RT-AC66U Dropping Packets / Trade to different router?

[hydroshock]

Hello All,

I've had an issue with this router after reading lots of great things about the RT-N66U and it only being $30 more at the time of purchase. I got it just under a month ago, and still have a couple days to return and wondering if I need to exchange it.

Long story short, I'm dropping packets over wireless, and I'm about 75% certain it's the router. I have been able to connect wired and drop far fewer packets, and connected directly to the modem I saw no packet loss. However I will try testing with the modem again to verify.

I looked up the review for the AC66U and saw that there were a bunch of drops during the wireless throughput, and was wondering if this may be relevant? Can swapping to Merlin FW fix this? Is this something I would see if I replaced the router with the same model? I'd been considering returning it and just going to the N66U or even getting 2x AC56U and putting them on separate ends of the house for better coverage.

Any advice?

 

[jegesq]

What firmware are you using currently?

Who is your ISP and what level/tier of service do you receive (up and download speeds)?

Do you own or lease your modem, if it is a cable modem?

Have you checked your modem's status page to determine if the loss of packets is due to line noise, rf interference, power imbalances on bonded channels, etc.?

There are an enormous number of variables that can cause what looks like "packet loss". Let's see if we can try to isolate some of them before you start looking for another router.

I have two AC66's (one a router and the other a repeater) and they work flawlessly. Whenever I have connectivity issues, the first place I check is my cable modem's status page (I have a Motorola/Arris SB6183). If the "correctables" and "uncorrectables" are high, or out of balance, then it's a sure sign that the issue is with the cable service and not with the router.

Another way to tell is simply connect several computers via the ethernet and wirelessly to your router and then do some internal file transfers to see what sort of consistency and throughput you're getting.

Finally, what sort of devices are you connecting to the AC66? Are they single antenna devices? 2x2? 3x3? Are they 802.11 n? 802.11ac? Or are they legacy devices (b or g)? Do you really need an ac router, or would n suit your clients just as well?