Not really thrilled by N66U => AC68U upgrade

[binarydad]

I've had a N66U running the latest merlin/john fork for a while and it's been solid, but it's also old and wanted to look into AC. I picked up a A68U today and, while connection speeds are definitely much faster, I'm kind of erked by the fact that the connection seems "stronger" with the old router. On average, the 2.4 band is 5-10 db louder, though the 5ghz band is roughly the same db. The A68U is running latest merlin 380.68.

I guess I was expecting more range, but I guess that's not the case. Part of me wants to return it and save $150, but then again I sure don't mind these speeds I'm getting and wouldn't mind future-proofing myself.

 

[doczenith1]

I would be less concerned on how strong the signal is and more concerned about the throughput. Isn't throughput what really matters? Also, keep in mind that wifi is a two way street. Just because the 66U was transmitting a stronger signal the other device still needs to transmit back to the router. And if I'm not mistaken AC improves range/throughput over N even for older N devices. You'll find that a lot of people will suggest that the 68U is the one of the best bang for the buck routers available today.

 

[ColinTaylor]

If you were using John's fork before you should use that on the AC68U as a valid comparison.

I also went from a N66U to a AC68U and no there won't be an immediately obvious difference. But give it time, I think you'll find the 5GHz connection is generally "more robust", and of course faster. The main improvement for me was the faster processor which allowed me to use QoS and increased the VPN throughput significantly.

 

[binarydad]

If you were using John's fork before you should use that on the AC68U as a valid comparison.

I also went from a N66U to a AC68U and no there won't be an immediately obvious difference. But give it time, I think you'll find the 5GHz connection is generally "more robust", and of course faster. The main improvement for me was the faster processor which allowed me to use QoS and increased the VPN throughput significantly.

I used the restore utility to throw John's fork on there. No difference that I see.

I know my issue is the router is in the basement (it's in the center of the house, but still in the basement), and I still have some spotty spots in my 2000 sqft house I was hoping to rid myself of. The speeds I'm getting on average on 5ghz are averaging about 100-130mbps, while the old N66U was usually between 50-100mbps, depending where I am in the house. Both routers are pretty damn solid. Either case, it's way more speed than I even need honestly. I've done no official speed tests yet, but I may tonight when I have some time. I'll turn both on, make the N66U a AP and run a local network wireless speed test to see the speed and amount of fluctuation.