AX58U (AX3000)

[dgwx]

I recently bought this router to replace my N66U. I don't currently have any AX devices, only AC and lesser but thought future proofing my network was a good idea. It feels like the coverage of the AX device is not as good as the N66 was, is that something I should have expected?
Is there some setting on the AX that I should turn on or off to get the best results with AC and lesser devices?
I hope these questions make sense to the experts.

 

[L&LD]

How did you configure the 'AX58U? Manually, from scratch? Or did you import a saved backup config file? Did you 'blindly' put in all the old settings from the old to the new router (manually)? Are you using the same SSID's? Did you try/test 'forgetting' the saved network on the device you're testing with and then reboot that device and re-associate with the new router again?

What firmware were you using on the RT-N66U? How big is your home? What materials are used in the walls/floors? Is the router centrally located to the areas that need coverage? Have you used manual control channels and bandwidths instead of 'Auto'?

What firmware are you currently running on it now? Is this what shipped with it? Have you ever performed a full reset to factory defaults after flashing the latest version on it?

Inquiring minds want to know. (And it'll help us direct you to a better solution, faster).

HTH.

 

[dgwx]

"How did you configure the 'AX58U? Manually, from scratch?"
Manually.

"Did you 'blindly' put in all the old settings from the old to the new router (manually)? "
No.

"Are you using the same SSID's? "
No. Different SSID's and different IP range. Was 192.168, now 10.17.

"Did you try/test 'forgetting' the saved network on the device you're testing with and then reboot that device and re-associate with the new router again?"
I had to forget the saved network in order to connect to the new one. I'm not sure I rebooted the device.

"What firmware were you using on the RT-N66U?"
The latest ASUS stuff.

" How big is your home? "
around 2200 square feet, two story. The main living space is upstairs where the router is.

What materials are used in the walls/floors?
Wood and sheet rock.

Is the router centrally located to the areas that need coverage?
Yes, same location as the N66 was.

Have you used manual control channels and bandwidths instead of 'Auto'?
I used "Auto"

What firmware are you currently running on it now?
ASUS 3.0.0.4.384_8601

Is this what shipped with it?
No

Have you ever performed a full reset to factory defaults after flashing the latest version on it?
No.

Thanks for any help or suggestions you can give.

 

[Super Dave]

Like you I just upgraded to a Rt-ax58u as well last week from an Rt-n66u. I'm running custom Merlin Asuswrt 384.17 firmware which so far has been stable. The feature that made the most impact in my home with multiple 4k TV's, computers, gaming systems, tablets and smart phones was enabling QoS for streaming media. With almost everybody in my household watching something on their device it's made a world of difference.

The second most important thing I like to do is to scan both 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency band with a smartphone app to see how congested it is and manualy pick a "free" channel if possible on the router. Being I try to be respectful of my neighbours and leave some room to share I run 20 MHz wide channel in the 2.4 GHz band and 40 MHz in the 5 GHz band. So far This has worked well for me with minimal issues. Though I have a neighbor next to me who is blasting 80 MHz channel width and frequency hopping causing me issues with interference.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

 

[L&LD]

@dgwx it may help to do a full reset to factory defaults on the RT-AX58U. Many important fixes/changes were introduced in the first few firmware released for this model and it is best to do this now.

You should then change the control channels and bandwidth from Auto to manually selected ones. No special skills needed here. Choose 1, 6, or 11 for the control channel and 40MHz bandwidth for the 2.4GHz band and test all three, take notes, and choose the one that works the best for your network environment and client devices.

For the 5GHz band, choose 80MHz bandwidth and test as many channels as possible (that are not DFS channels). No rush to test all the control channels in one go, one hour or one day. This is up to you.

The notes you should be taking include not just a speedtest from your various client devices, but also your impressions of how responsive the 'net is when just surfing normally too. Maximum speeds mean little if the network feels slower doing it.

80MHz bandwidth is good for the 5GHz band because of freeing up the channels faster (to share with neighbors' AP's) and self-limits the coverage to the size of a normal home (as you have).

Also, look at the basic default settings suggested in the M&M Config guide (link in my signature below).

I'm a little confused about why the network needed to be forgotten if you used new SSID's?

The RT-N66U was turned off when testing the new router, correct?

Edit: for the SSID's, make sure they are 8 alphanumeric characters with no spaces, punctuation, special characters, or smiley faces in them. The passwords (for the SSID's and the router's main password) have them be the same with 16 character lengths max.

HTH.

 

[dgwx]

Thanks for the advice, I will try this. To answer your question, the phones and tablets were set up to auto connect so tried to connect to the old SSID until I changed it, so they did not need to be forgotten, I misspoke.

 

[Jgee]

The newest beta from Merlin works great. Everything that is except the adaptive qos will not limit the overall bandwidth. Tradition qos and the bandwidth limiter work fine. Wireless 5 bars throughout home upstairs and downstairs. Even works fine out in the yard. Never set channel to auto. It will constantly drop wireless when changing channels. 1 6 11 which ever has the least amount of neighbors on those channels.

 

[jsz]

The second most important thing I like to do is to scan both 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency band with a smartphone app to see how congested it is and manualy pick a "free" channel if possible on the router. Being I try to be respectful of my neighbours and leave some room to share I run 20 MHz wide channel in the 2.4 GHz band and 40 MHz in the 5 GHz band. So far This has worked well for me with minimal issues. Though I have a neighbor next to me who is blasting 80 MHz channel width and frequency hopping causing me issues with interference.

Ehh.. why buy an AX router then? You'd be better off with a decently optimized 4x4 AC design.. especially for range. (AC86U for example)

All you're doing is bottlenecking the performance aspect of the AX3000 class router since its a 2x2 limited design.... I mean yeah the AX is going to have a slightly better 40mhz channel over AC, but you would benefit greatly from 4x4 given all the devices you listed. Less congestion on your own network with devices that support MU-MIMO.

Lowering the speed on the 58u from 160mhz to 80mhz seems to have no effect on overall range... so I doubt thats even a factor for 40mhz. I mean network congestion I understand, but thats what auto DFS channels are for (if actually required). I personally use low public channels such as static 36.

Even if you wanted AX, you'd be better off with a lower class router at half the price give or take.. my 2c.

 

[digits n bits]

I recently bought this router to replace my N66U. I don't currently have any AX devices, only AC and lesser but thought future proofing my network was a good idea. It feels like the coverage of the AX device is not as good as the N66 was, is that something I should have expected?
Is there some setting on the AX that I should turn on or off to get the best results with AC and lesser devices?
I hope these questions make sense to the experts.

I’ve used the RT-AX58U quite a bit and in a 2200 sq. ft. 2 story house it’s going to struggle a bit with coverage. I also have a RT-AX88U and it’s never had coverage or speed issues with that sq. footage. The RT-AX58U is a great router in the right environment but in my experience you may be pushing its limits.