What is the best wireless speed for XB6 modem

[MT8014]

I upgraded my Internet package to Gig + Fibre on my XB6 modem. I also upgraded my wireless adapter to a TrendNet AC1900 dual band. Unfortunately, SpeedTest results consistently measure only 200 down. Upload speed is consistent at 99. Signal strength and interference are both good.

Does anyone know the max wireless down speed I can expect from the XB6?

Thanks.

[mdk]

@MT8014 -- what download speed do you get with an Ethernet cable ("CAT 5e" or "CAT 6", not "CAT 5")?

First, disconnect the AC power from the cable-modem. Reconnect it, and rerun the test.

You are getting 99 (out of 100) for upload, which is correct for the regions where Shaw has upgraded their network to allow this.

How fast is your computer? The Shaw SpeedTest requires at least a dual-core 2.5 Ghz processor, to run the test at full speed.

Open the Windows Task Manager, and switch to the "Performance" tab, and click on the network adapter. Then, launch the test, to see the instantaneous speed for download.

Confirm with Shaw Support that they have "provisioned" your cable-modem for "Gig" speed.

[MT8014]

There is no issue with wired performance. It is within 5% of spec for package down and spot on for up. (I.E. 950 dn & 100 up). My PC exceeds the requirements to run Shaw's Speed Test.

The original question therefore stands. What are the best wireless speeds the XB6 modem can deliver? 

[rickatk]

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@MT8014 wrote:

There is no issue with wired performance. It is within 5% of spec for package down and spot on for up. (I.E. 950 dn & 100 up). My PC exceeds the requirements to run Shaw's Speed Test.

The original question therefore stands. What are the best wireless speeds the XB6 modem can deliver? 

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I don’t know the spec off hand but I can report up to 850Mbps down on a very good day, fresh reboot, sunny blue sky and nothing else drawing on the 1Gb network. IMac i7 16Gb ram.

[MT8014]

That's great info and thanks so much for letting me know. Much appreciated.

[mdk]

@MT8014 -- What are the best wireless speeds the XB6 modem can deliver? 

If you have "Shaw Gig" speed coming into the cable-modem, that is the maximum speed that it can send "out".

From a web-page:

Wifi throughput to a 802.11ac wireless device will likely max out at around 520 Mbps (for 2x2 MIMO) to 1000 Mbps (for 4x4 MIMO)

If you have "better" than 4x4 MIMO, the transfer-rate will be faster.

Compare to a freight train pulling many cars filled with coal for delivery to Roberts Bank (near Tsawwassen, BC). Each car is filled with coal, but there are gaps between consecutive cars. Due to the "gaps", the train is not running at its theoretical capacity. Similarly, while a packet of bits may travel between the cable-modem and your WiFi adapter at 1.2 Gbps, there will be "gaps" between packets, because the incoming stream to the cable-modem is only 1.0 Gbps.  So, if you measure the speed at which the incoming packets are transferred to your disk-drive, you will see 1.0 Gbps, not 1.2 Gbps. 

You will need to upgrade to Shaw's newest cable-modem, the XB7, if you want a cable-modem that can receive more than 1.0 Gbps, and can deliver what Shaw calls "Shaw Gig WiFi" -- 1.0 Gbps to your wireless devices. The XB7 has one 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port, if you have an expensive network-adapter that can receive at faster than 1.0 Gbps, paired with a "CAT 6" Ethernet cable.

[julesdeb]

I have the 1Gb Bluecurve and have never exceeded 90Mbps download or 40Mps upload. With ethernet and wifi.
Shaw support has never helped; the only advice is to unplug the modem. That's it
My directly connected system is an Intel Core i7 6500U with 16GB RAM.
To add insult to injury, I purchased a Wifi 6 Gaming Router, TP-Link 6600 and I have it connected in bridge mode. I have Wifi 6 in an AMD Athlon 9000 series system that is specced for 300Mbps download. The TP-Link has up to 850Mbs streaming capability, or more. I also have the i7 computer still connected to a 1Gbps port but it is connected to the gaming router as it is in bridge mode.

Both the Athlon using Wifi 6 and the i7, which is directly connected to a high speed port, have similar downloads of 90Mbps and uploads of 85 Mbps. The i7 ethernet card is set to 1Gbps Full Duplex mode.

There is no excuse for this slow download speed is there? I have been paying almost $125 a month for over a year and am locked in. The only thing that looks good is the upload speed as Shaw plainly says it is 100Mbps. But I should be getting a lot lot more on the download.

I wonder if Elon's satellite internet system is going to be better...

[mdk]

@julesdeb --  have never exceeded 90Mbps download or 40Mps upload

Read the fine print along the length of the Ethernet cable. If it states "CAT 5", then your maximum speed will be 100 Mbps. You need a "CAT 5e" cable to achieve 940 Mbps download speed. A "CAT 6" cable can go faster than 1000 Mbps.

Note: multiply 940 times two (to a high power) to get a number that is 1000 times a large power of ten. It's like measuring something in yards or in meters -- different units of measure that are roughly the same.

I suggest that you contact Shaw Support ( www.shaw.ca/chat or 1-888-472-2222 ) to verify that your cable-modem is "provisioned" for the 1 Gbit service. If you live in the "right" region, you should get 100 Mbps for upload, when using the Shaw Speed Test. The Shaw Agent can also remotely logon to your cable-modem, to view its incoming "signal-strength"; bad values will cause bad speeds.

[YanBin]

You can contact SHAW support to send a technician to test, less than a tenth of the Internet speed is really puzzling.

[mdk]

@YanBin -- You can contact SHAW support to send a technician to test

If you don't want to wait a few days for a site-visit from a technician, any Shaw Agent can remotely connect to your cable-modem, to view some values, including "signal-strength" reaching your modem, while you are connected (voice or chat).