drastic speed difference ethernet AP vs ethernet Aimesh

[bobblet]

***I apologize in advance if this problem has been posted and resolved in another thread. I've tried searching many times both via the forum search tool and via google specifically for snb, but i couldn't find an answer.***



Hi all! Been a long time reader and have learned a ton from this forum. Never had the need to post because various searches always yielded the solutions I needed.

Here is the problem i'm facing:
- When i configure my nodes as aimesh in ethernet backhaul mode, the wifi speed is slow. (~200mbps wifi speed)
- When i configure them as AP mode with ethernet, the speed is much faster. (~850mbps).

This is what i'm working with:
- ax89x as main router
- 2 pieces of XT8 as the nodes
- house is about 5000sqft has 2 levels with solid walls, but every room has ethernet access

Current setup:
- fiber modem > ax89x as main router > linksys 24 switch to rest of the house

- ax89x main rotuer > 2 XT8 nodes
* Since all ethernet cables around the house have been pulled to the fiber modem / main router area, i have the option of either connecting the 2 XT8 nodes into the linksys 24 switch, or directly into the main ax89x router.
* I have elected to connect them directly into the ax89x router. It seems the wifi speed is much faster that way (~500mbps vs ~850mbps)

- I've turned on ethernet backhaul mode only

- Separated 2.4 and 5g, but made them the same SSID for the 2 nodes and main router. (Family keeps complaining there are too many SSIDs)

- Since ax89x is dual band, but XT8 is triband, i've enabled smart connect for XT8, but only for the 5g-1 and 5g-2

- To access router page, I use router.asus.com for the main router, for the 2 nodes, I have to connect directly to their IP address.

Various speed tests i've performed:
- standing directly next to main router, wifi speed is ~850mbps
- in aimesh mode with ethernet backhaul, standing next to node, wifi speed is ~200mbps
- in A/P mode with ethernet, standing next to node wifi speed is ~850mbps; however, everytime i walk around the house, i have to turn off/on wifi in order for it to switch to the strongest signal.
- unrelated, but all desktops around the house with ethernet consistently ~850mbps. All plugged directly into the linksys 24 switch


Predicament (Aimesh vs AP mode):
- Aimesh allows me to manage the main router and all the nodes easily on the router homepage (router.asus.com); however, even with ethernet backhaul, I can't seem to achieve the correct wifi speeds. Speed is around ~200mbps only. I've tried factory reset on the various devices to reconfigure and update all the latest firmware. Nothing seems to work at all. I've read other posts that Aimesh in ethernet backhaul mode should produce similar results as AP mode, but I can't seem to replicate this. Overall, experience is seamless, but wifi speed is not optimal.

- AP mode wifi speed is great ~850mbps! However, i can't seem to combine the 2 nodes into the router homepage (router.asus.com). In order to access the main router and the 2 nodes, i have to use 3 different websites (router.asus.com and the respective IP address of the nodes). In addition, every time i walk around the house, I have to turn on/off the wifi in order to get the strongest signal. With the 3 devices (2 pieces XT8 and ax89x), the wifi coverage is really good around my house so the signal never deteriorates low enough to automatically drop and reconnect to the new stronger signal. Overall, wifi speed is great, but experience is not seamless.

Hopeful outcome:
Kind of greedy, but i'm hoping to get the best of both worlds . Hoping to get the seamlessness of aimesh, and also the optimal wifi speeds (~850mbps).

If that isn't possible, then maybe a solution that does the auto disconnect/connect? Although i think this may not work as intended since some devices will have stronger wifi antennas than others.

Sorry for the long read and I apologize if the explanations were not clear enough. Am a regular joe with no IT experience (with a family that gets annoyed at my constant tinkering with the wifi--though they always have implicit and silent heartful thanks when it finally works )

Thank you all so much!!

 

[Gustour]

I won't help you (sorry) just because i have no idea of how to solve it, but just to tell you that want you want is possible, because it is how it work at mine.

I have rt-ax88u as main router, 2x XT8 as aimesh, ethernet backhaul only mode, ethernet direct into router, smart connect on, and i have +-850mbps everywhere in the house with iphone/ipad.

So, keep searching, but you can have what you want. Good luck

Did you try to connect a PC with ethernet into a node (one of the xt8) and do a speed test ? Maybe it s not a wifi problem but backhaul.

 

[bobblet]

I won't help you (sorry) just because i have no idea of how to solve it, but just to tell you that want you want is possible, because it is how it work at mine.

I have rt-ax88u as main router, 2x XT8 as aimesh, ethernet backhaul only mode, ethernet direct into router, smart connect on, and i have +-850mbps everywhere in the house with iphone/ipad.

So, keep searching, but you can have what you want. Good luck

Did you try to connect a PC with ethernet into a node (one of the xt8) and do a speed test ? Maybe it s not a wifi problem but backhaul.

Thank you!! Although I can't imagine it being this challenging. Otherwise many would struggle setting it up as well.

I'm sure there's a simpler explanation/fix.

Anyway, that is a good suggestion on testing the ethernet ports of the node. I will have to reset the node from AP to aimesh to try it out. Will test and feedback. Weekend is here though (TGIF!) so it's impossible to do any tinkering over the weekend. Whole family is at home. I would be public enemy #1

 

[bobblet]

Quick update! Managed to find time (before everyone woke up) to reconfigure one of the nodes back to Aimesh (ethernet backhaul). When ethernet cable is plugged into the node and into my PC, the speed is ~900mbps.

After verifying, ethernet speed is good, proceeded to test the Aimesh node for wifi speed.

Results: same as before, speedtest on wifi 6 device shows that it's only ~200mbps.
> I've also looked at the network map page to ensure that said device is connected to that very node and not something else.
> Also ensured all devices have latest firmware.

Proceeded to reconfigure node back to AP ethernet. As expected, speedtest for ethernet to my PC is ~900mbps, wifi speed is ~850mbps

Still no solution

 

[Gustour]

Ok, next step, are you sure you are on 5ghz wifi when you perform your test ? Try 2 different ssid for the test to be sure.

 

[bobblet]

Ok, next step, are you sure you are on 5ghz wifi when you perform your test ? Try 2 different ssid for the test to be sure.

Hi Gustour, thanks again for trying to help out!

Yes, i'm definitely on 5ghz wifi. I don't use smart connect so i keep the 2.4ghz and 5ghz wifi separate.

 

[Gustour]

But you said « but made them the same ssid » so are you rly sure you are on 5ghz ?

newt try will be to « remove » the ax89x and made one xt8 as main router, and see if xt8 node will perform good wifi. I d like to try that because I use an ax88u while you have an ax89x, so it’s the main difference between us

 

[bobblet]

But you said « but made them the same ssid » so are you rly sure you are on 5ghz ?

newt try will be to « remove » the ax89x and made one xt8 as main router, and see if xt8 node will perform good wifi. I d like to try that because I use an ax88u while you have an ax89x, so it’s the main difference between us

Ah ic! Sorry maybe I wasn't clear about the SSIDs. I do separate the 2.4ghz and the 5ghz on the router and all the nodes, however, I do give the all the 2.4ghz signals the same name, and all the 5ghz signals the same name.

Ex:
ax89x SSID:
2.4ghz = Asus 2.4
5 ghz = Asus 5g

xt8 SSIDs:
2.4ghz = Asus 2.4
5 ghz = Asus 5g


Good suggestion. Perhaps a compatibility issue.. I will test the xt8 as the main router and the other xt8 as an aimesh. Will report back when it's done.

Thanks again!

 

[bobblet]

But you said « but made them the same ssid » so are you rly sure you are on 5ghz ?

newt try will be to « remove » the ax89x and made one xt8 as main router, and see if xt8 node will perform good wifi. I d like to try that because I use an ax88u while you have an ax89x, so it’s the main difference between us

Hi again Gustour,

I tried what you have suggested: XT8 as main router, and additional XT8 as node.
- Before I setup aimesh, I tested the XT8 as the main router, wifi speed is ~850mbps consistently.

After setting up other XT8 as node under Aimesh and ethernet backhaul configuration, the wifi speed slows down
- Tested multiple times while standing next to main router, speed ranges from 200mbps to 800mbps.
- Tested multiple times while standing next to node, speed also ranges from 200mbps to 800mbps
- Most times even with download speed around 200mbps, upload speed is around 800mbps
- When performing multiple speed tests, i would try turn off/on wifi and restarting phone.


Also repeated the above with ax89x as main router and XT8 as nodes. Test yielded similar results. Not sure why it's so inconsistent. Under AP configuration, it is always consistently ~800+mbps

 

[Gustour]

my wifi settings if that can help :

and can you double check plz your setting of the backhaul, did you do it into Aimesh / system parameters, and not on every node ?

 

[bobblet]

Hi again! Yes i've double checked.

Router home page, click "AiMesh" on left side > "System Settings" > enable "Ethernet Backhaul mode"

Compared our settings. I see only 2 differences:

1) Difference is I separated the 2.4ghz and 5ghz network
> Don't think that would make a difference since i would always speedtest when i'm on the 5ghz network

2) Additional difference in channel bandwidth and control channel
> Mine is left on Auto while yours is specified. I will try to define it as yours, and see how that goes.

 

[Gustour]

as said in my first post, i won't help you cause i have no idea to solve it... and it seems no one else is answering to.

if channel settings doesn't work i see only hardware problem (even if it works in AP mode).

Sorry can't help you much, but it's suppose to work how you would like

 

[bobblet]

No worries Gustour. Appreciate all the time you've spent trying to help me out.

Some day when i stumble upon the solution, i will be sure to update here.

Have a great weekend ahead!

 

[leerees]

It sounds like you have 2 problems

1. Your nodes are not set to prefer ethernet in the AImesh configuration.

2. The wireless network used for the backhaul is not setup to take advantage of 160mhz channels

You should be seeing around 900mb/s, even with a wireless backhaul.

On my AX92'u, you had to enable 160mhz To get 900mb/s. It comes setup to use 80mhz at default, which is around 450mb/s real world

 

[bobblet]

Hey Leerees,

Thanks for trying to help out!

The nodes are in ethernet backhaul mode.

I've double checked both on "global" system settings, and also on individual nodes under management tab.

Regarding point #2, I've also checked that 160mhz is enabled. I'm not sure how to prioritize it though. Don't think i can use 160mhz only since there are older wireless devices at home. They may not be able to connect to the 5g network.

After observing for several weeks and running several speed tests, i notice I do get 8-900mbps on my wifi 6 device. It's just not consistent. At times, it drops below 100mbps as well. It's quite strange.

Even when i try to turn on/off wifi on my device and stand right next to the node or the main router, i can't get the full speed predictably. It probably is some setting somewhere, and the default asus setting doesn't seem to work well for me. The default A/P setting works with 100% predictability though. EverytimeI turn on/off the wifi on my device + i'm next to the node/main router, my wifi speeds will always be around 800+ mbps.

Been kind of puzzling to me too. Asus helpdesk is of no real help to be honest. Spoke to them for several hours.

 

[Gustour]

in channel bandwith fix to 160 (not 20/40/80/160) it will still work for older device
in control channel fix one (not auto), i am using 36 one

 

[bobblet]

Got it. Will test for best channels and report back.

Thanks again!

 

[Tech Junky]

Maybe this is a bit too obvious. Get rid of the router and keep the XT8's and add another one to cover the space the router was covering.

 

[bobblet]

Maybe this is a bit too obvious. Get rid of the router and keep the XT8's and add another one to cover the space the router was covering.

Hey Tech Junky! Thanks for chiming in

At Gustour's suggestion, i've tried doing that. The problem is still present in the same predictable fashion.

 

[bobblet]

in channel bandwith fix to 160 (not 20/40/80/160) it will still work for older device
in control channel fix one (not auto), i am using 36 one

Hey Gustour,

Thanks again for the suggestion! After changing bandwidth and control channel, the problem has gotten better. Although not solved entirely, the wifi speed is in a satisfactory territory now.

My wifi speed using aimesh now ranges from 200mbps to 800mbps while standing next to the nodes/main router. While the spread/range of speed is still quite similar, the average is now closer to 400+mbps. Previously it tended to average around 200mbps, sometimes even going below 100mbps.

Over the past week, I've been testing during different times of the day especially when no one is at home to ensure bandwidth doesn't skew the results. Again, I can't seem to reliably test 800mbps.
- House can be full with everyone streaming and gaming, and i can test @ 800mbps
- House can be empty with all other computers turned off, and my wifi results are 200mbps across all nodes/router

Aimesh is still not as predictable as A/P mode where speed is consistently 800mbps; however, I'm at a point where there is no buffering for any device so I'm pleased enough.

For anyone else who has a similar issue in the future, here are my settings:

To find the best control channel, you can download wifi analyzer on android to scan. The best control channel will automatically be suggested. Run the app and test which recommended channel suits you best.