3.0.0.4.321 Beta Firmware for RT-AC66U

[Gingernut]

New beta build posted.

http://www.asus.ru/ftp/NW_TO_TEST/RT-AC66U_3.0.0.4_321.trx

Don't know what's been changed/added/corrected, just test and find out.

 

[njweb]

Has anyone tried this firmware to see if it helps to resolved the issue some users have reported (not sure if it affects all users) of the 5 GHz signal weakening (gradually) over time?

 

[dimonsf]

Yes had an issue with setting 802.11n always went back to g only

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[mikeg]

What Beoadcom driver version do you see ?

Yes had an issue with setting 802.11n always went back to g only

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[mikeg]

Ok , as no one answered I upgraded to the Beta and look at it :
Broadcom BCM4331 802.11 Wireless Controller 6.30.102.9 (r366174)
from before 6.30.39.31 (r341183) .
Now I will test if this new driver is giving better signal strength stability and connection speed.

Update : have been up now for more than 12 hours , the Asus USB-N53 can¨t have a connection speed higher than 108 Mbps steadily ,
have it connected on the 5 GHz - band. The trougput is better than before , signal strength -25 dbm but on the 2.4 Ghz band I have a signal strength of -15 dbm.
inSSider shows a stable signal strenth on the 5 GHz band. A part seems to ve solved with the new drivers but the connect spped NOT.

Update 2 : Got an answer from Asus about the Beta firmware , first answer was that it was the same drivers as befiore , when I pointed out the that the drivers version was not
the same I got the following answer :
After double-checking, the BETA firmware does contain new drivers but they are no official release as we are still tweaking it for stability.
So there are still stability problems with the drivers. I just wonder how long we are supposed to wait for a solution ?

What Beoadcom driver version do you see ?

 

[njweb]

Ok , as no one answered I upgraded to the Beta and look at it :
Broadcom BCM4331 802.11 Wireless Controller 6.30.102.9 (r366174)
from before 6.30.39.31 (r341183) .
Now I will test if this new driver is giving better signal strength stability and connection speed.

Update : have been up now for more than 12 hours , the Asus USB-N53 can¨t have a connection speed higher than 108 Mbps steadily ,
have it connected on the 5 GHz - band. The trougput is better than before , signal strength -25 dbm but on the 2.4 Ghz band I have a signal strength of -15 dbm.
inSSider shows a stable signal strenth on the 5 GHz band. A part seems to ve solved with the new drivers but the connect spped NOT.

Update 2 : Got an answer from Asus about the Beta firmware , first answer was that it was the same drivers as befiore , when I pointed out the that the drivers version was not
the same I got the following answer :
After double-checking, the BETA firmware does contain new drivers but they are no official release as we are still tweaking it for stability.
So there are still stability problems with the drivers. I just wonder how long we are supposed to wait for a solution ?

Thanks for the update. So you now have a stable connection on 5 GHz right (no longer gradually dies)? That is good news.

Re. the slow link rates (you noted 108 Mbps), 2 meters between the router and client might be a bit CLOSE since a strong signal (and your sjgnal strengths certainly are very strong) very close by can actually have adverse effects (juts like turning TX power too high can have an adverse effect, which is why, as per RMerlin, Asus reduced the max TX power).
Have you tried distance a little further away to see if you can get a higher speed?

In any case, I would advise trying LAN Speed Test and checking your actual throughput which is more meaningful than the software reported link rate anyway.

Interesting that they are having issues with the RT-AC66U since other than the 802.11ac component this is the same as the N66U!!! Although the reviews seem decent so I wonder what the root cause of the issues is for those who are experiencing them...

 

[mikeg]

I have not had the Beta fw up for more than 1and a half day so it to soon to know if the signal degradation will occur here too.
I have the TP-Link router with the same distance and no problem with the connection speed.
Actually I have been running a similar test like LAN Test and the results from
the AC66U is not good especially dsownload speed , upload speed is better.
If I run the same speed test on the TP-Link I get better values on both download and upload. I have a 100 / 100 Mbps fiber connection.
The problem as I see it is the Broadcom drivers which are not working correctly. Looks like it will take time to fix this issue and now I have waited a long time for Asus to deliver a solution. Time to RMA the AC66U and wait and see what happens.

Thanks for the update. So you now have a stable connection on 5 GHz right (no longer gradually dies)? That is good news.

Re. the slow link rates (you noted 108 Mbps), 2 meters between the router and client might be a bit CLOSE since a strong signal (and your sjgnal strengths certainly are very strong) very close by can actually have adverse effects (juts like turning TX power too high can have an adverse effect, which is why, as per RMerlin, Asus reduced the max TX power).
Have you tried distance a little further away to see if you can get a higher speed?

In any case, I would advise trying LAN Speed Test and checking your actual throughput which is more meaningful than the software reported link rate anyway.

Interesting that they are having issues with the RT-AC66U since other than the 802.11ac component this is the same as the N66U!!! Although the reviews seem decent so I wonder what the root cause of the issues is for those who are experiencing them...

 

[njweb]

I have not had the Beta fw up for more than 1and a half day so it to soon to know if the signal degradation will occur here too.
I have the TP-Link router with the same distance and no problem with the connection speed.
Actually I have been running a similar test like LAN Test and the results from
the AC66U is not good especially dsownload speed , upload speed is better.
If I run the same speed test on the TP-Link I get better values on both download and upload. I have a 100 / 100 Mbps fiber connection.
The problem as I see it is the Broadcom drivers which are not working correctly. Looks like it will take time to fix this issue and now I have waited a long time for Asus to deliver a solution. Time to RMA the AC66U and wait and see what happens.

Keep in mind the TP-Link might have a less overpowering signal, so the same short 2m distance might work fine with that router.
Interesting about the speeds in your case not being good in your case since others (including Tim himself and Geraner) here have gotten similar speeds to the N66U when testing the AC66U which is obviously not bad.

If I get a chance, I may hook mine up this weekend.

Have you tried resetting it and / or going back to older firmwares?
Just trying to think what might help improve it for you.

 

[mikeg]

I have the same issues with 2 stationary pc:s which are further away from the AC66U , each with an Asus USB-N53 and have the same issues with them connected to the AC66U. I had 4 N66U which I RMA:d because they did not work properly.This is my last try with Asus routers, I have tried newer firmwares as they came out , Merlins too. I have had the unit since august 2012 so I have really been patient with Asus to solve the issue.
I have resetted it , cleared the nvram and whatever else.

Keep in mind the TP-Link might have a less overpowering signal, so the same short 2m distance might work fine with that router.
Interesting about the speeds in your case not being good in your case since others (including Tim himself and Geraner) here have gotten similar speeds to the N66U when testing the AC66U which is obviously not bad.

If I get a chance, I may hook mine up this weekend.

Have you tried resetting it and / or going back to older firmwares?
Just trying to think what might help improve it for you.

 

[DaveMishSr]

Has anyone tried this firmware to see if it helps to resolved the issue some users have reported (not sure if it affects all users) of the 5 GHz signal weakening (gradually) over time?

I am noticing that hardware acceleration is being reported as "Disabled" even though I have it on. I tried changing the disable hardware acceleration setting to yes, changing it back to no, letting the router reboot each time and then tried to refresh the SysInfo page to no avail. The reporting of hardware acceleration status is a new feature that I am looking forward to.

 

[mikeg]

I am not sure what you are refering to , when I look for the Hardware Accelerator I have it enabled no problem at all. Are you refering to LAN - Switch Control ?

I am noticing that hardware acceleration is being reported as "Disabled" even though I have it on. I tried changing the disable hardware acceleration setting to yes, changing it back to no, letting the router reboot each time and then tried to refresh the SysInfo page to no avail. The reporting of hardware acceleration status is a new feature that I am looking forward to.

 

[RMerlin]

I am noticing that hardware acceleration is being reported as "Disabled" even though I have it on. I tried changing the disable hardware acceleration setting to yes, changing it back to no, letting the router reboot each time and then tried to refresh the SysInfo page to no avail. The reporting of hardware acceleration status is a new feature that I am looking forward to.

The option on the Switch Control page is to force it to disabled. The firmware will automatically disable it whenever a non-compatible feature is enabled (such as QoS or Per IP monitoring).

Next beta build will report whether it is being disabled by the user or by the firmware.

EDIT: are you referring to my firmware, or this Asus beta? I didn't think they had HW acceleration status reported, that's why I assumed you were referring to Asuswrt-Merlin.

 

[DaveMishSr]

The option on the Switch Control page is to force it to disabled. The firmware will automatically disable it whenever a non-compatible feature is enabled (such as QoS or Per IP monitoring).

Next beta build will report whether it is being disabled by the user or by the firmware.

EDIT: are you referring to my firmware, or this Asus beta? I didn't think they had HW acceleration status reported, that's why I assumed you were referring to Asuswrt-Merlin.

Yes, I am running Merlin 266.24 Beta1. I also have QoS enabled so that would explain why I cannot activate hardware acceleration.

 

[RMerlin]

Yes, I am running Merlin 266.24 Beta1. I also have QoS enabled so that would explain why I cannot activate hardware acceleration.

Thanks. You're not the first one wondering about this, so I decided to make the status report be more specific in Beta 2 based on user feedback.

 

[mikeg]

I have had a couple of router rebootes just out of the blue the last days.
Now the router rebooted again a couple of hours ago. My signal strength on the 5 GHz is -27 dbm and on the 2.4 GHz -19dbm, I can connect with 300 Mbps on my laptop now. Very strange behaviuor but as this a Beta stability is not the best.

Update : I have had the unit up for nearly 4 days now without any sudden re-boots, I have adjusted the Tx power on the 5 Ghz band to 70 mW , the 2.4 Ghz band is 75 mW.
Still have problems with connectiion speed to my laptop , most of the time 108 Mbps , someteimes 162 Mps and very rarely 300 Mbps.
Will wait for the next sudden re-boot and then update the f/w to .270.

Ok , as no one answered I upgraded to the Beta and look at it :
Broadcom BCM4331 802.11 Wireless Controller 6.30.102.9 (r366174)
from before 6.30.39.31 (r341183) .
Now I will test if this new driver is giving better signal strength stability and connection speed.

Update : have been up now for more than 12 hours , the Asus USB-N53 can¨t have a connection speed higher than 108 Mbps steadily ,
have it connected on the 5 GHz - band. The trougput is better than before , signal strength -25 dbm but on the 2.4 Ghz band I have a signal strength of -15 dbm.
inSSider shows a stable signal strenth on the 5 GHz band. A part seems to ve solved with the new drivers but the connect spped NOT.

Update 2 : Got an answer from Asus about the Beta firmware , first answer was that it was the same drivers as befiore , when I pointed out the that the drivers version was not
the same I got the following answer :
After double-checking, the BETA firmware does contain new drivers but they are no official release as we are still tweaking it for stability.
So there are still stability problems with the drivers. I just wonder how long we are supposed to wait for a solution ?

 

[mikeg]

No solution for the drop of signal strength on the 5 GHz band

Now I have had the Beta f/w up without any spontaneous reboots for more than 6 days. This Beta does not solve the issue with the signal degradation on the 5 GHz band. Still have to do the temporary fix to click on the Apply button on the 5 GHz Professional settings to solve the issue and get connection speed of 300 Mbps instead of 108 Mbps.

 

[DaveMishSr]

Thanks. That is what makes you so unique. An off the cuff remark like the one I made not only gets noticed, but is answered and taken into account with the release of an updated version of your firmware. Absolutely outstanding!