Asus Router Not Accessible, No Access to LAN, Yet passes Internet

[joeschmuck]

I have a very strange issue. I am running Merlin on an RT-AX86U ZAKU II Edition, don't recall the version of Merlin but it was updated a few months ago.

The issue: I cannot access any hardware on my LAN, which includes the router, using a hardwired computer.
I can access the internet just fine, my NAS shares are working fine as well.

When did this apparently start? Saturday evening on my TrueNAS server I disabled Tailscale, then the NAS rebooted, and it should not have. I was unable to enter the NAS GUI after that, and it had worked previously as I was in the GUI to disable the Tailscale app. I suspect this caused some strange glitch, maybe, or was the result of the router issue. I was using SSH into the NAS previously as well all day long. Very strange.

What have I done?
I have cycled power to the router, twice. It is apparently working to some extent.
I tried to access the router via WiFi (laptop) as well, same result, did not work, but the internet and NAS shares are working.
I unplugged the NAS from the LAN, rebooted the router, still no joy.

This is not the end of the world, but not being able to access my NAS, or SSH into anything on the network is a problem.

I am resisting a hard reset until someone suggests that. I do have quite a bit configured in the router that I'm sure I saved, last year, but not current. Guess I learned a painful lesson, yet again, if I have to do a hard reset.
Unfortunately my backup router is being used at a friends house, not close by. It is an older router, maybe time to purchase a new one to update my hardware, but that is not the solution for the current problem.

Advice appreciated

 

[OzarkEdge]

The issue: I cannot access any hardware on my LAN, which includes the router, using a hardwired computer.

If you disconnect everything from the router except your wired admin PC and reboot the router, can you login to the router webUI?

OE

 

[joeschmuck]

If you disconnect everything from the router except your wired admin PC and reboot the router, can you login to the router webUI?

OE

Nope, just tried it. As I said, very strange problem.

in the meantime, I'm playing is safe, I did order a new router, RT-BE92U, unfortunately not Merlin compatible.
That router should arrive tomorrow. Once I get that setup, I will try a hard reset to see if it comes back to life. If it does return to life, the new router will likely become my backup for a while. I'd like to make sure the RT-AX86U still works reliably and doesn't have the same issue.

If there are other suggestions other than a hard reset, I'll try them, but while the internet is working and all out TV is streaming, I will keep the wife and myself happy. Well, I'm not happy but I will survive.

I did notice a new Merlin firmware came out last week. I will of course update to that, but as I said, the version I currently have is not very old at all. I just can't say what version that was, I deleted the firmware files from my computer last week. Great timing of course.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Nope, just tried it. As I said, very strange problem.

So, the browser could not find the router's LAN IP address? Did you have any WAN remote access enabled on the router?

When ASUSWRT is not behaving normally, I Hard Reset the firmware and reconfigure from scratch.

OE

 

[Tech9]

RT-BE92U, unfortunately not Merlin compatible

There is Asuswrt-Merlin firmware for it, but this model is known for issues. Some unresolved since release (broken QoS), others ASUS trying to fix (mostly connectivity), it has many hardware revisions for unclear reasons. You had to do some homework before purchasing this specific model. I would send it back.

 

[joeschmuck]

So, the browser could not find the router's LAN IP address? Did you have any WAN remote access enabled on the router?

When ASUSWRT is not behaving normally, I Hard Reset the firmware and reconfigure from scratch.

OE

No WAN remote access. I suspect the fix will be a hard reset. My configuration isn't terrible to recover, well the important stuff. I did have a lot of Static IPs, but that was more for home automation hardware, so not a big deal.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I did have a lot of Static IPs, but that was more for home automation hardware, so not a big deal.

Given the access issue and in case it matters... the router DHCP server IP Pool setting should include the dynamic and manually assigned IPs that the router assigns to clients; and exclude any static IPs you assign on clients.

OE

 

[joeschmuck]

Given the access issue and in case it matters... the router DHCP server IP Pool setting should include the dynamic and manually assigned IPs that the router assigns to clients; and exclude any static IPs you assign on clients.

OE

Agreed, that is what I'm doing. It's been fine for over 5 years, then this happens. I will find out more tomorrow when the new router shows up.

 

[Ripshod]

On a tangent, do you have a VPN active on the device(s) you've tried access with?

 

[joeschmuck]

On a tangent, do you have a VPN active on the device(s) you've tried access with?

Nope, no VPNs.

I'll take any questions because maybe someone will hit the mark for such an odd problem. After I get my new WiFi Router and get it installed, I will troubleshoot the malfunctioning router and post what I find. I know what will happen, tomorrow about 2 hours before the new router arrives, it will all start working again, and I will not be able to force the failure again. Just like when my kids get sick and I take them to see a doctor but now no fever, the Doc can't find anything wrong. Well I hope it is malfunctioning. My connection to the LAN connection is pretty much straight, one non-programmable switch.

The weird part is I cannot access any hardware directly. IPMI, NAS GUI, Router, a digital clock, nothing. Thankfully the router is passing internet traffic. And I tried via a direct connection with my main computer and WiFi on my laptop. No dice.

 

[joeschmuck]

Follow-up: I got the new Asus RT-BE92U Router an a few hours ago, I was still unable to access my original router, or anything on the LAN directly.
Next I configured the new router, fairly simple, but I still need to setup some port forwarding. The only problem I had was the password requirements, "No repeating characters", which killed me as I wanted to use my old password, but it has one repeating character.
Now the the new router was configured, I removed the old router, installed the new router. All is working.

After about an hour, I take the old ASUS RT-AX86U and directly connect it to my computer since the new router has the same LAN IP.

WTF? The RT-AX86U is working again. I didn't do anything to it. I did not do a reset, notta.

I reinstalled the old router, removed the new router and will let this thing run for a month to see if the problem returns. This router does have firmware 3004.388.11, so I must have updated it last month to the current version. If the problem does not return, I will power the router off and place it in a safe place as a backup. The new router has WiFi-7 and my new laptop does too, so why not use it. Hopefully Merlin will be developed for this new router. I understand it is a different platform, but I can still hope.

If the problem returns within the test period, I will update this thread and state any troubleshooting I performed.
What a strange problem. Honestly, I'd rather not have spent the money ($202 including delivery) for the new router if this one continues to work.

 

[Tech9]

Hopefully Merlin will be developed for this new router. I understand it is a different platform, but I can still hope.

You missed Post #5 above.

 

[joeschmuck]

You missed Post #5 above.

You are right, I did miss that. Then I guess I have to say, I hope that Merlin gets better but I'm not in a rush so I can wait. Also, I need to actually look at the ASUS firmware, maybe it meets my needs. Thankfully I do not use QoS. No need, just the wife an me.

 

[Tech9]

No need, just the wife an me.

You are collecting toys then. Do whatever makes you happy though.

 

[joeschmuck]

The router failure is back. Strange that it works almost fine, except for directly accessing the devices.

Here are the symptoms:
All internet connectivity is working.
All SMB Shares are working.
Laptop on WiFi works fine for above, but same problems listed below, and they use to work from the laptop over WiFi.
I cannot SSH into the NAS (static IP).
I cannot access the NAS GUI (static IP).
I cannot access the Router GUI (static IP).
I cannot access my clock GUI (static IP).
I cannot understand why a portion works and another doesn't. I don't think the static IP is the reason.

The firmware on the router has been there for over a month.
I will replace it with the new router shortly. First things, feed pets, feed myself.

 

[OzarkEdge]

WTF? The RT-AX86U is working again. I didn't do anything to it. I did not do a reset, notta.

The router failure is back

It never left.

I'm still waiting for the Hard Reset and minimal configuration from scratch test.

OE

 

[joeschmuck]

I'm still waiting for the Hard Reset and minimal configuration from scratch test.

Once the wife has finished watching her morning TV show. Before then I would be taking my life into my own hands.

 

[joeschmuck]

I'm throwing my hands in the air. I have no idea what is going on. Even the new router doesn't want to work. This means it is not the router.
I have disconnected everything and still cannot get to the Asus login screen, nor any other LAN IPs. I disconnected my NAS, used a different Ethernet port on my computer, used a different network switch (dumb), and still, no dice.

I was able to use my laptop to get the the Asus login screen, once I entered my credentials, it saite site can't be reached. This is via WiFi.

My mind is blown. The same thing happens on the new router. Wow!

I have reinstalled the original router since I am unable to setup some port forwarding. That is working on the old router.

This whole thing started exactly when in TrueNAS Scale, I disabled the Tailscale App, it wasn't going fast and then the computer rebooted. Problems ever since. But if that computer is disconnected from the network, the problem still exists.

When I get an opportunity to get back into the TrueNAS GUI, I will delete the Tailscale App, maybe that will do some magic.

Summary:
Using two different routers, old and a brand new router, the internet and SMB shares work fine.
What does not work is being able to consistently log into local LAN IPs (Asus Router, TrueNAS, Digital Clock), or use SSH.

I have changed out the router, network switch, ethernet ports, used WiFi, I can't think of anything I missed.
I have reinstalled the TrueNAS OS.

I am now going to give it some time as I still need to repair a flat tire, then come back and see how things are going.

My next move is to search the internet more and if nothing comes up, uninstall the latest Windows Update.
Why? Because my TrueNAS CLI can ping my digital clock and the Router but Windows cannot. Maybe the issue was merely coincidental with a Windows or Norton Firewall updates. But I did disable Norton for and hour while messing with this.

Any advice is welcome.

 

[joeschmuck]

The problem is fixed.

What apparently happened is when I disabled the Tailscale App in TrueNAS, and the computer magically rebooted itself which should not have happened, this someone messed up the Tailscale routes on my main computer and laptop, meaning it must have done something to the Tailscale routes in the cloud to affect both computers. Disabling the Tailscale Tunnel resolved the problem. I uninstalled Tailscale on everything, all is working again. Why did it work sometimes? I suspect that when I had a computer disconnected long enough, tailscale no longer had valid routes and it worked, until it resynced, possibly. I'm not a Tailscale expert, nor a networking expert in the least.

Strange problem, but I started troubleshooting from when I first noticed the issue. It was not the router. Guess I have a backup router now.

This problem is now closed, it had nothing to do with the router or Merlin at all.

 

[killweav]

The problem is fixed.

What apparently happened is when I disabled the Tailscale App in TrueNAS, and the computer magically rebooted itself which should not have happened, this someone messed up the Tailscale routes on my main computer and laptop, meaning it must have done something to the Tailscale routes in the cloud to affect both computers. Disabling the Tailscale Tunnel resolved the problem. I uninstalled Tailscale on everything, all is working again. Why did it work sometimes? I suspect that when I had a computer disconnected long enough, tailscale no longer had valid routes and it worked, until it resynced, possibly. I'm not a Tailscale expert, nor a networking expert in the least.

Strange problem, but I started troubleshooting from when I first noticed the issue. It was not the router. Guess I have a backup router now.

This problem is now closed, it had nothing to do with the router or Merlin at all.

Following this thread with enthusiasm. Don't beat yourself up. I've been there. I too now have a 2nd router because of misdiagnosis. (Mine was a failing desktop NIC.) Worked in IT since the 1990s (retired now). When you've been at it long enough, you learn to forgive yourself. The up side? You now have a Wifi 7 tri-band router. I now have two BE92U units. One main router (Merlin) and another media bridge (stock firmware) serving 3 living room entertainment devices via ethernet (1 gig link on each device) upstream to a 6ghz network bridge that's connected at 5gbs link speed. Yes, the BE92U is a problem child of ASUS right now but in my case, those "quirks" (failures) don't apply to use case and they are great routers overall.

Don't use MLO, don't use QoS, and I have a 5ghz IoT guest network but it does not affect ethernet ports on the LAN. (Not using AP isolated.)

Merlin is the firmware of choice specifically because of memory management and scripts usage. RAM usage w/Merlin is better managed IMO. Stock is fine for bridge mode.

Glad you figured this thing out. Put your dual band router to work as a node somewhere on your network. Take down any old wifi enabled printers that work only on 2..4 ghz band with WPA2 only, and put it on a bridge connected on 5ghz with WPA3. As one option of many to consider.

Cheers.