AC88u 5Ghz signal strength

[cmillar6]

I upgraded from an AC68p to a AC88u and I'm honestly ready to return the AC88u. While the 2.4GHz signal seems equivalent or slightly stronger the 5GHz signal does not seem as strong as on the AC68p. My Roku in the basement on the 5GHz band shows like 1 bar signal strength and it showed full bars with my AC68p. This is despite me using 40Mhz channel bonding and channel 157 on both routers with beamforming disabled. Has anybody else experienced this?

 

[doczenith1]

I did quite a bit of testing between a 3100 (same as 88U minus 4 ethernet ports) and a 68U and did not notice any clear winner when it came to signal strength or wireless performance. Where the 3100 came out ahead was anything cpu related. I ended up keeping the 3100 only because I got it on sale for $193 and figured after selling my 68U I'd be ahead in the long run. More info here: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/side-by-side-68u-vs-3100.35994/

 

[pete y testing]

i suggest something is wrong with your 88u as in testing here the 88u is indeed better than the 68u on both 2.4 gig and 5 gig , might be an idea to return and get a replacement 88u

 

[hggomes]

Always make sure you are doing the compare with the e.x.a.c.t same settings set on both routers and same place on the router / client.

RT-AC88U and RT-AC68U should perform (range) very similar using the same software / version.

 

[Csection]

Always make sure you are doing the compare with the e.x.a.c.t same settings set on both routers and same place on the router / client.

RT-AC88U and RT-AC68U should perform (range) very similar using the same software / version.

Before returning it. You could try turning the positioning of the 88u.
The reason I say that is because I have a neighbor that gives a very strong RSSI. When I turn my router a little away from his connection. I get a weaker signal from his router(Especially on 5ghz) and mine gets stronger. I have also found out that changing to channel 149 works better in my neighborhood. There are 5 or 6 routers running 5ghz within range of me. I think a lot of people got new routers for Xmas.
Just a few things to try! Wifi can be a real pita to deal with and each device can have a few quirks to make it work at it's peak(Hence all the posts on this and other forums!).

 

[hggomes]

You can also try different software / fw on your router and make a compare of how it performs vs original.

 

[cmillar6]

I ended up changing my 5Ghz channel to 36 and now all of my 5Ghz clients get a rock solid signal, better than my AC68p. I was always under the impression the lower 5GHz channels were not as strong but this is evidently not the case in my environment.