RT-AX86U WiFi issues

[Loukios]

I'm having a real weird issue with my RT-AX86U router. The router works perfectly with my PC that has Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz card. However it seem to have problems with my phone. Here's a screenshot of me pinging my phone from my PC:

Spoiler

Note that I get similar results pinging the phone from my router and it doesn't matter whether I'm using 5GHz or 2.4GHz. Pinging my PC or my Chromecast from the router give me correct ping 0.9-5ms. Also when I'm using my phone the internet on it would stop working for like a good 10 seconds if I disconnect from the WiFi and reconnect it comes back instantly. I have my Asus router setup behind my ISP modem. If I enable the modem's WiFi and connect my phone to it, the internet works fine and never hangs and pings from my router and PC no longer have high ping. Note that I tried both QoS on and off. I tried hard resetting the router. Using default wireless settings and disabling almost all features.

Spoiler: Wireless logs:

SSID: "Asus"
noise: -95 dBm Channel: 6
BSSID: FC:34:97:8B:50:18 Capability: ESS ShortSlot RRM
Supported Rates: [ 6(b) 9 12(b) 18 24(b) 36 48 54 ]
HE Capable:
Chanspec: 2.4GHz channel 6 20MHz (0x1006)
Primary channel: 6
HT Capabilities: 40Mhz SGI20 SGI40
Supported HT MCS : 0-23
Supported VHT MCS:
NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
Supported HE MCS:
80 Mhz:
NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11

Interference Level: Acceptable
Mode : AP Only

Stations List
----------------------------------------
idx MAC Associated Authorized RSSI PHY PSM SGI STBC MUBF NSS BW Tx rate Rx rate Connect Time
5C:A6:E6:6D:1C:2D Yes Yes -50dBm n Yes Yes Yes No 1 20M 72.2M 1M 01:38:46
1 78:66:9D:74:43:45 Yes Yes -46dBm n No Yes Yes No 2 20M 144.4M 130M 02:01:07
1 12:1B:89:C3:4D:C8 Yes Yes -63dBm ac Yes Yes Yes No 1 20M 86.7M 6M 03:30:08
1 E0B:10:4E:F4:4D Yes Yes -46dBm n No Yes No No 1 20M 72.2M 72.2M 03:55:39

SSID: "Asus"
noise: -88 dBm Channel: 48/160
BSSID: FC:34:97:8B:50:1C Capability: ESS RRM
Supported Rates: [ 6(b) 9 12(b) 18 24(b) 36 48 54 ]
HE Capable:
Chanspec: 5GHz channel 50 160MHz (0xeb32)
Primary channel: 48
HT Capabilities: 40Mhz SGI20 SGI40
Supported HT MCS : 0-31
Supported VHT MCS:
NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS4 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
Supported HE MCS:
80 Mhz:
NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS4 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
160 Mhz:
NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS4 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11

Interference Level: Acceptable
Mode : AP Only

DFS status: state In-Service Monitoring(ISM) time elapsed 2797350ms radar channel cleared by DFS channel 48/160 (0xEB32)

Channel Information
----------------------------------------
Channel 36 A Band
Channel 40 A Band
Channel 44 A Band
Channel 48 A Band
Channel 52 A Band, RADAR Sensitive
Channel 56 A Band, RADAR Sensitive
Channel 60 A Band, RADAR Sensitive
Channel 64 A Band, RADAR Sensitive
Channel 100 A Band, RADAR Sensitive
Channel 104 A Band, RADAR Sensitive
Channel 108 A Band, RADAR Sensitive
Channel 112 A Band, RADAR Sensitive
Channel 116 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 120 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 124 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 128 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 132 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 136 A Band, RADAR Sensitive, Passive
Channel 140 A Band, RADAR Sensitive

Stations List
----------------------------------------
idx MAC Associated Authorized RSSI PHY PSM SGI STBC MUBF NSS BW Tx rate Rx rate Connect Time
04:E5:98:E7:EF:1D Yes Yes -55dBm ac Yes Yes Yes Yes 2 80M 585M 6M 00:00:08
58:96:1D:AA:C8:AA Yes Yes -55dBm ax No Yes Yes Yes 2 160M 1921.5M 2161.8M 00:20:04
1 F0:35:75:F7:E2:37 Yes Yes -72dBm n No Yes Yes No 2 40M 90M 6M 08:12:44

 

[drinkingbird]

I'm having a real weird issue with my RT-AX86U router. The router works perfectly with my PC that has Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz card. However it seem to have problems with my phone. Here's a screenshot of me pinging my phone from

Disable 160mhz channels and DFS channels and see how it looks. 160mhz can be very problematic and really isn't necessary in the vast majority of cases.

Assuming your phone is Xaiomi it is only using 80mhz anyway as you can see from your stations list. Your chromecast is only connected at 40 (assuming that is the one using the randomized MAC). Only the PC with intel nic is at 160.

Also make sure you have universal beamforming and airtime fairness disabled. MU-MIMO you can try both settings, sometimes that can be problematic too.

 

[Loukios]

Disable 160mhz channels and DFS channels and see how it looks. 160mhz can be very problematic and really isn't necessary in the vast majority of cases.

Assuming your phone is Xaiomi it is only using 80mhz anyway as you can see from your stations list. Your chromecast is only connected at 40 (assuming that is the one using the randomized MAC). Only the PC with intel nic is at 160.

Also make sure you have universal beamforming and airtime fairness disabled. MU-MIMO you can try both settings, sometimes that can be problematic too.

I've installed MerlinWRT 388.2_beta2 and it seems to be working fine for now. I will report later to confirm.

 

[drinkingbird]

I've installed MerlinWRT 388.2_beta2 and it seems to be working fine for now. I will report later to confirm.

May have just picked different channels after you upgraded/rebooted (or may not be doing 160mhz at all now). Just something to keep in mind if you see issues again, 80mhz in non-DFS range is going to be the most stable and is capable of close to 1G of throughput.

 

[Loukios]

May have just picked different channels after you upgraded/rebooted (or may not be doing 160mhz at all now). Just something to keep in mind if you see issues again, 80mhz in non-DFS range is going to be the most stable and is capable of close to 1G of throughput.

I don't have the channels on auto. I have it fixed on 48 for 5GHz. As you can see it's still doing 160MHz

Though LAN ping is still very bugged but it doesn't matter as pinging anything from my phone that isn't on local network works fine

 

[drinkingbird]

I don't have the channels on auto. I have it fixed on 48 for 5GHz. As you can see it's still doing 160MHz
View attachment 49142
Though LAN ping is still very bugged but it doesn't matter as pinging anything from my phone that isn't on local network works fine
View attachment 49143

That ping is awful, but if things are working ok and you have to have 160, then go for it.

 

[sfx2000]

However it seem to have problems with my phone.

It does not have problems with your phone - your phone is power saving, and this is a good thing.

When it wakes up, should be fine...

 

[drinkingbird]

It does not have problems with your phone - your phone is power saving, and this is a good thing.

When it wakes up, should be fine...

Good point, didn't catch the part that he was pinging the phone (not vice-versa) and it is showing 6M/650M which is definitely indicative of power saving mode. But yeah I've never bothered to read too much into pinging a mobile device regardless of the state it is in. Putting an app on the phone and pinging from there is much more reliable. Though the two dropped pings still seem suspect to me.

Or if you believe all the hype about Xaiomi then those two dropped pings are just when the phone was uploading all the spy data back to Beijing

All that being said though, 160 is still just asking for potential trouble. Even if the phone is only connected at 80 it will still be impacted when the router is forced to rescan etc. Whatever, if it works and keeps working, then all good.

 

[Loukios]

It does not have problems with your phone - your phone is power saving, and this is a good thing.

When it wakes up, should be fine...

I don't think that's it. As I mentioned if I connect to the modem directly I don't have any of the issues I'm facing with the Asus router. My phone screen is on when I'm making these tests. The problem seem to persist after doing the changes you suggested and I don't find anything at all in the system logs..

Disable 160mhz channels and DFS channels and see how it looks. 160mhz can be very problematic and really isn't necessary in the vast majority of cases.

Assuming your phone is Xaiomi it is only using 80mhz anyway as you can see from your stations list. Your chromecast is only connected at 40 (assuming that is the one using the randomized MAC). Only the PC with intel nic is at 160.

Also make sure you have universal beamforming and airtime fairness disabled. MU-MIMO you can try both settings, sometimes that can be problematic too.

 

[dezzm5]

I don't think that's it. As I mentioned if I connect to the modem directly I don't have any of the issues I'm facing with the Asus router. My phone screen is on when I'm making these tests. The problem seem to persist after doing the changes you suggested and I don't find anything at all in the system logs..

Your own screenshot tells you that your phone is power saving. Thats what the P under flags stands for. Flags are explained on the same page your picture comes from.
Having screen on doesnt change much. Try to monitor latency while transfering some bigger file between your pc and your phone over wifi.

 

[Loukios]

Your own screenshot tells you that your phone is power saving. Thats what the P under flags stands for. Flags are explained on the same page your picture comes from.
Having screen on doesnt change much. Try to monitor latency while transfering some bigger file between your pc and your phone over wifi.

That's true. Ping is significantly lower as I'm transferring a file. But this doesn't explain how the internet stops working. Note that I can't even access the router interface when the WiFi hangs (using my phone).

 

[bbunge]

That's true. Ping is significantly lower as I'm transferring a file. But this doesn't explain how the internet stops working. Note that I can't even access the router interface when the WiFi hangs (using my phone).

Maybe you should get another phone. No issues here with my old Moto Power or iPhone. TV, Dish, pc's, Pi and tablets all very happy with the AX86U! Then again it is a phone and should not be expected to do what a grown up computer can do....

 

[Loukios]

Maybe you should get another phone. No issues here with my old Moto Power or iPhone. TV, Dish, pc's, Pi and tablets all very happy with the AX86U! Then again it is a phone and should not be expected to do what a grown up computer can do....

I mean I would expect it to actually function. As I said the problem is that the WiFi is hanging completely no internet and no lan access for 30 seconds+. Using the phone on other access points works as intended.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

I mean I would expect it to actually function. As I said the problem is that the WiFi is hanging completely no internet and no lan access for 30 seconds+. Using the phone on other access points works as intended.

If you are using the same SSID that you have always used: try changing the name(s) for a 24 hr period and see if things change.
Be careful not to use certain prohibited characters. (keep it somewhat simple)

 

[drinkingbird]

I mean I would expect it to actually function. As I said the problem is that the WiFi is hanging completely no internet and no lan access for 30 seconds+. Using the phone on other access points works as intended.

If it is only the phone having issues, try "forgetting* the wifi network and re-adding it. Have you tried lower channel sizes and/or a different control channel just to see?

 

[John Fitzgerald]

If it is only the phone having issues, try "forgetting* the wifi network and re-adding it.

My suggestion above accomplishes the same thing.

 

[drinkingbird]

My suggestion above accomplishes the same thing.

Except if they change the SSID they have to update all their devices and it does not accomplish anything more than deleting and rejoining the existing SSID on the one device. For your method I would have recommended creating a new guest SSID and moving just the phone to that, that way don't have to change a bunch of stuff. But again, no different than just rejoining the existing network. Phones and devices don't hold some sort of grudge against a particular SSID name. If they were using invalid characters, it wouldn't be able to connect at all.

 

[drinkingbird]

I mean I would expect it to actually function. As I said the problem is that the WiFi is hanging completely no internet and no lan access for 30 seconds+. Using the phone on other access points works as intended.

If re-joining the phone doesn't work then you need to focus on features the Asus has that your ISP router may not. Look through the regular wireless and advanced wireless settings. Throughput enhancers, MU-MIMO, stuff like that could potentially be confusing the phone's wireless chipset.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Except if they change the SSID they have to update all their devices and it does not accomplish anything more than deleting and rejoining the existing SSID on the one device. For your method I would have recommended creating a new guest SSID and moving just the phone to that, that way don't have to change a bunch of stuff. But again, no different than just rejoining the existing network. Phones and devices don't hold some sort of grudge against a particular SSID name. If they were using invalid characters, it wouldn't be able to connect at all.

Previously you told me that resetting the network on a phone was a waste of time and not needed.
Why have you changed your position here?

 

[drinkingbird]

Previously you told me that resetting the network on a phone was a waste of time and not needed.
Why have you changed your position here?

Nope, haven't changed my position for those symptoms we were discussing (user using exact same hardware and SSID and had upgraded firmware causing issues with multiple devices, not just a single phone). 99.9% of the time there is no reason to "forget" a wifi network either, but since it takes 30 seconds to try, and other things haven't worked, it is worth a shot. Network reset on the phone I would keep as a last resort, but if the OP doesn't mind re-pairing bluetooth and losing saved wifi networks, go for it, will accomplish the same or potentially a bit more than forgetting the network. However I'd focus more on the settings in the router itself, since the phone works fine with their ISP router.