New AC68 Firmware Version 3.0.0.4.376.3626

[do85]

I'm back again. And problem are still here...
I can't understand what's going wrong. I perform a reset using the WPS button on startup. Configure the router manually (few things just to try) and the 2.4GHz disappear randomly and don't allow devices to connect. Crazy.
I tried with latest 376.3626 and Yesterday I tried to go back with 376.1663 where I had no issues.

But nothing help.

Anyone have an idea? Maybe I can upload a firmware using the recovery mode, but it's really teh last chance.
After that I'll reach the Asus Support to open a call.

Thanks!

 

[Poseidon]

You might have a bad router then. Exchange it for another one if you're within the return period or contact Asus to for an RMA.

 

[IAAI]

I'm back again. And problem are still here...
I can't understand what's going wrong. I perform a reset using the WPS button on startup. Configure the router manually (few things just to try) and the 2.4GHz disappear randomly and don't allow devices to connect. Crazy.
I tried with latest 376.3626 and Yesterday I tried to go back with 376.1663 where I had no issues.

But nothing help.

Anyone have an idea? Maybe I can upload a firmware using the recovery mode, but it's really teh last chance.
After that I'll reach the Asus Support to open a call.

Thanks!

Try Downgrade the bootloader at your own risk.
It may fix your issue


Flash merlins 48-1 then
Downgrade bootloader to 1.0.1.6
Hard reset (WPS)
Reconfigure it manually



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[do85]

Try Downgrade the bootloader at your own risk.
It may fix your issue


Flash merlins 48-1 then
Downgrade bootloader to 1.0.1.6
Hard reset (WPS)
Reconfigure it manually



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Thanks for your idea. How can downgrade the bootloader?

 

[Engineer]

Thanks for your idea. How can downgrade the bootloader?

I put together a guide using HGGOMES's RT-N66 guide on CFE flashing. It was written for the TMobile version of this router but the basics are the same.

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=70991738&postcount=2576

 

[IAAI]

Thanks for your idea. How can downgrade the bootloader?

use this thread , it's much easier for you

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=17793


That's my thread , trying to downgrade

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=20641

 

[MrSinatra]

Reloading your configuration completely bypasses the point of doing a factory default reset, since you end up just reloading the exact same content into the router's nvram. After a factory default reset, you have to manually reconfigure everything.

What you did was similar to reformatting your PC with a new version of Windows, then overwriting everything with a backup of your old version of Windows. You're back where you've started.

a couple of questions, since I assume this also applies to the RT-AC66r

1. the 3626 for the r/u also says to do the 5 sec reset. if one does that, will they lose info like the wifi password and the dhcp reservations? what, if anything, will persist?

2. I always thought a config file was just a txt file saving those kinds of settings, so one wasn't screwed when a factory restore was required by a fw update. are you saying restoring such a config settings file is exactly the same as a fw update?

it would really be nice for those of us with complicated setups to not have to start from scratch everytime a fw updates requires a factory reset!

 

[MrSinatra]

Probably a load balancing/clustering issue. Sometimes, it seems that not all of their web servers are in sync, so some people see different downloads than the others.

something is def wrong, both with pages and with the fw check:

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=21143

 

[drabisan]

a couple of questions, since I assume this also applies to the RT-AC66r

1. the 3626 for the r/u also says to do the 5 sec reset. if one does that, will they lose info like the wifi password and the dhcp reservations? what, if anything, will persist?

2. I always thought a config file was just a txt file saving those kinds of settings, so one wasn't screwed when a factory restore was required by a fw update. are you saying restoring such a config settings file is exactly the same as a fw update?

it would really be nice for those of us with complicated setups to not have to start from scratch everytime a fw updates requires a factory reset!

1. yes, you are loosing every piece of your config.
2. config file it's not a txt file. Reloading a saved config will preserve all values, including the default ones. Building a new config after an upgrade/downgrade preserve the default values vendor intended to use. That is my understanding looking into the text config file, the one you can get if you are telnet'ing in the router.

Ideally? Yes. You are right. A config should have only the parts modified by the user. The same approach powerful vendors are using. Even that is not bullet proof (seen it with Cisco and Juniper) and Asus' way shows is better to factory default it and configure what you need.

I don't know your case, but most of the time is just some DHCP reservations and some port forwards. Maybe some wireless and qos settings...I can rebuild my Asus router in like 15 minutes...It's not a pleasure but if something doesn't look right I'm resetting my router and manually rebuild the config.

 

[RMerlin]

a couple of questions, since I assume this also applies to the RT-AC66r

1. the 3626 for the r/u also says to do the 5 sec reset. if one does that, will they lose info like the wifi password and the dhcp reservations? what, if anything, will persist?

No. A factory default reset means ALL settings are erased and replaced by the factory default values.

2. I always thought a config file was just a txt file saving those kinds of settings, so one wasn't screwed when a factory restore was required by a fw update. are you saying restoring such a config settings file is exactly the same as a fw update?

No, it's just a backup, meant to be restored if you accidentally lose your configuration, or screw up something and need to go back to a last known working configuration. If something requires a factory default reset, then all existing backups should in fact be re-created, unless you intend to eventually revert back to the firmware version that was used at the time the backup of the settings were made.

The reason why some firmware upgrades require a factory default reset is that some default values need to be changed to new values. For instance, if the configured power output per antenna was changed by a new wireless driver, the only way to get the new, corrected settings applied to your router, is by a factory default reset.

it would really be nice for those of us with complicated setups to not have to start from scratch everytime a fw updates requires a factory reset!

Keep a text-based backup of your settings then, and learn to use the "nvram set setting=value" command over telnet. With a USB disk plugged, run this over telnet:

nvram show | sort > /mnt/sda1/settings.txt

Change the /mnt/sda1/ path to match what is used by the plugged disk.

Afterward, you can manually selectively re-apply some specific settings (such as vts_rulelist).

Search the forums, there are a number of posts already mentionning the most interesting settings. There is also a tool posted in the Asuswrt-Merlin that can automate a good portion of this process.

 

[do85]

I finally get a brand new AC68U. Change firmware to Merlin 48_1 and.... still have problems!!
My 2.4 ghz is unstable, with a wifi analyzer sometimes I see the SSID disappear and reapper again. And when my PC is connected the connection is really slow and unstable, swinging from 0 bytes to 1MB/s during a file transfer.
Maybe I found a workaround, setting 20 mhz the connection is stable and I can trasfer files at 8MB/s from my PC.
With 20/40 mhz I have problems. No anyone else? I tried 2 devices with same firmware and both have problems!

Thanks guys!

 

[RMerlin]

I finally get a brand new AC68U. Change firmware to Merlin 48_1 and.... still have problems!!
My 2.4 ghz is unstable, with a wifi analyzer sometimes I see the SSID disappear and reapper again. And when my PC is connected the connection is really slow and unstable, swinging from 0 bytes to 1MB/s during a file transfer.
Maybe I found a workaround, setting 20 mhz the connection is stable and I can trasfer files at 8MB/s from my PC.
With 20/40 mhz I have problems. No anyone else? I tried 2 devices with same firmware and both have problems!

Thanks guys!

You should always stick to 20 Mhz on the 2.4 GHz, this has been mentioned many times on various posts on these forums. 40 Mhz on the 2.4 GHz is almost never stable, due to the large amount of interference on this frequency - and not just from other routers, but from a wide range of other wireless devices, such as baby monitors, microwave ovens, bluetooth devices, and so on.

 

[do85]

You should always stick to 20 Mhz on the 2.4 GHz, this has been mentioned many times on various posts on these forums. 40 Mhz on the 2.4 GHz is almost never stable, due to the large amount of interference on this frequency - and not just from other routers, but from a wide range of other wireless devices, such as baby monitors, microwave ovens, bluetooth devices, and so on.

Thanks Merlin,
I didn't know that and before the latest firmware change I hadn't issue with 20/40 Mhz settings.

 

[drabisan]

It may not be a post-upgrade behavior. You have no control what channels your neighbors are using and/or the power they set on their routers.
In my building wireless on 2.4 can be stable for weeks and suddenly boom!
You can switch as many devices as possible to 5GHz if possible. Otherwise 20MHz spacing and monitor every now and then to see if there's lots of ssid's around yours...

 

[waltersmith]

Just a heads up that this firmware release is very... very bad on AC68U in AP mode.

Followed all the reset instructions, twice. Every couple of days lost some 2.4 Ghz connections and others dropped to like -91db. Wired was fine, 5Ghz may have been fine too, I didn't look closely. Rebooting helped for about 36 hours then problem returned. Happened three times in a week. Never really had any connections issues with any previous firmware version. Other issues, but never like this.

The good news is, even with the new bootloader, the rollback to latest merlin version was painless. One week of no issues since.

 

[ebjost]

3626 has not been pulled. Not sure where you got that from. It's available for download here:

http://www.asus.com/Networking/RTAC68P/HelpDesk_Download/

3626 works well, but seems to be under utilizing the router. Tried merlin 48.1, to see the difference, except 48.1 keeps rebooting the AC68 every 3 to five minutes, and according to the status tab, the router core one and two appear to be running almost full out, with memory almost maxed out

 

[RMerlin]

3626 works well, but seems to be under utilizing the router. Tried merlin 48.1, to see the difference, except 48.1 keeps rebooting the AC68 every 3 to five minutes, and according to the status tab, the router core one and two appear to be running almost full out, with memory almost maxed out

Most likely reason is you have a corrupted media on a plugged USB disk, and the media server is loading the CPU (and eventually crashing) while trying to process this file. Try booting with no USB disk plugged in.

 

[jjhowey]

Has anyone else had issues with Guest Network on 2.4Ghz on 3626? No clients can connect anymore.... devices claiming its bad WPA2 Key. Worked before upgrade ... reset password already but no luck.

 

[alistair]

By now we all know that the changelog for 3626 for the AC68u says to press the reset button, because of the changes to partition sizes in this version.

Now the Merlin version 376.49_2 came out and I'm wondering if the same is true for this firmware. I'm using the previous Merlin version and never returned to an official Asus firmware. I'm wondering about this because I'm assuming that the Merlin firmwares are based on the official Asus versions, but the readme doesn't tell if it's necessary to do the same here.

Is it just an oversight (or is it assumed as known to reset the router after the flash) or is this new Merlin version based on a firmware that doesn't require this procedure?

Thanks for any clarification!

 

[RMerlin]

Now the Merlin version 376.49_2 came out and I'm wondering if the same is true for this firmware. I'm using the previous Merlin version and never returned to an official Asus firmware. I'm wondering about this because I'm assuming that the Merlin firmwares are based on the official Asus versions, but the readme doesn't tell if it's necessary to do the same here.

Please see the first post of the 376.49 release thread here.