Slow upload unless connected directly to ONT

I upgraded to FIOS 1Gbit service a few weeks ago and have since been troubleshooting slow uploads. I get full saturation when my laptops are hardwired directly to the ONT (G-211M-C). As soon as I have one of the three routers I have on my hands (ASUS GT-AX11000, ASUS RT-BE96U, or NETGEAR RS700) inserted in between, uploads to WAN get severely impacted on nearly all clients (5GHz clients, 6GHz clients, hardwired clients). By severely impacted I mean 950 down to 100. Only one client consistently maxes out uploads no matter what: a hardwired AppleTV.

On the other hand, internal network traffic is fast. I have a NAS attached to the router running iPerf server. All devices (wifi or hardwired) max out their respective bandwidths when testing to the that iPerf server. The moment testing happens outside (ookla speedtest app, librespeed, fast.com etc.) upload speeds drop to 100-ish. For example, I can run 1.5Gbps down and 1.2Gbps up from my iPhone to the iPerf server; that same phone gets 50Mbps upload on the Ookla speedtest. MacBook pro over 5GHz ax uploads at 500-ish to iPerf server but at 20-ish externally. The attached NAS, which has a lot of juice, can only push 200-ish mbps externally on LibreSpeed / Oookla (remember that device served an iPhone at 1++ Gbps on the internal network).

I've replaced all cables, rebooted everything, setup each router from scratch after factory resetting it 3 times, no solution. IPV4 is disabled, there is no QoS, no VPN, no security software, no VLAN, no port forwarding etc. There is clearly some sort of an issue with the way Asus / Netgear routers are communicating with Verizon's ONT (or the other way around).

Just wondering if anyone here has had a similar experience and / or if you can suggest other ways of troubleshooting this extremely annoying problem. I'm all out of ideas!

Accepted answers

Cang_Household

I just can't get my head wrapped around this issue. I looked at the interface MTU on the CR1000A, and it was fine. I thought it was some kind of TCP checksum offloading issue, and turning off the generic rx checksum did not help. Then I looked at the tc on the router, still nothing is wrong.

I want the engineering to get a raw-packet analyzer in the Ethernet cable to see the packet formation. Adding a switch with port mirroring just solves the issue, which is introducing a confounding variable along the way.

All comments

unknown

No one here has slow upload with Fios & own router? Just me?

MarryStorage

Hey,

Man, that upload speed struggle sounds like a real pain! Let's try to sort this out, shall we? Here's what's standing out to me:

So, when you plug your laptop straight into that Verizon box (the ONT), your upload speeds are rocking. That's a good sign, meaning your internet connection itself is probably A-OK.

But here's the kicker - as soon as you throw in any of your routers (those fancy ASUS or NETGEAR ones!), upload speeds take a nosedive. This suggests there might be something wonky with your router settings or how it's talking to Verizon's gear.

On the bright side, things are zooming inside your home network. That means your router can handle speed like a champ, it's just acting up when trying to head out to the big ol' internet.

Hope this breakdown helps us figure out what's going on! Let's get that upload speed back up to snuff.

MrCeez24

Firstly, I have been with this issue for YEARS and have finally considered moving away from FIOS. I had the ONT w/ just ethernet installed into my home in 2018. I was perfectly fine with my AC routers handling everything. My setup for some time has been the following:

Asus RT-AC5300 Main

2-RT-AC-5300 and 4 RT-AC86u as mesh nodes

I have close to 150 devices and wanted to the space/bandwidth for each to do its thing. I was consistently getting 500+ up and down (depending on day and tested server) for my setup.

When I started to dabble into the WIFI 6 router options is where everything went left. Whether it was Asus GT-11000 or XT8 or 9, RT-AX86u, RT-AX1800 etc. every single one upload speeds that were <200mbps. I can't for the life of me understand why. Through several years of looking into the issue, it appears that fios doesn't play nice with the hardware. I've considered moving away from Asus but the WiFi5 routers perform amazing.

Only suggestion i'm considering is placing a wired router in-between the ONT and mesh system. Not sure if it will work or not but that'll be my next attempt before I just either keep my wifi5 setup or move on to another ISP.

So....ONT --> wired router --> AP or Mesh System

Hope this helps with upload, but its sad that only the older hardware seems to perform well vs new hardware (or unless you use verizons hardware).

Rob1099

Thanks for taking the time to chime in with your issue OP. It's definitely not just you. I'm working through this now on a Frontier Fiber 1Gbps up/down plan (although it's all formerly* Verizon FiOS equipment here in the DFW Area.)

Unfortunately, I do not yet have a solution but this seems to be a known issue (in my case) with the Netgear RS700 and the Alcatel-Lucent 1-211M-L ONT. There's an active forum thread on Netgear's website about this if you web search "RS700 upload speeds ONT" (Not to be lazy, I simply don't know if I can post a link here without getting hazed)

Regardless, I've been pouring through my RS700 and sending debug files from special firmware to Netgear support. I'm not saying the 1-211M-L ONT is "the" problem.... but it certainly is being acknowledged by Netgear. I've been instructed to test the link speed options on the Router WAN port (1Gbps, 2.5, 5, and the default Auto/10GBe) Of course, I realize the ONT RJ45 WAN interface does not support above 1000-Base-T (Gigabit) from some trusted documentation I have... but the thinking was the Auto-Speed negotiation on the Router WAN port might be "something" contributing to this per Netgear..... but there is no fire here so far, only some smoke, still testing.)

I bought this system two days ago, it replaced a Linksys 6 Velop system (MX5300) dual node mesh. Everything peachy until I upgraded to the RS700, although otherwise it's a really great Router / WAP / Switch. Dual 10GBe interfaces for local devices and servers is wild, etc....

Anyways I don't mean to bring this up a few months later, but you are definitely not the only person dealing with this. I'd love to know what solution(s) you may have come to? Or if others have any insights to share?

Many thanks,

Rob

Tommustang68

I am having the exact same issues, so far NETGEAR has not solved it. I know from Google the solution one user did was upgrade to the 2 gig service however that is not an option in my area and I asked if I could just upgrade the ONT and was told no. So the only solution is to wait for NETGEAR to solve it or return the unit and go with a different brand!

AfroPisces

This is definitely not an isolated issue, I have often wondered if my 3rd party routers were defective because the upload issue was so persistent, but I am now convinced it's an ONT issue.

Has anyone had any luck with resolving this or is it still ongoing for others?

Frienofoe

Last month I was using my Netgear Rax120 and noticed a huge decrease in upload speed. Replaced it with a Netgear RS500 and had Verizon review the ONT and continued experiencing the same issue. Was told to contact Netgear to adjust the router settings. After 2 hours on the phone with Netgear support, they said it's my ISP.

no_fun

I had the same issue with slow upload. It was like 5 Mbps on ethernet. After around 12 hours of looking for answers, the solution I found was to simply plug an unmanaged switch between the ONT and third party router.

Wavehogger

Had FIOS installed today and went crazy trying to figure out why I had 930/930 straight out from the ONT but through both the Verizon 3100 or my Asus the upload was ranging from 40-300 maybe 400 occasionally. I was about to give up but found your comment on sticking the switch in between. I thought that technically makes no sense but what the heck I’ve got one, and presto the upload was back to 930. Of course I removed it and confirmed a few times with and without because I was still in disbelief. Thanks for posting this, hopefully it stays stable.

Cang_Household