Before troubleshooting, find out what speed you have from the internet service provider (ISP) and confirm that it is currently set up according to that agreement. Additionally, if you have only tested speeds using one option (like the in-app AmpliFi speedtest) make sure to "find a second opinion". Perform a speed test on a wireless device and a wired device using speedtest.net. If you notice that your speed issues are only apparent on the wireless device, go to this article: Stability Issues. If you're experiencing speed issues when devices connect to one of the MeshPoints but not the router, take a look at this other article: Slow Speeds on Mesh Points.
If you notice slow speeds on both wired and wireless devices or only wired, please proceed to the troubleshooting steps below:
1. Using an Ethernet cable, connect a laptop (or any device that allows a wired connection) directly to a LAN port on the modem provided to you by your internet service provider (ISP) and run a speedtest. If the speeds are slow, there may be an issue with the modem or the service. Contact your ISP for help. This issue would be unrelated with AmpliFi.
2. To rule out a defective cable issue, replace both cables: the cable running from the modem to the WAN (blue port) of the AmpliFi router, as well as the cable going from the LAN port of the router to your laptop. Run a speedtest again. A defective cable connected to the WAN port would result in bad performance for both wired and wireless devices; while a defective cable connected to a LAN port would only affect the device connected to it.
3. If your ISP says you should be seeing gigabit speeds, then we recommend enabling Hardware NAT. Please keep in mind that if this feature is enabled in plans with lower speeds, it could actually be detrimental to the network, so only enable it if that's the case. See this article for instructions: Enabling Hardware NAT. Run a speedtest again.
Important If troubleshooting with an AmpliFi Instant or AmpliFi Alien system skip this step. The AmpliFi Instant router is not capable of reaching gigabit speeds so does not have the hardware NAT feature; and the AmpliFi Alien has this feature built in so it is not available for configuring on the app.
4. If the slower speeds are only seen on some devices, but not all, it's possible that the device itself cannot accept higher speeds. For example, a smart TV may only have 1/10/100 Mbps ports and will not receive gigabit speeds. Check the client device's information and make sure the chipset allows gigabit speeds (or whatever speed you are attempting). If it does not, note that speeds will be limited on that specific wired device.
5. If the AmpliFi router is connected to another router (or a modem/router combo provided by the ISP) there will be two routers acting as "gate keepers" and performing all router duties twice, slowing down the network. The solution would be to enable bridge mode on one of them. You can contact your ISP and have them enable bridge mode on the modem/router device, or you can enable it on the AmpliFi router. Please note that you'll lose all router functionalities on AmpliFi once bridge mode is enabled. Read more about this in the article: Enabling Bridge Mode.
If none of these steps have helped improve your speeds, please contact our support team and let them know you have already tried this article.