RT-AC86U and Universal Beamforming...

[OzarkEdge]

Just an FYI after replacing a 68U with an 86U...

I have a 2010 Dell Latitude E6410 laptop with legacy Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 Dual Band wireless adapter (3 antennas) and a 2013 Nexus 7 tablet (1 antenna). With Universal Beamforming enabled on the 86U, the laptop WiFi link rate bounces around 190 Mbps, and the tablet link rate holds steady at 135 Mbps. With Universal Beamforming disabled, the laptop holds steady at its max link rate of 450 Mbps, and the tablet does similar at 150 Mbps.

Merlin firmware defaults to Airtime Fairness disabled and Universal Beamforming disabled... users running stock firmware should consider doing the same.

OE

 

[Kingp1n]

Would you recommend doing this for both 2.4 and 5ghz?

 

[OzarkEdge]

Would you recommend doing this for both 2.4 and 5ghz?

Yes, if you have legacy device adapters that might benefit. It's a simple change you can easily revert.

If you are running AiMesh wireless backhauls, inspect backhaul Tx/Rx rates in the Wireless log before and after the change to see if these are affected. I'm concerned they might be but I can not confirm this until I return to my AiMesh in a few weeks.

OE

 

[CriticJay]

Just an FYI after replacing a 68U with an 86U...

I have a 2010 Dell Latitude E6410 laptop with legacy Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 Dual Band wireless adapter (3 antennas) and a 2013 Nexus 7 tablet (1 antenna). With Universal Beamforming enabled on the 86U, the laptop WiFi link rate bounces around 190 Mbps, and the tablet link rate holds steady at 135 Mbps. With Universal Beamforming disabled, the laptop holds steady at its max link rate of 450 Mbps, and the tablet does similar at 150 Mbps.

Merlin firmware defaults to Airtime Fairness disabled and Universal Beamforming disabled... users running stock firmware should consider doing the same.

OE

Yes, great point. The only "beamforming" we should be using is 802.11ac Beamforming, and of course that feature is exclusive to the 5ghz band.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Yes, great point. The only "beamforming" we should be using is 802.11ac Beamforming, and of course that feature is exclusive to the 5ghz band.

I still have 2.4 GHz Explicit Beamforming enabled... any thoughts on this one?

These sort of discussions always beg the question, why does ASUS ship the default setting enabled? Presumably the answer varies with each consideration and is weighted in favor of current technology.

OE

 

[CriticJay]

I still have 2.4 GHz Explicit Beamforming enabled... any thoughts on this one?

These sort of discussions always beg the question, why does ASUS ship the default setting enabled? Presumably the answer varies with each consideration and is weighted in favor of current technology.

OE

I believe I disabled that one, purely because the spec (AFAIK) only specifies a Beamforming standard for 802.11ac.
And in turn, the 802.11ac standard only applies to 5ghz.

Therefore (simply using logic here), there is no standard beamforming for 2.4ghz - so I'm not sure how "explicit beamforming" on 2.4ghz is any different from "universal beamforming".

 

[DummyPLUG]

I believe I disabled that one, purely because the spec (AFAIK) only specifies a Beamforming standard for 802.11ac.
And in turn, the 802.11ac standard only applies to 5ghz.

Therefore (simply using logic here), there is no standard beamforming for 2.4ghz - so I'm not sure how "explicit beamforming" on 2.4ghz is any different from "universal beamforming".

In short, universal beamforming(implicit beamforming) is the router try to guess how to beamform to the device, the device don't need to do anything at all, that why it work for all device but it just a best effort, so it won't work well for some case

explicit beamforming (and the ac beamforming) require the device sending info back to the router so the router know how exactly to beamform to the device, that's why it need device support.

 

[ka81]

So, all those Beamforming - should be Disabled or .. ?

 

[maxbraketorque]

So, all those Beamforming - should be Disabled or .. ?

"Universal" beamforming is the problematic one. Whether its problematic seems to vary greatly with the device connecting to the router. I have universal beamforming enabled on both 2.4 GHz (N only) and 5 GHz (N/AC), and I've not had any issues with any devices.

 

[CaptainSTX]

I also have no problems on either band with beam forming. Only thing I disabled was air time fairness.

Your results may vary as perhaps some clients are more sensitive/picky or poorly designed.

 

[iFrogMac]

This is an old thread, but I was hoping to be able to add a question that's based on this topic here.

What about devices such as smart bulbs. My particular bulbs use the Geeni app, and are 80211n 2.4gh only devices.
I'm currently running an Asus RT-AX82u, but the router doesn't seem to matter. These bubs can be temperamental when the network is disturbed and can randomly not reconnect without a power cycle.
The question is, I've disabled universal beamforming for the 5ghz channel as none of those devices need it, and it helped improved stability when it comes to speeds. However 2.4 devices can be picky more so from my experience.

With this said, I've left explicit beamforming enabled on 2.4g and disabled universal. So, what would be ideal for smart devices of this type?

Thanks

 

[OzarkEdge]

This is an old thread, but I was hoping to be able to add a question that's based on this topic here.

What about devices such as smart bulbs. My particular bulbs use the Geeni app, and are 80211n 2.4gh only devices.
I'm currently running an Asus RT-AX82u, but the router doesn't seem to matter. These bubs can be temperamental when the network is disturbed and can randomly not reconnect without a power cycle.
The question is, I've disabled universal beamforming for the 5ghz channel as none of those devices need it, and it helped improved stability when it comes to speeds. However 2.4 devices can be picky more so from my experience.

With this said, I've left explicit beamforming enabled on 2.4g and disabled universal. So, what would be ideal for smart devices of this type?

Thanks

You should start a new thread... you've already ruled out Universal Beamforming.

Maybe this FAQ will offer some considerations: https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1042475/

OE

 

[iFrogMac]

You should start a new thread... you've already ruled out Universal Beamforming.

Maybe this FAQ will offer some considerations: https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1042475/

OE

Thank you, I will do some more checking around on my own, and if I can't come up with a resolution, I'll come back and start a new thread. I just wanted to ask here first, since it already was established.

 

[weryard]

Hah! Woohooo,

I disabled `Universal Beamforming` and my Chromecast device connected to wi-fi 5 Ghz without any problems (router Asus RT-AX58U)!
Thanks for the valuable solution!