Frequently asked questions about the internet speed on a TP-Link router

Q1: How do I know the actual internet speed of my connection?

A: There are various speed-test tools online. You can try one of the most popular sites: https://www.speedtest.net/ or use its app https://www.speedtest.net/apps to test the internet speed using your PC/smartphone.

* Due to network fluctuations and line disturbances in the actual speed measurement, we recommend performing multiple tests to obtain accurate results.

Q2: What does the Signal Rate in the device specifications mean?

A: Signal Rate means the maximum wireless link speed the router can provide.

The wireless link speed is the internal WLAN connection speed between the computer/wireless client and the router. The signal link speed is different from the Internet speed.

Different connection methods have different factors that affect the link speed:

* Wired connection – Ethernet Port type on the router and the adapter, and the type of Ethernet cable used.

* Wireless connection – Physical or environmental interference, Hardware specifications of router and adapter, the number of antennas, etc.

Click here to know how to check link speed.

Click here to know more about the 802.11 theoretical wireless speed.

Q3: The link speed (wireless) on the computer shows 325Mbps when the router says it is 1300Mbps capable on 5GHz, why the difference?

A: Different wireless clients will negotiate different link speeds with the wireless router, based on the wireless modes, distance, and noise level (the level of interference from other wireless transmissions).

In this example, 325Mbps means actual link speed, 1300Mbps means maximum link speed on 5GHz supported by our router.

Click here to know more details about the link speed.

Q4： Why does my wired local network link speed on the computer show 100Mbps when the router says it is 300Mbps capable?

A: 300Mbps refers to the maximum wireless link speed. The wired local network link speed is limited by the capability of router’s LAN ports, the type of Ethernet cables and the Ethernet Adapter of the computer.

If the router has 100mbps LAN ports, normally the local network link speed will show 100Mbps if the Ethernet Adapter and cable support 100Mbps.

Q5: Why do I only get 50Mbps download speed on a speed test tool, when the router says it is a 300Mbps device?

A:  300 Mbps refers to the WLAN internal link speed between the router and the computer, it is different from the actual internet speed. The internet speed is mainly limited by the lowest speed in the network path. 

  There are many factors which will affect the network speed in the network path, such as ISP, interferences, server stability, surroundings and etc.

  Click here to know more details about this question.

Q6: My Fiber internet maximum speed is 200Mbps, but I can only get a maximum speed of 90Mbps with a TP-LINK router like the 300Mbps TL-WR841N, why is this?

A: The real internet speed depends on the following: The speed you pay for, service connection type, the capability of the router, the current load on the provider's network and the types of cables used. Different routers have different capabilities to handle internet data (NAT Throughput of WAN to LAN), the maximum bandwidth TL-WR841N can handle is about 90 Mbps.

*For NAT Throughput of WAN to LAN direction of TP-link routers please refer to:

https://www.tp-link.com/support/faq/465/

Q7: Some customers claimed that after connecting to the Archer router, the wireless clients cannot get a high wireless speed even the ISP provide high bandwidth speed, besides, this speed is much lower than the official publicity, such as 450Mbps(2.4GHz), 867Mbps(5GHz).What causes this issue?

A: Here takes Archer Archer C60 as an example. The Archer C60 only has a 100M WAN port, which means the maximum transmission speed is 100Mbps through this port. The WAN port is always connected with the ISP line, so even you have a high-speed bandwidth from your ISP, you can only get a maximum of 100Mbps speed in total. This is why even the negotiating speed between wireless clients and the router can get 450Mbps(2.4GHz), 867Mbps(5GHz), however, the download or upload speed of the devices is still 100Mbps at most.

Q8: What should I do if I have a high demand for wireless speed?

A: If your bandwidth speed is higher than 100Mbps from your ISP, it’s recommended to consider a router that has a 1000Mbps WAN port, such as Archer C9/C8/C7/C5/C2, etc.

If your bandwidth speed is much lower than 100Mbps, it’s enough to choose a router which has a 100M WAN port, it does not waste your bandwidth speed, and still can provide a better transmission speed in LAN as well.

Q9: My results are showing 1MB/s download speed, but my ISP provides an 8M network, why?

A: Usually, the 8M network speed advertised by the ISP is actually 8Mbps. The following conversion relationships exist in network communication. 1MBps = 8Mbps

Mbps or Mb/s means megabits per second while MBps or MB/s means Megabytes per second, there are 8 bits in a Byte. It is important to clarify whether it is Mb or MB since they differ by a factor of 8.

Q10.What does “Fast Ethernet Port” mean?

A: Fast Ethernet Port means the maximum speed is 100Mbps; Gigabit Ethernet Port means the maximum speed is 1000Mbps.

Click here to get more detail of Link Rate and Actual wireless transmission loss.

Click here to get more detail of 802.11n, 802.11ac and 802.11ax.