Planning to replace the Netgear RAX80 with the ASUS AXE11000, Are channels 149-161 supported on Asus (ETSI)?

[Sachb]

Hi guys, it's been a long long time, since I was last online.

Question:
I want to know if the new ASUS GT-AXE11000 router that are sold in countries which follow ETSI standard support channels (149-161), It's very crucial for me to know before making a big purchase.

My clients: ASUS ROG 6, Laptop with Wifi 6 card

The reason I'm planning to replace the RAX80:
Dead spots in Kitchen & other areas - Now after some months of having the RAX80, I've recently found that the WiFi performance on both bands 5 GHZ & 2.4 GHZ has been degraded to the point where the 2.4 GHZ is pretty much useless (Unusable) at longer range.
There are some dead spots in the kitchen where the Wifi has signal but would still disconnect. This issue isn't on the older router i.e ASUS AC86U. Although the ASUS AC86U fluctuates in speed, the range on the ASUS AC86U seems to be slightly better than my Netgear RAX80 which is quite strange.

UPnP is broken- The UPnP on this Netgear RAX80 router doesn't work at all and Netgear hasn't publicly spoken about it, let alone release a fix. Even with the latest firmware. I have confirmed the issue to be on the Netgear as the other routers that I have currently forward ports without any issues.

Would like your opinion on this, and also kindly let me know if ASUS GT-AXE11000 is a worthy upgrade which will allow me to use Upper band channels 141-161 in a country which follows ETSI wifi standards. For eg Europe, Middle east etc.

Thanks

EDIT: As suspected Wifi Channels (149-161) are not present on the GT-AXE11000 sold in the Middle East. A capable router crippled by ASUS

 

[drabisan]

They do claim they do: https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1011432/
My AXE16000 doesn't allow me to choose anything above 141. But I can't say I tried that much to understand why now. In my case 100+ is not used by any of my neighbors.
In any case, 142 upwards are only doing 25mW in Europe, so nothing remotely decent! Those channels in Europe will not improve your coverage even if would be available in GUI.
I'm not aware if Asus has a special firmware for UK. Those guys changed the regulation lately and they support 200mW.

 

[ColinTaylor]

They do claim they do: https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1011432/

That's just a screenshot from an American router. So that's the opposite of what the OP is asking. But AFAIK you're correct in saying that it's only the UK (in Europe) that allows more than 25mW on those upper channels.

 

[Sachb]

That's just a screenshot from an American router. So that's the opposite of what the OP is asking. But AFAIK you're correct in saying that it's only the UK (in Europe) that allows more than 25mW on those upper channels.

For the US its not an issue, but for the countries following the ETSI standard, there's been a lot of issue with ASUS router.

I remember when I first bought the AC68U, I could actually change the region to select upper band channels from 148-161 but as of lately, ASUS is doing such a terrible thing restricting people to use channels 36-48 & DFS channels upto 140 only.

This is present in the AC86U which I'm selling. This was never an issue with Netgear & D-Link.

I'm sure each manufacturer has to follow the Region's Wifi regulation, but if this is the case then why is the Netgear and D-link (purchased in same region) still letting users use channels 149-161.

I've lost patience as the Netgear RAX80 is too weak in the kitchen inspite of getting more signal, the youtube just keeps buffering.
The AC86U on the other hand with even poorer signal lets me watch 2160p videos.

I still have the Netgear R7800, which was a beast of a router, but the Netgear RAX80 is a mediocre product for what I paid for ($353) . The UPnP fails to work on the RAX80.

Also, USB (HDD) to Wifi transfer speed seems to be at always 40-50 Mb/sec which is quite pathetic, considering it uses USB 3.0 port. For me, let's hope the AXE11000 solves these problem. I'll post back soon.

 

[Sachb]

They do claim they do: https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1011432/
My AXE16000 doesn't allow me to choose anything above 141. But I can't say I tried that much to understand why now. In my case 100+ is not used by any of my neighbors.
In any case, 142 upwards are only doing 25mW in Europe, so nothing remotely decent! Those channels in Europe will not improve your coverage even if would be available in GUI.
I'm not aware if Asus has a special firmware for UK. Those guys changed the regulation lately and they support 200mW.

The screenshot as stated by @ColinTaylor , is from the US page of ASUS.

And you're not right, Netgear easily recommends users to use channels 149-161 for better Wifi Performance,

 

[Sachb]

And I was right.......AGAIN no upper band channels on this New ASUS AXE11000 for people in the countries which follow ETSI standard.
How bad.

Not gonna return the router tho, this is seriously upsetting, a really capable router but ASUS doesn't allow Upper range UNII-3 channels (149 -165) for Middle east & other countries.

UPnP works without any issues.
Samba/FTP speed is actually much better than Netgear RAX80

This would have been the perfect router for my home only if it let me select channels 149 -165.

 

[ColinTaylor]

And I was right.......AGAIN no upper band channels on this New ASUS AXE11000 for people in the countries which follow ETSI standard.
How bad.

Why would you think the router would have those channels in a country that follows the ETSI standard? Those channels are not allowed for home routers in ETSI. You never said what country you're in. Does your country make an exception for those channels in the same way the Ofcom did in the UK?

 

[Sachb]

Why would you think the router would have those channels in a country that follows the ETSI standard? Those channels are not allowed for home routers in ETSI. You never said what country you're in. Does your country make an exception for those channels in the same way the Ofcom did in the UK?

If it's allowed in the country then why it shouldn't be. BTW, I'm from UAE which is in the Middle East region.

Fyi, all other Router manufacturers such as Netgear, D-link, TP-link have those upper band channels in them.

Do you know that, upper band channels (149-161) help increase the signal strength when devices are further away from the router?

 

[ColinTaylor]

If it's allowed in the country then why it shouldn't be.

But it's not allowed in ETSI - that's my point.

BTW, I'm from UAE which is in the Middle East region.

Is the country code for UAE "AE"? According to the Wi-Fi database "AE" follows FCC rules, not ETSI.

country AE: DFS-FCC
    (2402 - 2482 @ 40), (20)
    (5170 - 5250 @ 80), (17), AUTO-BW
    (5250 - 5330 @ 80), (24), DFS, AUTO-BW
    (5490 - 5730 @ 160), (24), DFS
    (5735 - 5835 @ 80), (30)

Fyi, all other Router manufacturers such as Netgear, D-link, TP-link have those upper band channels in them.

Maybe because they're following FCC rules.

Do you know that, upper band channels (148-161) help increase the signal strength when devices our further away from the router?

The opposite is true. The higher the frequency the shorter the range for the same given power. That said, the difference in range from channel 36 to channel 161 would be negligible.

 

[Sachb]

But it's not allowed in ETSI - that's my point.


Is the country code for UAE "AE"? According to the Wi-Fi database "AE" follows FCC rules, not ETSI.

country AE: DFS-FCC
    (2402 - 2482 @ 40), (20)
    (5170 - 5250 @ 80), (17), AUTO-BW
    (5250 - 5330 @ 80), (24), DFS, AUTO-BW
    (5490 - 5730 @ 160), (24), DFS
    (5735 - 5835 @ 80), (30)

Maybe because they're following FCC rules.


The opposite is true. The higher the frequency the shorter the range for the same given power. That said, the difference in range from channel 36 to channel 161 would be negligible.

Yes, it's AE for UAE.

I can't recall but as far as I know Netgear recommended channels 149 - 161 for best Wi-Fi performance. It was somewhere in the manual for the RAX80.

I'm testing it right now, and the signal has dropped significantly in the room since switching to the AXE11000.

The RAX80 was kinda 2 bars above it.
My range extender (DAP-1860) now has only 1 Green light. It use to have 3 leds on when the RAX80 was used.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Yes, it's AE for UAE.

I can't recall but as far as I know Netgear recommended channels 149 - 161 for best Wi-Fi performance. It was somewhere in the manual for the RAX80.

That would be the case for UAE-compliant routers because channels 149 - 161 are allowed to use twenty times the power, 1W vs 50mW (compared to channels 36 to 64). That's not the case for ETSI routers. So if you're importing a router you should get it from the US not the EU so that it's more compatible with your country's rules.

If your current router was sourced from the EU try using channels 100 to 140 as they have the highest power output.

 

[Sachb]

That would be the case for FCC routers because channels 149 - 161 are allowed to use four times the power, 1W vs 250mW. That's not the case for ETSI routers. So if you're importing a router you should get it from the US not the EU so that it's compatible with your country's rules.

If your current router was sourced from the EU try using channels 100 to 140 as they have the highest power output (higher than is legally allowed in the UAE on those channels).

Ok, I tried Wifi channel 100, but my devices don't see it. Guess what, I might have to sell the router for a loss. .
I love this router actually, but signal strength is much worse than my Netgear RAX80 in the room.
Keeping the Netgear RAX80.

EDIT: I've not imported the router, this is what ASUS ships to Middle East (UAE).
I believe the Router is Hard Coded for UK/EU wifi regulations.
I wish they sold the US version here, but 120 V & 220 V difference will be another headache to deal with.

 

[Sachb]

Another BIG update, I went ahead and bought yet another router to test, but this time it is the Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 100EUS, this router also doesn't have channels (149-161), but still has stronger signal than the ASUS GT-AXE11000

EDIT: If I set the Region to 'Australia' , I can use channels 149 -161 on the Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 100EUS.

I'm hitting 300-400 mbps on Speed test even in the room with Netgear which is strange, this router is also set to channel 48.

On ASUS GT-AXE11000, I could barely touch 200 mbps on channel 48 in the room.

 

[Tech9]

Everyone's Wi-Fi environment is different and the same products may produce different user experience. You have to find what works best for you in your environment and with your client devices. Reading reviews made by someone in different region may not be good source of information for you. Not sure why you want higher channels so badly, but I own houses in N. America and Europe and I'm using 80MHz wide 36-48 in both regions with no issues.