The Problems......

I am suffering with poor Wi-Fi speeds using a RT-AX88U router here in the UK. Wi-Fi upload speeds remain limited to 60-70 MBytes/sec and the max download speed I can get is 148.5 Mbytes/s:eek::eek::eek:. The router is in the same room and only 8ft away. I have changed the distance from the router but get the same issues.

I can't use newer firmware after 3.0.0.4.386_42095-gcd938f7 as this results in both WiFi Up/Download speeds limited to 800 Mbit/s. :confused::confused:

Ethernet Flow Control doesn't work when Connecting a Raspberry Pi 3 or 4, unless a Ethernet switch is placed between the router and Raspberry Pi's.

My setup.....
Laptop = Asus FX504GM Windows 10 Pro Version 21H1
PC Tower = Asus X570E Motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5900X CPU Stock Freqs, 64Gb Ram, 2Tb SSD. Windows 10 Pro Version 21H1

RT-AX88U Router Firmware Current Version : 3.0.0.4.386_42095-gcd938f7
Channel: 48/160

RT-AX88U Wi-Fi Stations List
----------------------------------------
idx MAC Associated Authorized RSSI PHY PSM SGI STBC MUBF NSS BW Tx rate Rx rate Connect Time
...........Asus FX504GM Yes Yes -34dBm ax No Yes Yes Yes 2 160M 2401.9M 2401.9M 00:00:32
....................PC Tower Yes Yes -37dBm ax No Yes Yes Yes 2 160M 2401.9M 2401.9M 00:27:30

---- PC Tower
TX rate 2401.9 Mbits/sec = 300.2375 MBytes/sec
RX rate 2401.9 Mbits/sec = 300.2375 MBytes/sec

---- Asus FX504GM Laptop
TX rate 2401.9 Mbits/sec = 300.2375 MBytes/sec
RX rate 2401.9 Mbits/sec = 300.2375 MBytes/sec

Windows 10 Connection report:

SSID:
Protocol: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Security type: WPA2-Personal
Network band: 5 GHz
Network channel: 48
Link speed (Receive/Transmit): 2402/2402 (Mbps)
Link-local IPv6 address:
IPv4 address:
IPv4 DNS servers:
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Description: Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX200 160MHz
Driver version: 22.60.0.6 (Have tried all drivers including Version 21.70.0.6 on Asus Support)
Physical address (MAC):

Ethernet between the PCs are fine at 114 MBytes/sec. I have a Hyperoptic London 1Gb fibre internet connection of which I get a 930 Mbits/sec connection both up and down. This speed is also reported by the router speed test as well as Ethernet connection. The router via the WAN port is connected directly into the Hyperoptic Ethernet socket and no other router/modem is connected.

The Routers Wi-Fi settings were set-up with 801.22ax & 160Mhz enabled and using the UK lower U-NII-1 & 2 Wi-Fi Channels 36 - 64 for the 160Mhz bandwidth. I can't use U-NII-3 band Channels 100 - 128 due to some one transmitting radar on Channel 124. On some occasions I have managed to use U-NII-3 band Channels 100 - 128 when the router clears DFS. There is a little WiFi traffic on the lower U-NII-1 & 2 Wi-Fi Channels 36 - 64, but I am the only person using U-NII-3 band Channels 100 - 128 in the area when I can connect.

The Tests:

............................Wi-Fi .................................... USB 3
Laptop AX200 <=======> RT-AX88U Router <=======> RT-AX88U Router FTP SSD Share
PC TOWER AX200 <=======> RT-AX88U Router <=======> RT-AX88U Router FTP SSD Share

147 MBytes/sec Downloading
65 MBytes/sec Uploading

..........................Ethernet................................... Ethernet
Laptop AX200 <========> RT-AX88U Router <========> RT-AX88U Router FTP SSD Share
PC TOWER AX200 <========> RT-AX88U Router <========> RT-AX88U Router FTP SSD Share

110 MBytes/sec Downloading
110 MBytes/sec Uploading

..............................Wi-Fi..................................... Ethernet
Laptop AX200 <========> RT-AX88U Router <========> PC TOWER

113 MBytes/sec Downloading
113 MBytes/sec Uploading

...................................Wi-Fi..................................... Ethernet
PC TOWER AX200 <========> RT-AX88U Router <========> Laptop

113 MBytes/sec Downloading
113 MBytes/sec Uploading

.............................Wi-Fi......................................... Wi-Fi
Laptop AX200 <========> RT-AX88U Router <========> PC TOWER AX200

65 MBytes/sec Downloading
65 MBytes/sec Uploading

....................Ethernet..................................... WLAN
PC TOWER <========> RT-AX88U Router <========> Ookla speedtest.net Hyperoptic London <=> Vodafone Watford

930 Mbits/sec Downloading
930 Mbits/sec Uploading

...................................Wi-Fi....................................... WLAN
PC TOWER AX200 <========> RT-AX88U Router <========> Ookla speedtest.net Hyperoptic London <=> Vodafone Watford

930 Mbits/sec Downloading
680 Mbits/sec Uploading

I get the same transfer speeds no matter what protocol I use FTP, Samba etc. Smart WiFi Connect was switched off as the router kept connecting at 2.4Ghz 40Mhz and refused to connect at 802.11ax 5Ghz. OFDMA/802.11ax MU-MIMO settings were changed but made no difference. Various settings were changed and made no improvements or made things worse. :confused:

The router has been swapped for another, also I get the same results on the replacement router. A friend of mine has also got a RT-AX88U and got the same results as well on his router and PCs, so he isn't happy that I had found a fault :mad:. All 3 routers have different manufactured dates and different batch numbers. So that rules out a hardware or manufacturing fault.

I have a couple of AX200 and AX210 Intel WiFi cards (WiFi antenna changed as well) and have swapped them around fearing a possible hardware fault with these cards, but no matter what card I use I still get the same issues. All the cards connect to the RT-AX88U with 802.11ax 2400/2400 reported by Windows 10.

I have wiped Windows 10 clean and installed both Debian and Ubuntu Operating Systems and installed the Intel Linux drivers. However this time the WiFi Up/Download speeds are limited to 60 - 70 MBytes/sec. I have downloaded all the Firmware releases for this router and tried them all, as well as Intel Drivers for both AX200/210 cards and have no luck sorting this out. Could this be a compatibility issue between the routers Broadcom and the clients AX200 Intel chipsets?

I am now stuck as to what to do next. I've contacted Asus UK Support to report my findings, but they referred the problem onto Asus HQ who report no fault found after giving them my config and settings files. Has anybody achieved 802.11ax speeds (more than 150 MB/sec up and down) on any of Asus 802.11ax routers either here in the UK or elsewhere?

Totally hair pulling as well as sleepless nights!!!!! :(:(:(

Can anyone shed light on this?

Regards

Lee