Linksys WRT-1900ACS Reviewed

[sfx2000]

It's set to "Mixed." The dropdown does not list N at all, only B, G, B/G or Mixed.

The dropdown should list the following for 2.4GHz

 

[sfx2000]

Since updating my 1900acs to the new firmware (1.0.0.169041) I'm noticing that my Dell laptop (2.4GHz b,g,n) does not connect unless I reboot the router.

What wireless card is in your Dell - what OS is running (Win???)

 

[Allegator]

The dropdown should list the following for 2.4GHz


View attachment 4833

Nope, doesn't list 'N' at all in the 2.4GHz dropdown:

 

[sfx2000]

Nope, doesn't list 'N' at all in the 2.4GHz dropdown

Interesting... something specific to the ACS vs. V1/V2 perhaps?

@chadster766 - might reach out to Linksys engineering on this one..

 

[Allegator]

What wireless card is in your Dell - what OS is running (Win???)

I can check it on the laptop tonight. It's the Dell Inspiron 11 3137 and lists the driver on its website as follows: Dell Wireless 1703/1705/1707/1901 WiFi + Bluetooth Driver. I believe I have the 1705. I'm running Windows 8.

 

[Allegator]

Interesting... something specific to the ACS vs. V1/V2 perhaps?

@chadster766 - might reach out to Linksys engineering on this one..

Appreciate it; doesn't really make sense that "N" is not listed, does it?
I will also try an Asus "B/G/N" laptop tonight with a Qualcomm Atheros wireless adapter.

 

[sfx2000]

Appreciate it; doesn't really make sense that "N" is not listed, does it?
I will also try an Asus "B/G/N" laptop tonight with a Qualcomm Atheros wireless adapter.

It's missing a couple of modes, not just the B/G/N-only... very odd...

Would be interesting to know what version of the wireless driver is being used...

here's the current V2, the ACS might be different... (you can find this info in the sysinfo.cgi report...)

http://<ipaddress of the ap>/sysinfo.cgi

Firmware Version: 2.0.7.167471

ap8xfw(wdev1ap0): statistics
-------------------------------
last read -1us: [idle 1866484773 - busy -1866484774]
wdev1ap0 Available read-only private ioctl :
wdev1ap0 versionriver version: 7.2.8.6-W8864, Firmware version: 7.2.8.5​

 

[Allegator]

It's missing a couple of modes, not just the B/G/N-only... very odd...

Would be interesting to know what version of the wireless driver is being used...

here's the current V2, the ACS might be different... (you can find this info in the sysinfo.cgi report...)

http://<ipaddress of the ap>/sysinfo.cgi

Firmware Version: 2.0.7.167471

ap8xfw(wdev1ap0): statistics
-------------------------------
last read -1us: [idle 1866484773 - busy -1866484774]
wdev1ap0 Available read-only private ioctl :
wdev1ap0 versionriver version: 7.2.8.6-W8864, Firmware version: 7.2.8.5​

Here's what I get:

Firmware Version: 1.0.0.169041
Firmware Builddate: 2015-10-03 08:28

ap8xfw(wdev1ap0): statistics
-------------------------------
last read -1us: [idle -2073863843 - busy 2073863842]
wdev1ap0 Available read-only private ioctl :
wdev1ap0 versionriver version: 7.2.9.2-W8864, Firmware version: 7.2.9.2

 

[sfx2000]

Firmware version: 7.2.9.2

Could be something with the newer driver in the ACS then...

 

[chadster766]

Appreciate it; doesn't really make sense that "N" is not listed, does it?
I will also try an Asus "B/G/N" laptop tonight with a Qualcomm Atheros wireless adapter.

This is typically due to a firmware upgrade.

Clear the browser cache, reset to factory defaults and reconfigure from scratch (no saved config file). In some cases a firmware reload is required to solve this.

sfx2000,

I updated the firmware on a few the EA8500's today and noticed that the wireless protocol choices have changed. It must be a new standard Linksys engineering is deploying to specific high end routers.

 

[Allegator]

This is typically due to a firmware upgrade.

Clear the browser cache, reset to factory defaults and reconfigure from scratch (no saved config file). In some cases a firmware reload is required to solve this.

sfx2000,

I updated the firmware on a few the EA8500's today and noticed that the wireless protocol choices have changed. It must be a new standard Linksys engineering is deploying to specific high end routers.

Okay, I used a different (cache-cleared) browser, did a factory reset to default settings and finally restored the previous firmware (1.0.0.168229, initial release). The 2.4 GHz pulldown choices remain as indicated in my screenshot; b,g,b/g and mixed. I guess either Linksys implements 'N' under all circumstances and considers this obvious, or this router does not support the 'N' standard. In any case my Dell appears to be connecting every time so far with the old firmware, so I'll stay as is for now...

 

[chadster766]

Just for kicks I load a WRT1900AC V2 with ACS firmware 1.0.0.169041 to see what protocol choices were available.

 

[chadster766]

What's really odd is that my EA8500 with the same firmware is missing the "AC Only" option of the 5Ghz.

I'm going to ask Linksys engineering for clarification on what's going on with the protocol choices.

 

[Allegator]

Just for kicks I load a WRT1900AC V2 with ACS firmware 1.0.0.169041 to see what protocol choices were available.

Thanks chadster766. At least we now know that the V2 and the ACS are not truly identical; the ACS does not support the 802.11n standard. Here are screenshots of my ACS with the initial firmware 1.0.0.168229.

 

[sfx2000]

At least we now know that the V2 and the ACS are not truly identical; the ACS does not support the 802.11n standard

It does, it's a UI glitch...

FWIW - the V2 (Cobra) is different than the ACS (Shelby), enough so that OpenWRT actually does different builds - that some folks have flashed ACS firmware into V2's and assertions that they are the same not withstanding..

@chadster766 - the 5GHz, that makes sense, as it can be legacy (11a), legacy with HT (11a/11n only) or VHT, which is all - there is no real such thing as 11ac only mode, at least not in the marvell driver for the ACv1/acv2...

 

[chadster766]

It does, it's a UI glitch...

@chadster766 - the 5GHz, that makes sense, as it can be legacy (11a), legacy with HT (11a/11n only) or VHT, which is all - there is no real such thing as 11ac only mode, at least not in the marvell driver for the ACv1/acv2...

That exactly what I thought but in the WRT1900AC V1 setting the 5Ghz protocol to "a/n Only" disables 80Mhz which drops the connection rate significantly. AFAIK on the WRT1900AC V1 only "Mixed" and "Auto" channel width enables 80Mhz.

 

[JohnnySL]

It does, it's a UI glitch...

FWIW - the V2 (Cobra) is different than the ACS (Shelby), enough so that OpenWRT actually does different builds - that some folks have flashed ACS firmware into V2's and assertions that they are the same not withstanding..

They have different builds only because the ACS identifies itself with a different board ID, as can be seen here: https://dev.openwrt.org/changeset/47165

 

[chadster766]

I noticed that the DDNS option for "Dyn" differ when logged in locally or logged in via SmartWifi account. Locally its "Dyn.org" opposed to SmartWifi its "Dyn.com".

I wonder if the SmartWifi Cloud UI is not in sync with the firmware releases for multiple models of routers.

 

[Allegator]

They have different builds only because the ACS identifies itself with a different board ID, as can be seen here: https://dev.openwrt.org/changeset/47165

Chadster766 loaded the newest ACS firmware to his V2 and got 'N' in both his 2.4 and 5GHz pulldowns. Why not me? That kinda proves that the units are different, no?

 

[JohnnySL]

@Allegator: that the hardware is the same, doesn't mean that the boot image is identical.