ASUS RT-AC66U 3.0.0.4.354 Official Firmware

[bodean]

The xbox is plugged into my powerline. The other powerline device plugs into my router. The lag is with the xbox feature on or off. Installed the latest Merlin FW, and the issue is fixed (no bad lag on xbox). The previous firmware from ASUS, prior to this one, worked great also. Just seems to be this firmware.

 

[italyguy01]

The xbox is plugged into my powerline. The other powerline device plugs into my router. The lag is with the xbox feature on or off. Installed the latest Merlin FW, and the issue is fixed (no bad lag on xbox). The previous firmware from ASUS, prior to this one, worked great also. Just seems to be this firmware.

That is exactly why I will not use anything but firmware 266. IT has been the best so far with a very big signal strength over all the other firmwares.

 

[doubleroll]

Using 354 on my rt-ac66r and no issues to report so far. 5GHz is stable and no disconnects from the pce-ac66. So far so good.

 

[arogan]

Flashed yesterday morning. So far so good but I won't know for sure about the 5 ghz issue until I use it for a solid week.

 

[KumquatOfPain]

I upgraded from v. 270 to .354 and found significantly reduced transfer speeds. Before I would be about 40MB/s, and it dropped to 26-28MB/s. I reverted back to 270 and the speeds came back.

Some notes about my set up:
- 2x RT-AC66u. One is set as main router for the house, the other is used as a wireless bridge for the office wired PCs.
- v 270 does suffer from the 5GHz speed degredation over time. It starts out at 40MB/s transfer speeds, but then drops to 20MB/s after an indeterminate time. A quick "Apply" click in the wireless settings brings the speed back.

I'll try to do a NVRAM clear with .354 to see if the speed comes back. Needless to say, .354 increased my 35GB file transfer times by nearly 50%.

 

[Netwern]

Hi, may I ask do I need to reset the router before or after upgrade the latest ASUS official firmware?

 

[njweb]

I upgraded from v. 270 to .354 and found significantly reduced transfer speeds. Before I would be about 40MB/s, and it dropped to 26-28MB/s. I reverted back to 270 and the speeds came back.

Some notes about my set up:
- 2x RT-AC66u. One is set as main router for the house, the other is used as a wireless bridge for the office wired PCs.
- v 270 does suffer from the 5GHz speed degredation over time. It starts out at 40MB/s transfer speeds, but then drops to 20MB/s after an indeterminate time. A quick "Apply" click in the wireless settings brings the speed back.

I'll try to do a NVRAM clear with .354 to see if the speed comes back. Needless to say, .354 increased my 35GB file transfer times by nearly 50%.

Interesting. Feedback seems mixed then. Post back after clearing the NVRAM.

 

[KumquatOfPain]

Interesting. Feedback seems mixed then. Post back after clearing the NVRAM.

Tried with clearing NVRAM on both devices. Result is the same.

Settings that were changed and no difference observed:
- Xbox Optimize
- N Only
- Transmit power 80mW, 100mW, 120mW, 150mW
- Control Channel
- Bandwidth Auto, 80MHz only

It's like I can't get it to do 80Mhz channel bonding.

Note that this is only for the 5GHz spectrum, for which there are no other devices present (some are present on 2.4GHz).

 

[RMerlin]

Tried with clearing NVRAM on both devices. Result is the same.

Settings that were changed and no difference observed:
- Xbox Optimize
- N Only
- Transmit power 80mW, 100mW, 120mW, 150mW
- Control Channel
- Bandwidth Auto, 80MHz only

It's like I can't get it to do 80Mhz channel bonding.

Note that this is only for the 5GHz spectrum, for which there are no other devices present (some are present on 2.4GHz).

Is your issue specific to the bridge between both routers?

 

[KumquatOfPain]

Is your issue specific to the bridge between both routers?

They are the only 2 AC devices in my house. So I have no idea.

 

[bodean]

More i read about this firmware, the more I am less likely to put it on ever again. Hopefully the next firmware will work better for myself and others. Not much positive though been reported on this FW

 

[RMerlin]

They are the only 2 AC devices in my house. So I have no idea.

What I'm asking is, is the only AC connection being made by connecting the two routers over Media Bridge, or do you actually have devices connecting over 802.11ac?

If the issue issue is only while connecting over a media bridge, then it means the issue might specifically be with the media bridge feature rather than wireless itself.

Just trying to isolate the issue some more.

 

[RMerlin]

More i read about this firmware, the more I am less likely to put it on ever again. Hopefully the next firmware will work better for myself and others. Not much positive though been reported on this FW

What troubleshooting steps have you taken? My own experience with this firmware has shown a 20 Mbits increase while doing a benchmarking test between two devices versus the previous driver. You might simply need to adjust some of your settings.

Unfortunately, Wifi is far from a "plug-and-forget" technology. WIth so many different devices from different manufacturers, you sometime need to tweak some settings. That's why there are so many settings on the webui, compared to, for example, a simple Ethernet cable. A lot of issues can be resolved just with a few adjustments.

 

[KumquatOfPain]

What I'm asking is, is the only AC connection being made by connecting the two routers over Media Bridge, or do you actually have devices connecting over 802.11ac?

If the issue issue is only while connecting over a media bridge, then it means the issue might specifically be with the media bridge feature rather than wireless itself.

Just trying to isolate the issue some more.

I think the answer to your question is Yes, media bridge.

A more detailed answer about the test conditions:

Server/Internet end:
Modem -> AC66u #1 (in Router mode) ---> Server connected via Ethernet
5GHz devices: AC66u #2 (Bridge)
2.4GHz devices: Phone (n), Laptop/Server (n)

Office end:
PC + VOIP ---> AC66u (in Media Bridge mode) connected via Ethernet
AC66u #2 Bridged to AC66u #1 via 5GHz link.

File transfer tests are done with just a simple Samba share from Server to PC across the bridge. Other devices, while active, are not using bandwidth.

Distance between AC66u devices is about 50 feet, interior through 5 layers of sheetrock, horizontal plane only.


I do have a laptop available with 5GHz 802.11n capability, but everything else is 802.11n 2.4GHz (aside from the inactive Kindle which is 802.11g).

 

[DaveMishSr]

More i read about this firmware, the more I am less likely to put it on ever again. Hopefully the next firmware will work better for myself and others. Not much positive though been reported on this FW

I had a terrible initial experience with 354 and went back to 270.26b. However, after reading the many positive posts about 354 I tried it again. Yesterday I redownloaded the firmware and reflashed it clearing the NVRAM by telnet after flashing and using a config file to restore my settings. The results are remarkable. My 5 GHz signal strength while surfing on my patio now almost equals that of the 2.4 GHz band. That has never happened to me before with any router!

 

[managerman]

I had a terrible initial experience with 354 and went back to 270.26b. However, after reading the many positive posts about 354 I tried it again. Yesterday I redownloaded the firmware and reflashed it clearing the NVRAM by telnet after flashing and using a config file to restore my settings. The results are remarkable. My 5 GHz signal strength while surfing on my patio now almost equals that of the 2.4 GHz band. That has never happened to me before with any router!

Dave,

Can you give me a little more detail on how to "clear the NVRAM by telnet" I am having the same issues you were having...would like to try the same fix.

Thanks,

-M

 

[doubleroll]

I did not clear my NVRAM and upgraded directly from the 352 beta to 354. This is the best firmware I have installed to date, can't wait for RMerlin's version!

 

[RogerSC]

Dave,

Can you give me a little more detail on how to "clear the NVRAM by telnet" I am having the same issues you were having...would like to try the same fix.

Thanks,

-M

Log into the router as "admin" user using telnet (putty works well for me) at the usual IP (same IP as the admin web GUI). Then just issue the command:

mtd-erase -d nvram

After issuing the above command you should see a message that the nvram has been erased. Then reboot the router.

That's all there is to it. Oh yeah, you have to make sure that telnet is enabled in the "Administration" -> "System" tab before you can telnet into the router.

 

[arogan]

5 days and 5 ghz has been solid. So far so good.

 

[njweb]

Is anyone experiencing wireless slowdowns on fw 354 and / or occasional disconnects (2 disconnects in 4 days whereas with my N66U and previous wifi adapter I never had disconnects)?

I just switched from an N66U to an AC66U (still have the N66U in case).

I am trying to determine whether the HUGE 2.4 GHz wireless slowdown issue in the post I made today in the below thread is due to the USB-AC53 adapter, RT-AC66U router or the combination of the two.

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showpost.php?p=65333&postcount=6