Firmware Suggestions for RT-N66U (Factory, new/old or RMerlin's)

[Poseidon]

Can someone point me in the right direction for BEST firmware for the RT-N66R/U router - for wireless speed (especially 5GHz), performance, stability, range, etc.

Currently I'm using the latest Asus Factory firmware (3.0.0.4.374_5517) but others say that older firmware like Version 3.0.0.4.276 is better - or even RMerlin's firmware.

Any advice/suggestion is greatly appreciated.

 

[wbennett77]

IMHO Merlin is the way to go. You can get his latest here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/0axfdzkrtxamorx/RT-N66U_3.0.0.4_374.41_0.zip

 

[RMerlin]

FW 276 is getting long in the tooth, with plenty of security vulnerabilities being fixed in recent releases. If range/throughput is your primary concern, try my firmware - I'm using a special driver that Asus provided for increased range.

 

[jerry6]

I'm using merlin 374.41 beta1 on my N66 and router is working really well m good connection rate and great transfer speeds on the 5 ghz band and 2.4 , as good as the old 276 FW .

 

[Poseidon]

I installed RMerlin's latest (replacing Asus latest factory firmware). Hopefully I'll see wireless improvement (even if slightly).

Question about 2 features under Wireless > Professional:

-Optimize APMDU Aggregation

-Optimize Ack Suppression

Both are disabled by default but some posters here prefer to enable them. Is there any evidence that enabling one or both of these provides any improvements?

Any benefits from enabling them or should I keep then disabled?

 

[jlake]

I installed RMerlin's latest (replacing Asus latest factory firmware). Hopefully I'll see wireless improvement (even if slightly).

Question about 2 features under Wireless > Professional:

-Optimize APMDU Aggregation

-Optimize Ack Suppression

Both are disabled by default but some posters here prefer to enable them. Is there any evidence that enabling one or both of these provides any improvements?

Any benefits from enabling them or should I keep then disabled?

I leave them disabled. I don't have any problems with them disabled....so I haven't taken the time to figure out what I'm missing.

 

[sinshiva]

ack suppression is the same setting as 'no ack' on dd-wrt. from what i understand, it reduces/eliminates wireless ack frames, theoretically beneficial for streaming media and gaming, iirc.

that said, i've noticed SSL connections fail with NoAck enabled and i've seen slightly reduced wireless bandwidth (~.25mb/s)

i leave it disabled.

 

[n2ubp]

Merlin has some great firmware for this router, however I've stuck with .276 because I have an old TIVO that only supports 802.11 B WEP, which I connect to the Internet using an Internet only guest account. I've tried this with newer versions of the firmware and it slows down all 2.5 ghz devices attached to the router, where in .276 I can run WPA2 at N speeds on the main 2.4 ghz connections and WEP B on the guest connection. Doesn't seem to work this way with newer firmware. This may not be to official specs, but it seems to work and is a better choice for me than adding a WRT54G router running Tomato as a B/G WEP access point to my home network just for the TIVO.

 

[Protos]

Best is subjective of course ..... I tried them all and have settled on Shibby's Tomato.
Its all in what you are after, for me the right balance of speed and control was Shibby.

 

[Flying Dutchman]

I installed 3 x 12 dB antenna's (bought by Amazon) and my range has expanded a lot. With the RT-N66U, set as AP, placed in the middle of my living room (on top of a cabinet), I now have good coverage inside the house and my whole garden of 1000 m2 (max distance is 30 meters) !!

Before I used a repeater when I was working in the garden: no longer necessary .
I use my WiFi for listening to internet radio by my smartphone and Bluetooth headset: perfect all the way !!

Soon I will flash Merlin's latest firmware to see if that version is as good as good old 270.26b when it comes to range.

Stay tuned....

 

[Pierino]

If the antenna enabled you to receive a signal on your smartphone in the garden, what kind of antenna did you put on the smartphone for it to communicate back with it?

 

[sm00thpapa]

.276 works best for me.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[jlake]

I'd stay away from the older firmware like .276 etc.. There's too many security vulnerabilities in those old firmwares.

The latest firmware from ASUS website works well as does Merlin .41.

 

[Poseidon]

.276 works best for me

Could using an old firmware like .276 potentially brick the N66U?

I have a 2014 manufactured date of the N66U and I'm getting poor wireless speed results with both latest factory firmware and Merlin's latest (41). I'm hoping that .276 will deliver more consistent speeds but I need to make sure that it's safe to install.

 

[RMerlin]

Could using an old firmware like .276 potentially brick the N66U?

I have a 2014 manufactured date of the N66U and I'm getting poor wireless speed results with both latest factory firmware and Merlin's latest (41). I'm hoping that .276 will deliver more consistent speeds but I need to make sure that it's safe to install.

276 is safe for the time being, but do NOT flash anything older.

 

[Poseidon]

276 is safe for the time being, but do NOT flash anything older.

Thanks for the confirmation.

Any reason WHY the .276 Asus Firmware seems so popular by many here?

 

[Asmodian]

My theory is that this is due to the rash of firmwares after .276 which had wireless issues so going back to .276 was a good idea. These issues have since been fixed in the new firmwares but once people decide .276 is better than the new ones people stick with it.

I am not counting special cases like improved 802.11n performance while using 802.11b in this logic. The b/g protection option (for exactly this situation) seems to have been removed from the new firmwares. I wonder why?

 

[sm00thpapa]

.276 is fine stay away from .270 or .271. .270 bricked my RT-N66W.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Poseidon]

It's only been about 24 hours, but .276 firmware has been rock solid thus far. Noticed wireless performance and range improvements. Need more time to test but this firmware version looks like a keeper.

 

[L&LD]

Although .276 is only from August of 2013, I would not be running anything that old on my equipment if I had a choice.

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=12160


A properly reset and manually configured 374.41 RMerlin build with 'forgotten' or deleted profiles from all devices if using the same ssid (or simply use a new ssid) will give better results imo. Not to mention the security issues that have been fixed in the last 8 months.


If you do try a current firmware, don't pay too much attention to signal strength or other such indicators. Test throughput and responsiveness of your network instead.

The performance of this router is still top notch, even with the latest security fixes and updated wireless drivers (that fix compatibility issues) installed. At least in my experience with the RMerlin versions.