Ofdma and other settings on rt-ax88u

[Massi1234]

Hello,
After some tinkering with settings I got to good speed from the ax88...
Unfortunately the manual is awful and even missing descriptions of settings (wifi professional session for example)

Just curious... OFDMA... is there a setting or not for it? Is it a feature which is always on?

Ai Protection...not sure if anyone has any thoughts on settings there.

QoS... I kept off... Is it worth using or is it just a waste of resource?

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

 

[L&LD]

Hello,
After some tinkering with settings I got to good speed from the ax88...
Unfortunately the manual is awful and even missing descriptions of settings (wifi professional session for example)

Just curious... OFDMA... is there a setting or not for it? Is it a feature which is always on?

Ai Protection...not sure if anyone has any thoughts on settings there.

QoS... I kept off... Is it worth using or is it just a waste of resource?

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

QoS depends on your ISP speeds. AiProtection is something I use along with Skynet and Diversion (and amtm, of course) with all my RMerlin powered routers.

 

[Massi1234]

Thanks... My ISP is just regular plusnet fibre @64 ish mbps.

I need to try and install the Merlin firmware

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

 

[RMerlin]

I was told that OFDMA was not supported yet. You might want to contact Asus directly to see if that's still the case even with recent firmware releases.

 

[L&LD]

Thanks... My ISP is just regular plusnet fibre @64 ish mbps.

I need to try and install the Merlin firmware

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

With 64Mbps ISP speeds, you will need QoS for the best experience. That means FreshJR QOS for Asus routers.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/r...ements-custom-rules-and-inner-workings.36836/

 

[lilstone87]

I was told that OFDMA was not supported yet. You might want to contact Asus directly to see if that's still the case even with recent firmware releases.

If that's the case... That's kind of shirtty by them. As they have been quick to mention it as a feature with this router. I feel this is a feature that should be included, and working at launch. For it not to be working right now, that's pathetic imho. As I don't remember any articles by them, stating it was a feature that wouldn't be working at launch, but would be included in a future firmware release. This is directed at Asus, not you in any way Merlin.

 

[RMerlin]

If that's the case... That's kind of shirtty by them. As they have been quick to mention it as a feature with this router. I feel this is a feature that should be included, and working at launch. For it not to be working right now, that's pathetic imho. As I don't remember any articles by them, stating it was a feature that wouldn't be working at launch, but would be included in a future firmware release. This is directed at Asus, not you in any way Merlin.

It's not unique to Asus, it's the case AFAIK with every manufacturer with a 802.11ax router on the market right now. @thiggins might be able to confirm, he's done some research in this area.

That's the kind of thing customers should expect when buying a draft product. Remember 802.11ac? MU-MIMO only appeared much later...

 

[lilstone87]

It's not unique to Asus, it's the case AFAIK with every manufacturer with a 802.11ax router on the market right now. @thiggins might be able to confirm, he's done some research in this area.

That's the kind of thing customers should expect when buying a draft product. Remember 802.11ac? MU-MIMO only appeared much later...

I totally understand what you're coming from.... However for companies to continue to do stuff like this, I feel it's just wrong. If something isn't ready at launch, let people know it won't be ready, and it will be added later on. Is this feature only for AX devices? That's another thing i'm curious about.

 

[L&LD]

I totally understand what you're coming from.... However for companies to continue to do stuff like this, I feel it's just wrong. If something isn't ready at launch, let people know it won't be ready, and it will be added later on. Is this feature only for AX devices? That's another thing i'm curious about.

Is it wrong morally, yes. However, this is how businesses have worked for many decades now (if not forever).

Buyer beware is the first step. Buyer is informed is the next. Don't buy before you're informed.

AX only devices and forward will be using OFDMA, afaik.

 

[RMerlin]

Is this feature only for AX devices?

OFDMA is a 802.11ax specific feature.

 

[thiggins]

Neither ASUS nor NETGEAR WiFi6 routers currently have OFDMA enabled. I agree that this should have been disclosed, as it was MU-MIMO when it wasn't supported in early AC routers.

You should know you will need at least 2 and possibly 4 WiFi 6 devices to see any advantage from OFDMA. It does not provide higher link rates. It improves efficiency (aggregate throughput) when multiple devices are used.

 

[Massi1234]

Thank you - I guess it is just wait and see.
I got this router for MU-MIMO as I had a D7000 and it seems to give more stable performance than the the netgear.

 

[thiggins]

Thank you - I guess it is just wait and see.
I got this router for MU-MIMO as I had a D7000 and it seems to give more stable performance than the the netgear.

How many devices do you have that support MU-MIMO? You need at least 2 to see any benefit from MU-MIMO. What performance do you expect MU-MIMO to improve? Range? Speed?

What's a D7000?

 

[Grisu]

What's a D7000?

https://www.netgear.com.au/home/products/networking/modem-routers/D7000.aspx

https://www.netgear.com/support/product/D7000.aspx

 

[Massi1234]

Have 2 x Galaxy S10, 2 laptops, galaxy tab s3... All meant to support mu mimo... Hoping to have more stable streaming video connection as it has never been too reliable...

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[thiggins]

MU-MIMO will help only for downlink (router to device) on 5 GHz. If your streaming instability is due to low link rate (edge of range), neither MU-MIMO nor OFDMA will help.

MU-MIMO and OFDMA are designed to improve bandwidth sharing when multiple devices are in use.

11ax can give you higher link rate on both bands, with 11ax devices, but only for in-room/next room signal level.

This sponsored post explains MU-MIMO basics:
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/32725-why-youll-want-mu-mimo

Tbis article explains MU-MIMO reality:
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/33100-why-you-don-t-need-mu-mimo

 

[doczenith1]

I saw some minor improvements using MU-MIMO with three clients.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/is-anyone-using-mu-mimo.40553/

 

[Unibrowser]

For those of you still confused, OFDMA will not be a feature any device can use. This only works on the new devices coming out this year, I believe the first was the new Samsung Galaxy S10 lineup. The device must have a 802.11AX wifi NIC in order for you to use this. This is exactly why I haven't invested in an AX router yet. I'll wait a year or 2 until I have multiple devices that have AX(Wifi 6) that constantly need bandwidth. By then I'm sure Asus will have an even better version of the router by then.
But until then my AC-88U is still kicking butt!!