Pls help with my 45Mbps service

It can be hard to get more than 20-25 Mbps on a 802.11n connection (it's not possible at all on an 802.11g connection).  This is a limitation of the wireless protocol and the environment.

You could get another wireless router, and it may get better.  Note that your devices probably only support 802.11n, not 802.11ac (I know the 5s doesn't support ac).  You have the option of telling to treat your router in IP Passthrough mode (similar to bridge mode, see post 2 in this thread) or you can operate your router as an Access Point (see post 2 in this thread).

Can I ask if there's some expected benefit to having a faster connection to these wireless devices?  20 Mbps is more than enough to stream video, and download most files in a reasonable time.  Unless you're downloading video to retain on the device, I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

Hi JefferMC,

thank you for the reply.  fyi, when it comes to stuff like this, my skill level and knowledge would be a 4 out of a 10.  I think my frustrations stem from having the 26Mbps service for the past year and getting around 12-14 wireless consistently.  Then when a family down the street tells me they upgraded to the 45Mbps and is getting most of it through wireless because they had a new modem installed (he's talking about the nvg589) i had some hope that i can finally feel the speed i'm paying for.  So i upgraded too and did receive a bump in speeds but it seems i get half of what i pay for.  

so it sounds like my options are as follows, 

1.  IP Passthrough mode

2.  Access Point mode

3.  Dual band wireless router

Of the 3, which one do i stand the most gain?

Also, i have an amazon fire tv box and it just freezes/buffering constantly when watching a movie.  I also have started downloading bigger files (movies) in hopes of making my own htpc/media server set up in the next 6 months or so...budget willing.

Thank you again for all your help.

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@Cu007611 wrote:

Hi JefferMC,

 

thank you for the reply.  fyi, when it comes to stuff like this, my skill level and knowledge would be a 4 out of a 10.  I think my frustrations stem from having the 26Mbps service for the past year and getting around 12-14 wireless consistently.  Then when a family down the street tells me they upgraded to the 45Mbps and is getting most of it through wireless because they had a new modem installed (he's talking about the nvg589) i had some hope that i can finally feel the speed i'm paying for.  So i upgraded too and did receive a bump in speeds but it seems i get half of what i pay for.  

 

so it sounds like my options are as follows, 

 

1.  IP Passthrough mode

2.  Access Point mode

3.  Dual band wireless router

 

Of the 3, which one do i stand the most gain?

 

Also, i have an amazon fire tv box and it just freezes/buffering constantly when watching a movie.  I also have started downloading bigger files (movies) in hopes of making my own htpc/media server set up in the next 6 months or so...budget willing.

 

Thank you again for all your help.

---

#1 and #2 are mutually exclusive.  #3 is complementary to either #1 or #2, i.e. you can purchase a dual-band wireless router and operate it in either mode #1 or mode #2.

I see I made a mistake in the earlier post.  I gave a link to reply #2 for both operating modes, the correct link for Access Point is https://forums.att.com/t5/Third-Party-Devices/U-verse-for-BUSINESS-2Wire-3600HGV-bridge-mode-or-another-AT-amp/m-p/3262167

#1 means that your Residential Gateway (RG) does very little with your Internet traffic and passes it all to your Router, which then can do things like hand out your choice of DNS server, implement access restrictions and things like guest networks and time of day restrictions.  You need to configure this second network with a different DHCP IP range, and you should turn off the wireless on your RG.  This will disable your ability to use the U-verse Connected smart phone apps (like the Remote Control or Jukebox).

#2 means that your RG still handles Internet Routing, etc., and that your Wireless Router (or Access Point if you chose to buy one) only acts as a switch and repeater.  You can actually still keep your RG's wireless on and place your Wireless device away from it to enhance overall coverage.  This normally simplifies your setup and preserves the U-verse Connected functionality.

I normally recommend #1 for those who want more control over how the Internet is handled and #2 for those who want simplicity.