new firmware on asus site 374.257

[RMerlin]

Just purchased this router today. First thing i did was upgrade to the latest firmware and cleared nvram for the heck of it. My Vaio laptop with an Intel-6235 would only connect if i changed the 5 ghz setting to 20 mhz. If the setting was at 20/40 or 40 mhz it would not connect at all on 5 ghz. It would connect to 2.4 ghz with no issue. The highest link speed i could achieve was 144 mbps on 5 ghz. I then installed Merlin 372.31 cleared nvram and now i can connect with the setting at 20/40 and the link speed i expected of 300 mbps. At least for me the new firmware is not the answer.

Make sure you use an up-to-date driver for your Intel card. The latest is 16.1, but it was also working fine for me with 15.8 and a 6230.

 

[bluepoint]

Once again, you seem to be speaking on behalf of Asus. What evidence do you have that supports your belief that "it's the main reason Asus released .271/.276"?

There is no released note that says it was fixed. I just use common sense since the timing of the releases corresponds to the AC66 releases that fix the issues. If I were really concerned about the reported vulnerabilities in the .270 branch, I would have installed .276 and then verified/tested if it's still vulnerable or if you want it the easy way, PM Jeremy and ask. Just yapping and whining without doing anything will not make your router more secured.

 

[njfoses]

Make sure you use an up-to-date driver for your Intel card. The latest is 16.1, but it was also working fine for me with 15.8 and a 6230.

I am already on the latest version, thanks though.

 

[jlake]

There is no released note that says it was fixed. I just use common sense since the timing of the releases corresponds to the AC66 releases that fix the issues. If I were really concerned about the reported vulnerabilities in the .270 branch, I would have installed .276 and then verified/tested if it's still vulnerable or if you want it the easy way, PM Jeremy and ask. Just yapping and whining without doing anything will not make your router more secured.

Dear Bluetroll,


Thank you for taking such a great interest in my router woes. I had already contacted Asus about the Aicloud and Broadcom ACSD and was told to use the latest .374 firmware if I was concerned about security vulnerabilities in .276.

However, I have decided to make all my future security decisions based upon your "common sense".

Thanks again.

 

[sm00thpapa]

Just installed this FW and my Edimax 5 GHz wireless adapter won't even connect. When is Asus going to get this right? So back to .270 for me.

 

[DrTeeth]

The wireless driver for the laptop was upgraded to Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software driver 12.4.4.5 10/26/2009, the latest driver available from Dell,

I have never, ever gone to any of my laptop manufacturers' sites for the latest drivers. Invariably, the latest drivers are *always* available from the chipset makers' site - Intel's in your case.

 

[GoNz0]

Just installed this FW and my Edimax 5 GHz wireless adapter won't even connect. When is Asus going to get this right? So back to .270 for me.

did you clear the nvram and delete the wireless profile from your pc/laptop?

 

[Flying Dutchman]

I did some speed tests on 5 GHz with my Vaio laptop. I copied a large file from my NAS to the laptop (1,48 GB)

With Merlin's version 31_0 :
- 40 MB bandwidth - 86 seconds
- 20 MB bandwidth - 123 seconds

With Asus firmware 374.257 :
- 40 MB bandwidth - 90 seconds
- 20 MB bandwidth - 120 seconds

Intel chipset Centrino Advanced-N 6200 AGN, driver 15.4.0.11

The new Asus firmware looks OK

 

[RogerSC]

I have never, ever gone to any of my laptop manufacturers' sites for the latest drivers. Invariably, the latest drivers are *always* available from the chipset makers' site - Intel's in your case.

I'm sorry, I have to comment on this. Whether the drivers on the actual hardware manufacturer's site will work optimally for you depends on how close to generically the OEM builds their system boards, etc. Dell is one that I've always gone to Dell's site first for drivers, which is also what Dell supports. Then you get a driver that's tested with your actual hardware. You can go to Intel's or NVIDIA's site (or whatever) as well, but you're taking more of a chance doing that. I've had to do that to get a newer driver, but make sure that I have a restore point ready if things don't work exactly as I need them to.

This is what Dell recommends and also what has worked well for me.

 

[DrTeeth]

I'm sorry, I have to comment on this. Whether the drivers on the actual hardware manufacturer's site will work optimally for you depends on how close to generically the OEM builds their system boards, etc. <SNIP>
This is what Dell recommends and also what has worked well for me.

I have to comment too . What you have said applies to EVERY manufacturer - they all say the same thing and it is pure FUD . Playing safe will always work, but you will be missing out for sure if you stay several years behind the curve. Companies do not update drivers for the fun of it.

A manufacturer does not and will not change a chipset or its functionality and the latest drivers for that specific chipset can be used without issue. The *only* exception to this is the motherboard BIOS. This applies to laptops and desktop PC motherboards with integrated peripherals.

 

[RogerSC]

I have to comment too . What you have said applies to EVERY manufacturer - they all say the same thing and it is pure FUD . Playing safe will always work, but you will be missing out for sure if you stay several years behind the curve. Companies do not update drivers for the fun of it.

A manufacturer does not and will not change a chipset or its functionality and the latest drivers for that specific chipset can be used without issue. The *only* exception to this is the motherboard BIOS. This applies to laptops and desktop PC motherboards with integrated peripherals.

Your and my experiences apparently differ...Some of my worst moments have come from taking a driver or two from Windows Update, which are manufacturer's drivers, or from a manufacturer's site. I'm sure that this has changed to some extent over the years, since the OEM's do increase the work they need to do by saving a nickel on the chips that they use, but this has happened to me enough times that I'm speaking from experience, not theory.

Doesn't matter, though...you'll continue to do whatever you're doing, and I'll continue to do things the way that works best for me.

 

[sm00thpapa]

did you clear the nvram and delete the wireless profile from your pc/laptop?

Yes I cleared the NVRAM and since this is a wireless adapter the wireless profile is not stored in windows. Once I connected the adapter to my laptop the adapter did not automatically connect to the 5 GHz band. I had to manually do it and it won't connect at all. On any .27X it connects fine.

 

[jlake]

Yes I cleared the NVRAM and since this is a wireless adapter the wireless profile is not stored in windows. Once I connected the adapter to my laptop the adapter did not automatically connect to the 5 GHz band. I had to manually do it and it won't connect at all. On any .27X it connects fine.

Smoothpapa,

The link below shows you how to remove your wireless profiles.

http://kb.linksys.com/Linksys/GetAr...less_Network_Profiles_.xml&pid=80&converted=0

 

[sm00thpapa]

This is the driver for my Edimax EW-7733UnD RALINK 3.2.11.0 dated 17 Aug 2012. It is the latest driver. Hopefully an Asus employee sees this and tries to make it work with the next FW update. I am getting fed up with this so called high priced classed router.

 

[Erroneus]

This firmware, has been a "disaster" for me. My Lenovo x230 with Intel 6205 will not connect to 5GHz, and that's with the latest Intel v16.1 driver set and with new wifi profile. Actually I did a nvram reset and a totally new SSID, so pretty much as optimal as possible.

Rolled back to Merlin's firmware (Thanks Merlin!) and my Lenovo worked perfectly with 5Ghz, though my Nexus 4 will not connect to it, but that might be a Android 4.3 compatibility issue.

Hasn't checked other 5GHz devices, as my Air13 is at work.

Properly not going to buy a Asus router, when changing to AC, as this is quite disappointing.

 

[dikkiedirk]

Updated to this firmware yesterday. Just updating, no clearing of nvram or other special stuff. Connecting with my laptop looks more stable. It has an Intel N-6230 adapter with 15.3 drivers. Playing mp4 1080p files is better, no slowdowns or breakups. I didn't remove any profiles for the 6230.

 

[wouterv]

Upgraded from the stable 270 to 374.257 build.
Did a full hard reset of the router after the upgrade and made all settings manual.
On the 5 GHz clients I did remove and remake the 5 GHz wireless profile.

Ralink RT3592 has more difficulties to connect to 5 GHz, sometimes it refuses to connect (even with full signal strenght), and it does not fallback to 2.4 GHz. If it connects to 5 GHz, it indicates a full 300 Mbps speed.

Intel Centrino 6205 connects without problems to 5 GHz, but the speed varies from 90 Mbps to the full 300 Mbps.

2.4 GHz works without issues.

I will keep an eye on it for some time, for now it seems worse then the 270 build.
Quite disappointing, as it forces me (and probably many others) to stay "behind" with the 270 build.

[EDIT] It is really worse for the Intel Centrino adapter, speed on 5 GHz drops sometimes to 18 Mbps (yes, eightteen). Defenitely back to the 270 build.

[EDIT2] After reverting back to the 270 build 5 GHz is really steady as a rock again, the Ralink adapter connects without problems and the Intel Centrino adapter is solid at 300 Mbps.

Asus is playing a tricky firmware game. I suggest that they first with high priority solve the 5 GHz issues in the new builds before adding new features.
Another new strongly required feature is the IPv6 firewall (I noticed Merlin is experimenting with it, good job!).

 

[sm00thpapa]

.270,.271 and .276 work fine on the 5 GHz band. Only when Asus moved to the .3XX has the 5 GHz issue begun for me. Why change the driver when it worked well with all the .27X firmwares?

 

[RMerlin]

.270,.271 and .276 work fine on the 5 GHz band. Only when Asus moved to the .3XX has the 5 GHz issue begun for me. Why change the driver when it worked well with all the .27X firmwares?

The new Broadcom SDK they switched to implements HW acceleration in PPPoE, which is required to be able to use this router on various high speed ADSL connections. It also implements a fix for XBox360 compatibility.

 

[sm00thpapa]

The new Broadcom SDK they switched to implements HW acceleration in PPPoE, which is required to be able to use this router on various high speed ADSL connections. It also implements a fix for XBox360 compatibility.

I have 3 Xbox 360's and all stream fine on all .27X firmwares. This is very frustrating. Do you know when Asus will finally fix the 5 GHz band for all wireless adapters?