Need help with RP-AC68U speeds

[CDMAYS]

Hi all,

I am trying to figure out why my new ASUS RP-AC68U seems to be getting slow speed through its Ethernet ports. Here is my setup:

Internet: Neatgear DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem with Comcast Gigabit service (direct speed test ~980 mb/s)

Router: ASUS RT-AC88U
Repeater: ASUS RP-AC68U (repeater mode)

Here is the speed test I set up:

1) iPhone 7 plus connected to repeater via 5ghz wifi: getting around 150 mbps

2) AppleTV connected via CAT6 Ethernet cable to Repeater: getting around 90 mbps

I was very surprised by the AppleTV speeds when connected by the wire. Since I am on gigabit internet, I expected to see the AppleTV pull through the repeater at maximum 5ghz speeds, instead of only at 90 Mbps

Also, as a second speed test I converted the repeater into EXPRESS WAY (5ghz repeater connecting to router via 2.4 ghz connection). This dropped my iPhone 7 plus speed down to 90 Mbps.

I've tried to research the issues on my own, am hoping that someone on this forum can help me explain what is going on here. I'm about ready to ditch the repeater altogether, as when I connect my AppleTV to my router via wifi I pull down about 200mbps.

Any thoughts?

 

[MichaelCG]

Speeds when connected to the repeater via WiFi or Ethernet should be similar since they are both dependent on the WiFi backhaul. If you really want to improve performance, that repeater needs to be in AP mode with wired backhual.

Why do you care how fast your ATV connects at? If you are getting a steady and stable 20Mbps+ on it, shouldn't that be good enough? I guess that is assuming standard SD or HD streaming which generally means sub-10Mbps.

 

[CDMAYS]

Speeds when connected to the repeater via WiFi or Ethernet should be similar since they are both dependent on the WiFi backhaul.

That's what I expected to see, but I'm seeing significantly worse performance over Ethernet than over WiFi. I ran a speed test on my smart TV -- both connected to the repeater via ethernet and via wifi, and the wifi was again outperforming the ethernet significantly.

If you really want to improve performance, that repeater needs to be in AP mode with wired backhual.

My house is pretty old and pretty difficult to run cabling. I was thinking of a powerline adapter between the two rooms. Would that help?

Why do you care how fast your ATV connects at? If you are getting a steady and stable 20Mbps+ on it, shouldn't that be good enough? I guess that is assuming standard SD or HD streaming which generally means sub-10Mbps.

I don't necessarily care per se, but I was using the ATV to test whether the speed of the repeater (wifi/ethernet) in my living room was better or worse than just connecting to my router. That's when I discovered the significant gap in the repeater's performance when devices are connected to it via wifi vs ethernet.

 

[MichaelCG]

Agreed it is odd that wired vs WiFi on the repeater is in theory opposite of what you would expect.

Powerline? Well...you can test it. Results vary so the only way to know is to test it. I have extremely mixed results in my house with Powerline. In some rooms, I am lucky to get 20Mbps while in other rooms I have no issue getting 100Mbps. To note, I am not using the latest Powerline adapters...they are Zyxel AV2 600Mbps (PLA5205) units I have had for a few years. No idea how much they have improved over the past couple years.

 

[sfx2000]

AppleTV connected via CAT6 Ethernet cable to Repeater: getting around 90 mbps

All ARM based Apple TV's are 100Mbit on the ethernet... so the speed is good.

ATV (intel, the OG) is 1000BaseT (gigabit) on the ethernet, and 802.11n dual band, 2 stream on WiFi

ATV2 and ATV3 - 802.11n dual band, single stream, 100BaseT on ethernet

ATV4 - 802.11ac two stream, 100BaseT on ethernet - ATV4 and iPhone 6/7 should be about the same speed on WiFi

 

[sfx2000]

Just note that ATV4's WiFi performance is exceptional as a client device, and it is the preferred way to use them.

 

[CDMAYS]

Hi all,

Appreciated everyone's help in this the past few months. Since my original post, we have moved into a new house but I am still experiencing some weird issues with my RP-AC68U that I can't diagnose. Here is my current setup:

Computer #1 (PC) -- hard wired to router (RT-AC88U)

iPad/iPhone --> wifi 5 ghz to RP-AC68U (AP mode) --> hard wired to router

I have confirmed that my hard wire connection gets maximum speeds (300mb/s). I have also confirmed that when the iPad/iPhone are connected to the router via 5ghz wifi I also get 300mb/s. However, when the iPad/iPhone are connected to the RP-AC68U, I am typically only seeing 80-100 mb/s download speeds.

Can anyone provide input as to why this may be? I would expect to get full 300 mb/s through the access point since it is hardwired to the router.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[MichaelCG]

- Ethernet link speed may be at 100Mbps
- WiFi configuration could be different
- WiFi channel could have additional interference

 

[CDMAYS]

- Ethernet link speed may be at 100Mbps
- WiFi configuration could be different
- WiFi channel could have additional interference

I how do I check what the link speed is? I know that my RT-AC88U router and the RP-68U repeater are both rated as gigabit Ethernet.

What kind of wifi configuration would affect this and what should I look for?

 

[MichaelCG]

I don't have any of my ASUS devices hooked up anymore to confirm exactly how to check link speed...but I was pretty sure via the GUI you could the status of the connected devices. Otherwise it can be done via the CLI.

WiFi - What channel are you on and is it set to 20, 40, or 80MHz?