Change country to unlock channels, increase TX-power. (Use at your own risk)

README.md

Disclaimer

Following instructions are provided without any warranty, and may even get you in trouble legally. The instructions are provided for testing, learning, preventing e-waste, and should be use with care. We (including contributers + commentators) are not responsible for any damage to your device(s) or any legal issues.

Getting Started

Instructions have been moved to https://github.com/francoism90/asus-router. :)

@Reeplosin and all fyi

In general: If you restart wireless service, you will always return to the values (country etc.) fixed in the driver/firmware (or more precise: To the specific selection burned in the ROM out of all possible values in the driver, see below) So, restarting of wireless service happens also--apart from view exceptions as mentioned above in the comments--when you change settings via GUI.

Thus, there are two ways to overcome this a) put NVRAM changes in the init-start script (and then never issue a restart of wirelss service) or b) do the changes via wl command.

For a) See comments above and follow the golden rule not to restart wireless service!

For b) :

• make sure you have latest wl version, i.e. flash latest merlin firmware. On my AX58U and AXE11000, both on 3004.388.6_2, wl ver Broadcom BCA: 17.10 RC157.2809 wl0: Dec 15 2023 10:37:38 version 17.10.157.2809 (r801046) 8e0370b

• check available commands of wl with: wl -h and, yes this gives a different result, wl -i eth6 -h (assuming eth6 is 5G here, you need to check devices on your router model)

• Check which countries are available in your current firmware: wl country list You can only select one of this country listed here.

• Each country comes with a certain list of "revisions". These are regulatory settings that have changed over time, you can check which ones are supported with e.g., wl country_rev US

• You set a country with a specific revision as wl -i ethXX country "US/699" (For Country = ALL you don't need to specify the revision)

• So, you can do on your asus, assuming eth6 is 5G:

wl -i eth6 down
wl -i eth6 country ALL
wl -i eth6 country_abbrev_override "US"
wl -i eth6 regulatory 1
wl -i eth6 chanspec 36/160
wl -i eth6 up
wl -i eth6 5g_rate auto
wl -i eth6 txpwr1 -o -m 1496

Result:

1. Country ALL will result in the maximum power your device can blow out in 2G / 5G / 6G and make all channels selectable. The maximum power your router can blow out is limited in the driver/firmware for country = ALL. You cannot go higher than this, independant what you select in NVRAM or with 5. below. These values are fixed in the CLM (country locale matrix) Blob loaded into the driver. Check it wich wl clmver. Or if you manage to hack the CLM Blob, you could override and load it via wl -i eth6 clmload

2. country_abbrev_override "US" this will make your wifi now look as if it has country US although it is set to ALL, i.e. the 802.11 beacon contains now country = US. This is very useful, if your clients in STAtion mode detect country settings based on beacon country info. If you don't send country info in the beacons, i.e. just set country to ALL, then your wifi client might switch to "world" mode. This is the least common denominator of all regulations on this planet, i.e. the most conservative setting: No (!) 6G and in 5G only very few channels with very little Tx power...

3. regulatory 1 : Set 5G to 802.11d and disable 802.11h (DSF). You can check it with wl -i eth6 spect 802.11d mode

4. chanspec : Set your channel here NOT in the GUI! Remember: Setting it in the GUI, will return to ROM settiings. For 80 or 160 MHz channels, you need to select a 20 MHz channel in the 80/160 MHz and not the center frequency of the 80/160 MHz channel. This will not work.
   Even on a AX58U you can use the full UNII-4 band, i.e. 165/160 is possible. Don't know if this will work on your router.
   Check settings with wl -i eth6 status Mode: Managed RSSI: 0 dBm SNR: 0 dB noise: -87 dBm Channel: 165/160 ...

5. txpwr1 : See my comment above what this means.

NOTE: If your client uses Intel AX-2xx adpaters: You will always end up in a mess!! They use LAR... I changed to Mediatek MT7922 (RZ616). This one even gives me 6G on Windows 10 and has no LAR, so you can use all wifi channels.

@pasko-zh Very good info, will try to add it to the README. 👍

You could workaround LAR, but I don't think it's possible anymore, since most devices/firmwares use hidden signals as well. So even when you could disable LAR somehow, it would potentially be something else checking your country code.

Could you give more information about the county+ other nvram settings? I'd always understood CN/02 was the best one.

@Reeplosine tutto per tua informazione

In generale: Se si riavvia il servizio wireless, si ritorneranno sempre ai valori (paese, ecc.) fissati nel driver/firmware (o più precisamente: alla selezione specifica masterizzata nella ROM tra tutti i valori possibili nel driver, vedere di seguito) Pertanto, il riavvio del servizio wireless avviene anche, a parte le eccezioni di visualizzazione come menzionato sopra nei commenti, quando si modificano le impostazioni tramite la GUI.

Pertanto, ci sono due modi per superare questo problema: a) inserire le modifiche NVRAM nello init-startscript (e quindi non riavviare mai il servizio wirelss) oppure b) eseguire le modifiche tramite wlcomando.

Per a) Vedi i commenti sopra e segui la regola d'oro per non riavviare il servizio wireless!

Per b):

• assicurati di avere la versione wl più recente, ad esempio installa l'ultimo firmware Merlin. Sul mio AX58U e AXE11000, entrambi su 3004.388.6_2,wl ver Broadcom BCA: 17.10 RC157.2809 wl0: Dec 15 2023 10:37:38 version 17.10.157.2809 (r801046) 8e0370b
• controlla i comandi disponibili di wl con: wl -he, sì, questo dà un risultato diverso wl -i eth6 -h(supponendo che eth6qui sia 5G, devi controllare i dispositivi sul tuo modello di router)
• Controlla quali paesi sono disponibili nel tuo firmware attuale: wl country listpuoi selezionare solo uno dei paesi elencati qui.
• Ogni paese viene fornito con un determinato elenco di "revisioni". Si tratta di impostazioni normative che sono cambiate nel tempo, puoi verificare quali sono supportate con ad es.wl country_rev US
• Imposta un paese con una revisione specifica come wl -i ethXX country "US/699"(Per Paese = TUTTI non è necessario specificare la revisione)
• Quindi, puoi fare sul tuo Asus, supponendo eth6 che sia 5G:

wl -i eth6 down
wl -i eth6 country ALL
wl -i eth6 country_abbrev_override "US"
wl -i eth6 regulatory 1
wl -i eth6 chanspec 36/160
wl -i eth6 up
wl -i eth6 5g_rate auto
wl -i eth6 txpwr1 -o -m 1496

Risultato:

1. Country ALL garantirà la massima potenza che il tuo dispositivo può erogare in 2G / 5G / 6G e renderà tutti i canali selezionabili. La potenza massima che il router può erogare è limitata nel driver/firmware per paese = TUTTI. Non puoi andare più in alto di questo, indipendentemente da ciò che selezioni nella NVRAM o con 5. di seguito. Questi valori sono fissi nel BLOB CLM (matrice locale paese) caricato nel driver. Controlla quale wl clmver. Oppure, se riesci ad hackerare il BLOB CLM, puoi sovrascriverlo e caricarlo tramite wl -i eth6 clmload
2. country_abbrev_override "US"questo farà sembrare che il tuo Wi-Fi abbia il paese USA anche se è impostato su TUTTI, ovvero il beacon 802.11 contiene ora paese = USA. Ciò è molto utile se i tuoi client in modalità STAtion rilevano le impostazioni del paese in base alle informazioni del paese del beacon. Se non invii informazioni sul paese nei beacon, ovvero imposti semplicemente il paese su TUTTI, il tuo client Wi-Fi potrebbe passare alla modalità "mondo". Questo è il minimo comune denominatore di tutte le normative del pianeta, ovvero l'impostazione più conservativa: niente (!) 6G e in 5G solo pochissimi canali con pochissima potenza Tx...
3. regulatory 1: imposta 5G su 802.11d e disabilita 802.11h (DSF). Puoi verificarlo conwl -i eth6 spect 802.11d mode
4. chanspec: Imposta il tuo canale qui NON nella GUI! Ricorda: impostandolo nella GUI, verranno ripristinate le impostazioni della ROM. Per i canali da 80 o 160 MHz, è necessario selezionare un canale da 20 MHz nel canale 80/160 MHz e non la frequenza centrale del canale 80/160 MHz. Questo non funzionerà.
   Anche su un AX58U è possibile utilizzare l'intera banda UNII-4, ovvero è possibile 165/160. Non so se funzionerà sul tuo router.
   Controlla le impostazioni con wl -i eth6 status Mode: Managed RSSI: 0 dBm SNR: 0 dB noise: -87 dBm Channel: 165/160 ...
5. txpwr1 : Vedi il mio commento sopra cosa significa.

NOTA : Se il tuo client utilizza adattatori Intel AX-2xx: finirai sempre nei guai!! Usano LAR... Sono passato a Mediatek MT7922 (RZ616). Questo mi dà anche il 6G su Windows 10 e non ha LAR, quindi puoi usare tutti i canali Wi-Fi.

Interesting indeed. if i understand correctly i have to enter those commands inside the router, and do nvram commit right? seeing the model not if it also applies to ac86u, but i will take a look

@pasko-zh Very good info, will try to add it to the README. 👍

You could workaround LAR, but I don't think it's possible anymore, since most devices/firmwares use hidden signals as well. So even when you could disable LAR somehow, it would potentially be something else checking your country code.

Could you give more information about the county+ other nvram settings? I'd always understood CN/02 was the best one.

Well, the wl command is a difficult animal. The help file is not really correct, i.e., many commands don't work. Some work on some models and some not. If you update the readme, this has to be clearly stated.
For instance, country_abbrev_override "US works on some router models, on some not. Also txpwr1 -o, where o stands for override, does not work...

Country Code:

• The most less restrictive country setting, wrt to channels and Tx power, is #a (#a/0) <unknown>. (Whether set via NVRAM or via WL tool does not matter). You can easily compare different country settings regarding Tx power with wl -i ethXXX chanspec_txpwr_max. See above how to set a country per interface via WL tool.
• Also, you cannot set your router to a country which is not in your firmware. Even if you set it in NVRAM, it has no effect. You get all supported countries via country list, see example for me (E0 is a superset for some european countries)

wl -i eth8 country list
Supported countries: country code and long name
#a
CA      CANADA
E0
KR      KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
US      UNITED STATES

So, no China 😀
Trying to set to China, gives:

wl -i eth8 country "CN"
wl: Unsupported

Concerning country setting, you have to experiment, what your wifi clients accept and what is more confusing them. For instance, setting country_abbrev_override = OFF and thus transmitting no country info in the 802.11 beacons, seems to work better with Ubuntu, even for 6G, but then my Pixel 7a does not "see" my 6G AP anymore... a bit of a kindergarten...

@Reeplosine tutto per tua informazione

In generale: Se si riavvia il servizio wireless, si ritorneranno sempre ai valori (paese, ecc.) fissati nel driver/firmware (o più precisamente: alla selezione specifica masterizzata nella ROM tra tutti i valori possibili nel driver, vedere di seguito) Pertanto, il riavvio del servizio wireless avviene anche, a parte le eccezioni di visualizzazione come menzionato sopra nei commenti, quando si modificano le impostazioni tramite la GUI.

Pertanto, ci sono due modi per superare questo problema: a) inserire le modifiche NVRAM nello init-startscript (e quindi non riavviare mai il servizio wirelss) oppure b) eseguire le modifiche tramite wlcomando.

Per a) Vedi i commenti sopra e segui la regola d'oro per non riavviare il servizio wireless!

Per b):

• assicurati di avere la versione wl più recente, ad esempio installa l'ultimo firmware Merlin. Sul mio AX58U e AXE11000, entrambi su 3004.388.6_2,wl ver Broadcom BCA: 17.10 RC157.2809 wl0: Dec 15 2023 10:37:38 version 17.10.157.2809 (r801046) 8e0370b
• controlla i comandi disponibili di wl con: wl -he, sì, questo dà un risultato diverso wl -i eth6 -h(supponendo che eth6qui sia 5G, devi controllare i dispositivi sul tuo modello di router)
• Controlla quali paesi sono disponibili nel tuo firmware attuale: wl country listpuoi selezionare solo uno dei paesi elencati qui.
• Ogni paese viene fornito con un determinato elenco di "revisioni". Si tratta di impostazioni normative che sono cambiate nel tempo, puoi verificare quali sono supportate con ad es.wl country_rev US
• Imposta un paese con una revisione specifica come wl -i ethXX country "US/699"(Per Paese = TUTTI non è necessario specificare la revisione)
• Quindi, puoi fare sul tuo Asus, supponendo eth6 che sia 5G:

wl -i eth6 down
wl -i eth6 country ALL
wl -i eth6 country_abbrev_override "US"
wl -i eth6 regulatory 1
wl -i eth6 chanspec 36/160
wl -i eth6 up
wl -i eth6 5g_rate auto
wl -i eth6 txpwr1 -o -m 1496

Risultato:

1. Country ALL garantirà la massima potenza che il tuo dispositivo può erogare in 2G / 5G / 6G e renderà tutti i canali selezionabili. La potenza massima che il router può erogare è limitata nel driver/firmware per paese = TUTTI. Non puoi andare più in alto di questo, indipendentemente da ciò che selezioni nella NVRAM o con 5. di seguito. Questi valori sono fissi nel BLOB CLM (matrice locale paese) caricato nel driver. Controlla quale wl clmver. Oppure, se riesci ad hackerare il BLOB CLM, puoi sovrascriverlo e caricarlo tramite wl -i eth6 clmload
2. country_abbrev_override "US"questo farà sembrare che il tuo Wi-Fi abbia il paese USA anche se è impostato su TUTTI, ovvero il beacon 802.11 contiene ora paese = USA. Ciò è molto utile se i tuoi client in modalità STAtion rilevano le impostazioni del paese in base alle informazioni del paese del beacon. Se non invii informazioni sul paese nei beacon, ovvero imposti semplicemente il paese su TUTTI, il tuo client Wi-Fi potrebbe passare alla modalità "mondo". Questo è il minimo comune denominatore di tutte le normative del pianeta, ovvero l'impostazione più conservativa: niente (!) 6G e in 5G solo pochissimi canali con pochissima potenza Tx...
3. regulatory 1: imposta 5G su 802.11d e disabilita 802.11h (DSF). Puoi verificarlo conwl -i eth6 spect 802.11d mode
4. chanspec: Imposta il tuo canale qui NON nella GUI! Ricorda: impostandolo nella GUI, verranno ripristinate le impostazioni della ROM. Per i canali da 80 o 160 MHz, è necessario selezionare un canale da 20 MHz nel canale 80/160 MHz e non la frequenza centrale del canale 80/160 MHz. Questo non funzionerà.
   Anche su un AX58U è possibile utilizzare l'intera banda UNII-4, ovvero è possibile 165/160. Non so se funzionerà sul tuo router.
   Controlla le impostazioni con wl -i eth6 status Mode: Managed RSSI: 0 dBm SNR: 0 dB noise: -87 dBm Channel: 165/160 ...
5. txpwr1 : Vedi il mio commento sopra cosa significa.

NOTA : Se il tuo client utilizza adattatori Intel AX-2xx: finirai sempre nei guai!! Usano LAR... Sono passato a Mediatek MT7922 (RZ616). Questo mi dà anche il 6G su Windows 10 e non ha LAR, quindi puoi usare tutti i canali Wi-Fi.

I performed the operation, I understood that the router after entering the commands should never be restarted otherwise everything returns as before, if I created a script to avoid having to do it manually would it work?

@Reeplosin : You can run it manually or install it in a startup script. But you might call your script services-start instead of init-start, because you can use wl tool commands only after all services are up, see https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin.ng/wiki/User-scripts.

Since I did a lot of tests, I just put everything in a bash script and execute it manually. (I don't reboot my routers for months).

So, here is one example of mine for one of my AX58U:

#!/bin/sh

# This does not work, if 2G is up
# wl country ALL

# Settings for 2G
wl -i eth5 down
wl -i eth5 country ALL
wl -i eth5 country_abbrev_override OFF
wl -i eth5 regulatory 1
wl -i eth5 chanspec -c 3 -b 2 -w 40 -s 1
wl -i eth5 up
wl -i eth5 2g_rate auto
wl -i eth5 txpwr1 -o -m 1496

# settings for 5G
wl -i eth6 down
wl -i eth6 country ALL
wl -i eth6 country_abbrev_override OFF

# set 802.11d only and disable 802.11h
wl -i eth6 regulatory 1
wl -i eth6 spect 0

wl -i eth6 chanspec 36/160
wl -i eth6 up
wl -i eth6 5g_rate auto
wl -i eth6 txpwr1 -o -m 1496

Interesting. thanks. I will have to try the commands, to see which ones are compatible with 86u Il lun 4 mar 2024, 20:46 paško ***@***.***> ha scritto:

…

***@***.**** commented on this gist. ------------------------------ @Reeplosin <https://github.com/Reeplosin> : You can run it manually or install it in a startup script. But you might call your script services-start instead of init-start, because you can use wl tool commands only after all services are up, see https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin.ng/wiki/User-scripts. Since I did a lot of tests, I just put everything in bash script and execute it manually. (I don't reboot my routers for months). So, here is one example of mine for one of my AX58U: #!/bin/sh # This does not work, if 2G is up # wl country ALL # Settings for 2G wl -i eth5 down wl -i eth5 country ALL wl -i eth5 country_abbrev_override OFF wl -i eth5 regulatory 1 wl -i eth5 chanspec -c 3 -b 2 -w 40 -s 1 wl -i eth5 up wl -i eth5 2g_rate auto wl -i eth5 txpwr1 -o -m 1496 # settings for 5G wl -i eth6 down wl -i eth6 country ALL wl -i eth6 country_abbrev_override OFF # set 802.11d only and disable 802.11h wl -i eth6 regulatory 1 wl -i eth6 spect 0 wl -i eth6 chanspec 36/160 wl -i eth6 up wl -i eth6 5g_rate auto wl -i eth6 txpwr1 -o -m 1496 — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <https://gist.github.com/francoism90/3dede7973354d067c41bff5e54203fe9#gistcomment-4967332> or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BAVJMKD6Q5KQRKML4ZZJ3EDYWTFR3BFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDUOJ2WLJDOMFWWLO3UNBZGKYLEL5YGC4TUNFRWS4DBNZ2F6YLDORUXM2LUPGBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVA4TENZQG44TIONHORZGSZ3HMVZKMY3SMVQXIZI> . You are receiving this email because you were mentioned. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS <https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675> or Android <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub> .

anyway Just for information; i was checking some old tweaks for the AC68u transmission power and i came across a command that i didn't see used here "nvram set pa0maxpwr=708" it's strange because many nvram commands tried by users here come from that list of tweak commands that worked for the old 68u, this is one of them but i don't see it used, maybe for current devices it's not needed anymore i don't know

@Reeplosin
Well, it all depends on your router model and OS, driver (and also wl) version. On my AXE11000 and AX58U pa0maxpwr doesn't exist in NVRAM.

Since we don't have an official documentation by broadcom, it's a bit shooting in the dark... or to put it differently try & error :-/

If you find comands working for you -- please share :)

That's the problem, I entered the command and it seems to have worked, because no error of any kind came up, but I don't know if it actually did anything. from the few documentations I've read about the ac68u commands it was used in conjunction with the classic commands we use here to boost transmission, but again I don't know if it actually did anything, nor does it seem to be able to verify it, maybe I should reset the router and run this command to see if it changes anything on its own Il ven 8 mar 2024, 21:57 paško ***@***.***> ha scritto:

…

***@***.**** commented on this gist. ------------------------------ @Reeplosin <https://github.com/Reeplosin> Well, it all depends on your router model and OS, driver (and also wl) version. On my AXE11000 and AX58U pa0maxpwr doesn't exist in NVRAM. Since we don't have an official documentation by broadcom, it's a bit shooting in the dark... or to put it differently try & error :-/ If you find comands working for you -- please share :) — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <https://gist.github.com/francoism90/3dede7973354d067c41bff5e54203fe9#gistcomment-4978208> or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BAVJMKGCVVA2LFIWPQQMWELYXIQ3DBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDUOJ2WLJDOMFWWLO3UNBZGKYLEL5YGC4TUNFRWS4DBNZ2F6YLDORUXM2LUPGBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVA4TENZQG44TIONHORZGSZ3HMVZKMY3SMVQXIZI> . You are receiving this email because you were mentioned. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS <https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675> or Android <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub> .

@pasko-zh What's funny, is that I do have China as an option:

# wl -i eth6 country list
Supported countries: country code and long name
#a	
AU	AUSTRALIA
CA	CANADA
CN	CHINA
DE	GERMANY
E0	
FR	FRANCE
GB	UNITED KINGDOM
JP	JAPAN
KR	KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
Q1	Q1
SG	SINGAPORE
TW	TAIWAN, REPUBLIC OF CHINA
US	UNITED STATES

Was this from your AX-58U?

I think the nvram controls the hardware limits/bars, and with iw you actually boost them (or force some overriding).

I'll try to test later this weekend, and adjust the README.md.

Thanks again!

@francoism90
Now it is getting political 🤣 I live in Switzerland, so I have :

ASUSWRT-Merlin GT-AXE11000 3004.388.6_0_rog Sat Jan 20 18:44:34 UTC 2024
pesce@GT-AXE11000-9520:/tmp/home/root# wl country list
Supported countries: country code and long name
#a
CA      CANADA
E0
KR      KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
US      UNITED STATES

pesce@GT-AXE11000-9520:/tmp/home/root# wl ver
Broadcom BCA: 17.10 RC157.2809
wl0: Dec 12 2023 09:43:28 version 17.10.157.2809 (r801046) FWID 01-0

pesce@GT-AXE11000-9520:/tmp/home/root# wl clmver
API: 25.0
Data: 10.10.78
Compiler: 1.68.6
ClmImport: 1.68.6
Customization: v2 221028
Creation: 2023-07-24 10:10:20

and

ASUSWRT-Merlin RT-AX58U 3004.388.6_2 Tue Feb 27 02:43:33 UTC 2024
pesce@RT-AX58U-D440:/tmp/home/root# wl country
#a (#a/0) <unknown>
pesce@RT-AX58U-D440:/tmp/home/root# wl country list
Supported countries: country code and long name
#a
AU      AUSTRALIA
CA      CANADA
CN      CHINA
DE      GERMANY
E0
FR      FRANCE
GB      UNITED KINGDOM
JP      JAPAN
KR      KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
Q1      Q1
SG      SINGAPORE
TW      TAIWAN, REPUBLIC OF CHINA
US      UNITED STATES

pesce@RT-AX58U-D440:/tmp/home/root# wl ver
Broadcom BCA: 17.10 RC157.2809
wl0: Dec 15 2023 10:37:38 version 17.10.157.2809 (r801046) 8e0370b

pesce@RT-AX58U-D440:/tmp/home/root# wl clmver
API: 25.0
Data: 10.10.652
Compiler: 1.59.9
ClmImport: 1.63.5
Creation: 2021-10-29 10:21:23

Well, on my linux machines I use iw a lot. But here on asus merlin, I was only trying it a bit, and most things were not working

@francoism90 Let me know if shall test anything. Happy to support.

ASUSWRT-Merlin RT-AX88U 3004.388.6_2 Tue Feb 27 02:49:55 UTC 2024

I'd list mine in response but seriously(!) the list is 268 lines.

Still can't get channels above 165, no matter which country I try.

ASUSWRT-Merlin RT-AX88U 3004.388.6_2 Tue Feb 27 02:49:55 UTC 2024

I'd list mine in response but seriously(!) the list is 268 lines.

Still can't get channels above 165, no matter which country I try.

To get the channels I think you have to change the chainspec

the command on my ac86u is "nvram set wl1_chanspec=161/80" on your device it will have to be something like "165/160" or something like that you will have to try

@Linden1
You can do it via NVRAM or via wl

You may need to select a different interface number, e.g., eth6 or so... On my AXE11000 I configured it like this:

# settings for 5G
wl -i eth7 down
wl -i eth7 country ALL
wl -i eth7 country_abbrev_override OFF
wl -i eth7 regulatory 1
wl -i eth7 spect 0
wl -i eth7 chanspec 165/160
wl -i eth7 up
wl -i eth7 5g_rate auto
wl -i eth7 txpwr1 -o -m 1496

Then

wl -i eth7 status
SSID:  I HIDE MINE HERE...
Mode: Managed   RSSI: 0 dBm     SNR: 0 dB       noise: -87 dBm  Channel: 165/160
BSSID: C8:7F:54:94:95:24        Capability: ESS RRM
Supported Rates: [ 6(b) 9 12 18 24(b) 36 48 54 ]
HE Capable:
        ....

NOTE! You also need a client supporting those channels. With Intel's adapter with theri stupid LAR, I had no chance!! I replaced my Intel AX-210 with Mediatek MT7922. It works under Win10 and Ubuntu:

@pasko-zh
I've already adapted the original (NVRAM) script to my router. It works because I now have channels 149-165 and am running channel 149/80. It just won't go any further - tried US, CN, ALL, #a.

@Linden1
Strange...

1. what do you get if you do wl -i eth6 channels ?
   (you should get 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 100 104 108 112 116 120 124 128 132 136 140 144 149 153 157 161 165 169 173 177)

2. Do you get an error message when you try to wl -i eth6 chanspec 165/160 ?
   (Interface needs to be down)

3. What do you get if you set the channel like in 2. and then do wl -i eth6 status?

Using eth7 specific to my router

1. 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 100 104 108 112 116 120 124 128 132 136 140 144 149 153 157 161 165

2. wl: Bad Channel

3. SSID: "REDACTED"
   Mode: Managed RSSI: 0 dBm SNR: 0 dB noise: -88 dBm Channel: 149/80
   BSSID: 11:22:33:44:55 Capability: ESS RRM
   Supported Rates: [ 6(b) 9 12 18 24(b) 36 48 54 ]
   HE Capable:
   Chanspec: 5GHz channel 155 80MHz (0xe09b)
   Primary channel: 149
   HT Capabilities: 40MHz SGI20 SGI40
   Supported HT MCS : 0-31
   Supported VHT MCS:
   NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
   NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
   NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
   NSS4 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
   Supported HE MCS:
   20/40/80 MHz:
   NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
   NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
   NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
   NSS4 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
   160 MHz:
   NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
   NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
   NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
   NSS4 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11

EDIT It just seems my router is not UNII-4 capable. Maybe it's time to accept that.

@Linden1
Are you sure your router model supports U-NII-4 band, channel 169-177?

What do you get if you do wl -i eth7 country?

Did you set in NVRAM init script
nvram set wl1_chlist="36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 100 104 108 112 116 120 124 128 132 136 140 149 153 157 161 165 169 173 177"

What do you get if you do wl -i eth7 country?

Default would be DE , but with the script #a (#a/0) - which should give me all channels.

Yes, channel list exactly as you have it. I know the script itself is working as I now have channels 149-165, giving me 149/80, nothing higher.

wl -i eth7 channels returns:
36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 100 104 108 112 116 120 124 128 132 136 140 144 149 153 157 161 165

hmmm :-/ weird... I had once an issue, that U-NII-4 channels were not selectable ("were not there") because I did not set them in NVRAM via init-script.
What kind of router model do you have AX88U or new one AX88U PRO?

The good old RT-AX88U (not Pro).

I have the original "nvram set acs_unii4=1" in the script, but that makes no difference, even if I set it to 0(zero) or comment it out.

Well, then I don't know what else could help....

(but at least you can use all other 5G channels without DFS and full power 😁. Sure, U-NII-4 would give you another 160 MHz channel...)

Hi, I just got my hands on the new BE98 (non-Pro, UK version), and it seems like nvram set 1:ccode=ALL, nvram set 2:ccode=ALL, nvram set 3:ccode=ALL do not work on this router after setting the country code to AU (nvram set location_code=AU). This is quite frustrating because Australia does not permit channels 116-128, so my 5G-2 can only be set to 80MHz. I also tried setting the country code to the US, but for some strange reason, only my Samsung S24 Ultra can find the 6GHz channel. My Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6E AX210 and iPhone 15 Pro Max cannot find the 6GHz channel at all...

@Warborn123
Try to work with the wl command. See my comments above how to use it to set country, disable DSF, set tx power, etc., see here or this one.

To help others having the same router model as you, please post the output of the corresponding wl commands here. For instance, wl country list or wl -i eth8 channels (on my GT-AXE11000 eth8 corresponds to the 6G).

When you set a country or channel, then always check with the wl command, if the settings are OK: wl -i eth8 status . Do not check it on your wifi clients!

Your wifi clients, e.g., mobile phone, laptop, have also regulatory settings which affect connectivity, for instance no 6G wifi. Your apple phone will most likeley set its regulatory wifi country to what it reads from telco network. On a rooted android device, you can override this via sudo iw reg set COUNTRY. But since apple is super closed source... nothing to do here...

Intel... well.... they use LAR algorithm to detect the country settings. This is a super shitty thing. Because LAR fails more often than succeeding. And if you are unlucky, it cannot determine a country based on beacon signals from neighbour's wifi and uses "world region", which has no 6G wifi channels.
Also note: Win10 and Intel cards = No 6 GHz wifi, you need win11.

Thus, replace your AX210 with Mediatek MT7922. (! only possible if your laptop does not have proprietary intel CNVio(2) interfaces!)
The MT7922 works perfect and stable with all my lenovo laptops, also under Ubuntu. No stupid LAR.
And as a bonus: You can even use 6GHz wifi with win10.

@Warborn123 Try to work with the wl command. See my comments above how to use it to set country, disable DSF, set tx power, etc., see here or this one.

To help others having the same router model as you, please post the output of the corresponding wl commands here. For instance, wl country list or wl -i eth8 channels (on my GT-AXE11000 eth8 corresponds to the 6G).

When you set a country or channel, then always check with the wl command, if the settings are OK: wl -i eth8 status . Do not check it on your wifi clients!

Your wifi clients, e.g., mobile phone, laptop, have also regulatory settings which affect connectivity, for instance no 6G wifi. Your apple phone will most likeley set its regulatory wifi country to what it reads from telco network. On a rooted android device, you can override this via sudo iw reg set COUNTRY. But since apple is super closed source... nothing to do here...

Intel... well.... they use LAR algorithm to detect the country settings. This is a super shitty thing. Because LAR fails more often than succeeding. And if you are unlucky, it cannot determine a country based on beacon signals from neighbour's wifi and uses "world region", which has no 6G wifi channels. Also note: Win10 and Intel cards = No 6 GHz wifi, you need win11.

Thus, replace your AX210 with Mediatek MT7922. (! only possible if your laptop does not have proprietary intel CNVio(2) interfaces!) The MT7922 works perfect and stable with all my lenovo laptops, also under Ubuntu. No stupid LAR. And as a bonus: You can even use 6GHz wifi with win10.

Thank you for your comments. I'm not sure if I did it right or not, but it seems like the router doesn't support sl commands?

jack@GT-BE98-4D80:/tmp/home/root# wl help
wl: Unsupported
jack@GT-BE98-4D80:/tmp/home/root# wl -i eth8 channels
wl: wl driver adapter not found

But the wl country list from your previous post works for some reason:

jack@GT-BE98-4D80:/tmp/home/root# wl country list
Supported countries: country code and long name
AU      AUSTRALIA
E0
JP      JAPAN
US      UNITED STATES

And surprisingly, when set to E0, AU or JP, both my iPhone and AX210 can find the 6GHz band, but they all have very weak 6GHz transmission power (-48dBm @ 2 meters), only the US location code will give a reasonable transmission power (-36dB, @ 2 meters), so I'm very sad there.

And yes, I would definitely want to change to a Mediatek wireless card, but unfortunately my AX210 chip is embedded in my computer's motherboard, so it's impossible to upgrade unless I buy one of those PCI-E Wi-Fi adapters.

I saw that you mentioned about AX2xx wireless card will likely not work because of the LAR, have you tried the AX4xx family, like AX411? or the BE200? Did Intel remove LAR on those wireless cards? Because I think chances are, the next ASUS motherboard I get will come with an Intel wireless card, unfortunately.

I like Win11, so I have no problem there :)

Lastly, do you know what difference does the country_rev do? My router support 3 country_rev code for the US, but I see no difference changing those numbers:

jack@GT-BE98-4D80:/tmp/home/root# wl country_rev US
count: 3
0 102 103

Thank you!

"Thank you for your comments. I'm not sure if I did it right or not, but it seems like the router doesn't support sl commands?"
It is wl -h and for the interfaces: check which ones you have for instance with ifconig, with Asus usually the highest number is the 6 GHz Wifi, as I said, for my router it is eth8.

😯😨😨

You do not have country ALL???!!!
Shit, did Asus really remove this???!

What happens, if you try for your interface, ethX, 5 or 6 GHz

wl -i ethX down
wl -i ethX country ALL
wl -i ethX up

😯😨😨

You do not have country ALL???!!! Shit, did Asus really remove this???!

What happens, if you try for your interface, ethX, 5 or 6 GHz

wl -i ethX down
wl -i ethX country ALL
wl -i ethX up

Yep, that's right. Now when I set ccode=ALL, it will either change back to the original country (JP) or change to the US (E0,US,AU). You can only change location_code, wl_country_code and wl4_country_code to ALL, but since the ccode is locked, it doesn't really has any effect on the transmission power or frequency band. Let me try the new commands now and see whether that will work🥲

😯😨😨

You do not have country ALL???!!! Shit, did Asus really remove this???!

What happens, if you try for your interface, ethX, 5 or 6 GHz

wl -i ethX down
wl -i ethX country ALL
wl -i ethX up

I just tried all three commands here, and it all gives the same error message wl: Unsupported🫠