Need some help before I replace my RT-AC68R

[Raiu]

Okay, I need some major help. I figured I would start my own thread instead of hijacking another. I have done some searching on this forum and have done the basic steps for trying to diagnose this issue.

You guys are awesome btw! I have learned so much and so little time, thank you!

I am currently running Merlins RT-AC68U_3.0.0.4_374.41_beta1 build on my RT-AC68R. I installed it and did a factory reset and went through each setting on the router. I don't really use my laptop that much, i mostly use my ipad 3 and ipad mini first gen, so the updating of drivers isn't really going to work since I can't on my ipad or my phone.

My link rates are as follows for 2.4
192.168.1.188 nook-09f582d3-4 -61dBm 2/72 Mbps 01:49:08 STAU
192.168.1.201 android-df85a6d -66dBm 5/86 Mbps 01:49:42 PSTAU
192.168.1.96 Justins-iPad -77dBm 24/65 Mbps 10:55:06 PS AU
192.168.1.212 Window -68dBm 43/72 Mbps 11:09:21 STAU
192.168.1.145 Dinningroom -40dBm 72/72 Mbps 11:09:21 STAU
192.168.1.143 Backdoor -54dBm 72/72 Mbps 11:09:22 STAU

Here are the ones for 5ghz
192.168.1.117 Lanis-iPad -60dBm 24/150 Mbps 10:56:06 PS AU

When running a speed tests i never get over 22 mbps and this fluctuates a lot. ive seen it go all the way down to 9mbps.

My isp provides me with 30 down and 30 up from cable modem. I can achieve these rates when connected directly to the router via cat 5 cable.

My first question is, am i expecting too much from this router, is this expectation not realistic for these devices? Shouldn't I be able to get 26 or even 30 mbps download speeds from 7-10 ft away from the router on my ipads or my phone?

See attached screen shots for my settings.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to help!!

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,

Your trying to micromanage to much.

Your connected and it works? right? relax

 

[Raiu]

Howdy,

Your trying to micromanage to much.

Your connected and it works? right? relax

Yes, I'm connected and I can use it and I have access to my HD remotely which is also important.... Maybe I am expecting too much and needed to hear that lol. Thank you

 

[jim769]

I have the 68U and your not expecting to much from the router I get 121 down and 23 up wireless no problem on my computers but my iPad won't get any higher then about 53 down and 23 up. I am not sure why phones and tablets don't seem to pull the higher speeds maybe it's the lack of antenna or the wifi driver itself either way I don't worry about it because it works great.

 

[bluepoint]

Using 40 MHz bandwidth in the 2.4GHz band is just asking for more interferences from your neighbors. For 2.4 GHz band use 20MHz bandwidth when there are many wireless around your neighborhood since you will not gain anything from 40MHz but interferences that degrades your throughput. I was in your situation before with 55 wireless stations around me and channels 1,6,11 are used by many. Change the channel bandwidth to 20, install inSSIDer to aid you setting up the best channel or just try all one at a time. In my previous home my router settled quite good with channel 8 in that noisy envirnonment.
For your 5GHz channel try to set it for N only @40MHz bandwidth since the iPad is the only one using it. iPad is only a single stream 1x1 wireless N150, so there is really no equipment that can use the routers AC wireless.

Those link rates you see in the router are not the accurate results and you should not rely on it ex. it always report any apple products Rx 24Mbps max. The client's link rates are more accurate than the router's and more importantly your throughput.

 

[KGB7]

Wireless mode manual on both bands, N and AC.

Channel width should be 20mhz 2.40ghz and 80 5ghz.

Manual channel selection for 5ghz band, above 153.

You have few things enabled in Pro tab that you should disable on both bands, i have posted a screenshot in other thread.

 

[Raiu]

Wireless mode manual on both bands, N and AC.

Channel width should be 20mhz 2.40ghz and 80 5ghz.

Manual channel selection for 5ghz band, above 153.

You have few things enabled in Pro tab that you should disable on both bands, i have posted a screenshot in other thread.

Which things should be disabled, which thread? I may have missed it sorry.

 

[KGB7]

which thread?

What channel should you pick.

 

[Raiu]

What channel should you pick.

If you disabled WMM the speed drops

See this:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/30938-dont-mess-with-wmm

I tried it with it off and on, when this function is off I get 9mbps. The other settings I will adjust when i get home and report back.

As of right now, my plan is to go home and wipe the router again to factory settings and relocate the router and adjust the settings manually again.

 

[KGB7]

If you disabled WMM the speed drops

See this:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/30938-dont-mess-with-wmm

I tried it with it off and on, when this function is off I get 9mbps. The other settings I will adjust when i get home and report back.

As of right now, my plan is to go home and wipe the router again to factory settings and relocate the router and adjust the settings manually again.

I have no speed difference either way so i disabled it. Even my Galaxy S4 maxes out fios at 58/38.

And use latest Asus firmware instead of Beta firmware when you are having issues.

 

[Raiu]

I have no speed difference either way so i disabled it. Even my Galaxy S4 maxes out fios at 58/38.

And use latest Asus firmware instead of Beta firmware when you are having issues.

Yeah thats why im pulling my hair out. My note 3 has ac it should be able to get that 30mbps no problem but all I ever get on it is 9-10mbps.

I will be using the 5047 firmware after i reset.

 

[Raiu]

We'll before i did any more changes I booted up my wife's laptop which has 802n and it get the full download speeds wirelessly so it's defiantly an issue with the mobile devices and not my router.

Yeah now I can quit stressing over my first world problems lol

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
I am wondering even if OP replaces his router, is there really a replacement out there at the moment? Even if there will be some improvement, is it worth the while?

 

[jim769]

Hi,
I am wondering even if OP replaces his router, is there really a replacement out there at the moment? Even if there will be some improvement, is it worth the while?

Probably not at this point seems they all have there issues one way or the other.

 

[Raiu]

The money that I paid for it and the warranty can pay for the new linksys router but as you guys said they all have their issues. Yes this router cranks my wife's laptop proved that and I should have tried that earlier but she gets upset when I mess with it lol. I'm giving it a rest. I can stream netflix for my daughter and watch tv on my ipad. I'm good lol

 

[jim769]

The money that I paid for it and the warranty can pay for the new linksys router but as you guys said they all have their issues. Yes this router cranks my wife's laptop proved that and I should have tried that earlier but she gets upset when I mess with it lol. I'm giving it a rest. I can stream netflix for my daughter and watch tv on my ipad. I'm good lol

I got to be honest i bought my 68U back on Feb 13 and i have never really had any issues with it using Merlin firmware. It woks as good if not better then my N66U. The 5Ghz band works great i use that for most everything i do. Now that Asus has released 5047 that firmware works good to.

I dont use my router for anything more then just routing so i cant comment on the other features that it has. But for routing it does the job well, i get the same speeds wireless as i do wired and see no reason to waste any money on a new one at least right now.

 

[Raiu]

I got to be honest i bought my 68U back on Feb 13 and i have never really had any issues with it using Merlin firmware. It woks as good if not better then my N66U. The 5Ghz band works great i use that for most everything i do. Now that Asus has released 5047 that firmware works good to.

I dont use my router for anything more then just routing so i cant comment on the other features that it has. But for routing it does the job well, i get the same speeds wireless as i do wired and see no reason to waste any money on a new one at least right now.

I think it was the severs that where handling the speed tests they were bogged down. I'm not sure. This paid speed test app that supposedly has dedicated servers shows a higher dl speed so I don't know. I'm going to let it go. This router does work good. I'm watching netflix and watching tv app on this ipad and responding to this without issues.

 

[KGB7]

/ face palm

I blame my self for assuming that you have used a laptop for test purposes.

Please try my settings for both bands and get back to me with results. I spent few hours testing each setting individually and in combination and they gave me the best throughtput. I'm honestly curious how well they work with other WiFi clients.

Don't forget to manually power cycle the router after saving settings.

Thanks.


P.s.

Speaking of WMM. If I disable WMM in DD-WRT firmware, then nothing will connect to the router. I have observed this issue with other routers in the past. But with Asus or Merlin firmware, WMM setting made zero difference.

 

[Raiu]

/ face palm

I blame my self for assuming that you have used a laptop for test purposes.

Please try my settings for both bands and get back to me with results. I spent few hours testing each setting individually and in combination and they gave me the best throughtput. I'm honestly curious how well they work with other WiFi clients.

Don't forget to manually power cycle the router after saving settings.

Thanks.


P.s.

Speaking of WMM. If I disable WMM in DD-WRT firmware, then nothing will connect to the router. I have observed this issue with other routers in the past. But with Asus or Merlin firmware, WMM setting made zero difference.

I was using mine which has an older b/g card in it and always links at 54 or what ever. I should still get faster than 20d/l on it one would think.

I took the heat from messing with my wife computer to make sure the dl speeds were real and they were much faster on her's.

I did a test, I streamed netflix via my apple tv, another instance of netflix on one ipad and youtube on my phone and it handled all that while i did the speed test on her laptop and it showed consistent speeds. I think i got it set up now.

Thanks for all your help!!

Also after reading the mess that is going on with the lynksys router and the false advertising of open wrt on it, sounds like business as usual for them and I think I will stick with Asus.

 

[ronald francey]

Okay, I need some major help. I figured I would start my own thread instead of hijacking another. I have done some searching on this forum and have done the basic steps for trying to diagnose this issue.

You guys are awesome btw! I have learned so much and so little time, thank you!

I am currently running Merlins RT-AC68U_3.0.0.4_374.41_beta1 build on my RT-AC68R. I installed it and did a factory reset and went through each setting on the router. I don't really use my laptop that much, i mostly use my ipad 3 and ipad mini first gen, so the updating of drivers isn't really going to work since I can't on my ipad or my phone.

My link rates are as follows for 2.4
192.168.1.188 nook-09f582d3-4 -61dBm 2/72 Mbps 01:49:08 STAU
192.168.1.201 android-df85a6d -66dBm 5/86 Mbps 01:49:42 PSTAU
192.168.1.96 Justins-iPad -77dBm 24/65 Mbps 10:55:06 PS AU
192.168.1.212 Window -68dBm 43/72 Mbps 11:09:21 STAU
192.168.1.145 Dinningroom -40dBm 72/72 Mbps 11:09:21 STAU
192.168.1.143 Backdoor -54dBm 72/72 Mbps 11:09:22 STAU

Here are the ones for 5ghz
192.168.1.117 Lanis-iPad -60dBm 24/150 Mbps 10:56:06 PS AU

When running a speed tests i never get over 22 mbps and this fluctuates a lot. ive seen it go all the way down to 9mbps.

My isp provides me with 30 down and 30 up from cable modem. I can achieve these rates when connected directly to the router via cat 5 cable.

My first question is, am i expecting too much from this router, is this expectation not realistic for these devices? Shouldn't I be able to get 26 or even 30 mbps download speeds from 7-10 ft away from the router on my ipads or my phone?

See attached screen shots for my settings.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to help!!

i have an immediate need to take small jpeg sized screenshots of the gui pages. how do you get such small sizes as you've done???