Follow on conversation for TP-Link Archer A6 v2 5GHz improvements, including user support

Community Builds, Projects & Packages
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official build availables

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Just in case if people missed it and if anybody have problems with weak 5GHz range, you'll have to replace the stock board-2.bin file with the one shared by @julianocs. Simply replace the board-2.bin file at /lib/firmware/ath10k/QCA9888/hw2.0/board-2.bin and reboot the router.

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185

I'd tried multiple drivers and configurations, but couldn't get my 5 GHz AP to cover more than one room.
Not only did this improve the range, but as a side effect, iw's scan now works in 5 GHz (catching a couple of neighbours).

Thank you for pointing this out and I can't believe this info is so well hidden under the guise of a non-official, experimental build (the title of the thread doesn't even mention its more common US model name).

You may want to bring this info to this thread https://forum.openwrt.org/t/5ghz-low-performance-on-tp-link-archer-c6-v2

EDIT:

I can't select channel 165, despite the regulatory database allowing it for my region.

(5725 - 5850 @ 80), (30), AUTO-BW
(5925 - 7125 @ 320), (12), NO-OUTDOOR, NO-IR

Tue Sep 17 16:51:24 2024 daemon.notice hostapd: Frequency 5845 (secondary) not allowed for AP mode, flags: 0x10003 NO-IR
Tue Sep 17 16:51:24 2024 daemon.warn hostapd: phy0-ap0: IEEE 802.11 Configured channel (165) or frequency (5825) (secondary_channel=1) not found from the channel list of the current mode (2) IEEE 802.11a
Tue Sep 17 16:51:24 2024 daemon.warn hostapd: phy0-ap0: IEEE 802.11 Hardware does not support configured channel
Tue Sep 17 16:51:24 2024 daemon.err hostapd: Could not select hw_mode and channel. (-3)
186

After this device got mainlined, there was effort to improve the 5GHz radio. It was found out that using the board-2.bin from the device firmware improves the range. However, the BDF file needed to be merged upstream: https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/ath10k/boardfiles.

Unfortunately, since then, nobody tried submitting it yet.

Also, to your edit, I believe channel 165 is 20 MHz only. Check where your center frequency falls for your selected HT mode.

root@Diting:~# iwinfo phy0 freqlist
* 5.180 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 36) [NO_HT40-]
  5.200 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 40)
  5.220 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 44)
  5.240 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 48)
  5.260 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 52)
  5.280 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 56)
  5.300 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 60)
  5.320 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 64) [NO_HT40+]
  5.500 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 100) [NO_HT40-]
  5.520 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 104)
  5.540 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 108)
  5.560 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 112)
  5.580 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 116)
  5.600 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 120)
  5.620 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 124)
  5.640 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 128) [NO_HT40+]
  5.745 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 149) [NO_HT40-, NO_160MHZ]
  5.765 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 153) [NO_160MHZ]
  5.785 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 157) [NO_160MHZ]
  5.805 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 161) [NO_160MHZ]
  5.825 GHz (Band: 5 GHz, Channel 165) [NO_HT40+, NO_160MHZ]
1 Like
188

Deleted my previous post because I just lack good/proper understanding behind the standards involving WiFi and its regulations. Not much point for me to discuss the behavior of iw until I've better knowledge on the subject.

Thanks again for the board-2.bin advice.

189

I wish I could give this more thumbs up! Here are the results (Distance: DownSpeed/UpSpeed):

QT-Moded:

  • 50cm: 208/84
  • 5m: 142/90

QT:

  • 50cm: 223/101
  • 5m: 64/30

NON-QT:

  • 50cm: 148/92
  • 5m: 45/33
190

Do we still need this for Owrt 24 and if yes, could someone provide a PR to eliminate this shame?