RT-AC3200/ Download problem

[Lafenear]

Hey!

New to the boards here.

I purchased an ASUS RT-AC3200 last week on Black Friday. It is supposed to replace my ageing Time Capsule from 2011/12.

The router is set up, and everything is working as intended, except for the download speed over wireless.

All three channels are set to N only and the channel bandwith is set to 40 Mhz on all three bands. The channels are based on what I saw in Wifi Analyzer, so there shouldn't be any problem there.

I have a 60/60 m/bit connection from my ISP, and I had no problem with getting the promised speeds on my Time Capsule, but that changed as soon as I switched over to the ASUS router instead. When I checked the download and upload on Speedtest.net, It'll never go past 40 m/bit, but when testing the upload, I get 65/70 m/bit all the time, and I have tried to test it on numerous clients now, but it's the same for everyone of them.

I've tried calling ASUS for support, but they said they couldn't do anything for me, If I have already tried switching the bands etc. I've also called my ISP, but they said everything was fine.

The firmware is the latest one(3.0.0.4.378_9313), and I've even tried Merlins, but that didn't help.

Any Idea what might be wrong here, and should I just RMA it?

 

[AndreiV]

What happens when you run with the default settings? Channel AUTO and 20/40/80.

 

[Lafenear]

What happens when you run with the default settings? Channel AUTO and 20/40/80.

I would say I've tried every possible combination. I just tried your suggestion, and It's still the same result.

Here is 2 screenshots so you can see it for yourself.

Here is a video of the test as well.

I'm less than 2 meters away from the router.

 

[Puppa]

What advanced features are you using? For example, do you have a USB disk attached? Is QoS configured? What are your settings on your Advanced->Wireless->Professional tab? After you updated to the latest firmware, did you perform a Factory Reset and reconfigure manually (not from any "restore" file)?

Also, what do the link rates for your connection say on the router's wireless log page? (To rule out some basic settings incompatibility with your pc's wireless setup.) What does your signal environment look like? Is there a lot of interference from neighboring wifi?

A slower downlink rate could happen due to something with the firewall or main cpu activity. Some of the advanced features can affect this, which is why I'm asking. As a quick test, you could turn off the firewall temporarily and see if the slowdown vanishes to see if we're on the right track.

 

[Lafenear]

What advanced features are you using? For example, do you have a USB disk attached? Is QoS configured? What are your settings on your Advanced->Wireless->Professional tab? After you updated to the latest firmware, did you perform a Factory Reset and reconfigure manually (not from any "restore" file)?

Also, what do the link rates for your connection say on the router's wireless log page? (To rule out some basic settings incompatibility with your pc's wireless setup.) What does your signal environment look like? Is there a lot of interference from neighboring wifi?

A slower downlink rate could happen due to something with the firewall or main cpu activity. Some of the advanced features can affect this, which is why I'm asking. As a quick test, you could turn off the firewall temporarily and see if the slowdown vanishes to see if we're on the right track.

None of them. The router is completely stock, besides the DNS and wi-fi channels. I just did a factory reset, and I have not loaded a config file.

Here are some pictures from WiFi Analyzer, and here is the log from Wireless Log:

SSID: "ASUS"
RSSI: 0 dBm    SNR: 0 dB    noise: -92 dBm    Channel: 9
BSSID: 1C:B7:2C:DC:B3:30    Capability: ESS ShortSlot
Supported Rates: [ 1(b) 2(b) 5.5(b) 6 9 11(b) 12 18 24 36 48 54 ]
VHT Capable:
    Chanspec: 2.4GHz channel 9 20MHz (0x1009)
    Primary channel: 9
    HT Capabilities:
    Supported MCS : [ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 32 ]
    VHT Capabilities:
    Supported VHT (tx) Rates:
        NSS: 1 MCS: 0-9
        NSS: 2 MCS: 0-9
        NSS: 3 MCS: 0-9
    Supported VHT (rx) Rates:
        NSS: 1 MCS: 0-9
        NSS: 2 MCS: 0-9
        NSS: 3 MCS: 0-9

Mode    : AP Only

Stations List                         
----------------------------------------
MAC               Associated Authorized    RSSI PSM SGI STBC Tx rate Rx rate Connect Time
24:DF:6A:D6:1E:A4 Yes        Yes         -34dBm Yes Yes No       39M     24M 00:08:19

SSID: "ASUS_5G-1"
RSSI: 0 dBm    SNR: 0 dB    noise: -92 dBm    Channel: 40/80
BSSID: 1C:B7:2C:DC:B3:34    Capability: ESS
Supported Rates: [ 6(b) 9 12(b) 18 24(b) 36 48 54 ]
VHT Capable:
    Chanspec: 5GHz channel 42 80MHz (0xe12a)
    Primary channel: 40
    HT Capabilities:
    Supported MCS : [ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 ]
    VHT Capabilities:
    Supported VHT (tx) Rates:
        NSS: 1 MCS: 0-9
        NSS: 2 MCS: 0-9
        NSS: 3 MCS: 0-9
    Supported VHT (rx) Rates:
        NSS: 1 MCS: 0-9
        NSS: 2 MCS: 0-9
        NSS: 3 MCS: 0-9

Mode    : AP Only

Stations List                         
----------------------------------------
MAC               Associated Authorized    RSSI PSM SGI STBC Tx rate Rx rate Connect Time
20:C9:D0:48:2C:39 Yes        Yes         -55dBm No  Yes Yes   121.5M    450M 00:08:17

SSID: "ASUS_5G-2"
RSSI: 0 dBm    SNR: 0 dB    noise: -92 dBm    Channel: 112/80
BSSID: 1C:B7:2C:DC:B3:38    Capability: ESS
Supported Rates: [ 6(b) 9 12(b) 18 24(b) 36 48 54 ]
VHT Capable:
    Chanspec: 5GHz channel 106 80MHz (0xe36a)
    Primary channel: 112
    HT Capabilities:
    Supported MCS : [ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 ]
    VHT Capabilities:
    Supported VHT (tx) Rates:
        NSS: 1 MCS: 0-9
        NSS: 2 MCS: 0-9
        NSS: 3 MCS: 0-9
    Supported VHT (rx) Rates:
        NSS: 1 MCS: 0-9
        NSS: 2 MCS: 0-9
        NSS: 3 MCS: 0-9

Mode    : AP Only

Stations List                         
----------------------------------------
MAC               Associated Authorized    RSSI PSM SGI STBC Tx rate Rx rate Connect Time

I have also disabled the firewall in both El Capitain and the router, it is still the same result, unfortunately.

 

[Puppa]

So you are connected to the 1st 5GHz radio, not using 2.4GHz to do your test, right?
Did you try connecting to the 2nd 5GHz radio to see if results are the same?

Did you look at the upload/download bandwidths on the QoS page to see if something else is using bandwidth while you ran the test?

What is your client device in this case?

Also, doing a site survey and choosing a fixed channel free of interference is a good idea.

 

[Lafenear]

So you are connected to the 1st 5GHz radio, not using 2.4GHz to do your test, right?
Did you try connecting to the 2nd 5GHz radio to see if results are the same?

Did you look at the upload/download bandwidths on the QoS page to see if something else is using bandwidth while you ran the test?

What is your client device in this case?

Also, doing a site survey and choosing a fixed channel free of interference is a good idea.

1. Yes, I don't use the 2.4Ghz radio. It is still the same with the 2nd 5Ghz radio.

2. Yes, I'm only using my MBP during the test.

3. Retina MBP Mid-2012.

As you can see from the previous pictures, I'm the only one using band 40 and 112.

I'm from Denmark btw. if that makes a difference.

 

[Puppa]

The Time Capsule allows automatic backup, right? Any chance your MBP is attempting to sync during the test?

 

[Lafenear]

The Time Capsule allows automatic backup, right? Any chance your MBP is attempting to sync during the test?

It won't start the backup process unless the power chord is plugged in, and my MBP is running on battery right now, and there is still no difference in the download speed.

I just plugged in my Time Capsule, and this was the results from SpeedTest.net



My best guess is there is something wrong with the ASUS router.

Here is the Wireless Professional profile, if it matters.

And thanks for the help Puppa, appreciate it.

 

[Puppa]

On the professional tab, not sure it will make a difference but it's possible since they do affect general throughput and there might be some performance artifact unique to Apple:
1) Enable IGMP snooping
2) Enable Optimize AMPDU aggregation

Also, on the main status page look at the "Status" tab on the far right and watch the CPU utilization during the test and note how high it spikes. (It's normal for it to spike when you first open the tab, so let it settle prior to testing, but above 10% would be odd at this speed--an indication that some software setting is in play.)

My gut tells me this is most likely a compatibility issue that can be resolved with settings. It would be odd (but not 100% impossible) for the hardware to be defective with this one symptom. Hopefully someone else on the forum has a MacBook Pro and can confirm.

On another note, what is your ISP connection? It's not PPPoE, is it?
Also, your "before" test, was it done on the original Time Capsule with your MBP also running on battery?

 

[Lafenear]

On the professional tab, not sure it will make a difference but it's possible since they do affect general throughput and there might be some performance artifact unique to Apple:
1) Enable IGMP snooping
2) Enable Optimize AMPDU aggregation

Also, on the main status page look at the "Status" tab on the far right and watch the CPU utilization during the test and note how high it spikes. (It's normal for it to spike when you first open the tab, so let it settle prior to testing, but above 10% would be odd at this speed--an indication that some software setting is in play.)

My gut tells me this is most likely a compatibility issue that can be resolved with settings. It would be odd (but not 100% impossible) for the hardware to be defective with this one symptom. Hopefully someone else on the forum has a MacBook Pro and can confirm.

On another note, what is your ISP connection? It's not PPPoE, is it?
Also, your "before" test, was it done on the original Time Capsule with your MBP also running on battery?

No. 1 and 2 only made it worse.

Here is the picture of the CPU activity from a speed test. It goes well past 10% as you can see, so that might be an indication of something that's wrong.

It's DHCP all the way. And yes, it was running on battery.

I've also noticed that during the download phase in a speed test, it will start at around 100 M/bit and then crawl down to around 40 M/bit, and then stay there.

I have also tested the connection with the Nexus 6P, and it's the same result.

Edit:

Tried to Telnet into the router, and got the following results.

Lafenear@RT-AC3200:/tmp/home/root# nvram show | grep country
wl0_country_code=E0
wl0_country_rev=989
wl_country_code=
wl1_country_rev=989
wl2_country_rev=989
wl2_country_code=E0
fb_country=
size: 51359 bytes (14177 left)
wl_country_rev=989
wl1_country_code=E0
modem_country=
Lafenear@RT-AC3200:/tmp/home/root# nvram show | grep reg_mode
size: 51359 bytes (14177 left)
wl0_reg_mode=off
wl1_reg_mode=off
wl2_reg_mode=h
wl_reg_mode=off

I'm wondering why the country code is set as Eo, when it should be DK.

 

[XIII]

I'm wondering why the country code is set as Eo, when it should be DK.

Did you ever find out what E0 is?

I get that for my new RT-AC86U as well.

(which I funny enough also bought at a Black Friday, though not in Denmark)

 

[Klueless]

Intriguing Christmas puzzle. I assume wired clients are getting full Internet speeds?

You've already tried most everything so I assume you've already tried normal rather than "N only" on everything?