How to Setup WiFI to automatically switch off when no devices are connected?

[Tech9]

I found somthing regarding the ECO mode when I googled it.

It's in Asus App - Settings, WIFI, WIFI ECO Mode.

Kills both the range and performance, as expected.

 

[RMerlin]

I have a RT-AC5300, can I use the app to try to see if I can find the ECO Guard? I'm in the US.
Here is the website JRS Eco Provided: https://www.jrseco.com/gpl-source-code/

Excellent, it's nice to see that some of these resellers do take the time to follow the GPL licensing requirements.

They appear to be using Tomato for at least one of their products. Another note of interest is the Tomato code is from 2018, and the Asuswrt code is from 2020. I do hope they have provided updates since then, otherwise that means either platforms would be vulnerable to a lot of things, including wifi-specific security issues.

It's in Asus App - Settings, WIFI, WIFI ECO Mode.

Kills both the range and performance, as expected.

But does it disables it once a client connects to it, or is it permanently set to 1R1T? If it's permanently set to that, then it's not very useful IMHO.

 

[Tech9]

But does it disables it once a client connects to it, or is it permanently set to 1R1T?

From what I see - permanently set to 1R1T and low power. Like the slider in Wireless, Professional set to Power Saving.

 

[RMerlin]

From what I see - permanently set to 1R1T and low power. Like the slider in Wireless, Professional set to Power Saving.

So, not very useful unless for example you want to setup a basic AP to use within a single room.

 

[Tech9]

If a script can switch from Power Saving to Performance on first connected device, this is what @Loona4821 wants.

 

[RMerlin]

If a script can switch from Power Saving to Performance on first connected device, this is what @Loona4821 wants.

That might be doable indeed, since recent Asuswrt releases now use wlceventd to log new client connections. That might make connecting a bit more bumpy however, since as soon as a client connects, it would get disconnected as the router switches to full power mode.

Honestly, that's quite janky, for no reasonable benefits. Using the Wireless Scheduler to disable wifi completely during the night would be more beneficial in terms of power usage - and no need to pay for a special firmware for this, the wireless scheduler is part of stock Asuswrt.

 

[Tech9]

That might make connecting a bit more bumpy however

The whole router reboots, actually. I don't know if newer models can switch radio power with no reboot.

 

[RMerlin]

The whole router reboots, actually.

That's weird. I would expect just restarting the wireless system would be sufficient, unless they also make other changes outside of wifi. Could be that changing the number of streams requires an SoC reset, which cannot easily be done without a reboot. That makes that feature even less usable IMHO.

 

[Tech9]

I have only one Asus router for experiments at the moment, AC86U. It reboots on every slider change in Professional. If I want to change both bands from Performance to Good, it needs to reboot twice. But I remember the other models doing the same. I think the change is in power amplifiers. They get the settings during the boot process only.