RT-AC68U Terrible Wireless Signal

[www3488]

Hi all,

I recently switched from stock ASUS firmware to Merlin's 384.12. Everything wired is working, but I'm not able to get hardly any signal from Wireless. Most of the time, my iPhone doesn't even show the SSID for my network. The only time it will is if I am standing right next to the router. It'll connect then, and the speed is great. However, if you take four steps away, it can't even connect. I'm kind of at a loss as to what settings I could change to boost the signal in Merlin, as it was working perfectly in multiple rooms via the stock firmware.

My Wireless log is showing -92 dBm noise on both 2.5 GHz and 5 GHz. They are both showing active channels: 4 and 149/80. It does indicate "Mode:AP" which is kind of confusing. I'm definitely in router mode, and everything else is working great. If there's any other notes I should include from my log, please let me know. I'm running out of different settings to try myself, so I thought someone here could help. I tried changing the TX Power Adjustment in the Professional tab, but it was already set to Performance, and anything lower makes it worse.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[martinr]

Welcome to the forum.

Did you carry out a reset to factory default settings AFTER flashing Merlin’s firmware?

Even if you did, it may well be worthwhile repeating it to make sure you did it properly. A good guide from L&LD is here:

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/n...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

Another good guide from Xentrk is here:

https://x3mtek.com/asuswrt-merlin-firmware-upgrade/

I’m assuming you won’t be running any user scripts, being new to this firmware, so one or 2 of the steps won’t apply, but, otherwise, follow it to the letter without any shortcuts.

 

[martinr]

Another question: which stock firmware version were you running before you updated to Merlin’s?

In the past there was a requirement to flash an intermediate firmware version (378.55) but I don’t know if that still applies if you’re coming from up-to-date stock firmware. Hopefully, someone will clarify that.

 

[www3488]

Thanks for your reply, martinr!

I was on the most recent ASUS firmware - 384.45717 I believe. I plan on following the steps exactly as written when I get home from work tonight. I appreciate the help, and hopefully we can get this running so I can move on to my next issue! I'm struggling with VPN setup as well, but I'll get into that once I get my wireless working.

Thanks again.

 

[martinr]

Thanks for your reply, martinr!

I was on the most recent ASUS firmware - 384.45717 I believe. I plan on following the steps exactly as written when I get home from work tonight. I appreciate the help, and hopefully we can get this running so I can move on to my next issue! I'm struggling with VPN setup as well, but I'll get into that once I get my wireless working.

Thanks again.

Ok. I hope we get clarification on the need to flash with 378.55 as an intermediate step even with the latest stock firmware. If there is no clarification, then I would definitely include the intermediate firmware flash. For a bit of background you might see also

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/upgrade-process-for-old-version.54331/

on this point and note the error in post 2 (incorrect mention of 376.55, corrected a couple of posts later on).


Ignore any mention of John’s backup/restore utility: that was a useful tool but must no longer be used with Merlin’s firmware.


The RT-AC68U is a solid workhorse. Take time to set it up
properly and you should have no problem later on setting up your vpn. Indeed, you’re unlikely to have any problems running Merlin’s firmware on it.

 

[Hawk]

Ok. I hope we get clarification on the need to flash with 378.55 as an intermediate step even with the latest stock firmware. If there is no clarification, then I would definitely include the intermediate firmware flash. For a bit of background you might see also

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/upgrade-process-for-old-version.54331/

on this point and note the error in post 2 (incorrect mention of 376.55, corrected a couple of posts later on).


Ignore any mention of John’s backup/restore utility: that was a useful tool but must no longer be used with Merlin’s firmware.


The RT-AC68U is a solid workhorse. Take time to set it up
properly and you should have no problem later on setting up your vpn. Indeed, you’re unlikely to have any problems running Merlin’s firmware on it.

Did you buy chance buy it second hand? If not I will do factory reset and if still have problems exchange it.

 

[www3488]

Did you buy chance buy it second hand? If not I will do factory reset and if still have problems exchange it.

I didn’t buy it second hand, but I did buy it a few years ago. I’m unable to exchange it at this point. However, the wireless has been working perfectly under the stock firmware, so I’m really thinking it’s something going on with a setting under Merlin.

 

[martinr]

I didn’t buy it second hand, but I did buy it a few years ago. I’m unable to exchange it at this point. However, the wireless has been working perfectly under the stock firmware, so I’m really thinking it’s something going on with a setting under Merlin.

Not a setting: just a proper factory reset. Merlin works out of the box.

Intermediate flash of 378.55 then factory reset then flash with 384.12 and then factory reset again following one (or both) of those guides and I’m sure you’ll never look back.

 

[www3488]

Not a setting: just a proper factory reset. Merlin works out of the box.

Intermediate flash of 378.55 then factory reset then flash with 384.12 and then factory reset again following one (or both) of those guides and I’m sure you’ll never look back.

Oh, I’m definitely doing that tonight. Will I be able to just upload 378.55 from my current state after a reset, or are there steps I’ll have to take to be able to revert to an old firmware?

 

[ColinTaylor]

There's no need (or point) to flash 378.55 unless your router is currently on a version that is earlier than that.

 

[www3488]

There's no need (or point) to flash 378.55 unless your router is currently on a version that is earlier than that.

Ok, good to know. So we’re just thinking a good factory reset should get my wireless back up and running correctly? I’ll give it a shot tonight and update everyone.

 

[martinr]

There's no need (or point) to flash 378.55 unless your router is currently on a version that is earlier than that.

Thanks, Colon: in Post #3 I was hoping someone would clarify if there was still a need for that intermediate step if coming from up-to-date stock firmware. That’s made his job easier.

 

[www3488]

Thanks, Colon: in Post #3 I was hoping someone would clarify if there was still a need for that intermediate step if coming from up-to-date stock firmware. That’s made his job easier.

I followed every direction in the thread you linked above, and unfortunately there's been no change. I even reflashed my current firmware and changed my SSID info. I scanned for the "best" channel, and have manually made that setting. I'm still just barely even getting a readable wifi signal. I'm kind of at a loss at this point. I'm really thinking there's some kind of hardware problem, but it's very odd that it worked perfectly before the Merlin flash. What's also odd is that the wireless IS actually working, you just have to be extremely close to the router. I can get signal if I hold my phone over the router.

 

[Sanna1967]

The thing that could be tried is a good old cleaning Nvram.
* Power off the router
* Hold down the WPS button and power on the router and keep the wps button pressed until the power led flash quickly.(10-15 sec approx)
Then release the WPs button, and wait until the router reboots completely.
Reconfig from beginning

 

[www3488]

The thing that could be tried is a good old cleaning Nvram.
* Power off the router
* Hold down the WPS button and power on the router and keep the wps button pressed until the power led flash quickly.(10-15 sec approx)
Then release the WPs button, and wait until the router reboots completely.
Reconfig from beginning

I just gave this a shot as well. Unfortunately, I get the same result. My wireless is broadcasting, but not at a usable strength. I have to be standing right next to the router to get any signal at all.

 

[www3488]

I just went through and changed every setting in the 'Wireless' section without any changes. I'm completely at a loss as to why this is happening. It's very odd that while it is producing a signal, it is extremely weak.

 

[Frankflash]

I just went through and changed every setting in the 'Wireless' section without any changes. I'm completely at a loss as to why this is happening. It's very odd that while it is producing a signal, it is extremely weak.

could it be that your isp is just having wirless problems

 

[www3488]

could it be that your isp is just having wirless problems

I don’t use wireless through my ISP, that’s all handled through the router. Essentially I have a wire coming from my gateway going to my router. Everything wired works perfect with Gigabit speeds, but wireless is barely broadcasting at all.

 

[Smokindog]

I just went through and changed every setting in the 'Wireless' section without any changes. I'm completely at a loss as to why this is happening. It's very odd that while it is producing a signal, it is extremely weak.

Along with the resets mentioned, I've had need in the past to put the device into recovery mode and flash the firmware from there, then doing the resets again. I actually flashed an older version first and then repeated for the version I wanted. That cleared up issues I was having with an AC3100. Just food for thought.

Also, download a program like WiFi Analyzer to see what spectrum use and signal strength look like from the perspective of a client (PC or android).

 

[Frankflash]

or your isp is having problems with is wifi signal