386.1 Possible upload issue?

[terminator]

Since I upgraded to 386.1 (and now 381.1_2) I have noticed a strange upload problem. I am running AX58U as main and RT-AC1750 B1 as mesh node. On any video calls like Whatsapp, facetime, etc the other party has started to say that my video is blurry. I can see their video just fine. When I do a speed test on one of the public sites, the download goes smooth but the upload "jitters" for the lack of a better term.. meaning it would try to measure upload for 2 seconds then hang/stop for 1 second, then go for 2 seconds again, then stop, and so on (I have tried this on multiple speed test sites) - it didn't do that before.

ISP is Verizon Fios and has not changed for years. I have 100 mbps down/up. There is no other heavy WAN usage during this time. When I installed 381.1, it was a fresh install meaning router was hard reset after the upgrade.

Anyone else noticing this or any idea how to resolve this?

 

[raion969]

My upload is also really strange sometimes i get about 20 upload and sometimes only 17, before it was always stable on 20-20,5 also on dslreports when i do my speedtest on upload it goes the last 5 sec from 16 to around 7 upload very strange.

Does anybody made an speedtest on dslresport with the new 386.1 firmware?

 

[KGB7]

Are you connected to the main router or to the mesh/secondary router when performing speed tests??

Test each router separately. Each one connected to the modem and set up as the main router, one at a time.

 

[terminator]

I just turned off the aimesh node (the only one I had) and did a few quick tests. The problem seem to have gone away.

Also, in the original tests I see on speedtest.net that I also have "loss of packets" between 35-60%

The aimesh note is connected via cat 6 ethernet to the main router. This is interesting, will do some more tests later. For now the signal in some parts of the house is not that strong but at least the upload packets are not lost.

 

[brummygit]

I've been seeing some similar issues with my setup - RT-AX88U main router with 2 x RT-AX56U main nodes via ethernet backhaul. When running 386.1 I was getting terrible performance from my Ring CCTV cameras - they only use 2.4Ghz WiFi and always connect to the AiMesh nodes as they are outside my house and my main router is in the centre.

After some diagnosis I have issues on my throughput (upload and download) and latency via the AiMesh nodes, but not when connected directly to WiFi on my main router. 2.4Ghz seems to be definitely affected with it maxing out at less than 10Mbps throughput to my laptop close to a node even though the wifi speed was above 100mps, I hadn't seen the issue on 5Ghz but haven't specifically tested it either.

 

[terminator]

Well, I guess it's some good news that others are seeing the issue too so I am not alone. Bad new is I don't know if something can be done with it or if it's on anyones radar to fix. The interesting thing is that if you mostly do web browsing and videos, you may not see the issue as those applications have ways to account for the latency/packet loss/or whatever is going on. May have to revert back to the old version.

So far it seems like the issue is with the aimesh nodes that started with 386.1.

 

[terminator]

I've been seeing some similar issues with my setup - RT-AX88U main router with 2 x RT-AX56U main nodes via ethernet backhaul. When running 386.1 I was getting terrible performance from my Ring CCTV cameras - they only use 2.4Ghz WiFi and always connect to the AiMesh nodes as they are outside my house and my main router is in the centre.

After some diagnosis I have issues on my throughput (upload and download) and latency via the AiMesh nodes, but not when connected directly to WiFi on my main router. 2.4Ghz seems to be definitely affected with it maxing out at less than 10Mbps throughput to my laptop close to a node even though the wifi speed was above 100mps, I hadn't seen the issue on 5Ghz but haven't specifically tested it either.

Thanks for the update. I have different SSID for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz and I am definitely seeing the issue on 5Ghz. Only a couple of legacy devices that don't support 5Ghz use 2.4Ghz at my house.

 

[David Stidham]

Single I upgraded to 386.1 (and now 381.1_2) I have noticed a strange upload problem. I am running AX58U as main and RT-AC1750 B1 as mesh node. On any video calls like Whatsapp, facetime, etc the other party has started to say that my video is blurry. I can see their video just fine. When I do a speed test on one of the public sites, the download goes smooth but the upload "jitters" for the lack of a better term.. meaning it would try to measure upload for 2 seconds then hang/stop for 1 second, then go for 2 seconds again, then stop, and so on (I have tried this on multiple speed test sites) - it didn't do that before.

ISP is Verizon Fios and has not changed for years. I have 100 mbps down/up. There is no other heavy WAN usage during this time. When I installed 381.1, it was a fresh install meaning router was hard reset after the upgrade.

Anyone else noticing this or any idea how to resolve this?

I have similar challenges. I have an RT-AC68P, running in bridge mode. I connect to an RT-AC3200 running the 384.10.0 firmware as my network host router on one of the 5Ghz bands. I have been running this setup for over a year, through various firmware updates on all of my hardware.

I have used both the 386.1.0 and 386.1.2 releases, and with both my measured upload speed using Speedtest is sub-1Mbps. My download speeds remain as expected, in the 200-ish range. My service is 200/10 ... When I downgrade back to 384.19.0, my upload speeds return to the expected levels of 10-ish Mbps.

Additionally, I noticed my link rate on the v384.19.0 firmware is over 1100 Mbps, while on the v386.x firmware it dropped to the 700-range Mbps. My equipment positioning has not changed.

Lastly, when downgrading the firmware from 386 to 384, I have to perform a factory reset because the admin account credentials are somehow corrupted and I cannot log in. I power cycled the unit, and that didn't resolve this particular issue after the downgrade. Since I upgraded to 386.1.0, downgraded to 384.19.0, and then upgraded again to 386.1.2, and downgraded again to 384.19.0, I needed to factory reset both times. Once my RT-AC68 was running the 384.19.0 firmware version, everything went back to expected performance and behavior.

Unfortunately, I didn't think to perform any screen captures ... but ... I would be willing to go through the entire exercise again to capture screenshots to share if anyone needed them for support research into the firmware.

 

[terminator]

@RMerlin - is there a way to easily tell if the issue is coming form core ASUS codebase or elsewhere?

 

[RMerlin]

Everything related to either wifi or AiMesh is closed source and outside of my control.

 

[terminator]

Everything related to either wifi or AiMesh is closed source and outside of my control.

ok, thanks! I want to install stock code and see if that changes anything so I can report the issue to Asus but I am being too lazy at the moment

 

[bbunge]

I have similar challenges. I have an RT-AC68P, running in bridge mode. I connect to an RT-AC3200 running the 384.10.0 firmware as my network host router on one of the 5Ghz bands. I have been running this setup for over a year, through various firmware updates on all of my hardware.

I have used both the 386.1.0 and 386.1.2 releases, and with both my measured upload speed using Speedtest is sub-1Mbps. My download speeds remain as expected, in the 200-ish range. My service is 200/10 ... When I downgrade back to 384.19.0, my upload speeds return to the expected levels of 10-ish Mbps.

Additionally, I noticed my link rate on the v384.19.0 firmware is over 1100 Mbps, while on the v386.x firmware it dropped to the 700-range Mbps. My equipment positioning has not changed.

Lastly, when downgrading the firmware from 386 to 384, I have to perform a factory reset because the admin account credentials are somehow corrupted and I cannot log in. I power cycled the unit, and that didn't resolve this particular issue after the downgrade. Since I upgraded to 386.1.0, downgraded to 384.19.0, and then upgraded again to 386.1.2, and downgraded again to 384.19.0, I needed to factory reset both times. Once my RT-AC68 was running the 384.19.0 firmware version, everything went back to expected performance and behavior.

Unfortunately, I didn't think to perform any screen captures ... but ... I would be willing to go through the entire exercise again to capture screenshots to share if anyone needed them for support research into the firmware.

Your need to reset is likely due to the NVRAM being encrypted in the newer firmware. You will get the same thing with factory Asus firmware. If you are using the AC68P in Bridge mode just use factory Asus firmware. There is no advantage in using Merlin.

 

[raion969]

@RMerlin i also have really bad upload and also sometimes download problem and all started when i updated to the new 386.1. Is there any fix for this huge problems on so many devices with bandwith issues?

 

[hervon]

@ raion969 : did you even read Merlin's comment ? "Everything related to either wifi or AiMesh is closed source and outside of my control."

 

[raion969]

@hervon did i say anything about wifi or aimesh? The problem is also over lan!

 

[IAAI]

Similar issue



Thread 'AX86U Slow upload speed'
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/ax86u-slow-upload-speed.70352/

 

[eusagc]

Hi! I can confirm the issue reported here. I have 100/100 connection. Initially, dirty-flashed Merlin 386.1 over 384.19 on an Asus WRT-AC88U, and ul suddenly dropped to ~10mbps (dl was not affected). I can confirm that both wl and eth clients are affected. Turned off QoS, same problem. Disabled all amtm add-ons, same problem.

I then did nuke reset and started clean. And as soon as I configured wan, speedtest revealed the same exact problem. I reverted back to 384.19 and problem disappeared.

I have both AC88U (router mode) and AC68U (AP mode). AC68U is currently running 386.1_2. No issues there (AP mode).

 

[eusagc]

Hi! Would anyone who had this problem before loaded the latest 362.2 (or later) and checked if it's gone? I am still stuck at 384.19 and was hoping to update soon. Thanks all.

 

[terminator]

Hi! Would anyone who had this problem before loaded the latest 362.2 (or later) and checked if it's gone? I am still stuck at 384.19 and was hoping to update soon. Thanks all.

The unreliability connection issues I had -- just for the aimesh nodes were not resolved in 386.2. Some people are experiencing these and some are not so unsure what is going on. At least for me, if I unplug all the aimesh nodes, all is good. There was "aimesh 2.0" in 386.1 so to some extent the issues do make sense but not sure why others using aiemsh is not having them.

 

[eusagc]

The unreliability connection issues I had -- just for the aimesh nodes were not resolved in 386.2. Some people are experiencing these and some are not so unsure what is going on. At least for me, if I unplug all the aimesh nodes, all is good. There was "aimesh 2.0" in 386.1 so to some extent the issues do make sense but not sure why others using aiemsh is not having them.

Thanks for this info. As for my experience, it was strictly with internet upload, my supposed 100/100mbps suddenly became 100/5 (dl/ul) right after updating to 386.1, and troubleshooting the issue pointed me right there, and not with wifi, some wifi parameter, qos, etc. (I have not/am not using aimesh, since this isn't available on 384.19.) A clean install of 386.1 also showed the same exact problem btw, so I concluded there is something different there, esp. after reloading back old-trusty 384.19 which worked flawlessly.

I figured the problem was not uinversal, because I could see so many downloads in Merlin's website for my hw (AC88U). I just couldn't figure out what is unique with my configuration. Fwiw, my setup goes like this: modem/router -- switch -- Asus router (Merlin). Yes, it's a back-to-back router config, since the modem/router as supplied by the ISP is locked (I got no admin password to bridge-mode it), and I needed a switch because only 1 lan port of the modem/router is active, and I needed to setup multiple (isolated) lans.

Is this setup similar to yours by any chance?