Terrible WiFi performance after MerlinASUS firmware update

[jadog]

After updating to AsusMerline 386.1_2 firmware on my RT-AC88U, my WiFi performance is randomly awful...to the point of being unusable. I am forced to connect my laptop with a network cable just to be able to use the internet. It seems to improve after I reboot the router. But then after several devices connect again wirelessly, the performance drops significantly again. A few times a week the router even seems to lose internet connectivity entirely (the red led indicator for the internet appears) and after a few minutes it comes back online. I have factory restored my router and re-configured everything but the behavior continues. Any thoughts?

 

[John Fitzgerald]

After updating to AsusMerline 386.1_2 firmware on my RT-AC88U, my WiFi performance is randomly awful...to the point of being unusable. I am forced to connect my laptop with a network cable just to be able to use the internet. It seems to improve after I reboot the router. But then after several devices connect again wirelessly, the performance drops significantly again. A few times a week the router even seems to lose internet connectivity entirely (the red led indicator for the internet appears) and after a few minutes it comes back online. I have factory restored my router and re-configured everything but the behavior continues. Any thoughts?

Did you ever factory wipe the JFFS partition? You have to put a check in box (wipe partition at next Reboot)
Scroll all the way down to the bottom and hit Apply, then reboot.

I assume you are running a basic vanilla setup without any add on scripts because you didn't mention any and don't have your "signature section" filled out.

 

[jadog]

Yes, I wiped the JFFS partition. No add on scripts.

 

[Sky1111]

@jadog - I did not like 386.1_2; I suggest you try 386.2 Beta2

 

[John Fitzgerald]

@jadog - I did not like 386.1_2; I suggest you try 386.2 Beta2

That would be BETA 3 now.

 

[jadog]

I continue to experience awful wifi performance even after upgrading to the latest (I am currently on 386.2_4). The last good firmware where I wasn't experiencing these issues was prior to 386.x. So now I am looking to flash back to 384.19. Is there a special process for that?

 

[sone]

Change your wi-fi channels.. the ones that it defaults to after upgrade are probably interfering with other external elements.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

I continue to experience awful wifi performance even after upgrading to the latest (I am currently on 386.2_4). The last good firmware where I wasn't experiencing these issues was prior to 386.x. So now I am looking to flash back to 384.19. Is there a special process for that?

It's your settings, did you do a Factory GUI Reset and configure from scratch.
Try the ALPHA BUILD, its been solid for me: https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/download

 

[jadog]

@sone
I have my wifi channel settings set to "Auto" and I'm currently not using any of the same channels as my neighbors. Right now it's using channel 10.

@John Fitzgerald
I did a factory reset and formatted the JFFS partition. Did you have this same issue prior to the Alpha build? I have had this issue on every version of 386.x that I've tried. It takes me quite a bit of time to configure all my settings after a factory reset, so I'm ready to go back to a prior build. Of note, after resetting, the wifi seems good for a day or so before it drops to about nothing.

Note, I just now completed a speedtest from my phone configured for wifi only. I have a jitter of 1700ms! My download speed is only 1.39mbps. When I perform the same speedtest from a network wired computer I get 23mbps and around 40ms of jitter.

 

[dlandiss]

I have my wifi channel settings set to "Auto" and I'm currently not using any of the same channels as my neighbors. Right now it's using channel 10.

That's no guarantee of interference protection. Wi-Fi channels are more than a single channel wide, which is why using only 1, 6 and 11 on the 2.4GHz band is so often recommended. Many gurus claim that adjacent-channel interference is harder to combat than same-channel, since on the same channel the transmitters can use a frequency hopping pattern that avoids each other.

 

[jadog]

So how do I choose channels 1,6, and 11? The drop down option allows me to only choose a single one. Also my prior settings when using the 384.19 version was set to "Auto" and I never had this issue. Has me baffled...

 

[ColinTaylor]

So how do I choose channels 1,6, and 11? The drop down option allows me to only choose a single one.

He meant channel 1, 6 or 11.

Also my prior settings when using the 384.19 version was set to "Auto" and I never had this issue. Has me baffled...

What about devices connected to the 5GHz band, do they suffer the same problem?

 

[jadog]

Got it. I changed it to channel 11 for now. I'll complete some additional testing and report back with any additional information I discover - probably not until next week though since I'll be gone over the weekend. The 5GHz band is certainly not better as I have extensively tried both. The family usually complains about it frequently.

 

[dlandiss]

The 5GHz band is certainly not better as I have extensively tried both. The family usually complains about it frequently.

5GHz has higher speeds, but 2.4GHz has longer range. Given the 2.4GHz easily gets to 80Mbps bandwidth, in most cases there is really no speed penalty. Yes Colin, "or" would have been a better choice.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

@John Fitzgerald
I did a factory reset and formatted the JFFS partition. Did you have this same issue prior to the Alpha build? I have had this issue on every version of 386.x that I've tried. It takes me quite a bit of time to configure all my settings after a factory reset, so I'm ready to go back to a prior build. Of note, after resetting, the wifi seems good for a day or so before it drops to about nothing.

Note, I just now completed a speedtest from my phone configured for wifi only. I have a jitter of 1700ms! My download speed is only 1.39mbps. When I perform the same speedtest from a network wired computer I get 23mbps and around 40ms of jitter.

I don't have to do a full factory reset after each upgrade including the latest 386.2_4 to >>> 386.3 Alpha1.

Here are my settings on the AX86:

 

[jadog]

So far since changing to channel 11, my wifi appears to be holding strong.

Thanks John. I went ahead and updated my wifi settings to match yours. I'll report back if it faulters again.

 

[gattaca]

Gnerally, it is considered a BP to pin your router to the "least" overlapped channels (2.4 (1, 6, or 11) and 5GHz (Channel 48 for some reason I forget is always the preferred). This stops the router from constantly changing channels in search of something better b/c of neighbors which also means your clients could be constantly searching for where did it go...and reconnecting. In an ideal setup, it's suppose to moderate it but I've found over the years, the first thing BP recommend is pinning is required. If you have lots of neighbors, it can cause a lot of hopping as they fight each other for the "most optimal" signal.

I'll also add that with some older IOT devices, I had to back down my 2.4GHz setup to "Legacy" mode or they refused to connect. I know "Auto" is suppose to work, but it clearly was not cutting it in my 2 hours of frustration / tests of one picky IOT device. YMMV. Stay safe, stay alive. Peace.

 

[jadog]

Thanks @gattaca. Are you suggesting that I should change the channel from 40 to 48 for 5GHz?

 

[gattaca]

^^^ I'm sorry... i cannot remember exactly why on 5GHz/48 now as I've been using this for years. The same general BP is find the least used channel applies. So scan and see. I recall something about the power varies with the 5GHz channels and 48 was preferred for some reason I read... Some channels are not used b/c they do not want to interfere with radar etc.. These specs have changed in the past few years so again, all from memory.

 

[jadog]

Changing to channel 11 seems to have corrected the issue. It's just weird that it didn't happen until after updating to the newer Merlin firmware.