WAN faster without router

[ender84]

TLDR: w/Router: 250Mbps down. wo/Router: 980Mbps down.​

Router: ASUS RT-AC68R w/ Merlin 386.3_2
WAN: 1Gbps/1Gbps fiber-to-the-home

I have been worries about my speeds lately as downloading Steam games was taking longer than I thought it should.
I have been using spdMerlin over the last week and have seen that I cannot get much better than 250Mbps/300Mbps average.
I opened a ticket with my ISP and we did some troubleshooting.
I ended up bypassing my router and plugging an older MacBook Pro. I used the same test and server as spdMerlin and was getting about 980Mbps/900Mbps...
I know this router is capable of getting in the 900's as I have had a similar fiber connection at another residence in another state.

• The WAN connection on the router is registering it's negotiated to 1Gbps to the ONT
• There is no QoS enabled
• There are no Game Modes enabled
• Test results are similar with 0 devices on the router or 20
• Test results are similar over Wi-Fi
• No VPN clients/servers are in use on the router
• Router temps are normal
• Other speed tests get similar results (DSLreports, fast.com)

Below are some results while connected to the router:
dslreports.com/speedtest/69610371

 

[Adooni]

did you enabled NAT acceleration? https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1011711/

turn off AI protection etc.

router you are using technological is 8y old and was not design to 1Gbit - to be honest any home user Router is not design for 1Gbit - to have it working with VPN etc you would need to make miniPC wit FW OPNsense, pfSense or OpenWRT.


with you ISP speed you need min AX86U but you cannot turn on QoS as speed will drop to 300-350Mbit, the same with VPN etc.

 

[Tech9]

@Adooni, no need to reply if you don't know Asuswrt well enough.

did you enabled NAT acceleration?

It's enabled by default. Some firmware options are incompatible with NAT acceleration and will disable it.

but you cannot turn on QoS as speed will drop to 300-3500Mbit

No, you can use Adaptive QoS. It works with NAT acceleration enabled. Same applies to AiProtection.

 

[Adooni]

@Tech9 - I know Asus router/ AsusWRT very well (from ASUS WL-500W) and sometimes when you play with QoS Traditional for example and then switch is off NAT CTF will not back on therefore I ask about it. Speed300Mbit it is exactly speed this router get when NAT is off.
I do not understood why you connect my posts - I did not asked for it. You think I am not expert and I think the same about you and this is OK we life in free world. Users that have challenge and ask for support can check if for example CFT is ON what is very simple and provide input.

yes. CTF is working with something they call Adaptive QOS - I did not state it. I stated that Adaptive QoS (on forum before) is a joke and this is not working in a lot situation what I tested extensive over a years - the same issues are not present with Traditional QoS but then speed is much smaller.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Using SPDMerlin to evaluate the speed of your WAN connection can't be relied on if you have a high speed Internet connection particularly if you are using older routers with less powerful processors. Since you already know that your ISP is delivering the speed you are paying for your best test will be first test the speed across your LAN using a utility such as Iperf to test your networking hardware, then run a speed test by connecting a PC using an Ethernet cable to your router and then run several speed tests to a nearby server on your PC. Then repeat the test using SPDMerlin. If the test results running on the router are not satisfactory you can try doing a factory reset on the router and then a minimal setup and see if the results improve. If you still are not satisfied with the results time to upgrade your router.

 

[Tech9]

I stated that Adaptive QoS (on forum before) is a joke and this is not working

Yes, right. Read the first sentence in post #3 again. Slowly. Thank you!

 

[follower]

TLDR: w/Router: 250Mbps down. wo/Router: 980Mbps down.​

Router: ASUS RT-AC68R w/ Merlin 386.3_2
WAN: 1Gbps/1Gbps fiber-to-the-home

I have been worries about my speeds lately as downloading Steam games was taking longer than I thought it should.
I have been using spdMerlin over the last week and have seen that I cannot get much better than 250Mbps/300Mbps average.
I opened a ticket with my ISP and we did some troubleshooting.
I ended up bypassing my router and plugging an older MacBook Pro. I used the same test and server as spdMerlin and was getting about 980Mbps/900Mbps...
I know this router is capable of getting in the 900's as I have had a similar fiber connection at another residence in another state.

• The WAN connection on the router is registering it's negotiated to 1Gbps to the ONT
• There is no QoS enabled
• There are no Game Modes enabled
• Test results are similar with 0 devices on the router or 20
• Test results are similar over Wi-Fi
• No VPN clients/servers are in use on the router
• Router temps are normal
• Other speed tests get similar results (DSLreports, fast.com)

Below are some results while connected to the router:
dslreports.com/speedtest/69610371
View attachment 36471
View attachment 36472
View attachment 36473

Jumbo Frame: disable
Mac address: empty(no mac clone)
Check the cable: should be 4 pair.

 

[ender84]

Thanks everyone!
UPDATE: I have connected the router provided by my ISP. It's a SMART/RG SR400ac. It's running a strange version of OpenWRT called SMART/OS (ver. 10.8.7.1). I don't like it, but it's getting better speeds. It's cli is strange and very locked down:

Definitely skinned OpenWRT:

It looks like it might have a BCM4708A0 (Arm9 800Mhz), so maybe this is the reason I'm getting better speeds?
It's just frustrating as I know that the AC68U is able to do better as I've had it on 1Gig fiber before.
I just need to break down and get a new ASUS...

did you enabled NAT acceleration? https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1011711/

NAT Acceleration has always been on.

turn off AI protection etc.

Ai Protection is not enabled and never has been.

router you are using technological is 8y old and was not design to 1Gbit - to be honest any home user Router is not design for 1Gbit - to have it working with VPN etc you would need to make miniPC wit FW OPNsense, pfSense or OpenWRT.

This particular router was used on a 1Gig fiber line for 8 months or so at one of my previous residences and it was just fine. This was the main reason I was worried about the performance I have been getting.

with you ISP speed you need min AX86U but you cannot turn on QoS as speed will drop to 300-350Mbit, the same with VPN etc.

No QoS is enabled anywhere and never has been.

In fact no 'extra' applications that are featured on this router are enabled.

Using SPDMerlin to evaluate the speed of your WAN connection can't be relied on if you have a high speed Internet connection particularly if you are using older routers with less powerful processors. Since you already know that your ISP is delivering the speed you are paying for your best test will be first test the speed across your LAN using a utility such as Iperf to test your networking hardware, then run a speed test by connecting a PC using an Ethernet cable to your router and then run several speed tests to a nearby server on your PC. Then repeat the test using SPDMerlin. If the test results running on the router are not satisfactory you can try doing a factory reset on the router and then a minimal setup and see if the results improve. If you still are not satisfied with the results time to upgrade your router.

I started testing using a laptop and a short, known-good ethernet cable. I was getting the same results as the router's CLI.
To your point about the processor, yeah it's a sad old Arm7 (800Mhz). It should not make a difference for the WAN performance, but I did overclock it to 1200Mhz and it really only made the startup quicker and the UI a tad bit snappier.
I also tried a WRT1900ac I have been using as a switch/repeater. It has nearly the same processor and is running OpenWrt.
I reset it back to router mode and I ended up getting the same results.

Jumbo Frame: disable
Mac address: empty(no mac clone)
Check the cable: should be 4 pair.

Yeah, these are the settings it's been at all along.
All my cables are tested and good.


SR400 Speed Tests:

 

[ColinTaylor]

What is your WAN connection type? Is it PPPoE?

 

[ender84]

What is your WAN connection type? Is it PPPoE?

It's just DHCP ethernet provided by a ZTE brand GPON ONT (ZXHN F601).

 

[L&LD]

Have you tried the following sequence? Worked for two customers for me today (and has worked before for me too).

Update any and all amtm (or other) scripts (that need updating.

Reboot the router.

Let it settle down (about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the active scripts).

Reflash the same firmware that is currently installed.

For one customer with 1Gbps symmetrical ISP speeds, before reflashing, they were getting just over 100Mbps up/down. Afterward, they had normal speeds of 940Mbps down, 850Mbps up (with an Intel AX200 equipped laptop). The other was getting barely 80Mbps down and afterward, they could almost hit their ISP's peak speeds of 300Mbps - during their neighborhood's peak hours (cable ISP).

Both of these customers just recently upgraded their service and today was the soonest I could get to them. They both thought I had done a nuclear reset in double-time speed (RT-AX86U with the cable ISP and RT-AX88U with the FTTH ONT).

 

[AndreiV]

Before you pull your hair out I would find another more accurate speed test.

Your "FAST" test is a joke.

I am on a PPOE based 80/20 FTTC connection, having tried FAST several times I am told my download is anywhere from 93-198Mbps which is impossible and download speed is 247Mbps, an absolute miracle for a line that only supports 20Mbps.

 

[ender84]

Before you pull your hair out I would find another more accurate speed test.

Your "FAST" test is a joke.

I am on a PPOE based 80/20 FTTC connection, having tried FAST several times I am told my download is anywhere from 93-198Mbps which is impossible and download speed is 247Mbps, an absolute miracle for a line that only supports 20Mbps.

I will agree that an accurate test is very important.
I will also agree that the 'FAST' test is not a great one.
Did you skip over the dslreports.com test? It's actually a good test.
Also, real-world tests are important.
I have not mentioned it yet, but I have been testing with my Seebox and FTP. There is a significant difference in sftp transfers between the two routers.

That reminds me, I could setup an iperf test to my seedbox... hmmm...

Have you tried the following sequence? Worked for two customers for me today (and has worked before for me too).

Update any and all amtm (or other) scripts (that need updating.

Reboot the router.

Let it settle down (about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the active scripts).

Reflash the same firmware that is currently installed.

I had high hopes for this, but it has not improved anything.

 

[ender84]

UPDATE:
I picked up a RT-AX86U at the local Best Buy.

My ONT is hooked up to the 2.5 Gig port and it negotiates to 1 Gig. This is expected as the ONT only has a 1 Gig port.

I now have the old RT-AC68U as a wired AP.
I get my full speeds somehow through it as an AP...

 

[L&LD]

Yes. The almost decade-old 'AC68U hardware and design don't support 1Gbps speeds as a router (in the real world). Even if it can do so as a 'dumb' AP.

 

[ender84]

Yes. The almost decade-old 'AC68U hardware and design don't support 1Gbps speeds as a router (in the real world). Even if it can do so as a 'dumb' AP.

Oh man, that made ME feel old. Lol

My new AX86U is doing better than the almost decade-old AC68U on speed tests.
Now I am getting latency issues though.
I'm pretty sure it has to be my ISP and their up-stream.
I get fair and somewhat consistent pings to their IP and DNS, but once I hop beyond that there is what I think is quite a bit of packet loss.

Twitch has been buffering a lot if left on 'Auto quality'. First-person games rubber band a lot and other players complain about our ping. Discord performance is awful and we can pretty much forget about having those three things going at the same time.
Meanwhile speed tests are usually in the 900's...

For WAN context, they are providing fiber-to-the-home, my neighborhood is connected to the first node out of their main office in this direction. I'm honestly lucky to have this as I live in a very undulating part of the country and most people have point-to-point, satellite or DSL service.

 

[L&LD]

Keep on your ISP until they level out your consistency issues. FTTH should not be performing as you state.