Network Extender effecting Speed

[ja3019a]

Without my network extender plugged in my upload and download speeds are in the 60-70Mbps range ( i have the 75mbps plan).  When I plug my extender in, my computer which is likely caught between the main router and the extender drops down to the single digits in upload and download speeds, as low as 1.5-2Mbps.  Anyone had this problem?

[jonjones1]

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@ja3019a wrote:

Without my network extender plugged in my upload and download speeds are in the 60-70Mbps range ( i have the 75mbps plan).  When I plug my extender in, my computer which is likely caught between the main router and the extender drops down to the single digits in upload and download speeds, as low as 1.5-2Mbps.  Anyone had this problem?

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You are connected by WiFi. WiFi will never be as fast as a direct connection to the router. I would hazard a guess that the extender is faulty to be seeing those low results.

it also depends on the WiFi radios in the devices, as well if it’s connecting at a/b/g/n/ac 

so that is not a reliable speed test.

[ja3019a]

Thanks for the reply. I understand that there will be a difference between wifi and wired, but what I'm saying is that on wifi with the extender plugged in in the room above my speed test is 1-2mbps with noticeable lag and increased time to load pages.  If I just unplug the network extender and immediately repeat the test I'm in the 60Mbps range for the test with no lag and immediate web page loading.

[jonjones1]

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@ja3019a wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I understand that there will be a difference between wifi and wired, but what I'm saying is that on wifi with the extender plugged in in the room above my speed test is 1-2mbps with noticeable lag and increased time to load pages.  If I just unplug the network extender and immediately repeat the test I'm in the 60Mbps range for the test with no lag and immediate web page loading.

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Very strange. Is the network extender actually necessary? It should not slow down your speeds unless your grabbing the extenders setting (SSID) and connecting to the slower device.

is this a Verizon extender or a brand like Netgear or Asus or another non Verizon branded extender. Are you using verizons router or your own? 

It would be wise to reset the extender to factory, then repair it to the router and then test it again. Many extenders can be set to show a different SSID via the settings screen. You might want to try that as well.

[smith6612]

If the extender is doing wireless repeating, it might be good to check to see what sort of wireless performance you're receiving where the extender is located. The trick to most extenders is that they work by using the same radio the extender uses to broadcast the extended network, as the "backhaul" radio to the main router. This usually causes the overall throughput of the extender to be cut in half. And this is based on the signal which is already being received by the extender.

So let's assume it's on 2.4Ghz Wireless, and you're in a clean environment (keep in mind, neighboring networks, devices with Bluetooth, cordless phones, baby monitors, microwaves, etc will slow down performance as they often operate on the same frequency), you can get 100Mbps at the extender. The extender will often chop that down to 50Mbps. Then your effective speed will be either that or less.