PS4 and Vita are terribly slow over wifi on RT-AC66U.

[Shaddap]

Ordered the AC66U last week and it arrived today. Upon wiring it up to my PC, I immediately installed Merlin firmware onto it (380.57) and began connecting all my wireless devices.

Everything was connecting fine and with speeds expected of my connection EXCEPT my PS4 and PS Vita. They're only about 10-15 feet away from the router but can't achieve anything beyond 3-4mbps both up and down, meanwhile cell phones, my 3DS and my PS3 all show correct speeds when tested.

Interference shouldn't be an issue, as the PS3 is next to the PS4 and I had both the 3DS and Vita next to each other while monitoring Tx/Rx rates on the router itself. The wireless log always shows the PS4 and Vita's rates as ??/5mbps, meanwhile the PS3/3DS/other devices achieve their maximum values.

Is there a specific firmware I should be using or a setting I've overlooked to get my PS4 and Vita to have decent speeds? I'd really like to continue using Merlin, though my previous router on dd-wrt didn't have these issues at all.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I've never had a problem with the PS3 or PS4. I've also never heard anybody else here report that sort of problem. There aren't any settings that would be specific to the PS4/Vita. Bear in mind that the Tx/Rx rates will show what you're seeing when there is little or no traffic. You'll have to start a download to see those figures change.

How are you testing the speed? If you're using the built-in network test remember that it only tests the link to Sony's servers, so usually reads low and sometimes their servers are very slow. Try again later.

A couple of general comments though. After you installed the Merlin firmware you should have done a factory reset and manual configuration. Also try changing to a different channel (1, 6 or 11) in case there's some interference from microwaves, baby monitors, etc.

 

[Shaddap]

I've never had a problem with the PS3 or PS4. I've also never heard anybody else here report that sort of problem. There aren't any settings that would be specific to the PS4/Vita. Bear in mind that the Tx/Rx rates will show what you're seeing when there is little or no traffic. You'll have to start a download to see those figures change.

How are you testing the speed? If you're using the built-in network test remember that it only tests the link to Sony's servers, so usually reads low and sometimes their servers are very slow. Try again later.

A couple of general comments though. After you installed the Merlin firmware you should have done a factory reset and manual configuration. Also try changing to a different channel (1, 6 or 11) in case there's some interference from microwaves, baby monitors, etc.

I did a factory reset along with clearing the NVRAM through telnet after flashing Merlin onto the router. For testing purposes, I tried downloading a few games (which wouldn't even get close to 1mb a second, no matter how many times I paused/resumed the download) and ran multiple speed tests through the PS4's browser on speedof.me (the mobile/lite version) and the download rate was never over 3mbps. The latency reported can be as high as 700ms as well. This was around 3am last night, same results right now at 4pm.

I've also tried changing channels to 1 and 6 (11 is the least crowded) but same results. Again, my PS3 is directly next to it and doesn't have a problem achieving good wifi speeds, nor do other 2.4ghz devices used in the exact same room. I'm pretty sure interference isn't the issue, as I've even shut off all devices and changed the SSID to test the PS4 connecting to it alone.

Streaming video on the PS4 while monitoring Tx/Rx rates make no difference from it being idle. Rx remains at ?? while Tx remains at 5mbps. Videos remain low quality and take a long time to load, as do thumbnails.

My previous router (a Netgear WNDR3800 running dd-wrt) had no problems achieving high speeds over 2.4ghz and latency was always around 100ms or below. I'm wondering if it's worth flashing Tomato or dd-wrt instead but would like to avoid doing so if possible.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Well it looks like you've more than covered the bases, so I don't know what to suggest.

FYI I've just tested my PS3 & PS4, the router is 2 rooms away:

MAC               IP Address      Name              RSSI    Rx/Tx Rate   Connected Flags
B0:05:94:25:38:B3 192.168.1.156   PS4              -51dBm    ??/144 Mbps 00:01:20   AU
A8:E3:EE:AA:36:C2 192.168.1.192   PS3              -45dBm     54/54 Mbps 00:02:03   AU

I got 27Mbps down on the PS4 and 14Mbps on the PS3.

By all means try Tomato and let us know how you get on.

 

[Raiu]

I've noticed that my ps4 and vita are slow with PlayStation servers and store as well. This on a RT-AC3100 downloads seem to be okay

 

[Shaddap]

Here's what my PS3 and PS4 look like currently:

PS3
00:24:8D:C4:3C:2F 192.168.1.18 -20 dBm 54 / 54 Mbps 0:01:59 AU

PS4
5C:93:A2:41:AC:23 192.168.1.15 -53 dBm ?? / 5 Mbps 0:03:07 AU

If I connect the Ps4 via ethernet over a wireless bridge (my laptop), the connection seems normal. I guess I'll be flashing Tomato tonight! I'll update with the results when I get the chance. If anyone has any advice though, I'd be more than glad to read it!

 

[ColinTaylor]

OK It's a bit of a long shot but... try moving the PS4 to another location, say 3 feet in any direction and try again.

 

[Shaddap]

OK It's a bit of a long shot but... try moving the PS4 to another location, say 3 feet in any direction and try again.

Surprisingly, it improved the upload quite a bit, up to 15mbps. Download remains 3mbps though.

 

[JScottK70]

I'm having the same problem with my new RT-AC3100 I picked up last weekend. I was using my Merlin enhanced RT-N66u and was able to get at least 35 mbps down on all 4 PS4's in the house wireless. Now on the RT-AC3100, all 4 PS4's barely get 1.5 mbps down but all other devices on the 2.4 ghz are pulling 45 to 60 mbps down. I switched one over to wired and it pulls down 55 to 60 mbps. I have no clue to why it's only the PS4's that are affected.

 

[Shaddap]

Alright, I'm on Tomato now and having the EXACT same problem! I made sure to wipe NVRAM before and after flashing the latest Shibby release. The Tx/Rx rates shown for my PS4 are absolutely insane compared to other devices connected to the router. Currently, it's showing a Tx/Rx of 6/4294967. haha On the bright side(?), my Vita's showing 59/4294967 and streams play at high quality. Other devices have normal looking rates.

I'm going to try and fiddle with some settings to see if they help at all but I won't hold my breath. I'm wondering now if I should return the router, as I wouldn't want to run into issues like my PS4/Vita are having again.

 

[Shaddap]

Ok, it seems that I've found the culprit. It seems as if there's some kind of issue with wireless N on my AC66U. I set the network mode on the router to B/G mixed and bam, problem solved. Download/upload rates and latency are MUCH better and the Tx/Rx displayed on the router's device list are correctly shown, maxing out at 54/54. Setting network mode to N only or auto brings the problem right back.

I just tested my phone with it on N only and it also shows crazy Tx/Rx rates and also has awful speeds on speedof.me.

So is wireless N faulty on my router? Should I RMA it? Really don't know if there's some way to remedy this issue.

 

[Reinvented]

Ok, it seems that I've found the culprit. It seems as if there's some kind of issue with wireless N on my AC66U. I set the network mode on the router to B/G mixed and bam, problem solved. Download/upload rates and latency are MUCH better and the Tx/Rx displayed on the router's device list are correctly shown, maxing out at 54/54. Setting network mode to N only or auto brings the problem right back.

I just tested my phone with it on N only and it also shows crazy Tx/Rx rates and also has awful speeds on speedof.me.

So is wireless N faulty on my router? Should I RMA it? Really don't know if there's some way to remedy this issue.

What are your settings that you are using? This is very important. One setting, if not configured properly could cause problems. I highly doubt that the radio chipset is faulty. If that were the case, the whole thing would fail. So, this leads me to believe it is just a configuration error.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Hi @Shaddap Well it looks like you've found the problem. Well done.

To be honest I had assumed you had b/g protection (mixed mode) enabled. It is the default on my router. Did you change it on yours or is the default different?

Anyway, it sort of makes sense. The PS3 is a "g" device and the PS4 an "n" device so that option needs to be enabled. As the tool-tip says, "Tick b/g Protection to allow b/g devices to connect to RT-N66U without affecting 11n devices, but this increases the router's workload". I'm just a little surprised that the effect on the PS4 is so dramatic.

Do you have any other "old" wifi devices nearby that might be using 802.11b?

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/b-g-protection-on-rt-ac66u.7805/
http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.p...mance_on_Mixed_B.2FG.2FN_networks:_Answers.21

Should you RMA it? No, because it's working now with b/g protection enabled.

 

[Shaddap]

What are your settings that you are using? This is very important. One setting, if not configured properly could cause problems. I highly doubt that the radio chipset is faulty. If that were the case, the whole thing would fail. So, this leads me to believe it is just a configuration error.

I tried settings at default and my PS4 seems "locked" at 3mbps download. I'm not sure if it matters but my wireless setup is having the AC66U set as an access point connected LAN-to-LAN to an Actiontec MI242WR router from FiOS. The Actiontec's wireless is disabled, is serving DHCP, and has UPNP enabled. I had the same exact setup with my previous router and it worked perfectly for about 4 years, up until the wifi began to fail.

@ColinTaylor: By default, the AC66U has b/g protection enabled and I have the same issue. The problem is, the speeds get better if I set the 2.4ghz wireless mode to Legacy but I want my PS4 to have N speeds like it had with my previous router, not G speeds. I've tested the PS4 with no other devices connected to the AC66U but it stays locked at 3mbps.

Also, upon further testing on my phone, it does indeed reach max speeds (30mbps) when connected via wireless N. It's just the PS4 that has some kind of strange issue.

 

[ColinTaylor]

The problem is, the speeds get better if I set the 2.4ghz wireless mode to Legacy but I want my PS4 to have N speeds like it had with my previous router, not G speeds.

What about leaving the Wireless Mode at Auto? I have no problem with n devices working at maximum speed with it on Auto. (Sorry, you may already have tried this - I wasn't sure from what you've said)

 

[Shaddap]

What about leaving the Wireless Mode at Auto? I have no problem with n devices working at maximum speed with it on Auto. (Sorry, you may already have tried this - I wasn't sure from what you've said)

The router's default setting is auto, so yes, I have tried it. I flashed back to Merlin (John's) and the issue remains. It's odd how only the PS4 is affected.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Well I'm out of ideas. Normally I'd say it was a fault with the PS4 as that is the only device affected, but you said it worked with your old router.

Have you tried plugging the old router back in and checking the PS4 again?

Apart from that it starts to get drastic...

1) Move the PS4 to within 5 feet of the router.
2) Reset the router to factory defaults and only do the minimum amount of configuration possible to get the router working.
3) Turn off ALL computer equipment and wireless devices, including A/V senders, cordless phones, baby monitor, wireless mice, etc.
4) Turn on the PS4.
5) Go through the network setup again from scratch choosing the default options for things like MTU and DNS.
6) Re-test.

Edit: Actually, it's probably worth doing 5) anyway just in case it's picked up an incorrect MTU setting or something.

 

[john9527]

Just as an experiment, you may want to try loading my fork (with an older set of wireless drivers) and seeing if it makes a difference. You'll need to factory reset after loading and set thing up again from scratch.

 

[Reinvented]

The router's default setting is auto, so yes, I have tried it. I flashed back to Merlin (John's) and the issue remains. It's odd how only the PS4 is affected.

Post your full wireless settings here. Or take a screenshot and upload it. We need to see how you are configuring it, as it's obviously wrong.

 

[Shaddap]

I'm currently on John's beta release of Merlin, although I had tried the stable release before it and have the same issue. Here are the screenshots of my current settings (NVRAM was cleared before setting them):

My 2.4ghz settings
http://i.imgur.com/lFvWLGX.png

5ghz settings
http://i.imgur.com/cvGEFBq.png

No changes made in WPS/WDS/Wireless MAC Filter/Radius Settings

Wireless - Professional 2.4ghz
http://i.imgur.com/AGjBwmO.png

Wireless - Professional 5ghz (Tx power adjustment set to 150 mW; PS4 has awful speeds even at default Tx values)
http://i.imgur.com/lLJo7kY.png

LAN IP (Operation Mode currently on Access Point mode)
http://i.imgur.com/coV8AfN.png

Wireless Log (PS4 is the only device connected currently to the router's 2.4ghz band)
http://i.imgur.com/aEjMp4l.png

No changes made anywhere else in Merlin's settings.

Here's a screenshot of my wireless log when my phone is connected to the 2.4ghz band as well. The PS4 remains at 5mbps (despite it going through a speed test at the time the screenshot was taken):

http://i.imgur.com/rBJsWu8.png