Slow Internet Access only on wifi RT-AC68U

[mindspawn]

I just got a brand new RT-AC68U and installed 3.0.0.4.374.37 (Merlin build) on it. Nearly everything is working great.

When I run http://www.speedtest.net speed test on laptop via wifi, I average about 14 mbps. However, if I run it from the same laptop via ethernet, I get 38-40 mbps (which is what my ISP advertises). I have noticed this behavior on two different laptops. I also see the same behavior on both 2.4 and 5 GHz networks. I also see this issue on my Nexus 7, Note 3 and iPhone 4S.

Strange thing is that if I do a large file copy from an ethernet connected PC to a laptop over wifi, I get speeds of close to 100mbps. So to me it does not appear to be a wifi related issue but an issue with the way the bandwidth is being allocated to the wifi clients? FYI I am not using any QoS features.

Does anyone else notice this behavior? Any suggestions?

 

[L&LD]

You can wait for the .38 code to be finished or try the 37_2 code to see improvement now.

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/ftf9kjixr1a5f//Misc

 

[chercm]

37_2 does improve a lot on that

 

[mindspawn]

Thanks for the super fast response. Unfortunately, it does not seem to help in my case . I downloaded the firmware and also hit the reboot button once and I still see the lower internet speed over wifi alone.

 

[mtrains]

Thanks for the super fast response. Unfortunately, it does not seem to help in my case . I downloaded the firmware and also hit the reboot button once and I still see the lower internet speed over wifi alone.

Have you tweaked your basic wireless settings such as setting the 2.4GHz bandwidth to 20 MHz instead of the default 20/40MHz? Also have you chosen the correct channel among 1, 6 and 11 instead of leaving it at 'auto'. These things make a significant improvement to your throughput if you are in a wifi congested area.

 

[mindspawn]

Have you tweaked your basic wireless settings such as setting the 2.4GHz bandwidth to 20 MHz instead of the default 20/40MHz? Also have you chosen the correct channel among 1, 6 and 11 instead of leaving it at 'auto'. These things make a significant improvement to your throughput if you are in a wifi congested area.

No I have not messed with the wifi setting too much since I get gigabit speeds over wifi when accessing other systems on the wired network. So I am assuming that the wifi part is working ok. I did however pick an unused channel that is as far as possible from any channels used by neighbors.

 

[mindspawn]

Not sure if it matters, but I am using PPPoE. Just as an experiment, I tried using the original Asus firmware and it performs even worse. The throughput when accessing a PC on the LAN from wifi is only 30mbps.

 

[AndersF]

I'm having about the same problem. Tried all Asus firmware and the 3 latest Merlin firmware. I even had problems with the speed on ethernet on the .205 firmware which the router had when I bought it. Updating to any later FW fixed that though. Tried about any settings I found like enable "N only" when not have any AC adapters, 20Mhz only for 2,4 Ghz network. I have reset the router after every firmware update. The only thing left is to switch channel from "Auto". I also have problems with all my handheld devices, especially the Ipad.

 

[mindspawn]

I'm having about the same problem. Tried all Asus firmware and the 3 latest Merlin firmware. I even had problems with the speed on ethernet on the .205 firmware which the router had when I bought it. Updating to any later FW fixed that though. Tried about any settings I found like enable "N only" when not have any AC adapters, 20Mhz only for 2,4 Ghz network. I have reset the router after every firmware update. The only thing left is to switch channel from "Auto". I also have problems with all my handheld devices, especially the Ipad.

Do you also use PPPoE to connect to the WAN?

 

[mindspawn]

Was looking at the changelog for the .38 firmware on github here and noticed the following line:

* PPPoE HW acceleration should be fixed by the new SDK

Sounds like that may help my issue. I guess my question then would be can I access a beta of .38 somewhere and does .37_2 include this change?

 

[mindspawn]

Was looking at the changelog for the .38 firmware on github here and noticed the following line: Sounds like that may help my issue. I guess my question then would be can I access a beta of .38 somewhere and does .37_2 include this change?

Did a quick check on the commit tag in the firmware .37_2 and I see merlin@033923a. I am guessing this is short for the commit tag 033923a4ad and that was on Dec 31. The new SDK (which includes the PPPoE fix) was ported only on Jan 3rd and a few missing files updated on Jan 4th. So it seems like 37_2 does not have the fix. Looking forward to the .38 release .

 

[AndersF]

Do you also use PPPoE to connect to the WAN?

No, its DHCP

 

[mindspawn]

I just built the latest firmware with all PPPoE hardware acceleration changes and ensured that hardware acceleration was enabled and running. But my issue with slow internet speed over wifi still remains

 

[RMerlin]

I just built the latest firmware with all PPPoE hardware acceleration changes and ensured that hardware acceleration was enabled and running. But my issue with slow internet speed over wifi still remains

I saw Asus did a fair amount of changes related to PPPoE on the N16/N66/AC66, but I didn't notice if they also did that on the AC56/AC68 (which uses a different kernel version).

Note however that if your performance issues are strictly over Wifi then this isn't related to HW acceleration but to something different.

 

[mindspawn]

I saw Asus did a fair amount of changes related to PPPoE on the N16/N66/AC66, but I didn't notice if they also did that on the AC56/AC68 (which uses a different kernel version).

Note however that if your performance issues are strictly over Wifi then this isn't related to HW acceleration but to something different.

Yes my issues are strictly wifi to internet. However, my wifi to LAN is great and I see gigabit speeds. So seems like something related to the WAN bandwidth sharing between LAN and WiFi?

 

[mindspawn]

Hmm so this keeps getting stranger. I tried a few older merlin firmwares and the problem persisted. I then tried dd-wrt and the problem still persisted. I then tried a different router (netgear wndr 3700) with dd-wrt on it and PPPoE and I still see this problem. My ISP is CenturyLink and I have a Actiontec C1000A modem+router. I have the C1000A in Transparent Bridge mode. I then also tried putting the RT-AC68 in access point mode with the LAN port alone connected to the modem. And the problem still persists. Again in all these cases, copying a large file over wifi from a LAN PC gives me about 100 mbps. However, speedtest to the internet gives me only 10 mbps over wifi but gives me 40 mbps if run on a LAN PC.

So obviously it is not specific to RT-AC68 or merlin firmware.

 

[KGB7]

I had Actiontec cable modem that was provided to me by ISP, and its the biggest POS i have ever seen. I couldnt even get the speeds i was paying for, even though it was a DOCSIS 3.0. After 6 month it started dropping connection to internet/isp and two month later it just quit.


If you renting the modem from your ISP then ask for a new one, if you not renting it, then see if you can get a different brand.


Another thing to take in to consideration. When you connect your laptop/s directly in to your modem, do your laptops have 100mbps NIC or Gigabit NIC?
Does the modem/router have Gigabit ports?

Are you using good quality, shielded cat5e or cat6 cables? If they are flimsy and easy to bend cables, then they are not shielded and that can make a difference. A proper shielded Ethernet cable is much tougher and less likely to hold any shape when you wrap it around your fist, its like trying to wrap a spring around an object.

I dont know why, but for some reason, yellow cat6 cables are much more thicker then any other colored cat 6 cables i have seen, could be based on a brand.
My 3 foot yellow cables are thick as a garden hose( 2 different brands), 3 foot blue one is medium grade, and white cables that are 10 feet are much softer. All different brands, but they all get the job done well and all gave me zero issues.
At work i have used cat6 cables that are thick enough to pull a train. I used them to run a bundle of 40 cables at over 100 feet and they help to minimize the interference with other electrical cabling and metal pipes inside the walls.

Even if your modem and router are one foot apart, get your self the thickest you can find cat6 cable to connect the two. The good cables have a shield around the plastic clips at each end.

The cat 5e that comes with the router is soft and flimsy, a good indication that it lacks shielding, and has low gauge copper wire. It might have passed some vague Quality Check, but dont rely on it.

.

 

[mindspawn]

I had Actiontec cable modem that was provided to me by ISP, and its the biggest POS i have ever seen. I couldnt even get the speeds i was paying for, even though it was a DOCSIS 3.0. After 6 month it started dropping connection to internet/isp and two month later it just quit.


If you renting the modem from your ISP then ask for a new one, if you not renting it, then see if you can get a different brand.


Another thing to take in to consideration. When you connect your laptop/s directly in to your modem, do your laptops have 100mbps NIC or Gigabit NIC?
Does the modem/router have Gigabit ports?

Are you using good quality, shielded cat5e or cat6 cables? If they are flimsy and easy to bend cables, then they are not shielded and that can make a difference. A proper shielded Ethernet cable is much tougher and less likely to hold any shape when you wrap it around your fist, its like trying to wrap a spring around an object.

I dont know why, but for some reason, yellow cat6 cables are much more thicker then any other colored cat 6 cables i have seen, could be based on a brand.
My 3 foot yellow cables are thick as a garden hose( 2 different brands), 3 foot blue one is medium grade, and white cables that are 10 feet are much softer. All different brands, but they all get the job done well and all gave me zero issues.
At work i have used cat6 cables that are thick enough to pull a train. I used them to run a bundle of 40 cables at over 100 feet and they help to minimize the interference with other electrical cabling and metal pipes inside the walls.

Even if your modem and router are one foot apart, get your self the thickest you can find cat6 cable to connect the two. The good cables have a shield around the plastic clips at each end.

The cat 5e that comes with the router is soft and flimsy, a good indication that it lacks shielding, and has low gauge copper wire. It might have passed some vague Quality Check, but dont rely on it.

.

Thanks for the reply. I have an ActionTec DSL modem. Like I mentioned, I consistently get the 40mbps that I am paying for when I access over the LAN. My issue is only on wifi and that too only wifi to internet is the problem. Wifi to LAN speeds are in the gigabit range.

I noticed that if I keep reseting / restoring factory defaults on the RT-AC68U, randomly once in every few times, things seem to work i.e. I get about 35~38mbps over 5ghz wifi.

I think I am very close to giving up and switching to a RT-N66U.

 

[mindspawn]

Just thought Id post an update. I returned my AC68U for a N66U and I couldnt be happier. I am running 3.0.0.4.374.38_1-em (Merlin) on it and everything works perfectly. Couldnt be happier with the throughputs I get (both to LAN and WAN). All my previous issues are now gone

 

[opticspen]

I had very similar issue, but I'm using comcast 25mbps

thru wifi, and when I run speedtest, I only get 15-20mbps thru wif.
if use lan, I get 28mbps consistently

copy file within network is quick: wifi to lan copy is fast, about 60+mbps (maxed out from my powerline connected computer)

it appears to me a firmware issue, and I hope its not hardware related issue.

very disappointing, any thoughts/advice are highly appreciated.

----updated results in next post with latest factory firmware 4422

Just thought Id post an update. I returned my AC68U for a N66U and I couldnt be happier. I am running 3.0.0.4.374.38_1-em (Merlin) on it and everything works perfectly. Couldnt be happier with the throughputs I get (both to LAN and WAN). All my previous issues are now gone