Asus RT-AX68U "hangs" about once per day

[ojigi]

My home network consists of RT-AX68U (latest Merlin) and mesh node RT-AC68U (latest stock firmware).

Since a while back (a few months) I started having issues with my network and that clients lost connection. Only for me having to reboot the router.

In the attached log after line 991:

"Dec 22 12:03:37 avahi-daemon[1332]: Service "RT-AX68U-4" (/tmp/avahi/services/alexa.service) successfully established."

is where I had to restart the router and then the timestamp for the log is May 5th until time is synced with ntp.

Dec 22 12:03:21 ovpn-server1[1875]: TCP connection established with [AF_INET]31.43.185.66:45765
Dec 22 12:03:21 ovpn-server1[1875]: 31.43.185.66:45765 WARNING: Bad encapsulated packet length from peer (5635), which must be > 0 and <= 1768 -- please ensure that --tun-mtu or --link-mtu is equal on both peers -- this condition could also indicate a possible active attack on the TCP link -- [Attempting restart...]
Dec 22 12:03:21 ovpn-server1[1875]: 31.43.185.66:45765 Connection reset, restarting [0]
Dec 22 12:03:21 ovpn-server1[1875]: 31.43.185.66:45765 SIGUSR1[soft,connection-reset] received, client-instance restarting
Dec 22 12:03:32 avahi-daemon[1332]: Withdrawing address record for 192.168.102.1 on br2.
Dec 22 12:03:32 avahi-daemon[1332]: Withdrawing address record for 192.168.101.1 on br1.
Dec 22 12:03:32 avahi-daemon[1332]: Withdrawing address record for 127.0.1.1 on lo.
Dec 22 12:03:32 avahi-daemon[1332]: Withdrawing address record for 127.0.0.1 on lo.
Dec 22 12:03:32 avahi-daemon[1332]: Host name conflict, retrying with RT-AX68U-2
Dec 22 12:03:32 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 192.168.102.1 on br2.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:32 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 192.168.101.1 on br1.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:32 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 192.168.1.1 on br0.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:32 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 127.0.1.1 on lo.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:32 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 127.0.0.1 on lo.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:33 avahi-daemon[1332]: Server startup complete. Host name is RT-AX68U-2.local. Local service cookie is 2498432187.
Dec 22 12:03:33 avahi-daemon[1332]: Alias name "RT-AX68U" successfully established.
Dec 22 12:03:33 avahi-daemon[1332]: Withdrawing address record for 192.168.102.1 on br2.
Dec 22 12:03:33 avahi-daemon[1332]: Withdrawing address record for 192.168.101.1 on br1.
Dec 22 12:03:33 avahi-daemon[1332]: Withdrawing address record for 127.0.1.1 on lo.
Dec 22 12:03:33 avahi-daemon[1332]: Withdrawing address record for 127.0.0.1 on lo.
Dec 22 12:03:33 avahi-daemon[1332]: Host name conflict, retrying with RT-AX68U-3
Dec 22 12:03:33 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 192.168.102.1 on br2.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:33 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 192.168.101.1 on br1.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:33 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 192.168.1.1 on br0.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:33 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 127.0.1.1 on lo.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:33 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 127.0.0.1 on lo.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:34 avahi-daemon[1332]: Server startup complete. Host name is RT-AX68U-3.local. Local service cookie is 2498432187.
Dec 22 12:03:34 avahi-daemon[1332]: Alias name "RT-AX68U" successfully established.
Dec 22 12:03:35 avahi-daemon[1332]: Service "RT-AX68U-3" (/tmp/avahi/services/alexa.service) successfully established.
Dec 22 12:03:35 avahi-daemon[1332]: Withdrawing address record for 192.168.102.1 on br2.
Dec 22 12:03:35 avahi-daemon[1332]: Withdrawing address record for 192.168.101.1 on br1.
Dec 22 12:03:35 avahi-daemon[1332]: Withdrawing address record for 127.0.1.1 on lo.
Dec 22 12:03:35 avahi-daemon[1332]: Withdrawing address record for 127.0.0.1 on lo.
Dec 22 12:03:35 avahi-daemon[1332]: Host name conflict, retrying with RT-AX68U-4
Dec 22 12:03:35 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 192.168.102.1 on br2.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:35 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 192.168.101.1 on br1.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:35 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 192.168.1.1 on br0.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:35 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 127.0.1.1 on lo.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:35 avahi-daemon[1332]: Registering new address record for 127.0.0.1 on lo.IPv4.
Dec 22 12:03:36 avahi-daemon[1332]: Server startup complete. Host name is RT-AX68U-4.local. Local service cookie is 2498432187.
Dec 22 12:03:36 avahi-daemon[1332]: Alias name "RT-AX68U" successfully established.
Dec 22 12:03:37 avahi-daemon[1332]: Service "RT-AX68U-4" (/tmp/avahi/services/alexa.service) successfully established.

I notice here that avahi-daemon is having some problems here. And I reckon that Google Nest/Home devices use mDNS and I have issues with those devices disconnecting, restarting etc.
Could it be related?

Asus router in general and Merlin's mod have always worked well for me.

I'm literally out of ideas, so any help troubleshooting would be highly appreciated.

BR

 

[jtp10181]

I used to have similar issues with it locking up but not as often. I would do two things. Go to Administration > Policy, and WITHDRAW the second one (about Ai Protection...). What this does is turn off ALL the trend-micro stuff. I used to have to keep all this off until one of the more recent releases something with the memory was fixed and now I am back to using the adaptive QoS only.

Anyway...then I would unplug the router for 30+ seconds to do an electrical reset. I had found in the past my 5Ghz would just lock up and keep crashing until Merlin suggested this electrical reset which fixed it. Again, something with more recent updates resolved the problem so it does not happen anymore at all. My AX68U is very stable now (currently 28 days uptime).

If that helps you can then one by one turn back on any of the Trend Micro features that you want to use and then watch to see if the problem returns.

 

[ojigi]

I used to have similar issues with it locking up but not as often. I would do two things. Go to Administration > Policy, and WITHDRAW the second one (about Ai Protection...). What this does is turn off ALL the trend-micro stuff. I used to have to keep all this off until one of the more recent releases something with the memory was fixed and now I am back to using the adaptive QoS only.

Anyway...then I would unplug the router for 30+ seconds to do an electrical reset. I had found in the past my 5Ghz would just lock up and keep crashing until Merlin suggested this electrical reset which fixed it. Again, something with more recent updates resolved the problem so it does not happen anymore at all. My AX68U is very stable now (currently 28 days uptime).

If that helps you can then one by one turn back on any of the Trend Micro features that you want to use and then watch to see if the problem returns.

Thanks for the tip. It became a lot more stable. Had an uptime of approx 7 days before it stopped working again. Then it was another few days.
I'll will monitor again and post the log here. I really do appreciate your input because I had no idea of where to go next.

 

[ojigi]

The issues have been picking up again lately. Router hangs/freezes and all connections are lost (ping to router or Internet does not work).
Firmware: 3004.388.10_2 (latest)

Today it hang around Nov 15th 15:34. It's not obvious to me what to look for but I same some stuff and it was confirmed by ChatGPT:

Yep — there’s a smoking gun in the logs right when things died.

• At 15:37:15 the kernel reports a crash: “potentially unexpected fatal signal 11 … PID 3613 amas_lib” (that’s ASUS’s mesh/AMAS process). A segfault in amas_lib can take down Wi-Fi control and routing, which matches your “no ping / no Internet” symptom.
• Just seconds before, you can see clients being dropped and reauthing (disassoc + DHCP chatter), consistent with the control plane wobbling right before the crash.
• In the minutes leading up to it (15:34:38), the kernel is also spamming FCACHEfc_vblog_list_add ERROR: Duplicate blog messages — likely from the Broadcom flow cache/acceleration path. These errors precede the crash and may be related.

What this points to

A software crash in the mesh/AMAS component around 15:37 likely caused the freeze/hang you saw at ~15:35–15:37. The duplicate “FCACHE” errors just before it may indicate the hardware acceleration/flow cache was in a bad state, culminating in the amas_lib segfault.

Any pointers/ideas on what I can do to stabilize my router?

 

[Ripshod]

The issues have been picking up again lately. Router hangs/freezes and all connections are lost (ping to router or Internet does not work).
Firmware: 3004.388.10_2 (latest)

Today it hang around Nov 15th 15:34. It's not obvious to me what to look for but I same some stuff and it was confirmed by ChatGPT:



Any pointers/ideas on what I can do to stabilize my router?

Your syslog stops at 15:35:06 and therefore contains nothing relevant.

 

[dosborne]

Any pointers/ideas on what I can do to stabilize my router?

The first suggestion is always to try with a baseline. Remove any devices (USB sticks etc), reset the router to factory defaults and try a minimal configuration (only the *ABSOLUTE* basic settings necessary).

See if it provides stability.

I'd even recommend dropping the mesh as a test. Start with the basics and add in complexity until it breaks. Just performing the reset and manual configuration has resolved many similar cases.

 

[Donga120]

Do you have any Ring devices?

 

[ojigi]

Do you have any Ring devices?

No.

 

[Tech9]

Is the behaviour same with latest stock firmware for RT-AX68U?

 

[ojigi]

Is the behaviour same with latest stock firmware for RT-AX68U?

I haven't tried. Can I import the current configuration or must I redo all the configuration?

Quite a lot of configuration with static IPs (for cameras, smart home with HA etc), so that's why I have been reluctant to factory reset etc unless really necessary.

 

[Tech9]

You have to reset your router to factory defaults. Save your Asuswrt-Merlin configuration in case you want to restore it later. This specific router was a dud from introduction and was discontinued fast. If it doesn't work properly with factory firmware - better look for replacement options. The main issue is rare radio configuration and weak support from Broadcom upstream.

 

[ojigi]

Ok. Considering just saving me some time as I have issues with Chromecasts etc as well.

What should I get instead?

Can I use the RT-AX68U as Mesh node or issues there as well?

 

[Tech9]

I don't know about node role. This router model had long run of wireless related issues in the past. Your other router is almost e-waste as well. If time is more important than money - upgrade the entire system. Unfortunately, I personally can't recommend any ASUS Wi-Fi 7 class products at the moment due to unresolved software issues. They may or may not be relevant to your use case.