@MNelson 

A few questions we would want to ask:

Which wireless band are you connecting to?  5GHz or 2.4GHz?  

Have you looked into changing the channel for that band?  It would need to be done on the router?

Is the Range Extender placed where you need service or more inbetween?  We recommend it being placed in an area with a good and consistant signal that is between.

that is basically where we would start.  channel being used and placement

@Carl 

Hi Carl,

Thanks for the reply.

It's currently connecting on both bands.  

I'm in a fairly rural area, but do see some signal from neighbors.  I switched the router to ch. 44 and 11 to avoid their signal on channels 36 and 1.  

It's placed in between.  Where the extender is located, the laptop reports RSSI about -60 dBm from the router. Where I work it was about -75 dBm.  RSSI from the extender where I work is about -50dBm.  

Kind regards

Mike

@MNelson 

That should be good then.  If you move the extender closer to the router does the service speed improve?  

@Carl 

Hi,

I haven't tried that.  I did try moving it further away and the router signal was low enough it complained with red rings.  I get about -60dBm RSSI with my laptop where the extender is currently located. 

Since my ISP bandwidth is spec'd at 275Mbs, measures out at about 300Mbs from the router, and I get between 150Mbs to 180 Mbs from the extender when it's working where it's at, I'm not sure it would increase.  SInce it works half duplex I only expect it to be about hafl the router's bandwidth.  When the bandwidth drops off to < 20Mbs, a reboot of the RE650 gets it back up to 150 - 180Mbs.  

Kind regards

Mike Nelson

@MNelson 

Hi Mike,

Yes we recommend that extenders be placed in an area with a strong signal that is between the router and the area service is needed.  This is because an extender can only give what it gets.  If the signal is poor so with the extender's and vice versa.  Yes you can expect up to 50% loss of bandwdith due the half-duplex.  Typically its around 20-30% but it really depends on the stregnth of the signal, distance from the RE and the enviroment the device is deployed in.  

Try moving it a bit closer to see if that resolve the severe drop in speeds.  If not and if the extender is fully up to date I think we can try a precautionary replacement.  Just to ensure its not the extender, though right now i do think placement is the deciding factor. 

@MNelson I'm also experiencing the same awful performance. I've tried everything stated in this thread plus mo, and can't seem to resolve it.  If anything it's getting worst. Just performed a speedtest on my 35mpbs line and I'm getting 1.22mbps download and 0.002mpbs upload.  I think at this rate it's faster for me to get an old-style dial-up modem.  This is an awful product that simply doesn't work!!!  The logs are useless as it doesn't show anything meaningful. I even updated to the latest firmware with no luck. I don't think this product has been tested by TP-link. Very disappointed as I normally like their products