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Just got my first wireless router RT-N66U

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conduot

New Around Here
Hi everybody,

I just got my first wireless router, which is an Asus RT-N66U in Canada. I use Bell Fibe (25/10) and the built-in wireless router that came with the modem is horrible so i decided to spring some money and buy a my first router. After looking around, i decided on the RT-N66U.

I installed the wireless router last night and did a firmware upgrade to the latest version. After the firmware was updated, i restarted the router.

I am not familiar with configuring wireless routers and or anything at all, but i downloaded a tool named inSSider to inspect the wireless networks around me (i live in an apartment building) just to see.

I noticed that both my 2.4ghz and 5ghz band had a max rate of 216 shown in inSSider. I was under the impression that both should be at 450?

I just looked through the advanced settings and both 2.4ghz and 5ghz channel bandwidth were set to 20Mhz. Is this correct?

My laptop wifi adapter is only a 1x1 N compatible, but i have a Cisco AE2500 usb wireles adapter which is 2x2 N.

When i do a speedtest on the bell website using the built-in wireless adapter i get close to 25/6 which is what i get on ethernet, but when i connect using the Cisco AE2500 the speeds are around 6/1. I checked the network connection and for the status, it says that the AE2500 connected at 39Mbps sometimes it changes to 72 but it always drops down to 39Mbps.

I tried changing the channel bandwidth for the 5ghz to 20Mhz/40Mhz and restarted the router. The AE2500 connected at 300Mbps and the max rate shown in inSSider is now 450, but when i do a speed test it quickly jumps to 26Mbps download but then just as quickly it drops to 19-18-17-16 and levels off around 12-13. Seems that the speed is not reliable.

My question is, is something mis-configured in the router settings? What should the channel bandwidth be for the 2.4 and 5Ghz band. My wifi adapter connects at 72Mbps which i guess is the max it can connect? But why does the max rate show as 216 in inSSider?

Are there are settings i need to manually configure to get it running as good as possible?

Thanks a lot for the help! :eek:
 
Did you put your gateway modem/router combo in bridge mode before you hooked up the n66 ? It's not a good idea to cascade two routers you can run into problems doing that.
 
Did you put your gateway modem/router combo in bridge mode before you hooked up the n66 ? It's not a good idea to cascade two routers you can run into problems doing that.

Hi Jim,

Thank you for your reply. I did not put it in bridge mode. It is a sagemon modem (if i spelled it correctly) which is an internet modem + router/wifi router. All i did was disable the wifi module on it and then plugged in an ethernet cable from LAN port 2 on the internet modem/router to the WAN port on the Asus RT-N66U.

Should i put it in bridge mode, if possible? Will that fix my problem? I quickly read on the forum here that the newest firmware for the N66U is causing problems. Perhaps i should revert back to a more stable FW? :confused:
 
it is always best to run the modem in bridge mode whenever possible, when using what are guaranteed to be much higher performance routers ;)
 
Thanks! Once i get home from work, i will try to see if i can buy my ISP's modem in bridge mode.

Will that fix the max rate of 216 instead of 450 for 2.4Ghz band and also the problem with my Cisco AE2500 usb wireless adapter?
 
Thanks! Once i get home from work, i will try to see if i can buy my ISP's modem in bridge mode.

Will that fix the max rate of 216 instead of 450 for 2.4Ghz band and also the problem with my Cisco AE2500 usb wireless adapter?

no, probably not. there's a lot of variables involved with wireless signal, i'm afraid. distance, drivers, channel width, etc, etc.
 
no, probably not. there's a lot of variables involved with wireless signal, i'm afraid. distance, drivers, channel width, etc, etc.

Thanks! I will try to find a detailed up-to-date guide that explains all the settings on a wireless router and how to best configure one for optimal range and speed.
 
Unfortunately, none of Bell's modems allow you to set them in bridge mode.

The Sagemcom might have a "Super DMZ" option (I forgot if it was the Sagemcom or their previous 2wire model that offered that) that might help, but otherwise you will be force to either do a double NAT, or use the N66U as a plain AP.
 
Thanks! Once i get home from work, i will try to see if i can buy my ISP's modem in bridge mode.

Will that fix the max rate of 216 instead of 450 for 2.4Ghz band and also the problem with my Cisco AE2500 usb wireless adapter?


The Cisco AE2500 has a default setting of 20 MHz only on 2.4 Ghz. If you want to allow it to use 40 MHz, you have to access/configure the adapters advanced settings on your computer.

Look for the setting "Bandwidth Capability". Then change its value to
11a/b/g:20/40MHz.

Once you make that change, it will show up 450 MHz on inSSIDer instead of 216.

Unless you live in the country where there are no neighbors close, it's often best to set your router's 2.4ghz to use only 20 MHz. Putting it on 20/40 or 40 is usually nothing but trouble if you have close neighbors.
 
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The Linksys AE2500 wireless adapter is an "N600" network adapter, which means only 300Mbps on both 2.4GHz. and 5GHz. I have the Linksys AE3000 wireless adapter, "N900", which does connect at 450Mbps using 40MHz. channel width on 5GHz. Can't use 40MHz. channel width on 2.4GHz. around here, so I can only get 216Mbps connection on 2.4GHz. band. But if I could use 40MHz. channel width on 2.4GHz. band, it would connect at 450Mbps *smile*.

So, I guess the bottom line is that if you want to be able to have a 450Mbps connection on 5GHz., you'll need a faster wireless adapter than the Linksys AE2500. And, chances are, you'll need to be happy with 216Mbps connections on 2.4GHz. unless you live out in the middle of nowhere and can use 40MHz. channel width without crowding your neighbors.
 
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The Linksys AE2500 wireless adapter is an "N600" network adapter, which means only 300Mbps on both 2.4GHz. and 5GHz. I have the Linksys AE3000 wireless adapter, "N900", which does connect at 450Mbps using 40MHz. channel width on 5GHz. Can't use 40MHz. channel width on 2.4GHz. around here, so I can only get 216Mbps connection on 2.4GHz. band. But if I could use 40MHz. channel width on 2.4GHz. band, it would connect at 450Mbps *smile*.

So, I guess the bottom line is that if you want to be able to have a 450Mbps connection on 5GHz., you'll need a faster wireless adapter than the Linksys AE2500. And, chances are, you'll need to be happy with 216Mbps connections on 2.4GHz. unless you live out in the middle of nowhere and can use 40MHz. channel width without crowding your neighbors.

Try reading my post. I gave instructions on how to get the AE2500 to use 40 MHz on 2.4 Ghz. The OP is simply asking why inSSIDer shows max rate of 216 on 2.4 Ghz while the 5 Ghz shows 450 Mbps. When the OP makes the change to his adapter like I suggested, then it will show max rate of 450 Mbps. It doesn't mean that the AE2500 is capable of 450 Mbps, it simply means that the AE2500 will be able to detect that the N66U is capable of 450 Mbps max rate.

Since I have 3 AE2500's, you'll just have to read my post.
 
Hi everybody,

I just got my first wireless router, which is an Asus RT-N66U in Canada. I use Bell Fibe (25/10) and the built-in wireless router that came with the modem is horrible so i decided to spring some money and buy a my first router. After looking around, i decided on the RT-N66U.

I installed the wireless router last night and did a firmware upgrade to the latest version. After the firmware was updated, i restarted the router.

I am not familiar with configuring wireless routers and or anything at all, but i downloaded a tool named inSSider to inspect the wireless networks around me (i live in an apartment building) just to see.

I noticed that both my 2.4ghz and 5ghz band had a max rate of 216 shown in inSSider. I was under the impression that both should be at 450?

I just looked through the advanced settings and both 2.4ghz and 5ghz channel bandwidth were set to 20Mhz. Is this correct?

My laptop wifi adapter is only a 1x1 N compatible, but i have a Cisco AE2500 usb wireles adapter which is 2x2 N.

When i do a speedtest on the bell website using the built-in wireless adapter i get close to 25/6 which is what i get on ethernet, but when i connect using the Cisco AE2500 the speeds are around 6/1. I checked the network connection and for the status, it says that the AE2500 connected at 39Mbps sometimes it changes to 72 but it always drops down to 39Mbps.

I tried changing the channel bandwidth for the 5ghz to 20Mhz/40Mhz and restarted the router. The AE2500 connected at 300Mbps and the max rate shown in inSSider is now 450, but when i do a speed test it quickly jumps to 26Mbps download but then just as quickly it drops to 19-18-17-16 and levels off around 12-13. Seems that the speed is not reliable.

My question is, is something mis-configured in the router settings? What should the channel bandwidth be for the 2.4 and 5Ghz band. My wifi adapter connects at 72Mbps which i guess is the max it can connect? But why does the max rate show as 216 in inSSider?

Are there are settings i need to manually configure to get it running as good as possible?

Thanks a lot for the help! :eek:

If your link speed is 72 Mbps, then you'll probably need to remove your old profiles or uninstall/reinstall the driver on the AE2500.

http://kb.linksys.com/Linksys/GetAr...less_Network_Profiles_.xml&pid=80&converted=0
 
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