You're paying for a multi-gig plan and your Netgear Nighthawk RS700S is giving you a fraction of that. Maybe it's 500 Mbps when you're used to 2 Gbps, or the speed on your phone keeps dropping to double digits in the next room. This router can handle up to 19 Gbps aggregate, so when it's throttling your plan, something specific is off in the chain.
The fastest way to narrow it down is to test wired. Plug a laptop directly into one of the 10GbE LAN ports using a Cat 6a cable and run a speed test at fast.com. If wired matches your plan speed, the problem is wireless or device-side. If wired is also slow, it's the modem, the cable from modem to router, or the ISP. That single test cuts your search in half.
From there, work through the fixes below.
Run a Wired Speed Test via the 10GbE Port
The RS700S has one 10GbE WAN and one 10GbE LAN port, plus four 1GbE ports. If your internet plan is 2 Gbps or higher, you need to use the 10GbE LAN port with a Cat 6a cable. Cat 6 is fine for up to 10 Gbps at shorter runs, but Cat 6a is rated for full 10 Gigabit over longer distances and is the safer bet.
Plug a laptop that also has a 10GbE or 2.5GbE Ethernet port into that 10GbE LAN port and run the test. If wired is fast, the bottleneck is wireless or your test device.
Test Direct from the Modem (Bypass the RS700S)
If wired through the router is still slow, plug your laptop directly into the modem with the RS700S out of the chain. Reboot the modem first so it doesn't keep the router's MAC address cached. Then run the speed test. If wired-from-modem hits plan speed but wired-through-router doesn't, the router's WAN port or the cable between modem and router is the bottleneck. If wired-from-modem is also slow, it's the modem or the ISP line.
Check the WAN Cable and Port Speed
Open the Nighthawk app and look at the WAN port status, or log into routerlogin.net and check under Advanced > Internet Setup > Connection Status. If the WAN link shows 1 Gbps but your plan is 2 Gbps or higher, the cable from your modem is capping you. Standard Cat 5e top out around 1 Gbps. For multi-gig plans, you need Cat 6 or Cat 6a from the modem to the router's 10GbE WAN port.
Also inspect the cable for damage. A bent pin or loose connector can drop the link to 100 Mbps. Reseat both ends and check the link speed again.
Test from a Modern Wi‑Fi 7 or Wi‑Fi 6E Client
The RS700S is a Wi‑Fi 7 (BE19000) router, but your phone or laptop might be stuck on Wi‑Fi 5 or 6. An iPhone���15 or older only has Wi‑Fi 6, which in real-world conditions tops out around 1.2 Gbps. A Wi‑Fi 5 laptop is closer to 400 Mbps. No router can make an old client go faster.
Borrow a friend's iPhone 16 Pro, a Samsung Galaxy S25, or any 2024+ flagship with Wi‑Fi 7, and test from that device. If that device hits closer to your plan speed, your everyday hardware is the ceiling.
Move Within 6 Feet of the Router and Retest
Stand a few feet from the RS700S with clear line of sight and run a speed test on your phone. This tells you what the router can actually deliver to that specific client in ideal conditions. Compare that to the speeds you see from your usual spot in the house.
If close-range is fast and far-range is slow, you have a coverage problem, walls, distance, or interference, not a router throttling issue. The RS700S uses internal beam‑forming antennas (no external ones visible) that work best with clear paths.
Check for Background Devices Hogging Bandwidth
Open the Nighthawk app, tap Traffic Meter or Device Manager and look at current data usage. A Mac running a Time Machine backup, an Xbox downloading an update, or a security camera streaming 4K can eat up your speed.
Pause the heaviest device temporarily and retest. If speeds jump, you've found the culprit.
Disable QoS or Traffic Prioritization
The RS700S has Dynamic QoS settings. If you ever set up device priorities or turned on QoS to prioritize gaming or streaming, the test device might be deprioritized. Open routerlogin.net, go to Advanced > Setup > QoS Setup, and disable QoS temporarily. Then rerun your speed test.
If you use the Nighthawk app's Traffic Prioritization feature, disable that too for the test.
Check Firmware Version and Update If Needed
The RS700S gets firmware updates through the Nighthawk app or via routerlogin.net. An outdated firmware can introduce slowdowns or stability issues. Open the app, tap Router > Firmware Update, and check for updates. If one is pending, let it install, the router will reboot and may take a few minutes to come back fully.
Note: Armor security requires a separate subscription after the initial trial, but the base firmware updates are free and automatic.
Restart the Router and Wait for the Network to Settle
Unplug the RS700S from power, wait 30 seconds, plug it back in. After the reboot, give it about two minutes to fully re‑establish connections. Run a speed test immediately, then again after 10 minutes. If the second test is better, the router just needed a clean restart to clear temporary bottlenecks.
Sometimes a firmware update can break the Nighthawk app pairing, if the app shows the router as offline but the internet works, go to Settings in the app and tap Add Device to re‑pair it. This restores proper traffic monitoring.
Check Multi‑Link Operation (MLO) Client Compatibility
The RS700S supports Multi‑Link Operation, which can boost speeds if your client also supports it. However, many current Wi‑Fi 7 clients don't have MLO enabled yet. If you've manually turned MLO on in the router settings, try disabling it (set it to Disable under Advanced > Wireless Settings). Some devices perform worse with MLO active because of negotiation overhead.
Factory Reset as a Last Resort
If nothing else has worked, a factory reset clears all custom settings and returns the RS700S to its out‑of���box state. Hold the reset button on the back for 10 seconds until the power LED blinks amber. Then run through the initial setup in the Nighthawk app again. You'll lose any QoS rules, port forwards, and device names, so be sure to back up your config beforehand from Advanced > Administration > Backup Settings.
After the reset, test wired and wireless speeds fresh. If the problem persists, the issue is likely outside the router, either your ISP connection or a cable in your home network.
