How can I adjust my router to allow my ISP's full speed?












4















My ISP advertises 100+ Mbps download speeds. I have only been getting about 25 Mbps, so I contacted a support agent and was told that if I'm connecting through a router, there might be something misconfigured that would be hampering my speed. I was skeptical, but I followed the agent's instructions to power cycle my cable modem and connect directly to it with Ethernet, instead of through the router. Lo and behold, I instantly achieved 105 Mbps. So what on Earth is going on with my router? The help agent wasn't super easy to understand, but she mentioned something about "bad channel" and contacting Linksys. I'm wondering if there are just some configuration issues I don't know about that are limiting my speeds.



My router is a Cisco/Linksys EA4500. Most of my devices connect to it wirelessly. My main PC connects via Ethernet to one of its 4 physical ports. The router is fed from a cable modem that was provided by my ISP.



For what it's worth, I know I enabled some sort of "smart traffic prioritization" feature on my router that would supposedly smartly identify media content from specified devices (ie Netflix on iPad and Blu-Ray player) and give those packets the highest priority. I wouldn't think this would translate to "automatically limit all other devices to 1/4th of the available speed" but who knows?










share|improve this question

























  • @Chipperyman it says in the question that bubbleking did exactly that and did achieve the advertised speed.

    – David Z
    Oct 13 '14 at 0:54











  • There is nothing you can do if your not getting full speeds with the correct hardware. Without knowing exactly what was said...

    – Ramhound
    Oct 13 '14 at 0:55











  • @Chipperyman - That's what is weird. I get 105 Mbps when plugged directly into modem. When going through the router, I only get 25 Mbps.

    – bubbleking
    Oct 13 '14 at 1:00











  • Have you tried changing the ethernet cable? If it's a particularly long cable or it passes close to other electrical wires, this could cause the problem you are experiencing.

    – Andy Gee
    Oct 13 '14 at 1:03











  • Another possible solution is to check the QoS (Quality of Service) settings. By default it's enabled, try disabling it and see if there's any difference.

    – Andy Gee
    Oct 13 '14 at 1:05
















4















My ISP advertises 100+ Mbps download speeds. I have only been getting about 25 Mbps, so I contacted a support agent and was told that if I'm connecting through a router, there might be something misconfigured that would be hampering my speed. I was skeptical, but I followed the agent's instructions to power cycle my cable modem and connect directly to it with Ethernet, instead of through the router. Lo and behold, I instantly achieved 105 Mbps. So what on Earth is going on with my router? The help agent wasn't super easy to understand, but she mentioned something about "bad channel" and contacting Linksys. I'm wondering if there are just some configuration issues I don't know about that are limiting my speeds.



My router is a Cisco/Linksys EA4500. Most of my devices connect to it wirelessly. My main PC connects via Ethernet to one of its 4 physical ports. The router is fed from a cable modem that was provided by my ISP.



For what it's worth, I know I enabled some sort of "smart traffic prioritization" feature on my router that would supposedly smartly identify media content from specified devices (ie Netflix on iPad and Blu-Ray player) and give those packets the highest priority. I wouldn't think this would translate to "automatically limit all other devices to 1/4th of the available speed" but who knows?










share|improve this question

























  • @Chipperyman it says in the question that bubbleking did exactly that and did achieve the advertised speed.

    – David Z
    Oct 13 '14 at 0:54











  • There is nothing you can do if your not getting full speeds with the correct hardware. Without knowing exactly what was said...

    – Ramhound
    Oct 13 '14 at 0:55











  • @Chipperyman - That's what is weird. I get 105 Mbps when plugged directly into modem. When going through the router, I only get 25 Mbps.

    – bubbleking
    Oct 13 '14 at 1:00











  • Have you tried changing the ethernet cable? If it's a particularly long cable or it passes close to other electrical wires, this could cause the problem you are experiencing.

    – Andy Gee
    Oct 13 '14 at 1:03











  • Another possible solution is to check the QoS (Quality of Service) settings. By default it's enabled, try disabling it and see if there's any difference.

    – Andy Gee
    Oct 13 '14 at 1:05














4












4








4








My ISP advertises 100+ Mbps download speeds. I have only been getting about 25 Mbps, so I contacted a support agent and was told that if I'm connecting through a router, there might be something misconfigured that would be hampering my speed. I was skeptical, but I followed the agent's instructions to power cycle my cable modem and connect directly to it with Ethernet, instead of through the router. Lo and behold, I instantly achieved 105 Mbps. So what on Earth is going on with my router? The help agent wasn't super easy to understand, but she mentioned something about "bad channel" and contacting Linksys. I'm wondering if there are just some configuration issues I don't know about that are limiting my speeds.



My router is a Cisco/Linksys EA4500. Most of my devices connect to it wirelessly. My main PC connects via Ethernet to one of its 4 physical ports. The router is fed from a cable modem that was provided by my ISP.



For what it's worth, I know I enabled some sort of "smart traffic prioritization" feature on my router that would supposedly smartly identify media content from specified devices (ie Netflix on iPad and Blu-Ray player) and give those packets the highest priority. I wouldn't think this would translate to "automatically limit all other devices to 1/4th of the available speed" but who knows?










share|improve this question
















My ISP advertises 100+ Mbps download speeds. I have only been getting about 25 Mbps, so I contacted a support agent and was told that if I'm connecting through a router, there might be something misconfigured that would be hampering my speed. I was skeptical, but I followed the agent's instructions to power cycle my cable modem and connect directly to it with Ethernet, instead of through the router. Lo and behold, I instantly achieved 105 Mbps. So what on Earth is going on with my router? The help agent wasn't super easy to understand, but she mentioned something about "bad channel" and contacting Linksys. I'm wondering if there are just some configuration issues I don't know about that are limiting my speeds.



My router is a Cisco/Linksys EA4500. Most of my devices connect to it wirelessly. My main PC connects via Ethernet to one of its 4 physical ports. The router is fed from a cable modem that was provided by my ISP.



For what it's worth, I know I enabled some sort of "smart traffic prioritization" feature on my router that would supposedly smartly identify media content from specified devices (ie Netflix on iPad and Blu-Ray player) and give those packets the highest priority. I wouldn't think this would translate to "automatically limit all other devices to 1/4th of the available speed" but who knows?







networking wireless-networking router wireless-router






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













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share|improve this question








edited Jan 14 at 20:07









Hennes

59k792141




59k792141










asked Oct 13 '14 at 0:51









bubblekingbubbleking

163111




163111













  • @Chipperyman it says in the question that bubbleking did exactly that and did achieve the advertised speed.

    – David Z
    Oct 13 '14 at 0:54











  • There is nothing you can do if your not getting full speeds with the correct hardware. Without knowing exactly what was said...

    – Ramhound
    Oct 13 '14 at 0:55











  • @Chipperyman - That's what is weird. I get 105 Mbps when plugged directly into modem. When going through the router, I only get 25 Mbps.

    – bubbleking
    Oct 13 '14 at 1:00











  • Have you tried changing the ethernet cable? If it's a particularly long cable or it passes close to other electrical wires, this could cause the problem you are experiencing.

    – Andy Gee
    Oct 13 '14 at 1:03











  • Another possible solution is to check the QoS (Quality of Service) settings. By default it's enabled, try disabling it and see if there's any difference.

    – Andy Gee
    Oct 13 '14 at 1:05



















  • @Chipperyman it says in the question that bubbleking did exactly that and did achieve the advertised speed.

    – David Z
    Oct 13 '14 at 0:54











  • There is nothing you can do if your not getting full speeds with the correct hardware. Without knowing exactly what was said...

    – Ramhound
    Oct 13 '14 at 0:55











  • @Chipperyman - That's what is weird. I get 105 Mbps when plugged directly into modem. When going through the router, I only get 25 Mbps.

    – bubbleking
    Oct 13 '14 at 1:00











  • Have you tried changing the ethernet cable? If it's a particularly long cable or it passes close to other electrical wires, this could cause the problem you are experiencing.

    – Andy Gee
    Oct 13 '14 at 1:03











  • Another possible solution is to check the QoS (Quality of Service) settings. By default it's enabled, try disabling it and see if there's any difference.

    – Andy Gee
    Oct 13 '14 at 1:05

















@Chipperyman it says in the question that bubbleking did exactly that and did achieve the advertised speed.

– David Z
Oct 13 '14 at 0:54





@Chipperyman it says in the question that bubbleking did exactly that and did achieve the advertised speed.

– David Z
Oct 13 '14 at 0:54













There is nothing you can do if your not getting full speeds with the correct hardware. Without knowing exactly what was said...

– Ramhound
Oct 13 '14 at 0:55





There is nothing you can do if your not getting full speeds with the correct hardware. Without knowing exactly what was said...

– Ramhound
Oct 13 '14 at 0:55













@Chipperyman - That's what is weird. I get 105 Mbps when plugged directly into modem. When going through the router, I only get 25 Mbps.

– bubbleking
Oct 13 '14 at 1:00





@Chipperyman - That's what is weird. I get 105 Mbps when plugged directly into modem. When going through the router, I only get 25 Mbps.

– bubbleking
Oct 13 '14 at 1:00













Have you tried changing the ethernet cable? If it's a particularly long cable or it passes close to other electrical wires, this could cause the problem you are experiencing.

– Andy Gee
Oct 13 '14 at 1:03





Have you tried changing the ethernet cable? If it's a particularly long cable or it passes close to other electrical wires, this could cause the problem you are experiencing.

– Andy Gee
Oct 13 '14 at 1:03













Another possible solution is to check the QoS (Quality of Service) settings. By default it's enabled, try disabling it and see if there's any difference.

– Andy Gee
Oct 13 '14 at 1:05





Another possible solution is to check the QoS (Quality of Service) settings. By default it's enabled, try disabling it and see if there's any difference.

– Andy Gee
Oct 13 '14 at 1:05










1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes


















3














Much to my surprise, the problem was indeed the media prioritization feature of the router. When I disabled it, I was able to soar to speeds approaching 110 Mbps. I re-enabled it and once again saw my speeds drop to ~25 Mbps. Disabled it again and right back up to 105+ Mbps.



I find this shocking, and a little irresponsible on the part of Linksys to not be more specific in the included documentation regarding what this "feature" does. I assumed it was a "smart" feature that would examine packets and/or take note of IP addresses in order to determine which packets were likely to be containing streaming media, and then give those packets priority over others for the duration of a session. That is, I expected it would only give priority to the specified "media" devices when they were actively streaming content and competing for bandwidth with other devices. I did NOT expect that it would blindly limit any device not on the "media prioritized" list to less than a quarter of my bandwidth. I live alone, and I've missed out on months of high bandwidth I pay for because of this "feature."



For people of the future who might find this by a search, beware: Media Prioritization on Linksys EA4500 router will cripple the bandwidth given to your "non-media" devices. Be sure this feature will actually be useful in your scenario before enabling it. Perhaps if you have kids who chew up all of your bandwidth, you might specify your own computer/device as prioritized to ensure it gets a good chunk. Otherwise, this feature may just make things worse for you.






share|improve this answer
























  • Perhaps you just had media prioritization misconfigured. What settings did you have? What did you set "upstream bandwidth" to?

    – David Schwartz
    Mar 12 '15 at 23:35












protected by Community Feb 1 at 17:31



Thank you for your interest in this question.
Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 reputation on this site (the association bonus does not count).



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1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes








1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









3














Much to my surprise, the problem was indeed the media prioritization feature of the router. When I disabled it, I was able to soar to speeds approaching 110 Mbps. I re-enabled it and once again saw my speeds drop to ~25 Mbps. Disabled it again and right back up to 105+ Mbps.



I find this shocking, and a little irresponsible on the part of Linksys to not be more specific in the included documentation regarding what this "feature" does. I assumed it was a "smart" feature that would examine packets and/or take note of IP addresses in order to determine which packets were likely to be containing streaming media, and then give those packets priority over others for the duration of a session. That is, I expected it would only give priority to the specified "media" devices when they were actively streaming content and competing for bandwidth with other devices. I did NOT expect that it would blindly limit any device not on the "media prioritized" list to less than a quarter of my bandwidth. I live alone, and I've missed out on months of high bandwidth I pay for because of this "feature."



For people of the future who might find this by a search, beware: Media Prioritization on Linksys EA4500 router will cripple the bandwidth given to your "non-media" devices. Be sure this feature will actually be useful in your scenario before enabling it. Perhaps if you have kids who chew up all of your bandwidth, you might specify your own computer/device as prioritized to ensure it gets a good chunk. Otherwise, this feature may just make things worse for you.






share|improve this answer
























  • Perhaps you just had media prioritization misconfigured. What settings did you have? What did you set "upstream bandwidth" to?

    – David Schwartz
    Mar 12 '15 at 23:35


















3














Much to my surprise, the problem was indeed the media prioritization feature of the router. When I disabled it, I was able to soar to speeds approaching 110 Mbps. I re-enabled it and once again saw my speeds drop to ~25 Mbps. Disabled it again and right back up to 105+ Mbps.



I find this shocking, and a little irresponsible on the part of Linksys to not be more specific in the included documentation regarding what this "feature" does. I assumed it was a "smart" feature that would examine packets and/or take note of IP addresses in order to determine which packets were likely to be containing streaming media, and then give those packets priority over others for the duration of a session. That is, I expected it would only give priority to the specified "media" devices when they were actively streaming content and competing for bandwidth with other devices. I did NOT expect that it would blindly limit any device not on the "media prioritized" list to less than a quarter of my bandwidth. I live alone, and I've missed out on months of high bandwidth I pay for because of this "feature."



For people of the future who might find this by a search, beware: Media Prioritization on Linksys EA4500 router will cripple the bandwidth given to your "non-media" devices. Be sure this feature will actually be useful in your scenario before enabling it. Perhaps if you have kids who chew up all of your bandwidth, you might specify your own computer/device as prioritized to ensure it gets a good chunk. Otherwise, this feature may just make things worse for you.






share|improve this answer
























  • Perhaps you just had media prioritization misconfigured. What settings did you have? What did you set "upstream bandwidth" to?

    – David Schwartz
    Mar 12 '15 at 23:35
















3












3








3







Much to my surprise, the problem was indeed the media prioritization feature of the router. When I disabled it, I was able to soar to speeds approaching 110 Mbps. I re-enabled it and once again saw my speeds drop to ~25 Mbps. Disabled it again and right back up to 105+ Mbps.



I find this shocking, and a little irresponsible on the part of Linksys to not be more specific in the included documentation regarding what this "feature" does. I assumed it was a "smart" feature that would examine packets and/or take note of IP addresses in order to determine which packets were likely to be containing streaming media, and then give those packets priority over others for the duration of a session. That is, I expected it would only give priority to the specified "media" devices when they were actively streaming content and competing for bandwidth with other devices. I did NOT expect that it would blindly limit any device not on the "media prioritized" list to less than a quarter of my bandwidth. I live alone, and I've missed out on months of high bandwidth I pay for because of this "feature."



For people of the future who might find this by a search, beware: Media Prioritization on Linksys EA4500 router will cripple the bandwidth given to your "non-media" devices. Be sure this feature will actually be useful in your scenario before enabling it. Perhaps if you have kids who chew up all of your bandwidth, you might specify your own computer/device as prioritized to ensure it gets a good chunk. Otherwise, this feature may just make things worse for you.






share|improve this answer













Much to my surprise, the problem was indeed the media prioritization feature of the router. When I disabled it, I was able to soar to speeds approaching 110 Mbps. I re-enabled it and once again saw my speeds drop to ~25 Mbps. Disabled it again and right back up to 105+ Mbps.



I find this shocking, and a little irresponsible on the part of Linksys to not be more specific in the included documentation regarding what this "feature" does. I assumed it was a "smart" feature that would examine packets and/or take note of IP addresses in order to determine which packets were likely to be containing streaming media, and then give those packets priority over others for the duration of a session. That is, I expected it would only give priority to the specified "media" devices when they were actively streaming content and competing for bandwidth with other devices. I did NOT expect that it would blindly limit any device not on the "media prioritized" list to less than a quarter of my bandwidth. I live alone, and I've missed out on months of high bandwidth I pay for because of this "feature."



For people of the future who might find this by a search, beware: Media Prioritization on Linksys EA4500 router will cripple the bandwidth given to your "non-media" devices. Be sure this feature will actually be useful in your scenario before enabling it. Perhaps if you have kids who chew up all of your bandwidth, you might specify your own computer/device as prioritized to ensure it gets a good chunk. Otherwise, this feature may just make things worse for you.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered Oct 13 '14 at 2:08









bubblekingbubbleking

163111




163111













  • Perhaps you just had media prioritization misconfigured. What settings did you have? What did you set "upstream bandwidth" to?

    – David Schwartz
    Mar 12 '15 at 23:35





















  • Perhaps you just had media prioritization misconfigured. What settings did you have? What did you set "upstream bandwidth" to?

    – David Schwartz
    Mar 12 '15 at 23:35



















Perhaps you just had media prioritization misconfigured. What settings did you have? What did you set "upstream bandwidth" to?

– David Schwartz
Mar 12 '15 at 23:35







Perhaps you just had media prioritization misconfigured. What settings did you have? What did you set "upstream bandwidth" to?

– David Schwartz
Mar 12 '15 at 23:35







protected by Community Feb 1 at 17:31



Thank you for your interest in this question.
Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 reputation on this site (the association bonus does not count).



Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead?



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