AiMesh Nightmare on RT-BE88U

[virgilauntie]

Hello everyone,

I'm hoping to get some insight from you all about this rather bizarre issue I'm having. The problem only happens to 2.4Ghz and NOT 5Ghz.

Main: RT-BE88U (latest Merlin FW)
Garage: RT-AX55 (latest Asus FW)
Basement: RT-AX55 (latest Asus FW)

I originally only had Main and Garage set up with AiMesh. All devices connected with the primary wifi network, one isolated 2.4 and another 5 Ghz on the main subnet. However, when I added another RT-AX55 (Basement), several 2.4Ghz connected to Main dropped and refused to reconnect. Garage remained functional and without issues. To test, I powered off Basement and disconnected 2.4Ghz devices reconnected to Main almost immediately. With Basement powered back on, I tried re-adding a few disconnected devices back to wi-fi and they refused to do so. Powered Basement off again and re-adding them worked.

I've tried multiple reboots of all three devices as well as resetting them to factory and reconfiguring - issue remains. I've also tried lowering Main 2.4Ghz power, same thing. Disabled roaming, same thing. I have a spare RT-AX57 that I set up like Basement, same exact problem. I'm not really sure what else might be causing the issue. Could it be because of 2.4Ghz isolation on a different subnet? Garage 2.4Ghz works but that might also be because it's far enough from Main to avoid some weird conflicts.

I would TRULY appreciate any help you could throw my way. Thank you very much in advance!

Virgilauntie

 

[bennor]

For added context you should include the firmware versions running on each router.

As always, as a last troubleshooting step, perform a hard factory reset on all routers. If you have a USB drive attached to any of the routers, remove the drive before performing a hard factory reset. Then perform a basic manual configuration of the RT-BE88U, do not import a saved router.cfg file. After the RT-BE88U is verified as operating after a basic setup, begin adding the RT-AX55 AiMesh nodes one at a time, testing the first node before adding the second node.

Generally things work best at default settings. When you start fiddling with settings it can introduce unexpected or unintended problems. For the 2.4Ghz WiFi it may help to use the following settings if clients have issues connecting to the 2.4Ghz WiFi.
Do not use special characters in the WiFi SSID and it's password.
Disable Smart Connect as a troubleshooting step.
Set Channel bandwidth to 20Mhz
Set Control Channel to one of the common channels: 1, 6, or 11.
Set Authentication Method to WPA2-Personal.

It is generally recommended to run stock Asus firmware on AiMesh nodes if running Asus-Merlin firmware on the main router.
There are some other limitations when mixing a newer main router with less capable AiMesh node routers, particularly if there is a different (older) firmware on the AiMesh node(s).

 

[virgilauntie]

My apologies for the lack of info - I was trying to avoid having you guys read a novel.

Main: RT-BE88U (Merlin 3006.102.5)
Garage: RT-AX55 (Asus 3.0.0.4.386_53266)
Basement: RT-AX55 (Asus 3.0.0.4.386_53266)

I've tried most (if not all) the steps you've mentioned to no avail. Any compatibility issues between models would have been easier to acknowledge if both Basement and Garage AiMesh nodes - which are identical models and both broadcasting the same 2.4Ghz isolated network - were exhibiting the same problem. But it only happens to Basement.

Just a few minutes ago, I powered off Garage and brought with me a smart plug that predictably disconnects when 2.4Ghz is active on Main and Basement. I plugged it in the garage and lo and behold, it connects to Main. I go back inside and plug it in close to Basement, it did not connect. So this tells me Garage plays no part in the issue and as I mentioned earlier, it has always worked properly.

Both nodes of the same model and firmware are configured the same way to broadcast the single 2.4Ghz isolated network yet only one seems to work. The other partially works but also drops several clients like clockwork. Disabling 2.4 on that node allows disconnected devices to quicly re-attach to Main.

Thanks so much for putting your two cents in!