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@btrthnvr your downstream speedtest data rates are probably limited by the router's horsepower. If you ran a speedtest with a pc, or gaming / workstation laptop using an ethernet connection, you would probably see higher results.
Fwiw, your router is mounted in a manner that the antenna are in a horizontal configuration. For test purposes, I'd move the router so that its sitting upright, so that the antenna end up with a normal vertical polarization. That is what is expected for wifi devices, where the majority of antenna are built, or situated in a vertical position.
I would also move the router away from the power bar. Does that power bar have overvoltage protection? If so, it contains a metal oxide varistor, whose job is to prevent overvoltage spikes from reaching the connected equipment. They can be noisy if they're failing, to the point where they generate enough RF noise to kill wifi, and nearby ethernet cabling. For test purposes, I'd disconnect the power bar completely and connect the router via extension cord if necessary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varistor
Are you running stock Asus firmware or Merlin's Asuswrt?
What are your 5 Ghz settings?
Are you running AiProtection. Its been a while since I specfically ran speedtest comparing IPV4 and IPV6 results on an RT-AC86U and RT-AX86U, but, what I did observe at that point is that IPV6 data rates suffered due to the packet examination that AiProtect uses. It appeared at that time that IPV4 addresses used site reputation, so you didn't end up with the data rate hit. IPV6 sites were a different story.
Here are the 5 GHz settings from my RT-AX86U:
Hide SSID: No
Wireless Mode: Auto
803.11ax/Wifi 6 mode: Enable
Wifi Agile Multiband: Disable
Target Wake Time: Disable
Channel Bandwidth: 80 Mhz
Control Channel: 161
Extension Channel: Auto
Authentication Method: WPA-2 Personal
WPA Encryption: AES
Group Key Rotation Interval: 3600
Note that in Canada, the lower Wifi channels (36 to 48) run a maximum of 200 milli-watts conducted power. The mid-channels which are shared with weather radars are limited to 250 mill-watts conducted power. The upper channels (149 to 161) are allowed to run 1 watt conducted power with limitations on power output per Mhz.
So, for maximum range from the modem or router (same levels apply) channels 149 to 161 would be required. That higher power level also makes a difference in the received data rate at the device. The higher power levels will result in higher data rates as the received power level will be higher, resulting in fewer error correction bits in an 8 bit data block and more data bits within that block. So, channel selection can make a big difference.
Here are the 5 Ghz Pro settings from my AX86U:
Band
5 GHz
Enable Radio: Yes
Enable wireless scheduler: No
Set AP Isolated: No
Roaming assistant: Disable
Enable IGMP Snooping: Enable
Multicast Rate(Mbps): Auto
AMPDU RTS: Disable
DTIM Interval: 1
Beacon Interval: 100
Enable TX Bursting: Enable
Enable WMM: Enable
Enable WMM No-Acknowledgement: Disable
Enable WMM APSD: Disable
Optimize AMPDU aggregation: Disable
Modulation Scheme: Up to MCS 11 (NitroQAM/1024-QAM)
Airtime Fairness: Enable
Multi-User MIMO: Enable
OFDMA/802.11ax MU-MIMO: DL/UL OFDMA + MU-MIMO
802.11ax/ac Beamforming: Enable
Universal Beamforming: Disable
Tx power adjustment : Performance
Note that the Multi-User MIMO: Enable choice only makes sense if you happen to have more than one device that uses 802.11ax. If you look at the OFDMA/802.11ax MU-MIMO choices, you can select DL/UL OFDMA where OFDMA applies to the upload path, and select other choices up to full DL/UL OFDMA + MU-MIMO if you happen to have more than one device that runs 802.11ax Wifi. So, you would want to match that selection with the wifi devices that you intend to run on the router's 5 Ghz network.
Also note, the receive data rate at any device will be limited by the number of antenna on that device. Two antenna are typical for laptops, and possibly cell phones. The other determining factor is the 802.11 protocol that the device wifi adapter is coded for. These days, older devices run 802.11 g,n, and ac. Newer devices can run 802.11 g,n,ac, and ax, with as being the latest encoding scheme and waveform, allowing the device to run much higher data rates.
Fwiw, here's a link to the Modulation and Coding Scheme that is used for wifi.
If you look at the Spatial Stream number, that basically applies to the number of antenna on the device, with one data stream per antenna. Its possible to see multi-path routes to a single antenna, but, I suspect that usually doesn't occur, so, consider, one antenna to one data stream. So, if you look at the Spatial Stream numbers indicating 2 streams, or 2 antenna, go sideways to see the raw data rates that occur for 20, 40, 80, and 160 Mhz. You can see the increase in data rates as you go right. The guard interval refers to the time between wifi broadcasts. Using less time for the guard interval allows a higher data rate.
Note that 160 Mhz in Canada is problematic as there is only one 160 Mhz wide channel which starts at channel 36 and runs up from there. So, that puts the router down into the low power output channels. Personal opinion, if you're in a typical residential area, with numerous wifi network running nearby, the chance of actually using a 160 Mhz wide channel is slim to nonE. I recommend running an 80 Mhz wide channel in the 149 to 161 channel range.
So, at the end of the day, the data rate that you see on a wifi device will depend on how many antenna that device has and what wifi protocol it is designed to use, as in 802.11 g/n/ac/ax, with ac being typical these days and ax being the fastest possible.
If with a wifi connected pc or laptop running Windows, right click on the network symbol in the lower right hand task bar and select Open Network and Internet Settings. Scroll down and select View Hardware and Connection Properties. Take a look at the Link speed (Receive / Transmit). For wifi, that will show the raw connection rate that is shown in the MCS index. So, by looking at those numbers and location within the MCS index, you can tell how well or poorly, your wifi is running. As you go down the table, the number of error correction bits decreases and the number of data bits goes up (per transmitted data block), so, if possible, you want to be running in the bottom area of the applicable two or more stream section. To calculate the expected data rate, multiply the Receive / Transmit rate by the Coding number from the same row, which is located to the left.
Hope this provides some clarification.
@btrthnvr wrote:
Thank you! ASUS interface a bit confusing for newbies but speed right from the WAN port: https://i.imgur.com/19Tu1Ss.png
Glad to know I'm setting everything correctly ✌️
Don't get too upset about that 1158 Mbps result that you got from your router's speed test. Last year, I also (briefly) tested an RT-AX88U Pro and got the same result. (So did somebody else.) However, the 88U Pro was much faster forwarding packets, and I was able to attain speed test results exceeding 1.8 Gbps using a computer with a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet connection.
@btrthnvr wrote:
But the placement of the router is okay? Or that's causing the decrease speed when I'm even just a bit further?
It isn't the just the distance that is causing the speed decrease; it is any stuff between you and the router that could be blocking the signal and lowering your data rate. It could be duct work / plumbing / wiring behind the walls. If you have plaster walls, the metal mesh behind it is VERY effective at blocking Wi-Fi signals. Mirrored closet doors. You get the idea.
You may find the following article helpful: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/02/the-ars-technica-semi-scientific-guide-to-wi-fi-access-point...
FYI, the XB8's Wi-Fi coverage is also quite good. The biggest problem with it is that Rogers locks us out from making any Wi-Fi configuration changes.
@btrthnvr fwiw, for now I'd pull the router down off of the wall, set it up on a chair or table, change the parameters and work on maximizing the 5 Ghz network speeds.
Is the router in the basement and your measurements are upstairs? Just wondering.
If the router is in the basement, is that your choice or the result of the tech installing the modem in the basement?
You have an XB8. Thats rather unusual for a coax cable installation. Can you just confirm that you do indeed have a coax cable installation that connects to the modem.
Just to note, assuming that you do have a coax cable installation, the modem can go anywhere in the home where there is a coax port Ideally you would have RG6 coax cables running upstairs to the coax ports So, the inbound RG6 cable can be connected to any of the upstairs cables, using an F-81 cable connector that looks like this:
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ideal-3ghz-f-splice-adapter-10-pack-/1000751479
With the two cables connected, you can then park the modem and router upstairs where the router would provide better wifi coverage to the main and upstairs floor.
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