Purchased a RT-N66R (Wireless Settings)?

[Poseidon]

I previously ditched the RT-N66U because there was an issue with Charter HSI + Moto SB6121 modem. In the past couple of months I've tried a couple of other high-end routers but they never lived up to the performance of the N66U (when it actually played nice w/ my cable modem).

I recently switched my cable modem to a Ubee doc 3.0 and I felt it was the perfect time to go back "home" to Asus. I purchased the RT-N66R from Best Buy. I'm hoping that Asus fixed that issue in their latest firmware that caused Charter to put the Asus router in a "time-out."

After setting everything up and updating to the latest factory firmware (3.0.0.4.270), I have a couple of questions:

1) What is the recommended CHANNEL BANDWIDTH for 2.4GHz and 5GHz?

2) Under Wireless > Professional: should the "Tx Power adjustment" be kept at 80mW or bumped up to another value (100mW)?

3) What other settings "tweak" is recommended for improved WiFi (2.4GHz + 5GHz) performance and range?

Thanks.

 

[Poseidon]

Wow, 125+ views and not a single reply.

Anyhow I changed the Tx Power value of the 2.4 GHz to 100 and the 5GHz to 130.

Is this acceptable or should I go back to the default 80 for both?

 

[mikeg]

I noted that you were not satisfied with the responses you got regarding your questions.

1. You have to use for example inSSIder to see the bandwidth , eg, usually you have a crowded 2.4 GHz-band around - use 20 MHz on the 2.4 GHz band and try 40 MHz on the 5 GHz band.

2. Try to not change the TX-settings , but if you must do not go over 120 mW , Asus recommendation for not getting distorsion.

3. Use fixed control channels on both bands , see inSSider for not used channels. If you have problems with the 2.4 GHz band see under Profeesional settings -- Enhanced something settings change from what you have to the opposite to see if it helps.

Hope this tips will help you.

I previously ditched the RT-N66U because there was an issue with Charter HSI + Moto SB6121 modem. In the past couple of months I've tried a couple of other high-end routers but they never lived up to the performance of the N66U (when it actually played nice w/ my cable modem).

I recently switched my cable modem to a Ubee doc 3.0 and I felt it was the perfect time to go back "home" to Asus. I purchased the RT-N66R from Best Buy. I'm hoping that Asus fixed that issue in their latest firmware that caused Charter to put the Asus router in a "time-out."

After setting everything up and updating to the latest factory firmware (3.0.0.4.270), I have a couple of questions:

1) What is the recommended CHANNEL BANDWIDTH for 2.4GHz and 5GHz?

2) Under Wireless > Professional: should the "Tx Power adjustment" be kept at 80mW or bumped up to another value (100mW)?

3) What other settings "tweak" is recommended for improved WiFi (2.4GHz + 5GHz) performance and range?

Thanks.

 

[RMerlin]

I'm hoping that Asus fixed that issue in their latest firmware that caused Charter to put the Asus router in a "time-out."

I fixed the Charter-related blacklisting in my firmware. I forwarded all the info to Asus, so hopefully they will also implement the fix in a future release.

 

[Poseidon]

mikeg...thanks for the info. I lowered the 5GHz 'Tx Power' to 100 and I changed the bandwidth to 40MHz (2.4GHz was changed to 20MHz).

Also using a Jailbreak iPhone app called WiFi Analyzer....the best channel selection for 2.4GHz is channel 11 - so I changed it from "auto" to 11.

However on the 5GHz it's currently set to "auto." Should I leave it at that or change it to a specific channel? If so, which channel is better (low numbers or high numbers)?

RMerlin.....thanks for passing the info to Asus. I'm going to use your firmware in the next update. I take it that the N66U firmware works w/ the N66R routers?

 

[RMerlin]

RMerlin.....thanks for passing the info to Asus. I'm going to use your firmware in the next update. I take it that the N66U firmware works w/ the N66R routers?

You can already switch if the Charter fix is what you are after. The fix is included in 3.0.0.4.270.25b.

And you're correct - the RT-N66R works just fine. It's the same as the RT-N66U, just a different SKU for large retailers.

 

[mikeg]

I would recommend you to change the 5 GHz band from auto to a fixed channel. As I live in Europe I can only choose the low numbers so you will have to test which is best for you.
Have you installed the inSSIder on a pc so you can see how stable the signal strength is on the bands ? I use the Wifi Analyzer too on my Android but you get more information from inSSIDer.

mikeg...thanks for the info. I lowered the 5GHz 'Tx Power' to 100 and I changed the bandwidth to 40MHz (2.4GHz was changed to 20MHz).

Also using a Jailbreak iPhone app called WiFi Analyzer....the best channel selection for 2.4GHz is channel 11 - so I changed it from "auto" to 11.

However on the 5GHz it's currently set to "auto." Should I leave it at that or change it to a specific channel? If so, which channel is better (low numbers or high numbers)?

RMerlin.....thanks for passing the info to Asus. I'm going to use your firmware in the next update. I take it that the N66U firmware works w/ the N66R routers?

 

[Poseidon]

I would recommend you to change the 5 GHz band from auto to a fixed channel. As I live in Europe I can only choose the low numbers so you will have to test which is best for you.
Have you installed the inSSIder on a pc so you can see how stable the signal strength is on the bands ? I use the Wifi Analyzer too on my Android but you get more information from inSSIDer.

Yes I installed insider on my pc and it confirmed my settings/channel on 2.4GHz to be the best/optimal. However how do I check the 5GHz settings???

The only device that I currently have that is 5GHz capable is my iPhone 5 (non-jailbroken, so unable to run WiFi Analayzer).

Any suggestions for 5GHz?

 

[Pierino]

You'll need to get a dual band adapter for your pc.

 

[mikeg]

Ok , so you have installed inSSider on a pc which does not support the 5 GHz band ?
If that is the case you can by for example an usb-adapter wifi eg. Asus USB-N53 and install that on your pc.I have 3 N53:s working without any problem.

Yes I installed insider on my pc and it confirmed my settings/channel on 2.4GHz to be the best/optimal. However how do I check the 5GHz settings???

The only device that I currently have that is 5GHz capable is my iPhone 5 (non-jailbroken, so unable to run WiFi Analayzer).

Any suggestions for 5GHz?