Media Bridge worth an extra purchase?

[darthmemnoch]

Hi I'm new and I'm looking for a simple clear answer and I'm hoping someone can help. I'm a noob but I'm not an idiot. I am also no power user.
I have an RT-AC66U as my only router. Running stock firmware. I am not sure if its the latest build I am not at home to check. Speeds are great and I have not had to reset or had any real connection issues. I do feel like the 5ghz band has very poor range.
About 30-40 feet away from the router I have my family room. I have a WiFi TV and a 360 and a PS3 and a PS4 all wireless. All of these devices are never on at the same time. There are also two tablets and two smart phones in the house. Almost everything is always on the 2.4ghz band due to range issues.
My question is: Is it worth it for me to buy another AC66U (or other AC router) to act as a media bridge or repeater? I do a fair amount of online gaming and lately I have been experiencing some lag. I do also stream HD content from my primary PC to the consoles/TV. When I run speedtests from my phone in the family room they are usually ~10mbps slower than in the room with the router. Bear in mind I'm only paying for a 25mbps connection from Comcast and I will routinely pull 30-35 from the wired desktop.
Or I have access to a dlink DIR 655 that I could use as a media bridge if that's an option and I can find clear instructions.
If someone could help me out or link me to a previous post I would really appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

 

[thiggins]

Using a second AC66U is going to give you the best shot at getting as much wireless bandwidth as possible from the router. None of the devices you mention are even AC433 class, let alone AC1750.

Use a second AC66U as a bridge to the first and connect all the family room devices via Ethernet to it. You should get higher 5 GHz bandwidth both from now using an AC client device and due to the better antenna/radios in the AC66 vs. the existing device wireless clients.

 

[darthmemnoch]

Ok. Thanks very much for your response.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk

 

[Junky321]

RT-AC66 x 2 don't work well with media bridge mode at the moment. If you must, you should get a RT-AC68 and set it up as Router and use your existing RT-AC66 media bridge.

 

[thiggins]

RT-AC66 x 2 don't work well with media bridge mode at the moment. If you must, you should get a RT-AC68 and set it up as Router and use your existing RT-AC66 media bridge.

Wow. What are the problems?

 

[Junky321]

It's a known issue.

Router/Media Bridge stop routing traffic every day or two and require reboots. Asus seems to acknowledge the issue but I am not sure at this point they can fix it. It has been several months now and the temporary solution is to use it in the Repeater Mode.

 

[Cumulonimbus]

Wow. What are the problems?

Hi,

i can repot, that the Link Rate between Router AC66U and Media-Bridge AC66 drops down from time to time.

First Minutes of the Connection the Link Rate was fine 1170/1300Mbit, but drops down after a few Minutes to 351Mbit.

This is a Indoor Connection on the same Floor. Any one Door between Rooms with one wooden door.

 

[thiggins]

And why do you guys like this product so much?

 

[Cumulonimbus]

And why do you guys like this product so much?

I do not like it anymoore! Searching for alternate Router, if a no Solution from ASUS in next Month available. For this Price, the Hardware and Firmware are absolutly disappointed.

 

[DaveMishSr]

Hi I'm new and I'm looking for a simple clear answer and I'm hoping someone can help. I'm a noob but I'm not an idiot. I am also no power user.
I have an RT-AC66U as my only router. Running stock firmware. I am not sure if its the latest build I am not at home to check. Speeds are great and I have not had to reset or had any real connection issues. I do feel like the 5ghz band has very poor range.
About 30-40 feet away from the router I have my family room. I have a WiFi TV and a 360 and a PS3 and a PS4 all wireless. All of these devices are never on at the same time. There are also two tablets and two smart phones in the house. Almost everything is always on the 2.4ghz band due to range issues.
My question is: Is it worth it for me to buy another AC66U (or other AC router) to act as a media bridge or repeater? I do a fair amount of online gaming and lately I have been experiencing some lag. I do also stream HD content from my primary PC to the consoles/TV. When I run speedtests from my phone in the family room they are usually ~10mbps slower than in the room with the router. Bear in mind I'm only paying for a 25mbps connection from Comcast and I will routinely pull 30-35 from the wired desktop.
Or I have access to a dlink DIR 655 that I could use as a media bridge if that's an option and I can find clear instructions.
If someone could help me out or link me to a previous post I would really appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

I have run 2 AC66U's, 2 AC68U's and an AC68U as the router with a AC66U as a media bridge. Additionally I have these AC media bridges; a Linksys/Cisco WUMC710; a Western Digital MBRD0000NBL-00; and a Buffalo WLI-H4-D1300. The best performance foir the buck seems to be the Western Digital media station. The Linksys performed well but it has been dropping the connection with my AC68U and I found an open box AC68U so I pulled the trigger on it. Works flawlessly as a media bridge and consistently has at least a 702Mbps connection. The Western Digital media bridge performs almost as well followed by the Buffalo. In all fairness the Buffalo is as far away from my router as possible but it still usually connects at over 200Mbps. I would shop around and see what you can get the cheapest. I stream HD video between my DirecTV HD DVR receivers and the WD media bridge performs very well and never drops its connection. The Buffalo has the best firmware in that is is very customizable while the Linksys performs well when it is connected but has to be manually rebooted at least once a week.

 

[guinn3ss]

I also have an AC66U and I've been kind of frustrated with it as of late. I recently picked up a PS4 and the connection speed I get when I run the test is a fraction of what the PS3 or Laptop gets. I have the router upstairs and the PS4/PS3 downstairs. I've taken the PS4 upstairs and plugged it right into the modem and got proper speeds.

I've been thinking about buying a new router but it makes me sad that I spent a decent amount on the AC66U and now I don't want to use it. I've tried playing with settings and using Merlin's firmware but the speed is still laughable.

I've also contemplated buying another AC66U for a bridge and if it didn't improve my speed then returning it. My other option is getting the Netgear Powerline and plugging one in upstairs and one in downstairs and see if that gives me better speeds.

I wish I could just run an ethernet cable but it's not an option.

Anyone have any recommendations/thoughts? I really appreciate it.

 

[darthmemnoch]

I have found that my 5ghz band has NO range. When I test from either band or wired PC from the room the router is in, I get at or over 30mbps down, which is all I'm paying for.
When I walk 30feet or less into the back room on the same floor if my house, I lose the 5ghz signal altogether. I know it has poorer range but that is just ridiculous. Are these routers really getting worse over time? I spent a lot on this thing and I haven't even had it for a year.
My smart TV and consoles and soon a steam machine are all in the back room and my interest access and router are in the front room. There is no easy way for me to run wires. But if my 5ghz band won't travel 30 feet I'm not going to buy another device and attempt a media bridge. Seems futile. I have upgraded to the latest Asus firmware and rebooted the router.
That being said, I'd also like a recommendation on a wired gigabit switch or router in case I do decide to yank the house apart to run wires.

okee dokee

 

[L&LD]

I have read the thread, but I don't see the firmware version you're running.

If you haven't already:

Install latest RMerlin 374.39_0 version.

Reset to defaults (via web gui). Manually power down the router. Restart.

Manually setup the router again. Do not use a backup configuration file.

Either use new ssid's in the router, or, 'forget' and re-associate each client device to ensure that your whole network is 'reset to defaults', from router to clients.

With the above done, do you still have issues?

You may want to try the following suggestions, with the important points being setting the Tx power to 100mW for both bands, setting the antenna to a 'W' formation as described by Asus and setting the lowest possible channel (after testing for the best one for throughput) in the 5GHz band and the highest channel in the 2.4GHz band.


http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showpost.php?p=101034&postcount=51


http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showpost.php?p=98452&postcount=150


http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/forums/showpost.php?p=99500&postcount=365

 

[darthmemnoch]

I have read the thread, but I don't see the firmware version you're running.

If you haven't already:

Install latest RMerlin 374.39_0 version.

Reset to defaults (via web gui). Manually power down the router. Restart.

Manually setup the router again. Do not use a backup configuration file.

Either use new ssid's in the router, or, 'forget' and re-associate each client device to ensure that your whole network is 'reset to defaults', from router to clients.

With the above done, do you still have issues?

You may want to try the following suggestions, with the important points being setting the Tx power to 100mW for both bands, setting the antenna to a 'W' formation as described by Asus and setting the lowest possible channel (after testing for the best one for throughput) in the 5GHz band and the highest channel in the 2.4GHz band.


http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showpost.php?p=101034&postcount=51


http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showpost.php?p=98452&postcount=150


http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/forums/showpost.php?p=99500&postcount=365

Ok. I will try all that next.

okee dokee

 

[b1ggjoe]

I have run 2 AC66U's, 2 AC68U's and an AC68U as the router with a AC66U as a media bridge. Additionally I have these AC media bridges; a Linksys/Cisco WUMC710; a Western Digital MBRD0000NBL-00; and a Buffalo WLI-H4-D1300. The best performance foir the buck seems to be the Western Digital media station. The Linksys performed well but it has been dropping the connection with my AC68U and I found an open box AC68U so I pulled the trigger on it. Works flawlessly as a media bridge and consistently has at least a 702Mbps connection. The Western Digital media bridge performs almost as well followed by the Buffalo. In all fairness the Buffalo is as far away from my router as possible but it still usually connects at over 200Mbps. I would shop around and see what you can get the cheapest. I stream HD video between my DirecTV HD DVR receivers and the WD media bridge performs very well and never drops its connection. The Buffalo has the best firmware in that is is very customizable while the Linksys performs well when it is connected but has to be manually rebooted at least once a week.

DaveMishSr,

Thank you so much for your valuable feedback!! I'm currently in the process of revamping my Wireless Network. I have a few questions for you, since you have obviously done TONS of testing with what I am also looking to do, with a variety of products.

I currently have a SonicWALL TZ210 Router/Firewall that supports up to Draft 'N' WiFi.

After much research and advice received on these forums, rather than buying a $300-$400 Business Class AP, I'm going to invest in the ASUS RT-AC68U and turn it into an AP-only device.

Now, you mentioned that you have run the RT-AC68U in 'Router-mode' and a second RT-AC68U in 'Bridged-mode'.

1. - Although it's probably not the most 'bang for your buck', would you agree that this is the best way to go, as far as performance goes then?

2. - Since the definitions of 'Bridge' vs. 'AP' seem to slightly differ from Manufacturer...If I want the Wireless devices that connect to the RT-AC68U to receive IP addresses from the same DHCP address range from my SonicWALL as wired devices...which mode will accomplish this with the RT-AC68U?

3. - Now, for my family room, I have several devices (TV, Blu-Ray Player, Gaming Systems, etc.) that support Ethernet, that I wish to connect to my WiFi network. I consider this setup to be a 'Wireless Bridge' setup.

For this setup, are you saying that the RT-AC68U also does a killer Job? But then for economical purposes, the Western Digital MBRD0000NBL-00 does a great job as well?

4. - I also have DirecTV, but I have the Genie DVR. How exactly are you streaming HD Video? I have used something called 'TV Media Share', but depending on the Laptop that I use, I get mixed results as far as choppy play-back and etc.?

Any suggestions in this area as well?

Thank you again!!!

BJ