ASUS 86u - slow download throughput

[Rpony]

Hi All, I have a quick question. I have both the 86u and 68u. My download speeds are 125. But when connected to the 86u via hard wire I’m only getting 95 download speed. However over wifi on the 68u I’m getting 123 dl. I have a sneaky suspicion the 86u is dying a slow death. But wondered if anyone had and ideas about how to correct it. Currently running the latest Merlin firmware’s on both routers. Also tried resetting and reloading the 86u today without any change. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bbunge]

Latest firmware tells us nothing. Merlin 384.19 or 386.1 beta 3? both are latest.
Have you done a hard factory reset the manually configured? https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1039074/
Set fixed WIFI channels?

 

[Rpony]

384.19. Yes done a hard reset both with web GUI and button on the back. Still the same results

 

[SoCalReviews]

384.19. Yes done a hard reset both with web GUI and button on the back. Still the same results

...not sure if you are aware of this but the official Asus Hard Factory Reset instructions provided in that link above is different than a Software Reset (from the settings in the web interface) or a Hard Reset (by simply depressing the reset button on the back).

 

[Rpony]

Thanks, I think I know my issue and not sure how to fix it. But will try the rest first. But I noticed my wan is only showing 100mbit vs the 1gbps like on the 68u. Is there any easy way to fix it

 

[Jeffrey Young]

Thanks, I think I know my issue and not sure how to fix it. But will try the rest first. But I noticed my wan is only showing 100mbit vs the 1gbps like on the 68u. Is there any easy way to fix it

If your 68U is saying you have a 1gbs cable connection and your 86U is saying you only have a 100mbs cable connection, I am leaning toward a hardware issue with your 86U. Possibly with the lan jack on the 86U. Maybe trying cleaning the jack to see if you get a 1gbs. Maybe too a finicky cable - try a different cable.

 

[Rpony]

Tried different cables and no luck. Switch to dual wan and changed lan 1 to new wan and bang it’s back to 1gbps connection. Crazy scenario as this is my dads router that would be mildly used and not abused. So, weird how that happened. If he were to get another replacement model what would everyone recommend? We got the 86u to ensure best VPN performance. Is there anything currently better than the 86u without breaking the bank?

 

[L&LD]

No, unfortunately. A better buy may be the very new RT-AX68U which should have similar VPN performance (same CPU) but even better Wi-Fi performance, being a Wi-Fi 6 router (and with any luck, it should be cheaper).