# Help with Netis WF2780 Dual-Band AC Wireless Router Wifi Speeds (Full screen shot spread of interface on 2nd post)



## DesertRat

Summary: WiFi signal strength good, poor speeds/bandwidth when any distance away from router. Highly Congested 2.4Ghz band, issue persists on 5Ghz band. No issues w/ wired communications. On latest firmware. Everything is wired with Cat7 or Cat6 cables, and all Coax jacks in the residence have been terminated with 75ohm terminators.

Normally I'm pretty good about channel hunting and optimizing home wifi networks for best signal strength and coverage. However, I've run into a somewhat unique issue, or at least unique in regards to my difficulty in remedying it.

I recently moved into an apt w/ my best friend, and we elected to drop the mediocre Xfinity 802.11g 10/100 router when we got 105mbps service. While I had budgeted out money for network infrastructure, it was a tight budget.

Purchased a
ZyXEL BRG35503 DOCSIS 3.0 Residential Cable Modem


and a

Netis Wireless AC1200 router(Model: WF2780)


edit: BTW, I have a sneaky suspicion this is the same router as the one Monoprice brands as it's own and sells.
Monoprice AC1200 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router, Product # 11538


Herein lies the issue. There are somewhere around 3 dozen 2.4Ghz 802.11b/g/n networks around me, and every channel is highly saturated. I played and played around with channels and channel width, and 2.4Ghz wifi more than physically next to the router TANKS. Wired, I regualarly get 108-125Mbps down; over 2.4ghz, 8mbps is about max outside the room w/ the router.

I figured 5Ghz band would be better. While there are only a handful of other 5ghz band networks and I'm able to easily choose a non-overlapping channel, the speed story is similar here. The drop isn't as severe, but outside the room I'm lucky to get 25mbps on 802.11n/ac 5ghz. I've also tried several different combinations of channel and channel width. Even w/ good signal strength, and a 5ghz intel wifi adapter w/ a high gain antenna, I wasn't able to get over 10mbps on my HTPC about 30ft away(admittedly thru a small bedroom and a kitchen). On 2.4Ghz, it was getting 8 or less Mbps. Both have dropout issues w/ high-bandwidth content like netflix.

I even turned the broadcast power to the 2.4ghz network down 50% and left the 5ghz @ 100%. I also invested in shielded cables and coax terminators to further minimize interference from local sources. The strangest part is I get decent to great signal strength thoughout the apt, but speeds drop very sharply as I leave mere inches from the router.

I have 3 Networks set up.
A primary 2.4Ghz w/ WPA2-PSK AES encryption w/ a 16-character pw, hidden SSID 802.11n only, channel 11, 20mhz channel width.

A guest 2.4Ghz w/ WPA2-PSK AES encryption w/ a 10-character pw, broadcast SSID, and it's isolated from my LAN

A primary 5ghz w/ WPA2-PSK AES encryption w/ a 16-character pw, hidden SSID, 802.11n/ac only, channel 44, 20mhz channel width.

WPS is disabled across the board.
2.4Ghz broadcast power is @ 50%(no descernable difference @ 100% power)
5ghz broadcast power is @ 100%

Router is running what should be the latest firmware v1.2.30879,2014.11.11 13:11

If it is the router that's at fault, I cannot afford something like a nice Asus or Netgear nighthawk, but especially w/ the 2.4Ghz congestion, need 5ghz capability, and wanted AC as well.

I'll post screenshots of the configuration menus shortly, and I'll run a site survey so you can see just how congested it is.


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## DesertRat

So, here is the layout of my router's interface. This took awhile to screen shot everything, and then just as long to spoiler tag everything correctly so you effectively see the interface as it's laid out.

This is what the management interface on the Netis WF2780, using Firmware V1.2.30879. This is as how I have it currently configured.




Spoiler: Network






Spoiler: WAN









Spoiler: LAN









Spoiler: IPTV









Spoiler: Address Reservation









Spoiler: Operation Mode












Spoiler: Wireless 2.4G






Spoiler: Wireless Settings









Spoiler: MAC Filtering









Spoiler: WPS Setting









Spoiler: Multiple SSID









Spoiler: Wireless Advanced









Spoiler: Wireless Client List












Spoiler: Wireless 5G






Spoiler: Wireless Settings









Spoiler: MAC Filtering









Spoiler: WPS Setting









Spoiler: Multiple SSID









Spoiler: Wireless Advanced









Spoiler: Wireless Client List












Spoiler: Bandwidth Control









Spoiler: Forwarding






Spoiler: Virtual Servers









Spoiler: DMZ









Spoiler: UPnP









Spoiler: Port Triggering









Spoiler: FTP Private Port












Spoiler: Access Control






Spoiler: IP Filtering









Spoiler: MAC Filtering









Spoiler: Domain Filtering












Spoiler: Dynamic DNS









Spoiler: Advanced






Spoiler: IGMP









Spoiler: VPN









Spoiler: WOL









Spoiler: ARP List









Spoiler: Static Routing









Spoiler: Port Setting












Spoiler: System Tools






Spoiler: Firmware Upgrade









Spoiler: Backup & Restore









Spoiler: Diagnostic Tools









Spoiler: Remote Management









Spoiler: Time Settings









Spoiler: Password









Spoiler: Statistics









Spoiler: System Log









Spoiler: System Restart









Spoiler: Factory Defaults


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## coachmark2

Thanks for the variety and depth of info. I will look at this. Seems an interesting enough challenge.


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## DesertRat

Here is what my 802.11 neighborhood looks like, it's a nightmare.


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## coachmark2




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## DesertRat

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *coachmark2*


Yup... That was about my reaction when I loaded up the site survey tool on my smartphone too.

I'd totally accept that getting any semblance of speed out of the 2.4ghz band being a lost cause, but even just 5-10ft away w/ clear line of sight I get poor speeds on the 5ghz band too.


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## DesertRat

bump


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## coachmark2

In Wireless advanced, try disabling WMM, Short Guard interval, and protection.

Also, try channel 157 instead of 44.


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## DesertRat

Sadly, no improvement. I'm starting to wonder if there's a ton of interference, and it's just not putting out enough wattage to override it. IDK.

Was looking to see if it had DD-WRT, OpenWRT, or Tomato support. DD-WRT support is 99% no due to using a realtek chipset, supposedly. While OpenWRT does support some realtek chipsets, a router listed as similar to my Netis in OpenWRT's wiki was stated as not yet supported. Haven't looked at Tomato as of writing this TBH.


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## DesertRat

update: The download speed is the only speed being crippled. Upload speeds are almost the same as wired on 802.11n 2.4Ghz on auto channel.


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## GigaChip

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DesertRat*
> 
> I'd totally accept that getting any semblance of speed out of the 2.4ghz band being a lost cause, but even just 5-10ft away w/ clear line of sight I get poor speeds on the 5ghz band too.


As far as I can tell you have the only network on the 5ghz spectrum. That being said, with just 5-10ft away with LOS and getting poor speeds then it is the router at that point.

I suspect that is is overheating and if not then a faulty device. It is trying to push four antennas with dual-band functionality which is pretty stressful. I should know I have a bunch of the early Linksys dual-band N routers.


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## DesertRat

Ive accepted there is either something wrong with my particular unit, or its of an extraordinarily poor design. Spent a good couple hours last night just trying different settings to see if anything improves it, and it seriously looks like its just a very weakly pushed signal.


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## DzillaXx

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *GigaChip*
> 
> As far as I can tell you have the only network on the 5ghz spectrum. That being said, with just 5-10ft away with LOS and getting poor speeds then it is the router at that point.
> 
> I suspect that is is overheating and if not then a faulty device. It is trying to push four antennas with dual-band functionality which is pretty stressful. I should know I have a bunch of the early Linksys dual-band N routers.


I blame the Realtek hardware.

Probably was never designed for range, and the antennas themselves only can do so much. Granted he is not in the best environment, a more powerful router should help.

Also his hardware is only 2x2 for both 2.4ghz and 5ghz. They don't even share antennas, each spectrum gets two of the four.


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## DesertRat

I'll throw a fan on it as a troubleshooting step, but will look into getting the unit replaced as soon as I can. If I end up replacing the unit with another model I'll make sure it supports dd-wrt or openWRT.


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## DzillaXx

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DesertRat*
> 
> I'll throw a fan on it as a troubleshooting step, but will look into getting the unit replaced as soon as I can. If I end up replacing the unit with another model I'll make sure it supports dd-wrt or openWRT.


IMO if it was heat, you would be having random disconnects or total Wifi Crash. Your speed would not be good standing next to the router.

Also what are your walls made of?

If you do get another router, make sure it is Broadcom or Atheros based.


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## DesertRat

I live in an apartment building that looks like it was built in the 70s maybe. Interior walls should just be drywall and studs. I know its an older construction since the studs are genuinely a full 2 inches wide. Not 1 1/2 in or 1 5/8 in.


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## GigaChip

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DzillaXx*
> 
> IMO if it was heat, you would be having random disconnects or total Wifi Crash.


It's a free troubleshooting step so no reason not too.


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## DesertRat

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *GigaChip*
> 
> It's a free troubleshooting step so no reason not too.


Put a very high flow 120x38mm from a Dell full tower on it. Didn't help Wi-Fi at all unfortunately. I'll try to get an RMA on it tomorrow through the manufacturer. I'll make a separate thread for recommendations on what to replace it with, and I'll ocn mrkt or eBay the fresh from RMA unit

edit/update:

There, as far as i can tell, is nothing wrong w/ the Netis unit. I borrowed my roomie's netgear N150 2.4Ghz band from his storage, and on both the firmware that came on it, and on the latest, it has the same issues. There's just that much interference. Bought some inexpensive routers that support DD-WRT and/or OpenWRT, so gonna have some fun w/ that.


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