Best way to boost my WiFi signal? Mesh? (Asus RT-AX88U)

VincentHanna

VincentHanna

VincentHanna

Caporegime
Joined
30 Jul 2013
Posts
30,025
Howdy.

I've been working from home since March 19th and my wife worked from home anyway.

Until now, my wife and I have both been in the lounge as that's where she is usually setup anyway and that's where my gaming PC is.....but working so close together when we are both answering calls in completely different jobs has been a bit of a nightmare.

So i've put together new desk upstairs in the front room, but it's literally the other end of the house to my Asus RT-AX88U router.

It's a small house, so I thought it would be fine and I had provisionally tested the Wifi using my Samsung S20 Ultra which is connected via 'Wifi 6', and that's super speedy.

But I put my Surface Pro X up there (which doesn't support Wifi 6), connected to both the 2.4 and 5Ghz networks and the internet just isn't working very well at all.

I know that the Asus RT-AX88U is a 'Mesh' router, but I don't want to have to spend another £230 on the exact same router and use it as a Node, if I can buy something much cheaper to do the same job.

Please help!
 
Ethernet, no.

But I've certainly got a spare wall plug for a repeater. What's the best one to get? Is there one that would be more compatible with my specific router?
 
I'm not sure about if one will work better with your router than another, my understanding is they're designed to be compatible with different routers out of the box.

I've used a couple of Netgear extenders with 2 different routers and my mobile hotspot, the difference was in the data rates (AC 750 for one, 1900 for the other), number of antenna, and that one I'm using now has 5 x ethernet.

I would say to look at how many devices you will connect to it, and what your internet speeds are, if you have a fast fibre connection then make sure it can make use of that.

A basic one will only do 300mbps, cover a lower number of devices and area, a higher spec could do 2200mbps total over both bands, and have ethernet ports and possibly beam forming.
 
Thread bump

I did end up spending £230 on the exact same router, so I have an AI Mesh with WiFi 6 and ASUS advertise speeds of up to 6000Mbps, which is ridiculous.

Today I got BT FTTP 910Mbps connection, and my PC plugged in to the router gets the full speed.

My Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra with Wifi 6 'only' gets 110Mbps, even when it's right next to the router.

Not that I need super fast internet on my phone - but with the hardware I have, it should have the capability to go as fast as the internet, so i'd rather have it.

Any ideas?

Asus router has latest Merlin firmware
QOS is off on the router, so is IPv6
There is a setting to enable 160Mhz but I can't find much about it on the internet.

Edit - Turned on 160Mhz, didn't seem to make a difference.
 
Last edited:
VincentHanna said:
Thread bump

I did end up spending £230 on the exact same router, so I have an AI Mesh with WiFi 6 and ASUS advertise speeds of up to 6000Mbps, which is ridiculous.

Today I got BT FTTP 910Mbps connection, and my PC plugged in to the router gets the full speed.

My Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra with Wifi 6 'only' gets 110Mbps, even when it's right next to the router.

Not that I need super fast internet on my phone - but with the hardware I have, it should have the capability to go as fast as the internet, so i'd rather have it.

Any ideas?

Asus router has latest Merlin firmware
QOS is off on the router, so is IPv6
There is a setting to enable 160Mhz but I can't find much about it on the internet.

Edit - Turned on 160Mhz, didn't seem to make a difference.
Click to expand...

worth rebooting the asus router? Are you using a good quality cat 5e or 6 Ethernet cable?

Could any other wireless device be interfering with the signal?
 
VincentHanna said:
Not sure what the quality of my Ethernet cabling has to do with my Wifi speeds?

I'll move the router around to rule out interference.
Click to expand...

Well if you were using a CAT 5 from your modem to your router and did a speed test you'd be capped at 100Mbps, that's what he'll be getting at (That can't be the case though given your PC is getting the full speed)
I've got a 500Mbps connection and an Xperia 1 Phone and an Netgear R7800 router, doing a speed test on my phone I've just gotten 350-400Mbps.

How are you antennas on that router/node?
 
Martini1991 said:
Well if you were using a CAT 5 from your modem to your router and did a speed test you'd be capped at 100Mbps, that's what he'll be getting at.
I've got a 500Mbps connection and an Xperia 1 Phone and an Netgear R7800 router, doing a speed test on my phone I've just gotten 350-400Mbps.

How are you antennas on that router/node?
Click to expand...

Makes sense, but I already said my PC gets full speed plugged in to the router.

Yes I've got the 4 antennas installed.

My phone actually says the WiFi is connected at 286Mbps, doesn't matter if I use 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz.
 
VincentHanna said:
Not sure what the quality of my Ethernet cabling has to do with my Wifi speeds?

I'll move the router around to rule out interference.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I thought you had plugged your laptop into the modem to test, not the router so ignore that one.

It was more a case of scanning to see what other Wi-Fi networks are present and on what frequency and bands they are on as they could be interfering with the WiFi from your router.
 
VincentHanna said:
Makes sense, but I already said my PC gets full speed plugged in to the router.

Yes I've got the 4 antennas installed.

My phone actually says the WiFi is connected at 286Mbps, doesn't matter if I use 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz.
Click to expand...

What type of antenna are they?
Doesn't matter how many antenna's you've got if the positioning is crap and the signal's pointing to the planets core for example.
 
Merlin doesn't change anything major, I probably don't need it now but when I was with Sky Fibre broadband it was necessary to put in the username and password to get it working.

I changed the Wifi Channels around and it's a 50Mbps faster but still not anywhere near as fast as it could go.
 
Have you tried the WiFi on the BT Hub to see what speeds you get in close proximity?

The SH3 has poor Wi-Fi but I can still pull 400Mbps through my phone if I'm in the same room.
 
VincentHanna said:
Merlin doesn't change anything major, I probably don't need it now but when I was with Sky Fibre broadband it was necessary to put in the username and password to get it working.

I changed the Wifi Channels around and it's a 50Mbps faster but still not anywhere near as fast as it could go.
Click to expand...

So it definitely supports WiFi6?
 
Hi I have just got the same Asus AX88U router and was wondering if it worth getting same router as it quite a large device only want it for the bedroom as the speed from the AX88U is lower due to the distance from the router. I want to achieve closer to the speed similar near the router for a gaming PC to download large files etc. I am on BT Fibre 900 wondering what it the best option for me to do? would a Wifi 6 extender work or would getting another AX88U be the best option ?
 
Tomoshh97 said:
Hi I have just got the same Asus AX88U router and was wondering if it worth getting same router as it quite a large device only want it for the bedroom as the speed from the AX88U is lower due to the distance from the router. I want to achieve closer to the speed similar near the router for a gaming PC to download large files etc. I am on BT Fibre 900 wondering what it the best option for me to do? would a Wifi 6 extender work or would getting another AX88U be the best option ?
Click to expand...

Just run a cable. It’s cheap. It’s reliable and it will max out your internet connection. And you really can do it yourself.

1. Roughly measure how far it is along the tops of skirting boards. Add 5.5-6m to go around each door frame and you’ll end up with a cable length.
2. Buy a long enough cable from Amazon (go long because you can always coil it up at the end).
3. Run it along the tops of the skirting boards, round the door frames and under a door corner if you need to.

It’s absolutely doable. BT and Openreach engineers have been doing it since the telephone was introduced to domestic dwellings. You can use cable clips, tape or even mastic sealant to hold cable in place. If your skirting boards are white, get white cable. Use CAT5e and it’s small and flexible so you won’t see it on the door frames.

The absolute maximum it will cost is £60-£100. Much cheaper than a mesh system and completely reliable and even CAT5e will support 1, 2.5, 5 and in most cases 10GbE so it’ll last you a few upgrades.
 
Cable or nothing. There is little value in having 900mb and using only WiFi, especially mesh (which halves the throughout when connected to the second AP).

Real world speeds are going to be well below 900mb for most devices unless you are stood next to the main router.

Other options for cabling is to run it externally, it’s a pretty easy job and neater than internal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom