AC66U best firmware?

[gijs007]

Hello SMB'ers

I've recently come across Merlins build and just purchased a AC66U today as replacement for my cisco EA6500.

For the moment I'm still using the Asus firmware and I was wondering which firmware is actually the best performance and feature wise?

I've had a look at tomato and DD-wrt but if I remember correctly these didn't have support for 5ghz band/AC.

The most important thing is router performance for me, so I want to have the lowest ping times possible and 2nd is the highest throughput rate wan > lan (since I use fibre).
A must is also a stable firmware(at least for the wired network) so I don't get disconnects while gaming.
After that comes feature set.

I saw that there is currently 2 different merlin builds which are recommended.
One has an older driver but more stable wifi and the other has better performance.

Perhaps someone can make a table to compare the DD-wrt, tomato, stock and merlin firmware?
I was thinking of something like the table on the tomato firmware wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato_(firmware)

 

[cmillar6]

There is only one choice for this router, install Merlins latest build. If you install Tomato or DD-WRT you will likely see a performance hit. Merlin's firmware retains the stock code, feature set and drivers so there is no degradation in performance. The current drivers for the 5GHz band work just fine.

 

[gijs007]

Thank you, I've just updated to Merlin's firmware.

I noticed the following:
2.4 GHz: 57°C - 5 GHz: 62°C

This was with the default 80mv setting, are these temperatures something to worry about?
The room temp is 25-30 C I think, I'll have a look tomorrow.

 

[cmillar6]

Thank you, I've just updated to Merlin's firmware.

I noticed the following:
2.4 GHz: 57°C - 5 GHz: 62°C

This was with the default 80mv setting, are these temperatures something to worry about?
The room temp is 25-30 C I think, I'll have a look tomorrow.

Normal temps, nothing to worry about

 

[glenncol]

Hi all


You might want to check with your distributor too see if loading a third party firmware will void your warranty.

I have just got off the phone to Asus Australia and was told point blank, loading third party firmware will void your warranty.

I suppose this is not an issue if you can re-flash your router prior to sending in for warranty but if you cannot you might me up the creek

 

[DanielCoffey]

There was another post a couple of days ago about warranties and the upshot was that the hardware is ALWAYS guaranteed unless abused (overclocked etc which should not occur with responsibly written firmware).

You may find that if submitted for repair that your router is returned to you with stock firmware again.

As for the operating temps, they are fine given those high ambient temperatures. Mine sits at 52-56C in Scotland with an ambient of 16-20C. Your router is performing perfectly.

If it isn't wall-mounted you might consider standing it up on its foot or putting it on four half inch high round props to raise it off the desk a little.

 

[DaveMishSr]

There was another post a couple of days ago about warranties and the upshot was that the hardware is ALWAYS guaranteed unless abused (overclocked etc which should not occur with responsibly written firmware).

You may find that if submitted for repair that your router is returned to you with stock firmware again.

As for the operating temps, they are fine given those high ambient temperatures. Mine sits at 52-56C in Scotland with an ambient of 16-20C. Your router is performing perfectly.

If it isn't wall-mounted you might consider standing it up on its foot or putting it on four half inch high round props to raise it off the desk a little.

Before opting to use the stand I constructed a stand for my router by using cardboard, an empty paper towel roll and some Elmer's glue. It worked well but the stand provided better cooling by about 1-2°C. As for the firmware issue stick with Merlin's builds, at least for now. You get the best balance between performance, features and stability with Merlin's stuff. Also, consider donating to Merlin as his work is excellent and his support is in a class all by itself.

 

[RMerlin]

I have just got off the phone to Asus Australia and was told point blank, loading third party firmware will void your warranty.

Then those representative never saw this page on their own website:

http://promos.asus.com/US/ASUS_DD-WRT/

 

[nksq]

Hi all


You might want to check with your distributor too see if loading a third party firmware will void your warranty.

I have just got off the phone to Asus Australia and was told point blank, loading third party firmware will void your warranty.

I suppose this is not an issue if you can re-flash your router prior to sending in for warranty but if you cannot you might me up the creek

This is standard behavior for most manufacturers of all types of products. Car dealers are particularly notorious. The bottom line is that unless they can prove the modification in question caused the product to not perform as expected, they are on the hook for whatever warranty they've supplied (be it full, written, implied, etc).

See the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act for more details, specifically 15 USC § 2302(c) if you need a starting point to dig into the relevant case law.

So you are incorrect. You absolutely can install a third-party firmware and unless you toast the router somehow by virtue of your actions, you are not voiding the warranty, no matter what the manufacturer claims on the phone. They say this to limit support calls and discourage modification. Since it costs them money to support users who get in over their heads and then call asking for help, it's simply cheaper to encourage users to stick with the standard manufacturer firmware. It also doesn't help that most people are ignorant of their consumer rights, especially customer service reps, and spread misinformation because they simply don't know any better.

Thank you for reading this friendly public service announcement! (Disclaimer: this applies to United States customers only)

 

[RMerlin]

A recent tweet (in fact only a day or two ago) by Asus themselves was bragging at the fact that DD-WRT was available for the RT-AC68U. Kinda hard for them to refuse warranty service for your router if they are themselves promoting such third party firmwares without saying at the same time that it would void your warranty.

 

[krum]

Hello SMB'ers

The most important thing is router performance for me, so I want to have the lowest ping times possible and 2nd is the highest throughput rate wan > lan (since I use fibre).
A must is also a stable firmware(at least for the wired network) so I don't get disconnects while gaming.
After that comes feature set.

for lowest pings and Fiber Fast wan/Lan
2 version come to mind
Merlin 3.0.0.4.354.29 Beta 1
Merlin 3.0.0.4.270.26b

I personally use 3.0.0.4.270.26b,

Chris

 

[Xaan]

I am currently using the official ASUS 3.0.0.4.374.979 firmware and since I got the router a week ago, I have had constant problems with degrading performance on my 5Ghz network. If I change any settings or reboot the AC66U it my connection speed jumps back up to 866Mbps (using Broadcom 4352 2x2). By the time I get home from work, or if I've just streamed a movie on Netflix and then I check it has dropped to either 175 or 234Mbps. I am less than feet away from the router. After several days of searching I cannot find a clear solution. I was hoping to stick with the ASUS firmware as I have not used 3rd party firmware before but seeing as there is no harm I am not going to make the switch. I was looking for the 270 firmware as apparently this problem did not exist back then however it is no longer available. None of the other currently available official firmwares fix the problem.

Has anyone with the degrading 5Ghz performance switched to Merlin's firmware (and if so, which version) and found it was resolved? I think I will try Merlin 3.0.0.4.270.26b as per krum's suggestion above once I get home tonight.

 

[RMerlin]

Has anyone with the degrading 5Ghz performance switched to Merlin's firmware (and if so, which version) and found it was resolved? I think I will try Merlin 3.0.0.4.270.26b as per krum's suggestion above once I get home tonight.

I use the exact same driver as Asus (since they are closed source), so I wouldn't expect any change from switching firmware.

 

[jerry6]

Latest Merlin build works really well ,wireless transfer speed on 5Ghz is 8-10 MBps from 30 feet away with 2 walls . This is as good or better as the early Asus FW before the tuned it down and better than early Merlin 270.26b . AC 66U
So far have not run into any problems . And Asus replaced my N 66 no questions asked and it had Merlin FW on it when it bricked ,telephone / email representatives spout all kinds of BS , sort of like car salesmen .

 

[krum]

Other People prefer Merlin 3.0.0.4.354.29 Beta 1, Some like the 5ghz fix in that version.
I for one like Parental controls for my kids; I have no problems with 5ghz or no problems in Merlin 3.0.0.4.270.26b



Chris

 

[Xaan]

Well, no difference or not between the stock/Merlin drivers, at least Merlin still has a 270 firmware available. I'll give it a try, though I'm not expecting much given that nearly everything I've found on the subject is people in the same situation and the threads end with no resolution so I'm suspecting there is some common issue with the hardware. A few suggestions were to go all the way back to 270, but then there were never any follow ups as to whether or not they tried it.

If no luck with 270 I guess I just return it? Seems like I have to play the router lottery if I get another AC66U, should I try again or should I get something else? I just want an AC router with decent 5Ghz range (I know it's lower than 2.4, I only need to be about 30 feet away at most) and stable signal quality/speed. The reviews for this looked so great, really annoyed I didn't see ANYTHING about this issue in any reviews and am only finding these problems now that I've bought it.

Also, my iPhone 5 is one of the wonky ones that won't stay connected on WPA/AES networks, so the only solution there is to keep the 2.4Ghz running on b/g legacy with TKIP encryption... so sadly even just using the 2.4Ghz band isn't really an option for me because 54Mbps is kind of sad.

 

[Xaan]

Sadly, as expected, the 270_26b firmware did not help.

1. After installation: 866 Mbps
2. 24 hours later: 585 Mbps
3. 48 hours later: 175 Mbps
4. Reset: 866 Mbps

I don't know what else to do aside from returning it, but then I have a ~3 week wait with no wireless...

 

[Pericynthion]

@xaan do you see a drop in the link quality as well over time, or is it just the connection speed?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Xaan]

It mostly stays full signal as all of my testing has been from the same room about 10 feet away. The signal strength has sometimes dropped to 4 bars on the adapter status when it is crippled. There are no other 5GHz devices, and mine is the only 5GHz network showing on InSSIDer.

I guess I'll try 3.0.0.4.354.29 Beta 1. So far for the firmware updates I have been changing the firmware and then resetting the router settings. I have not tried clearing nvram yet. Am I doing something wrong? The problem with this is that I make these changes and am not able to see a result until the next day when I get home from work. It is taking far too long to troubleshoot this thing and I'm afraid I will run past my chance to RMA it back to Newegg if it really is hopeless.

What a nightmare...

 

[seth_space]

maybe here's a part of the answer.

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/wirelessfaqs/f/dynamicscaling.htm