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Really Slow WiFi w/ New 8305C Router

A

AlanD96

Lurker
I just updated my home network with a new Modem/Router from Comcast, the Technicolor 8305C. I've got several devices on the wireless network, including the brand new Samsung Galaxy Tab S, and they all report download speeds approaching 75 Mbps and Upload Speeds of around 25.

All that is, except my trusty Galaxy S4 which reports a download speed of about 4 Mbps. Its upload speed is fine at 25. This is so weird because with my ancient Linksys router upload and download speeds were great.

I hesitate to make any changes to the router, because as I said all the other devices I have online, including my fussy Nest Thermostat are happy. The signal level on the phone is full bars.

I was wondering if any of you fine people have heard of anything like this and if there's a setting on the phone I could change.

Thanks again!
 
Curiously, I noted a similar event on my S4 the other day using the Speedtest app. I changed servers and retested, and the results came back normal (around 15 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up on basic Fios). So, try again with different servers and see what happens. I would definitely not change any router settings if everything else is working fine. BTW are you running with SSID broadcast set to off on the router?
 
Hi allanlaw, thanks for replying,

I've tried several different servers, all with the same result.

My SSID is still on, which is the default. Do you think that would make any difference?
 
Over the years, I've had issues with some phones on my wifi if I've had SSID broadcast turned off, like my old DROID. I could see the signal strength pulsing up and down. As a result, I got in the habit of just leave SSID on.
 
I FOUND the problem as to the slow wi-fi connection on the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Comcast 8305C Gateway!

The trouble is the Galaxy S4 phone does not like TKIP/AES security mode which is the default on the 8305C. If you change the security mode to TKIP only, the speed of your phone goes right back to normal, in the 20-30 Mbps range from the 4 Mbps we get with the TKIP/AES combination.

HOWEVER

If you change this, the speed of your other devices on your network drop dramatically. I usually get 80-90 Mbps speed, if I change the security setting to TKIP only, the speed of everything else drops down to 25 or so.
Therefore you have to decide if its worth crippling the speed of your laptops, tablets etc. on your network, to keep your S4 happy. As much as I'd like to throw the S4 into the river, I have another year to go on its contract.
 
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