AC86U won't power on

[OzarkEdge]

I should have read more of these threads before buying a used AC86U on Ebay. It arrived today and powered on fine. I updated to the most recent 384-level firmware and set up what I could without an internet connections (my son's family is using the internet so I can't take my 66U_B1 out of service until the weekend.) A couple hours later I came back to play with it and the lights were off. Won't power up and only the port 4 LED light is on. Tried the reset button for 20+ seconds and nothing happened. I will contact the seller but I'm pretty sure it was a no return auction and since it did power up the first time, I don't think I can blame him. The thing came in the original packaging and looks brand new. It's a made in China 2018 unit so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Oh well, live and learn.

You bought a dead, out-of-warranty router. The LAN 4 LED is likely half lit. I'd ask for your money back.

OE

 

[Lee MacMillan]

Try a different the wall wart power supply. I'm not sure the 66U uses the same supply but the AC68s use the same supply as the AC86.

Finding a replacement won't be easy because very few things other than ASUS routers use 19v adapters. If you can't find one to try locally and if you are in the US contact me and I will sell you one for $5 plus the cost to ship it priority mail.

The 2018 AC86 models from China had more than their fair share of problems but it wasn't normally failing to power up. It was the radios.

The power supply says 19v, 1.75a. The 66U says the same thing so I'll try that one when no one needs the internet for a few minutes.

 

[Lee MacMillan]

You bought a dead, out-of-warranty router. The LAN 4 LED is likely half lit. I'd ask for your money back.

OE

It wasn't dead on arrival. The auction said no returns and the seller told me he'd never had a problem with it and it stayed powered on for an hour after he did the factory reset. I'll just chalk this one up to bad luck if a different power supply doesn't revive it. A $100 lesson learned!

 

[L&LD]

Try leaving it unpowered and unplugged from everything for a few hours.

Use another power supply if you have that available.

If it does power up, see if these suggestions help you too.

Fully Reset Router and Network

 

[Lee MacMillan]

Try leaving it unpowered and unplugged from everything for a few hours.

Use another power supply if you have that available.

If it does power up, see if these suggestions help you too.

Fully Reset Router and Network

I'll let it sit overnight and see what happens. Just checked the power supply and it's putting out 19.2v so I guess that's not the problem. In the meantime, I'll look at your link.

 

[OzarkEdge]

It wasn't dead on arrival. The auction said no returns and the seller told me he'd never had a problem with it and it stayed powered on for an hour after he did the factory reset. I'll just chalk this one up to bad luck if a different power supply doesn't revive it. A $100 lesson learned!

Remove power and then see what it does in a couple of days.

OE

 

[dlandiss]

The power supply says 19v, 1.75a. The 66U says the same thing so I'll try that one when no one needs the internet for a few minutes.

Beware, the plugs my not be compatible.

 

[dlandiss]

I'll let it sit overnight and see what happens. Just checked the power supply and it's putting out 19.2v so I guess that's not the problem. In the meantime, I'll look at your link.

Power supplies often look good when not loaded, but produce low voltage when load current is drawn.

 

[CaptainSTX]

You need to rule the power supply out before wasting your time on other fixes. Start at the beginning, no power means no router.

 

[Lee MacMillan]

Power supplies often look good when not loaded, but produce low voltage when load current is drawn.

I've got an identical supply running my 66U so I can swap them and see if it works.

 

[Lee MacMillan]

Thanks for all the help and suggestions. Tried a different power supply and the various methods of starting it up and nothing works. I guess I've got an Asus boat anchor and a "lesson learned" (don't buy a used router without return privileges.) Fortunately, the financial impact is negligible and my 66U_B1 is doing the job. I didn't hear any complaints from my family during the 4 simultaneous Zoom sessions that were happening daily last week.

 

[L&LD]

You can offer it up on auction again 'as-is' to try to get some of your money back.

 

[Lee MacMillan]

You can offer it up on auction again 'as-is' to try to get some of your money back.

I may try that or possibly the antennas and the power supply separately.

 

[L&LD]

From a friend who has this type of experience, the more in demand parts you can offer, the more money you can make. Possibly, even more than when the item was brand new, let alone what you paid for it at auction.

 

[Lee MacMillan]

From a friend who has this type of experience, the more in demand parts you can offer, the more money you can make. Possibly, even more than when the item was brand new, let alone what you paid for it at auction.

The only items not part of the main assembly are the power supply and the antennas. Looking at Ebay, I'm not sure they are worth more than the entire thing sold as "parts only-not working." I'll need to look at some completed auctions and decide what makes the most sense. I'll be happy to get $30 back.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Don't count on getting much for parts. In my saga to get a working AC86 ASUS kept sending me dud routers and when I returned to them they always said not to include the power supply. I therefore ended up with three extra power supplies which I listed for sale on this site for $10 plus shipping and had no takers. I even offered them for $5 and still no takers.

 

[Lee MacMillan]

Don't count on getting much for parts...I ended up with three extra power supplies which I listed for sale on this site for $10 plus shipping and had no takers. I even offered them for $5 and still no takers.

That's pretty much what I gathered from eBay. Sounds like you didn't have much luck with the AC86. Maybe I'll look for a different model when I get my stimulus check!

 

[CaptainSTX]

That's pretty much what I gathered from eBay. Sounds like you didn't have much luck with the AC86. Maybe I'll look for a different model when I get my stimulus check!

Once I got ASUS to send me a 2019 model instead of someone else's problem 2018 returned router which they dusted off and sent out again it has been an OK router. Is it as stable as an N66 or an AC68 no but finally on 384.19 it does what is is supposed to do.

 

[heidarren]

Only LAN 4 led lights up means the voltage control chip is burned, very common problem for this model, check my answer here

Is my AC86U toast?

For me it was, a noted before, shown not as a sticker on the box but printed on it. IIRC It also noted that on the advert on Amazon's advert. I also know that when I bought my AX88U that too shows the same, again the advert at Amazon also states that. Asus were happy to help me a mine was...

www.snbforums.com

 

[Lee MacMillan]

You can offer it up on auction again 'as-is' to try to get some of your money back.

I put it on Ebay yesterday "for parts, not working" and it sold for $39 (my BIN price) within a couple of hours. The Ebay buyer's ID was "asusparts20" and he has a bunch of new and used Asus routers and other items for sale. My guess is he thinks he can fix it. More power to him! At least I recovered some of my cost which will go towards a new AX86U or AX68U (when it becomes available.)