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RT-AC66U Persistant high latency - looking for advice

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leeland

New Around Here
Hello all,

I have had this router for about a year. No issues for the most part...when new a firmware came out I would update it.

I do not have any complex configurations in place. About a month or so ago I would get sporadically poor performance up and down...and as quick as it would come it would go. I suspected the ISP and shrugged it off.

In the past two weeks it was more persistent and I really started taking notice in the last few days.

I started by speed testing, that seemed ok 30/5 on legacy Time Warner. I then ran some tests pinging google on a continuous ping. Everything seemed ok at first and then the latency would spike from 15-30ms to 500-800ms...this cycle was pretty constant. Good for about 30 seconds and then a 10 second burst of high latency.

I checked everything I could, rebooted modem, rebooted router...powered off modem and router...waited 5 minutes.

It didn't matter the issue would quickly return. Wireless and wired had the same symptoms. I started narrowing it down where I would plug my laptop directly into the modem and it would appear to get a constant ping latency (15-30ms).

I focused on the router (firmware 3.0.0.4.382_50470)...and what settings could be off. I hadn't made any config changes forever.

Ultimately I decided to initialize and reset up the router.

Post setup I ran the same basic ping test and now I am happy to say without doing anything else the sustained ping tests over the last 2 hours have an average ping of 21ms.

My question is why would this router need to be initialized in order to maintain a decent internet latency?

Is there anything I can do for additional troubleshooting if this comes back?

Does anyone know of any issues related to this most up to date firmware?

I did a fair amount of googling to see if someone else was experiencing the same symptoms but I couldn't find anything concrete.

Thanks for the read!

Lee
 
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When you power off the router I would wait at least 15 to 30 minutes. An hour would be better. Also physically unplug the power plug from the router. You would be surprised at how long some capicators can hold a charge. It also doesn't hurt to clear your nvram and clear your browser cache. And if all else fails do a factory default reset and manually reconfigure. Don't use a saved backup. You might give Merlin's firmware a try. I'm on my third Asus router and the first thing I do is ditch the stock firmware and flash Merlin's. But that's just me.
 
Thanks for the reply.

From the current firmware I am on (3.0.0.4.382_50470) is it pretty easy to move to Merlin's firmware? If so would you have a link or youtube on the best method to installing it?

Thanks again!

Lee
 
Hello all,

I have had this router for about a year. No issues for the most part...when new a firmware came out I would update it.

Ultimately I decided to initialize and reset up the router.

Post setup I ran the same basic ping test and now I am happy to say without doing anything else the sustained ping tests over the last 2 hours have an average ping of 21ms.

My question is why would this router need to be initialized in order to maintain a decent internet latency?

Is there anything I can do for additional troubleshooting if this comes back?

Does anyone know of any issues related to this most up to date firmware?

Thanks for the read!

Lee

Here is a FAQ that discusses Factory Default Reset.

Maybe the issue will not return.

OE
 
It's very easy, If I can do it, anybody can do it. I don't have the link handy at the moment, but just go to Asus Merlin here in the forum and you can find it. On the router GUI go to Advanced settings, Administration, Firmware upgrade and upload the file you downloaded. It will take a few minutes to do it's thing, be patient. And then do a minimal set up. Use the default administrator user name and password for now, you can change it later. The Same for the ssid and a simple password, you can change it all later. Then do a factory default reset since you are coming from stock firmware. Then reconfigure and use the user name and password you choose. There's many threads here in the forum. If you need more help, just ask. There are many people here more knowledgeable than myself.
 
By the way, you may already know but the default username and password is admin, admin.
 
I remember reading something about no support for the 56u but didn't realize that the ac66u was no longer supported. I thought it was a fairly recent router. Guess I'll add it to my list. Leeland, if you are thinking about upgrading the RT AC86U is an excellent choice.
 
I remember reading something about no support for the 56u but didn't realize that the ac66u was no longer supported. I thought it was a fairly recent router. Guess I'll add it to my list. Leeland, if you are thinking about upgrading the RT AC86U is an excellent choice.

The official list of Merlin-supported routers can be found here: https://asuswrt.lostrealm.ca/about

OE
 
OK, I think I can do that. I'm 74 and a little slow, but I'll get there.

I'll explain in case it helps... if you use Windows, you can add any folder to the Taskbar as a pop-up Toolbar (right-click Taskbar, Toolbars). I use the built-in Links folder under my user folder. You can then use File Manager (right-click Links, Open Folder) to organize the Links folder/sub-folders and your favorite links/shortcuts to maintain a quick reference to frequent files/folders on your computer/other LAN computers/devices; to devices on your network like your router; and to Internet URLs. Makes getting around easy and browser independent. You can also share your Links folder over your LAN with her computer's Taskbar as a common reference for common usage. Be sure to include the Links folder in your system backup.

OE
 
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Any other 3rd party firmware option available besides Merlin?

Since I started the thread things seemed to be going good...up until about the last hour...now I am getting pathetic latency again...with only my desktop connected to the internet and my work computer via VPN...basically NO traffic on the network or activity online.

--- www.google.com ping statistics ---
99 packets transmitted, 99 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 33.271/271.422/506.443 ms

Then without any intervention the latency disappears. I did make a call to my ISP and sat on the phone for 45 minutes to have them tell me everything looks good from their side and that my modem looks good...
I do have an appointment for a tech to come out tomorrow but IDK what that will yield if anything.
 
I'm sure there is, just not familiar with them, or the ac66u. Someone here can suggest something that will work.
 
Also, if I am stuck on the firmware I am on...could anyone give me some tips on how to troubleshoot this issue either via logs to review on the router or commands that may yield some input as to if it is my router or if it would be my internet.

Thanks again for any input.
 
Also, if I am stuck on the firmware I am on...could anyone give me some tips on how to troubleshoot this issue either via logs to review on the router or commands that may yield some input as to if it is my router or if it would be my internet.

Thanks again for any input.

Isn't it more likely to be the Internet? How about connecting directly to the modem again and bang on it for awhile?

Have you tested through the router without the work VPN running?

OE
 
Isn't it more likely to be the Internet? How about connecting directly to the modem again and bang on it for awhile?

Have you tested through the router without the work VPN running?

OE
Yes, I have tested it without my work laptop running and it is the same. When I get done with work I will spend a little more time connecting right to the modem.

Any other commands / test I can use besides a continuous ping to measure / see latency or where the issue may be occurring?

Thanks,
Lee
 

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