had a transitional phase where some gadgets didn’t meet the full standard before being sold, and they relied on the less efficient 2.4GHz band while others could use 5GHz. But they lacked features like MIMO and other modern optimizations, which would have improved speed regardless.
Steam displays data in megabytes each second. Internet and networking use megabits per second. 8 bits equal one byte. 15 megabits per second equals roughly 120 Mbps. Therefore, with a 150 Mbps connection from your cable provider, you’re achieving near full speed on Steam, or close to what you expect.
The values may be incorrect. 113 Mbps equals approximately 14 Megabytes per second. Online converter available.