Ausus XT9 Question Regarding Firmware and Quirk

[JEofMPK]

I just installed an XT9 router with node.

2 Questions:

I have 2 laptops. One a ThinkPad P43s Windows 11 (2019) and the other a ThinkPad X201 Windows 10 (2010). Also got a Samsung Note 8 and other devices attached. I noticed that my P43s goes offline whenever I make a change in the the settings of the router. Even if I make the changes on the X210, the P43s loses its WI-FI connection whereas the X210 does not. The Note 8 also does not lose connections. I have all devices bound to the router (not the node) although on set up the P43s was sitting so close to the node that I had to bind it to the router after I moved the node far away. I also reserved IP addresses for all devices thinking it would fix things. What is causing this???? Drivers are up to date on both laptops. Am stumped.

For firmware, mine XT9s came with version: 3.0.0.4.388.21429 (11/9/2022). Has anyone upgraded to the latest 3.0.0.4.388.23285 (2/15/2023) without issue?

 

[L&LD]

Try forgetting the SSID, rebooting the laptop, then re-associating it again.

Also, what WiFi card does the P43s have installed? Is the driver up to date (from Lenovo)? Have you made any changes to the driver settings?

 

[JEofMPK]

Thanks I discovered the issue is the Intel 9560 is the issue. Altough it was purported by Intel to be AX ready that was resprensented before standards were finalized. As it turns out Intel is currently stating it is not a compatible AX card. ASUS claims in an insert that upgrading the drivers will make the card work with the router. In fact it does, but there are dropouts intermittnetly and in reboots of the router the card does not connect as easily as it should. The practical solution was to disable AX functionalty in the router and things have been very stable since. Throughput being slower is the tradeoff. This basically performs the same speeedwise as my TP Link Archer A7 1750 purhchased for $59 on AMZN,

 

[bbunge]

Your Intel 9560 has a new driver released on 6/20/2023. Version 22.230.0. See: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/99446/intel-wirelessac-9560/downloads.html I use the Intel driver update app to let me know when there is a new driver. Windows Update does not always have the most recent or best drivers.

As for the Asus firmware, there is no reason to disable the AX function. Asus routers do backward compatibility very well and you should use the most recent firmware just for the security fixes. You may be surprised that you have fewer issues than some report. Many of the issues reported are minor or cosmetic. Who cares if the network map is accurate? Binding clients to the router or node may not be a good idea either as I have discovered. Manually assigned addresses are not a fix for issues as the IP address assigned by DHCP seldom changes in Asus routers. Let the clients, router and nodes run for a while and choose what works best for them. And pretty much use the default WIFI settings including Dual Band SmartConnect.

 

[JEofMPK]

Thank you very much for your insights. Much appeciated. I have that driver installed. With AX turned on, just had too many disconnects. The whole network ran very stably with it off. I later turned on 160Mhz (on the 1st 5Ghz band) given the 9560 does support that. The speed with it on was the same as when I had on both AX and 160Mhz therefore I'm pretty satisfied at the moment. I didn't bind an iPhone and roamed with it successfully from router to node. I came from a Netgear R7000 (and two extenders) with way too many IOT devices and cams and before that a Linksys router where assigning addresses was the only way to make things stable. Will take up your suggestion on letting DHCP do its work and unbinding then turning on AX after I experiment some more in the direction I am going. I want to see another day of stability then want to turn on AX for the 2nd 5GHz band and also turn on 160Mhz for that 2nd 5Ghz band. A little at a time so I can know what works.

 

[bbunge]

Thank you very much for your insights. Much appeciated. I have that driver installed. With AX turned on, just had too many disconnects. The whole network ran very stably with it off. I later turned on 160Mhz (on the 1st 5Ghz band) given the 9560 does support that. The speed with it on was the same as when I had on both AX and 160Mhz therefore I'm pretty satisfied at the moment. I didn't bind an iPhone and roamed with it successfully from router to node. I came from a Netgear R7000 (and two extenders) with way too many IOT devices and cams and before that a Linksys router where assigning addresses was the only way to make things stable. Will take up your suggestion on letting DHCP do its work and unbinding then turning on AX after I experiment some more in the direction I am going. I want to see another day of stability then want to turn on AX for the 2nd 5GHz band and also turn on 160Mhz for that 2nd 5Ghz band. A little at a time so I can know what works.

I have found that it is not a good idea to force 160 MHz. And as I said the router WIFI defaults, outside of the SSID and passphrase are recommended to begin. As for the SSID and passphrase, keep it simple: alpha-numeric values, 8-10 characters and no caps or spaces.

 

[JEofMPK]

The router can operate on non AX and still use 160Mhz. My WIFI card is AC but is also 160Mhz.

Intel® Wireless-AC 9560 - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Wireless-AC 9560 quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

www.intel.com

Networking Specifications​

TX/RX Streams
2x2
Bands
2.4, 5 GHz (160 MHz)
Max Speed
1.73 Gbps
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED*
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
Compliance
FIPS, FISMA
Integrated Bluetooth
Yes
Bluetooth Version
5.1