Asus RT-AC3200 Smart Connect Rules Fine Tuning

[mindragon]

I had a hella time trying to get my Amazon Echo to connect and my Linksys Wireless Bridge would fall off from time to time.

My Amazon Echo would not connect to my Asus RT-AC3200 or would occasionally just fall off. After rebooting things would clear for a while. Same with my Linksys Router.

I do like the Smart Connect feature but for whatever reason the 5ghz or 2.4ghz wireless would just stop working on the RT-AC3200.

Ever since I set the regulation mode as referenced here: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/guide-troubleshooting-wifi-issues.12825/

I tried the Smart Connect rules mentioned earlier in this thread but it didn't seem to do anything. Only setting the regulation mode thing worked.

Everything has been working 100% perfectly now on the Asus RT-AC3200 / Amazon Echo / Apple Devices / Linksys Wireless Bridge.

 

[ebayerm]

It is ridiculous that after more than 2 years, no one has any concrete idea how SmartConnect. How is anyone suppose to fine tune the settings when it's all just trial and error and no one has any idea how the logic works. A very simple AND/OR flow chart from Asus would be the most helpful and everyone can then stop second guessing themselves and their settings.

 

[Usmc1968]

Howdy folks, long time lurker and finally signed up. I have an AC3200 that for some reason keeps disconnecting my Apple devices (several laptops and Apple TV) as well as a Harmony smart hub and WiFi Zmodo cameras(yeah I know). In desperation and trying to save from buying a new router I downloaded the latest MERLIN Firmware 380.68_2 and activated Smart Connect. Are the defaults for SC pretty good (I just did this last night)? What is "regulation mode"?Everything is within range with full bars when it disconnects. Almost like it is timing out.
Thanks

Semper Fi

 

[Anoj]

Does anyone have a tunning for the smart connect at RT-Ac5300? Anything that is better than the default values. I currently experiencing issues on my Apple TV 3rd gen with this router. Did anyone else have any issues with Apple Devices with smart connect on these routers? Please help.

 

[Lars]

Hi, I allso have ac5300,I'm also interested, the kids and my wife are very pleased with one network..
Thats why i want to use smart connect,some times i have 30 devices connected(hd ip cameras,apple iphones, ipads,nest products and philips hue system,laptops,xbox,guests
and i also has a warm ovens with wifi
Please send me smart connect settings,if some one has ac5300.
Will buy mesh wifi system when i find something good.

 

[mindragon]

Hi, I allso have ac5300,I'm also interested, the kids and my wife are very pleased with one network..
Thats why i want to use smart connect,some times i have 30 devices connected(hd ip cameras,apple iphones, ipads,nest products and philips hue system,laptops,xbox,guests
and i also has a warm ovens with wifi
Please send me smart connect settings,if some one has ac5300.
Will buy mesh wifi system when i find something good.

I installed Asuswrt-Merlin 360.68_4

Here is a screenshot of my settings that implemented using what others have suggested in this thread.

With regard to mesh, I have a TMobile (Asus) router that I turned into an extender. Just follow these directions:

On Ebay there are many TM-AC1900 available for $59 or less.

 

[Lars]

Thanks will tested now

 

[wsarahan]

Hi guys

Anyone who already tested all options posted here, wich one worked better?

Thanks

 

[Nigel Jones]

Tbh the best config for me ended up being split ssids and no smart got issues with ios wifi calling dropping when being kicked for example


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[djuka01]

Hi. Using dual RT-AC5300 setup with Merlin fw 380.69 (one configured as router, second as AP) with same SmartConnect setting on both (stock settings from this version). All good in regards to connection and stability, clients connect to appropriate band and roam between routers seamlessly but the issue is that I'm unable to achieve adequate bandwidth with SmartConnect turned on. When I'm using manual band selection (SmartConnect off - three separate SSIDs) bandwidth is in range appropriate for the band used, meaning, AC devices connected to 5Ghz-2 band achieve maximum bandwidth (testing against my WAN speed of 120Mbits/s) but the same devices connected to the same band (5Ghz-2) when SmartConnect is turned one cannot get pass 40Mbits/s. Considering that SmartConnect should only affect the selection of bands and not the bandwidth once the band is selected I'm clueless why this is happening.

Anyone having any idea?

Thanks.

 

[joe012594]

Hi. Using dual RT-AC5300 setup with Merlin fw 380.69 (one configured as router, second as AP) with same SmartConnect setting on both (stock settings from this version). All good in regards to connection and stability, clients connect to appropriate band and roam between routers seamlessly but the issue is that I'm unable to achieve adequate bandwidth with SmartConnect turned on. When I'm using manual band selection (SmartConnect off - three separate SSIDs) bandwidth is in range appropriate for the band used, meaning, AC devices connected to 5Ghz-2 band achieve maximum bandwidth (testing against my WAN speed of 120Mbits/s) but the same devices connected to the same band (5Ghz-2) when SmartConnect is turned one cannot get pass 40Mbits/s. Considering that SmartConnect should only affect the selection of bands and not the bandwidth once the band is selected I'm clueless why this is happening.

Anyone having any idea?

Thanks.

It shouldn’t be cutting into your bandwidth. I have a ~120Mbps connection with my ISP and all devices perform just fine with Smart Connect enabled. Not sure why it’s the opposite for you. Have you ensured you’re on the latest firmware and have performed a full factory reset?

 

[Kavy]

Hi. Using dual RT-AC5300 setup with Merlin fw 380.69 (one configured as router, second as AP) with same SmartConnect setting on both (stock settings from this version). All good in regards to connection and stability, clients connect to appropriate band and roam between routers seamlessly but the issue is that I'm unable to achieve adequate bandwidth with SmartConnect turned on. When I'm using manual band selection (SmartConnect off - three separate SSIDs) bandwidth is in range appropriate for the band used, meaning, AC devices connected to 5Ghz-2 band achieve maximum bandwidth (testing against my WAN speed of 120Mbits/s) but the same devices connected to the same band (5Ghz-2) when SmartConnect is turned one cannot get pass 40Mbits/s. Considering that SmartConnect should only affect the selection of bands and not the bandwidth once the band is selected I'm clueless why this is happening.

Anyone having any idea?

Thanks.

I had the same issue with the Merlin firmware. I could not get above 40mb/s. I am now using the AI Mesh beta firmware and so far so good with the speeds using smart connect.

 

[Nigel Jones]

I had the same issue with the Merlin firmware. I could not get above 40mb/s. I am now using the AI Mesh beta firmware and so far so good with the speeds using smart connect.

Gosh, I wasn't aware the AI Mesh beta was out for the AC3200 yet.. looking!

 

[Kavy]

Gosh, I wasn't aware the AI Mesh beta was out for the AC3200 yet.. looking!

Sorry I was referring to the poster who mentioned the ac-5300.

 

[itguy1580]

Hi folks,

Looking for some advice on tweaking a GT-AC5300 (firmware 3.0.0.4.384_20308). I'm new to the Asus routers and we're trying to use a GT-AC5300 at work for imaging laptops (Macbook Airs/Pros). We went with this router because of the 8 gigabit ethernet ports (2 of which support link aggregation) and its general impressive specs. We disabled the 2.4GHz network and are just using the two 5Ghz networks.

Two things I'm struggling with at the moment.

1. A way to force AC only. There is only a N/AC mixed option, but we are going for maximum throughput. Our laptops are all in very close proximity to the router and want to ensure they are connecting as AC. Our old Linksys router had an AC-only mode which was helpful so I'm curious if there is a similar option with Asus.

2. Smart Connect and load balancing doesn't seem to be working. Ideally, we'd like a 50/50 split of our clients (ie. 10 laptops connect. 5 on 5GHz-1 and 5 on 5GHz-2). Right now, most/all clients hop onto 5GHz-2 and the performance is subpar. If I split the two 5GHz networks and connect 5 clients to each network manually, the performance is much better. I'm hoping there is a way to achieve this with Smart Connect and 1 SSID.

Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[vibroverbus]

Good luck. I gave up on using Smart Connect long ago.

Perhaps the code has been updated and improved since, but I'll tell you in particular the Apple products on our network seemed to resist 'being steered' (they also love to fall back down to slow rates BTW, far more rate-pessimistic than any other devices we have floating around... that might relate to your N/AC issues since you seem to be a Mac shop... ) As you see (check my post from over a year ago), Smart Connect for some design flaw reason LOVES to pile all the devices up on 5G2.

I wasted a TON of time on it. Ended up making 5G1 the visible 'general use clients' Wifi sharing the same SSID as the legacy 2.4G network, and then creating a hidden network for 5G2 on which I put the embedded/server/etc type devices. Works very well for me but I can see how that's not ideal for you if all the clients are similar use profiles. What if only the people hard coded to 5G1 are at work today? What if a couple of hardcoded devices are bandwidth hogging on 5G1 today but todays 5G2 client set is light browsing traffic and underloaded etc. Auto balancing would be great, but sadly doesn't seem to be a technology that has arrived yet, unless you have some kind of $$$ pro gear.

Frankly I understand your frustration as I am a huge fan of the single SSID approach (yes I want my devices to go 5G1 most of the time but hey if somebody is roaming out outside I would like them to be able to fall back to the 2.4G that's better out there...) and I hate the "XXXX.2.4G + XXXX.5G1 + XXX.5G2" default approach that most router mfrs ship their devices with and recommend you use. Its so fun explaining to the senior citizens or the general technical-challenged why they have to keep entering passwords and how come it worked over there and not here and which one should I pick when I want to connect and how come there are different ones etc. The approach I took lets me have some of the cake and eat some of the cake. Users only see 1 network, but I do spread the devices out and at least in my case its been a close enough to a proxy for load-sharing to make everything work really well.

 

[weaverinva]

Good luck. I gave up on using Smart Connect long ago.

Perhaps the code has been updated and improved since, but I'll tell you in particular the Apple products on our network seemed to resist 'being steered' (they also love to fall back down to slow rates BTW, far more rate-pessimistic than any other devices we have floating around... that might relate to your N/AC issues since you seem to be a Mac shop... ) As you see (check my post from over a year ago), Smart Connect for some design flaw reason LOVES to pile all the devices up on 5G2.

I wasted a TON of time on it. Ended up making 5G1 the visible 'general use clients' Wifi sharing the same SSID as the legacy 2.4G network, and then creating a hidden network for 5G2 on which I put the embedded/server/etc type devices. Works very well for me but I can see how that's not ideal for you if all the clients are similar use profiles. What if only the people hard coded to 5G1 are at work today? What if a couple of hardcoded devices are bandwidth hogging on 5G1 today but todays 5G2 client set is light browsing traffic and underloaded etc. Auto balancing would be great, but sadly doesn't seem to be a technology that has arrived yet, unless you have some kind of $$$ pro gear.

Frankly I understand your frustration as I am a huge fan of the single SSID approach (yes I want my devices to go 5G1 most of the time but hey if somebody is roaming out outside I would like them to be able to fall back to the 2.4G that's better out there...) and I hate the "XXXX.2.4G + XXXX.5G1 + XXX.5G2" default approach that most router mfrs ship their devices with and recommend you use. Its so fun explaining to the senior citizens or the general technical-challenged why they have to keep entering passwords and how come it worked over there and not here and which one should I pick when I want to connect and how come there are different ones etc. The approach I took lets me have some of the cake and eat some of the cake. Users only see 1 network, but I do spread the devices out and at least in my case its been a close enough to a proxy for load-sharing to make everything work really well.

Hello there, I have a setup nearly like yours with AC86U as central router and two netgears R7000 and R6400R2 that I want to use as 5ghz access points in my full basement area.
How do you like freshtomato? Better than stock just for access point usage and worth the hassle?
Also, on single or multiple SSIDS, seems you have separate for 2 and 5 bands. For band 5 do you use the same SSID on main router and other AP too?
Just trying to figure our my setup. Smart Connect even in 2020 sounds like I may not like how it controls things.
Any update appreciated.

 

[newb]

Confusion:
Smart Connect OFF = no MESH? But I do want the MESH so Smart Connect must be ON.
The Smart Connect screen in Network Tools therefore regulates only MESH?

Because of the widespread confusion related to metric of dB, please explain what is the practical difference between -50dB and -80dB. Is the reception better at -50 or at -80.

 

[newb]

Good luck. I gave up on using Smart Connect long ago.

I think you should reconsider. SMART CONNECT=MESH. How can one be without MESH is beyond me. I jumped on ASUS AiMESH from day one. It had hick-up - but it is better than most Mesh systems on the market and does not require me to buy new routers. Just update your firmware and go with the best Mesh system on the market without spending a fortune.
As to the APPLE devices. Apple always had big time problem with technology. They never invented anything and they always hyped copycat technology with admittedly nice physical appearance. Many people fell for that, just like many killed Sony Betamax selecting crappy VHS.
Tell them to buy Oranges not Apples.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I think you should reconsider. SMART CONNECT=MESH. How can one be without MESH is beyond me. I jumped on ASUS AiMESH from day one. It had hick-up - but it is better than most Mesh systems on the market and does not require me to buy new routers. Just update your firmware and go with the best Mesh system on the market without spending a fortune.
As to the APPLE devices. Apple always had big time problem with technology. They never invented anything and they always hyped copycat technology with admittedly nice physical appearance. Many people fell for that, just like many killed Sony Betamax selecting crappy VHS.
Tell them to buy Oranges not Apples.

You are confused.

Smart Connect is node band steering. It's a function built into the WiFi chipset used by many OEM routers. It is not AiMesh.

Apple has invented much technology.

If you don't know, don't spread misinformation. It's not helpful.

OE