Solved Router can't keep up?

[macster2075]

I own the RT-68U now for a few years and has served me very well....but... (there's always a but hehe)
I have 4-5 wireless cameras from Wyze and it appears this router cannot keep up or handle them.

at first I only had 3 cameras connected and it was ok...not great.. what I mean is, when viewing the cameras live view, it's always been choppy.. far from smooth...but manageable.
Recently, I added 2 more cameras (all cameras are very close to the router and have a strong connection).

I noticed the feed was very, very bad and very choppy, specially when they detect movement.
So at first I thought it was just my internet connection that simply can't handle it due to lack of bandwidth.

But then, I started reading about segregating the cameras to reduce the impact on the network and router.
So I did just that.. I connected all cameras to the ISP modem/router and they all run very smooth now.

That got me thinking, isn't this router powerful enough to handle a handful of tiny cameras?
I mean, I don't even have that many devices connected to it.. at most 14-15 and they are not even ON at the same time all the time.
I even did a full reset on the router and started from scratch to see if maybe it was something bugging it down...but no change.
Under System Status page.. the Internet traffic was full bars almost the entire time.. both down and up.

As soon as I disconnect the cameras, all went back to normal. So does that mean this router can't handle too many devices and I need to start thinking about an upgrade?
Or, it should be able to handle it and maybe there's something wrong with it?

Oh.. and I forgot to mention that when the cameras were connected to the Asus router.. every time I did a speed test, the ping was always 100-200+.. it affected the entire network.
but now, after they are connected to the ISP modem, the speed, the ping and everything is very, very smooth... my wife can even upload stuff to Youtube and the cameras don't even flinch!

 

[L&LD]

If the ISP modem/router can handle them, it's not the RT-AC68U (at least, not the hardware).

What model are those cameras? Is the video being saved anywhere? Are they constantly phoning home? Have they been hacked?

 

[macster2075]

It's the Wyze cam v2 and v3. They record to its internal storage only when motion is detected...so how come the ISP modem has no issues with them, but the Asus router does?
as far as I know, no hacking.. I have 2-step authentication on all cameras... I can connect 1-2 cameras to the Asus router and it would be ok... but more than that, it starts bogging down the network.

 

[L&LD]

Maybe because you're only putting the cameras on the ISP router? Is your network still fast when the ISP's router handles everything and the Asus is out of the equation and the network?

 

[macster2075]

yes.. that's what I meant.. The Asus router keeps doing its thing while the ISP only handles the cameras and a few firesticks.

 

[L&LD]

That's not what I meant though.

When the Asus is not in the network at all, how reliable is the network with all your devices connected and used normally?

 

[macster2075]

Oh I see what you mean...sorry about that lol.
I haven’t tried connecting everything else to the ISP modem. I just figured since I dont have that many devices in total, the Asus router should be able to handle the small load...I mean, the cpu barely gets to 10-12% load when the cameras were connected to it...that’s why I thought it was just bandwidth issue....but now that the cameras are working 90-95% better while connected to the ISP modem, then it’s not really a bandwidth issue, right?

 

[itpp20]

Whats the resolution your watching? are the cams streaming to the web as well? I have in one location 12 wifi cams and 6 in another, all are blocked from internet access, activity is saved on a NAS (which has a WAN mirror) and sdcard, no overload on the asus.

 

[macster2075]

They are set to SD which I am assuming is 720p. The options are HD, SD and 360p.
I dont really see a difference between HD and SD so that’s why I use SD.

The Wyze cams have an sd card in them and are set to continuously record internally to the sd card.

So, I can block internet access to these cams and still be able to liveview them?

I use them for 24/7 live monitoring using tinycam pro app on an Android vm PC.

That’s interesting you say that because ive noticed that when the internet goes down from the ISP having issues, I can still live view the cams and I always wondered how that was possible since there is no internet.

 

[macster2075]

I tried to block outside access to the cameras, but with these Wyze cameras, after about 24 hrs. the stream stops and you can no longer view them via LAN unless you disable the firewall rule to allow them to connect...then once connected, I can turn firewall on again and so on..

For some reason Wyze cams require an ip in order to function or innitialize...how can I get around this?

 

[macster2075]

But anyway...even when outside access is blocked...if they are connected to the Asus router.. the stream is not smooth...specially once they detect motion like cloud shadows on the ground or an object...they immediately start to skip lots of frames until motion has passed.

 

[itpp20]

Cams only need a LAN ip address, you access your router first via VPN and then access a cam via its LAN address while the cams are blocked from internet access.

Manufacturers of cams sell you the BS that they need a WAN address, this way they stream to their cloud and you access the stream via the cloud, Not directly at home. This creates a double wammy when it comes to WAN usage. Accepting this BS is the price you pay for easy usage of devices.

 

[macster2075]

Cams only need a LAN ip address, you access your router first via VPN and then access a cam via its LAN address while the cams are blocked from internet access.

Manufacturers of cams sell you the BS that they need a WAN address, this way they stream to their cloud and you access the stream via the cloud, Not directly at home. This creates a double wammy when it comes to WAN usage. Accepting this BS is the price you pay for easy usage of devices.

I don't have a vpn... and now, as soon as I turn the firewall to block internet access, the cameras disconnect and I can't view anymore unless I disable the firewall rule.

 

[itpp20]

View the cam by directly connecting to the Cam via a VPN which asus routers have onboard. If its a real IP cam this will work.

 

[macster2075]

But doesn’t the vpn make the speed slow?
Sorry, I know very little about vpn. But the little I’ve read about them, they say that the free ones are not safe and are very slow.

 

[itpp20]

You enable VPN on the router and configure this on your phone, connect and direct the Cam app to the Cam local IP address, or use ipcamviewer lite (playstore). This vpn is your own provided by your own router.
Here I use ipcamviewer pro and can see 16 cams in multiview.

 

[macster2075]

I have seen the VPN option in the router but I always thought I needed to have my own subscription to an actual VPN in order to use it. I’ve seen a few videos on how to set up the VPN using open VPN.

I would like to look into this as I am interested in trying out the routers own VPN. is there a video or link on step-by-step instructions?

 

[itpp20]

Google: "asus vpn step by step"

 

[Maverickcdn]

SD is standard definition or 480P... not 720P High defintion

Lower quality video but easier on bandwidth, 720P shouldnt be a struggle what so ever though.

Whats your internet up/down speeds? Do you use QOS/bandwidth limiter on the Asus

 

[macster2075]

SD is standard definition or 480P... not 720P High defintion

Lower quality video but easier on bandwidth, 720P shouldnt be a struggle what so ever though.

Whats your internet up/down speeds? Do you use QOS/bandwidth limiter on the Asus

oh wow.. so it goes from 1080p down to 480p, then 360p.. that doesn't make any sense...because these are 1080p cameras, so if the highest option is HD.. meaning 1080p.. then the next one is SD.. it has to be 720p because I see no really difference between the two.. HD or SD.. that's why I assumed SD has to be 720p.

My internet is 50/6 and I do use Bandwidth limiter.