AC66R Disconnect

[Veranor]

Hey all. First time poster.

I have an AC66R that has recently begun to have connectivity issues to my network. I've tried the latest firmware, latest DDWRT, latest merlin build. What is happening is that right now I've configured it as a media bridge and connected it to my Arris modem on the 5GHz band (direct line-of-sight) and after about 10-12 hours, I lose connectivity to the modem despite the AC66R saying it still has the wifi up. The temperature from first connect to disconnect ranges from 40C to 57C, and there are no apparent errors in the system log.

The only message I receive in the log is that eth2 received a packet with the source same as destination. There are no errors during boot up to indicate a massive failure.

Coincidentally, I also have a EA-N66 adapter that can do the same role. I put that in place of the AC66R and I have no ping drops and no disconnects. Its in the same spot, and gets roughly the same performance (obviously we're talking N here and not AC).

I really want to use my AC66R for either the main router or a bridge, but can't because of the unreliability. Has it decided to die on me? What other items can I check to help the troubleshooting process?

I really like ASUS stuff, but given that I work from home, this is becoming an issue.

 

[Veranor]

So for the sake of troubleshooting, I've done a mtd-erase -d nvram and reconfigured it as a media bridge.

About 10 minutes into it, I gave it a static IP address. Right now I get the following message constantly spamming into the log:

Jul 3 18:11:06 kernel: eth2: received packet with own address as source address

This comes in 3-10 times at a time, during which I see > 100ms ping times to the gateway (which is at 192.168.0.1) or request timed out.

There doesn't appear to be any other errors or warnings. Any advice is welcome.

 

[Veranor]

Another update - disabling Media Server, Samba, and every other extra feature on the router has no effect. I still on occasion lose 2-4 pings and see the messages in the log.

The drop is enough to kill a few applications I have running that are work-related.

On the flip side, configuring as a router, plugging into cable modem, and using the EA-N66R or an AC dongle have the same effect.

 

[KGB7]

Could be issue with Arri's modem and its own WiFi. See if there is a firmware update.

Also what WiFi setting does Arri's offer? You might have to play with them to resolve your issues.

At the end of the day, you might have to connect the Asus router to Arri's with a lan cable.

 

[Veranor]

I factory reset my cable modem (to the dismay of TWC), and ran another mtd-erase on the ac66u after I got it back to stock.

Upon doing this, I placed the router back as an AP/router instead of a media bridge, and the errors about the eth2 interface went away. Taking it a step further, I ensure the connection between wan port and cable modem was 1000/full (it was not before cable modem reset).

I now have the EA-N66R acting as an adapter connecting to the 5 GHz of the AC66U. No disconnects. No lost pings or any issues in fact. For increased throughput, I increased the tx power of the 5 ghz to 120 mw, which has given me a bandwidth of 300 mbps consistently from my upstairs office to the center of the house (2nd floor - where router is located).

I've been monitoring the log and see that the eth2 error is not showing up as it once did. This might be an issue with the media bridge functionality? I know its a router by design, but the allure of setting up a network of these things throughout my house to provide wired connections was one of the key reasons I bought this one.

Finally, to test AC, I plugged the WUSB6300 dongle into my PC and ran throughput tests. The EA-N66R beat it every single time. Could be a linksys fail, a USB fail, or just a crap product. It also has catastrophic disconnects from the wireless in which I have to unplug it and plug back in. Perhaps performance can increase with a cradle, I'm not sure.

For now, it will suffice, at least until I figure out the media bridge situation.

Thanks for help all.