ASUS RT-AC86U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.384.81039

[Stephen Harrington]

Never heard about patience?
And keep in mind there are some issues with this release, maybe US prevents their customers to use this buggy firmware!

If indeed I needed (yet another) reason to remind myself not to jump blindly into upgrading firmware on critical devices to the "latest and greatest" this release would seem to be a timely reminder ... surprised they haven't "disappeared" it from everywhere. Luckily me being on Merlin releases nowadays I have an inbuilt "lag" and additional sanity checks/filters when it comes to Asus firmware. Another reason to support Eric, not that we needed yet more excuses ...

 

[organshifter]

The firmware still not listed on Asus USA site for 68U as of writing this post! It’s been 5 days!

Also, on the USA site, don't rely on the BIOS & FIRMWARE tab to display the latest version. It can often be a hit or miss. Instead, use the Driver & Tools tab, and select the OS. It's been much more reliable for me anyway.

 

[sdmf74]

81039 was not added to the asus download page for the 68u till late last night or earlier today, I too at first thought it was a mistake (possibly asus screwed up live update) because Asus took so long to add it... well and because they decided to give it the same exact firmware number

 

[organshifter]

81039 was not added to the asus download page for the 68u till late last night or earlier today, I too at first thought it was a mistake (possibly asus screwed up live update) because Asus took so long to add it... well and because they decided to give it the same exact firmware number

It's still not listed under BIOS & FIRMWARE on the USA site.

 

[sdmf74]

Yeah I always use the driver & tools section

 

[podkaracz]

I reverted back to previous after few days because of the weird spam in log and sluggish performance. First good impression was probably because i did not restart my router for 2 weeks and ram got buggy.

 

[tallytr]

I also reverted back to previous firmware, just like it better, nice and stable... 3.0.0.4.384.45717

 

[Tigerman82]

Had the issue with the lost 5GHz as well with my AC66U B1 when updating to this FW. Was going to leave it alone but noticed that Asus had deleted the FW and is now showing the previous FW as the newest. So I went ahead and downgraded. I can now see the 5GHz again.

By the way, did those of you who downgraded reset NVRAM or anything other than updating the FW and manually rebooting (well I pulled the plug and left the router alone for a minute)? I've never really downgraded FW with these routers before. I seem to recall people recommending the NVRAM reset but also mentioning that it's only needed when the newer FW conflicts with the older FW.

 

[OzarkEdge]

By the way, did those of you who downgraded reset NVRAM or anything other than updating the FW and manually rebooting (well I pulled the plug and left the router alone for a minute)? I've never really downgraded FW with these routers before. I seem to recall people recommending the NVRAM reset but also mentioning that it's only needed when the newer FW conflicts with the older FW.

81039 changes defaults for Roaming Assistant and Smart Connect and is buggy and crashes the webUI... you should factory default reset.

OE

 

[tallytr]

I simply rebooted, downgraded FW, then power cycled the router, everything like before for me.....

 

[netmann]

Also, on the USA site, don't rely on the BIOS & FIRMWARE tab to display the latest version. It can often be a hit or miss. Instead, use the Driver & Tools tab, and select the OS. It's been much more reliable for me anyway.

Just to let you know the US site still lists the Old firmware for Windows 8.1 Pro under "Driver & Tools", my daily OS...

 

[Tigerman82]

I simply rebooted, downgraded FW, then power cycled the router, everything like before for me.....

Looks like Asus removed FW 3.0.0.4.384.81039 from the website.
Version 3.0.0.4.384.45717 is now the latest version, go figure!

I played it safe and did a factory reset via the GUI. Luckily everything went smoothly and even my wireless Samsung MFP printer connected without having to sacrifice another few hours of my life figuring out why even with a static IP the printer sometimes have issues with connection.

Would probably try out Merlin's FW but as my router is AC66U B1, it apparently isn't compatible (though some folk got it working with AC68U FW).

 

[Grisu]

I played it safe and did a factory reset via the GUI. Luckily everything went smoothly and even my wireless Samsung MFP printer connected without having to sacrifice another few hours of my life figuring out why even with a static IP the printer sometimes have issues with connection.

Would probably try out Merlin's FW but as my router is AC66U B1, it apparently isn't compatible (though some folk got it working with AC68U FW).

66U_B1 got exactly same firmware files as 68U (only named differently) with same hardware (beside housing) and is fully compatible!

 

[sdmf74]

Always a good idea to do a factory reset after a flash. And yes Merlin's 384.13 is snappy and working great. Gonna test out the mesh a little further but so far no issues

 

[tallytr]

3.0.0.4.384.81039 is gone from the Asus webpage, at least I think?

 

[rrossorr]

It's gone ...

 

[podkaracz]

Thank god at least some1 is using brain and took this crap out. I was about to write how to stop auto upgrade from making my life miserable with forced buggy update.

 

[follower]

This is it! I am the winner right?
My family motto is Do Not Trust ASUS Without Any Exception. Someone told me
Remember, ASUS is Skynet. When ASUS comes online, Judgment Day begins. You can kill Skynet before it's born. I repeat 'ASUS is skynet and Axis of evil' when I wake up and before go to bed.

 

[sdmf74]

I just had to share this here since I had already mentioned how utterly useless Asus' tech support is. Any time I have ever had a problem & wrote tech support they just talk in circles and make the most ignorant suggestions & troubleshooting steps!
Most of the time the suggestions make no sense.
This is after my case has been escalated & I have done all their preliminary basic troubleshooting & sent them ALL the necessary logs & info. Oh And I have been telling them from the start that the firmware is definately the problem. This is the email I just got.

"My name is "" and it's my pleasure to help you with your problem.
I am writing this email to provide you an update about your ongoing case. Here's the recommendation of our engineer.
Please be advised to try saving current configurations as a CFG file (optional) if you would like to preserve a copy of the current settings/configurations (Router GUI -> Administration -> Restore/Save/Upload Setting -> Save), update the firmware to the latest version, proceed with a hard reset (reset button), DO NOT import any previously saved CFG file and setup everything again from the start.
If the problem persists, please use the router's built-in feedback option (GUI > Administration > Feedback) to send additional information for RD team to review."

This is utterly ridiculous & they need to do something about their "tech support".

He knows I have already done these steps & yet he tells me to save my configuration file then he says to do a hard reset but NOT import the settings! Thats not confusing.
And Of course I'm not gonna import my settings when there is a major problem & what's the point of saving those settings if I'm not gonna import them? Just so I can store them away for fun smh.
Then to top it off he tells me to use the built in feedback which I have already sent him with the case # notated along with every other possible log, which he apparently ignored.
They pulled the defective firmware already & he still wants to do step 1 troubleshooting...again wth.

 

[Andy1932]

I just had to share this here since I had already mentioned how utterly useless Asus' tech support is. Any time I have ever had a problem & wrote tech support they just talk in circles and make the most ignorant suggestions & troubleshooting steps!
Most of the time the suggestions make no sense.
This is after my case has been escalated & I have done all their preliminary basic troubleshooting & sent them ALL the necessary logs & info. Oh And I have been telling them from the start that the firmware is definately the problem. This is the email I just got.

"My name is "" and it's my pleasure to help you with your problem.
I am writing this email to provide you an update about your ongoing case. Here's the recommendation of our engineer.
Please be advised to try saving current configurations as a CFG file (optional) if you would like to preserve a copy of the current settings/configurations (Router GUI -> Administration -> Restore/Save/Upload Setting -> Save), update the firmware to the latest version, proceed with a hard reset (reset button), DO NOT import any previously saved CFG file and setup everything again from the start.
If the problem persists, please use the router's built-in feedback option (GUI > Administration > Feedback) to send additional information for RD team to review."

This is utterly ridiculous & they need to do something about their "tech support".

He knows I have already done these steps & yet he tells me to save my configuration file then he says to do a hard reset but NOT import the settings! Thats not confusing.
And Of course I'm not gonna import my settings when there is a major problem & what's the point of saving those settings if I'm not gonna import them? Just so I can store them away for fun smh.
Then to top it off he tells me to use the built in feedback which I have already sent him with the case # notated along with every other possible log, which he apparently ignored.
They pulled the defective firmware already & he still wants to do step 1 troubleshooting...again wth.

I know this isn't the answer you're looking for, but since we and ASUS all know the latest firmware is garbage, just revert back to the previous version and wait until they fix it. They will...eventually...