Not getting near rated speeds when wired on brand new AX86U

[Big Ry]

I just got new Verizon FiOS service and ordered 3 brand new Asus RT-AX86U routers to setup a mesh system with wired backhaul. I haven't even gotten to the mesh system yet; I'm currently just trying to configure the main router, but I cannot seem to get near the 940Mbps rated speeds I'm paying for. I currently have the Verizon ONT connected to the AX86U 1Gig WAN port with the brand new Cat6? cable that came with the Verizon router (~3ft long). The house had existing FiOS service and had a fairly new ONT installed already. I had Verizon send their router with the setup package since they said they weren't charging for it, but I had no plans to actually use it. I've only used it now for diagnostic purposes.

When I wire up Verizon's router and test speeds using Verizon's speed test website, I get rated speeds between ONT and Verizon router but only 300-400Mbps down from router to my old Asus laptop with gigabit Ethernet port (only portable device I own with gigabit Ethernet port).

When I try the same thing using my AX86U, I get about 400-500Mbps down at the device (can't get speeds between ONT and router on 3rd party hardware). If I direct wire the laptop to ONT (no router), I get about the same 400Mbps.

I had a Verizon tech come out today. He was supposed to check everything with a new laptop with Ethernet port, since our newer laptops do not have Ethernet ports (only Ethernet via thunderbolt docking stations). However, he didn't end up bringing a laptop... Just a Samsung phone with usb-c to rj-45 dongle :-/ He was checking speeds at speedtest.net and another 3rd party website, and he couldn't get past about 540Mbps on any of the LAN ports on my AX86U. He did hit 950 on Verizon's router using one of it's LAN ports though. Part of me wants to think Verizon throttles any non-Verizon hardware, because they're assholes. But that's probably not really the case. So i guess that probably just leaves an issue with my hardware or it's configuration. I've only gone through the basic setup procedures for the AX86U, nothing more.

Does it sound like I have a defective router? Is there some setting I'm missing here that needs to be changed from default to get to gigabit speeds on the WAN/LAN ports? As it stands now, these speeds are really bad for a gigabit LAN port on a brand new unloaded router. I shouldn't need to use the 2.5 port for WAN on 940Mbps service, right? For comparison, I can get about 600-700Mbps down on Xfinity gigabit service at my townhouse on my old AC68U & CM1000 modem when the router is hardwired to my desktop through about 50ft of Cat6 and crossing a mess of power wires. That's gotta say something...

 

[bbunge]

First, I would try another cable between the ONT and the router WAN. Asus and most other manufacturers folds the cable over and ties it with a twist tie. Not too good for the structure of the cable. Thus, I never use the provided cable. With a new cable work the plug in and out a couple of times to insure good contact.
Also make sure you upgrade the router firmware. You might want to let it run a while to settle in.
If you bought multiple routers also try another one. Wouldn't hurt.

 

[Big Ry]

First, I would try another cable between the ONT and the router WAN. Asus and most other manufacturers folds the cable over and ties it with a twist tie. Not too good for the structure of the cable. Thus, I never use the provided cable. With a new cable work the plug in and out a couple of times to insure good contact.
Also make sure you upgrade the router firmware. You might want to let it run a while to settle in.
If you bought multiple routers also try another one. Wouldn't hurt.

So I didn't get into all the detail for the sake of time and my post getting too wordy, but I did already try multiple cables as well as wiggling around the connection and connecting/disconnecting several times, all to no avail. There was no discernable change in performance from any of it. I also immediately updated to the latest firmware as soon as I setup the router, so all of these issues and troubleshooting have occurred on the latest firmware version.

I have yet to try using the other two AX86Us though. That was going to be my next step. I just wanted to see if it wasn't something stupid I was missing first, like a setting in ASUS-WRT.

 

[L&LD]

After flashing (to which firmware, specifically?), did you do a full reset to factory defaults?

Merlin on ASUS ax86U Question

I have an ASUS AX86U and contemplating the installation of Merlin firmware. The DDNS settings on the AX86U are limited to select dns providers. If I install Merlin, will I have more flexability (choices) with the DDNS Settings? Thanks in advance!

www.snbforums.com

 

[bbunge]

You shouldn't have to do a factory reset coming from the firmware that came with the router to the firmware that it upgraded to when you were setting up the router. I tested the Asus Beta firmware last week then went back to the Asus firmware I had on file and while I was reflashing my router Asus released a new version which installed and has been working well for me. You did not say if you changed any of the defaults. QOS is one you should not need to change and switching to Traditional QOS will disable hardware acceleration.
If you feel that a reset is in order the best is a Hard Factory Reset. Here is a link to the instructions: https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1039074/
As you had issues with the Verizon router your problem may reside elsewhere. Maybe power cycle the ONT? My CenturyLink ONT has two ports for internet and two for phone. Might check that the tech plugged the Ethernet into the correct port. Or, does the ONT have a bad port?
I will disclose that my FIOS is not 1 GB. I do not need the bandwidth but do enjoy the reliability and performance of this router!

 

[L&LD]

Shouldn't have to, and needing to, is not mutually exclusive in the land of consumer routers.

The link I posted wasn't so much to get the router to be reset but to see what 'safe' defaults should be applied when in 'testing' mode. Anything past those, expect less than optimum performance.

Was the laptop put into performance mode (and/or ideally, plugged into AC power) for the testing? Can you test this same laptop with another router/ISP connection to confirm it is capable of GbE speeds?

Does look like an ONT, or router hardware issue though, right now.

 

[airgap]

Even though I am not a fan of factory resets but sometimes in the IT world it's almost necessary and sometimes it does wonder.

EDIT:

@Big Ry
Did you try to deactivate QoS? If not - just give it a try.

 

[Big Ry]

I'm out of state at a wedding right now and through Sunday, but here's a screenshot showing the firmware version the router is on. I opted for remote access during setup, so i can view all the settings in the app from here. I don't mess around with the betas, so this is the latest stable version. I did not factory reset after upgrading firmware. Never heard of doing that before.

I haven't touched any settings in the GUI - including QoS. Nothing has been changed from default, and QoS is off by default (just confirmed).

Interestingly the Verizon tech's usb-c to Ethernet dongle is still showing up as an active wired device in the devices list. No data usage is registering, and he definitely didn't leave it plugged in! Maybe i should try a factory reset after all once i get home, because that's really odd behavior.

 

[bbunge]

I'm out of state at a wedding right now and through Sunday, but here's a screenshot showing the firmware version the router is on. I opted for remote access during setup, so i can view all the settings in the app from here. I don't mess around with the betas, so this is the latest stable version. I did not factory reset after upgrading firmware. Never heard of doing that before.

I haven't touched any settings in the GUI - including QoS. Nothing has been changed from default, and QoS is off by default (just confirmed).

Interestingly the Verizon tech's usb-c to Ethernet dongle is still showing up as an active wired device in the devices list. No data usage is registering, and he definitely didn't leave it plugged in! Maybe i should try a factory reset after all once i get home, because that's really odd behavior.

Ah, the remote access is a big security risk. Much better to use OpenVPN or Asus Instant Guard. I recommend you connect to the router and disable the remote access and worry about "tuning" when you get home.

 

[Big Ry]

Ah, the remote access is a big security risk. Much better to use OpenVPN or Asus Instant Guard. I recommend you connect to the router and disable the remote access and worry about "tuning" when you get home.

Yeah, that's what i normally do. I know the remote access feature essential just forwards a port, opening my network devices up to be part of a DDoS attack. I usually use OpenVPN for remote access to my router and surveillance system, but for the time being I just went with this until i can get things figured out with the system, at which point I'll disable remote access. I'm actually probably going to flash Merlin eventually, but I'll see if asus-wrt on the ax86u meets my VPN needs first. I pretty much have no devices connected to the router at this point, so I'm really not that worried. There's really no damage to be done except to the router.

 

[whitey019]

Was this ever solved? I'm experiencing the same thin on a brand new AX86U

 

[slvrscoobie]

I found that turning off the Tree Spanning did the trick for me on Wired internet - speed tests and lan speeds now seem identical up/down - now if I can figure out why the wifi will do 800 down and only 250 up...

 

[whitey019]

How do I turn off Tree Spanning?