N-Only Problem on RT-N66U

[henry_f]

Hi All,

I have an RT-N66U running build 3.0.0.4.374.32

Whenever I set "N-Only" for 2.4GHz, it apparently activates for a moment, but as soon as the GUI is reloaded the selector invariably reverts to "Legacy" mode. I have tried the 'optimized for xbox' option enabled and disabled. There is an xbox in the house but it is powered off and rarely used. "B/g protection" if I understand correctly should not apply in N-only mode, and so is unchecked and moreover refuses to select even if I try. I have no other active B/G clients.

In sum the router does not stay in N-Only mode. I found one other related thread in this forum, which left things unclarified (for me at least).

Any insights or clarification will be greatly appreciated!

cheers

henry_f

 

[NeutralGold]

If you have wireless protection set on anything other than WPA2 it will default to wireless G. This also applies to any guest networks you have setup. If you have anything other than WPA2 setup on those, it will default all wireless to "g". That seems like it may be what you're experiencing.

edit: Also I could be wrong but I'm not sure. Even if you have the guest network disabled but left it on non WPA2 settings. It could still be a factor. That is if I'm right about this being your problem.

 

[henry_f]

Thanks NeutralGold for the quick reply.

My authentication is WPA2-Personal. This is the case for both 2.4 GHz and 5Ghz.

I should have added in my initial post that the 5GHz network works in N-Only mode and is set that way currently. I just now experimented with changing the 5GHz network to "legacy" and seeing if the 2.4 GHz would consequently stay in N-Only mode. This had no effect. The 2.4 GHz persists in Legacy mode.

Thanks again!

 

[RogerSC]

Just curious, if you leave the wireless mode on "Auto", do you get wireless-n speeds on your wireless-n devices? I just leave it on "Auto" with neither checkbox checked ("b/g Protection" off and not "Optimized for Xbox", no Xbox here *smile*), and my wireless-n clients work at wireless-n speeds.

You can check the wireless speeds in the "Wireless Log" tab under "System Log".

 

[henry_f]

Hi Roger,

I tried setting it to "Auto" and even with that it reverts back to "Legacy."

My wireless log (redacted):

SSID: "my network"
RSSI: 0 dBm	SNR: 0 dB	noise: -89 dBm	Channel: 6
BSSID: 60:A4:4C:8E:38:48	Capability: ESS ShortSlot 
Supported Rates: [ 1(b) 2(b) 5.5(b) 6 9 11(b) 12 18 24 36 48 54 ]

Mode	: AP Only

Stations List                                        Rx/Tx Speed   RSSI     State
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C4:73:1E:C7:95:B1 192.168.11.101  smartTV 1/48   Mbps  -65 dBm  assoc auth
18:B4:30:0A:FB:C1 192.168.11.112  nest1    11/54  Mbps  -46 dBm  assoc auth
9C:04:EB:A6:3D:F1 192.168.11.102  iPad      54/1   Mbps  -56 dBm  assoc auth
90:4C:E5:69:4B:E7 192.168.11.172  winbox  54/1    Mbps  -48 dBm  assoc auth
18:B4:30:03:4D:DF 192.168.11.115  nest2    11/54  Mbps  -45 dBm  assoc auth
E0:CB:1D:9A:D9:75 192.168.11.107  kindle   54/54 Mbps  -51 dBm  assoc auth
00:0D:4B:C2:3D:9D 192.168.11.103  rokuXD 54/54   Mbps  -45 dBm  assoc auth

Each of the clients is N-capable.

So it appears I am not getting N speeds, is this correct? I can't see what would be throttling it to G speeds.

Anyhow, I appreciate the suggestion, Roger.

cheers and thanks

 

[RogerSC]

Hi Roger,

I tried setting it to "Auto" and even with that it reverts back to "Legacy."

My wireless log (redacted):

SSID: "my network"
RSSI: 0 dBm	SNR: 0 dB	noise: -89 dBm	Channel: 6
BSSID: 60:A4:4C:8E:38:48	Capability: ESS ShortSlot 
Supported Rates: [ 1(b) 2(b) 5.5(b) 6 9 11(b) 12 18 24 36 48 54 ]

Mode	: AP Only

Stations List                                        Rx/Tx Speed   RSSI     State
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C4:73:1E:C7:95:B1 192.168.11.101  smartTV 1/48   Mbps  -65 dBm  assoc auth
18:B4:30:0A:FB:C1 192.168.11.112  nest1    11/54  Mbps  -46 dBm  assoc auth
9C:04:EB:A6:3D:F1 192.168.11.102  iPad      54/1   Mbps  -56 dBm  assoc auth
90:4C:E5:69:4B:E7 192.168.11.172  winbox  54/1    Mbps  -48 dBm  assoc auth
18:B4:30:03:4D:DF 192.168.11.115  nest2    11/54  Mbps  -45 dBm  assoc auth
E0:CB:1D:9A:D9:75 192.168.11.107  kindle   54/54 Mbps  -51 dBm  assoc auth
00:0D:4B:C2:3D:9D 192.168.11.103  rokuXD 54/54   Mbps  -45 dBm  assoc auth

Each of the clients is N-capable.

So it appears I am not getting N speeds, is this correct? I can't see what would be throttling it to G speeds.

Anyhow, I appreciate the suggestion, Roger.

cheers and thanks

Yes, you're getting g speeds, as you suspect.

Generally it's because people don't have their wireless security set to WPA2/AES that this happens. I think that WMM might also affect it. But if your other settings are kosher, then I don't know what's forcing it back to wireless-g either. Hard to help from here, though. Sorry.

 

[RogerSC]

One other question, when you upgraded to 374.32 firmware did you reset to factory defaults after upgrading and then enter your settings manually? If you didn't, that might also be the source of your problems.

Give that a try, if you haven't already.

 

[sto]

Have you tried isolating each of your devices to find out which one might be triggering G speeds? I.e. turn them all off, then start one at a time while monitoring/refreshing the wireless log on the System Log tab. Sorry if you've tried this already.

 

[henry_f]

Hi again,

I did a 30x3 reset and reinstalled Merlin's 3.0.0.4.374.32 firmware.
This seems to have fixed the issue, but at present I suspect one other
wireless device which is currently out of the house and which I had overlooked before. I believe it is N capable but not sure, so will have to check that when it joins the network later.

For now, my speeds are no longer pegged at 54. I thought I had reset nvram after last fw upgrade but perhaps not.

Thanks guys so much for the pointers!

cheers

 

[NeutralGold]

Glad it's working now. Let us know if you run into the problem again.