How to run RT-AC68U on 5Ghz ac mode only?

[sanke1]

I wish to run 2.4 Ghz on a/b/g and 5 Ghz on ac only. I want to completely skip wireless n mode.

How to go about configuring my RT-AC68U ?

Any help would be highly appreciated.

 

[jegesq]

I won't ask why you want to do this, because it sounds really odd, but let me give this a shot anyway:

First of all, I don't think there are any settings in either the stock firmware for the 68U or in Merlin's FW which will accomplish what you're after. There is no setting that will eliminate 802.11n connectivity for /n devices that are present and which connect to the 2.4ghz band or the 5ghz band. At least none that I know of that are exposed on the GUI for the 68U.

Also, while you say you want to use your 2.4ghz radio so you can only connect "a/b/g devices," you do understand I hope that 802.11a devices don't use the 2.4ghz band; they use the 5ghz band instead. So only b/g/n devices can connect to the 2.4ghz band to begin with.

Also, if you actually have any 802.11 a devices that you intend to connect, they are likely to significantly slow your 5ghz channel /ac speed, because they'll drop the performance of /ac devices in order to accommodate the backwards compatibility of the earlier 802.11 standard, which is capable only of using narrower, slower channels.

But back to your question: I don't think there are any settings in the FW that will do what you want. For example, you can set the 2.4ghz band to:

1. "Auto"-- this will allow b/g and /n devices to all connect. If you have /g devices connected and then connect any /b device, it will drop the /g device down to /b speeds. But it will also let /n devices connect, so that's not what you're looking for.

2. Legacy-- allows b/g/n to all connect but limits /n to 54Mbps only. You can avoid the speed drop with /n devices by ticking the "b/g protect" mode box.

3. N-Only-- this does exactly the opposite of what you want, i.e., it lets only /n devices connect and won't let b/g devices be connected.

In the 5ghz band, the settings are as follows:

1. "Auto"-- allows /a and /n devices to connect to the 5ghz band, along with /ac, but earlier standards devices will adversely impact the next highest standards device, causing its performance to drop accordingly (based on use of narrower channels).

2. Legacy--allows /a and /n to connect, but limits /n devices to just 54Mbps.

3. N & AC-- This setting doesn't even exist any longer in the newer Merlin FW 376.XX and up (and perhaps in the official FW versions either) because it had no discernible effect different than the "Auto" setting.

The ultimate simple solution: If you don't want to use 802.11n devices on either channel, just don't use any 802.11n devices and do not connect them to your router.

If you don't connect them, they surely won't connect themselves. Set a password so that devices need authentication before being able to connect, and then keep your 802.11n devices either turned off or disconnected completely. And that's how you "completely skip" using 802.11n.

Maybe someone else will have a better solution. But if you don't want to use /n devices, then not using them is actually a really elegant solution. It requires no further action on the part of the user. LOL.

But if there's another solution, I'd be interested in knowing (not that I have any real interest in not using 802.11n devices any time soon), just for the sake of knowing if such a setting is possible in the 68U.

 

[rt392]

I wish to run 2.4 Ghz on a/b/g and 5 Ghz on ac only. I want to completely skip wireless n mode.

How to go about configuring my RT-AC68U ?

Any help would be highly appreciated.

5GHz AC only.
frequency: 5GHz
wireless mode: N+AC
Channel Bandwidth: 80MHz
Controll channel: 48
Extension channel: AUTO
Authentication mode: WPA2-personal
WPA encryption: AES

You can check the speed in System Logs, Wireless.
80MHz is only AC.

Ray

 

[jegesq]

5GHz AC only.
frequency: 5GHz
wireless mode: N+AC
Channel Bandwidth: 80MHz
Controll channel: 48
Extension channel: AUTO
Authentication mode: WPA2-personal
WPA encryption: AES

You can check the speed in System Logs, Wireless.
80MHz is only AC.

Ray

Yes, I see that by setting 80mhz only channels you can make it appear that only AC devices can connect. And as long as you have only AC devices connected to the 5ghz SSID, it should (in the absence of interference or DFS issues) remain at 80mhz width.

But that doesn't answer the OP's original question of how to "completely skip wireless n mode". The settings you've suggested would optimize 802.11ac connections, but they do not prevent an 802.11n device from connecting to the 5ghz SSID.... And when an 802.11n client device connects, the 68U will drop down to use a 40mhz channel.

Yes, only AC can utilize an 80mhz channel width. But setting channel width to 80mhz doesn't completely prevent or eliminate the possibility of 802.11n clients from connecting to the 5ghz radio. Go ahead. Try it for yourself and see.

Those settings are great for optimizing 802.11ac on the 5ghz band. But they really don't deal with the fact that you can't really do what the OP wants to do, at least not with any settings in the 68U that are exposed, and maybe not at all. Other than just not have any 802.11n clients at all.

 

[rt392]

If he doesn't want some device to connect to his 5GHz band he has options.
Password protection, mac address,..

Ray

Yes, I see that by setting 80mhz only channels you can make it appear that only AC devices can connect. And as long as you have only AC devices connected to the 5ghz SSID, it should (in the absence of interference or DFS issues) remain at 80mhz width.

But that doesn't answer the OP's original question of how to "completely skip wireless n mode". The settings you've suggested would optimize 802.11ac connections, but they do not prevent an 802.11n device from connecting to the 5ghz SSID.... And when an 802.11n client device connects, the 68U will drop down to use a 40mhz channel.

Yes, only AC can utilize an 80mhz channel width. But setting channel width to 80mhz doesn't completely prevent or eliminate the possibility of 802.11n clients from connecting to the 5ghz radio. Go ahead. Try it for yourself and see.

Those settings are great for optimizing 802.11ac on the 5ghz band. But they really don't deal with the fact that you can't really do what the OP wants to do, at least not with any settings in the 68U that are exposed, and maybe not at all. Other than just not have any 802.11n clients at all.

 

[jegesq]

If he doesn't want some device to connect to his 5GHz band he has options.
Password protection, mac address,..

Ray

Yep. That's what I was suggesting in the first place, because there are no other settings that will let him specifically eliminate 802.11n connectivity on both 5ghz and 2.4ghz, at least not as an entire 802.11 class of devices. He can choose not to use any 802.11n devices at all in his environment, or he can block specific devices from connecting by using MAC address controls, or he can block any device from connecting that doesn't have the correct passwords. But that really doesn't eliminate 802.11n on the router side from both bands.