Asus AC3100 router 5GHz issue (router dying?)

[beefjerky]

I have an AC3100 router running Merlin firmware that has been running pretty much perfectly for a bit over 6 years. However, lately the 5GHz channel drops out about once every 2-2.5 weeks, and I have to reboot to get it back.

When the problem occurs and I look in the UI, it shows the dreaded "channel 0" error if I hover over the wifi icon at the top right. It shows "disabled" if I go into the temperature log. From a forum search, it seems that that most likely means it's a hardware failure. However, I want to see if someone can take a look at the log and see if anything pops out; there's a lot going on right when it dropped out.

If it's dead/dying, it's not the end of the world. 6 years is a good run with modern, disposable technology, so I got my money's worth. I've actually been debating going to an Ubiquiti multi-AP wifi6 setup, so this might just be the right push for me.

Thanks in advance!

 

[drinkingbird]

I have an AC3100 router running Merlin firmware that has been running pretty much perfectly for a bit over 6 years. However, lately the 5GHz channel drops out about once every 2-2.5 weeks, and I have to reboot to get it back.

When the problem occurs and I look in the UI, it shows the dreaded "channel 0" error if I hover over the wifi icon at the top right. It shows "disabled" if I go into the temperature log. From a forum search, it seems that that most likely means it's a hardware failure. However, I want to see if someone can take a look at the log and see if anything pops out; there's a lot going on right when it dropped out.

If it's dead/dying, it's not the end of the world. 6 years is a good run with modern, disposable technology, so I got my money's worth. I've actually been debating going to an Ubiquiti multi-AP wifi6 setup, so this might just be the right push for me.

Thanks in advance!

Does it seem to happen when it the temp in your house is warmer or when it is under heavy use? If so that does point to solder joints failing which is the main reasons radios fail in these. Every couple weeks isn't bad but obviously it is an ominous sign. Only suggestion would be to factory reset and reconfigure from scratch, maybe some old setting or config is interfering (long shot but always worth a try before replacing).

Other thing to check is if you are using DFS channels, possible that some radar kicks off and causes it to go into scanning, but that would be in the log (I took a quick look but didn't go through line by line, didn't notice it if it is there). If not using DFS, maybe try the other channel range (whichever one the router isn't using, there is a low and a high 80mhz range). Maybe there is some intermittent interference.

Your first instinct is probably right but can't hurt to try a couple things before giving up.

 

[beefjerky]

Does it seem to happen when it the temp in your house is warmer or when it is under heavy use? If so that does point to solder joints failing which is the main reasons radios fail in these. Every couple weeks isn't bad but obviously it is an ominous sign. Only suggestion would be to factory reset and reconfigure from scratch, maybe some old setting or config is interfering (long shot but always worth a try before replacing).

Other thing to check is if you are using DFS channels, possible that some radar kicks off and causes it to go into scanning, but that would be in the log (I took a quick look but didn't go through line by line, didn't notice it if it is there). If not using DFS, maybe try the other channel range (whichever one the router isn't using, there is a low and a high 80mhz range). Maybe there is some intermittent interference.

Your first instinct is probably right but can't hurt to try a couple things before giving up.

Thanks for the reply. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with temperature. It's been rainy today, and if anything, the house was a bit cooler when it happened. It also wasn't under any heavy load or anything; I was just attempting to look up something on my phone when it started acting up.

I'm not using any DFS channels. I'm too close to lots of things for me to bother with those.

Also, no settings had been changed anytime recently. I may try a factory reset at some point, but it's definitely a hassle to do so, haha.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions!

 

[drinkingbird]

Thanks for the reply. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with temperature. It's been rainy today, and if anything, the house was a bit cooler when it happened. It also wasn't under any heavy load or anything; I was just attempting to look up something on my phone when it started acting up.

I'm not using any DFS channels. I'm too close to lots of things for me to bother with those.

Also, no settings had been changed anytime recently. I may try a factory reset at some point, but it's definitely a hassle to do so, haha.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions!

In reality heat causes the initial solder issues but after that any temperature fluctuations can cause the joints to expand/contract so in your case maybe it is cooler or more humid days that do it.

 

[L&LD]

First, save the 'state' of where your router/network is now.

Is it a good idea to keep up with Firmware updates?

I have had issues in the past when updating firmware and Internet speed, But it may have just been a fluke, Should I keep up with the updates? If so On all routers or the nodes as well? What about ones acting as access points? Thanks

www.snbforums.com

With that done, perform the following to fully reset your router and be able to determine if it really is the hardware at fault here.

Nuclear Reset https://www.snbforums.com/threads/major-issues-w-rt-ac86u.56342/page-4#post-495710


With the first post, you should be able to get back to where you are now within a handful of minutes of flashing the firmware you're running right now and restoring the settings file(s).

That gives you the luxury of performing as many (and different) types of resets and flashing the same firmware as you can stand to get your router back to a good/known state, if possible.

The method above has 'revived' many routers to 'as new' state and they're still working to this day. Worth spending a few minutes trying this before you spend time and money on gear you may not actually need.