AX86U slow wireless speed, wondering if I have a Dud?

[Art]

So I just purchased this router, coming from a Verizon quantum gateway router and I was expecting to be blown away as I have Gigabit fiber.
My previous speeds with the old router over wifi was around 400/400 give or take. I setup the ax86u and do a speed test ( I use my iPhone 12 which supports wifi 6) at first I got 80/90 then I noticed I was on the 2.4Ghz Band (which is bad even for 2.4) so I keep testing and eventual it switches me over to the 5GHZ band and then my speeds go up to 480/200 and its been kind of staying around there sometimes I touch 500/525 upload but I never gotten anywhere near some of the downloads I've seen reviewers get ( 870/504 over wifi on a wifi 6 device) I also recently downloaded the Merlin Beta 5 firmware update (I didn't do a reset because I was coming from stock do I need to?) but I'm still getting the same speeds I'm kinda at a loss in what to do I'm thinking of sending it back maybe getting the Netgear nighthawk AX6600. Im just wondering if its the router or if I'm doing something wrong, I've read soooo many great reviews of the ax86u and its performance I'm just shocked that my old Fios router is outperforming it on speed. Any Advice?

 

[L&LD]

Welcome to the forums @Art.

You do need to reset to firmware coming from stock (depending on the firmware that was installed, of course). The issues you see are almost expected if you don't.

The following should help get your new router/network back to where it needs to be. That is, in a good/known state and where the router is using the expected defaults of the firmware it's running.

New M&M 2020

M&M 2020 Specifics


If the above suggestions don't help, you may need to do a more thorough reset on the router.

Fully Reset Router and Network


And finally, below you will find more notes and hints of getting the most from your new equipment.

L&LD | SmallNetBuilder Forums

 

[Art]

Welcome to the forums @Art.

You do need to reset to firmware coming from stock (depending on the firmware that was installed, of course). The issues you see are almost expected if you don't.

The following should help get your new router/network back to where it needs to be. That is, in a good/known state and where the router is using the expected defaults of the firmware it's running.

New M&M 2020

M&M 2020 Specifics


If the above suggestions don't help, you may need to do a more thorough reset on the router.

Fully Reset Router and Network


And finally, below you will find more notes and hints of getting the most from your new equipment.

L&LD | SmallNetBuilder Forums

Thanks!! I will try these recommendations soon as I get home and report back.

 

[Art]

Welcome to the forums @Art.

You do need to reset to firmware coming from stock (depending on the firmware that was installed, of course). The issues you see are almost expected if you don't.

The following should help get your new router/network back to where it needs to be. That is, in a good/known state and where the router is using the expected defaults of the firmware it's running.

New M&M 2020

M&M 2020 Specifics


If the above suggestions don't help, you may need to do a more thorough reset on the router.

Fully Reset Router and Network


And finally, below you will find more notes and hints of getting the most from your new equipment.

L&LD | SmallNetBuilder Forums

So last question before I start, I've already downloaded and installed beta 5 so I should reset go in and configure to BP and then Reset again I just want to be clear. Also I see that you say turn beam forming off what is your opinion of beam forming and in your opinion is it useful in any circumstances. thank you again for your time.

 

[L&LD]

You're welcome, but, sorry, what is 'configure to BP'?

After flashing the firmware, that you want to use, a full reset to factory defaults is highly suggested afterward.

Turn off Universal Beamforming. Doesn't help and usually hurts network stability and performance.

 

[Art]

You're welcome, but, sorry, what is 'configure to BP'?

After flashing the firmware, that you want to use, a full reset to factory defaults is highly suggested afterward.

Turn off Universal Beamforming. Doesn't help and usually hurts network stability and performance.

Yes I ment Best Practices or your recommend settings for the ax86u, and thank you for getting back to me. My wife had a couple of video calls to make so I’m gonna adjust everything tomorrow.

 

[Art]

You're welcome, but, sorry, what is 'configure to BP'?

After flashing the firmware, that you want to use, a full reset to factory defaults is highly suggested afterward.

Turn off Universal Beamforming. Doesn't help and usually hurts network stability and performance.

Ok so I set up everything according to the recommendations and my download speed has improved allot i went from 450-500 to 750-800 Mbps but it seems like I may need to change the channel (11 for 2.4ghz and 161 for 5ghz currently) because I only get those speeds in the morning before everyone gets up ( I live in a apartment complex) after like 10:00 it’s drops to around 550 Mbps also my upload speeds are still not symmetrical it refuses to rise above 270 Mbps any suggestions? Thanks again for your help!

 

[L&LD]

You may want to have a look at the suggestions in the link below. Just note that with a busy apartment environment, you already may be at the best possible, now.

Another key point is to allow at least 24 hours to allow your new settings to be 'known' by the surrounding AP's and have them move from your selected channel (at least the APs on the 'Auto' control channel defaults most people use).

This isn't to say that you take 24 hours or more to test each channel though. Just the ones that seemed most promising in your local wireless environment.

With a smaller apartment and/or one with an optimally placed router, you may want to test with 40MHz and even 20MHz bandwidth too.

Test when your network and (ideally) surrounding networks are the quietest.

Remember, the goal of optimizing the control channels used, isn't for peak speeds, in optimum conditions. It is for the lowest latency and most consistent connections possible (first), then speed.

In highly congested and surprisingly even in very non-congested environments, 40MHz and even 20MHz bandwidth would provide a better user experience while using the network, overall.

This speaks volumes of the interference that non-Wi-Fi sources can inflict on our networks and unless you have expensive equipment or hire a firm to do a full site survey (good for only 'at that time'), makes using apps and other Wi-Fi 'tuning' utilities an exercise in frustration. Not to mention time poorly spent when the goals are to get a stable, fast, and reliable network up and running in the least amount of time.

Reset Mini Guide + Control Channel Setup Details

 

[gattaca]

Well it may not be your router's fault either as the radios usually don't magically turn themselves off. I'd wager a cold beer that as your apartment neighbors rise and shine, they are increasing the bit-loads on the infrastructure servicing the apartment complex. The way to sort of test that theory is to plug in an hardline to the router and test at different times - take the wireless outta the mix.

But @L&LD is right about that being probably the best you are going to get. Now if the speeds stay up there when hard-wired, then you are certainly seeing more 2.4/5.0GHz interference happening. Most non-techie people leave their routers on "Auto Channel Search" which means the router will be switching channels when it sees too much interference. This activity ends up creating a RF soup of interference throughout the day and 100's of routers potentially are trying to out-do each other in a very limited frequency space. Hardwired is the best only way to prevent that with today's 2.4/5.0 GHz channels.