New RT-N66u, odd problems already

[TheGlow]

Hey guys, I just picked up an RT-N66u after having enough with the free router from Optimum.
First thing I did was install Merlin on it as I love to break stuff out of the box apparently.
Just a note, I always use a static IP on my main PC so this isnt an issue as in all cases I can ping the router fine.
I put it in recovery mode, flashed the file, etc. Wouldnt come back up, no power light blinking but the Lan1 light blinks regularly. So I reset holding wps for nvram and it comes up. All appears to be good.
I name the SSIDs, and then typically I like to change the routers lan ip to 192.168.1.2 so I can attach to my current network, compare settings on previous router, port forwards, etc and copy them over.
So I set it to .2, connects to the dlink fine, I can connect to both and ping both. good.
I take a break and play some xbox for an hour.
I come back over, the N66u is off, no power. I check the power adapter, no blue led.
I unplug and try in another socket, nothing. I plug into original outlet, nothing. I unplug it from the router, the led comes on. I plug back into the router now the led is blinking on the adapter. I unplug/replug a few more times and now the router comes back up. I can ping the .2 but I can no longer connect to it.

I reset the nvram, back to 1.1. I then set to 1.2 again. It "applies" it and reports back it is 1.2 but i am still connected via 1.1 and cannot ping 1.2. It didnt automatically change. I click the reboot option in the menu, it hangs for a bit, but still comes back as 1.1. I physically power off and back on, now I cannot connect or ping 1.1. Good, I try to connect to 1.2 on browser, no connection, but I can ping 1.2.

So I read up that I probably didnt give the firmware proper time, since i only waited 5-10 mins, so I figure Ill do a clean install. I kick that off last night and give it 6 hours. I come over, power and lan1 blinking, all is good.
I do the same, name the ssids, set it to .2. Again it does apply this immediately, and doesnt change until a physical reboot. Same as before, I can ping .2 but cannot connect via browser.
So now I check if the ssid's are broadcasting, no.
Ok, so I reset nvram again, back to 1.1 and I can connect to it. So I set up the ssids, which I hadn't actually tried yet. I check on my phone and tablet, nothing is coming up.

So last checked, freshly reset nvram, I am not seeing my ssid's at all. Not broadcasting, nor can I manually connect to them.

I also noticed the core1 was always at 100%.

As of now I just set to recover mode again and applying the stock asus firmware to narrow it down.

Any ideas on what may be going on? It seemed to work fine that first time but for less than an hour. Then the odd power supply behavior. Do I have a faulty unit already? Am I missing something? I dont know why just changing ip to 1.2 to now make me unable to connect to it. It looked like wifi was on for me

 

[TheGlow]

2 pic was max, but posting 1 more showing the browser unable to connect but pings fine.

 

[TheGlow]

Bump for an assist so I have some ideas to work with when I get home.
Also perhaps just worth noting, the first time I changed it to 1.2 it behaved normally having my browser session time out, and having to change to 1.2, as expected. The other 2 times it was odd I was still connected via 1.1.
Additionally the last time I tried a nvram reset the browser was taking me to the CFE web server instead of loading up the full browser.
as I walked out the door, I saw the power LED was back up from flashing the Stock, so I guess Ill play with that for a few days.
Ive tried DDWRT and Tomato before, but really wanted to try something closer to stock and Merlin looked good.

And is it normal for any changes to take so long to apply? I went to change the dhcp pool range and that took a bit. but Id say almost a minute or so to change the IP from 1.1 to 1.2. I dont recall my old linksys routers needing that much time.

 

[TheGlow]

No, exact same behavior with stock firmware.
Wifi's never broadcast nor does the LED indicate anything wireless going on. Core sitting at 100%.
Once I change the local lan ip and restart it, it can't be connected by browser, but will respond to pings.
Considering how it died for no reason earlier and power adapter acted up, faulty unit?

 

[Nullity]

Do you use DLNA/UPnP to allow streaming from drives connected to your router?

What features are you using? (FTP, SMB, IGMP, etc)

 

[TheGlow]

Do you use DLNA/UPnP to allow streaming from drives connected to your router?

What features are you using? (FTP, SMB, IGMP, etc)

Nothing special, defaulted.
I did some nvram resets, factory default in the admin page, and just like that, I dont see ssid's when I search. turned broadcast off/on to see if that helped. turned on guest ssids, nothing shows. No blinking on the LED.
And once I change the lan IP on the router, I can no longer connect to it, only ping.

I had that working the very first time for 30-60 mins. I didnt try any wireless yet at the time, so unsure if that worked.
I come over and all leds are off, including the power adapter. and that wouldnt light up if router connected, then eventually after several connect and reconnects at the electrical outlet and plug on router, it came back up.
I think I need to reach out to Amazon for a replacement, because this is definitely acting fishy.

I was just trying to upload tomato and the power led never went off during the flashing like it did with merlin and stock. Trying merlin again and now that power led is solid as well.

 

[Nullity]

Go through every GUI tab and disable every unneeded feature, then restart.

 

[TheGlow]

Ok, I think there must be something more serious going on. I started to disable some items like DLNA and had to leave for work. So disconnected and brought it in.
Brought it in and looked like DHCP wasnt working. Set static IP on a laptop and the main page said how ip or port has changed and to update browser. 1.1 still pings, but i cant do anything from there. I hold wps and wipe the settings, go through the initial SSID name/key setup. Had to get on a call. Come back an hour later, same thing. Browser says to update ip. Still pings, cannot connect. WPS/boot to wipe again, go through same process. Confirmed DHCP is on, but laptop still pulling a 169 address.
About to get a bite to eat and assume after 30-60 mins it will die again and be unresponsive.
I went ahead and requested a replacement from Amazon. I had to give up on an issue, but this much within 1 hour of having the item, I dont know. The behavior with the power adapter is what has me leaning towards HW failure.
Sure, maybe I shouldnt have jumped straight to Merlin and confirmed dhcp and Wifi were working, but I didnt do that with the N10p or other routers I've dabbled with before.

 

[TheGlow]

Just as I expected. I come back an hour later with a prompt for my credentials. I input them and then it tells me I've logged out successfully.
Now I always get the "Settings have been updated. Web page will now refresh" screen. Set to work offline mode to pull the cached index. Tried to navigate and get the "Settings have been updated." page again. Restarting the router has no difference.
Wps/start up now takes me back to the beginning.
No Wifi broadcasting, not able to obtain a dhcp address, core sitting at 100% , and the first day of odd power adapter LED behavior, I will chalk this up to bad router.

 

[TheGlow]

Received the replacement and wifi worked on first boot, as well as dhcp.
Switched IP to 1.2 and it gave me a warning about needing to switch ips in browser, and then kicked over. Ping -t to 1.1 and 1.2 in sync and show the router switched over properly.
Also the Core % usage sits at 1%.
Ill let this sit for a few hours and then put Merlin on it and call it a night.

 

[coldwizard]

Received the replacement and wifi worked on first boot, as well as dhcp.
Switched IP to 1.2 and it gave me a warning about needing to switch ips in browser, and then kicked over. Ping -t to 1.1 and 1.2 in sync and show the router switched over properly.
Also the Core % usage sits at 1%.
Ill let this sit for a few hours and then put Merlin on it and call it a night.

When changing firmware versions on an Asus router, always do a factory reset or you can get strange problems.
How to do a factory reset is on this page
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/faq-nvram-and-factory-default-reset.22822/
However, I do NOT recommend the text based backup method mentioned there unless you know what you are doing.

For the stuck "Settings have been updated. Web page will now refresh." see this post.
[Fork] Update for 374.43 available

Finally the N66U is an older router, I would recommend a older firmware for it. John's fork is an older Merlin firmware with all the security fixes added. Either Update 07 or update 10 are stable.
The link to those firmware versions are on the first post of this thread
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/fork-update-for-374-43-available.18914/

However if you need all the latest features, then by all means you can install the latest firmware.

 

[TheGlow]

I did over 10 factory resets, they didnt help.
The router only worked properly the first hour, then it wasnt on/responding and power adapter LED was off.
I chalk that up to a death.
Ill take a look at the older ones.
Going through the stock settings, I may not need any of those other bells and whistles.
I just remember a linksys being so chopped up, dd-wrt/tomato was mandatory for any decent features.

 

[cofetym]

Late to the party here! Why did you put the router in recovery mode to download firmware ? I personally have never had to do this since owning 2 Asus routers.

 

[TonyH]

I did over 10 factory resets, they didnt help.
The router only worked properly the first hour, then it wasnt on/responding and power adapter LED was off.
I chalk that up to a death.
Ill take a look at the older ones.
Going through the stock settings, I may not need any of those other bells and whistles.
I just remember a linksys being so chopped up, dd-wrt/tomato was mandatory for any decent features.

Hi,
Ever use reset button? Tried different browser? Cleared browser cache? Use ipconfig command on PC?
Have another AC adapter to try?

 

[TheGlow]

Late to the party here! Why did you put the router in recovery mode to download firmware ? I personally have never had to do this since owning 2 Asus routers.

Every guide I saw mentioned putting into recovery mode and using Firmware restoration tool, so I went that way.
I see now since it's so close to Asus stock that you can use that to flash it. I'll try that next time.

Hi,
Ever use reset button? Tried different browser? Cleared browser cache? Use ipconfig command on PC?
Have another AC adapter to try?

I used the reset button about 6 times. Yes, Firefox, internet explorer, offline mode, 2 separate computers.
Yes, Ipconfig with ping 192.168.1.1 -t going in another window.
DHCP would give me a 169 apipa address. If static, I could connect to it, but only for about 30 mins. When the idle would kick me out, router would either not let me load webpage or give that Message about ip or port changed, but would still ping.
I would then factory reset and start all over again. DHCP never worked from what i saw, wifi never broadcasted and even connecting as if SSID was hidden did nothing. And core usage was always 100%.
I have a different adapter now, but It's not worth the headache of playing with it if the replacement is already good.

 

[TheGlow]

Definitely seems like bad hardware on the first one.
After 3 days up, Merlin firmware flashed, replacement has been up and fine with no hiccups.