1. are you testing connected to the 2.4ghz or the 5ghz? 2.4ghz is a slow network and sensitive to interference. 5ghz is alot faster but it doesn’t broadcast as far or through as much material.  That modem/router doesn’t let you run both at once so you have to make it switch from 2.4ghz to 5ghz. 
2. what device (and wifi card) are you testing on? 

That modem/router is a pretty old dual band but switchable dual band device. I’d be looking at upgrading to something newer. all newer dual band devices are simultaneous anymore. 

Not sure what I’m broadcasting on as I can’t get to the modem thru the ip they say we can use. I can be 10 feet from the modem and run a speed test on multiple device laptop both apple and pc and a chrome book and all devices only get about 20 download then can move downstairs and drops to about 16 upload is always constant at about 5 mb

If the router is set for 2.4ghz, you’re getting the fastest speeds it’ll do. 

You can always try factory resetting to get back in. 

On a person note, I’m really not sure how much work I’d put into getting that device working more. 

Its a old/slow device and really needs to be updated. the way they did the  manual switching from 2.4ghz/5ghz was a poor choice and really was a one-off setup for that. You’ll see significant speed increases by upgrading from an old wireless N device to a newer AX device or even just a AC device if you’re not paying for super fast speeds.