Wired
 

Even with Centric 1Gb speeds, the wireless connection seems to cap out at around 200-250 when I run their speed test from my PC which is connected via Wi-Fi. In the connection properties it says the "link speed" is 1.2G. Interestingly from my cell phone connected wirelessly, it tests out at just barely short of 1Gb. I assumed it had something to do with the pre-cast concrete walls between the router and the room my desktop is in, so I installed a Netgear Mesh Extender that I had, which doesn't seem to improve the speeds.

I thought I'd use the wired network, but it appears to be stupidly installed in that each cable run terminates in the garage enclosure where the sprinkler box is located, along with all the hard coax cable lines for TVs in the house. Are we supposed to put a network switch in something as unsecured as a garage that is also, IMO, too hot of an environment for electronics (even a switch)? I don't understand why they didn't terminate the runs above the kitchen cabinets where they put the modem and router. Thoughts/fixes?

The PC may be limited by its processor, the wifi hardware, or the negotiated connection parameters. There is a way to find the negotiated connection speed but I don't recall now how to do it. I'll update this when I find it.

Make sure the cell phone is using the wifi network and not the cell network. If the cell phone is significantly newer than the PC then that could explain why the cell phone is faster.

Can't you connect one of the hard COAX cables in the sprinkler box to a cable that goes to a TV location? Or, if the TVs are already connected, you could add a splitter to the COAX TV cable at the TV location. Or, maybe I don't understand your post.

Centric? Where do you live? Our 1GB Xfinity speed does vary at times. It runs 400 to 800 and I have never seen a 1GB speed. Our Arris modem is about 6 years old so maybe a new modem would show me more consistently faster speeds.

In our home my cable modem is installed above my refrigerator. I have CAT6 cable from their to the distribution panel in the garage where the rest of CAT6 cables terminate. I have a switch installed there for all those other cables to connect to. Been out there for 4 years without any issues of heat.

As for the Wi-Fi as stated your connection speed is something that will be dictated not by your speed from your ISP but by a negotiation between your device and the Wi-Fi Access Point, usually integrated into the router. The negotiation will like connected at the high speed available by device with the lower maximum speed. Example is a brand new Wi-Fi AP that could connect at 1G but your laptop is 3 years old, may only connect at 200m, or vice versa.... Think of it like plumbing...

Not sure I understand the situation accurately, being more of a visual person, but I would consider rewiring the house for best results.

I had a second wiring closet installed in the garage, and the outside wire comes into the garage into a cable modem, from there it goes to a separate router capable of Network Address Translation (NAT), and then to a switch for each ethernet cable run. . . The router only handles two house ethernet ports, and I have 9 ethernet outlets, one at each cable outlet, plus a ceiling overhead wifi access point, so that's why i had to add a switch. . there were no 8-9 port routers at any reasonable price point 5 years ago. . today, there is.. .

all equipment is rated at 1 GB speeds, so that there are not physical speed reductions. There have been no problems with temperature so far, and speeds are acceptable, based upon time of day usage. .

personally, i would use PoE wireless access points and install them on the ceiling, from a switch where the fiber connection is made. . and then hard wire connections to the TV locations for hard wired speed for TVs

but this is just my limited knowledge of your house and my preference for hard wire over wifi for security reasons

You might get lucky if the CAT5 cables happen to be routed close to the kitchen area. I am guessing these could be cut near the low voltage box in the garage and pulled back to the kitchen area and then terminated in a new box in the kitchen area. Our house (2013 vintage gardenia) is wired this way. If you are not comfortable doing this wiring, there are a few people on this site that should be able to help, in the cooler weather....

I have the Xfinity Internet service that is rated up to 1.2GB. It is called their "Gigabit" service. I usually get about 900mbps on my ethernet hard wired desktop. I would suggest that you check the specs on your modem because you may not be taking full advantage of the Xfinity service you are paying for. I rent the modem from Xfinity and they did replace the modem when I upgraded the speed.

The short answer is Yes, you are supposed to put a switch in the LVP in your garage if you want to use the pre-run ethernet wiring. You can either have Centric do it, or DIY. I believe they'll sell you a 5-port switch installed for $150 (which you can buy online for less than $30 or something), but the good thing about this is that for that $150 switch, they will include termination of all your ethernet cables running into the jacks in your house. They will also test the connections for free. Or you can do all this yourself for less money.

I get 900+ Mb/s up and down on my hardwired PC.

My cable sticks up through a hole in the floor in my office (what would be the guest bedroom if we were normal people) and is threaded under the particle board (manufactured home). My modem and router sit on a bookshelf next to my computer, and all three are connected physically to each other. Our two TVs are wifi connected to the router, as is our printer and my tablet. We have no buffering problems. I don't know what the speed is on the other devices because it doesn't matter what it is. What matters is that it all works seamlessly. The computer speed is 520.58 download, 42.02 upload, and pings at 17ms to Bonita Springs, according to speedtest.net. We have a 600mbp xfinity internet plan and subscribe to YouTubeTV for hubby's TV-watching pleasure. I use netflix and amazon prime to watch movies and their own branded content on the computer. My modem and router are both owned outright by me, and I've had them for the six-plus years we've been living here.

VPN or DNS
 

Does your VPN or DNS setting have anything to do with it?

Internet speeds in detail
 

Internet speed is determined by the slowest part of the path.
Connection to the house is the responsibility of the Internet Service Provider(ISP).
Modem at that point can limit speed. Having dealt with Comcast, rental modems are not generally replaced when newer, better ones come out. Being technically oriented, I buy my own.
From modem signal travels by wired connection to WIFI router or direct wired connection.
WIFI speeds depend on the speed of your router AND the speed of the WIFI built into the end devices.
WIFI routers should be located high and in a location where penetration through walls is nearly straight on. Signal is straight line meaning, the more wall/Ceiling material passed through, the more degraded(slower) the signal.
WIFI routers with multiple visible antennas provide stronger signals than those with "built in" antennas.
Most modern routers offer multiple bands. If you use the lower 2.2GHz band, you generally are very limited in top speed regardless of the speed provided by your ISP. The drawback of the higher frequency bands(5GHz etc) is that they degrade more with distance and wall penetration.
To get true 1GHz speeds, devices must use the high frequency bands.
If your devices can not run on these bands, then buying 1GHz from the ISP is a waste of money since you can not achieve those speeds through the low frequency WIFI band. This is primarily a problem for older devices.

Finally, running physical wires has its drawbacks. Like everything else in computers, wiring becomes obsolete with time. Old wiring in walls becomes slower than an up to date wireless connection. Other than manufactured housing areas, running new wiring in Villages homes is difficult. If building new, make sure wiring is to the latest, more expensive standard(Cat 6 currently) as it will take longer to become obsolete. Once it is obsolete, you need to either run a dedicated wire for your wireless router or put your router in the garage near the ISP incoming modem(not ideal from for wireless signal strength in house).

getting gigabit speeds on your computer requires the latest equipment. I just replaced my computer and my speed was three times faster. My new PC has WIFI 6. WIFI 6E would increase it a little more and the recent WIFI 7 should get me to the gigabit speeds. In all reality, very few people need over 300mb.

As mentioned, you need to add a switch in the low voltage cabinet in the garage to connect the ethernet cables around the house.

First, check to see if you have an ethernet jack in the room where your desktop is located. If so, call me and I can help you install the switch and get everything running. I've done a couple in your area for other Villagers. If you don't have an ethernet jack in the room with the desktop then you can have an electrician run a new cable or you can upgrade your wifi with your own system. Either way I can help you. John 914-419-9398

If you are getting a good service, then why pay for a higher speed? I pay for 100Gig from Xfinity and run over a dozen devices without a problem.