1. WRT1900AC 'wireless bridge' issues (latency / severe lag). 2. WRT1900AC vs RT-AC68U

[njweb]

Hello everyone,

Been busy and away for a long time, at least from a posting perspective (still read the forums when I can).

1. I bought two WRT-1900AC routers given that our new home was bigger and I had challenges with getting high speeds in some location in smaller home.

Ironically, with a single WRT1900AC placed on the middle level of the newer home (close to 3,100 sq ft without the basement), coverage is great. I even get 5 GHz with a near full signal upstairs!
Nevertheless, since I have two WRT1900AC routers, I wanted to use 'wireless bridge' mode (not to be confused with the also available 'wireless repeater' function) to get better speed / coverage on the porch etc.

I configured the wireless bridge (instructions are vague and average folks could have issues setting it up if they don't understand which band, SSIS and password to specify as the wireless
connection between the two routers and on which router to do the configuration, especially if you're starting fresh with two WRT1900AC units - not sure if what I am trying to convey is coming across).

In any case, in 'wireless bridge' mode only, I seem to get a lot of lag (as in significant delays) / stuttering when opening web pages on my mobile phone or even playing online poker on other devices connected wirelessly - will double check this tonight).
Is anyone using 'wireless bridge' mode with the WRT1900AC? Any ideas what the issue could be? Turning off 'wireless bridge' (or, I believe, connecting to the primary router's SSID) resolves this severe lag issue... The latter defeats the purpose of having the bridge of course (since it is being bypassed in that example).
When connecting to the bridge (or with bridge activated and connecting to any SSID - to be confirmed), it feels like the browser or internet connection is being held up for a good amount of time while it appears to be resolving something, then the page loading continues and completes.


2) I also have two Asus RT-AC68U routers (one was for my place and one for wife's before we got married).
Has anyone compared the Linksys WRT1900AC to the Asus RT-AC68U in terms of wireless performance (range)?
Depending on wifi ranges of the RT-AC68U (i.e. if comparable to the WRT1900AC), I am tempted to try 'media bridge' mode usng the TWO Asus routers (same as 'wireless bridge' mode on the LinkSys right?) and see if that works better (no stuttering) or lag.

Worst case scenario, I will just use ONE WRT1900AC (forget about using wireless bridge mode entirely) and sell the other three routers.

 

[sfx2000]

Bridging on the WRT1900's is a bit spooky - not very well supported in the Linksys factory firmware...

As a single Router/AP - it's got decent WiFi performance, but the software stack is another issue...

 

[pete y testing]

havnt used the linksys 1900ac in anything buy router mode , but i have used most of the asus ac routers in media bridge mode and its quite simple to setup and get them connected

the big issue with media bridges is placement , as they need to be in a quite good coverage area and if that is the case then you may as well just connect the devices direct with their own adapters

what are you connecting to the media bridge / client bridge ? as nether of these setups will give you better coverage on the porch

Ironically, with a single WRT1900AC placed on the middle level of the newer home (close to 3,100 sq ft without the basement), coverage is great. I even get 5 GHz with a near full signal upstairs!

then why would you need anything else ? as you might be flooding the area with signal

 

[njweb]

havnt used the linksys 1900ac in anything buy router mode , but i have used most of the asus ac routers in media bridge mode and its quite simple to setup and get them connected

the big issue with media bridges is placement , as they need to be in a quite good coverage area and if that is the case then you may as well just connect the devices direct with their own adapters

what are you connecting to the media bridge / client bridge ? as nether of these setups will give you better coverage on the porch

njweb said: ↑
Ironically, with a single WRT1900AC placed on the middle level of the newer home (close to 3,100 sq ft without the basement), coverage is great. I even get 5 GHz with a near full signal upstairs!


then why would you need anything else ? as you might be flooding the area with signal

Thanks.

To your first point. The placement of the bridge (WRT1900AC #1) is fine. I placed it on the same level as the main router (WRT1900AC #2) and there is plenty of signal strength to connect the two.
I am more curious as to an apparent bug in the WRT1900AC 'wireless bridge' implementation that is, or was, causing the severe 'lag' shich only occurred when connecting to the bridge the last time I had both routers up and running (before reconfiguring them two weekends ago).

To your other point, while the signal is great on the whole, I will need to check the main router signal from the porch again, as well as in all corners of the basement to determine if the bridge is helping or if it is unnecessary. The bridge is strategically located right inside the room adjacent to the porch so that does extend coverage.


PS: On a side note, thanks for posting your 5 GHz test results in another thread. It reminded me I had posted some testing 2 years ago. I ran a search to find my old post and indeed already contains comparisons of one of my two WRT1900AC units vs one of my two RT-AC66U routers (wasn't sure till I checked which router I had tested the Linksys against).
Therefore I won't have to perform any testing now.
Should really sell one WRT1900AC and both Asus units.
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/2-4-ghz-and-5-ghz-tests-linksys-wrt-1900ac-vs-asus-rt-ac66u.16957/

TheWRT1900AC signal strength was stronger on both bands in all test locations on both 2,4 GHz and 5 GHz. That was with the original WRT1900AC firmware, so I suspect it would be even better now.

 

[njweb]

Tested again today:

I am still facing the same lag issues when loading web pages while connected to the bridge with my Samsung Note 4 (tried different browsers).

My laptop does not seem to have (as much) trouble with web surfing lag opening web pages when I connect to the bridge's SSID.

Guess nobody here is using it in bridge mode.