Frontier claims their router is better than most (Including my AX88U)

[jorgsmash]

So I have lately been pretty disappointed with my Internet speeds from Frontier. I'm near Tampa, and am using Frontier fiber with advertised 990/880 down/up I think. I can't remember the exact values but it's supposed to be close to a gig for both upload and download. Of course, I'm not using the Frontier router. I bought an AX88U to utilize the QoS and game like a pro! So I have SpdMerlin installed and apparently the Cli for speedtest.net has issues so my reported speeds are wrong in SpdMerlin. But it usually shows around 300-400 for both down/up. If I run a speedtest from a laptop plugged in via Ethernet cable, I get varying results ranging from 100-450 down. I've never gotten anything higher. I'm not sure if the actual laptop is bottlenecking the service or not but I would think it should be able to handle close to 800-900 down.

So lately my streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max) have all been buffering like crazy. I have two Smart TVs, and two PlayStations that all have the streaming services on them (not all streaming at the same time, mind you) and I will get times where the picture quality is just butt. It gets better of course but then it will degrade again and then get better. Just a cycle. Very annoying and I don't know who to blame. I had Flex QoS enabled and decided to turn it off for a week or so to see if that made any difference and it didn't. I have it turned back on now.

One major concern I have is this: When the PS4 (or other device) is streaming something, the bandwidth monitor shows it's only using like 3-8Mbps download speed. And I'm thinking that 3-8 Mbps download speed is causing buffer spikes and it should be more like 30-80 Mbps for streaming.

So I call Frontier, already knowing what they're going to say: "Oh you have to use our router to get our advertised speeds. It's designed specifically for our service so you need to use that one."

So I'm wondering if I should try out the Frontier router or not, or just keep tweaking with QoS and maybe switch to Cake QoS instead of Flex QoS. I can post any settings or configs that you smart people need to look at to see if there's something configured wrong. Thanks for reading!

 

[aex.perez]

Can't speak to Frontier, but I have AT&T 1Gb fiber, no QOS on my AX88u. I get , depending what scripts I'm running on the router, 400D/600U on the low side, and 800D/700U on the high side. PC consistently get 930 to 980 up and down using the Windows app, not browser. You can see how the Router CPU performs and the results I get depending on where I run the Ookla Speedtest from. At my worst I have my three TVs streaming (1080 HD 1.5 to 2.5Mbps Stream), while gaming on the PC and pings/jitter as recorded from conmon are about 4.3ms (to 8.8.8.8) with a jitter of 0.25. Oddly enough I use Frontier's Speedtest server in Miami as my target most times. Even with a 4K UHD/HDR10/5.1 stream I see peaks of 15mbps on scenes with lots of action and sound (Disney+), still with plenty of BW for everything else like Nest Cams on the Android Tablets that monitor them without buffering...

Trying running without QOS and see what you get.
I've read mixed, inconclusive results about using QOS with as much bandwidth as you/I have.

 

[Kanji-San]

Definitely turn off QoS and reboot the router! The AX88U (using 384.xx) has issues deleting tc rules when you change the FlexQoS configuration options in the WebUI. This is resolved after a reboot or in 386.xx.

The hardwired laptop should definitely show you the full up/down speeds. If this is not the case, stop there and figure out why.

Are the streaming devices wired or wireless? Try wired and see if there is still buffering.

 

[cptnoblivious]

So, if you physically have their router, test it out and document the speed. I think that would be step 1. If it's truly faster, see how it's set up (assuming you can get into it and check the configs).

Then see if there's anything that can be tweaked to match their setup.

Or, if their stuff is slow, call back and get them to fix their service

 

[vango44]

To test your ISP speed and eliminate your router as the problem I would start by powering off the modem, disconnect the router, and plug in a device with gigabit adapter directly into the modem.
Power back up and see what speeds you get. If it's still consistently below 400mbs, then you know it's not the router.
As for the buffering, that could be a separate issue. If possible I would test that as well without the router to start.

 

[netware5]

Definitely a hard wired laptop/PC with gigabit card SHALL handle about 900 Mbit/s. If this is not the case, there is something wrong with advertized Frontier service.

 

[jorgsmash]

Definitely turn off QoS and reboot the router! The AX88U (using 384.xx) has issues deleting tc rules when you change the FlexQoS configuration options in the WebUI. This is resolved after a reboot or in 386.xx.

The hardwired laptop should definitely show you the full up/down speeds. If this is not the case, stop there and figure out why.

Are the streaming devices wired or wireless? Try wired and see if there is still buffering.

3 Are wired, 1 Wireless because of location.

To test your ISP speed and eliminate your router as the problem I would start by powering off the modem, disconnect the router, and plug in a device with gigabit adapter directly into the modem.
Power back up and see what speeds you get. If it's still consistently below 400mbs, then you know it's not the router.
As for the buffering, that could be a separate issue. If possible I would test that as well without the router to start.

So Frontier installed an ONT device, which converts the signal or something along those lines. There is no modem. It's the ONT and then my router. And frontier assigns the IP to the MAC address of the device plugged into the ONT. So if I unplug my router and plug a device directly into the ONT I might have to call them to release the IP, and then repeat that process to test out their router, and again for mine also.

 

[GHog]

The ONT is an optical/modem. If you go into your RT-AX88u and see in the setup what the IP is from Frontier, you should be able to disconnect router and connect using that IP with your laptop through hardwire. If your speed is what it is advertised from Frontier, then do a full factory reset and setup router again.

 

[jorgsmash]

The ONT is an optical/modem. If you go into your RT-AX88u and see in the setup what the IP is from Frontier, you should be able to disconnect router and connect using that IP with your laptop through hardwire. If your speed is what it is advertised from Frontier, then do a full factory reset and setup router again.

I'll give that a shot when I get a chance. Thanks!

 

[GHog]

Go into router and make sure the MTU value is set. Some ISP require 1492 and some 1500. I would enter 1500 for and then test.

 

[jorgsmash]

Go into router and make sure the MTU value is set. Some ISP require 1492 and some 1500. I would enter 1500 for and then test.

It's already set to 1500.

 

[CaptainSTX]

When connecting your PC directly to the ONT be sure that the PC can transfer data at gig speeds. Just because the PC has a gigabit port doesn't mean it can transfer data at that rate.

 

[jerry6]

When connecting your PC directly to the ONT be sure that the PC can transfer data at gig speeds. Just because the PC has a gigabit port doesn't mean it can transfer data at that rate.

that amd make sure you use the right cable that is capable of gig speeds . I don't see how the frontier router would be any faster than your Asus . i've always found ISP routers slow and out of date FW security wise .
GOOD LUCK

 

[ChatmanR]

I also have Frontier Gigabit. I use my router only. It's a RT-AC86U using Merlin using 384.19 with FlexOS v 1.1.0. My speeds avg 880/880 at 0500 when things are quiet.

 

[jorgsmash]

I also have Frontier Gigabit. I use my router only. It's a RT-AC86U using Merlin using 384.19 with FlexOS v 1.1.0. My speeds avg 880/880 at 0500 when things are quiet.
View attachment 29173

What are you using to test your speeds? The SpdMerlin addon is messed up right? It only goes to around 3-400 from what I've read.

 

[sbsnb]

One major concern I have is this: When the PS4 (or other device) is streaming something, the bandwidth monitor shows it's only using like 3-8Mbps download speed. And I'm thinking that 3-8 Mbps download speed is causing buffer spikes and it should be more like 30-80 Mbps for streaming.

Buffering causes speed problems, not the other way 'round. If you're suffering from buffer bloat it means too much data is trying to go through the pipe at once and it's getting buffered, causing slow speeds as the data has to "wait its turn" in the buffer before making its way through the pipe. It's like a 4-lane highway funneling down to one lane. If the highway is full of traffic the bottleneck will bring everything to a halt, but the bottleneck will have little effect if the 4 lanes are only flowing at a rate that can be carried by one.

As others have posted, if you plug an Ethernet cable directly into the ONT and see the same speeds the problem may lie with your provisioning.

 

[CaptnDanLKW]

Lately its been my experience that QOS causes more headaches than it solves for MOST people with anything over say 200/10. I'm at 650/20 now and have my order in for 1g/1g fiber service.

I threw in the towel about a year ago, shut it off and never looked back. Even when something is consuming 100% of the upstream or downstream bandwidth, response time is still very reasonable, and never affects my VOIP or video services, which I'm on all day long, every day.

As others said, the QOS rules seem to go wonky as you apply/re-apply... then there's the addons. And you have to be careful not to flip an option which disables HW acceleration. Then there are times were HW acceleration says its on but your performance acts like its off, so you reboot and then it shows off.. and you have to figure out why, and you spiral down the rabbit hole.

YMMV and this is just my personal experience.

 

[jpthsd]

To test your ISP speed and eliminate your router as the problem I would start by powering off the modem, disconnect the router, and plug in a device with gigabit adapter directly into the modem.
Power back up and see what speeds you get. If it's still consistently below 400mbs, then you know it's not the router.
As for the buffering, that could be a separate issue. If possible I would test that as well without the router to start.

FiOS has no modem ,,,it's switching from Fiber to Ethernet 1Gbps. Basically, he just needs to connect his laptop to the Fiber's Ethernet and test the speed!

 

[jorgsmash]

Buffering causes speed problems, not the other way 'round. If you're suffering from buffer bloat it means too much data is trying to go through the pipe at once and it's getting buffered, causing slow speeds as the data has to "wait its turn" in the buffer before making its way through the pipe. It's like a 4-lane highway funneling down to one lane. If the highway is full of traffic the bottleneck will bring everything to a halt, but the bottleneck will have little effect if the 4 lanes are only flowing at a rate that can be carried by one.

As others have posted, if you plug an Ethernet cable directly into the ONT and see the same speeds the problem may lie with your provisioning.

I've never heard of this analogy. So I'm wondering, aside from my home wifi, say I'm trying to load a youtube video on my phone and I'm on cellular data. If my phone is on a 3g connection, the speed is so slow it won't load the youtube video and it will buffer endlessly. How is that not a speed problem causing the buffering because the connection is so slow?

 

[sbsnb]

If my phone is on a 3g connection, the speed is so slow it won't load the youtube video and it will buffer endlessly. How is that not a speed problem causing the buffering because the connection is so slow?

That's a different buffer. Computers have tons of'em. The buffering of a Youtube video is in your browser, not on any networking equipment. The browser wants to load at least a few seconds of video before it starts playing so that the video won't start and stop constantly. And even in that case the speed isn't causing buffering, the buffering always happens. The difference is that it's usually so fast you don't notice it.