Now, why Windows still only displays 2 bars even when the adapter is hard at work with a download is beyond me.
With my Etekcity 1000 mw USB adapter, I get full bars because the device uses a constant high power signal, but because the chipset and design are not as high quality as that of the Asus PCe adapter, I usually get speeds averaging at 20 mbps. This explains why despite Windows reporting 1-2 bars I am still able to achieve between 30-45 mbps most of the time I run. When bandwidth need is minimal, or in other words user internet activity is idle, signal output is kept at the minimal 18 dbm to minimize power usage and decrease general area interference on the 2.4 GHz band. The output power range, as listed by Asus on their website, is between 18 dbm to 22 dbm (and corresponding power values in mw: 64 mw to 160 mw ) on the 2.4 GHz band. I have come to the conclusion that the Asus PCE-AC68 dynamically changes output power according to immediate bandwidth needs, in real-time. And realize that the difference between 18 and 22 dbm is ~ 100 mw, which is actually huge when it comes to signal strength over long range. Now, why would there be a range in the first place? I always thought it was listed that way to account for margin of error, but apparently not. I also know that as per the specs listed by Asus, the 2.4GHz band operates at an output power between 18 and 22 dbm. Same thing happens when downloading large files: hovering around 60 to 40 during downloading, back at 80 when idling. Once the loading stopped, signal went back to- 80 dbm. I tried playing a YouTube video in HD while watching the signal strength, and I saw numbers from -60 dbm to over -40 dbm (sometimes even over -10 dbm). I also noticed that the signal would strangely jump to higher quality at what seemed to be random instances. I noticed that when disabling/enabling the adapter, I'd instantly see full bars and like -40 dbm in the signal section, but then immediately would see a drop to -80 dbm and 1-2 bars. I was looking at the status tab in the Asus Utility, trying to get a better idea about what is going on with this thing. (warning: there is a lot of context here that is important for understanding the entire situation, but to get to the point, read the text in bold) So now I am wondering.did I get a faulty Asus PCE-AC68? How can a $100 product be getting twice as bad a signal as my $20 Etekctiy adapter? There must be something wrong, right? I could only achieve 40 mbps link speed with -80db on 5GHz AC. I really wanted 5GHz to work for me because of neighborhood interference on the 2.4GHz band, but 5GHz just sucks so bad at a distance there is no point in even bothering. Speed and signal on 5GHz AC are worse for the Asus, so I just keep everything at 802.11 n. I am on the opposite side of the house and one floor above the router, which is a Linksys EA6900 AC1900 router. The Asus sees less networks, and also gets worse signal for the networks it sees.īut somehow, even at one bar, I can consistently reach 30 mbps on with the Asus on 2.4GHz, while I usually get around 20 with the other adapters I own. In contrast, the Intel 6300 in my laptop gets about -60 db strength, and the USB Etekcity dual antenna adapter can get up to -40 db. No matter where I put it, that is the maximum signal I could achieve. I tried moving around the antenna stand and still couldn't break -75 db with 117 mbps theoretical link speed. But I was surprised to see just 1 bar signal strength. I installed the Asus adapter in my PCI-E slot and setup went smoothly.