Different results on different devices?

[Daniel Owsiany]

Hello, I am a newbie to this site from Panama. I have a question I hope someone can answer because it is driving me crazy:

 

I have a laptop (Asus X200M), android phone (Samsung GT-S7560M) , and a streaming television box (Matricom G-Box Q2) all which connect wirelessly through a Nexxt Nebula 300 Router (less than 1 year old). My issue is that the laptop and phone consistently connect at approximately 20Mbps download and 5Mbps upload speeds (as I'm supposed to get). However the Matricom G-Box Q2 consistently connects at download speeds of <1Mbps and upload speeds at >1Mbps. The manufacturer of the box say that laptops and cellphones have different wifi chip sets than the G-Box, and may register higher speeds. The Mfg also said they have some known compatibility issues between some routers and the G-Box. I asked if there were any known issues 

with my router and the G-Box, but never did get an answer. The strangest part of this this issue is that I am able to stream movies and live feeds w/o buffering delays despite the "slow" speeds shown on the G-Box tests.

 

Can anyone help explain this issue to me? I think the manufacturer is blowing smoke up my a**, but have limited knowledge of complex technical issues to refute him with.

[mudmanc4]

My feeble understanding of the way movies stream through such devices, is the data is transmitted in (possibly highly compressed) 'chunks', intermittently from various sources, much like a torrent. Therefore allowing more users to draw the same content seamlessly. Where the endpoint device "GBOX" puts the pieces back together before presenting the video.

 

As I said, I won't claim to have much knowledge of the way this is achieved, but a basic understanding.

 

I'm not so sure it's actually hardware which dictates the throughput, but more so the network configurations + software control features between the two source / endpoint.

 

[Daniel Owsiany]

To Mudmanc4 et.al.,

 

Thank you for your input regarding this issue. There are a couple more bits of information which may shed light on this conundrum: 1.) The speed tests I conducted on all three devices were static tests, that is the devices were merely booted up and ran the speedtest(s) without any other applications or programs running at the same time; and 2.) Other speedtest sets run when all three devices were at the same distance from the wireless router, but the G-Box was connected both via wi-fi and an ethernet cable which produced nearly equal test results (20/5 Mbps) for the G-Box Q. Logically speaking, this makes me think that the wi-fi chipset of the G-Box Q is less sensitive/powerful (shorter range) than the chipsets in the other two devices. Is my thinking here correct?

 

 

[mudmanc4]

If I'm reading you correctly, your saying while Wired connection is active on the 'GBOX', the system achieves maxing out the network connection, yet when wireless is active, not so much, correct?

 

As for the wireless chip, I'm not seeing your assumption. Is there a wireless strength meter available on the Matricom G-Box Q2? 

 

Have you rooted the device? (do not attempt it if you are not familiar with Linux command line) or if you have a warranty, it will be void.

[Daniel Owsiany]

Dear Mudmanc4,

 

No, you are not reading me correctly. I am saying that when the G-Box is connected via cable or wi-fi at the same distance from the router the results achieved are nearly equal (approximately maximum signal strength). There is no wireless strength meter on the G-Box. I am using information off the screen of a HDMI connected television using Ookla Speedtest.

[mudmanc4]

I'm working to understand the logic of comparing distance using wireless and wired. If I've even got an understanding at this point of what you are doing.

 

Secondly, there could be double even triple natting going on here. The box could be acting as a proxy to get through the router. Which will torch throughput.

[mudmanc4]

What I would do first, is have a look within the Nexxt Nebula 300 Router and see if I could segregate the wireless and the wired subnets.

Then either way, yes or no, I would assign a static IP to the GBOX, and open specific ports regarding what you want to do, or to keep it simple, use UPnp, that the static Ip (or static reservation) will be configured to automatically open and close required ports.

[Daniel Owsiany]

Dear Mudmanc4,

 

Let me backup a bit to explain the purpose of my tests. Initially the G-Box Q showed much lower wi-fi connection speeds (<1/>1 Mbps) than the phone, and laptop (both at 20/5 Mbps), with all three at approximately 50 ft. from the wireless router. To verify the maximum connect speed available from the G-Box Q, I connected it with an ethernet cable with 20/5 Mbps results. The wi-fi connect speed at the same distance from the router as the cable connection produced similar results (20/5 mbps connection), which indicated to me that at a distance of 50 ft. the wi-fi chipset in the G-Box Q is not capable of delivering full available internet speeds.

 

Your latest post on the issue is beyond my technical knowledge, so I cannot determine if that solution will give me better wi-fi connect speeds on the G-Box Q at a distance of 50 ft. from the router. 

 

I do appreciate your attempts to assist me, and apologize for my lack of technical knowledge.

[mudmanc4]

You might try changing the channel, or frequency the wireless router itself broadcasts.

 

Remembering the energy which emanates from the antenna is shaped as a torus, or a doughnut.

 

Much like this image, where the antenna itself is in the center:

 

 

As the antenna is moved, so goes the 'reach'. Keeping this in mind, you can 'project' the side of the 'doughnut' or torus towards the area which requires the highest signal strength.

I would not imagine the wireless chip is old enough to have issues as you are mentioning. As it is b/g/n capable.

Check settings for Tx/Rx or Transmit / Receive per antenna, some can be changed for one to transmit and one to receive, in this case, setting both and antenna to do both might be best, or not, experiment.

 

What my previous post suggests, is to separate LAN or (Local Area Connection) networks, and dedicate one IP of a secondary subnet (192.168.1.1 and 192.168.2.1 = two different subnets) to the wireless network and the LAN, Which could help with traffic flow, as well as eliminate any possible QOS (Quality Of Service) and eliminate a proxy if the GBOX is using it's own routing, and causing a double NAT (Network Address Translation). Which causes a bottleneck, or a slowdown due to hardware / software limitations.

 

If at any time you wish to discuss any of this further I would be happy to take it one step at a time with you.

 

[Daniel Owsiany]

Dear mudmanc4,

 

Thank you so much for your willingness to "walk" me through this issue. In fact, you have been much more helpful than Matricom Tech Support with whom I have had over 35 back-and-forth e-mails, over six weeks, with no resolution.

 

Per your suggestion I have changed the broadcast channel of my router from channel 6 (default setting) to channel 11, but now my G-Box is not able to detect my router even after I restored it back to channel 6. I will have resolve this issue with Matricom before I proceed further with you. I will advise you after I resolve this new issue. Thanks for your patience, and Happy Thanksgiving Day.

 

 

[mudmanc4]

Not being familiar with the GBOX GUI other than a few images after searching, I should have pre warned you of the possible effects, and what steps to take thereafter changing the channel may have had.

 

Though adjustable setting in the GUI should be apparent, though using the small inset reset button which should be located on the back panel, where the ports and power are located, as a last resort.

 

Have you gotten it back online yet?

[Daniel Owsiany]

Good Morning Mudmanc4,

 

I have not attempted any further wifi connectivity recovery, but am willing to try if you can give me some suggestions. 

[Daniel Owsiany]

Good Morning Mudmanc4,

 

I have been able to restore wifi connectivity with my G-Box and across devices by factory reset of the router. Speed tests this morning indicate 2/2 Mbps speeds. Good enough for now. What do you think about purchasing a wifi signal booster (repeater) to give me better G-Box connect speeds? A friend of mine uses one and is getting near maximum input speeds on his G-Box.

 

Happy Thanksgiving wherever you are!

[mudmanc4]

Before adding to a possible existing problem, ie the aged wifi router, I would first consider replacing it with something up to date. 

[Daniel Owsiany]

The router is not "aged". I purchased it last December and it has b/g/n capability up to 300Mbps .

[mudmanc4]

I can't seem to find the initial release date of the router hardware, however having 100Mbps ports explains in my opinion at least, the hardware itself is not industry standard in the last ~5+ years. As the standard today would be 1000Mbps

They may have acquired an older lot and released it with proprietary firmware.

 

This is not to say it is not functional, I have several in use myself.

 

At the same token, were doing a lot more now as far as infrastructure and network engineering which this particular device in my opinion, could be creating a bottleneck.

 

My point is this, by adding a range extender in the mix, the entire wireless network will still rely on the limitations of the hardware it sits on top of.

 

Fiscally speaking, adding the initial cost of an extender, would not justify the difference in replacing the wireless hardware with something that does not require an extender, and as well is a bit future proof.

 

Have you priced out and extender for this unit?

[mudmanc4]

Just for a comparison, and this is been out for at least 3 years: I may be off with this time frame.

Dual-band with the latest 802.11ac 4x4 technology for maximum throughput (3167 Mbps) and extensive coverage

https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RT-AC3100/

 

None the less, here is the wiki in ac (beyond g/b/n)

IEEE 802.11ac is a wireless networking standard in the 802.11 family (which is marketed under the brand name Wi-Fi), developed in the IEEE Standards Association process,^[1] providing high-throughput wireless local area networks (WLANs) on the 5 GHz band.^[1] The standard was developed from 2011 through 2013 and approved in January 2014.^[1][2]

 

[Daniel Owsiany]

I purchased the Nexxt Nebula 300 router ($29.95) here in Panama. It does not surprise me that it is an outdated model, because a lot of obsolete, and left over electronics, appliances, etc. get dumped onto the markets here. The range extender my friend recommended is  a NETGEAR WIFI RANGE EXTENDER Model:WN3000RP, which sells for $29.95 on Amazon. Nonetheless, I will look into purchasing a newer model router and hope that solves my issue. But the nagging question in my mind is why the other two devices get full wifi connection speeds at the same location as the G-Box.

[mudmanc4]

I have seen some great results with these repeaters/ bridges as well as some networking issues, of which you would not likely run into in your current setup.

 

As for the other devices, they should choose the strongest link as you move around if setup properly.

 

The device has one wired port, which you could connect to the GBOX, which should be beneficial.

 

Interested to see what you decide, and how it all works out.