Wireless dropping 5Ghz band - ASUS AC56U

[JoJ]

I have had this problem with two dsl-AC56U routers (I had the first one replaced). The wireless drops the 5Ghz connections. When you look for available networks, it usually takes a few seconds to become visible and can be connected to. However, after a shortish period of time, the connection drops and the client reverts to the 2.4Ghz connection. I particularly need 5 Ghz for my iPad Pro. When using it's Bluetooth facility at the same time, internet data transfer speeds half. On the 5Ghz band, this does not happen. I haven't checked if Bluetooth is interferred with on other devices, but they lose the 5 Ghz connection without Bluetooth being on anyway.

I feel certain I just need to tweak something, but I don't know where to start. Any help/suggestions will be much appreciated.

 

[NGreet]

Assign different names to SSIDs on the 2GHz and 5GHz bands and then use only the 5GHz band for connecting respective client devices to the router.

 

[JoJ]

Thank you very much for your assistance, NGreet.
Unfortunately, I had tried both of those things but it didn't make any difference. The 5Ghz band just cuts in and out, And there don't seem to be too many settings that I can tweak either. Looks like I am just going to have to live with it unless they send out a firmware upgrade.

 

[NGreet]

It is somewhat difficult to give an advice, when actual router settings are not known, but I'll make another attempt.

1. Isn't the router too far from client devices and 5GHz signal weak? Aren't there too many physical obstacles/walls between the router and client devices? As you may know, 5GHz band operating distance is much shorter than that of 2.4GHz. So, try relocating the router.

2. Have you installed the latest firmware? If not, download and install it. Then reset the router settings to factory default and manually input all required settings.

If installing the latest firmware does not help, make some tweaking:

3. Change 5GHz control channel from 'Auto' (or whatever it is) to other (non-Auto) setting. Check all available settings. If this does not help, go to point 4.

4. Open 'Professional' tab in Advanced Wireless Settings and disable 'Airtime Fairness'. If this does not help, go to point 5.

5. Open the 'DHCP Server' tab in Advanced LAN Settings and change 'IP Pool Ending Address' to something different from the default 192.168.1.254, e.g. 192.168.1.100. Then assign a fixed IP address (must be higher than the picked 'IP Pool Ending Address') to each 5GHz client device.

 

[TonyH]

Thank you very much for your assistance, NGreet.
Unfortunately, I had tried both of those things but it didn't make any difference. The 5Ghz band just cuts in and out, And there don't seem to be too many settings that I can tweak either. Looks like I am just going to have to live with it unless they send out a firmware upgrade.

How is the signal strength between 2.4 and 5GHz band? Maybe your device is fringe area of 5GHz range?
Using WiFi analyzer look at the signal strength. Using different channel makes difference too because signal
strength is not equal between channels.

 

[szdaisy0228]

what is the Firmware?

 

[maple_1994]

i know RT-AC56U has a function named Bluetooth Coexistence can solve this problem

 

[jph1589]

Contrary to the advice of others, I would not rush to update your firmware under any situation. ASUS has proven that they break more things than they fix in their firmware updates. I would at least check with those who know on this forum about the release you are thinking about updating to. That would be a much wiser course of action. IMHO

 

[proguru]

I have had this problem with two dsl-AC56U routers (I had the first one replaced). The wireless drops the 5Ghz connections. When you look for available networks, it usually takes a few seconds to become visible and can be connected to. However, after a shortish period of time, the connection drops and the client reverts to the 2.4Ghz connection. I particularly need 5 Ghz for my iPad Pro. When using it's Bluetooth facility at the same time, internet data transfer speeds half. On the 5Ghz band, this does not happen. I haven't checked if Bluetooth is interferred with on other devices, but they lose the 5 Ghz connection without Bluetooth being on anyway.

I feel certain I just need to tweak something, but I don't know where to start. Any help/suggestions will be much appreciated.

I have the same problem in my RT-AC56U. The 5GHz access point occasionally disconnects while the 2.4GHz AP remains visible and perfectly working. It is not a client-device related issue since when the problem is present the 5GHz AP is missing on all my devices. Then, after some time, the 5GHz AP somehow recovers automatically and becomes visible again and can be connected to.

I have tried several different firmwares: 376, 378, and also the latest 380-series, but they all fail. I think the latest 38o is the worst of all. Now I'm running 3.0.0.4.376_3754.

I contacted ASUS support earlier this year, but they never replied anything.

 

[adpatel203]

I've been having the same problem using the stock T-Mobile firmware. 3.0.0.4.376_3181-g247286a
I've experienced the same issue with 3 different routers.

Did you ever find a solution to the problem? I thought this was software related vs. hardware.

I have the same problem in my RT-AC56U. The 5GHz access point occasionally disconnects while the 2.4GHz AP remains visible and perfectly working. It is not a client-device related issue since when the problem is present the 5GHz AP is missing on all my devices. Then, after some time, the 5GHz AP somehow recovers automatically and becomes visible again and can be connected to.

I have tried several different firmwares: 376, 378, and also the latest 380-series, but they all fail. I think the latest 38o is the worst of all. Now I'm running 3.0.0.4.376_3754.

I contacted ASUS support earlier this year, but they never replied anything.

 

[netwr]

Hello there. I know this thread may be a bit old but I'm experiencing the very same dropout of the 5Ghz band with my AC56U.

• 5Ghz light stays on, but 5GHz SSID no longer shows on clients.
• I think it's a heat related issue because it takes my router around 12 hours to start dropping 5Ghz, working correctly until then.
• I've tried many firmwares and 5Ghz drops in all of them

Seeing other people are having the same issue could be it's a hardware issue hard to fix? Or Asus dropping the ball on this one.

 

[JoJ]

I worked directly with Asus for weeks on this. They were very responsive about it. I was advised to use various versions of the firmware, including betas, none of which have solved the problem. Eventually, they seemed to almost throw up their hands and give up. Perhaps they don't believe me. I have reverted to using the latest firmware revision because I can't remember which of the ones I tried worked better.

I couldn't believe that I am the only person who reported this and would therefore ask anybody else to contact Asus directly so that perhaps they will feel more motivated to fix it. I used the 'feedback' tab on the 'administration' page of the router interface. But I can give you email addresses if you like.