AC68U and AC86U Asus firmwares from 2025:

[bibikalka]

It seems Asus keeps updating these AC models, so not clear what EOL announcement really meant back in the day ...

I guess AiMesh is an important component for Asus and that's being used in combos of the new plus these older AC routers, so they cannot really leave this alone.

Looking back, I wish Asus did not really talk EOL back in 2024 given that we lost Merlin's support because of that Asus probably wanted to nudge people to spend $ on the new hardware, so I guess that was a successful psyop from that perspective for them, but nothing changed with the actual firmware updates.

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ASUS RT-AC86U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386_52294
Version 3.0.0.4.386_52294
66.52 MB
2025/10/28

ASUS RT-AC68U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386_52062
Version 3.0.0.4.386_52062
99.39 MB
2025/10/27

 

[bennor]

From the ASUSWRT - Official subforum, release discussion threads for those two routers.

Release - ASUS RT-AC68U / RT-AC66U B1 / RT-AC1900(P/U) Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386_52062 (2025/10/27)

Version 3.0.0.4.386_52062 99.39 MB 2025/10/27 - Enhanced system stability. - Enhanced input validation and refactored legacy string handling routines to ensure robust memory management. - Mitigated security risks in AiCloud service by enforcing strict credential verification, implementing...

www.snbforums.com

Release - ASUS RT-AC86U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386_52294 (2025/10/28)

Version 3.0.0.4.386_52294 66.52 MB 2025/10/28 - Enhanced system stability. - Enhanced input validation and refactored legacy string handling routines to ensure robust memory management. - Mitigated security risks in AiCloud service by enforcing strict credential verification, implementing...

www.snbforums.com

 

[wouterv]

Talking about the RT-AC68U, that is by now and technically seen an ancient router.
Yes, I am still using it my self mainly because ASUS now and then releases new firmware and speed is not an issue for me.
The EOL statement is to warn those router owners that support is ending, either immediate or gradually.
One of the ancient parts of the RT-AC68U which ASUS cannot fix is that WPA3 is not supported.
No support of WPA3 does not make the router unsafe per definition, compare it with all the features of todays cars like lane assist.
The router will for sure be unsafe when there is big security hole that allows remote access over the Internet.
Finally, the consumer router is a cheap thing. How often do you buy a new smart phone - how often do you buy a new router?

 

[bibikalka]

Well, I wonder if there is a way to petition @RMerlin to do the minimum scope recompile with the latest Asus releases for these routers.

The hardware is old, but not obsolete

 

[wouterv]

There is the latest ASUS stock firmware, what's wrong with using that (ok, I can list a few reasons)?
The firmware for the RT-AC68U is based on the "3004.386" family, which is superseded rather long ago by the "3004.388" and "3006.102" families.
RMerlin is a single person developer and as far as I understand router firmware development is not his core business, I suppose keeping track with his current list of supported routers takes enough of his time.
One has to draw a line and who knows ASUS will release another maintenance update of the firmware again.

 

[bennor]

Well, I wonder if there is a way to petition @RMerlin to do the minimum scope recompile with the latest Asus releases for these routers.

The hardware is old, but not obsolete

In the case of the RT-AC68U the hardware is over 10 years old. It can be argued no doubt by some that it IS obsolete at this point. RMerlin has repeatedly addressed why they ended support for the AC series of routers that run on the 386 firmware branch in December 2024.

Generally, for the developer to do any sort of compile with the latest Asus release would require a GPL from Asus for each AC series router that people want supported, not just the RT-AC86U and RT-AC68U. Then they'd have to find the time (their FREE TIME as this is a side gig for them), assuming no changes to existing Asus-Merlin coding, to compile said GPL for each AC series router model in addition to their existing work on the 388 and 3006 firmware branches. Then likely do an alpha and beta release and fix any issues that develop prior to a final release. Then there would be the inevitable demand from the masses that since Asus-Merlin updated the AC series firmware once after saying they ended support in 2024, why not do it again (and again, and again). The juice as they say may not be worth the squeeze from a developer's stand point.

I'd assume the only reason Asus is occasionally putting out what amounts to security updates for the AC series line is because of the large pool of them likely used as AiMesh nodes. In which case just use the stock firmware anyway since the general view (including by the Asus-Merlin developer) there is little to gain by running Asus-Merlin on an AiMesh node since many of the Asus-Merlin features are disabled in AiMesh/AP mode.

 

[Tech9]

I'd assume the only reason Asus is occasionally putting out what amounts to security updates for the AC series line is because of the large pool of them likely used as AiMesh nodes.

Hmm... looking at last few firmware releases changelog I'm assuming ASUS attempted to save the big noise on Internet around few consecutive "Ooops!" moments. I'm pretty sure some users lost their Routers and had to purchase new ones. The events also triggered removing of specific firmware components from Asuswrt-Merlin. Doesn't look like AiMesh related updates to me. I like SNB Forums style sugar coating though.

 

[bibikalka]

Hmm... looking at last few firmware releases changelog I'm assuming ASUS attempted to save the big noise on Internet around few consecutive "Ooops!" moments. I'm pretty sure some users lost their routers and had to purchase new ones. The events also triggered removing of specific firmware components from Asuswrt-Merlin, no? Doesn't looks like AiMesh related updates to me. I like SNB Forums style sugar coating though.

It's not obvious that Asus support for these AC routers was any less in 2025 compared to 2024 or 2023.

So while they said "EOL" - apparently that did not really mean that.

 

[degrub]

The potential and perceived damage to the ASUS brand was, IMO, what precipitated ASUS releasing security updates for post EOL equipment. EOL means no further engineering support planned by the company, any company. CISCO did the same for some of their SMB gear that were EOL a while back for similar reasons. But they almost always say to upgrade the hardware to something current as the solution. i would never anticipate TP-Link doing the same as what ASUS did for their consumer gear though. They seldom update anyway.

 

[Tech9]

The potential and perceived damage to the ASUS brand was, IMO, what precipitated ASUS releasing security updates for post EOL equipment.

Exactly. Major vulnerabilities were discovered after EoL announcement and they were critical enough to trigger mass firmware updates including for EoL devices. It wasn't just about doing a favor to users and keeping old routers and nodes alive forever.

 

[bibikalka]

Exactly. Major vulnerabilities were discovered after EoL announcement and they were critical enough to trigger mass firmware updates including for EoL devices. It wasn't just about doing a favor to users and keeping old routers and nodes alive forever.

Another angle is that Asus widely sold the AiMesh feature which meant older routers could be used as AiMesh nodes. So when people were buying newer models, there was an implicit assumptions that the older models would still have enough support to be useful.

But if Asus is updating AiMesh on the older "unsupported" routers, they might as well throw in a few security fixes.

 

[bennor]

Doesn't look like AiMesh related updates to me.

With the RT-AC68U there have been two firmware releases last year involving "Mesh". The rest of the fixes appear mostly security related (AiCloud among other things).

ASUS RT-AC68U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386_51733 2025/03/10
2. Fixed client binding issues in Mesh scenarios.

ASUS RT-AC68U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386_51729 2025/02/14
2. Fixed client binding issues in Mesh scenarios.

 

[Tech9]

But if Asus is updating AiMesh on the older "unsupported" routers, they might as well throw in a few security fixes.

It happened the other way around. Security fixes triggered firmware updates.

Another angle is that Asus widely sold the AiMesh feature which meant older routers could be used as AiMesh nodes.

They don't explain clearly what exactly "AiMesh Compatible" means though.

 

[bibikalka]

It happened the other way around. Security fixes triggered the firmware updates.

But the only reason people are running these devices is AiMesh! So it's a bit of chicken & egg ...

 

[degrub]

But the only reason people are running these devices is AiMesh! So it's a bit of chicken & egg ...

Eh, no. ASUS and other consumer gear manufacturers have repeatedly demonstrated the habit of "moving on" when they are spending too much engineering resources over long time on trying to fix a product issue that is either their own making or being supplied to them by one of their vendors.

 

[Tech9]

But the only reason people are running these devices is AiMesh!

The majority of vulnerabilities were present on devices in Router mode. The updates happened to protect Internet gateway devices, not repeaters and access points in AiMesh.