Asus RT-86U Best settings

[NM20]

I live in a 1700 Farmhouse with 0.5m thick walls and a very wide spread of rooms. Currently I have a TalkTalk Router / Modem at one end of the house where my internet comes in. When next to this router I get around 70Mbps Download and Upload. This router is connected to a Powerline to spread the connection to other APs in the house.

In the living room I have an Asus AC86u setup as an access point. This is attached to a powerline and then a TV, Nvidia Shield, Xbox one and a Nintendo Switch. From this router I get around 30Mbps Download and 70Mbps Upload.

In the Office (next door to the living room) I have an old TalkTalk router setup as an AP connected to a PC. This again is fed by a Powerline.

In my bedroom (above the living room) I have an Asus DSL AC56u setup as an AP. I get awful speeds from this and it keeps dropping out. This again is fed by a Powerline.

I have another couple of Powelines in the house, one attached to a Sonos, another attached to HTPC and a third attached to another Nvidia Shield and TV in the conservatory.


I pay for superfast fibre which should have a speed of 67mb.

My questions are as follows:

1) How can I get better performance from the AC86u? Are there certain settings I should put on. Currently it is just setup as an AP with the two bands combined. I haven't changed any other settings.

2) Is the AC86u overkill? I could return it for a refund and get a cheaper AP or possibly setup a mesh system. What do you think?

Thanks for the advice in advance.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I live in a 1700 Farmhouse with 0.5m thick walls and a very wide spread of rooms. Currently I have a TalkTalk Router / Modem at one end of the house where my internet comes in. When next to this router I get around 70Mbps Download and Upload. This router is connected to a Powerline to spread the connection to other APs in the house.

In the living room I have an Asus AC86u setup as an access point. This is attached to a powerline and then a TV, Nvidia Shield, Xbox one and a Nintendo Switch. From this router I get around 30Mbps Download and 70Mbps Upload.

In the Office (next door to the living room) I have an old TalkTalk router setup as an AP connected to a PC. This again is fed by a Powerline.

In my bedroom (above the living room) I have an Asus DSL AC56u setup as an AP. I get awful speeds from this and it keeps dropping out. This again is fed by a Powerline.

I have another couple of Powelines in the house, one attached to a Sonos, another attached to HTPC and a third attached to another Nvidia Shield and TV in the conservatory.


I pay for superfast fibre which should have a speed of 67mb.

My questions are as follows:

1) How can I get better performance from the AC86u? Are there certain settings I should put on. Currently it is just setup as an AP with the two bands combined. I haven't changed any other settings.

2) Is the AC86u overkill? I could return it for a refund and get a cheaper AP or possibly setup a mesh system. What do you think?

Thanks for the advice in advance.

The 86U WiFi and LAN should give you rated performance... limited only by the host and client connections to it. If you wire a PC to it with Gigabit Ethernet and speedtest your ISP, you should see whatever your ISP, router, and powerline link allow.

I suggest you use a wired PC to perform speedtests starting at the modem or router to baseline your service. Then run a long Ethernet cable to test wired to an AP. Then repeat each AP test over each powerline link to know the difference, powerline vs wired Ethernet. Then you'll begin to know how your powerline links are performing before you start looking at WiFi client connection performance.

When evaluating WiFi connection performance, you need to know the client connection link rate speed (query the client connection). For instance, 5.o GHz AC connects at 866 Mbps with 2 antennas/streams (2x433)... and this falls off with distance. Also, WiFi is half-duplex whereas Ethernet is full-duplex, so a Gigabit WiFi connection is not as capable as a wired Gigabit Ethernet connection.

The 86U should be a very capable AP... it's got processing speed and WiFi range.

OE

 

[NM20]

Thanks for the detail, it is appreciated. I will give that a go.

The 86u was replacing a 66u and I haven’t seen any increase in performance, so I think it is the Powerline that is hampering the wifi.

Anyway, I will see what it is like wired up next the main router and go from there.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Anyway, I will see what it is like wired up next the main router and go from there.

Yeah, you need to methodically pick it apart to really know what is happening where. Powerline is always suspect but you won't know until you pin it down. Thick masonry walls will definitely attenuate the WiFi signal.

But the 86Us are reasonably strong hardware.

OE

 

[NM20]

I plugged it into my main router via a ethernet from one Lan port to another (that is the correct way to do it?)

Anyway the speed of the 86u at the main router is 80Mbps, which is great, but not too much higher than the main router. It does keep the signal for a better distance though. However it still drops off at the other end of my house.

I am still considering sending it back and trying a mesh system. I am hoping the mesh system will maintain 60Mbps around the house by catching and sending the signal from the main router. Is this the way it works or will the signal degrade at each node?

 

[OzarkEdge]

I plugged it into my main router via a ethernet from one Lan port to another (that is the correct way to do it?)

Anyway the speed of the 86u at the main router is 80Mbps, which is great, but not too much higher than the main router. It does keep the signal for a better distance though. However it still drops off at the other end of my house.

I am still considering sending it back and trying a mesh system. I am hoping the mesh system will maintain 60Mbps around the house by catching and sending the signal from the main router. Is this the way it works or will the signal degrade at each node?

I thought a wired AP would be connected router LAN to AP WAN.

The WiFi signal degrades with distance from the radio. You should see a rated WiFi connection whether you connect to the router WiFi or to the AP WiFi. The AP WiFi connection is not going to be less than the router WiFi connection just because it's not the router!

However, a speedtest of traffic across the network might vary with the node tested from if that node's upstream link is a bottle neck.

Or look at it this way... if a speedtest at the AP is less than a speed test at the router, then the speed loss is in the link from the AP to the router.

OE

 

[NM20]

You sir, are a legend!

I plugged the cable into the Wan port, but the speed has remained. It does seem that my Powerlines are stripping 50% out of my speed. Looks like a new solution is needed.

I wonder if my wife will notice if I rip the carpets up and lay a couple of 100m of ethernet cable?

 

[OzarkEdge]

You sir, are a legend!

I plugged the cable into the Wan port, but the speed has remained. It does seem that my Powerlines are stripping 50% out of my speed. Looks like a new solution is needed.

I wonder if my wife will notice if I rip the carpets up and lay a couple of 100m of ethernet cable?

If you have the cable, temporarily lay it on top of the carpet and test that to be sure moving it under the carpet is going to be worth her wrath.

OE

 

[NM20]

Unfortunately I don’t have the cable, so I will just put up with shoddy speeds downstairs. I will return the AC86u and get a refund.

Thanks for all the help.