TP-Link AX6000 trouble

[Grilse Grils]

I bought this AX6000 just a few months ago, wanting to replace my aging Asus RT-N66U. Especially since Merlin-firmware had dropped full support for that Asus-model. I should have read reviews, but did this stupid impulse purchase based on a sale. Then frustration session 1 started. The unit was full of fingerprints, and I understood that it was a return product refurbished. However I thought I could factory reset it, so I did. I remember it was a bit of struggle to achieve the reset, but I finally succeded. So I did set it up.

 

The first complaint comes from my wife, that no longer can get a steady connection from her phone down the stairwell. She has a Motorola cell phone with AC protocol supported. I didn't think that a router that also should support older protocols should fail on reach when being forced to communicate over AC because of this cell phone limitation.

 

Then second complaint comes from my wife. Now she lost her connection on her Ipad from the living room. Well, I thought maybe this was do to my general experience from before with WiFi, that it can help to restart the router now and then. So we do try to restart the router, and yes that helps. But now we have to restart this router almost every day. So for simplicity, I have added a switch on the wall for her to switch off and on again. I have noticed that the user interface of the router allows a scheduled restart.

 

Then I discover something really sinister with my computer. Running a bandwidth test, I only achieve between 2 to 5 Mbps upload. This makes forces me into attempts to find this flaw. I do start in the totally wrong end, doing a massive ethernet cabling testing. It proves to be my Windows installation as I do get 80/80 Mbps from more than one laptop. However this is not router related, just wanted to mention it because I normally prefer ethernet cabling for stability.

 

So when my wife comes with the third complaint that also her laptop computer has unstable connection with the AX6000, then I implement a ethernet cable to the wall for her. Luckily I have installed this a few years ago, so it is very simple to solve with a patch cable to the wall for her. However I have experienced my own computer to be sluggish now and then surfing, but I had never thought I would experience something like this. So I do a simple USB Linux Mint boot, and there it is: I almost get 80/80 in Linux from the very same hardware. I plan to purchase a new SSD this fall for simplicity with installing a fresh Windows 10.

 

Then I at the same time is tired of my Xbox gaming, since I don't game to often, I tend to follow what subscription I currently am subscribing to. Bought the Xbox All-Digital on Black Friday, and normally uses a gaming console mostly to watch Netflix from anyway.

 

So I want to play some more Red Dead Redemption 2, and starts a 3 month period of PSN in order to be able to play online. Haven't played RDR2 for over a year now, and I am curious of what be new there. So I fire up my PS4, which has collected some dust. The important part here is that the PS4 worked flawlessly without having to open any RDR2 ports a year ago on this old RT-N66U.

 

All of a sudden I cannot get LAN connection to work from the PS4 to the AX6000, which of course is a totally new setup. So I am wondering why this strange behaviour. I do connect the Xbox on the very same ethernet patch cable, to test if there is something wrong with the ethernet leads. The Xbox just works, and Netflix there is still good either using the AX6000 or the older RT-N66U.

 

So I start to look into if there exists any new firmware for the AX6000, and then I discover that there is one, but my router fails to download it from the TP-Link cloud. Then I do look for the firmware to install manually, and experience that for some strange reason the firmware is dated march 2020 there. Strange, so that leads me to the TP-Link forum and I see that others major firmware issues. Then I chat with TP-Link support just to find out that they have withdrawn a firmware release that was very immature and caused a lot of trouble. So then that is at least explained.

 

Then I try to get help opening those RDR2-ports on the AX6000. But the AX6000 cannot see my PS4's IP address. Without linking the ports to the PS4 IP address I am unable to open those ports.

 

However the PS4 is able to get a WiFi connection, at least then it is possible to use the PS4. So now I sit here and am thinking what an awful router, what an awful Sony PS4 product. Should I return the router, as it now is getting near half a year gone by without TP-Link releasing a firmware fix. As the flawed firmware claimed that it should fix numerous stability issues with the AX6000. Is this due to Covid-19, and lack of staff at TP-Link?

 

What would you have done if you where me? Is there any way to improve my poor WiFi-experiences? What about the PS4, why can't the router even see it when hooked up via ethernet cabling? This last thing seems very strange to me.

[Falcon1986]

11 hours ago, Grilse Grils said:

[long snip]

OK. That was quite a long post to get through! Essentially, you’re not getting the performance you thought you should get from your TP-Link AX6000, correct? Your computer might have OS configuration issues that need sorting out as evidenced by the problem not being encountered when booting to a live Linux distribution.

 

Some questions for you:

1. What download and upload speeds are you paying for from your ISP?
2. How large is your home? How many levels? Where is the AX6000 located and where are you getting connection issues?
3. Does any other wireless device get full speed and no connection issues?
4. Do you have ethernet running to all parts of the house? Do all of these cables start at the same location as the AX6000?
5. Do you have WiFi 6-compatible client devices?

I noticed on the TP-Link website for the AX6000, that there was a firmware update released about a week ago. You should download and install it over a wired connection to the wireless router. Never flash router firmware over WiFi. When done, log into the router and reset to factory defaults before setting it up the way you want. I’ve learned that last tip using consumer-grade wireless routers; it helps clear NVRAM to reduce setting conflicts between firmware versions.

[Donut417]

16 hours ago, Grilse Grils said:

AX6000

As stated above, firmware update could do wonders. But I keep saying this. WiFi 6 is a NEW standard. I would always recommend waiting a year before upgrading to a new Standard. Because then they work out all the bugs. 

 

That all being said. The fist thing you really want to do is use WiFi analyzer to check WiFi signal around the house. Just because one router worked in the one spot, doesn't mean they all will. So you may have adjust where its located. But at the very least do a site survey with an WiFi analyzer app. See where your signal gets to. 

[Grilse Grils]

I pay for 80 Mbps / 80 Mbps fiber.

1 level, 2nd floor apartment, 100 sqm. (sorry for the metric, this is in Europe)

Located where I have written WiFi on the drawing. Walls are made of drywall. The floor is made with hollow concrete. Outer walls made of wood.

 

I have not tested WiFi extensively yet. But ran a speedtest from cellphone with AC speed support getting Ping 3 ms, Jitter 2 ms. Download almost 43 Mbps, and Upload 38 Mbps. These are similar numbers on the Playstation 4, but now and then the upload speed drops significantly on PS4, and the connections now and then drops. Sometimes I only get 5 Mbps upload on the PS4, as this is the unit I have tested WiFi mostly from until now. WiFi isn't stable enough. And ethernet is not possible, only from the Xbox.

 

To my knowledge I have not got any devices getting full speed WiFi matching near the 80 / 80 Mbps subscription.

 

Yes and yes, I do have ethernet laid to all parts of the house, except I have not added the wall plugin to Bedroom 1 yet. And no ethernet in laundry, bathroom or kitchen as of yet. Ethernet exists in Man Cave, Bed2, Hallway and Living Room, plus attic, plus an external storage outdoor (without the wall plugin), not all this is connected to the router as of yet. Bed2, Man Cave, Hallway and Living Room is all connected to this router, that has 8 eth. ports.

 

Yes I do have WiFi 6 on one computer in the Man cave. Any NIC's either ethernet cabled or WiFi provide the same speed as if it is capped by something in Windows 10. This is also the newest computer with Zen2, 64 Gig RAM, SSD, Asus CF Hero 8 WiFi motherboard. The speed from this motherboard except in Linux is capped around 2 til 5 Mbps upload, and about 25 Mbps download. I have attempte Inplace installation of Win10 without it solving a thing. Next plan is to buy a brand new SSD and install Win10 from scratch (future).

 

I will check for any new firmware releases after posting this. It is only days ago since last checked, and that firmware was pulled, visible from cloud but undownloadable as of yet. But I will recheck this firmware.

 

@Donut417 thanks for the tip, I may look into that as well. Any specific apps or units recommended for surveying the WiFi landscape around the apartment?

[Donut417]

6 minutes ago, Grilse Grils said:

I pay for 80 Mbps / 80 Mbps fiber.

1 level, 2nd floor apartment, 100 sqm. (sorry for the metric, this is in Europe)

Located where I have written WiFi on the drawing. Walls are made of drywall. The floor is made with hollow concrete. Outer walls made of wood.

 

I have not tested WiFi extensively yet. But ran a speedtest from cellphone with AC speed support getting Ping 3 ms, Jitter 2 ms. Download almost 43 Mbps, and Upload 38 Mbps. These are similar numbers on the Playstation 4, but now and then the upload speed drops significantly on PS4, and the connections now and then drops. Sometimes I only get 5 Mbps upload on the PS4, as this is the unit I have tested WiFi mostly from until now. WiFi isn't stable enough. And ethernet is not possible, only from the Xbox.

 

To my knowledge I have not got any devices getting full speed WiFi matching near the 80 / 80 Mbps subscription.

 

Yes and yes, I do have ethernet laid to all parts of the house, except I have not added the wall plugin to Bedroom 1 yet. And no ethernet in laundry, bathroom or kitchen as of yet. Ethernet exists in Man Cave, Bed2, Hallway and Living Room, plus attic, plus an external storage outdoor (without the wall plugin), not all this is connected to the router as of yet. Bed2, Man Cave, Hallway and Living Room is all connected to this router, that has 8 eth. ports.

 

Yes I do have WiFi 6 on one computer in the Man cave. Any NIC's either ethernet cabled or WiFi provide the same speed as if it is capped by something in Windows 10. This is also the newest computer with Zen2, 64 Gig RAM, SSD, Asus CF Hero 8 WiFi motherboard. The speed from this motherboard except in Linux is capped around 2 til 5 Mbps upload, and about 25 Mbps download. I have attempte Inplace installation of Win10 without it solving a thing. Next plan is to buy a brand new SSD and install Win10 from scratch (future).

 

I will check for any new firmware releases after posting this. It is only days ago since last checked, and that firmware was pulled, visible from cloud but undownloadable as of yet. But I will recheck this firmware.

 

@Donut417 thanks for the tip, I may look into that as well. Any specific apps or units recommended for surveying the WiFi landscape around the apartment?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer&hl=en_US, that's the specific App I used. Sucks that it doesn't exist on iOS. 

[Grilse Grils]

OMG, is this "magic", or is it because I posted at such a prominent discussion forum, that TP-Link got there fingers out of there asses. This update has been blocked from downloading, but retesting today it just downloaded.

Now I have to retest f*cking everything

 

[Grilse Grils]

Strange, very strange indeed

[Grilse Grils]

Working directly connected to ISP, is now tested.

Ok, I am a network advanced-novice.

 

Through TP-Link support, we have now tried to hook up the PS4 via DMZ, first Address Reserved an IP for it. Got it only halfway seen on the IP only, never on the internet. And then IP disappeared again too.

 

This is directly ISP --> PS4

Looking good there:

 

Strangly it goes to NAT Type 1, when the PS4 normally is NAT Type 2 I believe I have read.

 

Edit:

So this must be due to the ISP providing me a fully open internet connection without any censoring or protection of almost any kind.

https://www.denofgeek.com/games/how-to-change-nat-type-on-ps4/

 

For your enjoyment, I have updated my drawing with a stick figurine:

[Donut417]

49 minutes ago, Grilse Grils said:

So this must be due to the ISP providing me a fully open internet connection without any censoring or protection of almost any kind.

Unless your under carrier grade NAT, most if not all ports will be available, unless they are considered a big security issue. But ports used by games wouldn’t be included in that. At least from what I have read. 

[Grilse Grils]

I have had a support session via chat with TP-Link.

We have tried to DMZ the PS4 in the router by reserving a static IP first.

 

The router is unstable. No and then a seldom time the PS4 is designated an IP in the DHCP server. I have then attempted to go static settings on the PS4 without any help. The furthest I have come is seeing the PS4 obtaining an IP, but the internet will not come online, not even with static DNS. Then the PS4 will loop into a repeating message saying "LAN cable not connected".

 

The whole experience is just awful, and I think this router only deserves to be RMA'ed. This is with firmware 1.1.1 build 20200714 rel.18245(4555) over ethernet cabled connection. This firmware upgrade did nothing for me and my router experience.

[Falcon1986]

@Grilse Grils

1. What is the make/model of the ISP device?
2. How are things connected after the fiber enters your apartment?
3. What type/speed of ethernet cables are you using?

[Grilse Grils]

I believe it is something very near this model:

1. ZyXEL P-2812HNU-F1, and before this it is converted from fibre to ethernet with HET-3012

It has a Bridge Mode activated, to censor as little as possible. The ISP do support IPv6, but I have no experience what so ever to set up IPv6. And according to a reddit-thread, one guy claims that certain apps do not support IPv6 running on the Playstation 4, even if the PS4 operating system itself does support it. So every step has been IPv4 attempts so far.

 

2. Bridge Mode --> TP-Link Archer AX6000.

 

3. A mix from everything supporting Cat.7 to Cat.5e. The PS4 has Cat.5e, because that was all the electrician had. I have tried to throw away any Cat.5 cable I have stumbled upon, from older routers they came with. Some cables are UTP and some are FTP. The foiled ones are quite stiff to the touch. Especially the Cat.7 ones. I may have some UTP Cat.6, since they at least feels soft and thin. I don't think there is any cabling issues. The cables I terminated myself are chosen with lead colors of B-scheme (for Best as the electrician claimed when he tought me).

[Grilse Grils]

Status update. Returned the TP-Link in hope of a refund. If possible, I don't want to continue to be the owner of a non-reliable WiFi-router. However to be completely fair to TP-Link, I would say that I did locate a major problem with the cable connection to the PS4. I was fooled by the fact that other units like laptop, Xbox and so did run on it. But the PS4 refused. So swapping som patch cables plus a RJ-45 gas based over current protection filter it now does connect on both the AX6000 which I returned due to the WiFi-issues. I've had my huge portion of issues with this router.

 

And I did test on a router from Asus, and the cable works there too, without any opening of ports on either router.

 

Just wanted to point out the major issue with the RJ-45 current protection which I believe was causing this. I do not own test equipment unfortunately to measure cable leads and connections. I cannot tell how bad it really was before on the cabled stretch.

 

Status update 2

I also want to tell that the PS4 seems unreliable on WiFi on that Asus router as well. Not testet fully, but got some not so good speed tests as well. Maybe the PS4 is having issues. However the WiFi on that TP-Link was unreliable on other units, like cell phones, IoT-units. Had major issues setting up a weather station and such type of units in the home. Tried to add them to the Asus and they where online i seconds. Amazing difference just there.

[Grilse Grils]

Just want to kind of end this thread. I used the very strong consumer protection laws of my country to complain about a lackluster AX6000 monday product.

 

Got the money invested returned without question. But before this step, I had a Hong Kong representative of TP-Link remote control without solving it. I even tried his beta firmware, that is not available to everyone.

 

So now I did purchase a Asus RT-AX55, not exactly the model I was looking for. But hey, I got a 16 % rebate on it, so I could live with this for years probably being fine with it. But I like a little high-end stuff. I am not totally leaving Asus out of the purchasing equation if I end up returning this unit (Have had it for about 2 months now, and can have it another month, trying it out). But with all the slow rollout of new stuff in these covid-times, I am not to hopeful to see something in the shelves anytime soon. This is the best webshop in my home country, providing 3 months open purchase, when being a free registered member of there advantage program. The law only gives you 14 days to change your mind if ordered online. And 0 days if you purchase it directly in the store.

 

The funny thing is that this country isn't even the best country in Europe when looking at consumer rights. But having 2 years (5 years) consumer rights if somethings goes wrong is sweet. Even then the stores tries to sell you insurance on your purchase, lol.

 

Happy Ending. Monday TP-Link unit I suppose. Customer service at TP-Link was frankly quite good. But maybe they could construct more stable units?

 

Testing this now: