Asus AiMesh causes almost no 2.4GHz throughput

[LD500]

Quick update, although not conclusive.
I reset my Homepod and all seemed to work again but that was just for half a day.
Yesterday afternoon I DISABLED my Airtime Fairness on my 5GHz as well (in addition to the 2.4GHz Airtime Fairness) based on OE's recommendation.
Last night I noticed one of my Homekit Switches was NO RESPONSE. It was a Leviton switch connected at 5GHz.
I reset the Homepod again but it still didn't work.
I think ENABLED Airtime Fairness on the 5GHz band, waited a minute, and then everything reconnected.

Looks correlated but not sure. If you are losing 5GHz devices you might enable Airtime Fairness

 

[LD500]

Still no luck. I'm getting random NO RESPONSE on my devices.
Found yet another problem state I never saw before, might be an iOS12 issue as I recently updated my Apple firmware on my phone and Homepod.
Sometimes the Homepod says "still checking for your devices" but the Home app shows the device is connected. When I press the button in the Home app it works but the Homepod still says that message. I found unplugging the Homepod for 10 seconds and plugging it back in seems to fix that.

Can't seem to find a fix for the random NO RESPONSE. I tried Airtime Fairness on and off.
Also tried assigning all my Homekit devices a static IP address. Still no good.

I did happen to notice one thing that could be a clue.
I assigned 192.168.1.5 thru 192.168.1.9 for my Homekit devices. On the main Network map all the devices showed up except for 1.
That 1 was on the node's client list at that moment. At the same time that particular device was showing as NO RESPONSE on my Home app.
Quite certain Homekit somehow doesn't like the AiMesh node setup.

At this point, I'm either going to drop my AiMesh and go with main router and a media gateway setup (setup I used before successfully) or wait until Asus issues a new firmware. Don't doubt going back to firmware 21140 helped avoid some issues in the newer firmwares but the newer firmwares might have fixed some bugs in the AiMesh.
Both are problematic. Hopefully Asus will have a fix soon. Or Apple fixes their firmware to adapt. Something tells me this could be a long wait. And I thought it was safe to go with Homekit and AiMesh since both have been out for a while now.

 

[oscarcpa]

Still no luck. I'm getting random NO RESPONSE on my devices.
Found yet another problem state I never saw before, might be an iOS12 issue as I recently updated my Apple firmware on my phone and Homepod.
Sometimes the Homepod says "still checking for your devices" but the Home app shows the device is connected. When I press the button in the Home app it works but the Homepod still says that message. I found unplugging the Homepod for 10 seconds and plugging it back in seems to fix that.

Can't seem to find a fix for the random NO RESPONSE. I tried Airtime Fairness on and off.
Also tried assigning all my Homekit devices a static IP address. Still no good.

I did happen to notice one thing that could be a clue.
I assigned 192.168.1.5 thru 192.168.1.9 for my Homekit devices. On the main Network map all the devices showed up except for 1.
That 1 was on the node's client list at that moment. At the same time that particular device was showing as NO RESPONSE on my Home app.
Quite certain Homekit somehow doesn't like the AiMesh node setup.

At this point, I'm either going to drop my AiMesh and go with main router and a media gateway setup (setup I used before successfully) or wait until Asus issues a new firmware. Don't doubt going back to firmware 21140 helped avoid some issues in the newer firmwares but the newer firmwares might have fixed some bugs in the AiMesh.
Both are problematic. Hopefully Asus will have a fix soon. Or Apple fixes their firmware to adapt. Something tells me this could be a long wait. And I thought it was safe to go with Homekit and AiMesh since both have been out for a while now.

LD500, as an FYI, I have not yet downgraded my firmware to 21140. HomeKit has seemed slightly more stable over the last 48 hours, since Apple pushed out the tvOS 12.0.1 update. My ATV is one of my 2 hubs (HomePod being the other) and is usually the primary while the HomePod is in standby. I still get the occasional "No Response" from my Ecobees, but they self-resolve within few seconds, or after I quit and restart the Home app (on both iPhone and MacBook running Mojave). Since Sunday, it hasn't been a long-term enough problem to interfere with an Automation. Hopefully Ecobee pushes a firmware update soon, and/or the first updates to iOS 12 and MacOS Mojave take care of the last remaining connection issues. If you have an ATV, you might want to make sure it's on 12.0.1 and disabling your HomePod as a hub, to see if that helps.

As to the other 2.4 GHz problem I was seeing with the printer, I "solved" that with a pure workaround - turned off wireless and wired it to a switch off my router! In summary, I believe there are still some 2.4GHz issues with the 32799 firmware, but for us HomeKit users, it's a combination of those wireless connection problems from the router AND some iOS/tvOS/MacOS issues that Apple is (hopefully!) still working through.

 

[OzarkEdge]

LD500, as an FYI, I have not yet downgraded my firmware to 21140. HomeKit has seemed slightly more stable over the last 48 hours, since Apple pushed out the tvOS 12.0.1 update. My ATV is one of my 2 hubs (HomePod being the other) and is usually the primary while the HomePod is in standby. I still get the occasional "No Response" from my Ecobees, but they self-resolve within few seconds, or after I quit and restart the Home app (on both iPhone and MacBook running Mojave). Since Sunday, it hasn't been a long-term enough problem to interfere with an Automation. Hopefully Ecobee pushes a firmware update soon, and/or the first updates to iOS 12 and MacOS Mojave take care of the last remaining connection issues. If you have an ATV, you might want to make sure it's on 12.0.1 and disabling your HomePod as a hub, to see if that helps.

As to the other 2.4 GHz problem I was seeing with the printer, I "solved" that with a pure workaround - turned off wireless and wired it to a switch off my router! In summary, I believe there are still some 2.4GHz issues with the 32799 firmware, but for us HomeKit users, it's a combination of those wireless connection problems from the router AND some iOS/tvOS/MacOS issues that Apple is (hopefully!) still working through.

Homekit may have its own issues, but ASUS firmware after 21140 still has this issue: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/a...rt-ac86u_3-0-0-4-384-32797.48520/#post-427910

OE

 

[LD500]

Homekit may have its own issues, but ASUS firmware after 21140 still has this issue: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/a...rt-ac86u_3-0-0-4-384-32797.48520/#post-427910

OE

I have a beta firmware to test now. Think it only works for the RT-AC86U so I will take my RT-AC68U node down for now. Need to find time in the next couple days to give it a try. Will let you know how it goes. At least it's good to see Asus is busy working on improvements.

I still think iOS 12 by Apple has introduced some new issues. My Home app is often showing "No Response" on some devices, mostly my Leviton light switches, but my HomePod using Siri will still be able to control them. Vice Versa as well, sometimes the HomePod says "Still checking on your devices" yet the Home app allows me to control those lights.

Did someone say smarthome automation had time and convenience benefits?

 

[LD500]

LD500, as an FYI, I have not yet downgraded my firmware to 21140. HomeKit has seemed slightly more stable over the last 48 hours, since Apple pushed out the tvOS 12.0.1 update. My ATV is one of my 2 hubs (HomePod being the other) and is usually the primary while the HomePod is in standby. I still get the occasional "No Response" from my Ecobees, but they self-resolve within few seconds, or after I quit and restart the Home app (on both iPhone and MacBook running Mojave). Since Sunday, it hasn't been a long-term enough problem to interfere with an Automation. Hopefully Ecobee pushes a firmware update soon, and/or the first updates to iOS 12 and MacOS Mojave take care of the last remaining connection issues. If you have an ATV, you might want to make sure it's on 12.0.1 and disabling your HomePod as a hub, to see if that helps.

As to the other 2.4 GHz problem I was seeing with the printer, I "solved" that with a pure workaround - turned off wireless and wired it to a switch off my router! In summary, I believe there are still some 2.4GHz issues with the 32799 firmware, but for us HomeKit users, it's a combination of those wireless connection problems from the router AND some iOS/tvOS/MacOS issues that Apple is (hopefully!) still working through.

I don't own an AppleTV. Just using a Homepod as my sole hub.
Just realized you said TV-OS and not iOS 12.01. I tried to pull it up on my phone only to realize you said TV OS 12.01. Darn. The Homepod uses iOS and not TV OS correct?

 

[OzarkEdge]

Did someone say smarthome automation had time and convenience benefits?

Personally, I think it's lunacy... a consumer scam... a first world solution looking for a problem to solve. I'll never consider a house worked over by a smart home seller.

OE

 

[oscarcpa]

I don't own an AppleTV. Just using a Homepod as my sole hub.
Just realized you said TV-OS and not iOS 12.01. I tried to pull it up on my phone only to realize you said TV OS 12.01. Darn. The Homepod uses iOS and not TV OS correct?

LD500 - Correct. I thought it was weird that they pushed out an update for the TV with nothing for iOS. TV-OS used to be a stripped-down iOS. Guess they are now 2 truly different systems for Apple.

Ozark - I hear you on the connected home stuff, it's taken my wife a while to come around to it, too. But now that she can ask Alexa to turn off the TV, Xbox, and lights downstairs when it's time for the kids to come up for family dinner, she's beginning to see the light.

 

[OzarkEdge]

LD500 - Correct. I thought it was weird that they pushed out an update for the TV with nothing for iOS. TV-OS used to be a stripped-down iOS. Guess they are now 2 truly different systems for Apple.

Ozark - I hear you on the connected home stuff, it's taken my wife a while to come around to it, too. But now that she can ask Alexa to turn off the TV, Xbox, and lights downstairs when it's time for the kids to come up for family dinner, she's beginning to see the light.

I hear you, but... I know parenting first hand, good and bad... should we be delegating these beginner responsibilities to Alexa? I think not... these are teaching moments in personal responsibility, lost forever.

OE

 

[LD500]

Sorry guys, the Beta firmware isn't working 100% either. I shutdown my 68u AiMesh node for this test. Only used my 2 x AC86u in an AiMesh/Router setup.
Very limited test but here's what I found.

1. 2.4Ghz Speedtest failed as it did with firmware 32799. Download was erratic but generally quite low. Seems like the Beta caused upload to be even worse.
2. When testing Speedtest I noticed one of my Homekit devices disconnected, but after Speedtest it seemed to reconnect successfully.

Will keep running this beta firmware and see if my Homekit devices show up as NO RESPONSE on my Home app.
I suspect they will as the 2.4GHz network has such poor throughput. Note that firmware 21140 has perfect Speedtest on both 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Sorry guys, the Beta firmware isn't working 100% either. I shutdown my 68u AiMesh node for this test. Only used my 2 x AC86u in an AiMesh/Router setup.
Very limited test but here's what I found.

1. 2.4Ghz Speedtest failed as it did with firmware 32799. Download was erratic but generally quite low. Seems like the Beta caused upload to be even worse.
2. When testing Speedtest I noticed one of my Homekit devices disconnected, but after Speedtest it seemed to reconnect successfully.

Will keep running this beta firmware and see if my Homekit devices show up as NO RESPONSE on my Home app.
I suspect they will as the 2.4GHz network has such poor throughput. Note that firmware 21140 has perfect Speedtest on both 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz.

1. For a wireless client at the node only, yes?

With Windows, I can open the WiFi connection Status dialog and watch the wireless adapter link rate fall down at the same time as the speed test. If you have Macs, can you see similar wireless connection behavior during the speed test?

OE

 

[LD500]

1. For a wireless client at the node only, yes?

With Windows, I can open the WiFi connection Status dialog and watch the wireless adapter link rate fall down at the same time as the speed test. If you have Macs, can you see similar wireless connection behavior during the speed test?

OE

I assume it was connected on the AiMesh node as it’s very close to it.

Can we see the link rate to a HomeKit smart plug or are you referring to a client that’s a PC?

 

[OzarkEdge]

I assume it was connected on the AiMesh node as it’s very close to it.

Can we see the link rate to a HomeKit smart plug or are you referring to a client that’s a PC?

I was referring to a Windows7 PC WiFi connection status dialog... it's found under Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections (adapter settings), right-click the WiFi connection for Status. It's in Windows10 also, but harder to navigate to because Windows10 is idiotic.

OE

 

[LD500]

Did another quick check tonight. Seems like the issues are confined to 2.4GHz connections via the AiMesh node. Asus working at it. Hope they figure it out soon. At least with their Beta firmware I am testing it seems like my Homekit devices are staying connected, although it disconnects for a few seconds when Speedtest 2.4GHz is run

 

[LD500]

I've been having Homekit device disconnects again. Always on 2.4GHz. The Beta firmware seems somewhat better but obviously hasn't ironed out all the issues. Hoping Asus engineers can find out what's wrong.

 

[LD500]

My apologies, I didn't post an update for anyone following this thread.
No new solutions from Asus and my Homekit devices were still disconnecting randomly with the Beta firmware.

Reverted back to Router/Media Gateway which seems to work fine, except I'm not getting the range of AiMesh that was the purpose of buying 2 x RT-AC86U.
It appears Asus has some work to do.

 

[LD500]

My apologies, I didn't post an update for anyone following this thread.
No new solutions from Asus and my Homekit devices were still disconnecting randomly with the Beta firmware.

Reverted back to Router/Media Gateway which seems to work fine, except I'm not getting the range of AiMesh that was the purpose of buying 2 x RT-AC86U.
It appears Asus has some work to do.

One HomeKit plug goes No Response every couple days. Disappointing. This is with the router & media gateway setup. No AiMesh.

 

[OzarkEdge]

One HomeKit plug goes No Response every couple days. Disappointing. This is with the router & media gateway setup. No AiMesh.

So, maybe your issue is Homekit specific.

I do have some news, hopefully good. A beta 5086 appears to fix my AiMesh node connection/speed issue. ASUS has not confirmed this, but results here are positive. I went back to 32799 and the problem immediately returned. So, I'm now holding on beta 5086. Hopefully a release will come sooner than later to spread the joy around.

OE

 

[LD500]

So, maybe your issue is Homekit specific.

I do have some news, hopefully good. A beta 5086 appears to fix my AiMesh node connection/speed issue. ASUS has not confirmed this, but results here are positive. I went back to 32799 and the problem immediately returned. So, I'm now holding on beta 5086. Hopefully a release will come sooner than later to spread the joy around.

OE

With the Beta firmware, no sure what version, the HomeKit devices going No Response seems to be the only issue as long as I’m not running AiMesh. But devices going offline is easy to see. Going to any firmware with AiMesh was problematic

 

[loveleeyoungae]

So, I'm now holding on beta 5086.
OE

I noticed you mentioned about trying some betas after 32799 recently. Are those betas uploaded somewhere that you can share the link? Or is it some kind of private internal testing? Thanks.