A couple of clarifying questions before I take down my network ...

[Arfyness]

I've been reading and searching this forum for quite a while, there's a lot to dig into! I'm well satisfied on almost every question I've come up with. I have seen where these two questions have been rather discussed, including the faqs, but not in the past year or two. Can someone confirm the current or near future state of these?

WPA3
Is this on the radar for Merlin on the RT-AC66U B1?

Until yesterday, I thought WPA3 was off the table for almost all AC models, and I wouldn't have asked. Then I put one of these in for my folks, and there it was, right out of the box on the cheapest (and then on sale) Asus AC router I could find.

Now I'm wondering, if that can do it, why can't my pair of RT-AC68Us? I believe those have a very similar SOC - BCM4708A0 (68U) vs BCM4708C0 (66U B1), and the exact same radio chips - BCM4360. Still, it's not in the freshly downloaded update for mine, so I'm not holding my breath.

RANGE CONTROL
I've found to my satisfaction that I can't increase transmitter power in Merlin. Have I read correctly that also decreasing it is not available?

Roaming between my two stock APs works much more reliably when I turn it down just one notch. And I don't have to use roaming assistance, so it stays connected in the yard. But, yeah, if it's out it's out. I'll cope.

_____

I hope it's not too big a bother to rejuvenate where these stock features stand in Merlin, one way or the other. If I've missed more recent discussions, please forgive my search fu.

I appreciate everyone's time and efforts. I've learned quite a bit from you in the past few weeks. Thank you all for that.

 

[Ronald Schwerer]

RANGE CONTROL:
On the 68U (AC1900) the Tx Power adjustment slider is in the "Professional" tab for 2.4 and 5 GHz. Four power settings from Energy Saving to Performance. I don't know if it is functional or just smoke-n-mirrors.

 

[swejuggalo]

I've been reading and searching this forum for quite a while, there's a lot to dig into! I'm well satisfied on almost every question I've come up with. I have seen where these two questions have been rather discussed, including the faqs, but not in the past year or two. Can someone confirm the current or near future state of these?

WPA3
Is this on the radar for Merlin on the RT-AC66U B1?

Until yesterday, I thought WPA3 was off the table for almost all AC models, and I wouldn't have asked. Then I put one of these in for my folks, and there it was, right out of the box on the cheapest (and then on sale) Asus AC router I could find.

Now I'm wondering, if that can do it, why can't my pair of RT-AC68Us? I believe those have a very similar SOC - BCM4708A0 (68U) vs BCM4708C0 (66U B1), and the exact same radio chips - BCM4360. Still, it's not in the freshly downloaded update for mine, so I'm not holding my breath.

RANGE CONTROL
I've found to my satisfaction that I can't increase transmitter power in Merlin. Have I read correctly that also decreasing it is not available?

Roaming between my two stock APs works much more reliably when I turn it down just one notch. And I don't have to use roaming assistance, so it stays connected in the yard. But, yeah, if it's out it's out. I'll cope.

_____

I hope it's not too big a bother to rejuvenate where these stock features stand in Merlin, one way or the other. If I've missed more recent discussions, please forgive my search fu.

I appreciate everyone's time and efforts. I've learned quite a bit from you in the past few weeks. Thank you all for that.

I would suggest reading on what the official software supports. If that gets it Merlin firmware will surely get it too after it has been merged.
https://www.asus.com/Networking/RTAC68U/HelpDesk_BIOS/
Even AX88U took a long time to get WPA3.

Sent from my GM1913 using Tapatalk

 

[Arfyness]

RANGE CONTROL:
On the 68U (AC1900) the Tx Power adjustment slider is in the "Professional" tab for 2.4 and 5 GHz. Four power settings from Energy Saving to Performance. I don't know if it is functional or just smoke-n-mirrors.

Oh cool, thanks! That's where it is in stock, and it does do stuff there, so if the option is not cut from Merlin I assume it still functions. I came across mention of it being in the Professional tab, but couldn't really discern if those comments referred to stock or Merlin.

 

[Arfyness]

I would suggest reading on what the official software supports. If that gets it Merlin firmware will surely get it too after it has been merged.
https://www.asus.com/Networking/RTAC68U/HelpDesk_BIOS/
Even AX88U took a long time to get WPA3.

Yes, I visited there dozens of sites ago. Along with the 66U B1 page. I hit "show all" and expanded everything, then searched for wpa. No mention of WPA3 at all.
https://www.asus.com/Networking/RT-AC66U-B1/HelpDesk_BIOS/

Also on the product page it has not listed any form of WPA3
https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RT-AC66U-B1/specifications/

"64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP, WPA2-PSK, WPA-PSK, WPA-Enterprise , WPA2-Enterprise"​

For both of those it's the same as the 68U pages.

On the device, I'm not sure if I saw WEP, but certainly WPA3 is there for Personal and Enterprise. I'm not sure if this is some fluke or if the info on their site is just not entirely in sync with reality (either way, it wouldn't be the first time).

I didn't have time to play with it, so I just set up WPA2 and checked that all their devices started working again. I hope to commandeer it at some point this week to see if it's for real. My Pixel 3a shows WPA3 as an option, so if it actually works there, then I guess something is happening.

I'll get a screenshot, and ssh into it to collect the nvram data. Maybe for someone it will be a nice treat of something new.

 

[swejuggalo]

Yes, I visited there dozens of sites ago. Along with the 66U B1 page. I hit "show all" and expanded everything, then searched for wpa. No mention of WPA3 at all.
https://www.asus.com/Networking/RT-AC66U-B1/HelpDesk_BIOS/

Also on the product page it has not listed any form of WPA3
https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RT-AC66U-B1/specifications/

"64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP, WPA2-PSK, WPA-PSK, WPA-Enterprise , WPA2-Enterprise"​

For both of those it's the same as the 68U pages.

On the device, I'm not sure if I saw WEP, but certainly WPA3 is there for Personal and Enterprise. I'm not sure if this is some fluke or if the info on their site is just not entirely in sync with reality (either way, it wouldn't be the first time).

I didn't have time to play with it, so I just set up WPA2 and checked that all their devices started working again. I hope to commandeer it at some point this week to see if it's for real. My Pixel 3a shows WPA3 as an option, so if it actually works there, then I guess something is happening.

I'll get a screenshot, and ssh into it to collect the nvram data. Maybe for someone it will be a nice treat of something new.

What device is it that's has WPA3? You mention 66U and 68U but the device with WPA3?

RT-AX88U - just one of the latest Merlin firmwares and nothing else -

 

[KGB7]

Do your Folks really need WPA3 encryption??

To my understanding, all their devices would have to support WPA3; Smart TV, phones, tablets, Roku, smart fridge, etc etc.

 

[swejuggalo]

Do your Folks really need WPA3 encryption??

To my understanding, all their devices would have to support WPA3; Smart TV, phones, tablets, Roku, smart fridge, etc etc.

Personally I've made a guest network for "retro" devices with only internet access. Only WPA3 devices and cable connected devices has access to local network.
"Need"... Wanting the best available is normal if you ask me [emoji6]

RT-AX88U - just one of the latest Merlin firmwares and nothing else -

 

[KGB7]

Personally I've made a guest network for "retro" devices with only internet access. Only WPA3 devices and cable connected devices has access to local network.
"Need"... Wanting the best available is normal if you ask me [emoji6]

RT-AX88U - just one of the latest Merlin firmwares and nothing else -

If you have a business with sensitive data on your network, then use WPA2-Eterprise encryption. Or just keep data away from wifi networks.

For home use, most people don't need WPA3.

Plus, even if your router supports WPA3, many devices in peoples homes, wont get WPA3 support.

I get the geek/nerd side of us, that we want to have the latest, but it doesn't mean we need it.

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

RANGE CONTROL:
On the 68U (AC1900) the Tx Power adjustment slider is in the "Professional" tab for 2.4 and 5 GHz. Four power settings from Energy Saving to Performance. I don't know if it is functional or just smoke-n-mirrors.

I can verify they are also useful when fine tuning access points wifi signals on access points near and far apart.