Asuswrt-Merlin 376.44 Beta 1 is out

[jim769]

This range and performance discussion may be no more than a ghost chase. The ASUS products with external antennas will outperform ANY normal (laptop’s, smartphones and printers) client. We are talking about bidirectional communication. Both ways have to perform equally well to get a 100% result. Cranking up the power on an access point is only one end of the chain. It does not help the client to be heard better.
Of course there could be a zillion other issues in the radio firmware, but that is a Broadcom issue. I do not think there were serious issues on the Broadcom side.
There were very serious issues with intel clients, but they seem to be resolved by now.

What you say makes sense but unfortunately not entirely true. When I first had my N66 it was usable even inside my neighbors homes with ease then after Asus crippled it with sdk6 that was no longer possible using the same clients as before. So in my opinion Asus took a great range router and ruined it that's why I bought the 68U. When the time comes for a new router I will have to think hard if it will be made by Asus. They just don't seem to have the punch and quality they use to. Just my opinion.

 

[DrTeeth]

I'm still at a loss as to why a few of the past releases were able to bring performance level back to SDK5 coverage when I find out that the special driver wasn't even properly included in these releases (and I no longer have it to re-test that properly).

Placebo?

 

[RMerlin]

Placebo?

That's the very word I've used on numerous occasions when wireless range discussions came up.

 

[DrTeeth]

That has been there for a while. But, there were ways around it. Because off FCC demands the detours are getting cut off. Merlin wrote about that between the lines.

There would not have to be any 'detours' if Asus sold properly localised kit. The *only* European country that has access to the four EU channels only is Austria. The next step up are 4-5 countries that have 8 5GHz channels. Allowing only 4 for Europe is a significant crippling.
I think we should all contact Asus about this - I already have.

 

[Builder71]

OK, I did a few tests.

Wireless signal on 2.4GHz:
(with reset to factory default)

39-em: -59
374.43: -65
376.44_b1: -67, -70 (fluctuates a bit.)
(Router and test PC are on the same spot for a long time.
So 2.4GHz signal and throughput are lower on this beta.)

Signal on 5GHz not tested.

The

nvram set wl1_country_code=NL

does not survive a reboot.
This makes it stuck with only four 5GHz channels.
With 374.43 this settings works fine and survives a reboot.

It seems a piece of my MAC address is shown on the PuTTY command prompt.
Not a big deal but previously it was only the model name.

 

[RMerlin]

Parental Control i dont see ON-OFF switch
Factory reset and clear ram ,same issue
RT_N66u

Works for me. Try clearing your browser cache, or using a different browser.

 

[W500]

What you say makes sense but unfortunately not entirely true. When I first had my N66 it was usable even inside my neighbors homes with ease then after Asus crippled it with sdk6 that was no longer possible using the same clients as before. So in my opinion Asus took a great range router and ruined it that's why I bought the 68U. When the time comes for a new router I will have to think hard if it will be made by Asus. They just don't seem to have the punch and quality they use to. Just my opinion.

The problem with these experiences is that there could have been numerous other issues of influence. One example is for instance: If you run Inssider on your client the performance will be seriously hurt. And then there could have been other clients and other AP’s active.

 

[Andu]

The new QoS engine is strictly for the RT-AC87U. Asus might eventually implement it on the AC56 and AC68, but there's no official word on this yet.

The N66 and AC66 will definitely not get it, as they lack the additional CPU power requirements of the new engine.

Thanks for the quick answer. I guess I'll have to wait till they upgrade the internet in my area since I wanted to update my router then. Hopefully will only be a few months and maybe the price of the AC87U will go a bit down by then

 

[Builder71]

The problem with these experiences is that there could have been numerous other issues of influence. One example is for instance: If you run Inssider on your client the performance will be seriously hurt. And then there could have been other clients and other AP’s active.

In my home environment it works fine to use inSSIDer for tests.
After a factory reset to default the SSID is ASUS and ASUS_5G.
That way I am sure nobody is using it.
With the router and test client always on the same place I can see the RF signal change between firmware.

 

[Pir8pete]

here's my logs/screenshots, issue I see right off the bat is my selected channels are not right.

wireless 2.4/5ghz screenshots








Wireless log:

SSID: "142"
RSSI: 0 dBm	SNR: 0 dB	noise: -88 dBm	Channel: 1
BSSID: AC:22:0B:33:EB:68	Capability: ESS ShortSlot 
Supported Rates: [ 1(b) 2(b) 5.5(b) 6 9 11(b) 12 18 24 36 48 54 ]
HT Capable:
	Chanspec: 2.4GHz channel 1 20MHz (0x1001)
	Primary channel: 1
	HT Capabilities: 
	Supported MCS : [ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 ]

Mode	: AP Only

Stations  (flags: P=Powersave Mode, S=Short GI, T=STBC, A=Associated, U=Authenticated)
----------------------------------------
MAC               IP Address      Name              RSSI    Rx/Tx Rate   Connected Flags
84:34:97:65:E1:38 192.168.1.196   Printer          -63dBm   ??/72 Mbps   00:08:48   AU
00:1A:E9:8F:EB:31                                  -46dBm   54/1 Mbps    00:08:53   AU


SSID: "142"
RSSI: 0 dBm	SNR: 0 dB	noise: -83 dBm	Channel: 157l
BSSID: AC:22:0B:33:EB:6C	Capability: ESS 
Supported Rates: [ 6(b) 9 12(b) 18 24(b) 36 48 54 ]
HT Capable:
	Chanspec: 5GHz channel 159 40MHz (0xd89f)
	Primary channel: 157
	HT Capabilities: 
	Supported MCS : [ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 32 ]

Mode	: AP Only

Stations  (flags: P=Powersave Mode, S=Short GI, T=STBC, A=Associated, U=Authenticated)
----------------------------------------
MAC               IP Address      Name              RSSI    Rx/Tx Rate   Connected Flags

system log attached:

 

[KevTech]

I'm still at a loss as to why a few of the past releases were able to bring performance level back to SDK5 coverage when I find out that the special driver wasn't even properly included in these releases (and I no longer have it to re-test that properly).

I wonder if perhaps the GUI was not showing correct data.

Explanation:

Last night went from 3.0.0.4.374.35_4-sdk5 to 44beta1.

Wireless working good and GUI showing signal levels the same as sdk5.

Thought 44beta1 had solved range issue then realized I had not yet reset to defaults per going from sdk5 to sdk6.

Reset then GUI showing big drop in signal levels.

So I guess the GUI was showing reading from previous firmware until reset.

 

[W500]

In my home environment it works fine to use inSSIDer for tests.
After a factory reset to default the SSID is ASUS and ASUS_5G.
That way I am sure nobody is using it.
With the router and test client always on the same place I can see the RF signal change between firmware.

Sure, but RF signal will tell you not all. Low signal with no interference can give you excellent throughput. Strong signal with strong interference can give you zero throughput.

Running Inssider at the same time on the device that you are using to test throughput will hamper your results very seriously.

 

[bluepoint]

I'll revert the experimental EM code back to Asus's stock GPL code, and upgrade the December 2013 driver to the Asus 376_1071 version. All those experiments in an attempt to resolve the complains about reduced range on the RT-N66U are simply a huge time sink for me at this time, so I'm giving up on that.

The EM builds are always working with good range for me on both bands. I for one will miss the EM range if you decide to scratch it in favor of the newer drivers for the N66U. The non EM drivers are actually not too bad for my household's usage, if that will be the only choice then that will be fine too.

 

[freaker]

With 374.43_0 at factory defaults i have 80mw Tx power.

The new 376.44 Beta 1 have 100% Tx power.

Is it always 200mw at 100% or for my region at 100% 80mw now?

There is no text under the Tx power now. (set the capability for transmission power.The maximum value is 200mw and the real transmission power will be dynamically adjusted to meet regional regulations)

 

[Builder71]

...

Running Inssider at the same time on the device that you are using to test throughput will hamper your results very seriously.

Of course I know that, I don't test throughput when inSSIDer is running.
As you can see on the pic, only a small reduction in RF signal makes throughput horrible.
That is on the edge of my network, second floor.

I did some more testing as you can read here #69.
(This thread grows quicker than I can type, lol.)

 

[KevTech]

The EM builds are always working with good range for me on both bands. I for one will miss the EM range if you decide to scratch it in favor of the newer drivers for the N66U. The non EM drivers are actually not too bad for my household's usage, if that will be the only choice then that will be fine too.

I don't think there ever was an EM driver in the EM builds meaning the affect was placebo. I checked driver in em/non em builds and all had the same driver.

See this thread starting at post 36 then go through thread up until post where merlin unpacked the firmware:http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=18338&page=4

 

[Builder71]

I don't think there ever was an EM driver in the EM builds meaning the affect was placebo. I checked driver in em/non em builds and all had the same driver.

See this thread starting at post 36 then go through thread up until post where merlin unpacked the firmware:http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=18338&page=4

No way, no placebo!
If you say that, you didn't test for yourself.

It's not only about the driver, but also how you configure it.

 

[bradyrtech]

Comcast native IPv6 = OK (so far)

Since nobody has mentioned anything related to IPv6 with this build yet, I can say that at the moment, Comcast native IPv6 appears to be working fine.

I just upgraded to 376.44 beta 1 on a rt-ac68u, on Comcast blast 50/10, with native IPv6 enabled (I'm running dual stack) and it's performing perfectly right now.

tested on linux laptop (hard wired) with chrome and firefox, and on a macbook pro (wireless - 5GHz band) using chrome, everything working as expected.

IPv6 firewall is also working as expected. you get echo reply on ping but everything else is UDPSTEALTH / STLTH

hope this info is helpful to anyone.

-ryan

 

[Builder71]

There would not have to be any 'detours' if Asus sold properly localised kit. The *only* European country that has access to the four EU channels only is Austria. The next step up are 4-5 countries that have 8 5GHz channels. Allowing only 4 for Europe is a significant crippling.
I think we should all contact Asus about this - I already have.

Done as well.
The online Technical Inquiry Form didn't work so I send an email to "techsupport (at) asus (dot) com".

 

[stafli]

Wireless log error

RT-N66U
I have two units connected to my guest network. In the DHCP-list, i've given them separate IP-numbers and names. Now, when looking into the wireless log, they are given the same name (the name tha originally was assigned to 192.168.1.15). When looking at Network Map/Client List, they both are correctly named.

Screendumps enclosed