Increase Wi-Fi performance

[rsnhakan]

Hi there!

I'm using Asuswrt-Merlin 3.0.0.4.354.29 Beta 1 software. (router Asus RT-N66U)

We have only N devices at home.

I would like to increase the performance of our Wi-Fi router. So I would like to increase the speed and range of it.

tx = 200mW
Channel bandwith = 40Mhz
N-Only
b/g protection off

Devices: iPhone 4S, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7", Samsung Galaxy Ace, Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini

What settings are the most stable and the best in practice? Could anyone help me?

Thanks in advance!

 

[thiggins]

There isn't much you can do with the settings to improve performance, especially if you are in an area with many busy neighboring networks. Boosting transmit power doesn't usually increase range because client devices also have to be able to transmit back.

Speed isn't going to matter that much because you have all relatively slow (N150) mobile devices

Changing to 40 MHz bandwidth mode will eat up too many channels and help only under strong signal conditions.

The best way to improve performance is to locate the router in a central location to the area you want to cover and choose as quiet a channel as you can, staying with Channel 1, 6 or 11. You may have to experiment to find the best one.

 

[rsnhakan]

There isn't much you can do with the settings to improve performance, especially if you are in an area with many busy neighboring networks. Boosting transmit power doesn't usually increase range because client devices also have to be able to transmit back.

Speed isn't going to matter that much because you have all relatively slow (N150) mobile devices

Changing to 40 MHz bandwidth mode will eat up too many channels and help only under strong signal conditions.

The best way to improve performance is to locate the router in a central location to the area you want to cover and choose as quiet a channel as you can, staying with Channel 1, 6 or 11. You may have to experiment to find the best one.

Thank you for you reply.

What's the best transmit power? I read like 120mW, but I'm not sure?

So Channel bandwith should stay at auto? The router sees 3-4 neighbors with a Wi-Fi router. I live in a small city. Range at my iPhone is always full, sometimes it drops to 2. (max. 3)

- What Wireless mode should I use? (auto, N-only, legacy)
- What Channel bandwith should I use? (20/40Mhz, 20Mhz, 40Mhz)
- Should I turn off b/g protection?
- What's the optimal transmit power?
- I don't have devices that support 5GHz, should I turn it off?

 

[thiggins]

Leave most of the default settings alone, including transmit power. The router should fall back to 20 MHz bandwidth mode in 2.4 GHz when it encounters an interfering network. But to be sure, set the 2.4 GHz radio to 20 MHz mode.

Yes, shut of the 5 GHz radio if you don't need it. Might as well not generate radio noise if you don't need to.

The main setting you can experiment with is the Channel setting. If performance seems flaky or slow, try moving to another channel using 1, 6 or 11.

 

[rsnhakan]

Leave most of the default settings alone, including transmit power. The router should fall back to 20 MHz bandwidth mode in 2.4 GHz when it encounters an interfering network. But to be sure, set the 2.4 GHz radio to 20 MHz mode.

Yes, shut of the 5 GHz radio if you don't need it. Might as well not generate radio noise if you don't need to.

The main setting you can experiment with is the Channel setting. If performance seems flaky or slow, try moving to another channel using 1, 6 or 11.

Thanks!

My iPhone seems faster when I run it at 40MHz, N-only and with b/g protectino off. The upload speed is 10Mbit lower when I leave it on default settings.

 

[thiggins]

Wireless mode (N only) and b/g protection are primarily used to address client compatibility. If they aren't causing a problem with all your devices, you can play with them.

 

[RMerlin]

Under Professional there's an option called Enhanced Interference management. Some people get better results with this either enabled or disabled, depending on your specific environment. It's worth testing both options.

 

[canuckle]

Under Professional there's an option called Enhanced Interference management. Some people get better results with this either enabled or disabled, depending on your specific environment. It's worth testing both options.

RMerlin, can you expand on what this does?

 

[RMerlin]

RMerlin, can you expand on what this does?

I don't know the details because this is an option related to the closed-source driver, but from what I know, it determines how aggressive the driver will be in readjusting if it runs into too much radio interference. Typically, one mode gives better throughput but less stability if there is too much interference from your neighbours, in which case you might need to switch to the other mode where you might reach lower maximum throughput, but better stability.

Remember that, with wireless, it's not just about the raw throughput. You want that throughput to remain stable. Otherwise, there is no point in being able to hit 175 Mbits if every 30 secs you have to retransmit multiple packets due to noise, causing your throughput to drop under 75 Mbits during that time.

 

[rsnhakan]

Thanks for the replys! So what I do understand is that there is not really an option to increase the strength of the signal and improve the stability?

I did a factory reset. Running at 20/40MHz, b/g protection on, tX 200mW

 

[p71]

Under Professional there's an option called Enhanced Interference management. Some people get better results with this either enabled or disabled, depending on your specific environment. It's worth testing both options.

I can't see this option on the Professional page under the 2.4 or 5GHz band settings (AC66u, latest Merlin build).

 

[RMerlin]

I can't see this option on the Professional page under the 2.4 or 5GHz band settings (AC66u, latest Merlin build).

It's not available under every versions.