New RT-BE88U With Latest Merlin -- Beamforming?

[dwp]

I am having trouble with my new router communicating with a repeater out in my garage. My old GS-AX3000 did this ok.

I recall the old router had beam forming enabled and if that would make a difference? I went looking through the Merlin UI and am not seeing it. I saw reference here to enabling via ssh, if needed. I ran the suggested commands and this is what I see:

ASUSWRT-Merlin RT-BE88U 3006.102.7_2 Tue Mar 24 20:24:21 UTC 2026
admin@RT-BE88U-6E90:/tmp/home/root# nvram show | grep _bfe_
wl0.10_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.11_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.12_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.13_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.14_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.15_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.1_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.2_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.3_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.4_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.5_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.6_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.7_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.8_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0.9_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl0_txbf_bfe_cap=37
wl1.10_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.11_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.12_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.13_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.14_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.15_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.1_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.2_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.3_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.4_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.5_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.6_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.7_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.8_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1.9_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl1_txbf_bfe_cap=111
wl_txbf_bfe_cap=37
size: 126794 bytes (135350 left)
admin@RT-BE88U-6E90:/tmp/home/root# nvram show | grep bf_i
wl0_txbf_imp=0
wl1_txbf_imp=0
wl_txbf_imp=0

From that post, it seems like my settings are wrong. But this is a different router and I don't want to hose things up - if I can avoid it :-(

Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[killweav]

Beamforming should be at the bottom of the Wireless -> Professional tab. OFDMA / MU-MIMO drop down options. That's explicit beamforming.

Interestingly, I just realized that I don't see universal / implicit beamforming options when selecting any of the 3 bands on my BE92U. I never had it enabled but I didn't know that option disappeared.

The txbf_imp=0 options you displayed state that implicit beamforming is disabled. I don't see a need for it to be enabled if you don't have the option to enable it in the UI.

Perhaps the connectivity issues with your repeater have other underlying causes than what beamforming is being used?

Any more insight into the problems connecting? Signal RSSI for that device or channel noise for that band?

 

[dwp]

Thanks so much! I would never have guessed that setting was the same as "beam forming" on my old Asus. I am not sure exactly which option to choose so I started with DL/UL OFDMA first. I have no idea what MIMO is :-(

I am just guessing about the issues I am having and trying to see how/if I can resolve them. I have tried as hard as I can to configure the old/new the same so it can be a plug/play swap. That might be over-simplification in my thinking. It would not be the first time!

The main router and repeater are on the same 2.4Ghz channel (5) as they always have been. And there are no neighbors on it. So it has always seemed a decent choice.

I tried to turn off Smart Connect as mentioned elsewhere but could not find a switch for it. However, in the network tools, Wireless - Smart Connect Rule I see nothing so I guess it IS turned off.

Sadly, several of the hurting devices are older, IoT and don't show RSSI. I am not sure if that can be seen in the 88U somewhere.

Best!

 

[Tech9]

Always test with original firmware especially when the router was purchased open box.

 

[degrub]

For your older IOTs ( and in general for IOTs) put the 2.4 GHz radio on 20 MHz ( not 20/40), WPA2, no smart connect, mimo, etc.

 

[dwp]

For your older IOTs ( and in general for IOTs) put the 2.4 GHz radio on 20 MHz ( not 20/40), WPA2, no smart connect, mimo, etc.

Yes, I did exactly that. On my old router, I had also disabled Protected Management Frames. I did not see it on the new one. Best

 

[dwp]

Always test with original firmware especially when the router was purchased open box.

I am such a slow learner. Experience has taught me this too. And avoid open-box units. The savings was not worth the pain. Mine is going back. I told them to NOT sell it to someone else! Thanks

 

[Tech9]

I believe offloading part of your growing number of IoTs to an AP like EAP110 will solve your problem for $36. I don't see a reason why your old GS-AX3000 will struggle in this configuration. It's the same hardware as RT-AX58U, not the greatest, but enough. You can disable on it Trend Micro bloatware for better performance. Your ideas of isolating IoT devices, new routers and 3rd party firmware just add unnecessary complications, waste your time and potentially money. You can't recover time. Keep it simple and you'll be happier. When the time comes and the budget is higher replace the whole system with something better matching your needs.

 

[dwp]

I believe offloading part of your growing number of IoTs to an AP like EAP110 will solve your problem for $36. I don't see a reason why your old GS-AX3000 will struggle in this configuration. It's the same hardware as RT-AX58U, not the greatest, but enough. You can disable on it Trend Micro bloatware for better performance. Your ideas of isolating IoT devices, new routers and 3rd party firmware just add unnecessary complications, waste your time and potentially money. You can't recover time. Keep it simple and you'll be happier. When the time comes and the budget is higher replace the whole system with something better matching your needs.

Thanks.

First, let me say that I am certainly NO EXPERT on this. I am a software guy, not hardware. I know how to USE networks but have little insight into how the work or can be tweaked. So I am speaking only based upon my experience and limited ability to reason based upon my own experience. That is why I am asking here...

You are correct that adding AP's has helped. Over time, I have added an old Asus RT-AC1750 as a repeater/AP in my garage which services ONLY IoT stuff. I also have a Tp-Link Archer A7 connected via ethernet as an access point hosting only IoT stuff. Despite this, adding even one or two more wifi devices (I have no more ethernet devices to try) to the LAN run on my GS-AX3000 seems to start making it begin to loose/drop connections when it never had before - except before I added the 2 AP mentioned above.

Additionally, I do not have the Trend Micro stuff enabled and never have. I have no real "fancy" complex stuff running here (although I did hope to use Merlin to easily add to the router's host file in an effort to redirect DNS requests from some wifi thermometers to their vendor's web component to my own running on the LAN). So the GS-AX3000 is really quite "plain vanilla".

It does not technically seem to be a memory or CPU issue with the GS-AX3000. However, I have noted that adding devices does increase the level of memory shown to be used. But I suspect that part of that is swap which could be re-used. I have never seen CPU usage hit even 50% on this 3-core, 32-bit router. And it is not like I am pumping a ton of data through the router. No gaming, very little video or audio streaming, no giant down/uploads. So I am not sure what exactly is the problem with the entire setup. I am not new to this problem. It has been on me for some time and I have had to upgrade my router as my quest for more home automation, etc has grown over time. In the past, getting a newer, more capable router has helped - at least until I reach some form of limit. And I have to conclude that this is where I am now.

While there are never any specs on how many devices a given router can handle, google searches and forum threads here and elsewhere have indicated that it can handle 25-30 "comfortably". Before I decommissioned and returned the RT-BE88U yesterday, it showed 31 devices connected (for some reason, the GS-AX3000 shows fewer when the actual number of devices is exactly the same). The RT-BE88U clearly has thrown much more hardware at the problem. One indication of its intended abilities is seen in the number of static IP it can handle: 128 vs 64 on the GS-AX3000. It more than doubles the available RAM. It doubles the data path size from 32 to 64-bits. It increases both the clock speed and number of cores. There must be a reason for designing/building/selling such an upgrade. And I have to believe that handling more devices is at least part of it.

I would be open to ideas on how to improve things. I am already considering just decommissioning some IoT stuff at least for now. But if you have suggestions about specific devices to try to replace the whole system, I would gladly hear them.

Best

 

[Tech9]

forum threads here and elsewhere have indicated that it can handle 25-30 "comfortably"

This information is usually related to approximate number of active clients per radio on consumer-grade devices. Some folks report large number of mostly inactive IoT clients may also cause network-wide issues since they all operate on the same band and very often on the same channel. I can't diagnose your issue based on very limited information provided. It can be in hardware, it can be in settings, it can be environment related. Sometimes you just have a bad client. So far you have made an attempt to address the hardware side only and there is no word about other factors potentially involved. You need to invest some time in reading in order to troubleshoot the issue yourself and take right actions to address it. You can continue testing over the counter products and I hope you find something working well for your needs. There is permanent fix with room to expand, but as I understand it's not an option at the moment.