[N66U-Merlin 374.42]5Ghz unstable, dropouts

[I3igAl]

Hello SNB Denizens! I have finally come out of the dark ages (ATT modem/54G combo gateway) and got myself a N66U, along with a USB-N53 for a desktop in another room.

I immediately flashed the latest Merlin (374.42) and got things set up pretty easily.

I ran into trouble when I was setting up the second desktop with the N53. After installing the driver and utility I connected to the new 5Ghz network and went to speedtest.net, and everything checked out. Unfortunately it very quickly became unstable, with the Asus utility showing the link speed bouncing all over from 300mbs down to 120 and back, and eventually settling at 13.5. at this point i uninstalled the new Asus drive/utility, scrubbed the computer of anything relating to wifi, and set up again.

This seemed to fix things but within an hour the other computers owner came to me complaining of serious lag and regular dropouts. I went to the other room with my Nexus 4 and using a wifi analyzer app I could see the signal dropping in and out and my Nexus would get disconnected from the network as well.

The computer is no more than 30ft away from the router, and the only notable objects in direct line were two personal fans (4inch diameter blades) and a small minifridge. I turned off both fans and this did not help at all.

On the router settings for the 5Ghz I tried the following changes and nothing really helped:

Wireless mode: auto to N only
Channel Bandwidth: forced 40Mhz
Control Channel: auto to 161

At midnight I finally gave up troubleshooting for the night and moved everything to the 2.4 radio for the time being.

This router was open box/used from Amazon Warehouse Deals, and it actually has a piece of plastic that rattles around inside it when shaken, I don't know if this matters but there you are.

I am relatively inexperienced in advanced networking stuff but an all around technical person so whatever you need me to share or try or whatever, I can get it done. Any and all help is appreciated!

 

[I3igAl]

Alright well, after spending all morning between breakfast and lunch troubleshooting, changing all sorts of settings back and forth, doing facotry reset three different times and using new names for SSID, new passwords, the whole shebang, it was still dropping signal as if the radio had been turned off then back on.

I finally gave up and flashed Merlin 374.41, and it is working perfectly now. I dont know if maybe the MD5 on my 42 download matched or not because I didnt check, but im good now so whichever lol.

Thanks RMerlin for the awesome work you do and support you give to this community!


EDIT: I appear to have spoken too soon. The other computer is still getting disconnects. It is happening far less frequently and regularly but it is still happening. any insight?

 

[jlake]

Follow the basic troubleshooting steps in the link below. Since you have latest firmware, start with step 2.


http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=12453

Make sure the wireless driver is up-to-date on your computer.

Wireless mode: auto
Bandwidth: auto
Channel:149

 

[wbennett77]

If you used the CD that came with the N53 it's possibe that there is a newer driver available at the Asus website http://www.service.asus.com/#!downloads/c1wax

 

[I3igAl]

Thanks for the two responses guys.

For the secondary desktop using the USB-N53 adapter, I downloaded the most recent copy from the Asus product page.

For steps 1-8 by JLake I have done the first 7 and 8 does not apply.

I will post again with more info later tonight on how things are going, the other user isnt complaining except for a drop here and there so far, but I would like it to be 100% solid.

EDIT: ok back with more info 5ghz has become more and more unstable as time goes by. I am sitting here less than five feet from the router with direct line of site, and watching my phone lose connection every 15min or so. I think I am just going to send the router back and get a new one instead of used.

 

[alabrand]

Fear not, citizen, for I am here to rescue you!

I use the exact same setup as you, a N66U and a USB-N53 on my laptop. I use the 5GHz band on my main laptop so as to get better speeds. The solution, what I found, was to download the newest wireless driver for USB-N53 from the manufacturer's website as opposed to Asus'.

Go to Mediatek's website: http://www.mediatek.com

Go to the support/download page.

CTRL+F for "USB (RT2870/ RT2770/ RT307X/ RT2070 RT357X/ RT3370/ RT8070/ RT5X7X/ MT7610/ MT7601)".

Download, install and enjoy.

 

[I3igAl]

Fear not, citizen, for I am here to rescue you!

I use the exact same setup as you, a N66U and a USB-N53 on my laptop. I use the 5GHz band on my main laptop so as to get better speeds. The solution, what I found, was to download the newest wireless driver for USB-N53 from the manufacturer's website as opposed to Asus'.

Go to Mediatek's website: http://www.mediatek.com

Go to the support/download page.

CTRL+F for "USB (RT2870/ RT2770/ RT307X/ RT2070 RT357X/ RT3370/ RT8070/ RT5X7X/ MT7610/ MT7601)".

Download, install and enjoy.

hey dude thanks so much for the response! I already requested a refund/replacement from amazon but if this works i will save 40$ so I will give it a shot later tonight.

This will obviously not include the Asus utility, is there a way to get that installed without the Asus driver?

EDIT: well i went ahead and wiped the asus driver and utility and then installed the Ralink stuff. same exact results, when i plug in the USB-N53, it connects and shows a 300mbps rate, which quickly degrades down to 13.5, and drops in and out completely still. I appreciate the effort but I am afraid I will still need to swap out the router

 

[alabrand]

hey dude thanks so much for the response! I already requested a refund/replacement from amazon but if this works i will save 40$ so I will give it a shot later tonight.

This will obviously not include the Asus utility, is there a way to get that installed without the Asus driver?

Here's hoping it works for you. It fixed a bunch of problems regarding Windows 8.1 instability but should fix any and all 5GHz problems as I'm using it as we speak flawlessly. No hiccups, no stuttering, constant max speed etc.

If you're willing to give it a shot, then go for it. I believe you can use the Asus Utility as a standalone package without actually triggering the driver it comes with, meaning you can use this one instead. But I'm not sure if they'll work in tandem or not. Worst case scenario, just uninstall and try only the driver.

 

[I3igAl]

OK guys I am really struggling with this still and I am not sure what do.

I got a brand new n66u last night and its giving me the same problems. I didn't change any of the advanced settings for the wifi, just set the name and passwords, but my phone and the desktop with the USB-N53 and Ralink driver are losing connection repeatedly.

for the desktop in the other room we tested the connection in two ways:

Connect to a Ventrilo server and watch the ping -> Stable at 65ms for most of the time, but would shoot up to 6-8k every couple of minutes.

Install a game from Steam and watch the download progress -> Maintains a 3-5mbps download speed but would randomly drop to 0-100kbps and then climb back up

The most confounding part is that the Vent and Steam tests show the same thing on the 2.4ghz radio. This is a brand new router and usb adapter so its not that.

My first guess is the desktop computer is messed up but my cell phone gets dropped from the 5ghz connection as well.

I also tried to think of how the walls/position/distance would affect it but I only have two cheap drywall apartment walls separating the router and usb adapter, and the cellphone was dropping out in the same room as the router!

I have tried the two lastest Merlin firmwares and the two latest official firmwares, all with the same results. someone please help me before I have to tape down ethernet all over!

 

[jlake]

You're having problems on 5 ghz and 2.4 ghz? How about wired Ethernet?

You're still using the Att modem/router? Are you in a double NAT. What's the local LAN IP address of your modem/router? What's the local LAN IP address of your asus router? Can you change the local LAN IP address of the Asus to 192.168.5.1?

Have you tried changing the 5 ghz to channel 36? Do you have DECT 6 phones?

Can you post a screenshot of inSSIDer ?

http://www.ampedwireless.com/wifianalytics/

 

[I3igAl]

You're having problems on 5 ghz and 2.4 ghz? How about wired Ethernet?

You're still using the Att modem/router? Are you in a double NAT. What's the local LAN IP address of your modem/router? What's the local LAN IP address of your asus router? Can you change the local LAN IP address of the Asus to 192.168.5.1?

Have you tried changing the 5 ghz to channel 36? Do you have DECT 6 phones?

Can you post a screenshot of inSSIDer ?

http://www.ampedwireless.com/wifianalytics/

I do have DECT6 phones but the base is downstairs, and none of the handsets are in the same room as the router or the computer with the USB-N53.

Wired ethernet is 100% golden. 2.4 was only observed to be wonky with the computer using USB-N53, and I haven't really been able to test with a laptop yet for either 2.4 or 5.0.

Here are two network scans, for each frequency. I see that 2.4 is rather crowded, if the router is automatically adjusting channel every few minutes would that cause some hiccups? also on the 5.0 scan I am automatically set to channel 157 and the only other 5.0 network i see is waaay down at 36.

Midway through writing this post Comcast seems to have cut service to me and I cant deal with it until Thursday, so I guess im done testing for now regardless.

 

[I3igAl]

Oook I got comcast sorted out and I updated my router to to use channel 6 for 2.4 and 36 for 5.0 radios. I also unplugged the DECT6 phone base.


2.4 seems to be fine but 5.0 is all but unusable. My Xbox One is on 5.0 and its about six feet away from the router, but anything outside the bedroom cant hold connection.

My nexus phone will connect to 5.0 but if i walk downstairs to the kitchen it will drop back to the 2.4 within a few minutes. I have no prior experience with 5ghz wireless but this doesn't seem right to me.


Please please PLEEEEAASSEE anyone, anything, just give me a clue whats going wrong here.


EDIT: watching Netflix tonight, several times playback was interrupted by a lost network connection. I am completely confounded by this because the only object between the router and the xbox is a 24inch TV.