AiMesh backhaul drops 1 bar with USB 3.0 ON

[OzarkEdge]

This is just to share an observation some might know to expect... my AiMesh wireless backhaul is barely a steady 4 bars, but turning on an attached USB 3.0 HDD drops it to 3 bars.

OE

 

[thiggins]

This is just to share an observation some might know to expect... my AiMesh wireless backhaul is barely a steady 4 bars, but turning on an attached USB 3.0 HDD drops it to 3 bars.

Is your backhaul 2.4 or 5 GHz? USB 3.0 should not affect 5.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Is your backhaul 2.4 or 5 GHz? USB 3.0 should not affect 5.

Good to know! Presumably it can be either, but with my 77' and intervening obstacles, it's probably 2.4 GHz. I'll look at the Log numbers to see if they (2.4) vary noticeably with USB 3.0 ON/OFF. The node serves the garage so marginal has been good enough.

OE

 

[thiggins]

ASUS routers have a "reduce USB 3.0 interference" setting in the Advanced/Professional 2.4 GHz settings. See if that is enabled. It basically limits USB 3.0 to 2.0 speed.

Also, cheap and/or long USB cables can also cause problems.

 

[Ronald Schwerer]

ASUS routers have a "reduce USB 3.0 interference" setting in the Advanced/Professional 2.4 GHz settings. See if that is enabled. It basically limits USB 3.0 to 2.0 speed.

Odd. I'm on 384.21140 (68U) and I no longer find that setting. I know it was there on a previous version. Did it move? BTW, I assume you meant Advanced Settings/Wireless/Professional/2.4Ghz.

 

[LimJK]

Odd. I'm on 384.21140 (68U) and I no longer find that setting. I know it was there on a previous version. Did it move? BTW, I assume you meant Advanced Settings/Wireless/Professional/2.4Ghz.

Ronald,
I think it is here

 

[Ronald Schwerer]

Ronald,
I think it is here

Yes, I think you are correct. I saw that a while back, but I assumed that was just which drivers got loaded to handle the USB3 physical port. But the pop-up help dialog gives more info and gives a warning about 2.4Ghz interference. I seem to remember that the setting defaulted to USB2, which presumably doesn't cause interference.
Update: just ordered a 1.5 ft shielded cable for my attached USB3 hard drive.

 

[RMerlin]

Ronald,
I think it is here

It was moved a few months ago.

 

[OzarkEdge]

ASUS routers have a "reduce USB 3.0 interference" setting in the Advanced/Professional 2.4 GHz settings. See if that is enabled. It basically limits USB 3.0 to 2.0 speed.

Also, cheap and/or long USB cables can also cause problems.

My recent experience is with the 68U and now the 86U...

The 'reduce USB 3.0 interference' setting appears to have been relocated (less logical?) and renamed to 'USB Mode' (less clear?). I believe it operates as you note... throttles the USB speed (not desirable) to reduce 2.4 GHz WiFi interference.

The pop-up Help (thanks!) implies that the interference is related to the USB 3.0 cable and 2.4 GHz, and that proper shielding might reduce/prevent it(?). One could go through a few cables trying to determine this. Maybe improvised shielding could be applied to an existing cable(?).

Looking at my 86U 2.4 GHz Log before and after switching ON a connected USB 3.0 HDD (USB Mode 3.0)... roughly speaking, wireless backhaul RSSI remains the same but Tx rates (~225) dropped about 25% and Rx rates (~165) dropped about 75%... roughly speaking.

I guess this dictates intermittent use of the USB 3.0 HDD unless this interference can be mitigated... a wired backhaul would help on several fronts!

(I know... get a proper NAS!)

Edit: This 2.4 GHz backhaul interference may be moot if the 5.0 GHz backhaul is preferred by AiMesh(?).

OE

 

[Grisu]

Aimesh will use the faster one 2G or 5G and ethernet prefered even if only 100MHz (in Auto mode).

My power is fluctuating 20dB too without any used USB, so I dont think it is depending on USB3.0 device!

And now it is MUCH clearer!!! Because now they say what they will do with the USB3.0, namely slow down to an USB2.0 and not a cryptical statement nobody out there really understood.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Aimesh will use the faster one 2G or 5G and ethernet prefered even if only 100MHz (in Auto mode).

My power is fluctuating 20dB too without any used USB, so I dont think it is depending on USB3.0 device!

And now it is MUCH clearer!!! Because now they say whats they will do with the USB3.0, namely slow down to an USB2.0 and not a cryptical statement nobody out there really understood.

Logged wireless backhaul RSSI does not fluctuate 20 dBm here... it varies only -61 to -65 dBm with or without a USB 3.0 HDD ON. Only the 2.4 GHz Tx/Rx rates drop significantly with USB 3.0 enabled. So I agree, your power fluctuation is probably not related to this USB EMI issue.

Yes, the current pop-up Help clarifies the EMI issue if you notice it. But the previous setting 'reduce USB 3.0 interference' is more informative of the EMI issue than the current setting 'USB Mode 3.0/2.0'. The later only implies that you are setting 'USB Mode' to match your USB device, not to avoid interference. Also, I believe that the (more standard) pop-up Help on the previous setting indicated that the USB speed would be reduced to moderate the EMI issue, so not cryptic for me.

OE