Best firmware version for AP mode with RT-N66U

[DSwit]

From what I've read in the past the final sdk5 version of RMerlin's firmware was recommended for AP mode.
3.0.0.4_374.35_4-sdk5 would be the final version.

Has the general sentiment changed any? Is there a version that would offer any advantage to Wifi performance (in AP mode) over 3.0.0.4_374.35_4-sdk5?

tia
Deano

 

[bradremington]

are you sure?

 

[DSwit]

are you sure?

are you?

 

[plaut]

I'd recommend john9527's 374.43 fork as an excellent balance of range (perhaps only very slightly poorer than the sdk5 driver) and security.

 

[Nullity]

It is not that hard to just try them all. I did and found no real difference in any of them.

Personally though, I use John's fork because I do not need any of the newer features.

One thing I did notice with the really old firmware was that they booted much faster.

You can also compile your own with much less features, and perhaps better performance/stability.

 

[DSwit]

Thanks for your input everyone.

I have been using john9527's firmware for the last couple months and would recommend it as well for the same reasons.

I didn't think there was any security issues that significantly effected 3.0.0.4_374.35_4-sdk5 when used in AP mode. That and the region and power issues with later firmwares formed the basis for my choise of the final sdk5 release.

Cheers!

 

[Gitsum]

What about media bridge mode? Would firmware with newer drivers be better?

 

[Nullity]

The easiest way to answer that question is just to just load up both firmwares and see how they perform in your particular situation. There are too many variables (material & size of house, nearby interference, sunspots, angry thoughts of honey badgers, general unknowns, etc)

You might check the Changelog, though even if "media bridge" is not explicitly mentioned, some unrelated changes could affect affect it. It is easier to just trial and error than attempting predict an infinite number of interrelated possibilities.

 

[DSwit]

Just to add further to Nullity's suggestions.

Any assessment of a given firmware version can't be made over a short period of time. I'd suggest that a least a week or more trial period be given so that a reasonable aggregate of the devices performance can be seen.

While signal strength monitoring is important, it is by no means accurate to use such indications as a soul reference point. I'd also suggest not rushing to check what connected rate a device has negotiated as that will change due to conditions that are unrealistic to attempt to monitor.

I have a house full of Android users that love youtube. In that I am fortunate to receive immediate feedback from them when things aren't responding quickly or streaming smoothly. If something appears to be seriously wrong, I check my isp's support forums to see if anyone else is having problems before condemning a wireless device or firmware.

I tend to use this method as a rather unscientific (grain of salt) way of determining if something is suitable.

3.0.0.4_374.35_4-sdk5 is proving to be stable and responsive. The silence of the Legion of Android is encouraging as well.

Cheers!

 

[RMerlin]

3.0.0.4_374.35_4-sdk5 is proving to be stable and responsive. The silence of the Legion of Android is encouraging as well.

374.35_4 is horribly old, and contains multiple known security issues in it. Running such an old version is a bad idea.

 

[Nullity]

Actually, mirroring your warning against judging a firmware too quickly... Just today I suddenly am getting 150Mbit WiFi consistently. I had given up on benchmarking but my previous max was ~90Mbit, measured across most popular firmwares, new and old, over the past 6 months and literally hundreds of bandwidth tests using iperf.

What is John putting in his firmware?!
I wish I knew what gave me this boost, but then again... I would probably piss off the WiFi gods with my restless ways.