RT-AX86U wifi capping out 300mb below max speed

[wbn14]

I have been running 388.2_2 on my RT-AX86U since it was released. Although, this issue has been occurring for the past few releases as well.

My wired connection directly to the 86U gives me almost full bandwidth, approx 989mbps/970mbps for a 1Gb/1Gb fiber connection. However, no matter what I have tried, I cannot get past 600mbps/600mbps over wifi. The router is in optimal conditions; middle of room for testing purposes with clear line of sight and no obstructions. Tests were performed at 5, 15, 30 feet.

Here is what I have tried:

1.) Isolating only ONE device to test at a time. I tried my iPhone 14 Pro Max and my MacBook Pro 14" 2021 (both ax).
2.) I have MAC address filtering on to reject those two devices to get on 2.4ghz and only connect to 5ghz (locked at ch 48).
3.) Channel bandwidth is set to 20/40/80/160 with 160mhz enabled. Control channel at 48.
4.) Using WPA2/3 / AES.
5.) The following have been disabled: QOS, GEForce NOW UPnP, roaming assistant, wifi agile multiband, target wake time, enable wmm no ack, enable wmm apsd, optimize ampdu integration, airtime fairness, mumimo, ofdma, ax/ac beamforming, universal beamforming.
6.) The following have been enabled: enable igmp snooping, ampdu rts, enable tx bursting, enable wmm.
7.) A full reset after moving to 388.2_2. I have no scripts or USB devices attached.


Here is my wireless log:

SSID: "Nori"
noise: -89 dBm Channel: 11
BSSID: 7C:10:C9:4E:A9:68 Capability: ESS RRM
Supported Rates: [ 6(b) 9 12(b) 18 24(b) 36 48 54 ]
HE Capable:
Chanspec: 2.4GHz channel 11 20MHz (0x100b)
Primary channel: 11
HT Capabilities: 40Mhz SGI20 SGI40
Supported HT MCS : 0-23
Supported VHT MCS:
NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
Supported HE MCS:
80 Mhz:
NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11

Interference Level: Acceptable
Mode : AP Only

Stations List
----------------------------------------
idx MAC Associated Authorized RSSI PHY PSM SGI STBC MUBF NSS BW Tx rate Rx rate Connect Time
EC:FA:BC:A1:31:F9 Yes -47dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 6M 1M 00:00:02
D0:735:22:79:C7 Yes -58dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 6M 6M 00:00:03
64:52:99:9D:62:21 Yes Yes -59dBm n No No No No 1 20M 65M 39M 00:53:06
2C:9F:FB:1A:E2:65 Yes Yes -59dBm n No No No No 1 20M 65M 72.2M 01:03:51
B0:4A:39:5F:83:C0 Yes Yes -64dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 65M 72.2M 04:57:45
FC:E98:206:C5 Yes Yes -65dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 72.2M 52M 11:23:59
E8:48:B8:60:CB:C6 Yes Yes -65dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 57.8M 72.2M 13:49:07
5C:A6:E6:77:74:0A Yes Yes -65dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 65M 72.2M 13:49:36
5C:A6:E6:77:AB:2B Yes Yes -56dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 65M 72.2M 13:49:41
00:04:20:F8:30:A8 Yes Yes -57dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 72.2M 72.2M 13:49:58
64:16:66:A8:0C2 Yes Yes -42dBm n Yes Yes No No 1 20M 72.2M 58.5M 13:49:59
B4:C9:B9:A1:21:BF Yes Yes -63dBm n No Yes Yes No 2 20M 72.2M 104M 13:49:59
D4:B7:61:47:1E:8B Yes Yes -54dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 65M 1M 13:50:03
B0:09A:1C:78:EB Yes Yes -30dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 65M 72.2M 13:50:06
9C:501:14:49:50 Yes Yes -52dBm n No Yes No No 1 20M 72.2M 72.2M 13:50:06
10:A4:BE6:2C:F4 Yes Yes -44dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 72.2M 1M 13:50:07
A4:97:5C:71:A59 Yes Yes -59dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 72.2M 52M 13:50:08
30:C9:AB:28:51:F1 Yes Yes -53dBm n Yes Yes No No 1 20M 65M 24M 13:50:09
D0:3F:27:A2:0B:22 Yes Yes -60dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 57.8M 72.2M 13:50:09
68:54:FD:E9:0B:4E Yes Yes -56dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 65M 24M 13:50:10
38:1F:8D:93:97:35 Yes Yes -45dBm n Yes Yes Yes No 1 20M 65M 19.5M 13:50:11
80:6D:71:51:FC:39 Yes Yes -46dBm ac No Yes Yes No 1 20M 78M 6M 13:50:11
84:0D:8E:55:58:25 Yes Yes -55dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 52M 54M 13:50:13
80:64:6F:07:928 Yes Yes -31dBm n Yes Yes Yes No 1 20M 72.2M 6M 13:50:12
A4:97:5C:71:A5:E7 Yes Yes -70dBm n No Yes Yes No 1 20M 52M 58.5M 13:50:13

SSID: "Nori"
noise: -88 dBm Channel: 48/80
BSSID: 7C:10:C9:4E:A9:6C Capability: ESS RRM
Supported Rates: [ 6(b) 9 12(b) 18 24(b) 36 48 54 ]
HE Capable:
Chanspec: 5GHz channel 42 80MHz (0xe32a)
Primary channel: 48
HT Capabilities: 40Mhz SGI20 SGI40
Supported HT MCS : 0-31
Supported VHT MCS:
NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS4 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
Supported HE MCS:
80 Mhz:
NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS4 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
160 Mhz:
NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS4 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11

Interference Level: Acceptable
Mode : AP Only

DFS status: state IDLE time elapsed 0ms radar channel cleared by DFS channel 48/160 (0xEB32)

Channel Information
----------------------------------------
Channel 36 A Band
Channel 40 A Band
Channel 44 A Band
Channel 48 A Band
Channel 52 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 56 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 60 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 64 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 100 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 104 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 108 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 112 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 116 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 120 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 124 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 128 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 132 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 136 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 140 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 144 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 149 A Band
Channel 153 A Band
Channel 157 A Band
Channel 161 A Band
Channel 165 A Band

Stations List
----------------------------------------
idx MAC Associated Authorized RSSI PHY PSM SGI STBC MUBF NSS BW Tx rate Rx rate Connect Time
9C:8E:CD:372:63 Yes Yes -79dBm ac No Yes No Yes 2 80M 195M 175.5M 00:44:08
F0:74:E4:36:FA:4E Yes Yes -80dBm ac Yes Yes Yes Yes 1 80M 87.8M 6M 09:07:33
00:7C:2D:33:64:A0 Yes Yes -72dBm ac Yes Yes Yes Yes 2 80M 866.7M 6M 13:20:07
44:736:1C:09:00 Yes Yes -81dBm n No Yes No No 1 40M 90M 54M 13:49:08
88:66:5A:41:0A:E0 Yes Yes -73dBm ac Yes Yes No No 3 80M 975M 24M 13:49:59
5C:41:5A:EB:EB:FD Yes Yes -36dBm ac No Yes Yes Yes 1 80M 433.3M 6M 13:51:58
7C:61:66:12:12:E9 Yes Yes -60dBm ac No Yes Yes Yes 1 80M 433.3M 433.3M 13:51:58
BC0:74:35:EC:2F Yes Yes -70dBm ax No Yes No No 2 80M 720.6M 648.5M 13:52:15

 

[degrub]

try setting your 5Ghz band to 20/40/80 instead of allowing 160

 

[wbn14]

Just tried it, still not moving past 600mbps.

 

[L&LD]

Welcome to the forums @wbn14.

When was the last time you performed a full reset of the router after flashing the latest firmware you wanted to use? Without using a saved backup config file to secure it and connect to your ISP? And, without plugging in a USB drive that was used for amtm/scripts (without first formatting the drive as NTFS on a PC)?

Note that toggling options on/off as you've been doing is also putting the router in an unknown state. Toggling options on/off is not the same as leaving them at their defaults.

A full reset is probably needed, just for troubleshooting. And hopefully, all that is needed.

[Wireless Router] When Standard Reset Isn’t Working: Hard Factory Reset - Models list | Official Support | ASUS USA

Merlin on ASUS ax86U Question

I have an ASUS AX86U and contemplating the installation of Merlin firmware. The DDNS settings on the AX86U are limited to select dns providers. If I install Merlin, will I have more flexability (choices) with the DDNS Settings? Thanks in advance!

www.snbforums.com

Am I all set to start fresh with the latest stable release? And a request for L&LD...

After creating the checklists two weeks ago to save the pages with settings, I've made all the screenshots (I think at least) of all the relevant guides written by @L&LD and the very useful tip by @netware5. The only thing is, those guides are great, except when you'll be offline at least for a...

www.snbforums.com

L&LD

www.snbforums.com

 

[wbn14]

Apologies, I did indeed perform a full reset after upgrading the 388.2_2 but failed to mention that in my post. I have updated the original post.

 

[stef1949]

Welcome to the forums @wbn14.

When was the last time you performed a full reset of the router after flashing the latest firmware you wanted to use? Without using a saved backup config file to secure it and connect to your ISP? And, without plugging in a USB drive that was used for amtm/scripts (without first formatting the drive as NTFS on a PC)?

Note that toggling options on/off as you've been doing is also putting the router in an unknown state. Toggling options on/off is not the same as leaving them at their defaults.

A full reset is probably needed, just for troubleshooting. And hopefully, all that is needed.

[Wireless Router] When Standard Reset Isn’t Working: Hard Factory Reset - Models list | Official Support | ASUS USA

Merlin on ASUS ax86U Question

I have an ASUS AX86U and contemplating the installation of Merlin firmware. The DDNS settings on the AX86U are limited to select dns providers. If I install Merlin, will I have more flexability (choices) with the DDNS Settings? Thanks in advance!

www.snbforums.com

Am I all set to start fresh with the latest stable release? And a request for L&LD...

After creating the checklists two weeks ago to save the pages with settings, I've made all the screenshots (I think at least) of all the relevant guides written by @L&LD and the very useful tip by @netware5. The only thing is, those guides are great, except when you'll be offline at least for a...

www.snbforums.com

L&LD

www.snbforums.com

Do you have any technical examples of the issue regarding turning settings on and off not being the same as leaving them as default? It sounds quite interesting!

I’ve heard about this a few times and always wondered what sort of things this causes

 

[L&LD]

The issues presented are random.

The actual examples are here in posts on the forums.

 

[Correlor]

These are my settings on the AX88U and these work. Do you own only Apple devices?

 

[sfx2000]

My wired connection directly to the 86U gives me almost full bandwidth, approx 989mbps/970mbps for a 1Gb/1Gb fiber connection. However, no matter what I have tried, I cannot get past 600mbps/600mbps over wifi. The router is in optimal conditions; middle of room for testing purposes with clear line of sight and no obstructions. Tests were performed at 5, 15, 30 feet.

I'm not seeing a problem here - 600Mbps is fine for WiFi5/6 depending on the client side - it's not the router itself...

 

[DiGz_Au]

I think you'll find it is the router. Ive the same issue as the op. Even stock or merlin now cap wifi at 600 mbps. Previously no issues with wifi 6 giving me the full 940 mbps. Had this issue the past 6 weeks. Changed over to another wifi 6 router gives me full 940 mbps speed. So have no idea what I'm supposed to do, I've factory reset, used the recovery method via pc, I even went back to an early 2022 build that I know worked fine. Seems very strange to me.

Link speed between device and router is 2401 mbps.

 

[fryedchikin]

Try disconnecting the Wireless N device and see if that makes any difference.
44:736:1C:09:00 Yes Yes -81dBm n No Yes No No 1 40M 90M 54M 13:49:08

 

[KattinVN]

set channel to 36 and bandwidth set only 160Mhz
security set to WPA2 AES
my phone connect to AX88U run speedtest can get ~940Mbps both Download and Upload

 

[DiGz_Au]

set channel to 36 and bandwidth set only 160Mhz
security set to WPA2 AES
my phone connect to AX88U run speedtest can get ~940Mbps both Download and Upload

Already set at 36 160mhz. It connects at 2401 but it's like the router is capping the speeds as I'm testing ping while performing downloading on said wireless devices and my bufferbloat stays very low like 1 to 3ms which tells you that there is something stopping the speed. Tried other devices and same result. I'm stumped.

 

[sfx2000]

I think you'll find it is the router. Ive the same issue as the op. Even stock or merlin now cap wifi at 600 mbps. Previously no issues with wifi 6 giving me the full 940 mbps. Had this issue the past 6 weeks. Changed over to another wifi 6 router gives me full 940 mbps speed. So have no idea what I'm supposed to do, I've factory reset, used the recovery method via pc, I even went back to an early 2022 build that I know worked fine. Seems very strange to me.

Link speed between device and router is 2401 mbps.

Meh - it is all about client side performance... on my LAN...

Intranet Performance...

 

[drinkingbird]

Just tried it, still not moving past 600mbps.

After factory resetting, did you leave the wireless settings at default and see how it performed? Don't configure anything other than enough to get online and wifi working and see what speeds you get. The only advanced feature you should change is to disable universal beamforming on both bands.

Leave everything else at defaults (even the basic wireless stuff other than SSID and password) and see how it performs. Also look at the link rate on the client you're testing from, and watch the CPU on the router and PC you're testing from to see if any cores max out.

From your list, the fastest link rate you have is 975M in which case 600M actual throughput sounds about right. Several others are much lower than that.

There are some known problems with mixing WPA2 and 3 too, so you could try setting that to 2 only. But like I said, it looks like you're getting about the speed you're supposed to

 

[wbn14]

I tend to agree with @DiGz_Au with this statement. When I switch over to my Orbi (RBK853, only using main with no satellites), I get up to 940mbps with ease, even at several distances. Something.. is up in the settings and/or the release. Is anyone else experiencing this or has found a resolution?

I think you'll find it is the router. Ive the same issue as the op. Even stock or merlin now cap wifi at 600 mbps. Previously no issues with wifi 6 giving me the full 940 mbps. Had this issue the past 6 weeks. Changed over to another wifi 6 router gives me full 940 mbps speed. So have no idea what I'm supposed to do, I've factory reset, used the recovery method via pc, I even went back to an early 2022 build that I know worked fine. Seems very strange to me.

Link speed between device and router is 2401 mbps.

 

[wbn14]

Try disconnecting the Wireless N device and see if that makes any difference.
44:736:1C:09:00 Yes Yes -81dBm n No Yes No No 1 40M 90M 54M 13:49:08

Tried that, same result.

 

[wbn14]

After factory resetting, did you leave the wireless settings at default and see how it performed? Don't configure anything other than enough to get online and wifi working and see what speeds you get. The only advanced feature you should change is to disable universal beamforming on both bands.

Leave everything else at defaults (even the basic wireless stuff other than SSID and password) and see how it performs. Also look at the link rate on the client you're testing from, and watch the CPU on the router and PC you're testing from to see if any cores max out.

From your list, the fastest link rate you have is 975M in which case 600M actual throughput sounds about right. Several others are much lower than that.

There are some known problems with mixing WPA2 and 3 too, so you could try setting that to 2 only. But like I said, it looks like you're getting about the speed you're supposed to

Yeah just tried it. I left everything as is besides beamforming (universal + explicit) off, on both bands.

 

[wbn14]

I think you'll find it is the router. Ive the same issue as the op. Even stock or merlin now cap wifi at 600 mbps. Previously no issues with wifi 6 giving me the full 940 mbps. Had this issue the past 6 weeks. Changed over to another wifi 6 router gives me full 940 mbps speed. So have no idea what I'm supposed to do, I've factory reset, used the recovery method via pc, I even went back to an early 2022 build that I know worked fine. Seems very strange to me.

Link speed between device and router is 2401 mbps.

What build did you go back to?

 

[dlandiss]

bandwidth set only 160Mhz

Thank you for your correct use of the abbreviations for units.