Linksys WRT-1900ACS Reviewed

[htismaqe]

I'm running Kong DD-WRT r28200 and I'm at 42 days of uptime.

 

[sfx2000]

I'm running Kong DD-WRT r28200 and I'm at 42 days of uptime

And as a fellow telecommuter and in a similar industry, I can appreciate the uptime

 

[latinkreationz]

Thanks JohnnySL. And so far all of my 2.4 devices are connecting fine with the ACS 1.0.0.168229 initial release firmware, so I'm staying put. The new firmware, which updated the wireless driver to v7.2.9.2 obviously still has some bugs. I will take it on faith that the "missing N" in the pulldowns is just a display glitch but I'm hoping people are reporting it to Linksys.

I just purchased the ACS today to test in my environment. I'm using the latest firmware version 1.0.0.169041. I'm not sure if you figured it out or not but you have to change the security mode to "WPA2 Personal" to get the B/G/N mode. If you leave it on the default "WPA2/WPA Mixed Personal" then you will only see B/G mode. Hope this helps.

 

[sfx2000]

I just purchased the ACS today to test in my environment. I'm using the latest firmware version 1.0.0.169041. I'm not sure if you figured it out or not but you have to change the security mode to "WPA2 Personal" to get the B/G/N mode. If you leave it on the default "WPA2/WPA Mixed Personal" then you will only see B/G mode. Hope this helps.

The ACS builds have been a bit odd compared to the V1/V2 releases...

@chadster766 - might want to forward to Linksys engineering...

 

[sfx2000]

If you leave it on the default "WPA2/WPA Mixed Personal" then you will only see B/G mode. Hope this helps.

FWIW - WPA2 is a requirement* for 11n, along with AES, which pretty much rules out WPA-Mixed support, and Linksys engineering might come back with that comment...

* WPA2-Personal (PSK) or WPA2-Enterprise (Radius EAPOL) - it revolves around WMM/802.11e/802.11i support for 11n and frame aggregation - AES isn't an option for WPA1 as per spec, TKIP only there, but WPA1 was transitional, and not really a standard per se, but a strong recommendation at the time (most 11b/early 11g could support WPA-TKIP, but not WPA2-AES/TKIP) - old 2.4GHz legacy issue..

The alternative outside of WPA2 for 11n is open access...

 

[Allegator]

I just purchased the ACS today to test in my environment. I'm using the latest firmware version 1.0.0.169041. I'm not sure if you figured it out or not but you have to change the security mode to "WPA2 Personal" to get the B/G/N mode. If you leave it on the default "WPA2/WPA Mixed Personal" then you will only see B/G mode. Hope this helps.

Thanks so much, no, I never thought to check the "WPA2 Personal" pulldown; I do indeed see all the modes listed (including 'N') once I select it. Any idea why "WPA2/WPA Mixed Personal" is the default? All things being equal am I better off leaving it at the default or does this cause me to forfeit "N" connectivity as 'N' is not found in the pulldown?

Regarding the firmware, I'm still inclined to stay with version 1.0.0.168229, as the newer version definitely had issues with my Dell 2.4 laptop often refusing to connect without a router reboot, whereas the initial release is rock solid and connects every time.

 

[sfx2000]

Thanks so much, no, I never thought to check the "WPA2 Personal" pulldown; I do indeed see all the modes listed (including 'N') once I select it. Any idea why "WPA2/WPA Mixed Personal" is the default? All things being equal am I better off leaving it at the default or does this cause me to forfeit "N" connectivity as 'N' is not found in the pulldown?

Choose WPA2-Personal, B/G/N-Mixed, 20MHz only, and the WRT1900 will be your very best friend there...

 

[e38BimmerFN]

I recommend keeping Auto channel width instead of 20Mhz. You wont get faster connection rates no 20Mhz. Only if your in a congested wifi area would 20Mhz be of some use.

"Good Neighbor Policy"

Ya, BGN mode instead of Mixed is recommended. I saw 70 days of uptime on my v1 using v1.1.10 FW.
There is a post regarding a bug on 2.4Ghz mode usage. Something dealing with an unexpected AC mode interfering when set to Mixed.

Choose WPA2-Personal, B/G/N-Mixed, 20MHz only, and the WRT1900 will be your very best friend there...

 

[htismaqe]

Actually, 20/40 mode reduces output by about 3dB. If you're looking for the best possible range, 20Mhz mode will perform quite a bit better. Obviously, you'll take a hit at close range with clients than can use 40Mhz mode.

 

[e38BimmerFN]

And take a hit on connect speed rates too:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/32238-ac1900-innovation-or-3d-wi-fi

 

[Allegator]

Thanks all for your advice. I've switched from WPA2/WPA Mixed Personal to WAP Personal (now 'N' appears in the pulldowns).

I then tried copying a file from my desktop to my wireless N laptop in close proximity to the router (I had not tried this before). I was much surprised to find that I'm getting a less than 5 MB/s transfer rate as measured in the expanded Windows 8 copy window. By comparison I'm getting 111 MB/s via Ethernet. All I had on the network were a bunch of inactive Roku sticks and a TCL Roku TV (yeah, I'm all about Roku). Any thoughts on why the slow wifi transfer rate?

 

[htismaqe]

And take a hit on connect speed rates too:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/32238-ac1900-innovation-or-3d-wi-fi

Of course, that's why I said as much.

 

[e38BimmerFN]

Of course LAN will be always way faster than wireless.

Depending on conditions, PC configurations and file, I've seen up to about 20Mb on 2.4Ghz and up to 40-50Mb on 5ghz. Again all depending.

Ensure PC configurations have any security SW disabled while doing copies. Some background programs can interfere with speeds along with using bad drivers.

I tend not to do major file copies across wireless unless Im testing. Wired is preferred for large file copies.

Thanks all for your advice. I've switched from WPA2/WPA Mixed Personal to WAP Personal (now 'N' appears in the pulldowns).

I then tried copying a file from my desktop to my wireless N laptop in close proximity to the router (I had not tried this before). I was much surprised to find that I'm getting a less than 5 MB/s transfer rate as measured in the expanded Windows 8 copy window. By comparison I'm getting 111 MB/s via Ethernet. All I had on the network were a bunch of inactive Roku sticks and a TCL Roku TV (yeah, I'm all about Roku). Any thoughts on why the slow wifi transfer rate?

 

[Allegator]

Other forums are also reporting problems with disconnects after upgrading the firmware. Linksys is telling them to revert to the original firmware and then the units are stable. This mirrors my experience - since reverting to the original firmware I've gone 2 months with no issues. I see the same issue on Amazon reviews. So why is Linksys still pushing the newer firmware version?

 

[e38BimmerFN]

Did you do a factory reset, manually reload the FW file, then factory reset and set up from scratch or did you just use the Revert feature? Users have found that doing the full factory reset and manual load of the FW file and set up from scratch has help in either FW version. Seems to be a issue in Mfr loading before going to the shipping box is playing roll and applying of FW process as well:
http://community.linksys.com/t5/Wireless-Routers/WRT1900ACS-frequently-rebooting/m-p/1003022#M315428

Drill down into the thread as theres more information regarding help.

Also users should be aware of using mixed mode on any WRT1900 router that users should use "BGN" mode instead of mixed. Also users should use WPA2 Personal only, not mixed. Someone reported a bug in "Mixed" mode on 2.4Ghz on this board.

Other forums are also reporting problems with disconnects after upgrading the firmware. Linksys is telling them to revert to the original firmware and then the units are stable. This mirrors my experience - since reverting to the original firmware I've gone 2 months with no issues. I see the same issue on Amazon reviews. So why is Linksys still pushing the newer firmware version?

 

[sfx2000]

Also users should be aware of using mixed mode on any WRT1900 router that users should use "BGN" mode instead of mixed. Also users should use WPA2 Personal only, not mixed. Someone reported a bug in "Mixed" mode on 2.4Ghz on this board.

Would it be my feedback/advice on the WRT1900'a...

It's an artifact/errata on this chipset/driver in 2.4GHz when trying to do TurboQAM/QAM256....

B/G/N-mixed is optimal for 2.4GHz...

 

[e38BimmerFN]

Yeppers. Good info on that. Since then, been using BGN mode only on 2.4Ghz and no more problems.

Thank you for finding that Sir.

Would it be my feedback/advice on the WRT1900'a...

It's an artifact/errata on this chipset/driver in 2.4GHz when trying to do TurboQAM/QAM256....

B/G/N-mixed is optimal for 2.4GHz...

 

[Allegator]

Did you do a factory reset, manually reload the FW file, then factory reset and set up from scratch or did you just use the Revert feature? Users have found that doing the full factory reset and manual load of the FW file and set up from scratch has help in either FW version. Seems to be a issue in Mfr loading before going to the shipping box is playing roll and applying of FW process as well:
http://community.linksys.com/t5/Wireless-Routers/WRT1900ACS-frequently-rebooting/m-p/1003022#M315428

Drill down into the thread as theres more information regarding help.

Also users should be aware of using mixed mode on any WRT1900 router that users should use "BGN" mode instead of mixed. Also users should use WPA2 Personal only, not mixed. Someone reported a bug in "Mixed" mode on 2.4Ghz on this board.

I did a factory reset but auto install of newest firmware. When I encountered the same issue I reverted back to the initial version and have had no problems since (I've obviously turned off auto update).

What does Mixed Mode mean and how does it differ from B/G/N ?

 

[e38BimmerFN]

I recommend disabling auto update and always manually loading FW. Do a factory reset before and after loading the FW file using IE or FF. I found that Chrome can cause problems. Also disable any PC security SW temporarily while doing the update. Then set up from scratch. I found this process to work well and ensures a clean load of the FW.

If you read sfx2000's post, he refers to AC mode being included in the 2.4Ghz Mixed Mode code which it should not be there. AC is not supported on 2.4ghz, only 5Ghz. So he found that changing from Mixed to BGN mode resolves problems when using "Mixed" mode. BGN is mixed however doesn't have the problem of AC mode being involved. Normally Mixed mode should work and does on other Mfr routers and models, it's just when it comes to Linksys and there code, it was done right. So use BGN mode to avoid the problem on Linksys routers for now.

I did a factory reset but auto install of newest firmware. When I encountered the same issue I reverted back to the initial version and have had no problems since (I've obviously turned off auto update).

What does Mixed Mode mean and how does it differ from B/G/N ?

 

[Allegator]

If you read sfx2000's post, he refers to AC mode being included in the 2.4Ghz Mixed Mode code which it should not be there. AC is not supported on 2.4ghz, only 5Ghz. So he found that changing from Mixed to BGN mode resolves problems when using "Mixed" mode. BGN is mixed however doesn't have the problem of AC mode being involved. Normally Mixed mode should work and does on other Mfr routers and models, it's just when it comes to Linksys and there code, it was done right. So use BGN mode to avoid the problem on Linksys routers for now.

Thanks for clarifying and confirming that under ordinary circumstances Mixed Mode and B/G/N are identical. I do not see AC mode in my WPA2 Personal 2.4 pulldown, so I should be okay. I switched from the default WPA2/WPA Mixed Personal to just WPA2 Personal as suggested and everything's been rock solid with the initial firmware.