ASUS Lyra Home Wi-Fi System Reviewed

[GLOW]

Hi Thiggins,

Out of curiosity, what is the firmware version you are testing the ASUS Lyra?

If you are on 11142 and you have updated it before your testings and your results is what is posted, I find it pretty peculiar .... as in the results are kinda low.

Edit ~ Never mind, yours is on firmware 11014, my mistake for only glancing through the article.

I'm able to achieve 500+Mbps download/400+ Mbps upload Speedtest on iPhone 7+ @ the main ASUS Lyra with AiProtection default (enabled) Adaptive QoS is off in both star/daisy chain network topology.

Perhaps you might want to look into the connectivity strength between the nodes? Mine is all 3/2 green connectivity strength whereas yours is 2 yellow connectivity strength into consideration?

Someone have posted that ASUS Lyra operates 5GHz @ 300mW as compared to Linksys Velop/NetGear Orbi @ 900mW? i'm not sure is it accurate or not to begin with

Just my 2 cents.

PS ~ your reviews have always been very comprehensive and an interesting read.

Regards

Hi Maylyn, quick question. How close do you have your nodes? I only have 3 green bars from internet to main Node. All others have green 2 bars.

 

[thiggins]

Its strange that the Linksys Velop provided better performance overall the others in all tests i have read online.

Maybe not so strange. I just finished retesting Velop.
I was surprised given how poorly it did in the original review due to very poor backhaul performance.
It looks like they have fixed that. It has the highest bandwidth backhaul of all products tested so far, even on Hop 2.
Original Orbi retest is next...

 

[RMerlin]

Maybe not so strange. I just finished retesting Velop.
I was surprised given how poorly it did in the original review due to very poor backhaul performance.
It looks like they have fixed that. It has the highest bandwidth backhaul of all products tested so far, even on Hop 2.
Original Orbi retest is next...

Doesn't it feel like you are reviewing moving targets with these mesh systems? Seems like performance from most of these were less than optimal at launch time.

Seeing this, if I were in the market for such a solution, I'd wait for it to have been on the market for a good 6-12 months to ensure it's actually mature.

 

[massaquah]

Asus support promised a new firmware which is supposed to help with the bad performance.
But for at least 3 days now I get "FW check timeout" in the app and in web ui.
Anyone else with this issue?

 

[RMerlin]

Asus support promised a new firmware which is supposed to help with the bad performance.
But for at least 3 days now I get "FW check timeout" in the app and in web ui.
Anyone else with this issue?

The latest firmware version currently on their update servers is 3004382_11142-g69060f9.

 

[massaquah]

The latest firmware version currently on their update servers is 3004382_11142-g69060f9.

But is the update server really unavailable right now or is it an issue within my configuration? hmm...

 

[thiggins]

Doesn't it feel like you are reviewing moving targets with these mesh systems? Seems like performance from most of these were less than optimal at launch time.

Seeing this, if I were in the market for such a solution, I'd wait for it to have been on the market for a good 6-12 months to ensure it's actually mature.

Multi AP systems are difficult enough to tune for optimum performance. Add wireless backhaul and the complexity increases. Make them self-managing and difficulty increases again.

Frankly, I'm surprised I don't get more requests from vendors for retest, given the high rate of change. It will be interesting to see what happens if/when Wi-Fi systems incorporate the integrated backhaul features in the Mesh Networking Platform they announced at Computex.

 

[maylyn]

Hi Maylyn, quick question. How close do you have your nodes? I only have 3 green bars from internet to main Node. All others have green 2 bars.

Very close ..... it's just about the same height as my node1 separated by a wall between them and my node3 is like couple of meters non line from sight from my node1 and node2.

Perhaps you want to play around (different placement) to see whether are you able to get 3 green bars to your node1 etc and improve performance.

Do note all of mine are wall mount and my living environment like an apartment in a typical congested city (tons of SSIDs listed whatsoever WiFi devices are used) but coverage is good.

 

[maylyn]

But is the update server really unavailable right now or is it an issue within my configuration? hmm...

It has been down for quite a few days ..... you are not the only one whom experienced it.

 

[pete y testing]

, but at least it is a level playing field where you can compare one item to another, whether it be today or at a different point in time.

what i am suggesting is that with the results posted which tbh are pretty bad that perhaps the chamber and perhaps tech procedure (seeing as its quite new ) may be contributing to the issue esp since other reviews are not seeing such bad performance , testing outside the chamber will answer that question one way or the other

 

[njweb]

The review reflects perfectly what I have been observing with my Lyra for the past week.
I own an Orbi RBK50 for 8 months (no disconnect issues here) and out of curiosity wanted to compare it to the new Asus product.

Orbi performance is great and Lyra is very slow. I will give Asus a chance with the new firmware which was supposed to arrive last week (but didn't). And if this new firmware doesn't change Lyra fundamentally, it will be returned.

As to the fairness of the review: As a potential buyer who just wants to know which mesh system to choose RIGHT NOW it is absolutely ok to compare a Lyra to an eero pro. I don't care how long each system has been on the market I just want to know which system performs best.

Same experience here.
Lyra was lackluster (not even factoring in the headaches getting it configured via Android; had to use iOS to get it configured).
With Lyra I placed all 3 units on one floor before changing the placement to 2 on one floor and 1 unit upstairs. . With Orbi I only placed one of the first floor and the other 2 in the basement and second floor respectively.
Orbi signal strength and performance was much better. With Orbi I got an amazing signal strength on 5GHz of low to mid 40s dBm 235 Mbps downstream on speedtest upstairs with the main orbu router downstairs and one unit upstairs. With Lyra I got over 60 dBm and only 95 Mbps and far worse signal strength.
My Lyra return period ends when I get back from vacation so I will stick with Orbi for now and may try Velop too before making my final decision.
So far Orbi gets the nod.

 

[sfx2000]

Frankly, I'm surprised I don't get more requests from vendors for retest, given the high rate of change. It will be interesting to see what happens if/when Wi-Fi systems incorporate the integrated backhaul features in the Mesh Networking Platform they announced at Computex.

Perhaps the published testbed isn't going to favor the multiple point wireless platforms? Mesh is a bit more work, and it's really hard stuff, and one can't do it in an echo chamber - or in an anechoic chamber as well... best one can do is a single node for testing, but then understand and infer the relationships - to be honest, the older freespace testing, was probably a better view for SNB users...

Long term members might recall - I did a mesh startup back in 2010 - our scale was larger in scope than the now current 2 or 3 node network - last testbed was 40 acres of ex-farmland and 160 nodes...

 

[RMerlin]

But is the update server really unavailable right now or is it an issue within my configuration? hmm...

Update server was working when I pulled their manifest to extra that version from it (it's the same server for all Asus routers).

Frankly, I'm surprised I don't get more requests from vendors for retest, given the high rate of change. It will be interesting to see what happens if/when Wi-Fi systems incorporate the integrated backhaul features in the Mesh Networking Platform they announced at Computex.

It sure is interesting, as we get to see how a complex technology can evolve over the course or just 12 or 18 months. I'm a bit surprised it's still taking them so long however, doesn't the business market already offer mature mesh products? Unless the real challenge is having these SOHO device manufacturers take off-the-shelves Qualcomm SoC, and trying to use them in configurations they were never really developed or validated for. I assume the business market is using more specialized SoCs.

 

[RMerlin]

It has been down for quite a few days ..... you are not the only one whom experienced it.

Hm, works for me?

merlin@ubuntu-dev:/tmp$ wget https://dlcdnets.asus.com/obfuscated/Wireless/wlan_update_v2.zip -O wlan_update.txt && cat wlan_update.txt | grep MAP-
--2017-08-25 00:21:07--  https://dlcdnets.asus.com/obfuscated/Wireless/wlan_update_v2.zip
Resolving dlcdnets.asus.com (dlcdnets.asus.com)... 184.28.200.181, 2600:1400:d:384::13f6, 2600:1400:d:383::13f6
Connecting to dlcdnets.asus.com (dlcdnets.asus.com)|184.28.200.181|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 4428 (4.3K) [application/zip]
Saving to: ‘wlan_update.txt’

wlan_update.txt                       100%[=======================================================================>]   4.32K  --.-KB/s    in 0s     

2017-08-25 00:21:07 (425 MB/s) - ‘wlan_update.txt’ saved [4428/4428]

MAP-AC2200#FW3004382#EXT11142-g69060f9#URL#UT4208#BETAFW#BETAEXT#
MAP-AC1300#FW3004382#EXT11142-g69060f9#URL#UT4208#BETAFW#BETAEXT#

 

[Lars]

Have tried Asus Lyra 2 days now,will test a little longer, the range I'm happy with, but the speed I'm disappointed, I have open purchases for 45 days,I can send it back, cost free to get the money back.
So I wonder buying Orbi? Is this a good choice? I'm considering Linksys Velope, Or buy Orbi system?Expected a little more of asus.
So I say thanks for recomendations

 

[pege63]

i Would go for Linksys Velope.

 

[pete y testing]

i Would go for Linksys Velope.

have YOU tested it ?

 

[thiggins]

I don't think the testbed is at fault, guys. All the products tested use basically the same radios and are tested under the same conditions, with NO interfering RF. The difference in performance is primarily how backhaul/fronthaul is managed, which is precisely what you want to look at in multi-node systems.

The software running these products counts...a lot. Just look at how Velop changed from the initial test to the results I just posted.

Look at the data and you'll see correlation between high backhaul throughput and higher results in the System and Capacity tests.

Keep in mind SNB's tests are more comprehensive than anyone else's. Who else loads all nodes simultaneously to see how much throughput is available to backhaul when root node is heavily loaded. Who else even separately tests backhaul bandwidth? Who else tests throughput at each node on each band and each direction?

I expect Lyra performance to improve with new firmware.

 

[njweb]

Maybe not so strange. I just finished retesting Velop.
I was surprised given how poorly it did in the original review due to very poor backhaul performance.
It looks like they have fixed that. It has the highest bandwidth backhaul of all products tested so far, even on Hop 2.
Original Orbi retest is next...

I can't get the link above to work, using Chrome and another browser. Click on link and it keeps requesting my login and password in an infinite loop, even though I am already logged in.
Any other way to see Velop retest results?

 

[pege63]

have YOU tested it ?

When they first came out YES but not now lately, but I trust the test results that came out after the latest updates and thiggins result shows the same.