New Router

Having had issues with a TP Link Router, I exchanged it for the Asus AC68U (& paid the difference in price).

All was fine yesterday, I updated the Firmware to the latest and overnight Interleaving kicked in and knocked my connection back 20mbs and doubled the latency to 20%

Line Stats

Downstream Upstream
TCM(Trellis Coded Modulation) On On
SNR 5.5 dB 15.4 dB
Line Attenuation 9.5 dB 17.9 dB
Path Mode Interleaved FastPath
Interleave Depth 1207 1
Data Rate 61886 kbps 19999 kbps
MAX Rate 86660 kbps 25671 kbps
POWER 12.6 dbm 4.5 dbm
INP 2.3 symbols 1.0 symbols
INP-SHINE - -
INP-REIN -
CRC 0

A quick refresh sees a small change to the SNR & Max Rate

I take it I was just unkucky with interleaving being triggered? Or has this router done something it shouldn't have?


regards
Steve

Is it the DSL-AC68U or just the RT-68U connected to a separate modem?

If it is the DSL version (Inbuilt modem) then there is a chance that this has caused an issue. Many have bought and resold the item due to it causing issues with lines.

It is the DSL version.

I'm hoping it is just interleaving and will go away as quickly as it came. I put the HH6 back on this morning and that was a lot slower, even though it said it was on fastpath.

Interleaving is now on upload and download on the AC68U.I've looked at the BT Forum for advice and that is where the confusion lies, it seems a very hit and mis method of getting things to work correctly. Folk say you can't have this function working, but you need that one working, there is no overall correct answer!

I've been tinkering this afternoon and left the router in the BT Infifnty settings from the setup menu. Hope to see interleaving disappear in a week or so.


I did think about returning, but this wasn't from Amazon, but PC World, which may mean I've lost some money and that may just make me leave BT (price increase) for Zen in order to get a free Fritzbox, rather than buying one from Amazon.

In reply to a post by blfamily:

It is the DSL version.

I'm hoping it is just interleaving and will go away as quickly as it came.

Nope, its almost certainly the Asus DSL-68U (uses the notoriously unstable Mediatek DSL chipset) which has messed up your sync rate. I suggest you disconnect it immediately if you don't want the DLM to permanently lower your line speed. Put the HH6 in its place temporarily and if you want to stick to Asus, buy the DSL-AC88U which uses a new-ish Broadcom DSL chipset. Otherwise a TP Link VR2800, VR900v2, Netgear D7800 or Billion 8900AX are all excellent routers and far, far better than the Asus DSL-AC68U junk. You should be able to return the DSL-AC68U for a refund, just say its faulty and gives you regular disconnections.

Edited by deleted (Wed 11-Jul-18 18:28:03)

Thank you for the info, off to PC World tomorrow, wish me luck.
Should have read Amazon Reviews, nearly all the complaints are similar to my issue.

Edited by blfamily (Wed 11-Jul-18 22:01:15)

Success x2

Swapped for an Archer VR900, no problem at PC World.

Latency dropped to 11ms and download speed up to around 55mbps, nice improvement! Looking forward to getting back to 73mbps in a few days or weeks...

In reply to a post by blfamily:

Success x2

Swapped for an Archer VR900, no problem at PC World.

Latency dropped to 11ms and download speed up to around 55mbps, nice improvement! Looking forward to getting back to 73mbps in a few days or weeks...

Good to hear

Whats your line stats (If you can retrieve them from the VR900?

Upstream Downstream
Current Rate(kbps)20000 60000
Max Rate(kbps)28481 70380
SNR Margin(dB) 11.3 8.3
Line Attenuation(dB) 19.7 9.2
Errors(pkts) 0 0

Those stats suggest that your connection is banded at 60Mbps - note the SNRM is above the 6dB standard default value. You should be getting a much higher speed with your line attenuation. The problem is getting BT to do anything about it, they will probably say it is within the acceptable speed range but they may be able to request a DLM reset if you can find any support person who understands what banding is.

I realised that was the case earlier in the week. I know the speed will come back in a week or so, as it won't affect the kids gaming activities, I'm happy wait.

Unfortunately banding is notoriously difficult to remove, the speed will not come back in week or two, some people wait months for it to be removed and nothing happens. A DLM reset is the only way to get rid of it quickly.

Engineer booked for my next day off

Free?

ended up having the same problem with the Asus, went with the VR900 as well, really good modem/router, get fantastic wireless speeds, and wired!

Won't go back to asus now.

Yep Free! Had to report it through BT Customer Forums and wait a few weeks and now wait another 4 days till DLM is reset. Already took a month so far...

Edited by blfamily (Fri 10-Aug-18 15:59:02)

You mean you had a free engineer visit for this, and then had to go through another rigmarole?

An engineer can request a reset from his control, and it happens within 5 minutes. Very odd.