Do you have an ASUS wireless router or an ASUS Lyra mesh WiFi system? Do you want to get the maximum possible speed for your WiFi network? Do you plan on buying an ASUS router and you want to see all the options it offers to improve the speed of the WiFi? Then you are in luck, as this guide shares eight steps that you can perform to squeeze the maximum possible performance for your WiFi, when using ASUS routers or mesh WiFi systems:

IMPORTANT: If you own an ASUS Lyra mesh WiFi system and you do not see the configuration options shared in this guide, it means that you have old firmware for it. To fix this problem, go to ASUS Support, download and install the latest firmware available for your ASUS Lyra.

Step 1. Analyze the wireless spectrum in your area, and see which channels are less busy

It is a good idea to start by analyzing the wireless networks in your area. If you have a laptop or Macbook, you can use the NetSpot app (available also in a free version) to see which channels are busy, and which are not used by other networks or at least less busy.

If you use a smartphone with Android, you can use the free NetSpot - WiFi Analyzer and take a look at the wireless networks in your area. For example, in the screenshot below, you can see that on the 2.4 GHz band, in our area, the channels from 1 to 7 are busy and used by many WiFi networks, while channels 8 to 13, as less crowded. Therefore, it is a good idea to use a channel between 8 and 13 for our wireless network, for the best possible speed, and the least congestion with other wireless networks in the area.

Step 2. Access the settings for your ASUS router or ASUS Lyra mesh WiFi system

While ASUS offers mobile apps for managing your router or mesh WiFi system, the most detailed configuration is done from the user interface available in your web browser at router.asus.com. Open your favorite web browser on a laptop or PC, and go to router.asus.com. Then, sign in with your user account and password.

NOTE: If you need help with other ways to log in to your ASUS router, read: How to login to your ASUS router: Four ways that work.

Step 3. Set the wireless mode for your ASUS router or ASUS Lyra mesh WiFi system

Most of your improvements are made in the Wireless category, in the menu on the left. Click Wireless and then go to General on the right side. Look for the Wireless Mode field and choose the appropriate mode. You can choose between the following values, depending on the band that you configure (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz):

• Auto - for most ASUS routers/mesh systems, this is the best choice, as it tends to provide the best possible speed for your WiFi.
• N Only - it uses the old 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) wireless standard. It is a good choice only for the 2.4 GHz band, and only when you have old network devices that cannot use newer wireless standards.
• Legacy - it uses even older standards like 802.11 b/g/a, and most users should not use this mode. However, if you have network devices that are older than 10 years, they might not connect to your WiFi, unless you use this mode. We strongly recommend that you use Legacy only for the 2.4 GHz band, and not the 5 GHz band.
• N/AC Mixed - this setting is available only for the 5 GHz band, and only on dual-band or tri-band wireless routers from ASUS, not on ASUS Lyra mesh WiFi systems. This mode provides the wireless network using both the 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) and 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) standard. Again, you should use this mode only when you encounter compatibility problems with your network devices.

Remember to set the wireless mode for both bands: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. In the Band field, from the General tab, switch between bands, set the wireless mode, and click Apply.

Step 4. Choose the best channel bandwidth for your wireless network

In the General tab, choose the Band that you want to configure and then look for the Channel bandwidth field. Click on it, and select the bandwidth that you want to use: 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or a combination between the three. The more extensive the bandwidth, the more channels your wireless network uses. If the wireless spectrum is free in your area, it is better to choose a larger bandwidth value. For example, in our area, the 5 GHz band is almost entirely free. There is only one other 5 GHz wireless network. Therefore, we get the best speed when using the 80 MHz bandwidth for this band.

On the 2.4 GHz band, the area is busy with many wireless networks. Therefore, we get the best speed when using a smaller 20 MHz bandwidth, and a specific channel that is free, because the smaller bandwidth does not overlap with other networks in the area. Remember to set the channel bandwidth for both bands (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), and click Apply.

Step 5. Use free channels for your two wireless bands: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz

At step 1 in this guide, we asked you to analyze the wireless spectrum in your area and see which channels are busy and which are not. In the General tab, choose the Band that you want to configure and then look for the Control Channel field. Then, pick a channel that is free in your area, or at least less busy than others.

Set the channel for both bands (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), and click Apply.

Step 6. Enable Multi-User MIMO for your wireless network

Multi-User MIMO allows wireless routers and mesh WiFi systems to serve multiple network clients simultaneously, and this technology should be enabled for the 5 GHz band where it is available. Therefore, in the Professional tab, choose the 5 GHz band, and make sure that Multi-User MIMO is always enabled.

This technology is not available for the 2.4 GHz band and older wireless standards like 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4), only for new standards like 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) or 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6).

Step 7. Enable Explicit Beamforming for your wireless network

In the Professional tab of the Wireless section, select the 5 GHz band, and look for the Explicit Beamforming or 802.11ac Beamforming field. Click on it, and make sure that it is Enabled.

This technology allows the ASUS router or mesh system to steer or focus the direction of the wireless signal to the location of the network clients, to improve the wireless reception and reduce interference. Beamforming is available only for the 5 GHz band.

Step 8. Disable DoS protection for improved performance

For the last improvement that you can make, go to the Firewall section in the column on the left, and then click or tap the General tab. There, look for a setting that says "Enable DoS protection" and set it to No. This means that you disable the ASUS firewall feature that protects against "denial-of-server" attacks that may flood the network with large amounts of fake traffic. By disabling this feature, you improve the speed of your WiFi by freeing the hardware resources of your ASUS router or mesh WiFi system.

Unfortunately, the DoS protection eats up many hardware resources, and each time we enabled it, we noticed lower wireless performance on all ASUS routers that we have tested.

How happy are you with the wireless performance of your ASUS router or mesh WiFi system?

While going through this tutorial, you may notice that some of the settings we recommend are already enabled on your ASUS wireless router or ASUS Lyra mesh WiFi systems. Other settings are not, and changing them according to our recommendations, is going to improve the performance you get for your WiFi network. Go through all the steps, and then let us know how happy you are with the improvements that you have got.