What could my speed be?

[Rhyalus]

Hi All,

I have the AX88U. My home internet is 300 down and 35 up.

At the same location in the room, on Speedtest (Ookla) to the same server, I see ~290 down and 37 up on 5GHz. On 2.4 GHz, I get ~90 down and 37 up. Can someone comment if this seems right?

I can swear I had better download speeds with my last Netgear router. Putting settings aside, what SHOULD I expect on 2.4? This is on ac or ax connections.

Thanks!
R

 

[L&LD]

Seems right to me.

 

[bitsbytes]

You're maxing your isp speed. why do you think you can get faster than that?

 

[dfunked]

I have no idea if it's been fixed recently, but sounds like there were issues with 2.4GHz performance earlier in the year after a specific firmware release. I would definitely expect better speeds than 90 down (presumably you're testing in the same room?)

RT-AX88U poor 2.4ghz

Hi, I recently upgraded my RT-AC87U for a RT-AX88U, and while the 5ghz WiFi seems good, the 2.4ghz seems worse. It doesn't seem to go as far as the old router. Has anyone else found this? Thanks Ninko

www.snbforums.com

 

[Rhyalus]

You're maxing your isp speed. why do you think you can get faster than that?

Hi - thanks for the reply, but you misread my post. I was ok with the 5GHz speed near the ISP max... but the 2.4GHz is only ~100 of the 300 max.

R

 

[Rhyalus]

I have no idea if it's been fixed recently, but sounds like there were issues with 2.4GHz performance earlier in the year after a specific firmware release. I would definitely expect better speeds than 90 down (presumably you're testing in the same room?)

RT-AX88U poor 2.4ghz

Hi, I recently upgraded my RT-AC87U for a RT-AX88U, and while the 5ghz WiFi seems good, the 2.4ghz seems worse. It doesn't seem to go as far as the old router. Has anyone else found this? Thanks Ninko

www.snbforums.com

Hi - I have tried both the most recent Asus official firmware, and I am now on the latest Merlin version. I have tweaked just about every 2.4 and "professional" setting I could find.... I have not been able to increase it.

I do put a lot of faith in L&LD's knowledge based on his previous support here, so I was happy to see the reply... though I really do think I was seeing better 2.4 speeds on my Netgear router unless it was lying to me.

R

 

[L&LD]

@Rhyalus, the maximum speeds you will see will depend on the client device you test it on and on the power savings/performance mode you can switch it too (plugged into AC power with Performance mode is always ideal for maximum speed runs).

You may have achieved slightly higher 2.4GHz speeds before with your NG router, but on the 2.4GHz band, there are so many sources of interference (from WiFi and non-WiFi sources) that expecting it to stay the same over time or over different routers isn't a reality.

If you're using the same SSID as before, you may want to see the following post (specifically item 6 and 7).

Troubleshooting 101 Asus/RMerlin Routers 2020

Top 10 Simple Asus/RMerlin firmware powered Router Troubleshooting steps to try first: NOTE: Although this is for Asus/RMerlin-firmware powered routers, the steps below may be relevant to all routers, to get to a quick fix for common symptoms. Check that the router’s System Time is accurate on...

www.snbforums.com

Of course, after flashing the RMerlin firmware, I expect you did a full reset to factory defaults afterward? And then minimally and manually configure the router without using a saved backup config file or 'blindly' using old settings that may have once worked in an older router/setup.

After admitting to tweaking (almost) every setting possible, I would be inclined to follow the last part of the link above.

The M&M Config and the Nuclear Reset guides are suggested along with the guide in the following post to help get your router and your network to a good/known state where the firmware's expected defaults are used (properly) and available too.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/ax88-packet-loss.62891/post-563326

It may not help you get any faster, but it will remove any doubts if it's possible with your current router, clients, and WiFi environment.

 

[Rhyalus]

@Rhyalus, the maximum speeds you will see will depend on the client device you test it on and on the power savings/performance mode you can switch it too (plugged into AC power with Performance mode is always ideal for maximum speed runs).

(R) I understand.... I am testing with three devices... Del 7400 laptop with Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 160MHz card, Samsung Note 9 and iPad Pro 11". The speeds are consistent between them, so I am sure it is not device specific. Speed is great on 5GHz and sub 100 on 2.4GHz.

You may have achieved slightly higher 2.4GHz speeds before with your NG router, but on the 2.4GHz band, there are so many sources of interference (from WiFi and non-WiFi sources) that expecting it to stay the same over time or over different routers isn't a reality.

(R) Yes. I live in a suburban development and there are no competing signals. The speed I "recall" seeing in 2.4GHz was similar to 5GHz (it was not slightly better than what I am seeing now)... this is why my question in my recent post, is "what should I expect for 2.4GHz on an ideal connection with 300 MB dl from my ISP?". I want to make sure my expectations make sense. Can you comment on what the ideal speed "could" be on 2.4GHz? For clarity, I am using Speedtest from Ookla and this is how I am measuring these speeds.

I have tried different control channels and widths with no big impact on speed.

If you're using the same SSID as before, you may want to see the following post (specifically item 6 and 7).

Troubleshooting 101 Asus/RMerlin Routers 2020

Top 10 Simple Asus/RMerlin firmware powered Router Troubleshooting steps to try first: NOTE: Although this is for Asus/RMerlin-firmware powered routers, the steps below may be relevant to all routers, to get to a quick fix for common symptoms. Check that the router’s System Time is accurate on...

www.snbforums.com

(R) In my first post here, you sent me the links on your info page, and I definitely tried a new SSD.

Of course, after flashing the RMerlin firmware, I expect you did a full reset to factory defaults afterward? And then minimally and manually configure the router without using a saved backup config file or 'blindly' using old settings that may have once worked in an older router/setup.

After admitting to tweaking (almost) every setting possible, I would be inclined to follow the last part of the link above.

(R) Yes Sir...I did the resets per the strings found here, and I always started testing at the min config, and then started "working my way up" in terms of settings.

It may not help you get any faster, but it will remove any doubts if it's possible with your current router, clients, and WiFi environment.

I very much appreciate everyone's posts. I have worked in customer support for years, and I know it is tough to troubleshoot this way - especially when people report that they "did" what is recommended, only to find out that they haven't. But at the end of the day, it seems like I should have to work hard to mess things up... and defaults from Asus and Merlin always result in this same 2.4GHz slowness. At whatpoint should I assume that it is the router - is this possible?

BTW, the router itself has been rock stable. What about sharing info from the logs...would this help?

Thanks,
R

 

[L&LD]

If your testing included changing the channels and the bandwidth, then rebooting and waiting for at least 10 minutes before testing again, additional testing isn't indicated.

Again, I don't consider your speeds slow. The non-WiFi interference within the 2.4GHz band (which no 'app' will show) is what may have changed in your environment.

You may also want to try testing with fast.com and dslreports.com/speed, among others.

Of course, the best is to test between a wired computer/NAS (with high enough read/write speeds) and your wireless client in a 'local' set up so that the overloaded speed test sites are factored out too.

Btw, you still haven't indicated what client device you're using to test with.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Go to System Log - Wireless Log and post a screen shot of the 2.4GHz section. We'd be particularly interested in the "Chanspec:" setting at the top and also the Tx/Rx rates of your clients.

 

[Rhyalus]

Go to System Log - Wireless Log and post a screen shot of the 2.4GHz section. We'd be particularly interested in the "Chanspec:" setting at the top and also the Tx/Rx rates of your clients.

Hi - please see attached... I was going to copy and paste but it was too messy with the columns. I edited the file to identify the name of the clients.

Thanks!
R

 

[Rhyalus]

If your testing included changing the channels and the bandwidth, then rebooting and waiting for at least 10 minutes before testing again, additional testing isn't indicated.

Again, I don't consider your speeds slow. The non-WiFi interference within the 2.4GHz band (which no 'app' will show) is what may have changed in your environment.

You may also want to try testing with fast.com and dslreports.com/speed, among others.

Of course, the best is to test between a wired computer/NAS (with high enough read/write speeds) and your wireless client in a 'local' set up so that the overloaded speed test sites are factored out too.

Btw, you still haven't indicated what client device you're using to test with.

Hi - I am testing with three devices... Del 7400 laptop with Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 160MHz card, Samsung Note 9 and iPad Pro 11". The speeds are consistent between them, so I am sure it is not device specific. Speed is great on 5GHz and sub 100 on 2.4GHz.

I'll try the other testing services as well, but I have tested over several weeks with little variation.

Thanks,
R

 

[ColinTaylor]

The most obvious thing is that you are using 20MHz bandwidth on 2.4GHz. Now whilst that is not necessarily a bad thing it does mean you're halving your theoretical maximum throughput.

For the iPad with it's n-type radio and 2 antennas it's connecting at its maximum possible speed @20MHz, i.e 144Mbps - so expect about 90Mbps in the real world.

The Samsung Note and S9 are connected at their maximum possible speeds of 192 and 173 Mbps (~ 150/130 Mbps real world).

So to get anything faster out of those clients you'll need to switch to 40MHz bandwidth.

Bear in mind that WiFi is a shared medium, meaning that devices have to wait their turn to send and receive their data. So slow devices can impede the throughput of faster ones. I notice that you have quite a lot of devices connected to the 2.4GHz band, including an extender and bridge! So anything using those links (which have 3 antennas) could swamp the WiFi throughput.