WRT1900ac & Some Issues

[heyyahblah]

Hello everyone,

I found this forum by surfing around the net looking for reviews about other AC1900 routers and comparison. I purchased the WRT1900ac around November 8th, 2014 and I've had a month and change to tinker around with it. I have posted 2 threads at the Linksys forums but I don't seem to get results or answers I would like to hear. I tried technical support and it seems to be outsourced to somewhere in ASIA and they were no help to me at all either.

Currently I am experiencing 2 separate issues with this router and I am not sure if this is normal behaviour of the router or from buggy firmware or if I have a lemon. I just really don't know what to think anymore.

I noticed there is a user here by the name of htismaqe that has quite a bit of experience with this router and other ones that I am considering as well. I don't want to burden you all by me re-typing the entire 2 threads I made at the linksys forums and re-type and repost everything here (unless I have to as per forum rules) but I was wondering if someone could please help me out as soon as possible.

When I purchased the WRT1900AC it came stock with this firmware already pre-loaded on it.

Firmware version: 1.1.8.161917
Release date: July 8, 2014.

I have since updated manually (connect via hardwire cat 6, download file, install manually, and do a hard reset of router) then re-configure settings via smart wifi. Presently I have the latest firmware installed available which is:

Firmware version: 1.1.8.164461
Release date: 12/03/2014

The first issue I am having relates to the network map/main page connections and I recently only noticed it over the weekend.

WRT1900ac .. network map/crazy connections ... can someone tell me wth going on??

If someone can have a look at that thread and let me know what is causing this behaviour? I have screenshots included in that thread and a detailed explanation of the situation that only occured since over the weekend, friday.

I am not resetting the router, I am leaving it as is until someone with expertise tells me otherwise.

The second problem I was having was with the activity lights and wondering if this is normal behaviour or not for them to constantly stay on or stay off. I would say this bothers me as well but my main concern is the problem that happened 3 days ago as I posted in the link above. If someone can have a chance to check out that thread, and then maybe check out the 2nd one about the activity lights and let me know it would be greatly appreciated.

Here is my 2nd thread about the activity lights.
WRT1900ac & F/W Ver.1.1.8.164461 & Network Lights 2.4-5GHz


I owned the WRT54GL for years and really much enjoyed that router but I had to upgrade when I upgraded my internet connection to 50/10 VDSL service since it could not keep up anymore, and I plan within the year if not a little longer since it recently became available in my area 175/175.

This is why I choose this router to keep up with the demands needed for the higher internet speeds. I do not want to use 3rd party firmware but I wanted stock firmware with easy GUI and features such as Guest SSID (to seperate home network from guests), the ability to turn off and on the guest networks and to hide the SSID's and USB 3.0.

These features is why my choice was between the ASUS RT-AC68U and the WRT1900AC. Why I choose the WRT1900AC was because of the classic look of the WRT54GL I thought it would be a solid router, and the price. At the time of purchase (Nov 8th, 2014) Canada Computers dropped the price to $199 from $279. The ASUS was at $249. So I choose the WRT1900AC because of the price-drop. They sold like hot-cakes at that price.

Now I am debating if this was a good choice or not. If someone can check out those 2 threads above it would be greatly appreciated. My main concern is the first link as the problem came up a few days ago. I really do not know what to do anymore.

During my purchase it says on my receipt (yes I have proof) that I have 90 days to return the product for whatever reason. I have until January 4, 2015 to bring back the WRT1900AC and get a refund if I am not satisfied with it.

I am debating now (depeding if the problems can be solved) to either return the router and get my money back and pick the ASUS RT-AC68U instead in its place or keep the WRT1900AC, and pay the $50 difference. I don't know what to do anymore. The network lights that I do not know if they are behaving properly or not is driving me crazy, and this crazy non-sense in the network map is also driving me insane. It is reporting items that should not even be there. I do not understand this?

Is the ASUS plagued with so many problems? I read nothing but complaints on the linksys forums with barely any replies, majority are the same troubleshooting steps over and over, which I know I am a newbie yes, but I have some common knowledge, and telling me to reload the firmware and reset the router should fix the problem is BS and I don't want to here it from the so called linksys experts. I would please like some real world solutions on what to do.

If anyone could please have a look at the 1st link I posted, lets start from there and then move onto the 2nd one, if we can troubleshoot this within a week it would be grand. With help and advice from experts here I would much appreciate it, and what course of action to take.

As for now I will not reset or touch the router, I will kindly await a reply hopefully from someone, and provide more information, screenshots, computer information if needed. I really do home someone can help solve this.

I apologize for the long thread, and thank you so much for your time and consideration.

All the best.

 

[jegesq]

Re: your first question about your Network Map: See the little round white arrow on the blue square in the upper right hand corner? Good. Click on it and refresh your Network Map. It should correct the error by rescanning the devices connected to your router. As for why after your sister left and took her phone and laptop with her and yet they still show as connected, who knows? That's why there's a "refresh" button.

Re: your second issue, the router's activity lights: What's the issue? You say they "bother" you. What's the bother. Does the GUI have a System Log option so you can see what the router is doing when these lights are flashing or staying solid? Is there an option to simply turn off the LED's entirely (as you can do with ASUS routers)?

Frankly, unless there's a real performance issue, I can't really see what the fuss is all about. If you're not satisfied with your purchase and can still return it and exchange it for a different router, or get the $$ put back on your credit card so you can buy elsewhere, then just do it.

But these "issues" you've noted don't seem to be performance related at all, and if you're bothered by these sorts of minutae, you should just exchange the router for something else that you'll be less bothered by.

Sorry if this sounds like I'm being a d*ck, but honestly, I just don't see the real issue here. Routers often don't update clients, and sometimes, depending on the settings on your client devices or your router (none of which you've detailed, really), routers will behave in odd ways. They can drop clients, GUI's won't refresh or update when you expect them to, and sometimes its just related to the browser you're using.

I run into this all the time. For example, my two Freenas boxes have this really simple GUI interface. And yet, if I try to access the GUI using IE, all sorts of things don't display properly and the GUI won't update. If I use Firefox or Chrome, none of these issues occur. So, you might try changing your browser or clearing your browser's cache/history and see if that resolves the issues.

Good luck.

 

[jegesq]

One other observation: You ask if Asus routers are reliable or just as bad as the Linksys ones that you're reading about on the message forums. You note that all you ever see on the message forums are complaints that routers don't work properly, or are unreliable, blah, blah, blah.

Welcome to the internet. Really, it's just the way things are: No one buys a router that works perfectly and then goes looking for a message forum related to their specific brand of purchase to say "Wow, my router works perfectly, and I have absolutely no complaints." You don't read web forums about cars, for example, where someone writes, "I put the key in the ignition, and guess what??? The car started and ran without any problems!!!" Why not? Because people who have no problems don't complain and they don't look to share their non-shirtty experiences. So 99% of what you read, which may only represent 1% or 2% of the total number of users of a particular product, who either can't figure out how to set it up, or who look for issues to be unhappy about, post their troubles and travails and look for "solutions". It doesn't mean that most routers, or most cars, or most anything else that people complain about on the internet are crappy; all it means is that the few who do choose to complain vocally are very vocal. They may or may not be a majority....but you can't tell by reading the internet, because there's no controlled sample size from which to get accurate data points. In other words, don't believe everything you read. Good or bad.

The truth of the matter is, that the Linksys router you purchased is perfectly reliable for browsing the internet, streaming media, doing e-mail and doing network file exchanges, but I'm betting you don't do much of the latter since your home network consists only of two PC's running Win7 and one laptop running XP. So you are really only scratching the surface of what your AC1900 router is capable of doing with the three devices you have connected to, and it's perfectly capable of doing everything and anything you'll need.

If you're not happy with it, then exchange it for something new. I have owned Linksys, Belkin, Asus, Netgear, etc., and they all have been decent for what they were and how I was using them. I currently use two Asus AC66's (one as a router and one as a repeater) and they are reliable, dependable, and the performance is great. But you'll probably find a dozen people who will post cryptic messages complaining that they can't get their AC66's to perform well. And so it goes.....

 

[heyyahblah]

Hey thanks for the reply. No I do not think you are coming off as a dick.

The problem with the network map is as follows, if you followed the link and skimmed through it .... The refresh button does nothing. All 6 devices are showing up there they are not going away. It is showing both the android and laptop as being connected via LAN? Why? Shouldn't it show up as wireless? That doesn't seem right. Then my laptop and desktop both show up there with identical IP's and saying they are both wireless and wired into the router? How is that possible. Look at the IP's and the mac addresses. We have here 2 computers coming off as 4 devices, sharing the same IP address, with wireless ones showing a proper MAC address and the LAN showing 00:00:00 ... that never happened before? Why all of a sudden now. Especially after 14 days of uptime? And lastly the lease for my sisters devices expired I would say Saturday night or latest yesterday, as max lease time is 1440 minutes on that router. Also why does it say they are connected LAN? To me that doesn't make sense.

As for the activity lights, it goes as follows. As far as I know on the WRT1900ac the only lights that should be on are the power led and internet led.

When the wireless networks are broadcasting the 2.4GHz and 5GHz flash repeatedly to notify of connection. When there is no connection in use, ie end of handshake the LED's are supposedly supposed to turn off, but they stay on. Sometimes they will stay on (even without any devices connected) and other times they will turn off. Their behavior is irratic and I'm not the only one to post about this issue. Apparently there is some sort of problem there.

As for the browser part you mentioned I've used two different ones. Firefox 34.0.5 and latest Opera, both with same results. Performance issues? Well I cannot tell, so far the uptime has been 14 days according to the log file I included in the zip, but is the behaviour of this router normal?

I bet if I restart the router the GUI should fix itself to the client list, and the activity lights might change their behaviour again, but I mean ... is that the point here? For me to manually reset a router because lets say for now, I cannot assign a DHCP reservation since my 1 computer is showing up twice on the network gui.

None of the devices listed in that network list have been physically plugged into the LAN ... so ... why does it say LAN & Wireless .... doesn't this seem like a bug or glitch to you?

I came to these forums to see if I can resolve this, and if keeping this router is worth it, or go another route, either the Netgear 7000 you all talk about in here or that RT-AC68U ..... seems to be quite popular.

I am just trying to make sense of these things.

ps.

The truth of the matter is, that the Linksys router you purchased is perfectly reliable for browsing the internet, streaming media, doing e-mail and doing network file exchanges, but I'm betting you don't do much of the latter since your home network consists only of two PC's running Win7 and one laptop running XP. So you are really only scratching the surface of what your AC1900 router is capable of doing with the three devices you have connected to, and it's perfectly capable of doing everything and anything you'll need.

If you're not happy with it, then exchange it for something new. I have owned Linksys, Belkin, Asus, Netgear, etc., and they all have been decent for what they were and how I was using them. I currently use two Asus AC66's (one as a router and one as a repeater) and they are reliable, dependable, and the performance is great. But you'll probably find a dozen people who will post cryptic messages complaining that they can't get their AC66's to perform well. And so it goes.....

I am not trying to sound like a whiner but I just want to solve a few things. Obviously I have only scratched the surface of this router as I recently moved, and like I mentioned my up time has only been about a month and change? One I get the place set up I plan to have the SMART TV hooked up, HTPC, consoles, and I have a person moving in as well with some networking equipment, and I would like to take advantage of the USB 3.0 drive sharing. So yes, like I mentioned I am a newbie in this field but I plan to use it for more of its potentional. I didn't make this purchase simply because it looks nice. Otherwise I could have spent $100 on an entry level AC router.

 

[jegesq]

Here's the thing: From everything I read that you posted, both here and at the other forum (and yes, I read your posts), nothing you've discussed has appeared to affect the performance of any of your devices. You aren't telling us that you're experiencing intermittent connectivity issues; you aren't talking about lousy speeds, or bad throughput; you don't mention that your client devices are mysteriously disappearing and cannot connect to the router, or that one or more of your SSID's mysteriously disappears and then reappears. You aren't talking about the router strangely rebooting itself for no apparent reason.

We're talking about a few lights flashing and a GUI that isn't properly updating.

Here's what I think almost anyone here would suggest:

1. Reboot the router. See what the GUI looks like, and then disconnect one or more of your client devices and take a look at it again. Does it automatically refresh, or do you need to force a refresh?

2. When you flashed the firmware, did you do a factory reset after the update? Did you at least reboot the router after updating the FW? Even if you did reboot, did you reset the router and put in your settings again? If not, you might try doing a hard reset (push the reset button and hold it in for 30 seconds), and then re-input your settings. See what happens.

3. If you still have issues with the Network Map, perhaps you should try another firmware (go back to the original that was installed on your router when you bought it). Sometimes newer firmware introduces bugs not present in earlier versions. Fix one thing, break another.

4. You can try re-flashing the newer firmware. See if that helps.

5. Maybe your guy Dan from Linksys will tell you that the Network Map issue is just a bug in the software. I don't know. But if it is, can you live with it? If so, then wait for another FW update. If you can't then take the router back and get something else.

6. As far as the activity lights on the front of the router, as someone else told you in your other thread, there's a way to turn off the lights if they bother you. If they annoy you, disable the front-panel LED's. Asus has the same feature, as do many other routers. You say you like the function so you'll know when clients are connected. Really, you're depending on the activity lights to tell you whether the three devices you own are connected to the router or not? I'd be looking to the devices themselves to inform me about whether they remain connected, not the front lights on the router. But to each his own.

7. You also got a perfectly good answer from an official source at Linksys (Dan) who explained the behavior of the lights with the firmware you're using. Your response to him was that you didn't want to "manually reset the router for no reason." With all due respect, the guy from Linksys gave you a perfectly good reason to reset it, i.e., so that your front LED activity lights would display in the manner intended in the firmware version you're using, which evidently corrected an issue with those lights in an earlier version. Your stated reason for not wanting to reset the router ("uptime has been good") is really, really odd, at least to me. What makes you think you're going to lose "good uptime" if you reset it manually? You're not going to break it by resetting it. And if the connection between the router and your devices, or your router and your modem (whatever ISP source you are using) is that flaky that you're worried about how it's going to connect again...well, this router just isn't or shouldn't be your main concern.

My suggestion to resolve both of these "issues" is to just reset the thing and reboot it.

If it's not to your liking, return it and get something else. But I suggest to you, that if you're bothered by these sorts of minor (yes, I think they are minor) annoyances, just wait until you really try to get into using the more intricate enthusiast features of the router.... Then you'll have lots of reasons to be resetting when things get messed up.

You know, the reset function is a very good thing. It's there for a reason. Don't hesitate to use it.

 

[heyyahblah]

Hey again. Actually I did not post any specific threads to problems mentioned as there were tons of users on the Linksys forums posting about similar things. When I had the older firmware that came with the router, I experienced a reboot every few days (4 or so) (randomly) but it would reconnect ... and when inside the GUI going into the networking map area as well it would reboot (this was with the July firmware). I waited around as Linksys was posting that an update was around the corner and they were chatting with other users so I didn't find reason to add fuel to the fire, I simply waited for the next available firmware (Dec 3, 2014) installed it and the reboots went away.

I also have been experiencing issues with 1 computer 30ft away specially the desktop using a Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 pci-e card that shows a connection of 568Mbps not being able to transfer faster then 2.7MB/s and I have had some users 'kindly' trying to help me out to figure out if its hardware, interference and so forth, because the massive speed drop seems rather strange to them. So I thought I would post .02 cents about actual physical issues if you think I am whining about the current ones.

Now to get back to the topic on hand and to help answer your questions, as I told you I am fairly new at certain things that is why I asked so many questions and was hoping if users had similar situations with the GUI. As this is my first high grade router, forgive me if I never had to go into the GUI and tinker around and see weird things. With the WRT54GL it was a SET IT & FORGET IT router for me. It was tweated, it did what it was supposed to do and it never dropped, reset or anything like that. So to me, manually resetting a router because it goes GLITCHY is an entirely new concept so bare with me.

1. OK, I will reset the router by turning off the switch on the back to off & then back on. I will go back into the network map and add & remove a client, like you suggested and see if it automatically refreshes or I need to force a refresh. I will take notes on what happens after the restart.

2. Yes, I always hard reset a router whenever doing a firmware update. I was told to do this no matter what since the days of my first router NETGEAR WGT624 v2, which I replaced with a WRT54GL. I downloaded the newest firmware file to desktop. The PC that was wired desktop I logged into the router and updated firmware via file manually and let it reboot. After the reboot. I disconnected the LAN and used a clip to hold the tiny reset button on the back to wipe it clean. After the reset I had to re-configure everything from scratch. I did not load a previous saved config file as I have read that this defeats the purpose of doing a hard reset. Safest bet is to hard reset router and re-configure everything from scratch. Some may say its a pain, but I agree with everyone that says this is the proper way to configure it with newer firmware.

3. I did not save the earlier firmware and its not available for download. My mistake on that part. Seems since Linksys was having so many complaints with it, they removed it from the d/l page. Or they remove it automatically (I don't know). Eitherway I do not have it and I would most likely have to ask a user who has the old file backed up somewhere. So I am stuck with the newest firmware.

4. Sure, if it makes a difference I can re-flash it again, hard reset and configure it again and see what happens. But would that make any difference?

5. I guess I will have to contact DAN or see if he replies in the thread that I posted and he can tell me if its a firmware bug or not. If it is and they know about it, well I can live with it, if they plan on updating it. Like I have been reading on here and elsewhere, it seems that from what I have been reading ASUS seems to move more quicker on the firmware releases and actually fix bugs found. The users that are posting about Linksys are saying there are large timeframe gaps between firmware releases and new updates do not seem to fix much. So is this abandonment of their products and moving onto the next? The WRT1900AC is supposed to be their "flagship" router as claimed. So whats the deal?

6. & 7. For these 2 I think you misinterpreted what I was saying in that thread and the reply I got from DAN. So I will try to explain it again. Dan was NOT telling me to reset the router. I explained to DAN is this how the router should behave that when clients are connected 2.4 or 5 or both GHz ranges the lights come on. When there are no wifi clients the lights go off, meaning NO active clients are connected to the router. That's what I was asking Linksys. Do they always stay on, or do they go on,off,on,off,on,off depending if clients are connected, etc.

The user that replied me said:

The issue I run into is that when the activity light setting is switched off, the wireless LED's turn back on when the router restarts, requiring me to go back into the admin UI and cycle it back off.

Hey LINKSYS .... I experience the same thing here as the guy above who just posted.

Then DAN jumped into the thread and Dan's reply to me was:

Hi,

The behavior you see with the 2.4 and 5 LEDs in the current firmware are per our original design:

Solid white = 1 or more client connected
Blinking white = activity

Thanks,
Dan
Linksys Home Networking

So he basically just told me what I already knew. Blinking white = activity, umm yes I know that. Solid white = 1 or more client connect. Yes of course, I understand that as well. It seems like he didn't know what I was talking about even with the screenshots included. That is when I replied him saying this:

So what does it mean when there are no lights? There are no active clients connected? Because as soon as I turn off my devices the lights turn off, like the router would be saying NO CLIENTS CONNECTED.

Before I updated to this firmware, they would always stay on, even when clients were not connected to router. So was this a firmware bug that has been fixed in this latest release? Because before they always stayed ON no matter if a client was connected or not to the router. Now they turn off and on.

I am assuming this is the normal behavior of the lights and how they should act?

Basically asking him if they should go on and off. DAN replied to me as if he didn't know again what I was talking about:

Yes, the behavior you're seeing in the 1.1.8.164461 is the specified behavior.

Ok Dan, what behavior are you talking about? Because I have no idea what you just said.

I can't necessarily account for the behavior you saw in a previous release. I believe we may have fixed a defect that involved also the UI switch for enabling/disabling the router's activity lights (Connectivity tool) but that should not have been related to what you observed in the previous FW.

Wish I could say something more definitive. Keep a look out to see if the behavior reoccurs and let us know if it does.
Dan

He cant account for the behavior I saw in the previous release (which has since returned) and he "believes" they may have fixed a defect that involved the UI switch (which they didn't because it is still there). But it is not related to the thread I posted, finally adding that he wishes he could say something more definitive.

So basically he does not have a clue about the behavior of the router or the activity lights. If they stay on all the time, or go off and on and have a mind of their own (there are multiple threads on this that I can link you too if you like)Also that the UI bug hasn't been fixed is noted as well. Just to keep a look out.

Which is why I will post an update about the lights because he wanted to ask if the behavior continues and I made the thread about the network map, because obviously that must be some sort of bug. For a router that has been out for quite some time they are not living up to the support promised for it.

When I posted that thread about the behavior with the lights, that was with the newest firmware, full hard reset. I did not reset it since because I was just keeping an eye on the behavior of the lights, (like DAN said) and now after looking at the 'network map' its good to know how the GUI behaves. Like I said, I do not have a problem RESETTING the router, just its good to know that it seems to go buggy while it runs. That was the purpose of making this thread and asking questions. If you don't know, ask. That's what I assumed was the purpose of the internet.

Some people have good experiences with things, some don't and yes its a risk and you have to take a gamble on things, but when you want to find out more information about something it never hurts to ask. I don't want to go off topic but again, last week I was asking about 3 different SSD's different forums, multiple users pointed me towards the Samsung 840 EVO, which I went for and yes the experience has been pleasant and I am very happy with the decision I made and the performance of the device.

So back to your original suggestion I can just reset the thing & reboot it. sure I don't mind and I will follow the steps you provided. But your last statement:

You know, the reset function is a very good thing. It's there for a reason. Don't hesitate to use it.

I wasn't aware (apologies) that I was meant to reset/reboot a router. I thought it was a set it and forget it device like my WRT54GL. I'm not even sure how to properly reset it? Via the GUI interface and choose "reboot the router" or via the switch on the back, turn off, wait 5 sec, turn back on. Which is the better? Or does it not matter?

 

[heyyahblah]

continued ... 10000 char limit

In conclusion I do thank you for helping me, but judging from what I've been reading it seems that you are coming down quite hard on me for being a n00b or me being simply "annoying" by mentioning the activity lights and weird things happening in the GUI network map of the router.

This may seem normal and not bother you, but like I said I am new at this, I am not sure if this is a normal function/behavior of the router and I was not aware that resetting routers is a normal practice.

I was simply trying to figure this unit out and its behavior, see if its being defective or not. Maybe should I exchange it at the store for another unit, or change brands altogether.

Thanks for the input,
Merry Xmas.

 

[jegesq]

Given some of the performance issues you mention that were not noted in your original posts here, by all means I would recommend chucking the Linksys and getting something else.

That said, if you really like the thing and are willing to put up with bad performance (and the Intel 7260AC can be very temperamental and for some set ups difficult to troubleshoot when it comes to getting solid connections and good speeds), then the only thing you can do, in my view, is try some or all of the steps I suggested. If they don't work then get rid of the thing and try another router. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, how much is your time worth to you? What's another $150 or $200 on a different router? It may be a lot of money to you, but in the long run, don't you have better things to do that worry about lights flashing on a router, or whether your network map properly updates? The one thing you mention that does tip the scale towards junking it and returning it, is the performance issue. I agree, if you're on a 50/10 plan, even at 30 feet and using 5ghz AC (which doesn't travel as far as 2.4ghz given the higher frequency), you still should probably be getting better than 2Mbps download speeds. Unless you're trying to send the signal through a brick wall, or a wall with an aquarium, or one that is filled with water pipes (water will kill and distort a 5ghz signal better than almost anything), 2Mbps does sound terribly low. How many walls are in the way? Is the computer located on the same floor as the router? What model computer are you using and what are the "advanced" settings on the Intel 7260AC? Those are all things that you ought to be looking at when it comes to analyzing slow wireless performance issues, as well as how your router is connected to your ISP.

Honestly, I read Dan's responses to you and they seem perfectly logical to me. I frankly don't see why you're looking for a meaning or an answer that isn't there. He clearly said that when there's activity on the router with clients connected, the lights react and light up. The obvious implication of that statement is that when there's no activity and no clients connected, they do not. So, if your lights don't behave that way, as Dan advised you, there may still be a glitch which Linksys's FW update may not have fixed. He asked you to write back and let Linksys know. Personally, I wouldn't be posting and looking for answers to this on the Linksys or any other message board; I'd follow Dan's advice and write directly to Linksys's support engineers to inform them about the issue so they can analyze whether it's really a firmware issue or not (I suspect the latter, but what do I know....???). Heck, you could have intermittent power line issues that are causing this. Almost anything's possible.

As I said previously, I did not want to come across as too much of a d*ck, but I guess that couldn't be helped. Heck even my wife and friends tell me that I am one at times. I was just trying to help you put your "issues" into some reasonable (and in my view rational) perspective, because honestly, they just seem to be too much ado about not very much....at least to me. Router GUI's, especially graphical network maps, have never been the most reliable things out there. Even Microsoft's Network Map in Win7 (since removed in Win 8) wasn't accurate much of the time (which is why it was removed from Win8/8.1).

I truly do hope things work out for you. And thanks for sharing. Maybe someone else with this specific model of router will come along and give you some other info. Me, I got nothin' more.

Personally, if I felt as strongly as you seem to about these things, I'd get rid of the Linksys and get an Asus or Netgear, or anything else.

And happy holidays to you too.

 

[RogerSC]

I have a Netgear R7000, an Asus RT-AC68P, and a Linksys WRT1900AC. I only paid for 2 of these, so it's only 2/3 as bad as it sounds *smile*. The Linksys gets the least use, due the fact that the wireless doesn't perform as well as the others. It's hard to spend time with the WRT1900AC when the performance just doesn't measure up with the other wireless routers that I have.

Both the Asus and the Netgear get used, although since I just got the Asus RT-AC68P (on sale *smile*), I've been using that a bunch to see how well it will hold up. And I like RMerlin's firmware a lot better than the Netgear stock firmware, since it has a lot more network and router monitoring tools built-in. And you can add scripts and software to it if you want or need to, which you can't do with the stock Netgear firmware.

I have used dd-wrt quite a lot with the Netgear, and that has performed well for me, too. There is a lot of monitoring tools and add-on potential using dd-wrt firmware as well.

Unfortunately, the Linksys WRT1900AC doesn't really have any "finished" alternative firmware available for it like the others. McWRT is a start, but it is really in the "Alpha" or even "pre-Alpha" phase right now. Mainline functionality is mostly there, but there is so much that is missing, I can't really spend a lot of time with it myself. Part of the problem is that the source code isn't yet integrated with the OpenWRT development trunk, that may happen at some point, that's the developers' current struggle. The wireless drivers are a big problem for them.

Anyways, I think that you should be getting better wireless performance out of your WRT1900AC, you may or may not want to continue to work on that. Personally, reading what you've written, if I were you, I'd return it and get one of other two wireless-1900AC routers I've mentioned above.

 

[heyyahblah]

Hey again. Thank you for the reply.

With that being said, when I made the purchase I lucked out. Usually there is only a 7 day return policy and after that its manufacturer for RMA if there are issues with the product. However, since I purchased it I guess during the sales promo and Christmas season I was told (and the receipt states) a 90 day grace period to return the product. So I only have until Jan 4, 2015 to return it to the store pay 10% restock if I want my money back, exchange for same unit, or exchange for a different brand and pay difference. That's why I'm trying to rush things in before my grace period is up. Like you mentioned this is either a debate to keep it or exchange it, because with this policy I could have another fresh new WRT1900AC or get rid of it and replace it with another brand. After Jan 4, 2015 its mine to keep and yes you are correct the extra $200 will be coming out of my pocket for another networking product.

The one thing you mention that does tip the scale towards junking it and returning it, is the performance issue. I agree, if you're on a 50/10 plan, even at 30 feet and using 5ghz AC (which doesn't travel as far as 2.4ghz given the higher frequency), you still should probably be getting better than 2Mbps download speeds. Unless you're trying to send the signal through a brick wall, or a wall with an aquarium, or one that is filled with water pipes (water will kill and distort a 5ghz signal better than almost anything), 2Mbps does sound terribly low. How many walls are in the way? Is the computer located on the same floor as the router? What model computer are you using and what are the "advanced" settings on the Intel 7260AC? Those are all things that you ought to be looking at when it comes to analyzing slow wireless performance issues, as well as how your router is connected to your ISP.

To answer this last part for you about the performance issue. The router is on the 2nd floor in my master (20x18) room. The modem is a VDSL2+ unit setup in bridged mode in the same room as well and the main desktop. They are all hardwired together. The hardwired desktop receives the full 50/10 speeds wither it be via directly through the modem in routed pppoe mode or through the WRT1900AC in bridged mode. The desktop that is wireless and 30~35 feet away on the same floor in a (13x12) room the only thing separating them apart is the landing area (if that's what its called). It's not going through any brick walls, aquariums, bathrooms or water pipes. Your typical hollow gyp board.

Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3, Intel i5-2500k 4GB RAM
Geforce card, 1 TB HDD (I'm guessing you don't need further details)
Wireless card: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-1 802.11ac pci-e w/ max theoretical of 867Mbps.
Chipset of the wireless card is Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 with most up to date driver. 7/21/2014 ver. 17.1.0.19.
(Bluetooth has been disabled to rule out interference + not needed for use)

Settings as follows:

802.11n Channel Width for 2.4GHz (Value: Auto)
802.11n Channel Width for 5.2GHz (Value: Auto)
Ad Hoc Channel 802.11b/g (Value:1)
Ad Hoc QoS Mode (Value: WMM Enabled)
ARP offload for WoWLAN (Value: Enabled)
Bluetooth(R)AMP (Value: Enabled)
Fat Channel Intolerant (Value: Disabled)
GTK rekeying for WoWLAN (Value: Enabled)
HT Mode (Value: VHT Mode)
Mixed Mode Protection (Value: CTS-to-self Enabled)
NS offload for WoWLAN (Value: Enabled)
Preferred Band (Value: 1. No Preference)
Roaming Aggressiveness (Value: 3. Medium)
Sleep on WowLAN Disconnect (Value: Disabled)
Throughtput Booster (Value: Disabled)
Transmit Power (Value: 5. Highest)
U-APSD support (Value: Enabled)
Wake on Magic Packet (Value: Enabled)
Wake on Pattern Match (Value: Enabled)
Wireless Mode (Value: 802.11a/b/g)

Just wanted to post that information for you incase you were wondering. For the looking for answers part I thought DAN would take back and relay. I do not know or have a way of contacting the engineers at Linksys about this otherwise for sure I would be. I mean I'm spending quite a bit of time writing these posts and going onto different forums that I would gladly mail them to get it to their attention, I just do not know how. But I would like too.

Heck, you could have intermittent power line issues that are causing this. Almost anything's possible.

Are you talking about the actual physical wall outlets inside the home? I am not using any power-line adapters presently, though I was considering this as an option for devices that I didn't want to loose that much signal via wifi. I also did use inSSIDer to check for interference and I have 2 weak signals on a 2.4GHz band from neighbours but they are not very strong and the channels are not overlapping since they are both using channel 1 according to inSSIDer. I left mine on 11 so their wouldn't be any interference.

Personally, if I felt as strongly as you seem to about these things, I'd get rid of the Linksys and get an Asus or Netgear, or anything else.

Thanks for that input. Well then that case if I was to make a decision to change, I would be looking for one with 2 similar features. Guest SSID with the ability to enable/disable as in the WRT1900AC, and a USB 3.0. Now I hear that the rt-ac68u has this guest SSID feature but can it be disabled and enabled? And as always I love to hear all recommendations and compare, and from knowing what I am going to be doing with my networking, I would love to hear a recommendation from you (and I won't lash back) that if I was to exchange this ... which router would you look towards more for me to use?

Thanks again.

ps: since I'm home now before I start troubleshooting when you said to reset the router, which is the best way or does it not matter? Turn the on/off switch at the back or reboot via GUI interface on the web via 192.168.1.1 ??

Then I can monitor and troubleshoot those #1-5 steps you posted earlier?

 

[heyyahblah]

I have a Netgear R7000, an Asus RT-AC68P, and a Linksys WRT1900AC. I only paid for 2 of these, so it's only 2/3 as bad as it sounds *smile*. The Linksys gets the least use, due the fact that the wireless doesn't perform as well as the others. It's hard to spend time with the WRT1900AC when the performance just doesn't measure up with the other wireless routers that I have.

Both the Asus and the Netgear get used, although since I just got the Asus RT-AC68P (on sale *smile*), I've been using that a bunch to see how well it will hold up. And I like RMerlin's firmware a lot better than the Netgear stock firmware, since it has a lot more network and router monitoring tools built-in. And you can add scripts and software to it if you want or need to, which you can't do with the stock Netgear firmware.

I have used dd-wrt quite a lot with the Netgear, and that has performed well for me, too. There is a lot of monitoring tools and add-on potential using dd-wrt firmware as well.

Unfortunately, the Linksys WRT1900AC doesn't really have any "finished" alternative firmware available for it like the others. McWRT is a start, but it is really in the "Alpha" or even "pre-Alpha" phase right now. Mainline functionality is mostly there, but there is so much that is missing, I can't really spend a lot of time with it myself. Part of the problem is that the source code isn't yet integrated with the OpenWRT development trunk, that may happen at some point, that's the developers' current struggle. The wireless drivers are a big problem for them.

Anyways, I think that you should be getting better wireless performance out of your WRT1900AC, you may or may not want to continue to work on that. Personally, reading what you've written, if I were you, I'd return it and get one of other two wireless-1900AC routers I've mentioned above.

Hi. Thank you for your contribution as well. I have read the same thing as well on other forums even the OpenWRT problem with Linksys "lying" about making the router open-source or WRT ready. The McWRT I can't give it a try because it doesn't seem to do much justice especially if your a n00ber like me. I've had a friend show me around DD-WRT before on one of his routers and it did not seem all that hard to navigate, a bit of a learning curve I will admit but it did look impressive and their is a big community and support.

It's sad to see because it looks like the WRT1900AC has so much potential and could do so much but not just for more for a lot of other users as well the buggy firmware and inability to make it open source seems to like cripple this massive piece of hardware, and my no means does it look like junk at all. God, I was shocked by the sheer weight alone of the unit when I took it out of the box. It really weighed down like a brick.

The difference between the P and the U model is the clockspeed if I read correctly yes? 1GHz (P) vs 800MHz (U) ? I would have to see if the P model is available in my location for purchase. I do know they sell the Netgear 7000.

Thank You.

 

[RogerSC]

ps: since I'm home now before I start troubleshooting when you said to reset the router, which is the best way or does it not matter? Turn the on/off switch at the back or reboot via GUI interface on the web via 192.168.1.1 ??

Then I can monitor and troubleshoot those #1-5 steps you posted earlier?

2 things...resetting the router is best done by pressing and holding the "reset" button in the back of the router for 10 seconds or so. This will reset the router settings back to factory defaults, and then you will re-enter your settings manually. You can also use the "reset to factory defaults" button in the web admin GUI, but I like to press the button myself *smile*.

This is different than just power-cycling/rebooting the router using the on/off power switch at the back, which has no effect on the settings, just refreshes the router via a reboot. Although you might want to power-cycle the router after resetting it.

The other thing is that both the Asus RT-AC68U and Netgear R7000 have wireless guest networks. And for both routers, the guest networks are only enabled if you enable them. Then you can disable them again after your guests go *smile*. That's normal for guest networks.

And, yes, there are a couple of differences between the RT-AC68U and 68P. They moved up to the next Broadcom SOC chip in their product line, which does change the CPU clock from 800MHz. to 1GHz. (like the R7000). They also changed the 5GHz. power amplifier, I believe, which might provide a bit more oomph on the important 5GHz. band *smile*.

 

[heyyahblah]

Thanks Roger. First I think what jegesq meant was to soft-reboot the router and see the behavior of the network map and the activity lights. Specifically the network map, I want to see whats going on in there if the clients are adding and removing as they are supposed too when I connect and disconnect them. I am going to monitor that as well.

From this point I will I guess reload the firmware again and hard-reset the router with the button on the back and then power cycle it with the on/off switch. I can only do that and monitor the activity again and see what happens.

Good news to hear that they both have GUEST networks and you explained how they work, thank you for that. It helped indeed. How is the stock firmware on the ASUS router? Is it alright or it is flaky as well?

Lastly, unfortunately here in Canada I do not have access to the 68P. I only have access to the 68U for purchase. The 68P is only available in the USA and they want an arm and and leg for the shipping & duties for it to get here to me, plus the weakening of our dollar vs the US is so bad that I calculated for me to get the 68P from the States, it would be the same price as buying the 87U which is available at the store down the street. So, unfortunately I only have the 68U or the N7000, unless I want to go another $100+tax for the 87U but I think that is just plain overkill at this point.

So ... it still something to think about. I've been surfing numerous sites today and there are pros and cons on every router, but the more I read about the WRT1900AC the more negative comments & reviews I see about it. I am not sure if I am starting to go blind sighted or what.

Thanks

 

[RogerSC]

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the stock firmware on the RT-AC68U or 68P...RMerlin's firmware is essentially the stock firmware with bug fixes and enhancements, so that's my choice. From using the RT-N56U and the RT-N66U for 2 years I learned that it's pretty pointless to struggle with Asus's firmware, and to use the good stuff. So there's really no reason to use the Asus stock firmware as far as I'm concerned.

 

[karunrox]

Heyahblah, i really dn't c any problem with this network map and activity lights. As long as serious performance issues. This router is best for home and small bizness consumers. M satisfied with Linksys wrt1900ac Performance.
i) For network map U can always delete manually the hosts.
ii) For Activity lights U can turn off.
I've same problem regarding Network Map. I am sure u've edited hosts name with confusion. just delete all host and reboot router. i solved like this or do manual install of latest firmware. Dn't forget to reset after Manual installation. Good luck..

 

[heyyahblah]

Hey there. I do not know how to manually delete hosts from the network map. I noticed that a lot of other users are having the problem as someone linked my thread at linksys to another thread that a user was having. I posted to ask where I can ask help to send the bug reports to linksys team so they can look into it for future versions of the firmware. For now I just reset the router all over again and started over again. I will be keeping an eye on it.

Thanks.

 

[jegesq]

. I posted to ask where I can ask help to send the bug reports to linksys team so they can look into it for future versions of the firmware.

In addition to using the Live Chat function at the Linksys Support site for your specific router (and asking the chat person where to e-mail directly to engineering), you should also search around the Belkin.com site under "support" as well, since Belkin and Linksys are now one company. Someone in another thread asked whether the two engineering departments merged (and I was not clear about the answer), so since they may be working jointly or as a single team on existing products, it's probably worth a look over there as well.

Just reset your router, clear your browser cache, and perhaps use a different browser altogether when it comes to the network map feature.

Personally, I don't like their "Smart WiFi" setup at all. As I said before, my recommendation would be to return this thing and get a good, reliable Asus 1900 (e.g. 68U) which has plenty of active firmware support and which has now reached a very stable and mature state. But you're gonna do what you're gonna do.

Oh, and just turn off the LED lights. They are, IMHO, pretty much pointless.