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4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n

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4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n

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4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n
4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n
2013-03-29 05:17:19
Region : Australia

Model : TL-WDR4300

Hardware Version : V1

Firmware Version : 3.13.23 Build 121225 Rel.37950n

ISP : Optus

I note that my 4300 never uses two channels in 2.4 GHz wireless n mode as reported by Inssider. I can see a few other routers on Inssider, one of which uses channel 11+7 ALL the time, though it's not a TP-Link router. Mine sometimes will connect to two channels, thus enabling 300 Mbps, but then quickly drops to 1 channel. I believe this is a firmware fault as I only have 3 or 4 routers in the area of my house and I can't believe this would generate sufficient interference to force the router to run at a lower speed. If the router does behave this way by design, then TP-Link should stop advertising it as a 300 Mbps router as it will almost never operate at that speed.

Here's the data from the status page of the router:

Wireless Radio: Enable
Mode: 11bgn mixed
Channel: Auto (Current channel 1) --- in 300 Mbps mode this should read 1 + 7 or 7 + 11 or some other pair of channels
Channel Width: 40MHz
WDS Status: Disable
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#1
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Re:4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n
2013-04-01 16:10:53
How about fixed channel to 1/6/11？Sometimes the security will also effect the speed. WPA2-PSK, AES is the best and most secured. Disable the Hardware NAT can be also a try.
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#2
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Re:4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n
2013-04-02 11:26:29
I've played with all the settings with no luck, channels 1/6/11, etc. I've seen it enable 2 channels for a very short period of time on reboot and then it drops back to 1 channel.

I've just loaded the latest release of DD-WRT onto the router and now can get 150Mbps to my phone rather than the 72 before hand, so it has something to do with the driver software within the router. At this point, DD-WRT firmware is better than TP-Link's own firmware. I will stay with DD-WRT until such time that TP-Link solves the problem...I'm not holding my breath.
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#3
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Re:4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n
2013-04-05 03:09:50

paulmerrill wrote

I've played with all the settings with no luck, channels 1/6/11, etc. I've seen it enable 2 channels for a very short period of time on reboot and then it drops back to 1 channel.

I've just loaded the latest release of DD-WRT onto the router and now can get 150Mbps to my phone rather than the 72 before hand, so it has something to do with the driver software within the router. At this point, DD-WRT firmware is better than TP-Link's own firmware. I will stay with DD-WRT until such time that TP-Link solves the problem...I'm not holding my breath.


Does DD-WRT support dual radio mode ?

/Bingo
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#4
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Re:4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n
2013-04-08 01:20:29
It does, 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz radio. I have both working on my network fine using the latest release of dd-wrt. I prefer Gargoyle over dd-wrt but OpenWRT, which is what Gargoyle is based on, has some defects and won't connect to a few of my devices (xBox and HP wireless printer). However, dd-wrt does connect fine.
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#5
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Re:4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n
2013-06-03 13:50:18
Just a quick followup. I'm certain the problem lies with the TP-Link firmware. If the router detects any other routers in the area, then it automatically falls back to use one channel rather than two.

Given the large number of wireless routers in suburbia this effectively means that the TP-Link 4300, and probably the 3600, will NEVER be able to run in 300n mode. Interestingly enough, this is a breach of the Trade Practices Act in Australia as the router will NEVER perform as advertised unless TP-Link "fixes" the firmware so that it is less prone to interference. I could ask, and am entitled to, a full refund, as it does NOT perform as advertised. It's a shame too, it's a pretty nice router but the firmware cripples it. It one installs Gargoyle on the router it WILL run in 300n mode but Gargoyle suffers from wireless dropouts, so not a permanent solution either.
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#6
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Re:4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n
2013-06-03 15:06:01

paulmerrill wrote

now can get 150Mbps to my phone rather than the 72 before hand...

A phone or a pad is not a good product to test wireless speed, you have to use a PC with a good N card.
Further more, there is a lot of things creating interferences, not only the neighbour wifi signals.
I have a WDR4900 and a WR1043ND, the primary + secondary channel work fine...
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#7
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Re:4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n
2013-06-03 19:30:58
I have tested 3 pretty new laptops and one recent desktop with built in Wireless N (two antennas) using inSSIDER ( www.metageek.net). If I start inSSIDER and then reboot the router I can see the router start on two channels, but it then immediately falls back to one channel.

The fastest that I can get the router to run is 135 Mbps on Wireless N and that is with doing ALL possible changes I can think of. If I download and install Gargoyle or DD-WRT, then I can run at 300 Mbps BUT I get wireless dropouts due to problems with the Open Source ath9k drivers. TP-Link firmware does not have the drop-out problems but it will not connect at 300 due to interference.
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#8
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Re:4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n
2013-06-03 19:57:08
OK then, did you test the last firmware versions with the 5GHz disabled?
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#9
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Re:4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n
2013-06-04 18:27:25
No but I will try. I *think* I remember doing that but it's been some time. I've just purchased a Kogan (yes, you read correctly) Wireless 300n router. Not very flash but it seems to work very well, all for $27. I've turned off 2.4GHz on the TP-Link and am now using the Kogan 300n which *does* work on 2 channels according to inSSider. I'm going to give that a shot for a while and see how it goes. I've got the Kogan connected to the TP-Link via cat 5 cable on one of the LAN ports and DHCP turned off.

I'll try over the weekend and see how the 2.4 on 5 off goes.
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#10
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Re:4300 refuses to use two 2.4GHz for Wireless n
2013-06-08 07:30:51
Ok, gave it a shot, only turning on 2.4GHz channel. No luck. If I have inSSider running in the background on a PC I can see the 4300 start up and it starts using two channels @ 300Mbps. After about 30 seconds, it drops down to 1 channel at 144Mbps. It appears that the 4 other routers around me provide enough interference that the 4300 drops to 1 channel (this is as routers should work but I think that the TP-Link guys have made it too sensitive) even though those routers are all at -90db, whereas the 4300 is indicated to be running at -30db (the laptop is literally 3 feet from the router).

Thus, unless you have no routers around you, I very much doubt whether the TP-Link 4300 will ever run @ 300n. The $27 Kogan I purchased runs like a charm at 300n, so I use the 4300 for 5GHz and the Kogan for 2.4GHz and have just bridged them together. Too bad but poor design strikes again.
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