asus rt-n66u not getting full speed

To understand why the Asus RT-N66U not getting full speed, you would need to consider the internet speed plan, the traffic, and the capabilities of your Asus router.

When the Asus RT-N66U is not getting the full internet speed you should perform a restart and update the router’s firmware. Then you should connect to the higher frequency WiFi and use a channel without traffic to reach the limit of your internet speed.

Let’s learn more about the Asus RT-N66U capabilities:

Asus RT-N66U Specifications:

There are certain things that can slow down your router’s internet and WiFi speed, but first, you need to know what your allowance is.

The RT-N66U Asus router specifications are:

  • Dual-band  – supports both WiFi frequencies of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz broadbands.
  • Standard 802.11 WiFi –
  • Up to 450+450 Mbps – can’t reach over 450 Mbps on standalone broadband.

When you’re paying for more than 450 Mbps you will not reach that speed with the Asus RT-N66U due to build limitations. 

However, when the router is wired to your computer, your speed should be reaching the limit, otherwise, there is a problem.

How To Check Internet Speed?

Use a free internet speed test to check your network speed.

Make sure to use a wired connection from the router to the device, since WiFi speed could be impacted by many factors.

Let’s now learn how to fix internet speed issues on Asus RT-N66U routers:

How To Fix When Asus RT N66U Not Getting Full Speed?

fix asus rt-n66u not getting full speed

Before you begin with the steps you need to check your internet speed plan. 

When you’re paying for more than 450 Mbps but your Asus RT-N66U receives less, there is a problem.

The solution to the problem should be simple as long as you follow the instructions in their order.

We made sure to address each possibility so let’s start with…

Solution #1 Reboot Asus RT N66U Router

The best first move is to restart the Asus router to reload ALL services and give the device a fresh start.

Users often schedule maintenance restarts to keep their router’s uptime lower in order to avoid having to force-restart when the connection drops.

Let’s learn how to power cycle your RT N66U Router:

  1. Turn OFF your Asus router by pressing the power button.
  2. Disconnect the device from the power outlet.
  3. Wait for at least 3 minutes before reconnecting the router.
Tip: Perform a speed test now to check if the internet speed is now higher.

Solution #2 Update Router’s Firmware

update firmware

The best approach against issues with the Asus RT-N66U router is to keep the device up-to-date.

You should always check for an upgraded version of the OS to keep your device bug-free and compatible with the latest standards.

To update your Asus router you’ll need to reach the control panel.

You can access the settings from a desktop Windows computer, so make sure to hop on and follow the steps below:

  1. Connect the computer to the Asus router’s WiFi or via Ethernet cable.
  2. Open this link on your commute browser http://router.asus.com.
  3. Use “Admin”for both, username and password.
  4. You will see a message on the top left: “-A new version of Firmware is now available”.
  5. Click the Update Now button.
  6. Press Firmware Upgrade.
  7. Wait for the progress bar to reach 100%.

When the firmware of your network device has been updated, you’re ready to measure your internet speed again.

Check whether there is any improvement than the last scan and determine whether you need to proceed further.

Note: Your Asus router will restart during the update as an indication of finalizing the upgrade.

Solution #3 Stop Network Activity

close network activity

Same as the internet speed limitations, routers also have a capacity for many devices that can be connected at once.

In addition, any network activity such as downloading and streaming high-quality content can contribute to slowing down your Asus RT-N66U internet speed.

To relieve your WiFi and boost internet speed follow the steps below:

  1. Close any opened browsers with active extensions.
  2. Stop any streaming applications.
  3. Prevent any ongoing downloads.
  4. Disconnect ALL connected devices from the WiFi.
To finalize the process, we highly recommend changing your Asus RT-N66U passwords for the WiFi bands.

Just in case one of your neighbors is silently connecting to your network. When you’re done, don’t forget to test your network speed to check for any differences.

Solution #4 Use 5Ghz WiFi Over 2.4Ghz

use 5Ghz

The WiFi frequency is the difference between both of your WiFis.

Since the Asus RT-N66U supports both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi broadbands, you should connect to the faster one and perform a speed test to reach the maximum speed of your network.

  • The 2.4 GHz broadband reaches up to 50 – 70 Mbps
  • The 5 GHz network can reach up to 1300 Mbps

It’s well known that the slower WiFi frequency signal is stronger and more reliable for activities such as gaming, while the faster WiFi is meant for downloads and speed-dependent tasks.

To reach the speed that you’re paying for you’ll need to use the 5 GHz WiFi on your router.

Note: When you’re using a wired connection, the internet speed is not limited.

Solution #5 Switch The WiFi Channel

There is a possibility that the WiFi channel of your network is overused by other modems leading to slow WiFi on the RT-N66U router.

Luckily you can easily switch between the WiFi channels to find one that has no traffic, therefore your internet speed won’t be suppressed.

Here is how to switch your WiFi channel on the Asus RT-N66U model:

  1. Make sure to connect your device to the Asus router’s WiFi or via Ethernet cable.
  2. Open the Asus control panel link on your browser http://router.asus.com.
  3. Press on Advanced Settings.
  4. Go to the Wireless tab.
  5. Select the WiFi band you want to configure.
  6. Select a different channel than the current one.
  7. Press on Save.

Changing the WiFi channels does not require a router reboot so simply standby for a few moments before jumping into the speed test.

Test several different channels to determine where the seed of your WiFi is best.

Tip: Use higher number channels since it’s expected for them to have less traffic.

Solution #6 Factory Reset Asus Router

reset asus router

The factory reset is a drastic but necessary solution when the internet speed of your Asus RT-N66U does not cover the internet plans Mbps.

You should know that without the IPv4 of your machine, Default Gateway, and Subnet Mask you might not be able to recover from the reset.

Note: You might need to contact your ISP after the reset to provide you with the IPs.

Here is how to factory reset your Asus RT-N66U router:

  1. In the router’s control panel go to System Settings.
  2. Look for a tab labeled “Factory Default”.
  3. From there click on Reset To Default.
  4. Confirm the prompt by pressing OK.

The reset might take up to 5 minutes so be patient until your Asus router restarts. Then you can perform the last seed test of this guide to check and compare the improvement.

Notice: To use WiFi after the reset, go to Wireless and set up your broadband.

Quick Recap:

To boost the speed of the Asus RT-N66U you need to disconnect ALL devices from the WiFi, perform a restart and update the firmware. To conclude you’ll need to use the 5 GHz broadband on a quit channel and when nothing helps, perform a factory reset.

Read Next: Router.Asus.Com Not Working?

Last Thoughts:

Now when you know why your Asus RT-N66U not getting full speed you should use our solutions to fix any potential problems and boost your internet speed.

We hope that this post was helpful and to find more related guides, make sure to check our technical blog!