Singtel Wifi Gigabit Router AC Plus

[Raynesis]

AC Plus has two major problem.
1) weak routing performance, need to reset from time to time in order to have no disconnect
2) weak wireless coverage

Your Askey sorts out Issue #2 but not Issue #1.

Singtel AC Plus: AC1200, relatively slow CPU
Singtel Mesh Router: AC1900, faster CPU
Asus RT-AX86U: AX5700, much faster CPU

If you do not have Wifi 6 device, then just go with the base plan and try to get the Singtel Mesh Router for free. If they do not give you the Singtel Mesh Router for free, it is still easy to buy the Singtel Mesh Router from Carousell for about S$30.

And in any case, try to negotate with Singtel on the pricing front. S$39.9 per month should be achievable.

Thanks for your suggestion, they are very helpful!

 

[ahchek]

I think you need to diagnose the issue first. Switching ISP may not help. As for the router, RT-AC88U can indeed be a problem especially if it is aging. It is one of the more problematic routers from Asus, along with RT-AC87U.

Please post the floor plan and point out where the ONT, AC88U and Velop are placed. And which Velop models are you using? Are you using Ethernet backhaul or wireless backhaul?

And why the TV will affect internet access?

Hi Xiaofan, my router and Velop Mesh nodes placement in my flat as shown.

 

[xiaofan]

Hi Xiaofan, my router and Velop Mesh nodes placement in my flat as shown.

Your picture is not uploaded properly.

 

[ahchek]

Just manage to upload.

I uploaded here, my floor plan
https://ibb.co/RSVb6sh

and my router, network connection
https://ibb.co/2tzVtTw

Velop model is WHW01

 

[xiaofan]

Just manage to upload.
I uploaded here, my floor plan
https://ibb.co/RSVb6sh
and my router, network connection
https://ibb.co/2tzVtTw
Velop model is WHW01

The problem is clear to me, you are using Wireless Backhaul with your Velop dual band AC1300 mesh, but apparently the two mesh nodes do not have line of sight with the main node.

So you do not have LAN ports in the rooms? If that is the case, it may be a bit tough.

 

[xiaofan]

The problem is clear to me, you are using Wireless Backhaul with your Velop dual band AC1300 mesh, but apparently the two mesh nodes do not have line of sight with the main node.
So you do not have LAN ports in the rooms? If that is the case, it may be a bit tough.

You can carry out some experiment, for example, move Node 2 to a place outside Bedroom 3 (if possible) so that it has line of sight with the main node. Performance of Node 3 will suffer due to the dual band nature and the wireless backhaul, but it might work.

 

[ahchek]

Thanks, xiaofan and AMAT,

Unable to fulfil line of sight..  Placing the nodes outside the rooms is not practical. Have to live with it. Current motive is to switch ISP.

Currently I’m with MR without contract, paying $59.99, burning my pocket... Wanted to switch ISP for lower subscription rates, after reading some threads in HWZ, I gathered info as follow:-

a) Singtel, use ONR, don't have IPv6, throttling is worst among 3 big telco. With trade-in of old ASUS router, RT-AX86U ($14/mth) with 1GB fiber $39.9/mth.

b) Understand M1 is recommended by many users. Use ONT, M1 has IPv6, throttling is not serious among 3 big telco. ASUS router can be bought RT-AX88U ($13mth), 1GB fiber $39.9/mth,


Consider most of the time, I have 8 devices (wireless) 4 devices (LAN) connected to network at home. Mainly on web surfing, TV, youtube, video streaming, BT, with VPN. With my conditions and usage habits, which ISP is most suitable for me?

Kindly enlighten me, thanks in advance.

 

[xiaofan]

Why not recontract with MR?

But if you really want to switch ISP, between SingTel and M1, I will say go with M1.

If you read the following guide, Singtel/Asus are recommending running RT-AX86U as an AP with the SingTel ONR, which will make it lose majority of the features. BTW, the picture of the last page of the guide is not correct. It is still in router mode and not in AP mode. In AP mode, many of the left side panel will not be there.
https://www.singtel.com/content/dam...QIG/ASUS-Singtel-Setup-with-Profile-Guide.pdf

 

[Apex]

Why not recontract with MR?

But if you really want to switch ISP, between SingTel and M1, I will say go with M1.

If you read the following guide, Singtel/Asus are recommending running RT-AX86U as an AP with the SingTel ONR, which will make it lose majority of the features. BTW, the picture of the last page of the guide is not correct. It is still in router mode and not in AP mode. In AP mode, many of the left side panel will not be there.
https://www.singtel.com/content/dam...QIG/ASUS-Singtel-Setup-with-Profile-Guide.pdf

Just to add on. Change isp would have to pay fiber activation fee. Incurred extra cost. Nowadays rarely have free activation for fiber.

 

[rAcEr]

Switching ISP will not solve your wife's issue. Suggest to try moving node to bedroom 3 or the study room and see if that helps.

 

[uncle_josh]

Thanks, xiaofan and AMAT,

Unable to fulfil line of sight..  Placing the nodes outside the rooms is not practical. Have to live with it. Current motive is to switch ISP.

Currently I’m with MR without contract, paying $59.99, burning my pocket... Wanted to switch ISP for lower subscription rates, after reading some threads in HWZ, I gathered info as follow:-

a) Singtel, use ONR, don't have IPv6, throttling is worst among 3 big telco. With trade-in of old ASUS router, RT-AX86U ($14/mth) with 1GB fiber $39.9/mth.

b) Understand M1 is recommended by many users. Use ONT, M1 has IPv6, throttling is not serious among 3 big telco. ASUS router can be bought RT-AX88U ($13mth), 1GB fiber $39.9/mth,


Consider most of the time, I have 8 devices (wireless) 4 devices (LAN) connected to network at home. Mainly on web surfing, TV, youtube, video streaming, BT, with VPN. With my conditions and usage habits, which ISP is most suitable for me?

Kindly enlighten me, thanks in advance.

1. Wrong, M1 is currently not recommended. 4x major breakdown in 2020, if you insist, by all mean go ahead.

2. For your house layout, you just need to place the router outside BR3 or WC2 and can cover the whole house.

Get a contractor, one time pain solve your home wifi. Don't be kuniang. This cannot that cannot. Problem will not go away.

Sent from LGE LG-H930 using GAGT

 

[ahchek]

Why not recontract with MR?

But if you really want to switch ISP, between SingTel and M1, I will say go with M1.

If you read the following guide, Singtel/Asus are recommending running RT-AX86U as an AP with the SingTel ONR, which will make it lose majority of the features. BTW, the picture of the last page of the guide is not correct. It is still in router mode and not in AP mode. In AP mode, many of the left side panel will not be there.
https://www.singtel.com/content/dam...QIG/ASUS-Singtel-Setup-with-Profile-Guide.pdf

I will get AX88U from M1. Is AX88U better than AX86U?

 

[xiaofan]

I will get AX88U from M1. Is AX88U better than AX86U?

They are comparable.

RT-AX88U: 8 LAN ports (useful), slightly faster 2.4GHz wireless performance (useless), built-in WTFast router license

RT-AX86U: 4 gigabit LAN ports and one 2.5G LAN/WAN port, the 2.5G port is useful as a LAN port but useless as a WAN port in Singapore. No built-in WTFast.

 

[jonleelk]

Why not recontract with MR?

But if you really want to switch ISP, between SingTel and M1, I will say go with M1.

If you read the following guide, Singtel/Asus are recommending running RT-AX86U as an AP with the SingTel ONR, which will make it lose majority of the features. BTW, the picture of the last page of the guide is not correct. It is still in router mode and not in AP mode. In AP mode, many of the left side panel will not be there.
https://www.singtel.com/content/dam...QIG/ASUS-Singtel-Setup-with-Profile-Guide.pdf

All new subscription to Singtel will only be issued with ONR, correct?

 

[xiaofan]

All new subscription to Singtel will only be issued with ONR, correct?

Yes that is correct. New users will get ONR.

 

[TruthRevealer]

Hi @xiaofan

I run speed test and my internet connection is fine but i am getting ping spikes when i game currently. Any tips on how to troubleshoot and solve this problem

 

[xiaofan]

Hi
@xiaofan
I run speed test and my internet connection is fine but i am getting ping spikes when i game currently. Any tips on how to troubleshoot and solve this problem

I am not into gaming myself so the following is only for reference.
1) Use wired for PC or Console gaming
2) Upgrade your wireless router to something better. SingTel AC Plus is the worst router out there if used as a router (for ONT user). It is not a good AP either (for ONR user)
3) Change to a different ISP.

 

[TruthRevealer]

I am not into gaming myself so the following is only for reference.
1) Use wired for PC or Console gaming
2) Upgrade your wireless router to something better. SingTel AC Plus is the worst router out there if used as a router (for ONT user). It is not a good AP either (for ONR user)
3) Change to a different ISP.

Any good router recommendations for 2022? and any idea on how to check if my modem or router is causing the slow internet speed?

 

[xiaofan]

Any good router recommendations for 2022? and any idea on how to check if my modem or router is causing the slow internet speed?

1) How to choose an AX router? Asus RT-AX86U is one of the best. RT-AX82U is also pretty good for most of the users.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/ax-router-recommendations.6477403/page-2
2) You can test your speed and bufferbloat using the tools mentioned here.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...ubleshooting-the-network-performance.6641164/
3) To learn more about home networking in general
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/understanding-the-abcs-of-home-networking.6653421/

 

[bert64]

Any good router recommendations for 2022? and any idea on how to check if my modem or router is causing the slow internet speed?

You can use a tool like MTR (WinMTR for windows), it's basically a realtime traceroute, and will perform continuous traceroutes to a given destination. If there are latency spikes, you will see them in the output (the response times will increase) and you will see how far along the route they are occurring.

Work out the address of the servers/users that you are gaming with, and run MTR for a while against those targets.
If the latency spikes occur on the first hop then it's probably your wifi or router - you can try with a wired connection to see if this solves it.
If the first hop is stable but the second/third have spikes it's probably the line, or possibly the router.
If some intermediate hops have spikes it's likely the peering between your ISP and the destination server - you can look up who owns the addresses having the latency spikes.
If the final hop has spikes, it's likely the destination server itself.