The fact that your system is negotiating a 100 Mbps link with the modem rather than a Gigabit link is your issue. First open Device Manager and go to the Properties of your Ethernet adapter, then select the Advanced tab. Make sure the negotiation setting (or speed and duplex setting) is set to Auto rather than forcing any particular speed and duplex.
If that looks good, check the specs of the modem online (look for its make and model) to confirm that it actually has Gigabit Ethernet ports. If it was provided by Spectrum it definitely should if they're providing you with 400 Mbps service, but if you simply upgraded to that speed by calling them and still have an older modem, then the modem itself might not support Gigabit, in which case you should ask Spectrum to upgrade it. If on the other hand you purchased the modem yourself and it doesn't support Gigabit, then you'd have to buy another one or again ask Spectrum to give you one.
If you've confirmed that the modem supports Gigabit, then try a different Ethernet cable. I've seen poorly made cables (especially ones that people cut and crimped themselves) that only negotiate at 100 Mb. The reason is that a 100 Mb link only requires that 4 of the 8 wires in an Ethernet cable be properly terminated, whereas a Gigabit link requires that all 8 be properly terminated.
And fyi, if your modem is a true modem-only device rather than a combo modem+router, I hope you're only connecting directly to it as a test, AND that you have Windows Firewall enabled during the test. That's a rather dangerous setup. And if your permanent solution will involve a router of some kind placed behind the modem, of course your router will also need Gigabit Ethernet ports, both on its WAN port that would connect to the modem and on any LAN ports you wanted to use for your own devices -- otherwise your router would become the bottleneck. (And if you ARE using a Spectrum modem+router box, fyi it will probably have junk WiFi speeds. I have multiple neighbors with 300 Mbps Spectrum service, and the modem+router box they got from Spectrum only offers about 60 Mbps over WiFi even to 5 GHz-capable devices in the same room. I had each of them call Spectrum to put their device into "bridge mode" so that it only operates as a modem and then install a proper router behind it, specifically the ASUS RT-AC88U, and at that point they got their full 300 Mbps speeds over WiFi. That router should handle your 400 Mbps over WiFi just fine too, assuming the WiFi cards in your devices support that speed.)
The link speeds on you network properties are normally your internal network speeds. The internet speeds are usually much less than those. If you see a 100 Mbps link speed, please describe your network configuration.
I have not checked your system but I have seen some systems with a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet speed limitation. If you have flashing lights on your Ethernet port, what color are they?
The link speeds on you network properties are normally your internal network speeds. The internet speeds are usually much less than those. If you see a 100 Mbps link speed, please describe your network configuration.
I have not checked your system but I have seen some systems with a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet speed limitation. If you have flashing lights on your Ethernet port, what color are they?
The link speeds in Network Properties are always the internal network speed, i.e. the speed negotiated with the other endpoint. The OP already stated that he has 400 Mbps Internet service compared to a 100 Mb Ethernet link, so his Internet speeds are obviously not much less than those. And the name of the Realtek card in his post includes "GbE", which means "Gigabit Ethernet", so it's not a 10/100 Mb controller. And link light colors are not an industry standard. Some use orange for Gigabit and green for 100 Mb, but others use the opposite or always use the same color regardless of speed. And the OP already indicated the link speed, so I'm not sure why you would have expected the link lights to provide more information there anyway.
Thanks. I only connected direct to the modem long enough to run the test. The cable as you suggested turned out to be the problem! I appreciate your help! Take care, Ron NC
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
1
May 2nd, 2019 18:00
The fact that your system is negotiating a 100 Mbps link with the modem rather than a Gigabit link is your issue. First open Device Manager and go to the Properties of your Ethernet adapter, then select the Advanced tab. Make sure the negotiation setting (or speed and duplex setting) is set to Auto rather than forcing any particular speed and duplex.
If that looks good, check the specs of the modem online (look for its make and model) to confirm that it actually has Gigabit Ethernet ports. If it was provided by Spectrum it definitely should if they're providing you with 400 Mbps service, but if you simply upgraded to that speed by calling them and still have an older modem, then the modem itself might not support Gigabit, in which case you should ask Spectrum to upgrade it. If on the other hand you purchased the modem yourself and it doesn't support Gigabit, then you'd have to buy another one or again ask Spectrum to give you one.
If you've confirmed that the modem supports Gigabit, then try a different Ethernet cable. I've seen poorly made cables (especially ones that people cut and crimped themselves) that only negotiate at 100 Mb. The reason is that a 100 Mb link only requires that 4 of the 8 wires in an Ethernet cable be properly terminated, whereas a Gigabit link requires that all 8 be properly terminated.
And fyi, if your modem is a true modem-only device rather than a combo modem+router, I hope you're only connecting directly to it as a test, AND that you have Windows Firewall enabled during the test. That's a rather dangerous setup. And if your permanent solution will involve a router of some kind placed behind the modem, of course your router will also need Gigabit Ethernet ports, both on its WAN port that would connect to the modem and on any LAN ports you wanted to use for your own devices -- otherwise your router would become the bottleneck. (And if you ARE using a Spectrum modem+router box, fyi it will probably have junk WiFi speeds. I have multiple neighbors with 300 Mbps Spectrum service, and the modem+router box they got from Spectrum only offers about 60 Mbps over WiFi even to 5 GHz-capable devices in the same room. I had each of them call Spectrum to put their device into "bridge mode" so that it only operates as a modem and then install a proper router behind it, specifically the ASUS RT-AC88U, and at that point they got their full 300 Mbps speeds over WiFi. That router should handle your 400 Mbps over WiFi just fine too, assuming the WiFi cards in your devices support that speed.)
Saltgrass
4 Operator
•
4.3K Posts
0
May 2nd, 2019 17:00
The link speeds on you network properties are normally your internal network speeds. The internet speeds are usually much less than those. If you see a 100 Mbps link speed, please describe your network configuration.
I have not checked your system but I have seen some systems with a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet speed limitation. If you have flashing lights on your Ethernet port, what color are they?
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
0
May 2nd, 2019 18:00
The link speeds in Network Properties are always the internal network speed, i.e. the speed negotiated with the other endpoint. The OP already stated that he has 400 Mbps Internet service compared to a 100 Mb Ethernet link, so his Internet speeds are obviously not much less than those. And the name of the Realtek card in his post includes "GbE", which means "Gigabit Ethernet", so it's not a 10/100 Mb controller. And link light colors are not an industry standard. Some use orange for Gigabit and green for 100 Mb, but others use the opposite or always use the same color regardless of speed. And the OP already indicated the link speed, so I'm not sure why you would have expected the link lights to provide more information there anyway.
Ron NC
1 Rookie
•
3 Posts
0
May 3rd, 2019 07:00