RT-AC88U: Misreporting WiFi signal strength?

[msmith79]

Hello

I have recently switched to an RT-AC88U.

The router is working well but the list of connected devices shows a very weak WiFi signal

I have looked at the Wireless Log under System Log, and the RSSI figures in the log are much lower than the figures shown on the devices.

Currently my desktop PC is connected to the 5G network. Windows shows the signal strength is exactly -50dBm but the ASUS Wireless Log shows -79dB.

My Android phone is also connected to 5G, the phone shows the WiFi signal is -45dBm, the ASUS Wireless log is showing -76dBm.

This isn't causing any problems, but is it normal? My previous router (RT-AC87U) always displayed the correct signal strength.

 

[john9527]

Normal.....the two numbers are reporting two different measures. The clients are reporting the signal strength received from the router.....the router the signal strength received from the clients. Since the router has a higher power output, the clients will report a higher power level.

Depending on the environment and distance between the clients and router, things can eventually converge to the same number, as both the router and client wireless drivers can automatically reduce the power output to the minimum needed to maintain a good connection.

 

[msmith79]

Thanks. I didn't have such a big difference in the figures with the previous router, but as long as it's not a fault that's OK.

 

[Ricky]

Hi mate,

I have the same router and experienced the same "issue" as well. I've been researching on Google for probably 2 hours now and I couldn't find anything on this. I was about to give up and then I come across your thread.

On my laptop, I get about -60 dbm on a 5Ghz band/SSID. This value is taken from running inSSIDer on my laptop. Under my Asus router's Wireless Log, it reports my laptop with around -78 dbm. My laptop is about 2.5~3 rooms away from the router.

So yeah initially I was scared that my router may be faulty. I've read somewhere that people have had hardware issues and specifically with the 5Ghz band with their ac88u. Glad to find out that it's normal...

However, I still feel like the 5ghz band signal strength on my router isn't that good. I'm not sure what my house area size is, but the land area is about 450 m^2. I've read somewhere that the 88u covers a much larger area than that. I know that 5ghz is weaker going through walls etc compared to 2.4ghz, but if I'm getting only around -60 to -63dbm on my laptop and maximum of 1/5 bars under Connected Devices, where my laptop is about 3 rooms away or more precisely, less than 15 meters away, then it seems like the signal output from the router isn't that good. Not what I'd expect from a pricey "performance" router.....I probably should have gone for the TP-Link Archer C9, where it's cheaper in price and offers much better signal from all the review benchmarks I've read. Regret

Just wondering though, for the device that only has 1 bar in your screenshot, what is the reported -dbm value under Wireless Log? How far away is the device?

Also, I found this here:
http://ec2-54-202-251-7.us-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com/Main_WStatus_Content.asp

No changes are saved (not sure how that's setup) so I guess you can look around and get some stats.

 

[cmillar6]

I feel like the AC88u has a weaker wireless signal as well. I recently replaced a AC68p with a AC88u and my kids do nothing but complain that their tablets and Roku no longer receive wifi in the basement. I've tried every channel their is on 5GHz and have the best success with Channel 36 but its still no comparison to my AC68. I have the same experience with 2.4GHz. I've gone back to my AC68 and I'll wait for updated drivers on the AC88.

 

[Ricky]

Did you mean firmware instead of drivers? I don't know if you can update the drivers (maybe via SSH and some tricky or advanced guide).

I'm currently on the latest Merlin custom firmware. My info:

Bootloader (CFE) 3.0.0.2
Driver version wl0: May 12 2016 11:14:24 version 10.10.69.6904 (r635567) FWID 01-c9c84353

It's so frustrating and disappointing to find that a more expensive model is performing worse than a cheaper one. Even the 87u outperforms the 88u in terms of signal strength. At least, based on the multiple benchmarks I've read anyway...

Personally, I don't have an issue with the 2.4ghz band. I've gotten about -39 dbm on my laptop using inSSIDer, again I'm about 3 rooms away / 20 meters away from the router. My router is placed inside a cabinet where there are metal hinges in the doors. It's pretty bad for wifi I know, but I think it's pretty decent if I could get -39 dbm, especially considering my laptop's wifi chip is Intel and it sucks on 2.4ghz.

Ironically, all the reviews I've read mentioned that the strong point of the 88u is the 5ghz band, where it performs much better than competitors. I wanted to use this router for that, but now I ended up disabling the radio and just connected a ethernet to a switch and use that next to my laptop instead.

Oh and I've also tried the latest ASUSWRT and it has made no difference.

This is the first time I ever purchased a performance router and will probably be the last time I buy an Asus one. TP-Link seem like cheaper and better in most benchmarks, I'm going for that next time.

 

[pattiri]

My AC88u has the same issue but, as I tested it is just a cosmetic problem, at least for me.