Release ASUS RT-AX86U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386_49599 (2022/07/12)

[SteverinoLA]

Holy moly. This is definitely dorky to get excited about but what an amazing syslog now after this firmware update. It's short w/no fluff and truly just some things I am actually interested in knowing. Good job Asus!

Jul 12 23:00:50 disk_monitor: Got SIGALRM...
Jul 13 00:23:30 acsd: eth6 received event: tx pkt delay suddently jump
Jul 13 00:40:14 acsd: acsd_main_loop(1174): sync_id: 5548, status:1, misc.error/abort
Jul 13 02:00:50 disk_monitor: Got SIGALRM...
Jul 13 03:00:50 disk_monitor: Got SIGALRM...
Jul 13 04:31:27 WATCHDOG: [FAUPGRADE][auto_firmware_check:(7783)]do webs_update
Jul 13 04:31:35 WATCHDOG: [FAUPGRADE][auto_firmware_check:(7801)]retrieve firmware information
Jul 13 04:31:35 WATCHDOG: [FAUPGRADE][auto_firmware_check:(7816)]fimrware update check first time
Jul 13 04:31:35 WATCHDOG: [FAUPGRADE][auto_firmware_check:(7847)]no need to upgrade firmware
Jul 13 05:12:00 ahs: [read_json]Update ahs JSON file.
Jul 13 05:12:00 get_ext_phy_id: 0/1/0/0
Jul 13 05:12:03 ahs: [self_healing]pattern_index-[9].
Jul 13 05:12:03 ahs: [self_healing]re_pattern-[get_ext_phy_id:].
Jul 13 05:12:03 ahs: [self_healing]take action-[store_state].
Jul 13 07:06:52 acsd: eth6 received event: tx pkt delay suddently jump
Jul 13 07:25:34 acsd: eth6 received event: tx pkt delay suddently jump

 

[SAL9K]

No kidding, this f/w is better. Pulling 900Mbps to an iphone 13! And no issues w/ any client, windows, apple, rokus, radios, on 2.4G or 5G, and 160MHz works great with intel ax200 clients (w/ auto wifi settings).

 

[Paliv]

No kidding, this f/w is better. Pulling 900Mbps to an iphone 13! And no issues w/ any client, windows, apple, rokus, radios, on 2.4G or 5G, and 160MHz works great with intel ax200 clients (w/ auto wifi settings).

Interesting, I’ve never gotten more than 700 down on my iPhone 13. And usually it’s more like 600. On my ISP gateway I could get 800+. Regardless all of this is overkill. I actually just use it for testing the WiFi signal around the house.

 

[SAL9K]

Interesting, I’ve never gotten more than 700 down on my iPhone 13. And usually it’s more like 600. On my ISP gateway I could get 800+. Regardless all of this is overkill. I actually just use it for testing the WiFi signal around the house.

The 900 is LAN->WLAN iperf3. I don't have an ISP plan fast enough to do WAN->WLAN. I don't believe I'd seen anything higher than ~800 on previous f/w's. Also, oddly, if I'm within about 5ft of router the speeds drop to like 700. I have to be like 10-20 ft from router to see the max speeds. It's an iphone 13 mini; the wifi is so good on this little guy, the toughest location is our garage, and I still get 400 there.

 

[Paliv]

The 900 is LAN->WLAN iperf3. I don't have an ISP plan fast enough to do WAN->WLAN. I don't believe I'd seen anything higher than ~800 on previous f/w's. Also, oddly, if I'm within about 5ft of router the speeds drop to like 700. I have to be like 10-20 ft from router to see the max speeds. It's an iphone 13 mini; the wifi is so good on this little guy, the toughest location is our garage, and I still get 400 there.

I have noted the same thing. Best speed is actually usually one room over.

 

[L&LD]

Also, oddly, if I'm within about 5ft of router the speeds drop to like 700. I have to be like 10-20 ft from router to see the max speeds. It's an iphone 13 mini; the wifi is so good on this little guy.

This is what I consider normal for most 'modern' routers.

The RF design needs room to develop the strongest signal/throughput possible. Contrary to older designs where mere distance in inches determined peak performance.

 

[Tech9]

I have to be like 10-20 ft from router to see the max speeds.

Wi-Fi environment specific. Imagine waves on the water surface. They amplify or cancel each other depending on reflections. Your walls, furniture, appliances all change your environment. Someone else may get better results 3ft away or 30ft away.

 

[iFrogMac]

If you are an "app" person the Asus router app is pretty good. You can do upgrades and save backups (up to 10). Asus Instantguard is good to add VPN to your phone or tablet easily.

I have the App installed, but I am someone who is old school and likes the web UI managing the router through a browser connected by Ethernet. In fact, the rule of thumb I've always went by is NEVER do firmware updates over wirelesses, all kinds of things can go wrong. Always used wired connections, and either download the firmware locally and upload to do a manual update, or upgrade through the WebUI, (over wired.). Maybe things have changed since with the mobile apps for many routers today.

 

[OzarkEdge]

An ax86u pro w/ unii4 could still play nice with a mix of unii3-only/unii4 clients, if it gives the option to disallow unii4 control channels, right? The image you posted with the erroneous unii4 option points to that ability. Btw, I did not see that gui option, pre and post full reset.

Example:
router control = [149,165] (don't use unii4)
router b/w = 160M

client1, 160M + unii4 capable (doesn't exist yet, but could): allowed to use new, full 160M
client2, 160M (not unii4 capable, intel ax200): only allowed to use up to 80M
client3, 80M (not unii4 capable): just like client2

Seems theoretically possible, but can Asus and client vendors pull off stable f/w and drivers that does this well (maybe after a couple of years?).

What you describe is likely and what the user has to configure now... given 2 (or 3 w/U-NII-4) 160MHz options in the 5.0GHz band, define a 160MHz max bw WLAN that uses a control channel and extension channels that all clients can 'see', and do so within the settings offered by the firmware and subject to WiFi and DFS interference/fallback. When the user doesn't understand the details, and the settings are necessarily not as granular as you might hope, and the firmware and client drivers behave other than expected, and a tri/quad-band router adds a 5-2 band... it can get messy.

OE

 

[Tech9]

In fact, the rule of thumb I've always went by is NEVER do firmware updates over wirelesses, all kinds of things can go wrong.

Not necessary.

 

[SAL9K]

Wi-Fi environment specific. Imagine waves on the water surface. They amplify or cancel each other depending on reflections. Your walls, furniture, appliances all change your environment. Someone else may get better results 3ft away or 30ft away.

Right, but I would imagine multipath interference would be worse the farther away the client is. Perhaps the beamforming isn't as effective at close range, or the RF front end of the client is saturated and has to drops its gain too much to overcome. Lots of variables!

EDIT:
This ax86u 5G downlink chart shows similar peaks/valleys in the near field, which kinda jives with what we're talking about.

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/too...hz-profile-dn/4730-asus_rtax86u?testmethod=44

 

[iFrogMac]

I was reading the posts I missed and saw the reference to the iPhone 13. I have an iPhone 12 Pro Max, and it works fine with the Asus router as far as speeds go. What I'm trying to figure out is, on my older first gen AC devices such as an iPad Air 2 (2014 hardware) and a late 2013, 13" MBP the upload speed can be a bit shaky. I usually get at least 35 Mbps down which I pay for, but on the newer WiFi devices, and wired devices, I usually get around 40Mbps down. The download speeds are normal and more stable, while the upload can jerk the needle around more on the speed test. Channel 36, and 6 for respective bands have been the best overall reliable for me. To compare, I turned the wireless radios back on, on my Airport extreme. it's connected to the network, but most of the time with the wireless off, and it's just there incase I need extra Ethernet ports. With this said, I enabled the wireless radios for both 5Ghz and 2.4, and gave them the same channel assignments as the Asus router. As to not confuse the clients, I also gave the Airport's SSIDs slightly different names so I could connect to it specifically. Anyway, the iPad's upload speed with the Speedtest app was more stable when connected to the Airport's SSID over the Asus, and consistently got closer to 40 Mbps upload and the needle on the Speedtest wasn't so jerky either. Do older AC devices have issues with newer WiFi 6 hardware? I'm not saying the Asus is providing a bad connection, but my older apple devices seem to play nicer with the older wifi hardware. Has anyone else noticed this ?

 

[OzarkEdge]

After a clean install, U-NII-4 is still there...

Set disable 160, 80 bw, ch 36, apply.
Then set enable 160, 20/40/80/160 bw, ch 36, apply. You'll get this:

Then set ch 36, apply. You'll get this:

Perhaps AX86U Pro code is not sufficiently isolated from AX86U code/webUI.

OE

 

[OzarkEdge]

I was reading the posts I missed and saw the reference to the iPhone 13. I have an iPhone 12 Pro Max, and it works fine with the Asus router as far as speeds go. What I'm trying to figure out is, on my older first gen AC devices such as an iPad Air 2 (2014 hardware) and a late 2013, 13" MBP the upload speed can be a bit shaky. I usually get at least 35 Mbps down which I pay for, but on the newer WiFi devices, and wired devices, I usually get around 40Mbps down. The download speeds are normal and more stable, while the upload can jerk the needle around more on the speed test. Channel 36, and 6 for respective bands have been the best overall reliable for me. To compare, I turned the wireless radios back on, on my Airport extreme. it's connected to the network, but most of the time with the wireless off, and it's just there incase I need extra Ethernet ports. With this said, I enabled the wireless radios for both 5Ghz and 2.4, and gave them the same channel assignments as the Asus router. As to not confuse the clients, I also gave the Airport's SSIDs slightly different names so I could connect to it specifically. Anyway, the iPad's upload speed with the Speedtest app was more stable when connected to the Airport's SSID over the Asus, and consistently got closer to 40 Mbps upload and the needle on the Speedtest wasn't so jerky either. Do older AC devices have issues with newer WiFi 6 hardware? I'm not saying the Asus is providing a bad connection, but my older apple devices seem to play nicer with the older wifi hardware. Has anyone else noticed this ?

Try enabling paragraphs.

Have you tried disabling Universal beamforming on the subject band?

OE

 

[iFrogMac]

Try enabling paragraphs.

Have you tried disabling Universal beamforming on the subject band?

OE

Yes, all universal beam forming is disabled, the only thing enabled on the 5Ghz is the ac specific beam forming. Sorry about the post, I try to keep my posts clean, and easy to read.
Since this issue is the worst with the iPad, I've pretty much written it off as an issue with that specific device. However, even after fine tuning my settings, the upload speeds on older devices, while most of the time go into the range of what I am paying for, can drop off a bit slow as well as jerking the needle around.

I have tried everything I'm aware of to check, including rebooting the iPad. Here is a screenshot of my 5Ghz settings.

 

[OzarkEdge]

What you describe is likely and what the user has to configure now... given 2 (or 3 w/U-NII-4) 160MHz options in the 5.0GHz band, define a 160MHz max bw WLAN that uses a control channel and extension channels that all clients can 'see', and do so within the settings offered by the firmware and subject to WiFi and DFS interference/fallback. When the user doesn't understand the details, and the settings are necessarily not as granular as you might hope, and the firmware and client drivers behave other than expected, and a tri/quad-band router adds a 5-2 band... it can get messy.

OE

There may be one more significant condition on this... if an AiMesh node does not support 160MHz bw and/or DFS channels, trying to set the router 5.0 WLAN for 160MHz may be an exercise in frustration. You can set it, the router DFS will clear it, but the router may refuse to broadcast it. I will test again later without my AC86U node in the mix.

OE

 

[OzarkEdge]

Yes, all universal beam forming is disabled, the only thing enabled on the 5Ghz is the ac specific beam forming. Sorry about the post, I try to keep my posts clean, and easy to read.
Since this issue is the worst with the iPad, I've pretty much written it off as an issue with that specific device. However, even after fine tuning my settings, the upload speeds on older devices, while most of the time go into the range of what I am paying for, can drop off a bit slow as well as jerking the needle around.

I have tried everything I'm aware of to check, including rebooting the iPad. Here is a screenshot of my 5Ghz settings.
View attachment 42769View attachment 42770

For fun, disable ax/ac beamforming just to test the troubled device.

OE

 

[iFrogMac]

For fun, disable ax/ac beamforming just to test the troubled device.

OE

OK, what about the turbo QAM? I read a data sheet form Aruba Networks for the iPhone 12 Pro Max as to what it supports and doesn't, and set my settings for 5Ghz based on that as it's my main WiFi device I use daily and my only WiFi 6 Device that's not Hard wired.

 

[iFrogMac]

OK, @OzarkEdge : I toggled the setting you suggested, and the setting I suggested, it really hurt the download speeds. So I put things back to how they were. Considering I pay for 35Mbps up and the older devices, at least get between that and about 38-39, I would say it's still within spec, and 40 is Over provisioned. I don't know why the older devices have a slightly slower upload, but, it's probably due to their age, and not worth worrying about at this point. Most of my older devices are no longer supported by Apple, anyway.

I think considering the devices I use the most, are stable, I'll just leave things as they are. If I have more issues that get worse, I'll check the coax modem connection. I have really strong signal in my area, so there is a splitter between the line coming in and the modem to lower signal to acceptable levels as without the splitter, they are too high. Spectrum (themselves) installed the splitter to lower the signal to the modem. The speed issue also seems like it's also based on the time of day as well. So I'm also thinking it's due to higher activity in the area during the day as well. I don't want to change too much, as not to to introduce unnecessary problems.

 

[OzarkEdge]

OK, what about the turbo QAM? I read a data sheet form Aruba Networks for the iPhone 12 Pro Max as to what it supports and doesn't, and set my settings for 5Ghz based on that as it's my main WiFi device I use daily and my only WiFi 6 Device that's not Hard wired.

Mostly use the defaults and only change known culprits. Universal beamforming cut throughput on a legacy 2010 Dell laptop I had, so worth a try.

OE