AC86U crashes when computer connects

[ragnaroknroll]

I have the asuswrt-merlin firmware installed on an AC86U router and am running the 386.2_6 version of the firmware.

I'm facing an issue wherein the router crashes and reboots each time my desktop computer connects to it via Wifi. I've never faced an issue like this with routers in the past and I'm frankly stumped. Could anyone please help me figure out what may be going on here?

I'm happy to share the system log saved from the router web interface, which has quite a few lines starting with "crashlog:", which I presume could be of assistance troubleshooting. I'm just not sure if this system log contains any private information that should not be shared on a public forum.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Redact any entries that contain your public IP address and any entries that may contain personal email information (like output from DDNS scripts) and you should be OK.

 

[ragnaroknroll]

Thank you so much @ColinTaylor for your prompt response. I've removed all lines containing references to any external IP addresses in the attached log.

 

[ragnaroknroll]

Not sure what I'm doing wrong here, but I can't seem to be able to view the file I attached to my last post. The contents are also too big to paste into the text box available for a post. Any suggestions?

 

[ragnaroknroll]

Placed it in Dropbox instead. Here's the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/onmdn3jmmp9taff/syslog_purged.txt?dl=0

 

[L&LD]

Next time, try Pastebin instead. (I won't open a dropbox link).

 

[ragnaroknroll]

Thanks for the tip. Here it is: https://pastebin.com/RPyweXBV

 

[ColinTaylor]

(I won't open a dropbox link).

Why?

 

[ColinTaylor]

I'm facing an issue wherein the router crashes and reboots each time my desktop computer connects to it via Wifi.

I can't see anything obvious in the log linking the crash to your PC, although it's possible that information gets lost.

Is this PC connected by Ethernet as well as WiFi? Apart from the router do you have any other switches, AP's, repeaters, etc in the mix?

 

[ragnaroknroll]

This PC can connect to the AC86U router either directly via Wifi, or via a Wifi or ethernet connection to another DDWRT router configured to run in Client Bridge mode.

I've run a few tests and found the AC86U router to crash via all three modes of connection. I haven't tried connecting the PC directly to the AC86U router via an ethernet connection yet since they are too far apart.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Are you ensuring that prior to connecting via WiFi you have disconnected the Ethernet connection on the PC?

 

[ragnaroknroll]

I don't remember. I unfortunately have to retire for the night, but will rerun the WiFi connection test after disconnecting the ethernet cable and post the results in the morning.

 

[Justinh]

Do you have WPA2/WPA3 mixed mode on?

 

[ragnaroknroll]

@ColinTaylor - I just tried connecting to the AC86U router directly via WiFi after disconnecting the ethernet cable connecting it to the Client Bridge router, and still experienced a crash and reboot of the AC86U router.

@Justinh - I'm currently using WPA2-Personal under Wireless -> General -> Authentication Method; I don't even have a WPA3 option in there.

 

[L&LD]

When was the last time you fully reset the router?

 

[ragnaroknroll]

It's been about 10 months since I last reset it. Was really hoping one of you might be able to just point out what may be going on here and save me the trouble of resetting the router and setting it all up again (Entware included). Nevertheless, if it comes down to it, I'm happy to give resetting it a shot.

 

[L&LD]

With no real clues of why the reboots are happening, a full reset is a good sanity check to see if 1) the hardware is stable and 2) the firmware hasn't been corrupted (brownout, surge, dirty upgrade, etc.), 3) to give any advice that may come the best chance of working (after the router is confirmed to be working and in a good/known state.

Fully Reset Router and Network

Best Practice Update/Setup Router/AiMesh Node(s) 2021

About L&LD

 

[ragnaroknroll]

Thanks for the advice. Will probably be a short while before I can get down to this, but will report back as soon as I've been able to run a few tests after resetting.

 

[ragnaroknroll]

Just made a strange observation and thought I'd post it in here in case it meant something to one of you.

I dual boot Linux Mint and Windows 10 on my PC. Only booting into Linux Mint causes the router to crash and reboot. Booting into Windows 10 does not.

 

[ragnaroknroll]

Sorry for the delay. I've just gotten down to restoring the router to factory settings and setting it up from scratch. I tried booting up my desktop at different points while setting up the router, to try and isolate the setting that causes the router to crash. It turns out the Guest Network feature is the culprit. When it is disabled, the desktop is able to connect to the router just fine, but when it is enabled, the router crashes when the desktop connects to it wirelessly. Any thoughts? It's a pity I won't be able to use the Guest Network feature.