Asus 86u WAN issues

[Joseph_12599]

Hello all,

I'm currently on a 500Mbps line from my ISP in Dubai (Etisalat). I was previously on a WRT1900ACS and was getting 530mbps down, and 100mbps up which is as advertised. However, the router failed recently when my speed dropped to around 90mbps down AND up. Checked in with the ISP, they did the "modem direct to pc" connection and setup the dial up, speeds were attained as advertised and he concluded that it was a router issue. I noticed that the WAN port connection speed on the WRT was stuck on 10/100M. Did multiple resets on router and modem, nothing worked. So i gave in an got myself a Asus 86u.

I setup the connection on the 86u and confirmed the WAN port was connected at 1Gbps. So i did a speedtest, to my shock i was getting 530mbps down and 0 upload. Tried multiple settings but nothing worked. On top of this i noticed the wifi signal was so terrible that i was getting only 1 range bar sitting just next to the router, if i bought the wireless device right in front of the router i would get full range. This was the same for both 2.4 and 5 Ghz connections. So i returned the device and got it replaced with a new unit same model.

Did the connection setup on the 2nd 86u, still noticed i'm was getting 530mbps down and 0 upload. Decided to leave it on overnight. In the morning i just ran a speed test and found that my speed were back to 90mbps down AND up (similar to the wrt issue i had). Quickly checked the WAN connection speed and saw it was 100M. Rebooted the router and the connection went back up to 1Gbps. But still the issue of 0mbps upload persists.

In short, when WAN connection drops to 100M i get 90mbps down and 90mbps up. When WAN is connected at 1000M, i get 530mbps down, 0mbps up.

Below is what i did to try and solve the issue but still no joy.

1. Changed all cables with new CAT 6 cables.
2. Changed the network adaptor settings (Energy Efficient Ethernet - off, Large send Offload V2 IPv4 & IPv6 - Disabled, Speed & Duplex - 1.0 Gbps Full Duplex)
3. Router hard resets, flashing with older Asus firmware.
4. Connect to another Ethernet port on the motherboard.
5. QoS (after setting the speeds), AIprotection, Analyzer, Game Boost all disabled.

My current firmware version is 3.0.0.4.384_81049. It automatically upgraded after i setup the connection. This happened both times when i setup the 86u initially. I just have around 2-3 devices connected to the router wireless. Would like some help here please.

 

[Trip]

Sounds to me like possibly too large of an MTU on the router's WAN interface (likely 1500). See if you can lower your WAN's MTU on the Asus to at least 1492, 8 bytes shaved off to accommodate for the PPPoE encapsulation on the fiber connection (2-Byte PPP + 6-Byte PPPoE). After changing the MTU, save your config, then shutdown router and modem, then boot the modem first and wait until it comes up, then boot the router, then do speedtests. If nothing changes, the modem/ONT could (likely) be sending full ethernet frames upstream, which would require 18 bytes be removed from the Asus WAN's MTU, lowering it to 1474 -- 18 bytes include: 4 Byte Frame Check Sequence (FCS) + 6 (dest MAC) + 6 (src MAC) + 2 (ethertype). May just want to try an MTU of 1474 straight away.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hello all,

I'm currently on a 500Mbps line from my ISP in Dubai (Etisalat). I was previously on a WRT1900ACS and was getting 530mbps down, and 100mbps up which is as advertised. However, the router failed recently when my speed dropped to around 90mbps down AND up. Checked in with the ISP, they did the "modem direct to pc" connection and setup the dial up, speeds were attained as advertised and he concluded that it was a router issue. I noticed that the WAN port connection speed on the WRT was stuck on 10/100M. Did multiple resets on router and modem, nothing worked. So i gave in an got myself a Asus 86u.

I setup the connection on the 86u and confirmed the WAN port was connected at 1Gbps. So i did a speedtest, to my shock i was getting 530mbps down and 0 upload. Tried multiple settings but nothing worked. On top of this i noticed the wifi signal was so terrible that i was getting only 1 range bar sitting just next to the router, if i bought the wireless device right in front of the router i would get full range. This was the same for both 2.4 and 5 Ghz connections. So i returned the device and got it replaced with a new unit same model.

Did the connection setup on the 2nd 86u, still noticed i'm was getting 530mbps down and 0 upload. Decided to leave it on overnight. In the morning i just ran a speed test and found that my speed were back to 90mbps down AND up (similar to the wrt issue i had). Quickly checked the WAN connection speed and saw it was 100M. Rebooted the router and the connection went back up to 1Gbps. But still the issue of 0mbps upload persists.

In short, when WAN connection drops to 100M i get 90mbps down and 90mbps up. When WAN is connected at 1000M, i get 530mbps down, 0mbps up.

Below is what i did to try and solve the issue but still no joy.

1. Changed all cables with new CAT 6 cables.
2. Changed the network adaptor settings (Energy Efficient Ethernet - off, Large send Offload V2 IPv4 & IPv6 - Disabled, Speed & Duplex - 1.0 Gbps Full Duplex)
3. Router hard resets, flashing with older Asus firmware.
4. Connect to another Ethernet port on the motherboard.
5. QoS (after setting the speeds), AIprotection, Analyzer, Game Boost all disabled.

My current firmware version is 3.0.0.4.384_81049. It automatically upgraded after i setup the connection. This happened both times when i setup the 86u initially. I just have around 2-3 devices connected to the router wireless. Would like some help here please.

Maybe the modem/jack is acting up... can the ISP let you try a replacement modem?

OE

 

[Joseph_12599]

Unfortunately, Isp wont do anything unless the speed from their modem direct to my pc is less than what is advertised. I have asked them to check the cable also, they said everything from their end is fine. They just dont want to do any work.

 

[Joseph_12599]

Sounds to me like possibly too large of an MTU on the router's WAN interface (likely 1500). See if you can lower your WAN's MTU on the Asus to at least 1492, 8 bytes shaved off to accommodate for the PPPoE encapsulation on the fiber connection (2-Byte PPP + 6-Byte PPPoE). After changing the MTU, save your config, then shutdown router and modem, then boot the modem first and wait until it comes up, then boot the router, then do speedtests. If nothing changes, the modem/ONT could (likely) be sending full ethernet frames upstream, which would require 18 bytes be removed from the Asus WAN's MTU, lowering it to 1474 -- 18 bytes include: 4 Byte Frame Check Sequence (FCS) + 6 (dest MAC) + 6 (src MAC) + 2 (ethertype). May just want to try an MTU of 1474 straight away.

Thanks, the MTU was set at auto, then i had changed it to 1492 earlier through TCP optimizer. Didnt try 1474, I will try this in the evening after office and get back with an update.

EDIT : I was just checking my PC (from office), the router site shows MTU & MRU set at 1492, TCP optimizer "Current Settings" shows MTU is 1500. Is there a clash somewhere?
Which one would make more of an effect? Router page or TCP Optimizer?

 

[Trip]

The router is the only thing you need to be concerned about when it comes to WAN MTU. Regardless of what MTU the endpoints in your LAN are using, as soon as packets go to egress out to the internet, the router will (or should) adjust those packets down to the MTU specified on the router for the WAN interface. If the Asus doesn't allow you to do this, or isn't doing it properly, rip it out and put in a router that will, at least for testing, and potentially for good if that fixes the problem. You could then repurpose the Asus just as an AP is that becomes the case.

 

[Joseph_12599]

so , set up MTU and MRU at 1474, rebooted as you mentioned, but still 0 upload

 

[Trip]

Any chance the ISP could replace the modem with a different model?

 

[Joseph_12599]

They wont unless the speeds when directly connected to the PC is low than what i paid for.

 

[Joseph_12599]

UPDATE :
So i gave in and called the ISP again to come check my line. I insisted they bring their own router (ISP gives their own router for new connections) to check if its the Asus problem or a their Modem/cable problem.
When they connected their router (Dlink) it gave the advertised speeds. Since the problem was from my side, i ended up paying for his visit. The technician insisted to take the router for a much cheaper price compared to the 86u. He was asking 65$ for the router, and said high priced routers may or may not work. I didn't want to take the ISP's router since the firmware installed is the ISP specific firmware and as a customer, we cannot alter any settings in it. They basically will have access to everything. Also i needed VPN since VOIP is blocked in our region, so i ditched their router initially and told the technician ill return the asus and buy the same dlink router.
I thought ill give it one last go, and i reconnected the cable to the 86u. The internet wasn't connecting so i did a reset on the router page, rebooted the modem and reconnected, sudden i started getting the advertised speeds again. My lower jaw almost hit the floor as i was shocked and couldn't understand why the hell this didn't happen before even though i had done router resets earlier.

I hope it stays like this, but thinking back i just cant pin point where the exact problem was.

 

[Trip]

Very interesting. Keep us posted on whether the Asus continues to hold the advertised speeds. It is troublesome that you weren't able to pinpoint the cause of the issue...