TP Link Archer C7 v2 is being maxed out..help

[Steve40th]

Well, I have great things to say about this router. But, It is being stretched. Total use is 4 laptops(all AC wifi 7260's), 2 X boxes, 1 Blue ray (Bluray and X boxes use Netflix set at SD video), 5 phones...
System is lagging during night time when all parties are doing their thing in separate rooms etc.
Router is dead center of home, 1st floor stairs with direct view of kitchen and living room.
I have Comcast blast, 89mbs down, 11-15 up depending on the day.
I think I need something a little more powerful to feed all these items.
Thoughts, suggestions?

 

[thiggins]

How many devices are in simultaneous use, what bands are they attached to and what sort of signal levels / link rates do they have?

 

[Steve40th]

How many devices are in simultaneous use, what bands are they attached to and what sort of signal levels / link rates do they have?

At night, 5 items I know are online. XBOXs x2 run on N band, Bluray N band and 2 laptops run AC/N. Phones are apples and droids... No idea what they run, if much. I know my two daughters use iPhones using wifi when home.. Its definitely at night when everyone retires to their caves.
When I check the db level of the router at my laptop using insidder, it shows -30s generally. This is with router about 40 feet away up some stairs. I can see it from where I sit.
Link rates get into the teens using speedtest, if that helps. In the mornings I can hit 89mbs.

 

[thiggins]

"N" is not a band, it's a standard. Devices could be connecting to either 2.4 or 5 GHz.

But assuming N = 2.4 GHz, your problem is likely that slower devices are limiting available bandwidth. If you want higher bandwidth / link rates, you need to have 802.11ac devices on 5 GHz.

Changing to a new router won't help, if it's the devices holding you back.

Try forcing as many devices as possible to 5 GHz by establishing different SSIDs (network names) for both bands. Then associate the device to the new SSID and delete the network profile for the 2.4 GHz SSID.

BTW, by "link rate", I mean what Windows reports in the Connection Status Window, not what Speedtest reports, which is measured throughput.

 

[Steve40th]

"N" is not a band, it's a standard. Devices could be connecting to either 2.4 or 5 GHz.

But assuming N = 2.4 GHz, your problem is likely that slower devices are limiting available bandwidth. If you want higher bandwidth / link rates, you need to have 802.11ac devices on 5 GHz.

Changing to a new router won't help, if it's the devices holding you back.

Try forcing as many devices as possible to 5 GHz by establishing different SSIDs (network names) for both bands. Then associate the device to the new SSID and delete the network profile for the 2.4 GHz SSID.

BTW, by "link rate", I mean what Windows reports in the Connection Status Window, not what Speedtest reports, which is measured throughput.

Thanks. I will change ssids tonight.
Link rate with windows start out at 866 when initially checking, then drops to 140.. In the mornings in hangs around 500's.

 

[thiggins]

866 indicates a 5 GHz AC connection. 140 (144?) is 2.4 GHz N. That tells me your client is switching bands. You can stop that by setting up the different SSIDs as I described.

Priority for moving to 5 GHz are devices that are video streaming. They hog bandwidth on the channel and do it for long times.

 

[Steve40th]

So changing the 5ghz ssid to another name and password will allow my laptop to get all the 5ghz?

 

[thiggins]

So changing the 5ghz ssid to another name and password will allow my laptop to get all the 5ghz?

The wireless password / WPA2 key can be the same. You just need unique SSIDs. And you MUST delete the old network in your network properties. Otherwise you'll still connect to the old SSID.

 

[Steve40th]

So if the other laptops/phones etc don't delete old network in network properties, will they still get the 5ghz? Even if I change the SSID name

 

[thiggins]

If you have one SSID for both bands, any dual-band client that has been connected to that SSID can connect to either band.

If you establish new, unique SSIDs for each band and remove the old SSID, then you will need to reconnect each device to the desired band(s).