RT-N66U 5ghz Range/Speed Very Bad at Short Distance

[kontera]

Hi All,

I recently purchased the RT-N66U and am experiencing a steep drop-off in signal for 5 Ghz. From ten feet away there is full signal on both 2.4 and 5 ghz, but as I move away even at 20 feet i experience half the signal on 5ghz, to the point that speed is lower than with 2.4.

-This is in the same room with clear line-of-site. For other rooms non-concrete walls.
-At 5 feet the connection for 2.4 ghz is 144 mbps, for 5 ghz it is 300 mpbs.
-Firmware is Rmerlin rt-n66U 3.0.0.4_270_26b
-Settings have all been set to what is recommended on this board.

May I have a defective unit? 2.4 signal seems to be fine even across the house but one room away and the 5 ghz is almost not even there. Thanks in advance!

 

[RMerlin]

Check for any driver update for your wireless card. Ideally, also test with a different device in case the issue would be with your client rather than the router itself.

Are you using all the default settings on the Professional page?

 

[kontera]

Check for any driver update for your wireless card. Ideally, also test with a different device in case the issue would be with your client rather than the router itself.

Are you using all the default settings on the Professional page?

1- All wireless card drivers up to date.
2- Checked with 5 devices: Laptop with Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205, 1-year-old 13" MacBook Pro (not mine, don't know network card specs), Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and LG Nexus 4; same issue with all of them.
3- Could you explain (or point to) what you mean by "Professional page?"

Thanks for your help so far!

 

[RMerlin]

1- All wireless card drivers up to date.
2- Checked with 5 devices: Laptop with Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205, 1-year-old 13" MacBook Pro (not mine, don't know network card specs), Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and LG Nexus 4; same issue with all of them.
3- Could you explain (or point to) what you mean by "Professional page?"

Thanks for your help so far!

On the Wireless tab there's a professional page with various wireless tweaks. Just making sure you are testing with the default values first and not with already tweaked values.

It's normal for wireless 5 GHz signals to have a shorter range than 2.4 GHz, but not to the extent you describe. You should certainly be able to get a very usable signal one or two rooms away, especially with the laptop.

You could try repositioning the antennas to see if it helps.

 

[kontera]

On the Wireless tab there's a professional page with various wireless tweaks. Just making sure you are testing with the default values first and not with already tweaked values.

It's normal for wireless 5 GHz signals to have a shorter range than 2.4 GHz, but not to the extent you describe. You should certainly be able to get a very usable signal one or two rooms away, especially with the laptop.

You could try repositioning the antennas to see if it helps.

Oh yea, I have the default professional settings. I'm guessing I have a faulty unit then, because the 5 GHz is tanking at short distances even at 20ish feet within the same room.

Thanks for the help! Hopefully the next one works more smoothly!