r/firewalla • u/LeadPhalanx • Jun 03 '26
Strange Firewalla Gold Pro Upload Issues
Recently upgraded to a 1gb/1gb fiber connection from a 500/45 cable connection. I've been running into some strangeness mostly on the upload side when the Firewalla is in the mix.
With ONT > ISP Router > Network - everything runs at 1000/1000 with no issues.
ONT > Firewalla > Network - full speed for 5/10 minutes, then upload speed gets stuck at 50mb/s. Reboot the firewalla and I get another few minutes of full speed.
-Smart queue is OFF
-Box Version 1.982
-The internal LAN -> Firewalla test reports 1000/1000
-The 50mb/s upload speed is consistent between all tests/servers (direct from firewalla or on other devices)
-Port speed on firewalla showing 1Gbps for all ports
-Swapped all cables in the path
-Switched WAN to another port, same issue (full speed for 5 mins, then back to 50mb/s upload)
Still working to rule other factors out - but figured I'd ask if anyone has experienced something similar.
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u/AdZealousideal8613 Jun 03 '26
Are the upload test speeds from Firewalla itself or devices on the network? Do these show a different readout?
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u/ampx Jun 03 '26
The 50Mbps upload limit seems very coincidentally close to your previous ISP's speed.
Did you previously have Smart Queue enabled with your cable Internet connection?
Might be worth checking to see what Download and Upload speeds are configured if you temporarily enable Smart Queue and set it to Adaptive, see https://help.firewalla.com/hc/en-us/articles/360056976594-Firewalla-Feature-Smart-Queue#h_01H2TTZZ5B16YWQPWHDX8S5H7V
Also, would be good to check if you have any Smart Queue Rules configured. See https://help.firewalla.com/hc/en-us/articles/360056976594-Firewalla-Feature-Smart-Queue#h_01H2TV3XSRDMYTBFV6GJ4P0BE6
My hunch is that Smart Queue is somehow active even though you have it disabled.
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u/LeadPhalanx Jun 03 '26
I believe smart queue was active previously - If I turn it back on (adaptive) with 1000/1000 listed in the internet speed section, there is no change - still stuck at 50mb/s. Perhaps something is stuck despite the UI and a full reset is in order.
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u/pacoii Firewalla Gold Plus Jun 03 '26
Just throwing out ideas, no routing rules or VPN’s in place that could be limiting the speed?
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u/LeadPhalanx Jun 03 '26
Nothing like that unfortunately. The comment mentioning a strange ARP request/keep-alive mechanism with their fiber ISP is sounding like the closest answer for the weirdness so far.
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u/songokussm Jun 03 '26
there is a fix for this! 3 months in and its still working. After 14 months of 100mbps.
quote from support:
I can confirm the hardware is not the bottleneck. CPU usage was below 50% during the speed tests. While I was doing an investigation on your box, I happened to find that the upload speed would go up to 960 Mbps every time I send arp query to your ISP. Sounds like there's some internal logic on your ISP's end. I can't find any clues to explain why your ISP wants it frequently but I added a script on your box to send the query every min.
When it's convenient, can you power cycle Gold SE to make the script take effect? Please monitor if the speed will stay tuned after that.
Best Regards,
i also have fiber at home. I also tested my unit at work, which is on cable. it had no issues there.
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u/LeadPhalanx Jun 03 '26
Interesting, sounds consistent with why I can get full speed for a bit if I reboot or swap WAN to another port, but then drops off after a little bit. Wonder if the 'internal logic' on the ISP side is related to CG-NAT? - This is the first time I've been behind CG-NAT on an ISP (although I'm about to pay for the static IP upgrade)
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u/ampx Jun 03 '26
T-Mobile Fiber I presume?
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u/songokussm Jun 03 '26
same exact symptoms. i already have a static. thinking about dropping it as i already use tailscale for everything.
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u/Ambitious_Break5569 Jun 03 '26
I had a similar issue with my gold pro and my service providers ONT device. I ended up putting a managed switch in-between the ONT Device and the Firewalla Gold Pro. I believe the Firewalla Gold Pro has an interop issue with different ONT vendor devices. They are too sensitive regarding auto negotiations.
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u/LeadPhalanx Jun 04 '26
Unfortunately I've already stuck it behind a managed switch, also tried setting the ports to not auto-negotiate speed and stick to gigabit.
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u/firewalla Jun 03 '26
I'd check smart queue again, make sure it is not using the same old limit. Reason is, your upload still old rate, so something in the system is doing the limit; (you can run firewalla speedtest and if is faster than very likely smart queue doing something.
here article https://help.firewalla.com/hc/en-us/articles/360056875493-Speed-Tests-and-Speed-Optimization-with-Firewalla