RT-AC87 Headache

[earthsuiter]

Hello All!

Recently bought an ASUS RT-AC87 router, and have had nothing but issues with it when streaming media in 1080p format.

Here are the details.

Router:
- Running in "Standard Mode"
- Running 376.47 Merlin-build firmware
- Connected to HP Procurve 100/1000 switch via CAT6 cable

The Problem:
Whenever streaming media in 1080p format, the video will become very choppy (almost like a stop-motion picture), however, there are no issues with the audio. The video will be choppy for 3-5 seconds, and then it will return to normal for about 5 minutes. It continues this cycle throughout the entire time. I have heard this being called "judder" but I'm not sure if that's the issue or not. I'm using a ROKU 3 as my streaming device.

I initially thought this was an issue with my PLEX server, however, I experienced the same problem when streaming a movie from Amazon Prime. So, I figured that the issue is with the router itself. I also experienced this problem using the ASUS firmware.

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated!
Tim

 

[yooper2001]

I have this exact problem on the 5 GHz channel. No streaming due to random transfer drops. I can even copy a .iso file and watch it randomly drop from 40 MB/s to 0 then back up to 40. This happens at least 5 times during the copy. I have a very strong connection...great signal....surfs the web well....but streaming does not work. I have changed 6 different AC adapters to no avail. But Merlin
thinks that the current firmware is good....so I guess we wait for better adapter drivers....Funny that my 66u works fine on all those adapters...all well.

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
Is the WMM on 5GHz enabled? Played with QoS?

 

[hugosantos]

No Problems here

I have no problem on my router ac87 with mkv files in 1080p 3d and plex media server ..
My setup is:
Pc with gigabit network card -> Ac87 with official release in 2769 -> LG SMARTV 5ghz network.

At no time did any slowness in displaying the movies occurs.

 

[Poseidon]

Has Asus abandoned support for the 87U/R? WiFi performance on this router is a POS and I'm getting beyond frustrated with the lack of support and firmware updates for this model. I (bleeping) paid almost $300 (w/ taxes) for this router and 3 months after it's release, 5GHz wireless is still crippled and NOTHING has been done to address this and the other multiple issues that people, who spent their hard-earned money, have reported.

Does Asus even give a darn about it's consumers or are they going to continue putting out $300 routers and turn a blind eye?

IF the next firmware release does not fix wireless performance, I'm done with Asus moving forward.

Complete BS!

 

[RMerlin]

Has Asus abandoned support for the 87U/R?

They already posted that they are currently targeting for a new firmware release for next week:

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=18385

 

[lennier]

I also have issues using the 5 GHz band. My 5 GHz band disappears after a few minutes when you boot or save changes to the router. There's not even a trace of it when I search for it using a WIFI analyzer. I was able to replicate this bug with the latest 2 revisions of the stock firmware and Merlin firmware.

However, I found that if you change to 5 GHz band width from 80 MHz (default) to 40 MHz, the 5GHz band becomes visible and accessible again.

Update: If you set manually set the WIFI control channel on the 5 GHz band instead of using 'auto', the 5GHz band shows up again.

 

[RMerlin]

However, I found that if you change to 5 GHz band width from 80 MHz (default) to 40 MHz, the 5GHz band becomes visible and accessible again.

Update: If you set manually set the WIFI control channel on the 5 GHz band instead of using 'auto', the 5GHz band shows up again.

This usually happens if you have a router set for a specific region, but your wireless clients are for a different region, and they don't support the same channels as your router (for example if they only support the lower section of the 5 GHz band).

 

[arrow201]

Maybe some sort of site or something needs to be setup so 87u users can also select their closes configuration? With all the options available, maybe something enabled in another area is affecting other areas ? ie. I'm running with 2769 firmware and have no 5Ghz issues at all. My 5Ghz is set to 40MHz band. I send movies without a problem to a Samsung smart TV. Simple, Synology NAS wired to AC87u --> smart TV (5Ghz). I'm talking good size mkv, mp4, files etc. I streamed a 11gig, approx. 1 1/2hr movie the other night. But my 87u config is simple (for now), no qos, no micro trend, no usb, etc. I have a number of devices on 2.4Ghz, some wired devices. I have a few static IPs for a voip phone and my NAS, 1 port forward for sftp, that's about it.

I'm reading so many "mine works perfect" followed by "mine doesn't". With so many options available I think it's apples and oranges with users different setups

 

[bodean]

Hi,
Is the WMM on 5GHz enabled? Played with QoS?

I don't see any WMM option, even under professional, for 5GHz using merlins latest beta FW.

 

[Poseidon]

My 5Ghz is set to 40MHz band.

Just curious but why did you set your 5GHz to 40MHz instead of the default 80MHz?

I really hope the next firmware addresses these wireless performance issues that many of us have endured since the beginning.

 

[bodean]

Just curious but why did you set your 5GHz to 40MHz instead of the default 80MHz?

I really hope the next firmware addresses these wireless performance issues that many of us have endured since the beginning.

He probably doesn't have any AC clients....

 

[arrow201]

He probably doesn't have any AC clients....

That is correct ...to elaborate, I have no AC devices at the moment and have no legacy devices so, from what I've read (correct me if I'm wrong) the best performance under these circumstances is to select "N only" for wireless mode and select 40 MHz for channel bandwidth (there's no 80 MHz mode selection when in "N only" mode)

 

[bodean]

That is correct ...to elaborate, I have no AC devices at the moment and have no legacy devices so, from what I've read (correct me if I'm wrong) the best performance under these circumstances is to select "N only" for wireless mode and select 40 MHz for channel bandwidth (there's no 80 MHz mode selection when in "N only" mode)

you are correct

 

[lennier]

This usually happens if you have a router set for a specific region, but your wireless clients are for a different region, and they don't support the same channels as your router (for example if they only support the lower section of the 5 GHz band).

I don't think this is really the issue. Manually setting the control channel on the 5 GHz band worked for about half a day =( until the network disappeared again. As the other posts seem to suggest, putting the router in "N only" mode on the 5 GHz bought it back online. Hopefully my 5 GHz network under these settings remains stable until Asus fixes this bug.