Slow Wi-Fi All of a Sudden. (TP-Link WDR3600)

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sparda1

sparda1

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Dec 4, 2007
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I have a TP-Link TL-WDR3600, which is about 2 years old and several months ago my wifi speeds suddenly dropped to about half of what I am supposed to be getting and I have a 100/10Mbps cable connection.

DD-WRT had been installed for almost the entire time up until the speed issue and I never had any issued before. I have tried some of the more common troubleshooting such as resetting/re-flashing the router, switching channels and channel width to no avail, and I am now back to the stock TP-Link firmware I had before, but this has not helped.

It seems to be only the 2.4GHz wifi connection that is the problem on all devices in the house as I get full speeds connected via Ethernet from both the router and the modem and close to full speed on the 5GHz. My cellphone is the closest device I can get to the router and even when holding it directly next to it, I average about 35-40Mbps on 2.4GHz and 90-100Mbps on 5GHz
There are only 2-3 other wireless signals in my area and I am almost always the only one on my channel. There are also no unknown wireless devices connected or cordless phones that could be interfering.

Any assistance would be appreciated. Let me know if you need any additional info.
Thanks!

Expand Spoiler to view Router Settings
Current Router Settings
-WAN-

  • WAN Connection Type: Dynamic IP
    MTU Size: 1500bytes (default)
    DNS Servers: Disabled
-Dual Band Selection:- Concurrently with 2.4GHz and 5GHz (802.11a/b/g/n)

-Wireless Settings (2.4GHz)-

  • Mode: 11bgn mixed
    Channel: 11
    Channel Width: 40MHz
    SSID Broadcast: Enabled
-Wireless Security-: WPA/WPA2 - Personal

  • Encryption: AES
-Wireless Advanced-

  • Transmit Power: High/Med/Low
    Beacon Interval: 100ms (40-1000)
    RTS Threshold: 2346 (1-2346)
    DTIM Interval: 1 (1-15)
    WMM: Enabled
    Short GI: Enabled
    AP Isolation: Disabled
DHCP Server: Enabled
NAT Control Setting

  • Current NAT Status: Enabled
    Current Hardware NAT Status: Enabled
DMZ: Disabled
UPnP: Enabled
-Basic Security-
Firewall

  • SPI Firewall: Enabled
VPN

  • PPTP Passthrough: Enabled
    L2TP Passthrough: Enabled
    IPSec Passthrough: Enabled
ALG

  • FTP ALG: Enabled
    TFTP ALG: Enabled
    H323 ALG: Enabled
    RTSP ALG: Enabled
 
Solution
Ralston18
Yes that is possible. Just takes one component/circuit to fail/start failing and some functionality is lost.

E.g., a power supply issue would probably affect the entire router but if different voltages are being supplied (as is the case with a PSU) then only those components provided some particular voltage would suffer.

One option you have is to download one of those wireless tools that monitors frequencies and channels.

Load the app on one of your phones and monitor the 2.4 GHz frequency and the channels being used.

Look for dropouts or even signs of interference (even if interference is not suspected).

Here is a link from which to start...
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Ralston18

Ralston18

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Did you check the antennas? Securely attached and properly oriented?

Any chance that one or the other was hit and maybe caused some damage?

Try wiggling them or propping them up in some manner to see if performance can be restored.

Check the router's logs if present and enabled. May find some relevant errors or information.
 
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sparda1

sparda1

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I removed and reattached both antennae and have them pointing outwards at a 45 degree angle, but the speeds are the same as before.

I have the event log, but it contains MAC addresses, does it matter if I post them publicly?
 
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Ralston18

Ralston18

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Oct 11, 2014
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See if you can match the MAC addresses with their respective devices.

Probably best not to publish - key is narrowing down some specific error message to some device.

Maybe a device in the 2.4 GHz spectrum. You could easily see if performance returns by turning off those devices one by one. Once all are off, reboot and see if performance returns at that time.
 
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sparda1

sparda1

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Dec 4, 2007
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I disconnected all devices except my phone to rule them out and there was no change in speed. So it might the router itself, maybe? If the router were on it's way out, could only one band be affected while the rest of the router behaves normally?
 
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Ralston18

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
Oct 11, 2014
35,019
3,351
146,290
Yes that is possible. Just takes one component/circuit to fail/start failing and some functionality is lost.

E.g., a power supply issue would probably affect the entire router but if different voltages are being supplied (as is the case with a PSU) then only those components provided some particular voltage would suffer.

One option you have is to download one of those wireless tools that monitors frequencies and channels.

Load the app on one of your phones and monitor the 2.4 GHz frequency and the channels being used.

Look for dropouts or even signs of interference (even if interference is not suspected).

Here is a link from which to start:

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2925081/wi-fi/7-free-wi-fi-stumbling-and-surveying-tools-for-windows-and-mac.html

As always, be careful about what you download and what else may be "packaged" with it. And look out for fake buttons that appear to be the tool but actually download and install something else.

There are other such programs so google words and phrases such as "wireless network monitoring tools free".

You do not need all the whistles and bells some of them offer. You just want to be able to see if your 2.4 GHz is actually vanishing or dropping out from time to time.
 
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