Run5k
Occasional Visitor
I have been running an ASUS RT-AC68U router utilizing Merlin's firmware for several years, and it has been remarkably stable. I will literally reboot it once-a-year for preventive maintenance, but that is typically the extent of my intervention.
A couple of days after my traditional January 1st reboot, I noticed that I couldn't reach one of the IT-based web pages that I visit on a regular basis, How To Geek. I received an error that said "Secure Connection Failed." I assumed that the web masters didn't update their site certificates, but continued to troubleshoot as follows:
By any chance, is this a known issue or have any of you encountered something similar?
A couple of days after my traditional January 1st reboot, I noticed that I couldn't reach one of the IT-based web pages that I visit on a regular basis, How To Geek. I received an error that said "Secure Connection Failed." I assumed that the web masters didn't update their site certificates, but continued to troubleshoot as follows:
- I tried to access the web page from Firefox and Edge within Windows 10 on two different computers (both an Ethernet connection as well as WiFi), Firefox and Safari on an iPhone, using a Chromebook, and even my wife's Kindle. None of those devices would reach https://www.howtogeek.com/ successfully.
- I had stayed on Merlin's firmware version 380.58_0 for several years because it has been rock-solid.
- I decided this was an ideal opportunity to upgrade the firmware, so I downloaded Merlin's 386.12_4, upgraded the firmware, and performed a factory reset immediately afterwards. Before customizing any router settings other than the default password and WiFi, I tried again from my hardwired desktop computer but still couldn't reach that one web page.
- It doesn't appear to be a DNS issue, because I was using my ISP's servers for years without any problem. However, just to be thorough I also tried switching to Cloudflare DNS servers, but that didn't alleviate the problem, either. Regardless of the DNS servers an nslookup command prompt query on howtogeek.com always resolved.
- Every other web page that my family typically uses resolves without any problems at all.
- Our connection is still reliable and relatively fast, consistently clocking about 595 Mbps download on Speedtest.net.
- Notably, if I open a portable Tor Browser and navigate to howtogeek.com from there, it does work! While in there, I noticed that the howtogeek.com certificate had been renewed on January 3rd with LetsEncrypt.
- The router's firewall is enabled, but URL Filter, Keyword Filter, and Network Services Filter are all disabled.
- In the interest of thorough troubleshooting I also got around to rebooting the separate cable modem, but the problem persists.
- Last but not least, I took a laptop down to the patch panel closet, bypassed the router completely, rebooted the cable modem again, and connected the laptop directly to the cable modem via an Ethernet cable. That configuration does work, also.
By any chance, is this a known issue or have any of you encountered something similar?
Last edited: