Trying to figure out if this is normal 2.4 GHz behavior or if something is wrong with my setup. I have 1.5 gig fiber and a TP-Link Deco WiFi 7 mesh system. All the Decos are wired, so there’s no wireless backhaul involved.
5 GHz is fine. 6 GHz is fine.
2.4 GHz is borderline unusable.
I’m testing from maybe 6–8 ft away from the main Deco with a laptop and Pixel. I’ve temporarily disabled 5/6 GHz so I know the clients are actually on 2.4.
Speed tests sometimes fail completely. When they work I’m usually getting somewhere around 5–20 Mbps down, and upload can be even worse.
2.4 is on 20 MHz, channel 1.
There are around 20 devices on that band — mostly smart bulbs, plugs, a printer, a couple Google speakers, garage door stuff and several WiFi cameras.
I’m not in a super dense neighborhood either.
Is 2.4 GHz just this bad now, or should I be looking for an actual problem?
First I’d stop using one internet speed test as the diagnosis. Try Ookla or another service, but ideally run iperf locally against a wired machine. If local WiFi throughput is also terrible, then you know the problem is actually between the client and AP. If iperf is fine but one speed-test app keeps timing out, that’s a completely different problem.
I’d also look at the actual RF environment instead of assuming “not many neighbors = clean”. Run NetSpot on the laptop and check the 2.4 GHz channel graph, BSSID and signal level. A couple of strong neighboring APs overlapping you can matter more than 20 weak ones you barely hear. And if you’re sitting 6 ft from the Deco at something like -35/-40 dBm with no strong networks stomping all over channel 1, I’d stop blaming interference pretty quickly.
@CodeWizard By the way, NetSpot integrates with iPerf, so you can combine both tests instead of switching between separate tools. This will allow you to assess the channel status and run a local throughput test from the same location, which should make it easier to determine whether it’s a RF signal issue or an internet speed problem.
20 devices by itself doesn’t sound crazy. Most bulbs, plugs, thermostats, etc. barely move any traffic. I’d pay more attention to the cameras. Several 2.4 GHz WiFi cameras constantly uploading video can chew up a surprising amount of airtime. Temporarily kill the cameras and retest before blaming the entire band.
One more easy test: run only the main Deco for a few minutes. Unplug the other nodes, leave 2.4 at 20 MHz, connect one known-good client and test again. You’re trying to make the setup as boring as possible. One AP. One client. No cameras. No mesh. Local iperf if possible. If it still sucks under those conditions, you’ve narrowed this down a lot more than another factory reset will.