I have been running Merlin firmware on my RT-AC86U since 2018. It's been rock solid, rarely requiring my attention. I've been using ExpressVPN since then as well. Again, no problems.
I upgraded to 386.3_2 in October. Since then, my Internet connection has not been reliable. Some of my troubleshooting steps include:
- asking a lot of questions here on the forum
- reinstalling the firmware multiple times
- doing a factory reset on my device
- purchasing a second RT-AC86U and installing the firmware and all settings from scratch
- trying another VPN provider (PureVPN)
- trying a new ISP (AT&T instead of Comcast)
- a bunch of other steps
In the process, I have also been learning about features I had not used in the past and trying to become a more proficient user. I have indeed learned a lot and I am now using several new features including the VPN Director, which I like. However, the basic reliability problem that started with my upgrade to 386.3_2 in October remains unresolved, even after all these changes. About the only thing that remains constant, as far as I can tell, is firmware 386.3_2. I have not tried reverting to an older release, and indeed I do not wish to do that (yet).
Latest situtation. Yesterday, it appeared that all router functionality was working as expected (with the possible exception of YazFi, which I am currently learning about).
The router has been up only 15 hours since I rebooted yesterday while testing YazFi. Today, it had not Internet connection. Here's what I observed.
- I can ssh into the router
- syslog does not contain the word "error" anywhere, nor does it even show any hint of a problem. (I hesitate to post full logs for privacy reasons.)
- VPN Director GUI page shows all tunnels connected. This page is fully "OK".
- VPN Client page for each tunnel shows a green "ON" button and no error messages, but the usual yellow "connected" text string to the right of that button is not shown.
- VPN Status page shows all 5 tunnels connected and it lists the remote and port as expected. This page is fully "OK".
- clients can connect to the wireless radio, but they have no Internet access
- Android reports the connection has "no Internet" and indeed that is correct.
- Running ping from router's GUI "Network Tools" page gives 100% packet loss
My workaround is to go to VPN client #1 and toggle the "Service state" button from ON to Off and back to ON. Now I have Internet access, but the usual yellow "connected" text string to the right of that button is still not shown. (It is shown as normal after I reboot.)
Currently, I am not using any custom scripts except YazFi. (However, I've been having these connection issues since October and I only installed YazFi two days ago, so these 2 things are not related.) All my ovpn files are "stock". I reverted back to the ExpressVPN ovpn configs I have been using for years. I worked with PureVPN support and I'm using a very stripped down ovpn file they helped me create. It's almost dead simple, but it meets their requirements.
What should I look at next? Thank you
I upgraded to 386.3_2 in October. Since then, my Internet connection has not been reliable. Some of my troubleshooting steps include:
- asking a lot of questions here on the forum
- reinstalling the firmware multiple times
- doing a factory reset on my device
- purchasing a second RT-AC86U and installing the firmware and all settings from scratch
- trying another VPN provider (PureVPN)
- trying a new ISP (AT&T instead of Comcast)
- a bunch of other steps
In the process, I have also been learning about features I had not used in the past and trying to become a more proficient user. I have indeed learned a lot and I am now using several new features including the VPN Director, which I like. However, the basic reliability problem that started with my upgrade to 386.3_2 in October remains unresolved, even after all these changes. About the only thing that remains constant, as far as I can tell, is firmware 386.3_2. I have not tried reverting to an older release, and indeed I do not wish to do that (yet).
Latest situtation. Yesterday, it appeared that all router functionality was working as expected (with the possible exception of YazFi, which I am currently learning about).
The router has been up only 15 hours since I rebooted yesterday while testing YazFi. Today, it had not Internet connection. Here's what I observed.
- I can ssh into the router
- syslog does not contain the word "error" anywhere, nor does it even show any hint of a problem. (I hesitate to post full logs for privacy reasons.)
- VPN Director GUI page shows all tunnels connected. This page is fully "OK".
- VPN Client page for each tunnel shows a green "ON" button and no error messages, but the usual yellow "connected" text string to the right of that button is not shown.
- VPN Status page shows all 5 tunnels connected and it lists the remote and port as expected. This page is fully "OK".
- clients can connect to the wireless radio, but they have no Internet access
- Android reports the connection has "no Internet" and indeed that is correct.
- Running ping from router's GUI "Network Tools" page gives 100% packet loss
My workaround is to go to VPN client #1 and toggle the "Service state" button from ON to Off and back to ON. Now I have Internet access, but the usual yellow "connected" text string to the right of that button is still not shown. (It is shown as normal after I reboot.)
Currently, I am not using any custom scripts except YazFi. (However, I've been having these connection issues since October and I only installed YazFi two days ago, so these 2 things are not related.) All my ovpn files are "stock". I reverted back to the ExpressVPN ovpn configs I have been using for years. I worked with PureVPN support and I'm using a very stripped down ovpn file they helped me create. It's almost dead simple, but it meets their requirements.
What should I look at next? Thank you
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