RT-AC88U

[RMerlin]

Out of pure interest why disable those options? Upon research they sound like good features to have enabled.

Those are the most common cause of compatibility issues. Nitro/TurboQAM is proprietary technology only supported by Broadcom clients, universal beamforming is a non-standard tech that might not always work properly (not to be confused with the official 802.11 beamforming which I leave enabled on the 5 GHz band, where 802.11ac is actually being used). MU-MIMO is still in beta and is known to be broken on most Broadcom-based routers.

this enabled in your firmware?

I added it in 380.64.

I have your most recent firmware (which on media fire shows November 2015??) Installed...

That's definitely not the latest, since 380.64_2 was released only a few weeks ago. There's been a number of releases throughout 2016 as well.

 

[ToonTonic]

Thank you for your earlier response.

OK I have updated to your latest firmware & to be honest....I wish I didn't.

5ghz wifi no longer works, when trying to connect it just states "fail to find IP", further more all my "smart" devices are showing "no connection".

Lastly, the RED status light goes from white to RED every few minutes.

I've contacted my ISP (Virgin Media) and as far as they are concerned, nothing is wrong in my area.

Update: took Virgin router out of modem mode & unplugged 88U. CONNECTED to Virgin router as per normal and the Internet & all devices work.

Put Virgin router back in modem mode, reconnected 88U, and I just get the red light of death.

No connection at all

Toon

 

[RMerlin]

Put Virgin router back in modem mode, reconnected 88U, and I just get the red light of death.

When doing router changes on a cable connection, it's important to power off the modem for at least 5 minutes (some ISP might need 10-30 minutes), otherwise the ISP will refuse to give you a new DHCP lease as it gets asked for one from a different MAC than the previous one.

Regarding wifi, the wireless driver is closed source, and therefore 100% identical to the stock firmware. There's no reason for the change of firmware to have any impact on wifi.

 

[ToonTonic]

When doing router changes on a cable connection, it's important to power off the modem for at least 5 minutes (some ISP might need 10-30 minutes), otherwise the ISP will refuse to give you a new DHCP lease as it gets asked for one from a different MAC than the previous one.

Regarding wifi, the wireless driver is closed source, and therefore 100% identical to the stock firmware. There's no reason for the change of firmware to have any impact on wifi.

I'll turn off my router for 10min, see if that changes anything.

Ref wifi....5ghz was working fine before, now just states "unable to find IP"

Toon

 

[ToonTonic]

30min reset did nothing, red light still on.

There a way I can provide log easily for this? Dead net atm

Toon

 

[ToonTonic]

Think it's factory reset time

Toon

 

[SoCalReviews]

As a casual physics enthusiast I find the article very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

You are welcome! It's good to know someone else enjoyed that article. I'm a big physics/quantum physics enthusiast. Instead of watching regular TV for entertainment I often watch several hour long physics lectures for fun and read scientific papers on the latest findings. I also attend live lectures with theoretical physicists discussing these topics. I've been into studying this and all areas of science for a very long time.

Right now I am examining the implications of the Simulation Hypothesis and Virtual Reality Theory... but of course it's a topic for another forum. Check out the audio YouTube link below just for fun....

Jill Hanson talks with former NASA physicist Tom Campbell and Jim Elvidge on the concept of virtual reality and the momentum it is gaining in the science community

Ok, back to topic of wireless routers...

 

[ToonTonic]

Just pondering if there is new firmware inbound for this router (merlin)

As much as I love the Client routing for VPN, the more than often drop outs of wifi is very frustrating.

Wired devices work fine, but wireless no matter which band, often fall flat.

Only way to fix is to disconnect router for 5-10min & then your set for a while.

Sent via 4G Mobile, because wifi has died....again

Toon

 

[CAVOK84]

Those are always very specific to your environment. But generally speaking, what I recommend is:

- Disable MU-MIMO
- Disable Nitro/Turbo-QAM
- 5 GHz: disable universal beamforming
- 2.4 GHz: disable both beamforming
- Set a static channel on both bands

Everything else should be left to default, unless you want to experiment with them and see how your specific environment handles these.

Thanks for the suggestions. Even when placing the adapter right next to the router, I'm still only getting 1.7Gbps-- which under normal circumstances would be great but I had hoped to fully utilize the technology of both adapter and router.

Anytime I move the adapter a 'room's length' away I see speeds around 1.3Gbps, which is the same as when I was using my AC-68 and RT 68u. The 88U also has the issue of constantly limiting the 5GHz frequency to 20 or 40 mhz unless I manually set 80.

"Disable Nitro/turbo-QAM": Is this not specifically what my combination of ASUS products is designed to utilize? With both my adapter and my router being broadcom Nitro capable (88u, ac88) would I not want to keep this?

 

[RMerlin]

"Disable Nitro/turbo-QAM": Is this not specifically what my combination of ASUS products is designed to utilize? With both my adapter and my router being broadcom Nitro capable (88u, ac88) would I not want to keep this?

This parameter is more a marketing gimmick than anything. Nobody ever managed to get anything to connect at the speeds supported by this proprietary technology. Might as well ensure they don't cause compatibility issues with other non-Broadcom clients.

 

[CAVOK84]

This parameter is more a marketing gimmick than anything. Nobody ever managed to get anything to connect at the speeds supported by this proprietary technology. Might as well ensure they don't cause compatibility issues with other non-Broadcom clients.

Gotcha, thanks for the clarification. It really is a shame that marketed selling points, eye-popping graphics and all, turn out to be-- as you said-- a gimmick. It's a great router, and I guess I'm happy with the adapter... but not gaining any throughput advantage by going with a 4 antennae adapter (from a 3 antennae) makes me rethink my purchase.

I guess it's good for jamming drones

 

[ToonTonic]

This link speed about right for this router using a Galaxy S7?

Seems low to me, I'm about 5ft away from the router.

Toon

 

[RMerlin]

This link speed about right for this router using a Galaxy S7?

Disable MU-MIMO.

 

[ToonTonic]

Disable MU-MIMO.

Does indeed double the link speed, why does this feature have such a drastic effect on the network?

Notice it's been in ALPHA for some time, should router manufacturers really be advertising a feature that's effectively still test software/hardware?

Toon

 

[RMerlin]

Does indeed double the link speed, why does this feature have such a drastic effect on the network?

Because Broadcom's MU-MIMO support is broken.

 

[SturmButcher]

Dear Merlin do you have a guide or something to get the best performance in this router? what should and shouldn't I do?

 

[RMerlin]

Dear Merlin do you have a guide or something to get the best performance in this router? what should and shouldn't I do?

Not in particular, in part because everyone's environment is different. You will find a lot of that information all over the forums.

 

[unclebuk]

Those are always very specific to your environment. But generally speaking, what I recommend is:

- Disable MU-MIMO
- Disable Nitro/Turbo-QAM
- 5 GHz: disable universal beamforming
- 2.4 GHz: disable both beamforming
- Set a static channel on both bands

Everything else should be left to default, unless you want to experiment with them and see how your specific environment handles these.

Hello Mr. Merlin,

Can you tell me where this Nitro / Turbo-QAM setting is located on the AC88U? I cannot find itn anywhere.

Thank you,
unclebuk

 

[RMerlin]

Can you tell me where this Nitro / Turbo-QAM setting is located on the AC88U? I cannot find itn anywhere.

Wireless -> Professional, Modulation Scheme: set it to the lowest value on both bands.

 

[unclebuk]

Wireless -> Professional, Modulation Scheme: set it to the lowest value on both bands.

awesome, thanks for that, real good.