Asus Router - Modem Hanging up Issue

[ademanuele]

Hi,

I have an Asus mesh system composed of two ZenWiFi AX routers and a RT-AC5300 router. We connect to our provider via an Openreach modem. Everything has been working fine until last couple of weeks when our Internet connection disappears for around 30 seconds or so several times a day. I have contacted our provider and they claim the line is OK. I have looked at the modem logs and can find when the modem is hanging up but do not know enough about the technical side to diagnose. Is this the right group to post in? The logs can be found here and you can see when the modem hangs up by searching for "hangup". Any help would be appreciated... Thanks.

 

[L&LD]

Which is your main router? What firmware are the routers using? What features/options have you enabled?

Have you tried a new cable between the main router and the modem? Are you able to switch to another router as the main? How are the routers connected together, wired or wirelessly?

 

[ademanuele]

The main router is one of the ZenWiFi AX (3.0.0.4.386_46061-g9a06866), this is connected to the RT-AC5300 (3.0.0.4.386_48377-g3e428e2) via ethernet. The other ZenWiFi AX (3.0.0.4.386_46061-g9a06866) is connected via WiFi.

I have not tried a new cable, I can do but it looks in good condition? When you say features/options enabled, what are you referring to, the system has been working seamlessly for months. Do the logs indicate what may be the issue?

I can not easily switch to another router as the main router due to the location of the master socket.

Is it worth saving the settings and resetting the main router?

 

[aoxomoxoa]

I have been experiencing the same issue - ZenWiFi AX with latest beta firmware (9.0.0.4.386_46980-g589e200-test) connected to VDSL via Zyxel VMG8924. VDSL sync light on modem remains lit, indicating still connected to Internet, but ZenWiFi drops WAN connection, sometimes just for a few seconds and reconnects, sometimes have to reboot ZenWiFi. WiFi remains rock solid throughout (beta firmware fixed previous experience of occasional IoT disconnects). Had Openreach engineer out a few weeks ago to check and line is perfect. Tried replacing Zyxel with old Openreach modem, a Draytek Vigor 130 and the original BT Home Hub - same issue persists with each. Swapped cables to no avail. Interesting observation today: no WAN drops last evening when both my iMacs (1 Intel and 1 M1) were switched off, watching Netflix etc on smart TV without a hitch. Checked Asus log this morning using iPad and no WAN disconnects at all overnight. Switched on my M1 iMac and within a minute ZenWiFi dropped WAN connection again. Switched off Smart Connect to see if that helped but have had one brief disconnect again. Logged a support ticket with Asus. Definitely something weird going on. Not impressed with this £400 Asus mesh system at all!
Any helpful suggestions would be most welcome.

 

[ademanuele]

Interesting aoxomoxoa, sounds like we are experiencing the same issue. Have sent you a message and perhaps we can discuss offline, will post an update if issue resolved...

 

[aoxomoxoa]

Likewise.

 

[ademanuele]

Just as an update. I have been in contact with Asus and followed their suggestions:

- factory reset all routers
- install beta firmware
- turnoff Smart Connect
- replace cables from router to modem and modem to wall socket

I checked with our provider and no issues detected with line.

The morning I had another modem hangup... Back to Asus...

 

[ademanuele]

One useful thing has come out of this exercise. I have three devices that did not play nicely with my Asus mesh system:

Sonos One
Meross Garage Opener
HP Officejet Pro - did not like authentication set to WPA2/WPA3-Personal

I created a 2.4GHz Guest Network with a different SSID and WPA2-Personal authentication for these devices and they now seem to be working nicely with the mesh system...

Asus have asked for a lot of data on my system, which I have provided, and hope they can find a solution...

 

[aoxomoxoa]

My WAN disconnection issue regarding one of my two ZenWiFi AX AT8's has now been completely resolved. Asus technical support got back to me to advise that my description of the fault together with the system log I provided did indeed indicate a hardware fault. I was advised to contact my dealer (Amazon) to arrange a replacement. This was completed within 24 hours and the replacement units have been working perfectly since setup 5 days ago. For the record, on receipt I setup the units using the iPhone app then flashed both nodes with the latest beta firmware (9.0.0.4.386_46980-g589e200-test), did a factory reset then reconfigured again from scratch. Internet seems snappier and no IoT/Homekit disconnections whatsoever. Happy!

 

[ademanuele]

Same result here, routers on their way back to Amazon for replacement...

 

[ademanuele]

We seem to have resolved the issue. Unfortunately the replacement routers did not resolve. The only other piece of equipment internally that could be at fault was our Openreach modem. We ordered a DrayTek Vigor 130 modem and installed last night and no issues since then. The Vigor 130 was very easy to setup, if you do need to go this route just check with DrayTek whether you need to modify any settings on the modem for your provider (we did for TalkTalk Business), very easy to do...

 

[aoxomoxoa]

I have a Draytek Vigor 130 already, which was one of the modems I tested with the faulty Asus mesh router(s). It too dropped the WAN connection frequently, not surprising as the fault lay with the Asus routers. However, one thing I did note when using the Draytek was that it did not sync at full VDSL speed with my connection - sync rate was about 5-8Mbps lower than before, although this may have been due to the BT cabinet sensing new hardware and dropping down. Anyway, using the Zyxel VMG8924 in modem mode connected to my ZenWiFi mesh my VDSL connection is synced at the fastest rate attainable for my line, according to the Openreach cabinet stats. Happy!
I guess there is no easy answer to our difficulties as different problems seem to manifest from different hardware configurations! I'm glad you have reached a solution for your issues.

 

[ademanuele]

I am getting same upload/download speeds as with the BT Openreach modem, in fact upload slightly higher. What I did notice was that the Vigor 130 did not perform as well until I configured for my provider. DrayTek customer support were very good and responded very quickly with information on how to setup for my provider.

Agree, no easy answers but a take home message for me is to make sure you eliminate hardware and cabling issues else you will end up paying for an unecessary Openreach engineer visit...

We both got there in the end