Asus RT-AC66R - 3.0.0.4.374.979 fw

[NachoZoolndr]

anyone tried this yet? why isn't it available for the RT-AC66U ?

Description ASUS RT-AC66R Firmware version 3.0.0.4.374.979

Fixed:
1. Fixed throughput issue when VPN server broadcast is enabled.
2. Fixed DNS Amplified DDoS vulnerability.

Modified:
1. Disable auto mac clone for Singpore SKU.

Added:
1. Roaming assistance option in wireless->professional. Administrator can define the disconnection RSSI threshold. It can help client switch to better signal AP faster in multiple AP environment.

 

[RMerlin]

Damn. There goes my weekend I guess.

 

[krum]

Damn. There goes my weekend I guess.

You need a weekend.

 

[NachoZoolndr]

Damn. There goes my weekend I guess.

sorry man, that was not my intent. I appreciate the work you put in. Maybe take the weekend off anyways, and wait a couple days.

 

[RMerlin]

sorry man, that was not my intent. I appreciate the work you put in. Maybe take the weekend off anyways, and wait a couple days.

If I'm "lucky", Asus won't publish the GPL code in time for the weekend

Anyway, I mostly meant that this is something I would play with if only out of personal interest. If changes are quite minor, it would probably still wait a few weeks, either for a more important update, or to be merged in the next release whenever that would happen.

Judging from the changelog, this does look like a minor update.

 

[cmillar6]

I can't believe the pace of firmware development for Asus routers, between Merlin and Asus builds I'm starting to lose track. I'm going to sit back and enjoy Merlin's 374.33 build, my Roku and NHL Game Center for awhile, my AC66u is working just perfectly.

 

[RMerlin]

I can't believe the pace of firmware development for Asus routers, between Merlin and Asus builds I'm starting to lose track.

And Asus has no intention to stop there. There's more coming.

Benefits of a common codebase. Time they spend on features benefits ALL their devices, so it means they can have one team working on stuff that will apply to multiple different devices. That helps a lot to implement new features rather than wasting time fixing a bunch of different firmwares (which is why many other manufacturers will simply stop supporting a device after 18 months and move on).

 

[tl2k2]

And Asus has no intention to stop there. There's more coming.

Benefits of a common codebase. Time they spend on features benefits ALL their devices, so it means they can have one team working on stuff that will apply to multiple different devices. That helps a lot to implement new features rather than wasting time fixing a bunch of different firmwares (which is why many other manufacturers will simply stop supporting a device after 18 months and move on).

man, i wish my router have that 18 months support, bough an R6250 and waited forever for them to fix the internet drop then that's it. bought it when it launch by the way, and performance degrade over time i have to reboot my router every week or something to get it run fast again, that's why i'm next router is asus, been waiting for a long time the ac68 but hold off for now because of the usb3.0 shield.

 

[RMerlin]

man, i wish my router have that 18 months support, bough an R6250 and waited forever for them to fix the internet drop then that's it. bought it when it launch by the way, and performance degrade over time i have to reboot my router every week or something to get it run fast again, that's why i'm next router is asus, been waiting for a long time the ac68 but hold off for now because of the usb3.0 shield.

The shield thing is just a theory at this point. Asus has a firmware update coming that will improve USB 3.0 performance.

 

[sm00thpapa]

Love Asus as they support all of their routers until it's dying breathe. Kind of like TP-Link as well. As I have a TL-WR842ND in my network and in the last year it has had 3 firmware upgrades. Other then Asus TP-Link is my go to brand of choice for network equipment.

 

[joltdude]

Roaming Assistance feature migrated to AC66 from AC68

I was wondering if the AC66U was going to get the roaming assistance from the AC68U.... Guess this answers that question..



Version 3.0.0.4.374.979

Description ASUS RT-AC66U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.374.979
Fixed:
1. Fixed throughput issue when VPN server broadcast is enabled.
2. Fixed DNS Amplified DDoS vulnerability.

Modified:
1. Disable auto mac clone for Singpore SKU.

Added:
1. Roaming assistance option in wireless->professional. Administrator can define the disconnection RSSI threshold. It can help client switch to better signal AP faster in multiple AP environment.

 

[PrivateJoker]

I was wondering if the AC66U was going to get the roaming assistance from the AC68U.... Guess this answers that question..

I wonder if all of one's APs must have that capability in order to make use of it. If my RT-N66 will let me detach from it a little sooner, great I pick up my alternate (non Asus) AP, but hypothetically it's not going to release me any sooner enabling quicker re-attachment to Asus AP?

I've always had best results w/ unified SSIDs between multiple APs, but I will load this f/w (maybe by end of weekend) and see if having that feature on only one of my APs (using different SSIDs) is a benefit to be had.

 

[doubleroll]

Just installed this new version on my AC66R...so far looks good. Haven't tried the new feature yet not sure that I need it. I may have a bit better signal on the 2.4 band with Merlins 33 build. More testing needed before I can say for sure. Great that ASUS is continuing to support and add features!

 

[MrSinatra]

I hate to be a wet blanket, but I just had a near catastrophe and total panic.

I did the last FW as described, the 726, with the full reset button and everything, and that's a pain b/c you can't restore previous settings like DHCP reservations, but I did it to do it "right" anyway.

so then I see this update, 979, and do it, and my router basically bricks. I couldn't even get the Ethernet to work, (and yes, I had that previously setup properly via reservation)

I had to scramble to figure out that I had to manually assign the IP and run the recovery tool, and luckily it did work and to my delight all my settings seem to be there, including my reservations most importantly.

but this is now becoming a concern... I expect these upgrades to go smoothly and not require start from scratch resets or recovery tools. I hope this is an anomaly and not the new routine.

 

[RMerlin]

I hate to be a wet blanket, but I just had a near catastrophe and total panic.

I did the last FW as described, the 726, with the full reset button and everything, and that's a pain b/c you can't restore previous settings like DHCP reservations, but I did it to do it "right" anyway.

so then I see this update, 979, and do it, and my router basically bricks. I couldn't even get the Ethernet to work, (and yes, I had that previously setup properly via reservation)

I had to scramble to figure out that I had to manually assign the IP and run the recovery tool, and luckily it did work and to my delight all my settings seem to be there, including my reservations most importantly.

but this is now becoming a concern... I expect these upgrades to go smoothly and not require start from scratch resets or recovery tools. I hope this is an anomaly and not the new routine.

What you experienced was probably just a flash failure. The flash from 726 to 979 should be straightforward, the flash process might have failed for some reason.

Note that you don't need to setup a manual IP when using the Firmware Recovery tool - only if you intend to use the mini web interface rather than the tool.

This router is very hard to brick.

 

[virtueme]

First look at this firmware was bad. Daring as I was I enabled the RSSI feature on both the the AP and the repeater. That didn't go well. Reverted the AP back to disabled RSSI. But I could not get the repeater to work. The strangest thing to discover was that the repeater had disabled both bands, and only wired communication was enabled. Took a factory restore and configured it again, and now it's much faster then before. But that can be because all other wireless equipment isn't connected after the wireless shutdown.

There is some change, before I could operate the bands on the AP and the repeater with different channels. But now I can only have different channels on the 2.4 band and the channel on the 5 Ghz band follows each other. I tried to change it on the AP and at once the repeater changed it's channel to the same. It might be because the repeater function kicks in. This seems changed from the last firmware.

Looking forward to see if my required reboots stops occurring

 

[MrSinatra]

What you experienced was probably just a flash failure. The flash from 726 to 979 should be straightforward, the flash process might have failed for some reason.

my web browser told me the flash operation was done and I should reboot the router. I wonder if it sent that msg too soon? idk, but something failed for sure.

Note that you don't need to setup a manual IP when using the Firmware Recovery tool - only if you intend to use the mini web interface rather than the tool.

This router is very hard to brick.

I'm afraid you are wrong on that point. I could not get to the router via wireless or wired when leaving my win7 in the default "auto config ip" I always have it in. I did not even know about the existence of a "mini web interface," so I was trying to use the "Firmware Restoration" tool, which I assume is what u are calling the firmware recovery tool.

only when I set the ip manually, (an idea I got from the actual router manual pdf which says to do so), was I able to reach the router enough to try to "reflash" 979 using the Firmware Restoration tool and luckily my settings preserved.

 

[RMerlin]

I've done tons of recoveries while developing, never had to set my interface on the same subnet as the router.

 

[MrSinatra]

I've done tons of recoveries while developing, never had to set my interface on the same subnet as the router.

I believe you, but I don't know what else to say. until I manually set the IP, it didn't work. once I manually set the IP, it did.

why is it in the manual tho if not necessary? and i'm glad it is in there, b/c that's what I did to make it go.

ps. just so its clear, I am in awe of your abilities, you clearly know your stuff, and I can't program in any deep way. but i'm just reporting what I observed.

 

[RogerSC]

I believe you, but I don't know what else to say. until I manually set the IP, it didn't work. once I manually set the IP, it did.

why is it in the manual tho if not necessary? and i'm glad it is in there, b/c that's what I did to make it go.

ps. just so its clear, I am in awe of your abilities, you clearly know your stuff, and I can't program in any deep way. but i'm just reporting what I observed.

Glad that this worked for you, but I've also done a lot of flashes using recovery mode, and never had to do anything with my router's IP address.

Do you have your router's IP address set to something other than the default (192.168.1.1)? Maybe that's what you're experiencing, don't know.