AX88U range / setup

[Sptz]

Hi all,

I'm using my AX88U (500/35 fibre broadband) with the latest Merlin and since I upgraded from an AC68U I noticed that the 5GHz Wifi range hasn't improved as much as I had hoped. (Been close to a year now)
My laptop is at the other end of the house and has an AX210 chip in it (Connected to 5Ghz @ 160mhz). My Galaxy S10+ phone also struggles to get a signal where I'm sitting.

BLUE = AX88U Router
RED = My Desk / Laptop / Phone

As you can see it's at the other end of my flat but, this isn't a gigantic flat by any means, so I thought one router should suffice. But as I'm typing, whilst watching a 4K youtube video the Win11 wireless connection taskbar icon is at either 1 or 2 bars.

Speedtest looks like this from my laptop, completely abysmal. Most I've been able to get is 120 or so:

I've since tried to change my 5G wifi settings to what was recommended in a thread here (can't remember which one) as can be seen below:

Is there anything I can do to improve this situation within the settings themselves or do I have to resort for AIMesh? The problem is that I can't move the router from there because that's where the fibre wall plug is, as well as my homeserver and xbox (all wired), so moving it out would mean spaghetti living room!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ColinTaylor]

You said in another post that your router was a UK/EU model. You should try using channels 100 to 140 as they are allowed significantly more transmission power than the other channels. I had the same range problem with my UK RT-AX86U.

You can also try moving the location of the router, even if only by a few inches, as nearby objects can have a big influence on the signal.

 

[Sptz]

You said in another post that your router was a UK/EU model. You should try using channels 100 to 140 as they are allowed significantly more transmission power than the other channels. I had the same range problem with my UK RT-AX86U.

You can also try moving the location of the router, even if only by a few inches, as nearby objects can have a big influence on the signal.

I just tried this. Changed to channel 116 (kept 160mhz) and Log shows:

kernel: CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_change_station : WLC_SCB_AUTHORIZE sta_flags_mask not set



Can't even find the 5G network now. Should I select 20/40/80 mhz instead?

 

[ColinTaylor]

I just tried this. Changed to channel 116 (kept 160mhz) and Log shows:

kernel: CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_change_station : WLC_SCB_AUTHORIZE sta_flags_mask not set



Can't even find the 5G network now. Should I select 20/40/80 mhz instead?

That's all normal. You have to wait 10 minutes for the CAC to finish when using DFS channels 120-128 (in the UK/EU).

 

[Sptz]

That's all normal. You have to wait 10 minutes for the CAC to finish when using DFS channels.

But in that case when choosing that specific channel it just didn't work. It kept at that forever. Though it can get radar channels on it's own if I have everything set to auto.

Right now it selected channel 52 automatically and this is the result

 

[Sptz]

But if I choose all Channel Bandwidths I get this:

Why would range and speed be marginally better if it's still connecting to 160MHz? This is all too confusing. Channel is still 52 as one can see.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Why would range and speed be marginally better if it's still connecting to 160MHz?

Because in post #5 you're forcing it to use only 80MHz bandwidth. The "Enable 160 MHz" tick box only makes the 160 options appear in the GUI, if you don't select those options you're not using them.

 

[Tech9]

As you can see it's at the other end of my flat

In single floor homes keep the antennas vertical like this | | | | and not usually recommended \ | | /. May help a little as well.

 

[RMinNJ]

Temporarily move the router to bedroom on left or the hallway and see if you get faster signal?

 

[MartinF]

I also recently got an AX88U, and I'm a bit disappointed in the range. My last router, a TP-Link AC9 (AC1900) seemed to have slightly better range. What are the best channels to use in the US? Also, I'm using my old router as a wired WAP in another part of the house, so I think I should set channels for each to make sure they are different - or at least check them.

EDIT: I may have misspoken... now I've spent more time comparing by doing some speed tests, and I discovered that even though the signal strength didn't look so good, I still got the full 400+ mb/s when a few rooms away from the Asus, but the TP-Link was only a bit over 200 mb/s even though it was closer.

BTW, both max out my 400/20 mb/s service at 5 GHz when I'm near the routers. But the AX is faster at 3.2G to my Pixel 6 phone.