azazel1024
Very Senior Member
I got a used WDR3600 yesterday. Only two physical complaints are that it is rather large and the LEDs could be a little dimmer. On the first, as large as it is and as many ports as it has, the switch spacing could have a couple of extra mm between ports for ease for plugging in cables.
Admin console has a fair amount of stuff in it, but the wireless bits are rather basic, but I guess enough so long as you don't mind not being able to turn all the knobs and push all the buttons.
My baseline is my old Netgear 3500Lv1s I have running. I manage around 21MB/sec down and 23MB/sec up to my HP Envy 4t with an Intel 7260ac wifi card in it. My tablet, Asus T100 does around 9MB/sec (broadcom adapter in it, 1:1).
I got the WDR3600 up and running, configured, etc. 5MB/sec down and 12MB/sec up on 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Those numbers are pretty much identical to the TP-Link 841n I have as an outdoor AP (which I couldn't get working quite right) when I have the 841 in 40MHz mode (both were/are around 2.5-3.5MB/sec in 20MHz mode). I did EVERYTHING I could think of on the router, no change.
I finally found a bit on a forum on the 7260ac and speed problems of falling back to the default Windows 8.1 driver (16.x.x.x series instead of the 17.0.x.x that I was on). BOOM, 23MB/sec on 2.4GHz, 25MB/sec on 5GHz. Up and down numbers basically the same.
I tested on my 841n outside, roughly 11Mb/sec up and down (pretty much the limit of the 10/100 port).
Why, oh why Intel!?! I know wireless is hard, but this is ridiculous. As a curious test, I tried all 4 of the 17.0.x.x drivers I had already loaded up on my laptop, all of them performed terribly, but the MS signed 16.x.x.x driver performs great. Oh well, its working.
Anyway, my tablet is also a hair faster. About 9.5MB/sec average on 2.4GHz and 10MB/sec average on 5GHz.
It could be in my head, but associating between APs seems to take longer now, at least with my tablet (I haven't checked anything else). I'd of sworn it was 7-10s between reassociation when wondering between switch over points, but it seems to be taking more like 12-15s now. Could be totally in my head (I plan to plug my old 3500l back in just to check), but I did notice that.
As for range, 5GHz does not like my chimney. -93dBm laying in bed across the house with the 4ft thick chimney in the way. 2.4GHz is better though. on the 3500l it would be around -78dBm. Now it is about -72-74dBm and sometimes even around -68dBm (depending on how I am holding my tablet).
Sitting 5ft away from the router 2.4GHz is -25dBm (close to what it should on the 3500l previously) and 5GHz is -42dBm. I need to try to relocate the AP to the side a bit so that the chimney isn't in the way, especially for the 5GHz stuff as otherwise it is pretty much only same room where it is worth anything. The signal stretches beyond that, but because both are 40MHz, the 2.4GHz signal is so much stronger allowing a faster connection once you wander out of the room. 11ac might be slightly different with 80MHz of spectrum, but even there, that chimney really kills the signal. I don't need full house coverage of 5GHz, even on 11ac, but better coverage would be nice.
So, time to take advantage of why I got the WDR3600, which is to play with 5GHz and AP positioning to figure out how best to set things up for when I do get an 11ac AP (or two).
Admin console has a fair amount of stuff in it, but the wireless bits are rather basic, but I guess enough so long as you don't mind not being able to turn all the knobs and push all the buttons.
My baseline is my old Netgear 3500Lv1s I have running. I manage around 21MB/sec down and 23MB/sec up to my HP Envy 4t with an Intel 7260ac wifi card in it. My tablet, Asus T100 does around 9MB/sec (broadcom adapter in it, 1:1).
I got the WDR3600 up and running, configured, etc. 5MB/sec down and 12MB/sec up on 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Those numbers are pretty much identical to the TP-Link 841n I have as an outdoor AP (which I couldn't get working quite right) when I have the 841 in 40MHz mode (both were/are around 2.5-3.5MB/sec in 20MHz mode). I did EVERYTHING I could think of on the router, no change.
I finally found a bit on a forum on the 7260ac and speed problems of falling back to the default Windows 8.1 driver (16.x.x.x series instead of the 17.0.x.x that I was on). BOOM, 23MB/sec on 2.4GHz, 25MB/sec on 5GHz. Up and down numbers basically the same.
I tested on my 841n outside, roughly 11Mb/sec up and down (pretty much the limit of the 10/100 port).
Why, oh why Intel!?! I know wireless is hard, but this is ridiculous. As a curious test, I tried all 4 of the 17.0.x.x drivers I had already loaded up on my laptop, all of them performed terribly, but the MS signed 16.x.x.x driver performs great. Oh well, its working.
Anyway, my tablet is also a hair faster. About 9.5MB/sec average on 2.4GHz and 10MB/sec average on 5GHz.
It could be in my head, but associating between APs seems to take longer now, at least with my tablet (I haven't checked anything else). I'd of sworn it was 7-10s between reassociation when wondering between switch over points, but it seems to be taking more like 12-15s now. Could be totally in my head (I plan to plug my old 3500l back in just to check), but I did notice that.
As for range, 5GHz does not like my chimney. -93dBm laying in bed across the house with the 4ft thick chimney in the way. 2.4GHz is better though. on the 3500l it would be around -78dBm. Now it is about -72-74dBm and sometimes even around -68dBm (depending on how I am holding my tablet).
Sitting 5ft away from the router 2.4GHz is -25dBm (close to what it should on the 3500l previously) and 5GHz is -42dBm. I need to try to relocate the AP to the side a bit so that the chimney isn't in the way, especially for the 5GHz stuff as otherwise it is pretty much only same room where it is worth anything. The signal stretches beyond that, but because both are 40MHz, the 2.4GHz signal is so much stronger allowing a faster connection once you wander out of the room. 11ac might be slightly different with 80MHz of spectrum, but even there, that chimney really kills the signal. I don't need full house coverage of 5GHz, even on 11ac, but better coverage would be nice.
So, time to take advantage of why I got the WDR3600, which is to play with 5GHz and AP positioning to figure out how best to set things up for when I do get an 11ac AP (or two).
