AX86U Check my settings please

[Cary5500]

Can anyone chime in on these settings AX86U Merlin 388.1_0

 

[Cary5500]

 

[Cary5500]

@L&LD

 

[Tech9]

In normal Wi-Fi environment with other networks around and IoT devices for maximun stability and compatibility I would set this router this way:

2.4GHz General:

Enable Smart Connect	OFF
Band	2.4 GHz
Network Name (SSID)	Your SSID24 (numbers and letters only)
Hide SSID	No
Wireless Mode	Auto
802.11ax / WiFi 6 mode	Disable
WiFi Agile Multiband	Disable
Target Wake Time	Disable
Channel bandwidth	20 MHz
Control Channel	fixed channel with best throughput, not necessarily 1-6-11
Authentication Method	WPA2-Personal
WPA Encryption	AES
WPA Pre-Shared Key	Your password (numbers and letters only)
Protected Management Frames	Disable
Group Key Rotation Interval	7200

2.4GHz Professional:

Band	2.4 GHz
Enable Radio	Yes
Enable wireless scheduler	No
Set AP Isolated	No
Roaming assistant	Disable
Bluetooth Coexistence	Disable
Enable IGMP Snooping	Disable
Multicast Rate(Mbps)	Auto
Preamble Type	Long
AMPDU RTS	Enable
RTS Threshold	2347
DTIM Interval	1
Beacon Interval	100
Enable TX Bursting	Disable
Enable WMM	Enable
Enable WMM No-Acknowledgement	Disable
Enable WMM APSD	Disable
Optimize AMPDU aggregation	Disable
Modulation Scheme	Up to MCS 7 (802.11n)
Airtime Fairness	Disable
Multi-User MIMO	Disable
OFDMA/802.11ax MU-MIMO	Disable
Explicit Beamforming	Disable
Universal Beamforming	Disable
Tx power adjustment	Performance

5GHz General:

Enable Smart Connect	OFF
Band	5 GHz
Network Name (SSID)	Your SSID50 (numbers and letters only)
Hide SSID	No
Wireless Mode	Auto
802.11ax / WiFi 6 mode	Enable
WiFi Agile Multiband	Disable
Target Wake Time	Disable
Channel bandwidth	20/40/80 MHz, 160 MHz Disabled
Control Channel	fixed channel in non-DFS range 36-48 or 149-161 (if available)
Extension Channel	Auto
Authentication Method	WPA2-Personal
WPA Encryption	AES
WPA Pre-Shared Key	Your password (numbers and letters only)
Protected Management Frames	Disable
Group Key Rotation Interval	7200

5GHz Professional:

Band	5 GHz
Enable Radio	Yes
Enable wireless scheduler	No
Set AP Isolated	No
Roaming assistant	Disable
Enable IGMP Snooping	Disable
Multicast Rate(Mbps)	Auto
AMPDU RTS	Enable
RTS Threshold	2347
DTIM Interval	1
Beacon Interval	100
Enable TX Bursting	Disable
Enable WMM	Enable
Enable WMM No-Acknowledgement	Disable
Enable WMM APSD	Disable
Optimize AMPDU aggregation	Disable
Modulation Scheme	Up to MCS 11 (NitroQAM/1024-QAM)
Airtime Fairness	Disable
Multi-User MIMO	Disable
OFDMA/802.11ax MU-MIMO	Disable
802.11ax/ac Beamforming	Enable
Universal Beamforming	Disable
Tx power adjustment	Performance

I would NOT run Asuswrt-Merlin 388.1 on it though.

 

[Cary5500]

In normal Wi-Fi environment with other networks around and IoT devices for maximun stability and compatibility I would set this router this way:

2.4GHz General:

​

Enable Smart Connect	OFF
Band	2.4 GHz
Network Name (SSID)	Your SSID24 (numbers and letters only)
Hide SSID	No
Wireless Mode	Auto
802.11ax / WiFi 6 mode	Disable
WiFi Agile Multiband	Disable
Target Wake Time	Disable
Channel bandwidth	20 MHz
Control Channel	fixed channel with best throughput, not necessarily 1-6-11
Authentication Method	WPA2-Personal
WPA Encryption	AES
WPA Pre-Shared Key	Your password (numbers and letters only)
Protected Management Frames	Disable
Group Key Rotation Interval	7200

2.4GHz Professional:

​

Band	2.4 GHz
Enable Radio	Yes
Enable wireless scheduler	No
Set AP Isolated	No
Roaming assistant	Disable
Bluetooth Coexistence	Disable
Enable IGMP Snooping	Disable
Multicast Rate(Mbps)	Auto
Preamble Type	Long
AMPDU RTS	Enable
RTS Threshold	2347
DTIM Interval	1
Beacon Interval	100
Enable TX Bursting	Disable
Enable WMM	Enable
Enable WMM No-Acknowledgement	Disable
Enable WMM APSD	Disable
Optimize AMPDU aggregation	Disable
Modulation Scheme	Up to MCS 7 (802.11n)
Airtime Fairness	Disable
Multi-User MIMO	Disable
OFDMA/802.11ax MU-MIMO	Disable
Explicit Beamforming	Disable
Universal Beamforming	Disable
Tx power adjustment	Performance

5GHz General:

​

Enable Smart Connect	OFF
Band	5 GHz
Network Name (SSID)	Your SSID50 (numbers and letters only)
Hide SSID	No
Wireless Mode	Auto
802.11ax / WiFi 6 mode	Enable
WiFi Agile Multiband	Disable
Target Wake Time	Disable
Channel bandwidth	20/40/80 MHz, 160 MHz Disabled
Control Channel	fixed channel in non-DFS range 36-48 or 149-161 (if available)
Extension Channel	Auto
Authentication Method	WPA2-Personal
WPA Encryption	AES
WPA Pre-Shared Key	Your password (numbers and letters only)
Protected Management Frames	Disable
Group Key Rotation Interval	7200

5GHz Professional:

​

Band	5 GHz
Enable Radio	Yes
Enable wireless scheduler	No
Set AP Isolated	No
Roaming assistant	Disable
Enable IGMP Snooping	Disable
Multicast Rate(Mbps)	Auto
AMPDU RTS	Enable
RTS Threshold	2347
DTIM Interval	1
Beacon Interval	100
Enable TX Bursting	Disable
Enable WMM	Enable
Enable WMM No-Acknowledgement	Disable
Enable WMM APSD	Disable
Optimize AMPDU aggregation	Disable
Modulation Scheme	Up to MCS 11 (NitroQAM/1024-QAM)
Airtime Fairness	Disable
Multi-User MIMO	Disable
OFDMA/802.11ax MU-MIMO	Disable
802.11ax/ac Beamforming	Enable
Universal Beamforming	Disable
Tx power adjustment	Performance

I would NOT run Asuswrt-Merlin 388.1 on it though.

What would you run on it? And thanks for the reply tech

 

[L&LD]

@Cary5500, are you having any issues with your wireless right now? The actual settings don't mean much, without context.

Some/Many settings have been found to be sticky and not effectively go back to their true defaults when they're toggled on/off. With this simple fact in mind, I would be doing a full reset if you're having issues (stability or performance).

My recommendations haven't changed.

Would appreciate Wireless Professional Setting recommendations of AIMesh with AX88U as the root router

Hi, I am a new user. Great community here, very useful, so much knowledge, at times overwhelming but all around a great place! I have been an ASUS router user for as long as I remember, but only recently I went down the Merlin route. My current set-up is as follows: Root/Main Router: A new...

www.snbforums.com

First. Flash the latest RMerlin firmware you want to run on your router (I'm currently running 388.2_alpha1-g0372e21e53 for the last 3 weeks without issues on my RT-AX86U (primary) and wired 2.5GbE backhaul GT-AX6000 (node) setup). For the weird ones here, I've been running this for 20 days and 11 hours so far.

Do not change things for no reason (doing so may require another full reset to get the router back to where it was before).

Change the least amount of settings possible. Today's hardware on the latest/greatest (RMerlin) firmware works very well with the least fiddling of the settings. And works best overall when the radios are set to their full capabilities (i.e. do not use 'N' settings for the Wireless mode on the 2.4GHz band if you don't have any 2.4GHz AX clients - and, having that setting on Auto doesn't interfere with your network usage either, of course).

Take advice from users that don't run RMerlin firmware or use Asus routers with a grain of salt too.

 

[Cary5500]

Yeah I followed your article from back in the day I did a factory reset and changed SSID, log in etc. I was having problems with the internet dropping. This seemed to of fixed the issue just wanted to make sure my settings from prior are still the most efficient.

 

[Tech9]

What would you run on it?

I did test thoroughly multiple different firmware versions for this router and the most stable stock Asuswrt so far is 386_49599 and the most stable Asuswrt-Merlin is 386.5_2. Base 388 Asuswrt still has issues and they affect Asuswrt-Merlin firmware as well. Read the release threads for more information.

I have one AX86U sitting on the shelf and waiting for better firmware.

 

[L&LD]

@Cary5500, Changing the settings so 'drastically' on the router is not necessarily needed. Are you sure your ISP equipment was not to blame too (particularly after the lightning strike)?

 

[Cary5500]

@Cary5500, Changing the settings so 'drastically' on the router is not necessarily needed. Are you sure your ISP equipment was not to blame too (particularly after the lightning strike)?

Yeah it was damaged blown completely also blew the power supply to the router. All replaced with new now. So should I do another factory reset and or just install the beta software reboot and be done?

 

[L&LD]

I can't say what needs to be done now. You haven't described any issues.

 

[drinkingbird]

Yeah it was damaged blown completely also blew the power supply to the router. All replaced with new now. So should I do another factory reset and or just install the beta software reboot and be done?

Did you replace the power supply or the whole router? If the former, there could be internal damage to the router too that isn't "fully dead" but not fully functional either.

 

[Cary5500]

Did you replace the power supply or the whole router? If the former, there could be internal damage to the router too that isn't "fully dead" but not fully functional either.

After wiping the router and flashing new firmware I’m having zero issues with dropping connection. It’s been up for 7 hours so far. If issues come back I’ll swap with a new router for sure.

I just didn’t know if the settings I transferred over manually from the previous notes where good or if my settings aren’t optimal.

 

[Tech9]

I just didn’t know...

No one here knows what settings are optimal for your environment. The settings I posted above ensure maximum compatibility. From this point on you need to know what the settings do and adjust based on your requirements and environment. I'm under impression you don't know what the setting do.

 

[drinkingbird]

No one here knows what settings are optimal for your environment.

Well except for the guy that wanted to force his router to "B" only. We all know that won't work well.

 

[miniterror]

I did test thoroughly multiple different firmware versions for this router and the most stable stock Asuswrt so far is 386_49599 and the most stable Asuswrt-Merlin is 386.5_2. Base 388 Asuswrt still has issues and they affect Asuswrt-Merlin firmware as well. Read the release threads for more information.

I have one AX86U sitting on the shelf and waiting for better firmware.

Any specific reason you arent running the mentioned 386.5_2 on it?
That one is available for the 86U

 

[Tech9]

Any specific reason you arent running the mentioned 386.5_2 on it?

This router is not part of my network and currently waiting for better firmware. I purchased it because of good feedback just to see what it is. It turned out to be a big disappointment. If this is one of the recommended models I can't imagine what non-recommended ones are. It was used mostly for firmware testing, but I found I'm just wasting my time with it. More about this subject here. I run charity events twice a year. Last year I have donated 14 home routers (including Asus AX models) and 60 computer configurations between other things. My AX86U may end up in someone else's home.

 

[miniterror]

This router is not part of my network and currently waiting for better firmware. I purchased it because of good feedback just to see what it is. It turned out to be a big disappointment. If this is one of the recommended models I can't imagine what non-recommended ones are. It was used mostly for firmware testing, but I found I'm just wasting my time with it. More about this subject here. I run charity events twice a year. Last year I have donated 14 home routers (including Asus AX models) and 60 computer configurations between other things. My AX86U may end up in someone else's home.

Running 2 AX86U's here and no problems on my side.
Range is a bit lower then my previous AC68U but performance can keep up with my 1Gbit connection.
That code is closed source doesnt mean its all bad though if the things one uses are working, i do have to say i dont use any of the extra features, its just a router and therefor being used as one.

Curious though, what do you use now to initialize your internet needs in the home.
I have been thinking of migrating to a AliExpress TopTon box with **sense on it and Omoda as LAN equipment.

 

[Yota]

5GHz Professional:
...
Enable TX Bursting

It may not be a good idea to turn off this option at 5GHz, although the description says it is only effective for g devices, but most of the forum members reported that this effectively improves the link rate of AC/AX devices at 5GHz.

Tx Bursting on 5Ghz Wireless

Apologies if this is answered somewhere else. I searched the forum and Google but could not find a clear answer. On ASUSWRT firmware(Merlin version), why is TX bursting an option on 5Ghz. My understanding is this is only used for g networks. 5Ghz doesn't use g. Can anyone please elaborate...

www.snbforums.com

TX Bursting on 5GHz ac

I have an AC66U B1 with the latest Merlin firmware. By enabling Tx Bursting, I get my speed increases from 250Mbps to 310Mbps. I am connected to the 5Ghz band on ac. I have seen that Tx Bursting affects only g and a. So what's happening here?

www.snbforums.com

5GHz Professional:
...
Multi-User MIMO

It's part of the 802.11ac wave 2 standard, and devices that don't support it naturally don't have it enabled, and shouldn't be turned off.

 

[BreakingDad]

Settings are subjective based on environment and preference imo.