Bandwidth Limiter. What am I doing wrong?

[SteveSharpe]

I used to have an old RT-N66U that worked really well for me. I am only on a DSL connection, so the bandwidth limiter function of that router was excellent. I could set like a 3 Mb limit for streaming devices in the house, and I'd have a little headroom left over for gaming so that my latency wouldn't be through the roof.

The N66U stopped working, so I went to buy a new router. I decided to stick with Asus because I've been very happy with the bandwidth limiter function and I don't think other routers have such a simple way to do it. I bought the RT-AC3100 to have a really nice router, even though it's definitely overkill for my internet. One of the first things I go to do is enable the bandwidth limiter, which after changing from Adaptive QoS (which didn't exist on my N66U), looks exactly the same as the interface on my old router.

After adding all of the rules for various devices, I've noticed that absolutely none of them obey the rules. They just use as much bandwidth as they want and they blow right past my limits.

I read a few posts on here about buggy Asus firmware messing with bandwidth limiter, so I tried some older firmwares. I also tried Merlin. I've done factory resets. I've done hard resets. I've done just about everything.

Either bandwidth limiter is just broken completely on this router, or I don't know how to use it. It doesn't do like it did on my old N66U. When I set a rule for a device on the old router, that device would never go above that bandwidth. It worked perfectly. The same tool on this brand new router does absolutely nothing. It's pretty discouraging.

Are there other settings that I need to look for? Do I need to toggle any other QoS settings? Are there other settings which could interfere with bandwidth limiter? Please help me get this working.

 

[KevTech]

There are steps you must follow for this to work correctly.

Did you enable it and add your clients all in one step?

I just tested it by doing it this way and it did not work.

What you have to do is enable BW first without any clients in it.

After that is enabled then the next step is to add clients.

After enabling first without any clients then adding clients in the next step it worked perfectly.

Follow this: https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1013333

 

[SteveSharpe]

I think I did add some clients when I first enabled, but I have also added a few other clients since then and they do not work either. Do I need to remove all of my rules and then add them back one-by-one, or do you think I need to go factory default again and start from scratch, then enable rules one-by-one?

 

[KevTech]

I think I did add some clients when I first enabled, but I have also added a few other clients since then and they do not work either. Do I need to remove all of my rules and then add them back one-by-one, or do you think I need to go factory default again and start from scratch, then enable rules one-by-one?

Try removing all clients and apply then disable BL.

Reboot router and enable BL then apply and after enabled then add clients.

 

[SteveSharpe]

It does appear that your process works. I removed all rules and disable BL. Then I rebooted the router. In individual steps I enabled BL, then added a single rule at a time.

On the Adaptive QoS > Bandwidth Monitor screen the numbers shown for bandwidth utilization of the devices that I throttled don't seem accurate at all (they still show utilization to be much higher than my limits). But if I stop all activity and then start a stream on only one of the devices, the overall stats on Traffic Analyzer > Traffic Monitor seem to be holding steady at the bandwidth limit I set.

Next move is to try upgrading the router to the latest firmware to see if the bandwidth limiter keeps working.

Thanks for your suggestion.

 

[SteveSharpe]

Okay. So here are my findings.

The first time I got bandwidth limiter to work was firmware 3.0.0.4.380.4180 after setting it up the way you recommended.

I then upgraded to the latest version 3.0.0.4.380.7743 and it was not working again. Instead of going back to 4180, I decided to roll back one version at a time until I found one that worked. It did not work on 3.0.0.4.380.7627, so I went one lower to 3.0.0.4.380.7378. Finally, bandwidth limiter is working on this version. This happens to be a version that in the release notes says "Fixed bandwidth limiter bugs", so it looks like they fixed it in that version and then broke it again after.

Here are my findings (newest code to oldest):

3.0.0.4.380.7743 (still broken)
3.0.0.4.380.7627 (it is broken again)
3.0.0.4.380.7378 (it works, and is currently the version I am running)
3.0.0.4.380.7266 (it is broken, and widely reported as such here on the forum)
3.0.0.4.380.4180 (it works)

 

[SteveSharpe]

So my investigation has uncovered something else interesting. I'm still running 7378 right now and bandwidth limiter is working for multiple devices. However, I discovered something else interesting. If I visit the Adaptive QoS page at all (the first one where it shows Bandwidth Monitor and each device's utilization), all bandwidth limiter rules will immediately stop working. To get them working again, I have to go to the QoS tab again and hit "Apply" at the bottom under all of the bandwidth limit rules. After hitting apply, the limits start working again.

So right now, to get this thing working you need to be on code level 7378 and NEVER EVER go to the Bandwidth Monitor tab under Adaptive QoS.

I think tomorrow I might mess around some more and see if I can get it to work on the latest firmware version but messing around with the Apply button and the various screens. It is possible that earlier when I tested the latest firmware I had visited the Bandwidth Monitor screen and messed everything up. For now, though, I'm going to leave it because I feel like this firmware is held together by duct tape.

 

[KevTech]

I then upgraded to the latest version 3.0.0.4.380.7743 and it was not working again.

My router model is in my sig and 7743 works perfectly with BL.

Anyway, at least you have it working.

 

[SteveSharpe]

My router model is in my sig and 7743 works perfectly with BL.

Anyway, at least you have it working.

I'm thinking that I will be able to get it working on 7743 as well. The bug appears to be in relation to the Bandwidth Monitor tab. Once I visit that page, Bandwidth Limiter just stops working all together. Can you see if the same thing happens to you on 7743?

 

[KevTech]

I don't normally use bandwidth limiter as my connection is 200/10.

I was just testing to help you out.

 

[sfx2000]

Big thing with bandwidth/QoS stuff here...

Don't look at it as a limit, look at it as a commitment - a guarantee of a particular BW for service/client(s)... this is how QoS works.

Upside down - I'm reasonably certain here based on the forums....

 

[SteveSharpe]

Big thing with bandwidth/QoS stuff here...

Don't look at it as a limit, look at it as a commitment - a guarantee of a particular BW for service/client(s)... this is how QoS works.

Upside down - I'm reasonably certain here based on the forums....

What you are describing is how normal QoS works, but Bandwidth Limiter on an Asus router is something different. It truly is a limiter. When it is working, the bandwidth of that particular device will always be below that mark. It will never go over even when more bandwidth is available.

It's the main reason why I have stuck with Asus routers for years, because no one else has a limiter like this, only ways to attempt to guarantee a level of service.

In any case, I found the bug that was challenging me. For whatever reason, visiting a specific page of the administrative GUI disables the limiter functionality. Hopefully the people who work on the firmware will read this thread and fix it.

 

[medwatt]

What you are describing is how normal QoS works, but Bandwidth Limiter on an Asus router is something different. It truly is a limiter. When it is working, the bandwidth of that particular device will always be below that mark. It will never go over even when more bandwidth is available.

It's the main reason why I have stuck with Asus routers for years, because no one else has a limiter like this, only ways to attempt to guarantee a level of service.

In any case, I found the bug that was challenging me. For whatever reason, visiting a specific page of the administrative GUI disables the limiter functionality. Hopefully the people who work on the firmware will read this thread and fix it.

Actually, before upgrading to an Asus router, I had a very cheap Tenda router (model W316R), which not only had a bandwidth monitor where you could see, in realtime, how much bandwidth each user is consuming and the total for a period of time, but also a very simple bandwidth limiter that worked very well. It also had just a single antenna. I was expecting the Asus router, with its 3 antennas to blow it out of the water when it comes to range, but surprisingly it didn't. Sure, the Asus router is a much more capable router, but for $15, the Tenda router was far from terrible.

 

[Ramen555]

Steve I shared your problem here...I find that after initially setting the bandwidth limiter it works then it stops working and the device would get full speed again, it happens similar to what you mentioned...strange bug and I'm on latest merlin. Did you have any new observations? Thanks for your findings!

 

[Ramen555]

Did more testing and this definitely is a bug...the bandwidth limiter would work after applying then the minute you go into the QOS everything resets on its own and all devices get full bandwidth. How to report this bug to merlin for next fix?

 

[BecAUseImFReDGarVin]

FWIW, I ran into the same issue when using the ASUS web-based app in a browser; lots of frustration. I tried using the iOS app and it worked very well.

In the mobile app, click on 'More' menu choice from the app's home screen and then click on 'Bandwidth Limiter'. I set the "Bandwidth for other" at .1Mbps and .1Mbps for download and upload (in order to throttle kid's game play and internet usage -- you can set these values to whatever you'd like) and then click on 'Devices" to assign that bandwidth-limiter category to specific devices. You do that by clicking on the desired device, slide the "Bandwidth Limiter" button and then click on the 'Information' icon (circle with a smaller-letter 'i' in the middle) to assign the 'Other' category to this device. Click 'OK' to save the value.

I have found that this approach usually sparks a conversation with my kid as he is able to connect but the performance is dog-slow. I've found this better than simply blocking internet access because it allows for a teaching moment and a dialogue.

 

[Weekend Warrior]

Guys, you're awesome. I've been searching for information on the web for so long, I found valuable information only here.

I'm also struggling with an AC88U, latest firmware. Using Google Chrome for managing the router's settings. I also noticed that QoS and bandwidth limiter is a piece of shhh... Now I've downloaded the "ASUS Router" app from Play Store, connected to the router and disable-enable bandwidth limit settings of every client that are already added.

Ramen555, do you confirm that the process of removing all the clients, disabling limiter, restarting router, enabling limiter, re-adding clients is a good workaround?
What about checking the bandwidth limiter tab in Adaptive QoS screen? Does it ruin all the settings? Should I completely avoid clicking on it?

 

[granite]

Any info on how the bandwidth limiter feature is working with the latest Asus firmware? If it works I'm buying an Asus.

 

[screamjojo]

Many years after I've the same issue with my RT-AX56U (with latest Merlin firrmware or Asus firmware).
I've changed my router because I thought it's an hardware problem, with a new router the problem is again here.
In all case thanks so much to @SteveSharpe for finding this trick. But seriously, I don't understand why this very important issue was not resolved ...

 

[SteveSharpe]

@screamjojo I haven't been on these forums since I made this thread, but I was here today doing some research on new routers and aimesh and was surprised to see my old thread up near the top. It's still pretty much an issue that has never been resolved, but the old Apply limits trick still works.