How to make the most of 802.11ac modem router with 802.11n devices?

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › How to make the most of 802.11ac modem router with 802.11n devices?

Mar1

93 posts

Master Geek

#160125 24-Dec-2014 17:23

Fed up with our ISP-provided VDSL modem router, I just recently bought Asus DSL-AC68U modem router and am now wondering how to take the full advantage of it. It didn't really cross my mind at the time that most of our devices support 802.11n or lower (we have both Apple and PC devices)! I can of course put the dual band into use and have both 2.4 and 5GHz to improve wifi experience but was hoping to get a bit more out of this fairly pricy purchase.

I found this USB adapter and it says "Wi-Fi adapter, compatible with the draft 802.11ac standard and delivering speeds of up to 433Mbps at 5GHz - almost three times as fast as 802.11n." It sounds like just what I'd need, I could just disable wifi on my Macbook Pro and connect via the adapter. Or is this too good to be true?

Any opinions warmly welcome :)

lxsw20

3554 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1203340 24-Dec-2014 17:27

5G 802.11n should be fine for most uses. I doubt you will notice any difference at all with AC.

Skillie

192 posts

Master Geek

#1203341 24-Dec-2014 17:28

Great article on SmallNetBuilder -

Does An AC Router Improve N Device Performance?

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/32512-does-an-ac-router-improve-n-device-performance

Mar1

93 posts

Master Geek

#1203347 24-Dec-2014 17:48

Skillie: Great article on SmallNetBuilder - Does An AC Router Improve N Device Performance?

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/32512-does-an-ac-router-improve-n-device-performance

Thanks :) Hoping to experience improvements once it's set up.

raytaylor

4017 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1203368 24-Dec-2014 19:34

Remember that 802.11n can run in 2.4 and 5ghz bands
802.11ac will only run in 5ghz

Also 5ghz has half the indoor range as 2.4ghz.

Much like VDSL vs ADSL, the speed is faster at 5ghz, but the range is much less.

So with 802.11n, the only advantage you have is possibly faster speeds in 5ghz if you have a dual band chipset in the client device, but those faster speeds will be over a shorter range and still limited to the maximum (n150 or n300) depending upon channel width (20/40mhz) and single/dual stream.

I am looking forward to 60ghz myself - a wifi router in every room on the ceiling, like a smoke alarm, with no ability for the signal to go through walls.
Gigabit speeds, and no interference from the neighbours. But thats 5+ years away.

Ray Taylor

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richms

28191 posts

Uber Geek

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Lifetime subscriber

#1203378 24-Dec-2014 19:44

Small USB adapters tend to suck. The reception on one of those nano dongles will be so bad that unless you are right by the router, the built in N will give better speeds. And if you are that close you may as well use ethernet.

edit:

and now reading more, that dongle lacks 2.4GHz support, so wont fall back once you have a couple of walls in the way, so will leave you with nothing till you switch back to the inbuilt wifi. Sounds like a massive hassle

Richard rich.ms

Mar1

93 posts

Master Geek

#1203382 24-Dec-2014 19:56

richms: Small USB adapters tend to suck. The reception on one of those nano dongles will be so bad that unless you are right by the router, the built in N will give better speeds. And if you are that close you may as well use ethernet.

edit:

and now reading more, that dongle lacks 2.4GHz support, so wont fall back once you have a couple of walls in the way, so will leave you with nothing till you switch back to the inbuilt wifi. Sounds like a massive hassle

Good point re: 5GHz. Would this be better, with antennas and all?

richms

28191 posts

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#1203402 24-Dec-2014 20:40

If you want that ugly thing dragging around your computer, then sure.

The only place something like that makes sense is when the computer is sitting on a desk, and you have ethernet for those sityations. Carrying the computer around with that attached is just asking for it to snag on something and munt your usb ports.

Richard rich.ms

Quic Broadband

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raytaylor

4017 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1203405 24-Dec-2014 20:56

you could just buy a mini pci card to put inside the laptop and replace the existing one, rather than using an external usb one
that way you can connect it to the internal antennas.

Its super simple to do
1) Open bottom panel on laptop
2) Carefully unplug antennas
3) Take out mini pci wifi card, put in new one
4) Carefully plug in antennas
5) Close bottom panel
6) Boot windows and install drivers.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HGT4pAcpxd8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

www.youtube.com/embed/HGT4pAcpxd8

Ray Taylor

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Mar1

93 posts

Master Geek

#1203409 24-Dec-2014 21:15

I called Yoobee today and they said there aren't any ac cards for Macbook Pro (or maybe they said they don't have, not sure). I don't think I'd want to tamper with my laptop anyway, I'd probably mess it up anyway! Or maybe I can try this with my much older MBP if there are indeed parts :)

raytaylor

4017 posts

Uber Geek

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#1203415 24-Dec-2014 21:40

Ahh macbook.
You may need to buy a hot glue gun before opening one of them up

Ray Taylor

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