Edgerouter X + AP Lite - slow speeds & low range

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oneyon

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#270403 7-May-2020 18:23

Hi all,

I've set up a Edgerouter X and UAP-AC-Lite to replace my old modem/router (D7000v2) because it was not providing gigabit speeds over ethernet. The set up was straight forward and I got the kit running and providing internet.

It's been a couple days now and I've noticed a few problems mainly to do with the AP:

The range is not great.
- I initially had it on band steering with both 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz on the same ssid, after doing some research I read a suggestion to name each radio different names and to change some radio settings. That has helped slightly but I was wondering if there is anything else I can do to help increase it. I also dont understand how taking it off band steering increased the range - can someone please provide guidance here.
- I understand that the AC-Lite is not the best when it comes to range being a 2x2 MIMO device and the fact that plaster walls in homes kill the signal, but I hoped that for a range of <20M I would still get signal! I get none at all.
- The AP is mounted high up on a wall in the most central location in my house.
- What I have done so far to try fix the issue:
  - Done an RF scan to find interferences and selected appropriate channels based on the scan.
  - Changed some radio settings instead of having it on auto.
  - Have separate ssids for 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz.
Speed issues from the AC-Lite.
- This is I am really stuck on. I know I wont get close to gigabit speeds over wifi using the AC-Lite but what I am achieving currently is hopeless, even slower than my D7000v2. Any advice is appreciated regarding this, could the unit be faulty? Ive attached some speed tests below all completed about 5M away from the AP. Done using a Samsung S10 and a Surface Pro on ethernet connected directly to the Edgerouter X.

2.4Ghz Speedtest:

5ghz Speedtest:

Ethernet Speed test - connected directly to Edgerouter X:

EdgeOS showing that the AP is being provided gigabit ethernet:

I have tried to do whatever I can to get better results but I am left scratching my head, any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am contemplating getting the Grandstream 7630 in addition to the AC-Lite if I am not able to get decent results.

RunningMan

8956 posts

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#2478866 7-May-2020 18:54

Have a look at the radiation patterns for the AC lite. You'll see it's lower on the flat side than the round side, so wall mounting may not be optimal for your location. Ceiling may be better.

Look in the controller, and see what the actual connect rate is for the devices, and compare it to the throughput. That will give an idea of where the issue is. Also very normal for 2.4GHz throughput to be far lower as there is far more interference from other APs as well as microwaves, narrower channels and other pollution. 2.4GHz will penetrate further through obstructions which is good for range but bad for interference from other 2.4GHz sources. Make sure you're not using DFS channels on 5GHz too.

oneyon

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2478872 7-May-2020 19:12

Alright awesome I'll get it mounted to the ceiling as soon as I can.

Im new to the world of networking so I am not too familiar with what you are suggesting to do, I have the controller set up is this what I should be looking at?

Yes I follow what you are saying about 2.4Ghz, my previous router the D7000v2, has an ap mode and that provided better range than the AC-Lite so I may just run that in AP mode until I find a solution. And yes the 5ghz is set to channel 44 which is not a DFS one.

Thank you for the help 👍 Ill see if ceiling mounting the AP is any help.

KiwiSurfer

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#2478874 7-May-2020 19:16

Suggestions:-

- Stick with one SSID. This is now standard practice and is the default for a reason. For mobile devices there's gonna be times when 5 GHz is better and other times 2.4 GHz. Having both on the same SSID allows you to just connect your devices once and leave it to sort itself out. I find Unifi is pretty good at managing this automatically. This also seems to work fine everywhere else I've seen single SSID for both 2.4GHz/5GHz such as at workplaces (Ruckus, Aerohive, etc).

- Try upping the 5GHz bandwidth to 80 MHz. If you look at the Unifi tech docs they explain they default to 40 MHz on 5GHz because these APs are desgigned for dense deployments with lots of APs so makes more sense to go for 40 MHz channels to avoid overlapping channels. However the same docs explains for home usage (especially if you only have a few APs) it may make more sense to go for 80 MHz.

- Agree with above suggestion to try ceiling mount if possible. I am in the same boat as you with having one of our APs on the wall. I had it sitting on a box on the ground for a few days after I set it up and before getting around to putting it up on the wall. People noticed a decrease in performance after it was wall mounted... Unfourtently it's not practiable to ceiling mount. Hopefully ceiling mounting is an option for you.

RunningMan

8956 posts

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#2478882 7-May-2020 19:39

Yes, basically you should be able to click through to each client and see what it's connect stats are, so which channel, how fast and signal level. It doesn't quite update in real time, but as you move the clients around a bit you will get an idea of how it changes.

As for channel width, it's a double edged sword. A wider 5GHz channel (say 80MHz) will give you greater throughput (assuming ac capable clients, not older n only) as long as the signal is OK. A narrower channel (40 or 20MHz) with the same power will give greater range. Again, experiment to see what works best for your situation. 80MHz is great if you are up close, but the signal won't reach as far. 20MHz will reach a lot further, so may actually be faster if you are at the extremities of the useful range.

EDIT: And 300Mb/s isn't bad throughput real world. Under good conditions with the right clients you will be able to get a bit more, but it's a fairly good start.

Jase2985

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#2478886 7-May-2020 19:48

20Mhz 2.4Ghz wifi is 72mbps connection speed half duplex, so you should never see more than 1/2 that speed, so seeing 34mbps is pretty good

40Mhz 5Ghz wifi is 433mbps so seeing 173mbps is again still pretty good

doubling the channel width on 5ghz will increase the max data rate to 867mbps and give you more speed, it may slightly decrease the range.

also check you have the max power you can have on each wifi band

RunningMan

8956 posts

Uber Geek

#2478889 7-May-2020 19:56

Jase2985:

also check you have the max power you can have on each wifi band

I beg to differ. In the stats for clients you will be able to see transmit and receive signal levels. You should be able to get good performance by adjusting the transmit power on the AP so these levels (tx and rx) are similar for each client. If you just crank the AP transmit power to full, remember the clients may not have enough power to transmit the return signal, especially devices like phones. Having everything cranked up to full is what contributes to the background noise and interference from nearby APs. In densely populated areas it's just a shouting match over each other and little gets through whereas if the power was pulled back a bit, everyone gets their bit.

sbiddle

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#2478907 7-May-2020 20:37

Full power will normally create problems, not resolve them.

As pointed out the antenna patterns of these basically point downward and outward - they are designed to be mounted on a ceiling and then propagate signal in a similar way to a lightbulb does. If you mount one on a wall you have a completely different coverage pattern.

In a situation such a single story house an omnidirectional antenna pattern will typically give much better coverage across the entire property.

If you change 5GHz channel bandwidth from 20->40->80 you'll lose -3dBm each step which equates to 1/2 the signal. If you want coverage from 5GHz to mirror (or be close to) 2.4GHz you should only be using 20MHz. Using 80MHz unless you are always in the same room as the AP is normally a bad idea.

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oneyon

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2480609 10-May-2020 15:31

Thanks to everyone for the tips. @RunningMan ceiling mounting the AP helped dramatically I cant believe it was that simple. Getting the unit ceiling mounted and fine tuning the radio settings some more has me satisfied with the performance.

cyril7

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#2480669 10-May-2020 16:28

Hi, just to re iterate, return the system to a single SSID with band steering, at least that way as you start to loose acceptable 5GHz performance it will fall back to 2.4GHz (albeit in a clumsy manner), regardless a single SSID is a better solution.

It sounds like you have fixed most of your issues by correctly mounting the WAP, but as with any wireless system within sensible reason you are better off adding WAPs to expand coverage than smash it with a single WAP, by doing so you not only increase coverage by enlarging foot print but also help throughput by distributing the load across multiple WAPs within the coverage area.

Cyril

oneyon

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2480753 10-May-2020 18:02

Hi Cyril, I have set it back to a single ssid and everything seems ok. There was a connectivity issue when I had two aps running on the same ssid on different channels too (d7000v2 + ap lite) I wasn't able to diagnose the problem so I removed the d7000v2, it was my old router anyway.

I agree with your point about multiple WAPs and plan to get either a nanoHD or the grandstream 7630 to help with the signal at either end of the house. Thank you for the advice.

cyril7

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#2480762 10-May-2020 18:27

Hi, recommend if you add another AP its a UniFi one, best to not mix and match.

Cyril

Handle9

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#2480770 10-May-2020 18:50

cyril7:

Hi, recommend if you add another AP its a UniFi one, best to not mix and match.

Cyril

Definitely agree with this. Changing my mix and match wifi to 100% unifi has given me perfect handoff through a 2 story breeze block house. It's like night and day.