[Question] Asuswrt-Merlin - "Auto select channel including band1 channels" Ignored

[chriskauffman]

I am running into a problem configuring my 5 GHz wireless.

Router: RT-AC66U
Asuswrt Merlin Version: 380.64

I am having some minor connectivity problems and I would like to use the higher 5 GHz channels (for higher power and less conflict) for my 5 GHz radio. I would like to set my 5 GHz to auto select the higher channels. Based on what I have read elsewhere, it looks like in "Wireless - General" I need to select:

Band = 5GHZ
Control Channel = Auto
Control Channel - Auto select channel including band1 channels = UNCHECKED

When I try this and click "Apply" and even "Reboot" the "Auto select channel including band1 channels" always reverts to CHECKED. I also attempted on NVRAM change which resulted in the same behavior:

nvram set acs_band1=0
nvram commit

Based on an older post, the "Auto select channel including band1 channels" behavior seems to be ASUS and/or country mandated. Is this true? Is this a defect?

A larger question would be... Should I just give up on Auto and select an open channel like 157?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Marc Aronson]

I am experiencing the same problem on 380_63.2. I manually selected channel 149.

Marc

 

[s4mpson]

Does your 5g work at all at this point?

 

[Marc Aronson]

Does your 5g work at all at this point?

I was having problems, but it works now. I found that reliability on the band 1 channels was very poor, especially if I tried to lock it into 80mhz wide mode.

There was also variability based on the client adapter. My Asus laptop with an Intel AC7265 adapter reports a much lower signal strength then my Toshiba laptop with an Intel AC 3160 client. Both running windows 10. It was a 10-20DB different, as reported by INSSIDER

When I went to channel 149 or 153, I found that both laptops reported similar signal strength and worked reliability with 80mhz wide channels.

I am now configured to channel 153, 20/40/80mhz channel width and they only report a 5DB difference. (-45DB vs. -50DB)

Drag-and-drop copy of a 3GB file that is on an enternet-connected server shows speeds ranging from 25MB - 35MB/sec. (Mega bytes)

My router is the Tmobile TM-AC1900 which is a rebranded RT-AC68U, running Merlin.

Marc

 

[paulbates]

FWIW, I just upgraded to the new firmware. I decided to see what kind of signal strength I got on different channels. (There continues to be only a few other 5ghz routers in my area).

While I have historically used channel 157, higher frequency is associated with less range. I tried it, and the 5ghz clients in the Site Survey were all 1 to 2 bars higher when I used channel 36 instead of 157. There is a 600mhz difference between those channels (5.180ghz vs 5.785ghz), which is a lot.

Its something that's easy to try and see how it works

Paul

 

[Marc Aronson]

Hi Paul, I've experimented with the lower channels for that reason, but I consistently show it delivering a slightly lower power signal. In 2014 the FCC change the regulations and allowed band 1 to transmit at a higher power. I wonder if my router still complies with the older reguation.

What router are you using?

Thanks!

Marc

 

[paulbates]

Hi Marc

I had an RT-AC68 (1900) for about 8 months and just upgraded to the RT-AC88(3100). I just got that a few weeks ago. Interestingly the AC68, mounted in the same location, had the higher bars indicated at channel 157. I was surprised when i put the AC88 in and it had weaker 5ghz bars (2.4 was not noticeably different.)

The good news is that I don't have functional wifi problems, but it looks better at 2 - 3 bars rather than 1.

I did both upgrade routers to the AC88 and put the new router on the newest release of Merlin 380.64 at the same time, so 2 changes at the same time.

Paul

 

[Marc Aronson]

Hi Paul, the RT-AC88 is a much newer model and was certainly certified with the higher transmit power on the band 1 channels. That, in conjunction with your point about lower frequencies having better penetration and distance, means that the lower frequencies will do much better for you.

I believe the FCC regulation was changed in 2012 and the AC68U models were certified in 2012, so I suspect my router is still operating at the lower power levels on band 1. That would explain why I get better distance with the upper channels.

Not sure I understand why your AC88 had lower performance than the AC68U on Channel 157, but life is full of mysteries .

Marc

 

[paulbates]

Thanks Marc

Another thought is that I was going by what the routers showed on their Network Map screen, so whatever's going on is reception related for the router. In the past, adjusting the antennas would help reception a little, but that seems to not change things with the 88... but for whatever reason the channel change did. I went with the 88 to get all ET in the router's switch, and expected a fast upgrade with the NVRAM utility.

Having several different RF technologies in my house, my experience with RF over time is that its:

• 1/2 science and engineering
• 1/2 black magic

I'll try experiments that don't necessarily make sense, and I keep a few blank pages in the back of my "I thought I'd seen it all" book

Paul