Router low performance wifi on AP Mode

[sucka]

Hello,
i have an Asus be98 router and wanted to use it in AP Mode so i can use a firewall gateway before it, i tested everything using a 1gbps pppoe connection. After i set it up i realized wireless is not as stable as in router mode, so i started debugging.

After speedtest i have realized that in router mode i get about 850mbps download, in ap mode with the same setup and same place for device test, i get 350mbps max (sometimes even lower), every time, i have used an iphone for test mainly but i have tested other wifi devices and had same results, on lan there is no difference in performance, just wireless is the one messed up, and only download so badly, upload not so much, it almost gets to the right speed for download, but rapidly always falling to the same low values.

So i continued debugging, tested the cables, they are brand new and they test fine running benchmarks on all the cables half a meter cat 7 & 8 anyway overkill, started testing all lan port inside the router maybe that was problem, still nothing, then even tested different gateways for inbound internet inside the ap, i tested a pfsense, an opnsense machine and even an asus axe16000 router to give internet to be98 that was in ap mode.
I have tested the devices with dhcp and static ip in ap mode, i have even tested everything in router mode but with dhcp, firewall and wan disabled, and just connected the gateway on lan ports.
(And yes on devices like be98 after changing to ap mode, i have re-enabled wifi7, and made sure all tests were made with the same wifi settings all the time, even tested all wifi settings combinations possible, hoped something there was at fault as a bug, but to no difference).
The same problem manifests itself on all bands 2.4, 5hghz and 6ghz so it isn't band specific, and tested last 2 firmwares from asus and last 2 from merlin/gnuton on both of them.


I then tested everything on axe16000 as well, to check if it's something device specific, even if it has a different speed from the start as its a different device, i still see the same behavior of low performance in ap mode or any method i try to use the external gateway.

So what gives? are both routers with ap mode with performance problems? even though i am an experienced dev, did i omit doing something like a noob? i mean im no network engineer; Or do i have wrong expectations from such a device? Did anyone hit anything like this and knows any solution? I wanted to use this router as it would be a fenomenal AP on paper compared to an actual AP.
Thanks.

 

[bbunge]

Well, I am sure others will chime in with buying hardware for its intended use (a router should be used as a router not an access point) and beta testing WIFI 7 devices. And, don't use a phone for bandwidth (speed) tests!

 

[Bill_Stewart]

(I thought this forum was for wired-only routers?)

 

[sucka]

Well, I am sure others will chime in with buying hardware for its intended use (a router should be used as a router not an access point) and beta testing WIFI 7 devices. And, don't use a phone for bandwidth (speed) tests!

Like i've said speedtest was the same with phone or laptop so why would you say phones are bad, just because cheap phones may have problems for a simple gigabit test? well i have tested on wifi7 and 6e as well, so i needed phones as well, and the problem was the performance on acces point mode that this routers have, i hoped others would know about this problem as well, so thanks for the advice, i'l remember phones are not to be used and routers with vlan tagging and acces point mode as well.

At least i got here as much help as from the company's support, the lesson, don't ever buy consumer hardware or ask consumer brands for help or other consumers, everything open source.
P.S. it may be in the wrong thread, sadly i can't delete this thread, i'l try by deleting account though if i can, or if anyone can help me at least delete this thread and account, thanks you very much and sorry for the fuss.

 

[Tech9]

No need to delete the account. You’re correct about phenomenal on paper thing. How it usually works with consumer AIO routers - you pay for the latest and greatest and then wait for about 2 years to have it fixed (Asus) or just EOL’d (TP-Link, Netgear, etc.), then next, and next… the reason I call them disposable hardware.

 

[Mike Taku]

Hello,
i have an Asus be98 router and wanted to use it in AP Mode so i can use a firewall gateway before it, i tested everything using a 1gbps pppoe connection. After i set it up i realized wireless is not as stable as in router mode, so i started debugging.

After speedtest i have realized that in router mode i get about 850mbps download, in ap mode with the same setup and same place for device test, i get 350mbps max (sometimes even lower), every time, i have used an iphone for test mainly but i have tested other wifi devices and had same results, on lan there is no difference in performance, just wireless is the one messed up, and only download so badly, upload not so much, it almost gets to the right speed for download, but rapidly always falling to the same low values.

So i continued debugging, tested the cables, they are brand new and they test fine running benchmarks on all the cables half a meter cat 7 & 8 anyway overkill, started testing all lan port inside the router maybe that was problem, still nothing, then even tested different gateways for inbound internet inside the ap, i tested a pfsense, an opnsense machine and even an asus axe16000 router to give internet to be98 that was in ap mode.
I have tested the devices with dhcp and static ip in ap mode, i have even tested everything in router mode but with dhcp, firewall and wan disabled, and just connected the gateway on lan ports.
(And yes on devices like be98 after changing to ap mode, i have re-enabled wifi7, and made sure all tests were made with the same wifi settings all the time, even tested all wifi settings combinations possible, hoped something there was at fault as a bug, but to no difference).
The same problem manifests itself on all bands 2.4, 5hghz and 6ghz so it isn't band specific, and tested last 2 firmwares from asus and last 2 from merlin/gnuton on both of them.


I then tested everything on axe16000 as well, to check if it's something device specific, even if it has a different speed from the start as its a different device, i still see the same behavior of low performance in ap mode or any method i try to use the external gateway.

So what gives? are both routers with ap mode with performance problems? even though i am an experienced dev, did i omit doing something like a noob? i mean im no network engineer; Or do i have wrong expectations from such a device? Did anyone hit anything like this and knows any solution? I wanted to use this router as it would be a fenomenal AP on paper compared to an actual AP.
Thanks.

Hi, my friend have Asus BE98 but Why does it lose significant WiFi download speed in AP mode compared to router mode, even though everything else is set up the same? Is there a known solution to improve performance in AP mode?