Looking at an AC86U. Are there still issues with the 2.4Ghz band?

[K-2SO]

I found Asus stock latest versions more stable than Merlin on my RT-AC86U. The current one is 81992. You may need to reset the router after flashing this one though. There are changes in jffs partition. Try Asus stock first, if you need extra features down the road flash Merlin and test. There is no difference in WiFi performance. Merlin uses the same wireless drivers.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I wanted to follow up once more and ask what version firmware (stock, merlin, version #) those with successes and issues are running. I don't personally need any additional features, but interested if a certain version of any firmware addresses or improves performance, especially related to the 2.4 radio. Thanks again.

If you intend to try AiMesh with your existing 68U, I would use stock Asuswrt 81858 on your 86U. Otherwise, use the latest 81992 (if you decide to revert to 81858 later, you must reset before being able to login, due to encryption added after 81858).

Regardless, reset after installing new firmware and before configuration from scratch.

OE

 

[sol1109]

Been running mine since 2013 covering 4 stories and part of yard with over 50 devices both wired and wireless. Always run stock firmware and yes there have been a few bad releases over the years but this is the most stable router I have ever had out of four owned to date.

 

[K-2SO]

Been running mine since 2013

Yours must be an early engineering sample router. RT-AC86U is a 2017 router.

 

[binarydad]

I got mine today. It's a 2020 model, the serial starts with K. Honestly I'm not seeing any difference in range or actual performance between this and my (trusty) AC68U. I'll experiment more tomorrow side-by-side.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I got mine today. It's a 2020 model, the serial starts with K. Honestly I'm not seeing any difference in range or actual performance between this and my (trusty) AC68U. I'll experiment more tomorrow side-by-side.

How are you judging range... by signal power/RSSI dBm?

OE

 

[binarydad]

Just Wifi Analyzer dBm, and running a LAN speed test (Wifi Speed Test Pro) at various points I've noticed were weaker before. So far the 5Ghz performance is about the same, at around 200-300 mbps (peaked at close to 400 before) throughout the house, but surprisingly the 2.4ghz band was actually a little slower (I was around 80-100mbps on average but my old AC68U was getting around 100-130 in those same spots). I still have quite a bit of 2.4ghz devices in the house. I've updated the 86U to the latest stock firmware.

I'll deep dive tomorrow or this weekend when I set up the AC86U as just a WAP (plugged into the 68U) and do some side-by-side tests. If it's not worth it then I'll obviously return it and save money. I was just expecting more of a difference between the two from what I was gathering before.

 

[K-2SO]

I had both in the past. RT-AC86U was at least 20% better in range and speed compared to RT-AC68U.

 

[binarydad]

I had both in the past. RT-AC86U was at least 20% better in range and speed compared to RT-AC68U.

Could the fact that the 68U is running John's Merlin fork (on the 68U) have anything to do with the difference in wireless drivers? I understood older versions of those drivers were kept because they supposedly had better performance/range.

 

[K-2SO]

I don’t know. I never used John’s fork.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Could the fact that the 68U is running John's Merlin fork (on the 68U) have anything to do with the difference in wireless drivers? I understood older versions of those drivers were kept because they supposedly had better performance/range.

Facts can matter. I'm not familiar with your 68U/John's fork equipment.

I concur that the 86U WiFi is about 20% stronger than the stock 68U.

OE

 

[binarydad]

Facts can matter. I'm not familiar with your 68U/John's fork equipment.

I concur that the 86U WiFi is about 20% stronger than the stock 68U.

OE

Here's the thread regarding his fork: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/fork-asuswrt-merlin-374-43-lts-releases-v44ea.18914/

Oh I believe you. I'm just surprised in my case I'm not seeing much difference at all. I played around with it a little this morning, setting the 86U in AP mode and on different channels. dBm for the 86U is only slightly better for both bands than the 68U, but the speed tests were pretty much identical for both bands. Still saw very slight edge in 2.4ghz speed to the 68U. I'll test the range later, but I figured I'll gather some data and make a new post.

 

[bobes]

Here's my experience. I had 2 68Us at times with and without AiMesh setup. My office is at the opposite end of the router and one floor up. I've had connection issues with the mesh (disconnecting and reconnecting issues). without the mesh, my connection is slow because of the distance. On a whim, I picked up an 86U from amazon (got a 2020 version) and with the router in the same spot, I find that my connections in the office is definitely more stable. In the house, we can now do 3 separate zoom meetings simultaneously without any issues. whereas before, it would randomly disconnect at times and reconnect after 10 secs... maybe it's a configuration thing but I find the 86 more stable. I now have the 2 68Us as backups now. my signal strength is now in the -50 to -60 range with minimal noise on the 86U.

 

[binarydad]

Here's my experience. I had 2 68Us at times with and without AiMesh setup. My office is at the opposite end of the router and one floor up. I've had connection issues with the mesh (disconnecting and reconnecting issues). without the mesh, my connection is slow because of the distance. On a whim, I picked up an 86U from amazon (got a 2020 version) and with the router in the same spot, I find that my connections in the office is definitely more stable. In the house, we can now do 3 separate zoom meetings simultaneously without any issues. whereas before, it would randomly disconnect at times and reconnect after 10 secs... maybe it's a configuration thing but I find the 86 more stable. I now have the 2 68Us as backups now. my signal strength is now in the -50 to -60 range with minimal noise on the 86U.

I'm seeing the increased signal strength too, but what I'm seeing consistently is that 1) the link speed for 2.4ghz on the AC86U never went past 144mbps (the 68U connected at 192mbps), and 2) the download speeds on LAN for the 86U are (again, consistently) between the 80-100mbps range (sitting next to the router) versus 100-120mbps range with the 68U.

It doesn't make sense why the 68U is performing the same if not better in actual speed tests. Maybe the firmware on the 68U is surprisingly stable. There was nothing wrong with my 68U - I was just hoping the 86U would provide more performance at a longer range, but I'm not necessarily seeing that so far.

 

[bobes]

that is odd. are you using similar config settings?
for me, I really cared about the stability at a distance... so it worked out as I didn't feel it was noticeably different in speed in real world actual usage.

 

[binarydad]

I'll do some more tests this weekend, but one interesting thing is while I can't seem to get the 86U to go past 100mbps on 2.4ghz at close range (the 68U averages between 100-120mbps), at a distance, the 86U seems to keep the speed up while the 68U starts to slow down. I'll test this more at different parts of the house. I'm mostly curious why it seems the 68U is (surprisingly) stronger at close range, while the 86U is (not surprisingly) stronger at longer ranges.

 

[K-2SO]

Are you using 40MHz channel on 2.4GHz? How many 2.4GHz networks do you see around?

 

[OzarkEdge]

I'll do some more tests this weekend, but one interesting thing is while I can't seem to get the 86U to go past 100mbps on 2.4ghz at close range (the 68U averages between 100-120mbps), at a distance, the 86U seems to keep the speed up while the 68U starts to slow down. I'll test this more at different parts of the house. I'm mostly curious why it seems the 68U is (surprisingly) stronger at close range, while the 86U is (not surprisingly) stronger at longer ranges.

Make sure you don't have the routers sitting next to each other like shown in your pic.

OE

 

[binarydad]

I'm forcing 20mhz width for both. Both have identical 2.4ghz settings. The 86U is on channel 6, the 68U is on channel 11. The 68U is also actively being used at home, while no one else is using the 86U.

What is the reason they can't be next to each other if they're on non-overlapping channels?

 

[OzarkEdge]

What is the reason they can't be next to each other if they're on non-overlapping channels?

The reason is radio interference. The manual has a blurb about co-location of antennas/radio transmitters. Seems like good advice regardless of firmware settings.

OE