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xfinity + s33 + Deco M5 Mesh slow speed internet connection

  • 21 December 2023
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I have been getting 80-120 Mbps on a 1200 Mbps Xfinity service. Yesterday I was told my old Arris is no longer supported, so I replaced with a new Arris S33. My home is 2 stories and ~3500 square feet. My modem and router are upstairs in a bedroom centrally located. I have a Deco M5 Mesh network with 3 stations - one in the bedroom upstairs near the router and two downstairs to reach the rest of the house. With the replaced router, I get 350Mbps in the bedroom and directly below it when testing speed on my iPhone 15 and brand new HP laptop.  I am unable to get my laptop to recognize the Ethernet network when I plug directly into the Arris modem, but it works fine when I plug into the connected Deco router. When I move into the bonus room over the garage, the speed drops by 65% to around 120Mbps. There is an electrical fuse panel below the bonus room and past that panel is where the speed seems to drop significantly. I have run all of the power setting tests that I found in a moderator response and they seem fine. Comcast is sending a technician in a few hours and I fear they are just going to blame my hardware. Also, when I run a speed tests within the Deco app, it says 800-900 Mbps, but I cannot get this speed on any device. So, my questions are:

 

  1. How can I ensure the the Arris modem is working properly?
  2. Anything I can say to Xfinity to get their speeds up to 1200 - or at least half of that?
  3. Any ideas why the Deco app reads so high when all devices max out around 350? 
  4. Has anyone experienced WiFi degradation when passing over a large (whole home) breaker panel?
  5. To this point, with a more than powerful enough mesh network, is there anything else I should be trying?  
     

I’ve been on the carousel before with service providers and hardware companies. I’m trying to proactively avoid the finger pointing and ultimately getting billed for a technician to say it’s my hardware.  
 

Thanks so much for your help. Let me know if any questions. 

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Best answer by SURFboard Moderator 2 January 2024, 04:27

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plemans
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If the deco is reporting 800-900mbps, you’re modem is putting out full speed. wireless won’t hit the same speeds as wired. the 350mbps max you’re hitting tends to be about the max that system can do from the main router. the deco m5 is a your bottleneck and here’s why. 

  1. its not rated multigig. It only has gigabit ports so you’ll max out at that 900mbps hardwired
  2. its only a dual band mesh system. You’ll get the fastest speeds at the router. the satellites are going to get half the speed the router does because they don’t have a dedicated backhaul. Plus they’ll take a speed hit from distance/obstruction as well. So they’ll be significantly slower. 
  3. the router/satellites max out with a 866mbps 5ghz link speed. And thats link speed, not actual throughput. Throughput tends to be 55-65% of link speed. And thats if you’re really close to them. Add in distance from router, you’ll expect less. And you have to remember the satellites are going to be even slower than that. 

Basically the deco is holding you back. Its a lower end mesh system. but even if it wasn’t, most devices aren’t going to max out gigabit speeds over wireless until you get into the much higher end systems. 

Current setup: Netgear CM3000-->Netgear RBE973S-->2.5gig tp-link switch, Xfinity 1.4gig/240mbps
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Update…

Xfinity found the hardware at the pole was rusted out and the signal was failing when it reached the house. They replaced the line and the hardware. The service is now testing 1800 Mbps. But the signal out of the Arris S33 is still only 300-350. He tried to plug directly into it with Ethernet- bypassing wireless and mesh. He couldn’t get the router to connect. I had the same issue before their service upgrade. Now I’m wondering if the unstable signal could have ruined the router?  Is that possible?  The tech wondered the same thing. I saw with my own eyes the difference between the before and after signal into the house. Xfinity tech really went above and beyond - even called in a bucket truck to get to the hardware and was here for 3 hours. Now, I’m wondering if the S33 I have is faulty or if I need to return it and get a Netgear Nighthawk?  

plemans
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Only 1 device can be connected to the modem at a time. to directly connect to it, you’d need to power off the modem for a few minutes. then connect a pc/laptop to it and boot it up. 

And the M5 is the bottleneck. That’s been explained. 

Current setup: Netgear CM3000-->Netgear RBE973S-->2.5gig tp-link switch, Xfinity 1.4gig/240mbps
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After Rebooting , check on S33 directly connect to an ethernet port Laptop or Computer and check if you are able to go online ? Do a Reset on the modem and run a speed test.net to know the current speed ?

Also, check the cable signal levels and LED lights of S33.

Check the below links for Factory Reset and Cable Signal Levels:

http://arris.force.com/consumers/articles/General_FAQs/S33-Factory-Reset

http://arris.force.com/consumers/articles/General_FAQs/S33-Cable-Signal-Levels

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plemans
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did you get a direct connect speed?

Current setup: Netgear CM3000-->Netgear RBE973S-->2.5gig tp-link switch, Xfinity 1.4gig/240mbps
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