Hello everyone, please excuse me if some things aren't 100% clear; I'm using a translator. I'd like to find help to improve my router's performance. I have a TP-Link ER605 V2 with OpenWRT 24.10.5. I've tried to mitigate bufferbloat using Sqm, qosify, cake-autorate, and sqm-autorate, but I haven't achieved my goal. I'm fairly new to this and I'm sure I've fallen into a loop where I'm not getting any benefit or the maximum benefit from each of these options because I lack the knowledge. The problem I always perceive is a constant lag when playing games. There's a delay in actions, intermittent shot registration, and a sluggish connection instead of a smooth one. So, based on what I've read in the different threads here, I opted to use the tools I mentioned. My ONT is in bridge mode, but it handles the VLAN tagging for my ISP. On my ER605, I only need to enter the PPPoE credentials to establish a connection. I have an 80 Mbps symmetrical fiber optic connection. Thank you in advance for any help.
First remove ALL qos scripts - your hardware is not good enough for them. They can shape 150Mbps maybe 200 (in+out, ie fast 100Mbps ethernet and not more)
Take a measurement tool
a - https://www.waveform.com/tools/bufferbloat
b - https://bufferbloat.libreqos.com/vh/
Do a base measurement (tool aand SAVE THE RESULT)
Save result form tool b
To improve performance (and relieving CPU from 100% load yielding better latency and less retransmits)
1/ In network/Interfaces/General - alter between 3 packet steering options (default is "enabled", not the all-cpu variant) - record the result of each and note one with the best latency (idle+max(up,down)) and the best bandwidth.
2/ Select the "best bandwidth" option and select software flow offload in Network/Firewall
3/ Select the "best latency" and select hardware offload
What comes out is best your hardware can do.
Compare first results and last results in both tests. Maybe post them if you feel more improvement is needed.
Brada.
Thank you so much for taking the time to help me. I see, I thought it was a device that could handle SQM. I ran all the tests you suggested, and I got the best performance with “packet steering disabled and hardware offloading”. It gave me the following results:
Grade: A
Download speed: 81.8Mbps/ Upload Speed: 85.8Mbps
Unloaded: Min: 34.9ms / Max: 41.7ms
Download: Min: 36ms / Max: 374.1ms
Upload: Min: 33.4ms / Max: 44.2ms
Cool 
hardware offload will not work with wifi roaming between multiple APs (different LAN ports), but in basic usage you are all set.
You can try this:
ie set up br-wan, then soft offload terminates ar br-wan, and your hands are free to set at least egress sqm (set ingress to 0) but it is really if 8k tv interferes with voip, ie any of stereoypical bufferbloat impacts. It will not be A+, dont do it unless you have visible problems otherwise. You will be more or less locked at speeds under 100Mbps with SqM, while with hw offload it can max out gigabit wan
Can try fq_codel instead of cake. Not as good but needs less CPU.
luci-app-sqm with Queueing discipline: fq_codel, Queue setup script: simplest_tbf.qos (can also try the other simple* scripts). Other settings: Flow offloading type: Software flow offloading, Packet Steering : Enabled, Steering Flows: Suggested (128).
Works for me on similar hardware and connection speed - NETGEAR R7200 and 150/150 Mbps connection using PPPoE with a Nokia Fiber ONT.
https://www.waveform.com/tools/bufferbloat?test-id=3524e224-1522-492f-9bd4-dd6036838031
I tried this method, but my ping went up and everything seemed to be lagging. I think it's because of what you mentioned before, that my router isn't able to use SQM correctly, or that I did something wrong. Thank you very much. It seems the first solution you provided is the best my router can do. Eventually, I'll try to buy something better. Could you guide me to find something with better capabilities? Actually, I'm the only one who uses this network, but I usually use it for gaming.
Thank you so much for your help. I tried the method, I started experimenting (I want to learn), and I get good results in theory. WaveForm and bufferbloat.libreqos.com show good data, but in practice my network becomes sluggish, slow to respond, and everything seems to be delayed. I'm probably doing something wrong, although I'm trying to follow what I've read about SQM.
I've been doing some research (I'm experimenting). I found a tool called luci-app-irqbalance. I'm using it with packet steering enabled (the default) and SQM, and I think I've gotten some good results! I've attached what I've obtained so far. I'd like to hear your opinion; I haven't tested it in-game yet.
https://www.waveform.com/tools/bufferbloat?test-id=4bd4b0de-1392-4cc4-9fbe-4b20ad7e092c
Your device is extremely slow in 2026. The MediaTek MT7621AT can NOT handle high-speed SQM with the latest version of OpenWrt. Buy a new one with MediaTek ARM or Intel x86 for better performance.
Solution:
fq_codel + simplest_tbf.qos
Disable Software / Hardware flow offloading
Download speed (ingress): 10000 ( 10 Mbps )
Upload speed (egress): 10000 ( 10 Mbps )
Please ensure that Interface name is correct.
Please Reboot your device to ensure fq_codel is active correctly.
Speed depends on your bufferbloat status and number of outgoing packets and is not necessarily 10mbps, but can be lower and higher. You should not believe in the 95% rule of SQM, which is no longer true in 2026 due to each person having different internet and usage needs. 10mbps is the number I give if your Bufferbloat condition is too bad. OpenWrt is getting heavier so you have to buy a new one that is dozens of times more powerful if you want to use SQM. I recommend buying an x86 device. Thank you~~
You could also try using QoSmate and select HFSC or HTB as the root qdisc. These typically require fewer resources than Cake.
In general, autorate shouldn’t provide any benefit if you have a stable connection with fixed bandwidth.
I’m not sure whether your router supports multiple tx queues (according to the ToH it should at least have two cpu cores), but you could try updating to the latest OpenWrt snapshot (cake_mq is only available here or in the latest release candidate) and then test cake_mq.
You can do that either via QoSmate or sqm.
Thank you so much for your help; I never imagined I'd have the good fortune to cross paths with the creator of QoSMate. I'd like to try using cake_mq, but I don't know how to implement it in QoSMate. I searched the forum and found this command: "tc qdisc replace dev wan1 root cake_mq". When I apply it, it shows a lot of data, all starting with cake_mq, but I'm not sure if it's the correct way to do it. I tested it, and it only affected the upload speed. Could you help me? I hope I'm not bothering you; I'm trying to learn!
I already installed firmware version 25.12.0-rc5
Thanks for the kind words, really appreciate it! And no worries at all, I'm happy to help.
First, let's check if cake_mq is even available on your system. Run this on your router:
WAN=$(uci get network.wan.device)
tc qdisc replace dev "$WAN" root cake_mq 2>/dev/null && echo "cake_mq is available" && tc qdisc del dev "$WAN" root || echo "cake_mq is NOT available"
Post the output here. If it says not available, you'll need to switch from 25.12.0-rc5 to the latest OpenWrt snapshot... cake_mq may not be included in your release candidate yet.
If it says available, the next step is to make sure you're on the QoSmate snapshot update channel, since cake_mq support is only in the snapshot version. You can switch the channel in the qosmate luci ui under the advanced tab, or update via cli (the commands are in the README). Once you're on the snapshot version, select cake as root qdisc and you'll find the cake_mq option in the cake settings.
On the contrary, thank you for taking the time to help me. I already checked the compatibility and switched to snapshot mode in the QoSMate Luci user interface, and these options were unlocked. Screenshots attached.
root@OpenWrt:~# WAN=$(uci get network.wan.device)
root@OpenWrt:~# tc qdisc replace dev "$WAN" root cake_mq 2>/dev/null && echo "cake_mq is available" && tc qdisc del dev "$WAN" root || echo "cake_mq is NOT available"
cake_mq is available
root@OpenWrt:~#
Thank you for your time. I'll be experimenting until I can buy a capable device. I'll keep researching to decide which device would be right for me so I don't have a repeat of what happened now.