Connectivity Issues with 5 ghz with RT-N66U

[wirelessroute]

Connectivity Issues with 5 ghz with RT-N66U [SOLVED]

Hi All,

I recently changed routers from Netgear WNDR3700 to Cisco e4200v1 then to the New Asus RT-N66u
I am familiar with configuring wireless routers and networking. I setup two wireless networks on the N66u one 2.4 ghz G and one 5ghz N
The G seems to work well without any issues. I am having issues with the 5ghz wireless network. There appears to be constant issues with it. The problem is when I am upstairs in my 2 story home. The signal strength is 70-80% as shown by Windows, InSSIDer and Xirrus. The 2 devices one Laptop with AGN adaptor and Ipad 3 both loose connectivity to the 5 ghz network. When I reconnect it does not allow me to do so. I ruled out my home being an issue since bot the Netgear and Cisco had zero issues and the signal strength is plenty adequate. I used Lan speed test and first floor works great on N but got .9 mbps write then disconnect when upstairs.
I tried changing the settings on the channel to set channel in both bandwidths. When I changed the channel from auto to 48 the wireless seems to work better than at times it went to 6mb and webpages froze completely and the network was unavailable.

Things I have tried:
Rebooting the RT-N66U
Rebooting the laptop
Changing Channel static channel High and Low
Setting wireless mode to N Only
Moving to router from top of hutch to different area on the desk.
Changing Channel Bandwidth to 20 MHz only and then trying 40 mhz only.
I factory defaulted the device and changed the firmware to RT-N66U_3.0.0.3_96 tested and same issue
Upgraded back to RT-N66U_3.0.0.3_108 and no change in issue.

I called ASUS support and was told to try some of the above items. Honestly the gentlemen I spoke to was of little help. At this point I just frustrated and tempted to return this router to Retailer so I purchase a competing product.

 

[wirelessroute]

Purchased a another RT-N66u and RT-N56U to get to the bottom of this
I am almost positive this is either a firmware issue on the N66u or hardware issue.

 

[mrcom]

Please send a email direktly to the techs at Networking_Support@asus.com and describe your problem so they can fix this with a new firmware.
Best regards Mrcom

 

[wirelessroute]

Mrcom, I've already submitted an email Mon 3/26/2012 9:58 AM EST
I've yet to receive any type of reply
I called Networking support # yesterday afternoon and was told to factory reset the device which I did and reinstalling firmware .108. They also recommend playing with Wireless Mode, Control Channel, Channel bandwidth All of which I've tried with no luck.

 

[mrcom]

Mrcom, I've already submitted an email Mon 3/26/2012 9:58 AM EST
I've yet to receive any type of reply
I called Networking support # yesterday afternoon and was told to factory reset the device which I did and reinstalling firmware .108. They also recommend playing with Wireless Mode, Control Channel, Channel bandwidth All of which I've tried with no luck.

Calling them won`t do any good !! But as you have done sending a email to the techs will. They are the ones making the firmware! The phone support doesn`t have anything with firmware making to do and is just bull with standard answers. You do best to wait for an answer or send a second email and ask why they don`t reply. As the firmware isn`t working like it should.

 

[TonyH]

Mrcom, I've already submitted an email Mon 3/26/2012 9:58 AM EST
I've yet to receive any type of reply
I called Networking support # yesterday afternoon and was told to factory reset the device which I did and reinstalling firmware .108. They also recommend playing with Wireless Mode, Control Channel, Channel bandwidth All of which I've tried with no luck.

Hi,
Load alternate f/w like Tomato. If it acts same way, you know the router is bad.

 

[wirelessroute]

If I load tomato its likely Asus will reject the warranty and return.
What is the best version for n66u, I read some other post that had conflicting information about shibbys not working properly.

 

[wirelessroute]

Firmware Bug for 5ghz ?????

1)Have you tried the other channels other than 48?
Yes I have set the router to Auto and have static set the channels to 40, 48 and higher channels 139
Channel 48 with 40 mhz gets the best results but still has some issues, the speed and throughput are constantly fluctuating
And if I start a ping to the router from my laptop 192.168.1.1 I get latency then drops at sporadic times.

2) Please try this step with the current firmware.
I was already running the latest firmware .108 I downgraded to .90 and was getting better results (Strange, firmware bug in .108 ??)
I upgrade back to .108 and have issues. Based on the release notes the only change was power from 40mw to 80mw
I tried changing back to 40mw same results. I was upgrading through the browser so decided to try the firmware restoration tool
I factory reset the device and downgraded to .90. Things on 5ghz where running smoother. I factory defaulted and loaded it on .108 using the FRT
Still having issues with 5ghz dropping out. I did 2 network scans and only other 5ghz that shows is on channel 36 and is very high RSSI.

I felt like I am going crazy so I was able to get my hands on 2 new routers: Asus RT-N56U and Linksys e4200v2
I disconnected the RT-N66u and installed both in the exact same location, settings and clients.
And to my amazement neither router has issues on the 5ghz band at any locations upstairs in my house.
I thought the RT-N66u was supposed to have better throughput and signal than its predecessor RT-N66U
The e4200V2 was installed in 5 minutes and I left everything on auto, it easily outperformed the RT-66NU in the 5ghz band.

My theory is that something in the firmware is buggy from .90 to .108. Something has either been inputted in error or has changed that adversely effects 5ghz clients.
But it could also be a hardware issue. You would think that the Auto feature on both bands would work properly but doesn’t for the 5ghz band

 

[RogerSC]

It may be that your router has problems, that happens. If you can exchange it at this point, I'd be inclined to try that, personally.

 

[wirelessroute]

It may be that your router has problems, that happens. If you can exchange it at this point, I'd be inclined to try that, personally.

You are 100% Correct there RogerSC
I was able to get another RT-N66u from a Coworker that purchased it but not yet installed. Installed it last night, upgraded from .90 to .180 and 5ghz worked beautifully in my bedroom. I am getting from 120-200 Mbps. I had 2 laptops and 1 ipad 3 all on 5ghz
one on Vpn and 2 stream HD 720 video from Youtube flawlessly even buffers forward well ahead of playback

Nice to finally see the results everyone and Cnet is raving about
Time to RMA the bad unit

Cheers and Good Luck to All

 

[TonyH]

WNDR4500 vs. RT-N66

Hi,
Little OT,
Had an occasion to try Netgear router on my home network.
I just swapped out good running Asus with Netgear. Nothing else
is different. Just positioned Netgear on the same spot in my upstairs loft.
Both routers have latest stock firmware configured as identical as possible.

Went down to family room, look at the 5GHz signal strength. Netgear 60db,
Asus 50db. Ran speed test against same server couple hundred miles away. One after another back and forth a few times. Netgear ~30 vs Asus ~50mbps. I could repeat the result. I don't use 2.4Ghz except using a WiFi printer.

 

[wiseoracle]

Okay... I'm trying to figure out why I'm not connecting at 300mbps, instead I'm only getting 144mbps.

I updated to .108 and miraculously it showed up as 300. Great. Minutes later it immediately dropped to 144. Okay... I don't get it.

Also my SSID's are:

dd-wrt - for G networks
dd-wrt-n - for N networks

My computer is only showing dd-wrt, yet it will connect as N, yet it's not the correct name.

Settings are:

SSID: dd-wrt
channel: 6
wireless mode: legacy
security: WPA2-Personal
channel bandwidth: 20mhz
encryption: AES

SSID: dd-wrt-n
channel: 48
wireless mode: n-only
security: WPA2-Personal
channel bandwidth: 40mhz
encryption: AES

Wireless adapter: ASUS USB-N13

Latest drivers

 

[sfx2000]

5GHz Channel 48 is a low power channel in the US - start at channel 149 and above, and it should work better...

 

[wiseoracle]

Didn't seem to make a difference. Is anyone having problems achieving higher speeds? I regularly transfer large files, so this is a big deal.

 

[Net_Intermediate]

Wirelessroute
I've the exact same problem. At certain locations in the house, the clients (ipad2) simply can't connect to the 5Ghz connection.
Let me know the RMA process and whether the replacement router solved the problem. BTW, I'm running .102

Thanks!

 

[RogerSC]

Wirelessroute
I've the exact same problem. At certain locations in the house, the clients (ipad2) simply can't connect to the 5Ghz connection.
Let me know the RMA process and whether the replacement router solved the problem. BTW, I'm running .102

Thanks!

"Simply can't connect" can be just "out of range". The range for the 5GHz. band is considerably shorter than the 2.4GHz. band due to the fact that as the frequency gets higher, there's more attenuation of the signal with distance and intervening objects. That's a good reason why initial testing with the 5GHz. band should be done close to the router, so that you're going to get a connection if everything is configured right.

 

[wiseoracle]

SOB! I didn't know my ASUS USB-N13 was a 2.4Ghz only device. Which makes sense why I can't see my true n-network or hit 300mbps. Guess I should have researched that more, but it only cost me 17 dollars.

 

[wirelessroute]

Wirelessroute
I've the exact same problem. At certain locations in the house, the clients (ipad2) simply can't connect to the 5Ghz connection.
Let me know the RMA process and whether the replacement router solved the problem. BTW, I'm running .102

Thanks!

I would upgrade to .108 its the latest release.
I knew distance was not an issue with my 5ghz connection since I had 3 other routers that had no issues.

I would do the following:
1) Download InSSIDer program on a laptop that is 5ghz capable
http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/
With this program scan the 5ghz range and set the N66u to broadcast in one that is not in use.

If that doesn't work you can try factory defaulting the device and reconfiguring it to see if issue reoccurs.

My issue was consistent drops and fluctuation on 5ghz. 2.4 never had any issues. I believed it to be a bad 5ghz radio/hardware.

You can call or email Asus for RMA if you think its bad hardware
They'll want to know if you've atleast tried the basic troubleshooting.

 

[phierce]

Im seeing tons of fluctuation in speeds and seeing excessive tx retries is something wrong with my router

$ iwconfig


wlan0 IEEE 802.11abgn ESSID:"GSXR"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.462 GHz Access Point: C8:60:00:E7:AB:A8
Bit Rate:104 Mb/s Tx-Power=15 dBm
Retry long limit:7 RTS thrff Fragment thrff
Power Managementff
Link Quality=50/70 Signal level=-60 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:14034 Invalid misc:364 Missed beacon:0

$ iwconfig

wlan0 IEEE 802.11abgn ESSID:"GSXR"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.462 GHz Access Point: C8:60:00:E7:AB:A8
Bit Rate:65 Mb/s Tx-Power=15 dBm
Retry long limit:7 RTS thrff Fragment thrff
Power Managementff
Link Quality=50/70 Signal level=-60 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:14034 Invalid misc:364 Missed beacon:0

$ iwconfig
eless extensions.

wlan0 IEEE 802.11abgn ESSID:"GSXR"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.462 GHz Access Point: C8:60:00:E7:AB:A8
Bit Rate:52 Mb/s Tx-Power=15 dBm
Retry long limit:7 RTS thrff Fragment thrff
Power Managementff
Link Quality=50/70 Signal level=-60 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:14034 Invalid misc:364 Missed be