RT-AC68U Slow Network Help

[Kevin Cabral]

Since I updated to the latest firmware, the wireless has been acting strange. The moment I download a file and that download reaches above 30mbps, it halts my network. If I am streaming, the video stops and has to buffer. Not sure what the deal is. When I do a speedtest on my main computer that is hooked up to the router through cable, I'm getting 100mbps+. Hopefully someone here can help me out.

Thanks in advance.

 

[indark]

anytime anything goes wrong after a firmware update, I will just reset router

power off the router for 30sec+,
make sure you remove any usb drive/dongle attached.
hold wps button while power on
wait till power led start blinking, release the wps button
now wait for the router to boot up and manually reconfigure everything

it helps to address 99% of glitch that happen during update firmware.

 

[Kevin Cabral]

anytime anything goes wrong after a firmware update, I will just reset router

power off the router,
hold wps button while power on
wait till power led start blinking, release the wps button
now wait for the router to boot up and manually reconfigure everything

it helps to address 99% of glitch that happen during update firmware.

I'll try this out. However, I updated the firmware months ago and noticed it last month. Maybe it was happening the moment I updated and just never noticed until the router was giving 1 device a lot of bandwidth? I even notice this with my PS4. The moment I download a game or an update for instance, it'll choke up my network and my PC suffers during YouTube videos at 1080 or 4k. I literally had to limit the download speed of the PS4 to 30mb/s because if I didn't, the PS4 would be getting 60-80mb/s. And this is when the network slows down so bad :S.

Also what does the WPS button do when I hold it down while plugging the router back in? I have it disabled in the router settings Just curious...

 

[Kevin Cabral]

I ran a speedtest on my main computer hooked up to the router. 192mbps is what I got. So basically 200mbps. Should I be using QoS or no?

 

[L&LD]

What exactly is 'the latest version' you're using on your RT-AC68U? You later state that you updated to this firmware months ago? I'm confused.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/n...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

Flash the latest version available (RMerlin's 384.9 highly recommended) following the steps above will give you a stable base to judge if the firmware, router or your network specific setup is causing problems.

Right now? It could be anything and nothing without a reset to factory defaults and a minimal and manual configuration.

You're basically chasing your tail.

 

[Kevin Cabral]

What exactly is 'the latest version' you're using on your RT-AC68U? You later state that you updated to this firmware months ago? I'm confused.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/n...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

Flash the latest version available (RMerlin's 384.9 highly recommended) following the steps above will give you a stable base to judge if the firmware, router or your network specific setup is causing problems.

Right now? It could be anything and nothing without a reset to factory defaults and a minimal and manual configuration.

You're basically chasing your tail.

The latest firmware I have is: Firmware Version:3.0.0.4.384_45149. It's the latest Asus official firmware. Is the RMerlin firmware more stable? I tried the WPS reset and I also did a hard reset by pushing that tiny button on the back. Still didn't fix it. It's as if the router just floods 1 device with full bandwidth and everyone else on the network suffers. Never had this issue with the previous firmware :S. Hmm....

 

[indark]

The latest firmware I have is: Firmware Version:3.0.0.4.384_45149. It's the latest Asus official firmware. Is the RMerlin firmware more stable? I tried the WPS reset and I also did a hard reset by pushing that tiny button on the back. Still didn't fix it. It's as if the router just floods 1 device with full bandwidth and everyone else on the network suffers. Never had this issue with the previous firmware :S. Hmm....

I forgot to mention that you should power off the router for at least 30sec to 1 min with wps reset. dont just power off and on right away.
technically, reset with wps button is the same as factory reset the router via software page.
However, it has solved some weird issues that I had and persisted after multiple factory reset; high cpu usage, awkward signature version, ... etc.
So I simply suggest that lately.

merlin's firmware works better imo if you dont need ai-mesh
not just more stable, but also improvement for the router.
the latest 384.9 is based on 384.45149 as well.
you can check if the CPU usage is extremely high (I solved this case multiple time by wps reset, so that's only thing I can suggest)
or maybe some device is actually using up the bandwidth (I will be worried and try to find out what's going on if that's the case.)
also if you have usb drive or anything attached, make sure you remove those as well.
it sometimes will cause issue in between firmware update as well.

if nothing help, you can try roll back to earlier firmware to see if the issue still exist.
worst case, there is something wrong with the hardware and you will have to consider RMA.

 

[Kevin Cabral]

I forgot to mention that you should power off the router for at least 30sec to 1 min with wps reset. dont just power off and on right away.
technically, reset with wps button is the same as factory reset the router via software page.
However, it has solved some weird issues that I had and persisted after multiple factory reset; high cpu usage, awkward signature version, ... etc.
So I simply suggest that lately.

merlin's firmware works better imo if you dont need ai-mesh
not just more stable, but also improvement for the router.
the latest 384.9 is based on 384.45149 as well.
you can check if the CPU usage is extremely high (I solved this case multiple time by wps reset, so that's only thing I can suggest)
or maybe some device is actually using up the bandwidth (I will be worried and try to find out what's going on if that's the case.)
also if you have usb drive or anything attached, make sure you remove those as well.
it sometimes will cause issue in between firmware update as well.

if nothing help, you can try roll back to earlier firmware to see if the issue still exist.
worst case, there is something wrong with the hardware and you will have to consider RMA.

Yeah AI Mesh isn't important to me, not using it anyways .

Is this the firmware I need to install?
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/release-asuswrt-merlin-384-9-is-now-available.54843/

I spoke to the Asus agent about it and he told me to hold down that tiny reset button for 8 seconds. I held it down while plugging the router back in and waited 8 seconds. Then I also did it again held it down for 8 seconds while it was powered on. Not sure if it mattered lol. Either way, it did reset. I changed the Preamble Type to 'short'. Not sure if it's going to make a difference. The Merlin firmware, what's the benefits running that instead of the official Asus firmware? Just curious

Thanks for your help

 

[L&LD]

The Merlin firmware, what's the benefits running that instead of the official Asus firmware? Just curious

It is RMerlin, btw. And Asus has used the RMerlin code many times in the past to use in their official firmware.

The benefits of using RMerlin directly? The known bugs of each new release are squashed with very little wait time from a new versions introduction. The real power of RMerlin firmware though lies in the scripts that are available (some even with a UI thanks to thelonelycoder and his excellent amtm script).

With RMerlin firmware installed, a full reset to factory defaults with a minimal and manual installation and then installing the FreshJR Adaptive QOS script (at a minimum), your issues should be taken care of.

What I would recommend?

1. Install RMerlin 384.9 firmware. https://sourceforge.net/projects/asuswrt-merlin/files/RT-AC68U/Release/RT-AC68U_384.9_0.zip/download
   
2. Full reset to factory defaults. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/n...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573
3. Install thelonelycoder amtm script. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/amtm-the-snbforum-asuswrt-merlin-terminal-menu.42415/
4. Insert a USB stick 4GB or larger into the Router.
   1. Use amtm to format it to Ext4 with journaling.
   2. Create a swap file (I create the largest possible; 2GB).
   3. Install Diversion, which also installs Entware and also pixelserv-tls.
   4. Install FreshJR Adaptive QOS. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/r...ements-custom-rules-and-inner-workings.36836/
5. After a few hours of using your network and connected devices with the above setup; reboot the router.

You should now have a stable router with many, many benefits over what Asus deems us worthy to enjoy.

Your router should be more stable, your browsing, downloading and streaming experience should all be greatly improved and your ISP provided bandwidth will be used for your needs; not the needs of random advertisers out there (SNB excluded!) that deliver large graphics over slow and multiple connections.


Edit:
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/experimental-bcraffy-openssl-1-1-x-builds.55036/

The link above shows the dedication Eric (RMerlin) has for his projects. Exciting times for our routers ahead (with Eric leading the way).

 

[martinr]

It is RMerlin, btw. And Asus has used the RMerlin code many times in the past to use in their official firmware.

The benefits of using RMerlin directly? The known bugs of each new release are squashed with very little wait time from a new versions introduction. The real power of RMerlin firmware though lies in the scripts that are available (some even with a UI thanks to thelonelycoder and his excellent amtm script).

With RMerlin firmware installed, a full reset to factory defaults with a minimal and manual installation and then installing the FreshJR Adaptive QOS script (at a minimum), your issues should be taken care of.

What I would recommend?

1. Install RMerlin 384.9 firmware. https://sourceforge.net/projects/asuswrt-merlin/files/RT-AC68U/Release/RT-AC68U_384.9_0.zip/download
   
2. Full reset to factory defaults. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/n...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573
3. Install thelonelycoder amtm script. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/amtm-the-snbforum-asuswrt-merlin-terminal-menu.42415/
4. Insert a USB stick 4GB or larger into the Router.
   1. Use amtm to format it to Ext4 with journaling.
   2. Create a swap file (I create the largest possible; 2GB).
   3. Install Diversion, which also installs Entware and also pixelserv-tls.
   4. Install FreshJR Adaptive QOS. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/r...ements-custom-rules-and-inner-workings.36836/
5. After a few hours of using your network and connected devices with the above setup; reboot the router.

You should now have a stable router with many, many benefits over what Asus deems us worthy to enjoy.

Your router should be more stable, your browsing, downloading and streaming experience should all be greatly improved and your ISP provided bandwidth will be used for your needs; not the needs of random advertisers out there (SNB excluded!) that deliver large graphics over slow and multiple connections.


Edit:
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/experimental-bcraffy-openssl-1-1-x-builds.55036/

The link above shows the dedication Eric (RMerlin) has for his projects. Exciting times for our routers ahead (with Eric leading the way).

Not suggested a sticky before, but this, together with a strategically-placed link to L&LD’s guide:

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/n...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

might make a useful sticky, with a title along the lines of: “RMerlin vs Stock, and the route to a stable router”

Something for @thiggins to consider, anyway.

 

[Kevin Cabral]

It is RMerlin, btw. And Asus has used the RMerlin code many times in the past to use in their official firmware.

The benefits of using RMerlin directly? The known bugs of each new release are squashed with very little wait time from a new versions introduction. The real power of RMerlin firmware though lies in the scripts that are available (some even with a UI thanks to thelonelycoder and his excellent amtm script).

With RMerlin firmware installed, a full reset to factory defaults with a minimal and manual installation and then installing the FreshJR Adaptive QOS script (at a minimum), your issues should be taken care of.

What I would recommend?

1. Install RMerlin 384.9 firmware. https://sourceforge.net/projects/asuswrt-merlin/files/RT-AC68U/Release/RT-AC68U_384.9_0.zip/download
   
2. Full reset to factory defaults. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/n...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573
3. Install thelonelycoder amtm script. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/amtm-the-snbforum-asuswrt-merlin-terminal-menu.42415/
4. Insert a USB stick 4GB or larger into the Router.
   1. Use amtm to format it to Ext4 with journaling.
   2. Create a swap file (I create the largest possible; 2GB).
   3. Install Diversion, which also installs Entware and also pixelserv-tls.
   4. Install FreshJR Adaptive QOS. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/r...ements-custom-rules-and-inner-workings.36836/
5. After a few hours of using your network and connected devices with the above setup; reboot the router.

You should now have a stable router with many, many benefits over what Asus deems us worthy to enjoy.

Your router should be more stable, your browsing, downloading and streaming experience should all be greatly improved and your ISP provided bandwidth will be used for your needs; not the needs of random advertisers out there (SNB excluded!) that deliver large graphics over slow and multiple connections.


Edit:
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/experimental-bcraffy-openssl-1-1-x-builds.55036/

The link above shows the dedication Eric (RMerlin) has for his projects. Exciting times for our routers ahead (with Eric leading the way).

I'll have to try this later Thanks you!

 

[Kevin Cabral]

Out of curiosity, does the QoS adaptive actually work? I noticed there is a few choices: gaming, media streaming, web surfing and custom. When I enable it, the game goes from 25% to 49%. Should I not bother with this adaptive QoS and just install what you suggested? Thanks

 

[L&LD]

Out of curiosity, does the QoS adaptive actually work? I noticed there is a few choices: gaming, media streaming, web surfing and custom. When I enable it, the game goes from 25% to 49%. Should I not bother with this adaptive QoS and just install what you suggested? Thanks

You need to install the FreshJR QOS script and enable Adaptive QOS for this to work.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/r...m-rules-and-inner-workings.36836/#post-301766

See the second post in the link above for details, under 'QOS Setup'.