[Asus RT-AX88U] Experiences & Discussion

[RMerlin]

Merlin: Any idea how to get AX88U link aggregation working on Rogers ISP with the Hitron modem?

No.

 

[sebb]

Hi everyone,

I am updating my network configuration at home. I'm move from an assus n66u to the rt-ax88. I want to increase the speed of my openvpn like. Before i was downloading at 1 MB/s, and with my new router i am reaching 10MB/s ... it is probably my limit , as with no encroprytion or VPN i go 10 MB/s at max. So i am very happy to that.

But here is my original goal of my post. I'd like to report issue about the wireless stability of the router asus rt-ax88. I have a very good understanding of the issue, as i have tried many many way to get ride of it.

First, i describe the issue :

• the Wifi 5ghz or 2.4Ghz doesn't work at all ( every setting are ok, trust me) .
• the LED of 2.4 Ghz doesn't light up at boot. Only the 5Ghz is ON ... but no wifi network at all.

Here are my negative observation :

• i got this issue after installing the Merlin Firmware , despite i follow the instruction. ( * note: this issue is note related to Merlin FW... but Hardware or assus source )
• i got this issue even after rolling back to Asus official Firmware , with rescue mode , and the firmware restoration tools. =>
• i got this issue while network cable are plug in, or not.

Here is my positive observation, and how the issue got resolved :

• You need to switch ON/OFF with the button, at least 4 or 5 time the router
• This work, whatever the firmware version is : Official or Merlin. <===
• When the status is OK ( all light of 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz are on) => A reboot from the webinterface won't make the issue appears again.
• Only switching ON/OFF will make the issue appears...(then you have to restart the router several time).... and disappears after 4-5 cycle.

The cycle OFF/ON to repeat :

• Use the button switch OFF/ON
• OFF for 10 sec
• ON and wait for the LED to light on ( i wait for the Power LED blink 3 times before going steady ).
• OFF again
• Repeat until LED 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz are ON together , after the power ON ... then leave the router.

I tried this many time ... and it is repeatable ( i am not just sure about the 4 or 5 times.

In conclusion : Don't give up with Merlin Firmware, this issue is also on official release. And restart router many time solve the issue.

I am using now Merlin Firmware, because i know it is the same on Assus Official Firmware, and because i have a resolution procedure.


PS: I think i'am on the same situation of WifiSeeder. I won't return the router, because i can't. Otherwise, i will do.

 

[L&LD]

Hi everyone,

I am updating my network configuration at home. I'm move from an assus n66u to the rt-ax88. I want to increase the speed of my openvpn like. Before i was downloading at 1 MB/s, and with my new router i am reaching 10MB/s ... it is probably my limit , as with no encroprytion or VPN i go 10 MB/s at max. So i am very happy to that.

But here is my original goal of my post. I'd like to report issue about the wireless stability of the router asus rt-ax88. I have a very good understanding of the issue, as i have tried many many way to get ride of it.

First, i describe the issue :

• the Wifi 5ghz or 2.4Ghz doesn't work at all ( every setting are ok, trust me) .
• the LED of 2.4 Ghz doesn't light up at boot. Only the 5Ghz is ON ... but no wifi network at all.

Here are my negative observation :

• i got this issue after installing the Merlin Firmware , despite i follow the instruction. ( * note: this issue is note related to Merlin FW... but Hardware or assus source )
• i got this issue even after rolling back to Asus official Firmware , with rescue mode , and the firmware restoration tools. =>
• i got this issue while network cable are plug in, or not.

Here is my positive observation, and how the issue got resolved :

• You need to switch ON/OFF with the button, at least 4 or 5 time the router
• This work, whatever the firmware version is : Official or Merlin. <===
• When the status is OK ( all light of 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz are on) => A reboot from the webinterface won't make the issue appears again.
• Only switching ON/OFF will make the issue appears...(then you have to restart the router several time).... and disappears after 4-5 cycle.

The cycle OFF/ON to repeat :

• Use the button switch OFF/ON
• OFF for 10 sec
• ON and wait for the LED to light on ( i wait for the Power LED blink 3 times before going steady ).
• OFF again
• Repeat until LED 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz are ON together , after the power ON ... then leave the router.

I tried this many time ... and it is repeatable ( i am not just sure about the 4 or 5 times.

In conclusion : Don't give up with Merlin Firmware, this issue is also on official release. And restart router many time solve the issue.

I am using now Merlin Firmware, because i know it is the same on Assus Official Firmware, and because i have a resolution procedure.


PS: I think i'am on the same situation of WifiSeeder. I won't return the router, because i can't. Otherwise, i will do.

sebb, welcome to the forums!

I have no doubt that what you've reported above has worked for you. Glad you have it solved for now.

What I would suggest though if random issues like this show up again is a full reset to factory defaults followed by minimal and manual configuration of the router to secure it and connect to your ISP.

Did you by any chance restore any saved backup config files from your previous Asus router?

The links in my signature below have further details on how to get your router (new or not) to a good/known state.

 

[Clark Griswald]

I noticed that Amazon (USA) has been out of stock of "new" RT-AX88Us for the past week.
Curious if there is a hw revision on the way or just low inventory?

 

[RMerlin]

If the radio randomly fails to initialize requiring multiple restarts, I would consider a warranty replacement as it has a chance to be a hardware issue. So far mine always started reliably (and I rebooted my AX88U more often than any of you guys I'm pretty sure ). The only issue I ever encountered was my 5 GHz stopped accepting clients once - disabling and re-enabling the 5 GHz radio brought it back, and it never happened again since then.

 

[BatJoe]

I decided to return the AX88U. 5Ghz was just not stable and I'm not sure why. I also had the issue with the RT-AC3100. I'm staying away from Broadcom chips from now on. It just seems like they have more problems and caveats.

I'm now running a Netgear Orbi and things seem to be much smoother. I first tried Orbi when it came out out and was not really impressed, but they have come a long way with firmware updates and are still updated today. I did consider the RAX120, but availability in Canada is non existent right now and don't want to deal with a possible return to a US supplier.

 

[sm00thpapa]

Glad I didn't jump on this like I did with the AC88U and get jerked around with false advertisement and glitched firmware. Good luck AX88U beta testers.

 

[EmeraldDeer]

Glad I didn't jump on this like I did with the AC88U and get jerked around with false advertisement and glitched firmware. Good luck AX88U beta testers.

I have had less trouble with the RT-AX88U than I did with:
Linksys E4200
Asus RT-N66U
Asus RT-AC68U
Asus RT-AC3200
Netgear R7800

 

[elegil]

hello
i just choose the RT-AX88u as my main router, so i thought it was time to write my firt message here (i readed so many helpfull posts on this forum before).

I am a lot into wifi performance so i tried to see what i could have with AC and i am not disapointed !
77 Mo/s from a laptop with an intel AC8260 (short distance)
107 Mo/s from a desktop with a Netgear AC1900 usb key
110 Mo/s from a Z390 motherboard with 1733 Mb/s wifi (160 MHz enabled)
So i just miss a multigig port, maybe it could be even better with a GT-AX when AX adapters will be available ?
At long distances, the results are still very great, i have something between 50 and 70 Mo/s in a 200 m2 home with some walls.

Then i installed Merlin and discovered QOS could be something very usefull after all
I had a few wifi disconnects, nothing really bad but i guess it could be annoying for some people.
I just miss AiMesh with Merlin, but i cant go back to AsusWRT

So as you can understand, very satisfied so far.

 

[Shatty]

Just picked up a AX88U. I have a Intel/Killer 1550/9260 in my laptop. Sitting 7 feet from router. Im trying to achieve gigabit speeds without going hardwired. I had a Ubiquiti AC-HD before the AX88U and I couldnt get and good speed. Using the AX88 @ 160 Im getting 580 down and 860 up when testing with speedtest.net. I have FIOS gigabit wan. In order to get a 1.7 connection, I have to manually select 36,40,44,48 channels. No DFS channels work above 866MBit. Anyone have any tips on getting good down speeds that have a 9260 and the AX88u? I dont have any QOS or AI whatever enabled. SMB transfer across my net to my server Im getting 42MB down and 95ish up. Server connected via 10G to Netgear switch which is connected to the AX88U via link aggregation (2G LACP) using ports 1 and 2 on AX. HDD on my server max out at 165MB sec so Im getting half of that going from laptop to server. Laptop has Samsung EVO+ NVME. Good thing Killer announced the AX cards few days ago. Should be on Amazon pretty soon. At that point I think I will get better speeds.

 

[L&LD]

Just picked up a AX88U. I have a Intel/Killer 1550/9260 in my laptop. Sitting 7 feet from router. Im trying to achieve gigabit speeds without going hardwired. I had a Ubiquiti AC-HD before the AX88U and I couldnt get and good speed. Using the AX88 @ 160 Im getting 580 down and 860 up when testing with speedtest.net. I have FIOS gigabit wan. In order to get a 1.7 connection, I have to manually select 36,40,44,48 channels. No DFS channels work above 866MBit. Anyone have any tips on getting good down speeds that have a 9260 and the AX88u? I dont have any QOS or AI whatever enabled.

What firmware are you using? Is it the as-shipped firmware or did you upgrade? If you upgraded, I would recommend you perform a full reset to factory defaults. I would further recommend RMerlin's firmware too.

I would remove the 'killer' software from your laptop too for best performance. I would also suggest you test from further than 7' from the router.

Use multiple test sites. For 'max' speeds, fast.com seems to be the quickest/easiest to use. dslreports.com/speedtest gives the most accurate actual world speeds. Use them all and get a feel for which reports what.

When the laptop is being used for the tests, is it in Performance mode (or plugged into AC power)? This can make a difference depending on how the manufacturer feels about saving battery life or not.

To properly test, put the laptop at least a 15' away from the router in the same room at approximately the same 'eye level' with each other and pay attention to the orientation of the laptop to the router (the antennae, btw, should all be straight up). When you find the optimum orientation between the two, then test each available Control Channel making sure to wait about 5 minutes between channel changes.

When that optimum control channel is found, then test with turning/toggling the Universal Beamforming, MU-MIMO and other options available. Be sure you are giving the router time to re-adjust and become idle after all changes and before testing the three or four speed-sites you choose.

During all of this testing, do not move your laptop at all. Have it plugged in and at maximum power.

Close the browser window between each test. Keep excellent notes!

 

[Shatty]

What firmware are you using? Is it the as-shipped firmware or did you upgrade? If you upgraded, I would recommend you perform a full reset to factory defaults. I would further recommend RMerlin's firmware too.

I would remove the 'killer' software from your laptop too for best performance. I would also suggest you test from further than 7' from the router.

Use multiple test sites. For 'max' speeds, fast.com seems to be the quickest/easiest to use. dslreports.com/speedtest gives the most accurate actual world speeds. Use them all and get a feel for which reports what.

When the laptop is being used for the tests, is it in Performance mode (or plugged into AC power)? This can make a difference depending on how the manufacturer feels about saving battery life or not.

To properly test, put the laptop at least a 15' away from the router in the same room at approximately the same 'eye level' with each other and pay attention to the orientation of the laptop to the router (the antennae, btw, should all be straight up). When you find the optimum orientation between the two, then test each available Control Channel making sure to wait about 5 minutes between channel changes.

When that optimum control channel is found, then test with turning/toggling the Universal Beamforming, MU-MIMO and other options available. Be sure you are giving the router time to re-adjust and become idle after all changes and before testing the three or four speed-sites you choose.

During all of this testing, do not move your laptop at all. Have it plugged in and at maximum power.

Close the browser window between each test. Keep excellent notes!

Already using ASUS Merlin FW (Latest), also removed all killer software and using intels drivers, Alienware 17 R5 always plugged in with performance power setting. i9-8950HK, 32GB RAM, GTX1080

 

[Shatty]

Messing around with fast.com, the further I go, the faster I get. Was getting 660 around 10' and 570 at 7'. All line of sight. As far as server to switch connection (10G), I have to make sure its functioning properly. I have the Asus 10G card in the server and from reading, there are settings that have to be changed as well. Doesnt work well out of the box. Thinking about changing the 10G card.

 

[L&LD]

Messing around with fast.com, the further I go, the faster I get. Was getting 660 around 10' and 570 at 7'. All line of sight.

The latest routers are not optimized for 'wow' speeds at close distances. They are tuned for great speeds at real-world distances. But line-of-sight and orientation are still important.

 

[Shatty]

Took the Netgear out of the equation, plugged everything into AX88 and getting 115MB/sec SMB transfer down to laptop and 112 from laptop to server. Now we're making progress!!!!!! Maybe I will exchange the AX88 for the router that has the 2.5g port

 

[Embattle]

So I've had this router for a while now and on the whole it has been working well, some minor niggles:

• Unit Lights - I tend to turn these lights off, they seem rather pointless the majority of the time recently however it seems one of them doesn't like being off and seems to stay on.
• Control Channel (Auto) - Auto always seems to pick busier channels, although it isn't something exclusive to this router it seems. I replaced a cat 5 cable connection to my PC with a Asus PCE-AC88 due some changes in locations but while the performance out of the box was good the connection speed wasn't near what it claims or the tests I had seen managing a connection speed of around 325 Mbps. Checking the control channels it had picked 36 which was somewhat busy near me according to wifi analyser, I decided to try channel 48 which was clear of other people and this seemed to boost all the 5Ghz devices connection speeds including my PCE-AC88 which now connects at around 1.4 Gbps.

 

[Grisu]

Control Channel (Auto) - Auto always seems to pick busier channels, although it isn't something exclusive to this router it seems. I replaced a cat 5 cable connection to my PC with a Asus PCE-AC88 due some changes in locations but while the performance out of the box was good the connection speed wasn't near what it claims or the tests I had seen managing a connection speed of around 325 Mbps. Checking the control channels it had picked 36 which was somewhat busy near me according to wifi analyser, I decided to try channel 48 which was clear of other people and this seemed to boost all the 5Ghz devices connection speeds including my PCE-AC88 which now connects at around 1.4 Gbps.

something wrong or I dont understand the world (could easily be but in this case I feel quite sure) ...

To get 1.4Gb/s you need to set 80MHz bandwith (or even more 160).
And so it is meaningless which control-channel you will use as all channels 36-48 (or 64) will be used to get this 1.4Gb/s speed.
So not really a difference to set it to 36, 40, 44 or 48, different to 2.4G it will not use half bandwith around set channel up and down but in 5G it will allways use 36-48 for all of them.

 

[L&LD]

something wrong or I dont understand the world (could easily be but in this case I feel quite sure) ...

To get 1.4Gb/s you need to set 80MHz bandwith (or even more 160).
And so it is meaningless which control-channel you will use al all channels 36-48 (or 64) will be used to get this 1.4Gb/s speed.
So not really a difference to set it to 36, 40, 44 or 48, different to 2.4G it will not use half bandwith around set channel up and down but in 5G it will allways use 36-48 for all of them.

The control channel is important, ime. I have seen the same thing many times, move to a different (even if seemingly not different enough) control channel and the router turns on beast mode.

 

[Grisu]

I think with auto channel he used only 20MHz bandwith (set to auto bandwith too) and changing to manual channel he set 80MHz or router uses now full 80MHz.

 

[Embattle]

Well whatever it did it worked.