Wireless issue with ASUS RT-AC86u router

[Windsor-tg]

I found my wireless connection really slow today. My Wi-Fi speed is fluctuating like crazy and speed is really slow. I called my broadband provider, Plusnet, to see if there were any issues with their fibre broadband service. They did a line check and said that the service was fine but they detected there was a Wi-Fi channel issue with my router.

Plusnet suggested that I change my Wi-Fi channel on the router to overcome the issue I am having.

Can anyone advise what I can do to resolve this problem?

 

[OzarkEdge]

I found my wireless connection really slow today. My Wi-Fi speed is fluctuating like crazy and speed is really slow. I called my broadband provider, Plusnet, to see if there were any issues with their fibre broadband service. They did a line check and said that the service was fine but they detected there was a Wi-Fi channel issue with my router.

Plusnet suggested that I change my Wi-Fi channel on the router to overcome the issue I am having.

Can anyone advise what I can do to resolve this problem?

Given sudden onset, I would assume router or client WiFi is failing, or there is WiFi interference.

Try a different client to rule out clients.

Remove/Disable any odd WiFi clients that could be causing an issue on the WLAN. You can do this by renaming the SSID and only connecting one 'normal' client to see how the WLAN behaves.

Try a different router WiFi channel to rule out WiFi interference.

Observe the router radio signal with a WiFi Analyzer app to see if it is changing wildly. Or swap in a temp router to see if the issue leaves.

You gotta narrow it down. Make some logical assumptions and then prove them right or wrong.

OE

 

[bbunge]

I found my wireless connection really slow today. My Wi-Fi speed is fluctuating like crazy and speed is really slow. I called my broadband provider, Plusnet, to see if there were any issues with their fibre broadband service. They did a line check and said that the service was fine but they detected there was a Wi-Fi channel issue with my router.

Plusnet suggested that I change my Wi-Fi channel on the router to overcome the issue I am having.

Can anyone advise what I can do to resolve this problem?

Recommended settings and firmware for the AC86U. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac86u-firmware-and-settings.64433/
And you let your ISP into your router to see its settings? Not good...

 

[Windsor-tg]

Given sudden onset, I would assume router or client WiFi is failing, or there is WiFi interference.

Try a different client to rule out clients.

Remove/Disable any odd WiFi clients that could be causing an issue on the WLAN. You can do this by renaming the SSID and only connecting one 'normal' client to see how the WLAN behaves.

Try a different router WiFi channel to rule out WiFi interference.

Observe the router radio signal with a WiFi Analyzer app to see if it is changing wildly. Or swap in a temp router to see if the issue leaves.

You gotta narrow it down. Make some logical assumptions and then prove them right or wrong.

OE

Thanks for your replies. Two laptops and iPhones are finding the Wi-Fi really slow. There’s been a lot of suggestions given. Would you be able to tell me the particular sequence of steps to go through?

 

[OzarkEdge]

Thanks for your replies. Two laptops and iPhones are finding the Wi-Fi really slow. There’s been a lot of suggestions given. Would you be able to tell me the particular sequence of steps to go through?

No. I suggest you dive in and figure it out.

OE

 

[ColinTaylor]

As suggested by your ISP and the replies here try changing the WiFi channels set up on your router.

Go to Wireless - General and for each band (2.4 and 5 GHz) change the "Control Channel". It might be set to Auto. Change it to a fixed channel.

For 2.4 GHz set the channel to 1, 6 or 11 and the bandwidth to 20 MHz.
For 5 GHz try channels 48, 64 or 100 and set the bandwidth to 20/40/80 MHz.

You will have to experiment with different channels to find the best one. Using a "WiFi analyser" app on your phone can help to see what channels are being used nearby and to avoid them.

 

[calvin tran]

reboot your router if you have not done it.

 

[Windsor-tg]

No. I suggest you dive in and figure it out.

OE

Well, without doing anything the issue resolved itself overnight. Maybe something causing the Wi-Fi interface corrected itself. Time will tell

 

[Sachb]

I found my wireless connection really slow today. My Wi-Fi speed is fluctuating like crazy and speed is really slow. I called my broadband provider, Plusnet, to see if there were any issues with their fibre broadband service. They did a line check and said that the service was fine but they detected there was a Wi-Fi channel issue with my router.

Plusnet suggested that I change my Wi-Fi channel on the router to overcome the issue I am having.

Can anyone advise what I can do to resolve this problem?

This settings should work and give you more speeds on both the 2.4Ghz & 5 Ghz band , I've tested it personally for days. Here it is:


In professional settings for 5Ghz:

Tx bursting: Disable
Airtime fairness : Disable
Roaming assistant: Disable

In professional setting for 2.4 Ghz:

Tx bursting: Disable

Optimize Ampdu aggregation : enable (If in crowded environment with lots of 2.4 Ghz networks)

Roaming assistant: Disable

Airtime fairness : Disable
Preamble type: Short

Also for General 2.4 Ghz settings, do the following:

Set Wireless mode: Auto
Bandwidth: 40 mhz
Channel: 1, 6 or 11

If you do this you'll see 173 mbps link speed on your devices, or more depending on your environment.

Others might prefer 20 mhz, but doing so will restrict your bandwidth to 20 mhz only.

The router's mechanism will automatically select the best speed if it's set on 40 mhz even in the crowded environment while making sure it doesn't disrupt other's wifi performance.

But most importantly, use the latest Stock Asus firmware.

Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk

 

[OzarkEdge]

Well, without doing anything the issue resolved itself overnight. Maybe something causing the Wi-Fi interface corrected itself. Time will tell

Maybe. Try the WiFi Analyzer app, if you can, to keep an eye on the WiFi around you. With a little familiarity, you may see some patterns that will guide you later, if you need to change the 2.4 and 5.0 channels the router is using. If the router is using Auto channels, it may change channels on its own to avoid interference, but this Auto changing of channels can become troublesome, if too frequent.

What firmware version is on the router and do you know how to login to its webUI and configure it?

OE