[mysteriousdewd]

So I installed DD-WRT on a fresh WRT3200ACM from the get go and I followed the steps laid out in the sticky and the recommended settings for the channels. For some reason my Wifi can't reach the same speed as my ethernet. I know this has to do with this router as my modem was a hitron and could hit those speeds doing wifi as a combo router. I'm not sure exactly what I might have missed or what I should do to fix it as a noob to DD-WRT.

Any help would be appreciated.

[weaklinks]

It will never reach the speeds Either will always be much more stable and faster but not nearly as convenient as wireless.
there might be things out there at professional grade level that maybe can accomplish that like Cisco APs other than that no clue about having a home wireless at the same speeds on the same shared wireless.

[SurprisedItWorks]

You didn't say what speed your ISP provides or what speeds you are getting on wifi.

Generalities:

The 5GHz wifi band (ath0) is the fast one, on this router or any other. I get great speeds near the router (strong signal) using AC/N-Mixed mode with 80 MHz bandwidth. Don't expect range and wall penetration to be great at 5GHz, especially at these higher bandwidths. It won't be. In the US with those settings use channel 36 or 149 with extension UU, according to your interference situation (see site survey and channel survey at the bottom of GUI>Status>Wireless page). Best not use Auto for channel. It has a history of problems, including extreme slowness in some cases. I've never used the WRT3200ACM, but my impression is that ath2 should be disabled, that it has no practical use at present, at least in a single-router setup. You likely can find better advice elsewhere on that point.

In the US (I forgot to note where you are) the allowed transmit power is different (unless something changed recently) by around 6 dB for the two channels mentioned above. One is allowed one watt or 30 dBm, but the other is allowed only 1/4 watt, which is a touch under 24 dBm. The GUI>Status>Sys-Info page will round down and show Tx power as 23 dBm in the latter case. I actually forget which channel has which limit. Brain cells getting old. In any case, dd-wrt will not let you exceed the limit. You can leave the power set at 30 dBm, and the router will reduce it if required. See that status page.

The general guide for the Atheros radios in this router family is here:
https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Atheros/ath_wireless_settings

[kernel-panic69]

The CPU and wireless hardware in the Linksys WRT AC series are all Marvell:

https://openwrt.org/toh/linksys/wrt_ac_series

The wireless interfaces are only identified as ath* because of the shared source code with the Qualcomm/Atheros/Ralink/MediaTek platforms because they aren't Broadcom. I won't go into a long, drawn-out explanation and do any comparison with stock or other firmwares regarding all this.

[mysteriousdewd]

[kernel-panic69]

One thing to keep in mind: Wireless is half-duplex, generally speaking.

[mysteriousdewd]

So upon some further testing it is for sure something with my 2.4ghz settings that I think I have mismanaged but again first time DD-WRT flasher/user so not sure what I did wrong as I felt I followed the recommended settings.

Since yeah my 5ghz on my phone pulls now 300-350mbps down(samsung galaxy s10e) and my 2011 macbook pro pulls 150-200 mbps down(expected from a anchient device that I only use for netflix). But they still only pull 60mps with a peak of 100 if I am lucky on 2.4ghz for both devices. My PS4 which only has 2.4 radio in it pulls the same and it used to pull higher.

Anyways here is an imgur link to the screenshot of my settings. If anyone can see what I need to change that'd be amazing. My 5ghz changing it from 136 to 149 and I think I accidently put it on UL instead of UU changed the speed dramatically.
https://imgur.com/a/uRn8j3n

Edit: unless I also read the TX power for canada wrong. I believe both 5 and 2.4 are 30dBm

[mysteriousdewd]

[SurprisedItWorks]

On 2.4G you are doing well for a 20 MHz bandwidth. If you want more speed and are not overwhelmed with neighbor signals or needing maximum range, try 40 MHz. You'll have to pick an extension channel, either L or U depending on whether you want the extra bandwidth below or above your selected channel. Best is to look at the site/channel surveys in Status>Wireless (at the bottom) to see what channel(s) your stronger (RSSI, more negative = weaker) neighbor signals are coming from and avoid them if you can. If your next-door neighbor is on Channel 1, go for 11L (best) or 6U, etc.

If you have any old, old devices that cannot connect to 2.4, try changing the mode to NG-Mixed, as those old devices may only have 802.11g hardware and not the newer, faster, better 802.11n stuff. I use that mode here with HT40 (40MHz) bandwidth, and it's been trouble free.

[kernel-panic69]

Or, it could be the Marvell drivers that have had no upstream support in forever. It's Sunday, I'm not walking to the garage and turning a bunch of crap on. BUT, looking at your settings, I would say NG-Mixed and drop the beacon to something between 47 and 73 on 2.4. May want to adjust the thresholds and such as well (I can't pull numbers out of my backside, sorry). I think folks are following the QCA settings on Marvell for whatever reason, unless there is a sticky in the Marvell forum for wireless settings.

[mysteriousdewd]

I've sadly fiddled around and hunting through other threads it seems most people only get about 100mbps max on 2.4ghz which is... disappointing to say the least.

I do agree that the WRT3200ACM might be newbie friendly. I'd like more performance.

I paid about 250cad for this on amazon. What newer routers would you guys recommend in that price range that would be more powerful? I'm not brand loyal. Mainly looking for best performance to price ratio with preferably ac.

[ho1Aetoo]

well what do you expect, how fast should the wifi be?

with HT40SGI 2x2, a maximum of 300mbit grossrate is possible

~150mbit net (200mbit in the absolut best case)


are you disappointed because you have 50mbit less of the maximum?
It also depends on the distance and the interference

[blkt]

If you would like to salvage or repurpose the WRT3200ACM, keep in mind it's a great Ethernet router and its CPU is still powerful. So, consider disabling the internal radios and use external access points instead.

For other routers with good internal radios see EA8500, R7800 or R9000.

EA8500 has an older chipset and drivers (initial serial flash required due to encrypted firmware).

R7800 is most popular.

R9000 is quad core but the complicated dual Ethernet switch configuration is a drawback (price is ridiculous too).

[mysteriousdewd]

[blkt]

Well one thing you should know is that link rates will never be the maximum speed you see in real life.

For PS4 or any online gaming I highly suggest you become friends with an Ethernet cable.

Wireless is not full-duplex (it won't be until at least 802.11be / Wifi 7) and for gaming sync, stability, quick recovery and latency means everything.

Edit: I forgot to mention PS4 has a really terrible integrated wifi adapter too.