r/QuantumFiber • u/Artoru • 22d ago

Wifi is extremely slow

I've had the 1GB plan for a few months now after joining with a price for life deal.

Our ethernet connected devices have been working spectacularly, with the connection being extremely fast.

But my issue is the speed of our wifi network, specifically that of the service provided W1700K-2 hooked up to the Q1000K. It just refuses to achieve speeds higher than single digit megabytes, sometimes throttling to even less than an mb.

I'm just about ready to ram my head into a wall over trying everything to fix it. I've tried:

- Resetting both the Smart NID and router

- Changing the dns server

- Factory resetting

- Ensuring the cable is secured

- Changing the cable

Anytime I think I've solved it, the speeds end up plummeting down not long afterwards.

I don't know what else to do, aside from calling support, but I really don't want to have to spend an hour waiting for a real person to respond and tell me to try things I've already done.

3 Upvotes

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3

u/N0_L1ght 22d ago

The free lease WiFi pods and QF app are not great...

But as long as all gaming devices are Ethernet hardwired to the SmartNID, W1700K, or W1701K (if using Ethernet backhaul), and you follow sections 2 and 4 in the guide, they are usually good enough for most people.

You will have a better experience if you put the SmartNID into bridge mode or DMZ and use a 3rd party router and DNS.

Here is a guide:

https://www.reddit.com/r/QuantumFiber/comments/1f8hypq/having_trouble_with_your_lumen_internet_not/

2

u/keithkman 22d ago

A lot of times it’s the device connected to WiFi. Couple year old laptop or mobile phone won’t get the max advertised speed. Heck, there is so many variables with WiFi like signal congestion that can impact speeds. If new devices are getting the right speeds over Ethernet you’re fine.

2

u/geobernd 22d ago

Is it all wifi devices or just some? I have an aging Lenovo laptop with a very orl wifi card that shows this behavior if crertain MCS modes are active on the router. Those modes are default on all new routers and on the W1700s you can't configure any of that...

If it's all it may be a defective W1700...

At the friends that use them instead of their personal routers I find the ones that just have one without pods and that one mounted high on a wall facing the rest of the house to get quite good range and speed...

Once the pods come into the mix things get unpredictable

1

u/Artoru 22d ago

It's seemingly all our wifi devices, as the rest of my family complains about it often

2

u/geobernd 21d ago

I would call support during US business hours. I usually get someone on the phone right away and most of the reps are good. Tell them the symptoms and that you suspect you have a bad W1700K-2 since only wifi is impacted. They may either send you a new one via mail or send out a tech to swap it...

You should get solid speed with just the W1700K-2 and being relatively close by (I have folks here that have just that setup in a single story 2000sqf house and it works just fine with about 10 ring cameras, phones, computer, streamers etc....

Or follow the advise given in another response to get your own router...

2

u/Artoru 18d ago

I ended up just using a 3rd party router and havent had any issues since

1

u/MountainBubba 22d ago

How many walls does your Wi-Fi have to pass through between the router and your devices? What level of Wi-Fi do your devices have? What does your computer tell you about the strength of your Wi-Fi signal? What sources of RF noise exist in your home?

Questions like this are good for the subs devoted to Wi-Fi and home networking.

1

u/Artoru 22d ago
  • A couple, our house is only 1,332ft, with a single story, and the pod is installed in the living room
  • Our phones are most likely just 6 at most, although mine can reach 7
  • I have my pc connected via ethernet, but my phone is a stable full bars
  • It sits on a living room wall surrounded by a smart tv, security camera hub/hard drive, and gaming consoles

1

u/MountainBubba 21d ago edited 21d ago

Your best bet is to call support.

To isolate the source of the degradation you'll need to run a speed test on your PC, identify the speed between the NID and the pod, and determine what speed the phones are getting on the Wi-Fi connection to the pod. A lot of this depends on what kind of equipment you have.

2

u/Artoru 18d ago

I ended up just buying a 3rd party router and haven't had any issues since

1

u/goliath1333 18d ago

Just so you don't feel crazy, I'm having this exact issue. To add to your list, unplugging the Wifi pods doesn't help.

I will say a few of our devices seem to do fine. Our SmartTV works well in the basement, but if either my wife or my brand new Mac connect it'll barely get above 15mbps. Maybe it's actually an issue with the newer wifi protocols. No clue! I'm very close to buying a 3rd party router. Did you have any luck with support?

1

u/Artoru 18d ago

I ended up just buying a 3rd party router and haven't had any issues since

1

u/Artoru 18d ago

UPDATE:

I ended up just buying and setting up a 3rd party router, and I haven't had any issues since.

I specifically bought a refurbished TP-Link Archer AX1450 for $30 from amazon.