Need Help- N66U with EA66 as Access Point

[ahurst]

OK, I have this finally working.

I do have an issue with the wireless settings on the N66U not reflecting the same parameters as the EA-N66 with the exception of the channels, which I purposely have set up differently.

Why would the N66U allow 40 MHz on 2.4, but the EA-N66 will only allow 20 or 20/40?
Why would the N66U allow me to uncheck b/g protection on 2.4 but the EA-N66 will not?

 

[ahurst]

Another issue.
Running inSSIDer, my N66U 2.4 is steady and strong.
The EA-N66 is full of peaks and valleys.
I am running the latest Merlin firmware update.

How do I get a more steady signal from the EA?

 

[thiggins]

The EA-N66 has one dual band radio. So it cannot broadcast on both bands simultaneously.

In 2.4GHz, you should be using 20 MHz mode. I would leave other settings alone unless you have trouble with clients connecting.

Be sure to set the two APs to different channels or they will share the same bandwidth. You may need to try different channels until you find one that works well for you.

 

[ahurst]

Thanks.
I have 2.4 set as channel 1 on the N66U and channel 11 on the EA66.

However, on 5.0, channel 157 is set on the N66U and but the EA66 is forcing me to Auto channel and Auto mode (not allowing N-only).

Also, I can't uncheck b/g protection box on the EA66 when I can on the N66U? Firmware glitch?

The N66U is so good, I don't think I need the EA66 on 2.4. I'll just set it for 5.0 if I can solve the above.

 

[aaronwt]

No, thats what Repeater mode is.

You can set all the Aps the same. When I had five Aps setup this is what I did, all SSIDs were the same and the devices roamed from AP to AP.

 

[aaronwt]

Thanks.
I have 2.4 set as channel 1 on the N66U and channel 11 on the EA66.

However, on 5.0, channel 157 is set on the N66U and but the EA66 is forcing me to Auto channel and Auto mode (not allowing N-only).

Also, I can't uncheck b/g protection box on the EA66 when I can on the N66U? Firmware glitch?

The N66U is so good, I don't think I need the EA66 on 2.4. I'll just set it for 5.0 if I can solve the above.

I think this is some glitch in the firmware. I'm using my EA-N66 with 5Ghz and had the same issue where I could not put it in N only mode. It would always come back in Auto mode which works with A and N. I sent a message to Asus support but I have not received a response yet.

Although I did not see any speed issues with this. I was still able to achieve some extremely fast speeds from the EA-N66 with N at 5Ghz On the FiOS Broadband speed test, I was still able to max out my 150/65 tier from my EA66 AP in the auto mode. I did need to go through the different channels to find which one worked the best for me. Channel 40 was the only was I was able to max my 150Mb/s download speeds with the speed test and also have the highest signal strength. The upper channels like 157 provided me less coverage and slower speeds, even if I was close to the AP.(when five of my media bridges are also connected to the EA-N66 I'll get around 75 or 80Mb/s throughput speeds from the EA-N66 to my laptop. When I maxed my FiOS connection, my laptop was the only thing connected to the AP)

I used to use five Dlink APs. Now I can just use my RT-N56u router at 2.4Ghz and my EA-N66 at 5Ghz to provide the same coverage.

 

[ahurst]

You can set all the Aps the same. When I had five Aps setup this is what I did, all SSIDs were the same and the devices roamed from AP to AP.

Thanks. Interesting question for you about how clients react when SSID's are same.

For example, on my iPad and Windows laptop -
if I set the SSID's the same, will the clients actually think these are the same networks?
Do they see the MAC addresses of the router and/or AP?

Right now, of course, with SSID's different, I have to manually connect the iPad to the SSID on the 2nd floor when I leave the first floor.

But would this handoff take place automatically with SSID's the same?

Thanks

 

[thiggins]

Thanks. Interesting question for you about how clients react when SSID's are same.

For example, on my iPad and Windows laptop -
if I set the SSID's the same, will the clients actually think these are the same networks?
Do they see the MAC addresses of the router and/or AP?

Right now, of course, with SSID's different, I have to manually connect the iPad to the SSID on the 2nd floor when I leave the first floor.

But would this handoff take place automatically with SSID's the same?

Thanks

Asked and answered back in post 9.
Consumer clients and APs do not have the ability to support "seamless roaming" or control connection to a specific AP. When SSIDs are the same, clients might connect to the strongest AP they see or they may just connect to the first one. You have no control over it.

If you want a client to connect to a specific AP, then give it a unique name.

 

[ahurst]

I think this is some glitch in the firmware. I'm using my EA-N66 with 5Ghz and had the same issue where I could not put it in N only mode. It would always come back in Auto mode which works with A and N. I sent a message to Asus support but I have not received a response yet.

Although I did not see any speed issues with this. I was still able to achieve some extremely fast speeds from the EA-N66 with N at 5Ghz On the FiOS Broadband speed test, I was still able to max out my 150/65 tier from my EA66 AP in the auto mode. I did need to go through the different channels to find which one worked the best for me. Channel 40 was the only was I was able to max my 150Mb/s download speeds with the speed test and also have the highest signal strength. The upper channels like 157 provided me less coverage and slower speeds, even if I was close to the AP.(when five of my media bridges are also connected to the EA-N66 I'll get around 75 or 80Mb/s throughput speeds from the EA-N66 to my laptop. When I maxed my FiOS connection, my laptop was the only thing connected to the AP)

I used to use five Dlink APs. Now I can just use my RT-N56u router at 2.4Ghz and my EA-N66 at 5Ghz to provide the same coverage.

Is your laptop wireless card 3x3?
I am not seeing anything close to those speeds.
I have Comcast and can get 120 MBps LAN to my desktop.
My laptop (which is older) maybe gets 23 mbps wireless (but this is on 2.4).
My iPad on 5.0 gets 23 mbps as well.
That is on channel 161 from the N66U and channel 36 on the EA66.
Maybe I need to switch to a lower 5.0 channel.

 

[ahurst]

Asked and answered back in post 9.
Consumer clients and APs do not have the ability to support "seamless roaming" or control connection to a specific AP. When SSIDs are the same, clients might connect to the strongest AP they see or they may just connect to the first one. You have no control over it.

If you want a client to connect to a specific AP, then give it a unique name.

In some wireless adapters, isn't there a setting to force aggressive switching to the strongest wifi signal? The default setting is very passive and causes the laptop to "hang on" to a weak signal.

 

[aaronwt]

Asked and answered back in post 9.
Consumer clients and APs do not have the ability to support "seamless roaming" or control connection to a specific AP. When SSIDs are the same, clients might connect to the strongest AP they see or they may just connect to the first one. You have no control over it.

If you want a client to connect to a specific AP, then give it a unique name.

All my devices always connected to the strongest AP initially. I used them for years with dozens of devices. and when the signal strength got low enough to reach a certain threshold, it would pick the signal up on another AP. This was from my Dlink DAP1522 units. There is no need to have control over it. The purpose is to have superb coverage over the entire living area. Which is what setting up multiple APs with the same SSID did.

Currently I still use the same SSID for my rt-N56u at 2.4Ghz and my EA-N66 at 5GHz. for instance my cellphone will intially connect at 5Ghz or 2.4Ghz depending on the signal strength. And it will switch between them depending on the signal strength. Which is all I need.

 

[aaronwt]

Is your laptop wireless card 3x3?
I am not seeing anything close to those speeds.
I have Comcast and can get 120 MBps LAN to my desktop.
My laptop (which is older) maybe gets 23 mbps wireless (but this is on 2.4).
My iPad on 5.0 gets 23 mbps as well.
That is on channel 161 from the N66U and channel 36 on the EA66.
Maybe I need to switch to a lower 5.0 channel.

I was only using the FiOS Broadband speed test to see the max speeds when I was selecting a 5Ghz channel.. I did not test the sustained throughput over my LAN except when I had the other media bridges connected to the AP. And those sustained speeds were still at least 75Mb/s to my laptop. But that was also the case with 2.4Ghz.

 

[aaronwt]

In some wireless adapters, isn't there a setting to force aggressive switching to the strongest wifi signal? The default setting is very passive and causes the laptop to "hang on" to a weak signal.

Yes, all my laptops and Netbooks have an option to make the switching more agressive. This is one of the first options I change when using a laptop. For other devices you don't have this option, but they will also switch to another AP at somepoint depending on the signal strength.

 

[kamaran]

I had a very similar issue and have a few suggestions.

Did you try using the EA66U without putting it in AP mode. Just connect it normally using a switch port (not the modem port) and then set it up as per this guide: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...onvert-a-wireless-router-into-an-access-point, ie Disable DHCP, UPNP etc manually, except use the same SSID and different channels.

One problem I had (similar to yours) was I couldn't reach the admin point for my designated AP if using Wireless. This problem was caused by MAC address authentication - even though I had assigned the AP an IP outside of DHCP range, I didn't add it to the permitted MAC address list. This was not immediately obvious as the device was not appearing on the list of allowed clients (as it was outside the DHCP range).

After that my iPhone now seamlessly browses between APs. I know this because signal strength drops as I go away from the router and then goes back to full strength as I approach the AP. I also changed my PC wireless adapter settings to roam aggressively and all works well to date.

Let me know if that helps!

 

[ahurst]

I had a very similar issue and have a few suggestions.

Did you try using the EA66U without putting it in AP mode. Just connect it normally using a switch port (not the modem port) and then set it up as per this guide: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...onvert-a-wireless-router-into-an-access-point, ie Disable DHCP, UPNP etc manually, except use the same SSID and different channels.

One problem I had (similar to yours) was I couldn't reach the admin point for my designated AP if using Wireless. This problem was caused by MAC address authentication - even though I had assigned the AP an IP outside of DHCP range, I didn't add it to the permitted MAC address list. This was not immediately obvious as the device was not appearing on the list of allowed clients (as it was outside the DHCP range).

After that my iPhone now seamlessly browses between APs. I know this because signal strength drops as I go away from the router and then goes back to full strength as I approach the AP. I also changed my PC wireless adapter settings to roam aggressively and all works well to date.

Let me know if that helps!

Thanks. I will try it. Dumb question, but did you make the settings in repeater mode or adapter mode, and then switch it to AP mode?

 

[ahurst]

One other dumb question.

On the EA-66, it is showing 100 Mbps not 1 Gbps...This is in AP mode. Why would it show this?
I have a gigabit switch attached to an N66U router.

 

[Daybreak]

One other dumb question.

On the EA-66, it is showing 100 Mbps not 1 Gbps...This is in AP mode. Why would it show this?
I have a gigabit switch attached to an N66U router.

Howdy,

Sounds like your using a crappy cable.

 

[ahurst]

All CAT 5e and gigabit switch and the N66

 

[aaronwt]

Try a different cable. A 1000BT connection uses all four pairs. A 100BT connection uses two pairs. So one of the pairs could also be damaged. Or it is a crappy cable. Either way, try another cable.

 

[aaronwt]

I got a response back from Asus about putting the EA-N66 in N only mode

Dear Thompson,

Thank you for contacting ASUS wireless support. This seems to be an issue with the firmware as we were not able to set wireless N only as well.

I have forwarded this information to our development team for further verification. Let me know if you have further questions.

Best regards,......

So hopefully they will fix the issue and put out a new firmware with the fix.