AC-RT68U

[Sam_ny]

Hi All.

My RT-AC68U (flashed TM RT-AC1900) freezes when I use OPENVPN from a public access point at the airport, coffee shop, etc.

After the router freezes, I have to physically reset my RT-AC68U when I get home.

If RT-AC68U is not compatible with OPENVPN any longer, what should I replace the router with?

 

[L&LD]

Welcome to the forums @Sam_ny.

How are you connecting it to a public access point?

 

[Sam_ny]

Thank you.

Maybe I misspoke.
I used my iPhone to connect to a public access point via wifi, and then I used the OPENVPN app to connect to my router.

 

[L&LD]

I'm still confused.

Is the router with you in the "airport, coffee shop, etc."?

Or, are you trying to connect to it simply with your phone?

If the latter, does simply deleting the existing Server and recreating it solve anything?

When was the last time this worked for you?

Can you connect when on cellular?

 

[Sam_ny]

Hi again.

You're right. I should have been clearer.

Router stays home.

Yes, I erased the NVRAM; however, the problem persists.

The OPENVPN works right now. I just don't know for how long.

Yes, I can connect to OPENVPN on cellular.

 

[L&LD]

The last clue I can give is, are you loading a saved backup config file after the reset?

If you are, try doing that reset without using a saved backup config file.

If you're already doing this, then it may be time for another router.

 

[bennor]

My RT-AC68U (flashed TM RT-AC1900) freezes when I use OPENVPN from a public access point at the airport, coffee shop, etc.

What firmware is the router running?
What does the system log show around the time the router crashes?
Do you have a USB hard drive attached to the router? If so is that USB hard drive being used as a NAS and or to stream media?
What other options or features (or add-on scripts if using Asus-Merlin firmware) have been enabled on the router? Features like AiProtect, AiMesh, etc.
What are you attempting to access on the local network using OpenVPN when the router crashes?

 

[Sam_ny]

What firmware is the router running?
What does the system log show around the time the router crashes?
Do you have a USB hard drive attached to the router? If so is that USB hard drive being used as a NAS and or to stream media?
What other options or features (or add-on scripts if using Asus-Merlin firmware) have been enabled on the router? Features like AiProtect, AiMesh, etc.
What are you attempting to access on the local network using OpenVPN when the router crashes?

Thanks for your input.

The firmware is 386.12_4.

Yes, a USB drive is attached and used as network-attached storage and occasionally as a media server for streaming to TV.

Yes, on AiProtect, AiMesh, etc.

Financial institutions block users with foreign IP, so when abroad or connected to public WiFi, we use OpenVPN on our home router to pay bills, etc. I have reputable VPN-paid service providers; however, my home ISP feels like the safest bet.

Anyway, my RT-AC68U (flashed TM RT-AC1900) router is 8 years old. I think it's time to upgrade. I'm not sure which router to get.

 

[heysoundude]

Anyway, my RT-AC68U (flashed TM RT-AC1900) router is 8 years old. I think it's time to upgrade. I'm not sure which router to get.

Indeed...since it's my understanding we're not supposed to discuss your particular hardware. right, mods?

 

[bennor]

Indeed...since it's my understanding we're not supposed to discuss your particular hardware. right, mods?

They've relaxed some of the discussion on the TM-AC1900. See RMerlin's comment:
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/s...onversion-discussion.46018/page-5#post-859127

After discussing it with @thiggins, we agreed that at this point, considering this device has long been EOL, it was time to drop this rule. If people can find ways to avoid TM-AC1900 from ending up as e-waste, then it's a Good Thing, and as this is an 8 years old device, I doubt either T-Mobile or Asus would complain.

That being said, one thing stays unchanged: that device is NOT support by Asuswrt-Merlin, and anyone trying to get things to work on it is entirely on their own, as I won't waste my time (or the community's time) trying to help people figure out issues that are caused by Asus's undisclosed protection measures they might have in place.

 

[bennor]

Yes, a USB drive is attached and used as network-attached storage and occasionally as a media server for streaming to TV.

Yes, on AiProtect, AiMesh, etc.

Try it without all the extra features like AiProtection, QoS, AiMesh, etc running. Turn off the extra features, scripts, attached USB hard drive and reboot the router then test. Could be the router old hardware may be struggling if you have enabled all the features, and having file transfers to the router attached USB drive taking place all while running OpenVPN.

Anyway, my RT-AC68U (flashed TM RT-AC1900) router is 8 years old. I think it's time to upgrade. I'm not sure which router to get.

Probably a good idea if the router is struggling with OpenVPN to look into upgrading to a newer more capable router.

 

[Sam_ny]

Try it without all the extra features like AiProtection, QoS, AiMesh, etc running. Turn off the extra features, scripts, attached USB hard drive and reboot the router then test. Could be the router old hardware may be struggling if you have enabled all the features, and having file transfers to the router attached USB drive taking place all while running OpenVPN.

Probably a good idea if the router is struggling with OpenVPN to look into upgrading to a newer more capable router.

Thank you.

I'm asking for recommendations. My original ask included "If RT-AC68U is not compatible with OPENVPN any longer, what should I replace the router with?"

 

[Tech9]

RT-AC68U is compatible with OpenVPN. Your router has some issues, perhaps software.

Replacement - RT-AX86U Pro, RT-AX88U Pro and GT-AX6000 are the most popular models around.

 

[heysoundude]

They've relaxed some of the discussion on the TM-AC1900. See RMerlin's comment:
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/s...onversion-discussion.46018/page-5#post-859127

I stand corrected.

 

[L&LD]

This isn't an RT-AC68U though.

The only sane option (particularly when on sale) is the RT-AX88U Pro today.

 

[Sam_ny]

Thank you all for your input.

I bought an ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 for its Memory 256 MB Flash, 1 GB RAM.

I hope this will solve my problem.

 

[NoLight]

You said it's been running for 8 years. I'll say that I setup the same router for a friend before the AiMesh CFE was available. All these years it had been running fine until he went from 386.11 to a clean install of 386.12_4. He was having all kinds of issues that went away when I started from scratch and did the whole conversion process again with the AiMesh CFE and 386.12_4.

Might be something to consider if you end up keeping it for some other use.