Another "RT-AC86U problems" thread

[lpittman]

Hey everyone!

Normally I'm good at figuring these kinds of issues out, but I am really struggling with this router... and now after finding this forum I see it's common.

I am having frequent disconnect issues. I've tried Merlin firmware and rolling back to previous firmware with no real gains.

I suspect it may be a hardware issue, but I thought I would reach out for a few suggestions on what settings to tweak/try to gain some stability before I go the return route.

Also - while I have some attention here - are there *any* wifi routers on the market that are total stable and reliable? I don't mind spending money - I need something that doesn't suck up my time.

Cheers
Luke

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hey everyone!

Normally I'm good at figuring these kinds of issues out, but I am really struggling with this router... and now after finding this forum I see it's common.

I am having frequent disconnect issues. I've tried Merlin firmware and rolling back to previous firmware with no real gains.

I suspect it may be a hardware issue, but I thought I would reach out for a few suggestions on what settings to tweak/try to gain some stability before I go the return route.

Also - while I have some attention here - are there *any* wifi routers on the market that are total stable and reliable? I don't mind spending money - I need something that doesn't suck up my time.

Cheers
Luke

What is disconnecting from what?

Have you performed a factory default reset after upgrading the firmware?

Have you observed the WiFi signals with an app like WiFi Analyzer to see if they are stable?

Have you examined the router logs for clues?

If the router is new, then maybe it's DOA.

OE

 

[lpittman]

Thanks for the reply - I should have supplied more details, my bad.

What is disconnecting from what?

All WiFi devices (Windows laptop, Mac laptop, android phones, TV, chromecast) are either disconnecting from, or getting disconnected by the router at what seems to be random times.

Have you performed a factory default reset after upgrading the firmware?

Yes, on every occasion of changing the firmware I performed a factory reset.

Have you observed the WiFi signals with an app like WiFi Analyzer to see if they are stable?

Yes. Wifi signals are strong. And have also used the tool to help pick the channels with least potential interference when I did test manually setting the channels (versus auto setting).

Have you examined the router logs for clues?

I have - however I must admit I'm not sure what most of the stuff in there means.

There are a lot of these:

Aug 23 23:31:39 wlceventd: WLCEVENTD wlceventd_proc_event(386): eth6: Deauth_ind 8C:45:00:B3:58:3E, status: 0, reason: Class 3 frame received from nonassociated station (7)

and a lot of these:

Aug 23 21:04:32 wlceventd: WLCEVENTD wlceventd_proc_event(401): eth5: Disassoc B0:FC:36:BF:E5:B5, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8)

Also a lot of these when I have the "Smart Connect" enabled:

Aug 24 08:26:32 acsd: selected channel spec: 0x1008 (8)
Aug 24 08:26:32 acsd: Adjusted channel spec: 0x1008 (8)
Aug 24 08:26:32 acsd: selected channel spec: 0x1008 (8)
Aug 24 08:26:35 acsd: eth5: NONACSD channel switching to channel spec: 0x1008 (8)

If the router is new, then maybe it's DOA.

I've had the router for a few months now, but it's always been slightly unreliable. Although it definitely seems to be worse lately, no matter what settings I try.

Are there any routers out there currently that are considered bomb proof? I'd love to just buy something and call it a day (I know, it'll require some config but that's fine).

 

[Grisu]

Ubiquiti could be on your search list, Asus routers are for people who want to play around with it all the day, many features and possibilities others wont have, but never reliable for me. I went with AVM for that reason and all happy again here.

Maybe you are asking in the wrong forum for leaving Asus

 

[lpittman]

Ubiquiti could be on your search list, Asus routers are for people who want to play around with it all the day, many features and possibilities others wont have, but never reliable for me. I went with AVM for that reason and all happy again here.

Maybe you are asking in the wrong forum for leaving Asus

Thanks for the input.

I'm still struggling with this f**king thing and it's driving me nuts. No matter what combination of settings I try I get constant disconnection issues. I've searched the forum and google extensively and it doesn't seem like there are any full proof "settings" for this. I just don't get it - why release such a sub-par product, or at least why release firmware that has so many issues? Anyhow...

I'll look at Ubiquiti. Any recommendations specifically? My needs are not extensive - I have a printer and a FreeNAS server connected via ethernet and about 6 or 8 devices connected via WiFi. Speed is important, but stability and reliability is absolutely the number one concern. If I need to switch to separate router & wifi access point to get better quality I'm fine to do that.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Thanks for the input.

I'm still struggling with this f**king thing and it's driving me nuts. No matter what combination of settings I try I get constant disconnection issues. I've searched the forum and google extensively and it doesn't seem like there are any full proof "settings" for this. I just don't get it - why release such a sub-par product, or at least why release firmware that has so many issues? Anyhow...

I'll look at Ubiquiti. Any recommendations specifically? My needs are not extensive - I have a printer and a FreeNAS server connected via ethernet and about 6 or 8 devices connected via WiFi. Speed is important, but stability and reliability is absolutely the number one concern. If I need to switch to separate router & wifi access point to get better quality I'm fine to do that.

The default WiFi settings should work well enough/quite well, with or without Smart Connect. Disabling Airtime Fairness and Universal Beamforming per band can help with some legacy WLAN adapters. But you are experiencing random disconnects across many clients and also when using other/Merlin firmware.

Your hardware issue suspicion may be the correct assessment. Which means you will have to go the extra mile to give another 86U a chance.

First impressions count... the WiFi should have worked just fine out of the box, generally speaking. If you try another 86U, pass on the latest firmware 81039 that just came out... it's causing some issues.

OE

 

[lpittman]

The default WiFi settings should work well enough/quite well, with or without Smart Connect. Disabling Airtime Fairness and Universal Beamforming per band can help with some legacy WLAN adapters. But you are experiencing random disconnects across many clients and also when using other/Merlin firmware.

Your hardware issue suspicion may be the correct assessment. Which means you will have to go the extra mile to give another 86U a chance.

First impressions count... the WiFi should have worked just fine out of the box, generally speaking. If you try another 86U, pass on the latest firmware 81039 that just came out... it's causing some issues.

OE

Thanks for taking the time to reply and help me out.

I agree - it should work well enough out of the box - but unfortunately it didn't. I'll submit an RMA and see if I can get a replacement. I'm still going to look at other routes though because the amount of posts and complaints about this router I've seen online tells me there are more issues than not.

Is the latest Merlin firmware considered to be stable?

Luke

 

[OzarkEdge]

Is the latest Merlin firmware considered to be stable?

Luke

Yes, Merlin 384.13 is based on ASUS 45717. I doubt we'll ever see Merlin based on the current 81039.

(I doubt Merlin 384.13 will help your 86U disconnect issue.)

OE

 

[DarkKnight75]

My ac86u was good up until a couple of days go with some speed issues , so I just did a reset and went back to 384.12..hoping next firmware gets the kink outs..