Any issues with Asus RT86U 2.4GHZ band?

[rk8531]

Hi there!
I we want to buy Asus RT86U as it best suits my needs. However, I have read numerous negative reviews about this router 2.4 GHz band. Is it a hardware issue or it was a firmware issue that has already been patched?
Kindly update.

 

[L&LD]

Hi there!
I we want to buy Asus RT86U as it best suits my needs. However, I have read numerous negative reviews about this router 2.4 GHz band. Is it a hardware issue or it was a firmware issue that has already been patched?
Kindly update.

I have recently started using the RT-AC86U for customer installs. I always perform a full M&M Config (please see my signature below for the link) on each router before employing it. Even if I use the as-shipped firmware on it.

I have seen no issues on the half dozen I have configured so far. The first one installed has been in use for over a week already. So, still early, but still, no issues at all.

The latest RMerlin firmware is recommended (384.10). The scripts available with that firmware are also recommended, but are optional (amtm, Diversion, Skynet, FreshJR QOS, YazFi, Stubby, ntpMerlin and more).

What I would suggest is not optional; install amtm to jffs, use a USB drive formatted to Ext4 with journalling using amtm and creating a swap file (I use 2GB for all router installs) for the router to use. This is beneficial even if no other scripts are used.

See the links below for additional details. From my experience so far (I will be purchasing one for myself this coming week), the RT-AC86U is the router to buy today.

 

[rk8531]

I have recently started using the RT-AC86U for customer installs. I always perform a full M&M Config (please see my signature below for the link) on each router before employing it. Even if I use the as-shipped firmware on it.

I have seen no issues on the half dozen I have configured so far. The first one installed has been in use for over a week already. So, still early, but still, no issues at all.

The latest RMerlin firmware is recommended (384.10). The scripts available with that firmware are also recommended, but are optional (amtm, Diversion, Skynet, FreshJR QOS, YazFi, Stubby, ntpMerlin and more).

What I would suggest is not optional; install amtm to jffs, use a USB drive formatted to Ext4 with journalling using amtm and creating a swap file (I use 2GB for all router installs) for the router to use. This is beneficial even if no other scripts are used.

See the links below for additional details. From my experience so far (I will be purchasing one for myself this coming week), the RT-AC86U is the router to buy today.

Thanks for clearing the doubts in my mind. I have already placed the order for 86u and its gonna arrive next week.

 

[Dave Parker]

No issue's here with 2.4g or 5g. Have been using 86U since November last. Just flashed to 384.10 and all is well.

 

[sfx2000]

With 2.4GHz - depends on the clients...

Configure 2.4GHz without all the special sauce stuff - e.g. keep it simple with B/G/N mixed, 20MHz channels, WPA2, and disable TurboQAM and the IGMP stuff... and clients should just work.

 

[rk8531]

I have recently started using the RT-AC86U for customer installs. I always perform a full M&M Config (please see my signature below for the link) on each router before employing it. Even if I use the as-shipped firmware on it.

I have seen no issues on the half dozen I have configured so far. The first one installed has been in use for over a week already. So, still early, but still, no issues at all.

The latest RMerlin firmware is recommended (384.10). The scripts available with that firmware are also recommended, but are optional (amtm, Diversion, Skynet, FreshJR QOS, YazFi, Stubby, ntpMerlin and more).

What I would suggest is not optional; install amtm to jffs, use a USB drive formatted to Ext4 with journalling using amtm and creating a swap file (I use 2GB for all router installs) for the router to use. This is beneficial even if no other scripts are used.

See the links below for additional details. From my experience so far (I will be purchasing one for myself this coming week), the RT-AC86U is the router to buy today.

Noob question but do I need to install entware first? I am new to Asus routers. My prevoirp router was R7800 running voxel fw. Voxel fw doesn't require entware installation. That's why I am asking this.

 

[L&LD]

Noob question but do I need to install entware first? I am new to Asus routers. My prevoirp router was R7800 running voxel fw. Voxel fw doesn't require entware installation. That's why I am asking this.

Sorry, but I don't understand? Install Entware first before what?

For a brand new Asus router that will use RMerlin firmware and scripts:

1. Flash the RMerlin firmware version you want (usually the latest, currently 384.10).
2. Complete a full M&M Config (see links in my signature below).
3. Format the jffs on next boot, rebooting the router 3 times in the next 15 minutes or so. Making sure to wait at least 5 to 10 minutes between reboots.
4. Install amtm to the jffs partition.
5. Install a USB drive and format it using amtm to Ext4 with journalling.
6. Create a swap file on the drive using amtm.

At this point, nothing else further is 'required'. But, if you will be using the scripts available, then the following order is my recommended suggestions:

1. Install Diversion and let it install Entware and pixelserv-tls.
   1. (If you don't want/need Diversion itself, you can disable it afterward, but I recommend this method so that if you do want to use it in the future, it is all ready to go and fully compatible with the required Entware installation).
2. After installing Diversion/Entware, go and update the Entware packages (if needed).
3. Do so by going into Diversion, then using the menu entries 'ep', '6', '6'. This will fully update Entware.
4. Install any remaining scripts.

Is this what you asked for?

 

[rk8531]

Sorry, but I don't understand? Install Entware first before what?

For a brand new Asus router that will use RMerlin firmware and scripts:

1. Flash the RMerlin firmware version you want (usually the latest, currently 384.10).
2. Complete a full M&M Config (see links in my signature below).
3. Format the jffs on next boot, rebooting the router 3 times in the next 15 minutes or so. Making sure to wait at least 5 to 10 minutes between reboots.
4. Install amtm to the jffs partition.
5. Install a USB drive and format it using amtm to Ext4 with journalling.
6. Create a swap file on the drive using amtm.

At this point, nothing else further is 'required'. But, if you will be using the scripts available, then the following order is my recommended suggestions:

1. Install Diversion and let it install Entware and pixelserv-tls.
   1. (If you don't want/need Diversion itself, you can disable it afterward, but I recommend this method so that if you do want to use it in the future, it is all ready to go and fully compatible with the required Entware installation).
2. After installing Diversion/Entware, go and update the Entware packages (if needed).
3. Do so by going into Diversion, then using the menu entries 'ep', '6', '6'. This will fully update Entware.
4. Install any remaining scripts.

Is this what you asked for?

Thanks for the guide. My actual query was about the amtm installation and you already answered that with the guide. However, it's still hard for me to understand all the instructions at one go. So all I need to do is-

1. Ssh/telnet into the router via Putty and issue this command to install amtm

curl -Os https://raw.githubusercontent.com/decoderman/amtm/master/amtm && sh amtm

2 . Once the amtm terminal has been installed to the jffs partition then I should plug in a USB drive to the router and run "format disk" command from the amtm terminal and pick ext4 format.

3. Create a swap file on the formatted disk. (What's this Swap file is for? )

I presume all the scripts that amtm terminal runs are stored on this ext4 formatted drive or do they get stored to the jffs partition?

I mentioned entware because I thought that first I have to format a USB drive to ext2 or ext4 format and then plug it into the router. And then install entware to this usb which would further allow me to install Dnscrypt and Stubby scripts. This was the whole procedure when I used Vortex Merlin on my Netgear R7000 around two years ago.

This is why I am a bit confused now because at that time there was no AMTM terminal and I have to follow this procedure. Sorry for asking too many queries. I am just trying to be extra cautious with my new router and don't wanna brick it on first day.

 

[L&LD]

Thanks for the guide. My actual query was about the amtm installation and you already answered that with the guide. However, it's still hard for me to understand all the instructions at one go. So all I need to do is-

1. Ssh/telnet into the router via Putty and issue this command to install amtm

curl -Os https://raw.githubusercontent.com/decoderman/amtm/master/amtm && sh amtm

2 . Once the amtm terminal has been installed to the jffs partition then I should plug in a USB drive to the router and run "format disk" command from the amtm terminal and pick ext4 format.

3. Create a swap file on the formatted disk. (What's this Swap file is for? )

I presume all the scripts that amtm terminal runs are stored on this ext4 formatted drive or do they get stored to the jffs partition?

I mentioned entware because I thought that first I have to format a USB drive to ext2 or ext4 format and then plug it into the router. And then install entware to this usb which would further allow me to install Dnscrypt and Stubby scripts. This was the whole procedure when I used Vortex Merlin on my Netgear R7000 around two years ago.

This is why I am a bit confused now because at that time there was no AMTM terminal and I have to follow this procedure. Sorry for asking too many queries. I am just trying to be extra cautious with my new router and don't wanna brick it on first day.

1. So far, so good.
2. Yes, but the actual command is 'fd'.
3. Yes. A swap file is for the os to use when it uses up all the physical RAM. Even with no scripts installed, the router will be able to make use of this additional resource. This, in turn, will make your router, network and everything related be much more responsive (because it can keep the RAM fully utilized without being worried it will run out and lead to an os crash.
4. Depending on which router you have, also disable the 'Flush buffers occasionally' on the other tweaks section too. Not all models have this, but the ones that do will benefit from this setting being set to 'no', especially with a swap file installed.

Yes. Things are much better now. Do the order I outline and you should have the most stable router platform to experiment on.

 

[rk8531]

1. So far, so good.
2. Yes, but the actual command is 'fd'.
3. Yes. A swap file is for the os to use when it uses up all the physical RAM. Even with no scripts installed, the router will be able to make use of this additional resource. This, in turn, will make your router, network and everything related be much more responsive (because it can keep the RAM fully utilized without being worried it will run out and lead to an os crash.
4. Depending on which router you have, also disable the 'Flush buffers occasionally' on the other tweaks section too. Not all models have this, but the ones that do will benefit from this setting being set to 'no', especially with a swap file installed.

Yes. Things are much better now. Do the order I outline and you should have the most stable router platform to experiment on.

Thanks for the guidance. I have installed all the scripts using amtm terminal and everything is working fine . The performance of this router(Rt-86U) has exceeded my expectations.

 

[bones5050]

Hi there!
I we want to buy Asus RT86U as it best suits my needs. However, I have read numerous negative reviews about this router 2.4 GHz band. Is it a hardware issue or it was a firmware issue that has already been patched?
Kindly update.

I recently bought this router and had problems with the 2.4GHz band. Turned out to be a hardware issue, worked with Asus for an RMA with an advanced replacement. Process was easy and the new router is rock solid...

 

[Dave Parker]

Must still be a few bad apples on the shelves. At least Asus appears to be honoring there warranty.

 

[rk8531]

Mine working flawlessly and the openvpn speed blows the mind. Previously owned Netgear R7800 and was tired of Netgear's poor implementation of the QOS and no openvpn client support in the firmware that they supply for this high-end router. I also tried Voxel firmware and still wasn't getting any better VPN support. I used to get around 30 Mbps download and upload speed while using VPN on R7800 whereas on RT 86U I get around 80 Mbps download and upload with VPN enabled (consistently). I am pretty happy with the my purchase of 88u.
I don't know why Snbforum still keeps R7800 above 86U in terms of performance. From my experience I can confirm that 86U offers much better VPN and wireless performance over R7800. Even Asus default fw blows Netgear's trash fw in every aspect.

 

[Ro berto]

Hi there!
I we want to buy Asus RT86U as it best suits my needs. However, I have read numerous negative reviews about this router 2.4 GHz band. Is it a hardware issue or it was a firmware issue that has already been patched?
Kindly update.

Hi there,
I bought an AC86U a month ago and haven't had any problems with it whatsoever (I use the 2.4 GHz for my laptop).
I am also impressed with its performance, I chose this one because of its powerful CPU (1.8 GHz dual core), my previous router (an ASUS RT-N56U with Padavan firmware) had only one core with around 0.5 GHz and therefore struggled with OpenVPN as I only managed to get 13 Mb download speed out of 50 Mb (CPU was at 100% utilisation, without the OpenVPN client I would get the 50 Mb).
With the AC86U I get the 50 Mb without problems (CPU utilisation not even 50%).

Cheers

 

[Ro berto]

Depending on which router you have, also disable the 'Flush buffers occasionally' on the other tweaks section too. Not all models have this, but the ones that do will benefit from this setting being set to 'no', especially with a swap file installed.

Hi L&LD,
I didn't find that setting on the AC86U

What does it do ?

 

[L&LD]

Hi L&LD,
I didn't find that setting on the AC86U

What does it do ?

No, that model doesn't have it, correct.

On the models that do though, it allows the RAM to be used as needed by the router and not needlessly flushed periodically just for the sake of showing 'free RAM'.

 

[DarkKnight75]

Just upgraded from n66u...no issues after 4 days of use...great upgrade