N66U 374.35_4-sdk5 to 374.42_0 failure

[Bobcat00]

I have an RT-N66U and have been running 374.35_4-sdk5 for 5 months. It works very well, and my 2.4 GHz 'n' laptop gets about 75 Mbps on LAN transfers.

I upgraded to 374.42_0 today, and the result was awful. I did a factory reset and configured from scratch. My laptop only got 3 Mbps. And it didn't even want to start a LAN transfer of a large file via Windows Explorer.

I went back to 374.35_4-sdk5, and I'm back to the old, fast results.

So what could cause this? I was very careful to configure all the settings the same way. It's a fairly congested area on the 2.4 GHz band, and I use a 20 MHz channel. So I'm sticking with 374.35_4-sdk5 for now, and possibly forever. Any comments or suggestions?

 

[L&LD]

Did you also use a new ssid or at least 'forget' the old ssid on all your devices and then re-associate with them?

With a new firmware I would not start changing settings right away to what you had before.

Change things as you need to and only after testing them first, what worked before may not work here now.

You may also want to see if your laptop has upgraded drivers to use with the new firmware too.

With 374.42 and my RT-N66U I am getting in the 96Mbps to 130Mbps range depending on the laptop I use. This is much better than anything I have achieved with previous firmware.


The local environment also makes a difference (with different firmware). You may want to try each different channel for highest throughput, no matter how a program like inssider may make you think not to.

I have also standardized my Tx output to 200mW - it helps throughput and network consistency without any negative effect as far as I can tell.


And for the Tx power, this may help to read too.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...s/32431-is-your-routers-transmit-power-juiced

 

[Bobcat00]

Did you also use a new ssid or at least 'forget' the old ssid on all your devices and then re-associate with them?

Would that really make a difference? Isn't 802.11n the same no matter what firmware I'm using?

Regarding configuration, I only change what I need to: Wireless SSIDs, security, guest networks, reserved LAN IP addresses, port forwarding, DDNS, respond to ping.

 

[L&LD]

If you try it and it makes a difference for you, that's all that matters.


(And yes; this has solved many of my customers wifi weirdness).

 

[RMerlin]

Would that really make a difference? Isn't 802.11n the same no matter what firmware I'm using?

Regarding configuration, I only change what I need to: Wireless SSIDs, security, guest networks, reserved LAN IP addresses, port forwarding, DDNS, respond to ping.

Clients such as Windows store some additional low-level information beside the SSID. That's why when switching to a radically different driver on the router, it might be necessary to ensure that Windows does not reuse the old low-level parameters, for optimal results.

I have noticed this first-hand a few years ago, when Asus resolved the compatibility issue with Centrino cards. Just upgrading the router firmware didn't resolve the issue, I also had to delete and recreate the wireless profile on my laptop for the connection to work properly.

 

[Bobcat00]

I also had to delete and recreate the wireless profile on my laptop for the connection to work properly.

I'm using Windows 8.0. Is it sufficient to click on the wireless 'bars' next to the clock, then right-click on the SSID and choose "Forget this network"? Or are additional steps needed?

I have an Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2230 card.

 

[RMerlin]

I'm using Windows 8.0. Is it sufficient to click on the wireless 'bars' next to the clock, then right-click on the SSID and choose "Forget this network"? Or are additional steps needed?

That should do the trick, yes.

 

[L&LD]

If you're using Windows 8 with the OneDrive sync feature and are logging on to your computer with your MS email address; you may want to reboot a couple of times to make sure the old ssid/password combo is really forgotten.