RT-AC68u sluggish speedtests?

[chrissyyyw]

Hi all,

I have had my trusty RT-AC68u for a couple of years now and it's been incredibly reliable.

One thing I have noticed on it is when doing speedtests, using speedtest.net or fast etc the speedtest doesn't surge straight to 150Mbps - which is what my fiber optic service is. There is like a lag / delay where the speed hangs around 50/60Mbps and then it surges up to 150Mbps and stays there. This is only on the downstream. On the upstream it goes straight to 30Mbps which is what my upload is. It happens on single and multi-thread tests.

I was wondering if I had missed a setting on the router or something as at first I thought this was ISP related. Having changed ISP, it still does it.

Any ideas?

 

[Deleted member 51572]

if QoS is enabled, then download speeds tend to ramp up, rather than surge.

 

[chrissyyyw]

QOS and Upnp are disabled.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hi all,

I have had my trusty RT-AC68u for a couple of years now and it's been incredibly reliable.

One thing I have noticed on it is when doing speedtests, using speedtest.net or fast etc the speedtest doesn't surge straight to 150Mbps - which is what my fiber optic service is. There is like a lag / delay where the speed hangs around 50/60Mbps and then it surges up to 150Mbps and stays there. This is only on the downstream. On the upstream it goes straight to 30Mbps which is what my upload is. It happens on single and multi-thread tests.

I was wondering if I had missed a setting on the router or something as at first I thought this was ISP related. Having changed ISP, it still does it.

Any ideas?

I wouldn't worry about it unless you intend to dissect the process from browser to remote server to determine exactly why it presents as it does. The net result that matters is the same Mbps averaged over the entire test period, repeatedly, no matter what client or router you use.

OE

 

[Deleted member 51572]

are your tests wired or wireless? if wired, then your download speed over fiber should hit 150Mbps very quick, almost instantly. however, over wireless, network traffic is always in contention with other wifi devices on your own network + interference from nearby wifi networks + whatever else might be emitting noise on a particular frequency (channel) in use at the time. if the ramp up to max speed is over wifi, then that's completely normal, ime.

 

[chrissyyyw]

are your tests wired or wireless? if wired, then your download speed over fiber should hit 150Mbps very quick, almost instantly. however, over wireless, network traffic is always in contention with other wifi devices on your own network + interference from nearby wifi networks + whatever else might be emitting noise on a particular frequency (channel) in use at the time. if the ramp up to max speed is over wifi, then that's completely normal, ime.

It's over wi-fi, I was just wondering if there was a setting on the AC68u I hadn't selected or something.

 

[Deleted member 51572]

here (below) are my 1900P wireless settings (your AC68U is basically same as my 1900P, same firmware) and as you can see, i've enabled mostly everything except Roaming Assistant, on the Professional tabs, for both 2 and 5 GHz. for an ac router, wifi performance is really quite good with RT-AC68U and 1900P.

edit: i forgot to mention that my 1900P is running older generation firmware Asuswrt-Merlin v380.70. i'm not going anywhere near versions 384 or 386 just yet. so your wireless settings may look somewhat different from mine.

 

[OzarkEdge]

It's over wi-fi, I was just wondering if there was a setting on the AC68u I hadn't selected or something.

My install notes list a basic router configuration. Leave the default settings unless noted otherwise. Ignore the AiMesh bits.

Sometimes even the browser can affect a speed test.

OE

 

[mistercoffee1]

With Speedtest, it depends on the server that you select. Some servers jump up quickly, others ramp up more slowly.

 

[Deleted member 51572]

My install notes list a basic router configuration. Leave the default settings unless noted otherwise. Ignore the AiMesh bits.

Sometimes even the browser can affect a speed test.

OE

i get more consistent results with the Speedtest.net apps instead of using the browser which, as you point out, loads a bunch of ads and other junk at the same time + whatever else is running in the browser. so i use the speedtest app instead.

 

[chrissyyyw]

Thanks for the screenshots @techcafe. I'll check them out.

The reason for asking is since day one it has been flashed on Merlin and then left and then updated as and when the new Merlin builds are deployed.

I haven't been into any of the wifi settings apart from setting the channels.

 

[Deleted member 51572]

With Speedtest, it depends on the server that you select. Some servers jump up quickly, others ramp up more slowly.

select the server closest to your location, or allow automatic server selection. by picking the closest / fastest server, you'll get more accurate results, as to your actual line speed to the ISP. but that's inside your ISP's network. If you connect to a speed test server outside of your ISP's network, then it will be slower.

 

[Deleted member 51572]

Thanks for the screenshots @techcafe. I'll check them out.

The reason for asking is since day one it has been flashed on Merlin and then left and then updated as and when the new Merlin builds are deployed.

I haven't been into any of the wifi settings apart from setting the channels.

speaking of contentious issues wifi channels, just leave them on AUTO, trust me on this.

 

[OzarkEdge]

speaking of contentious issues wifi channels, just leave them on AUTO, trust me on this.

I love it when my neighbors use Auto channels... it keeps them off my channels.

OE

 

[Deleted member 51572]

hence my point keeps you off of their channels as well

 

[OzarkEdge]

i get more consistent results with the Speedtest.net apps instead of using the browser which, as you point out, loads a bunch of ads and other junk at the same time + whatever else is running in the browser. so i use the speedtest app instead.

New MS Edge gives me the same result repeatedly :

I pay for 200/10 so I don't see the point in maintaining another app to do whatever the hell it feels like doing whenever it feels like doing it.

OE

 

[OzarkEdge]

hence my point keeps you off of their channels as well

My point is that their Auto channel WiFi is in a channel dance with each other, disrupting their client connections, while my clients enjoy a stable connection with a fixed, least congested, non-DFS channel.

OE