Asus ZenWifi CT8 backhaul connection drops and never reconnects

[wifiargh]

I got the two node CT8 two days ago and am having significant problems keeping the secondary node connected.

Using the default settings (combined 2.4 and 5Ghz), the secondary node just refuses to hold a connection to the primary on the backhaul network (5Ghz-2). Sometimes it will disconnect within minutes and never reconnect. The LED on the secondary always shows solid white as if it thinks it is happily connected. This even occurs if the devices are in the same room (3m apart) and it says the signal quality is "great".

I did upgrade the firmware to the latest ( 3.0.0.4.386_22245 ) but the issue was happening before.

I did try one change - which was to disable "Roaming assistant" on the 5GHz-2 network and maybe that is helping to keep a longer connection but when I got up this morning the connection was permanently dropped again.

Before I return the units to Amazon, I'm wondering if there is anything I should try. If there are simple suggestions to get it stable I'd be interested because I otherwise really like Asus routers.

• Should I try a hardware reset and reconfiguration (how do you do this)?
• Should I try switching the nodes around?
• Could this be a hardware issue and should I get a replacement rather than refund?

 

[wifiargh]

I just tried pressing the reset button and power cycling the secondary and now it can't even be detected as an AiMesh node and has no wifi but bizarrely it has internet when I plug a laptop into the LAN port. It also seems to be dropping the internet on that connection every few minutes.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I got the two node CT8 two days ago and am having significant problems keeping the secondary node connected.

Using the default settings (combined 2.4 and 5Ghz), the secondary node just refuses to hold a connection to the primary on the backhaul network (5Ghz-2). Sometimes it will disconnect within minutes and never reconnect. The LED on the secondary always shows solid white as if it thinks it is happily connected. This even occurs if the devices are in the same room (3m apart) and it says the signal quality is "great".

I did upgrade the firmware to the latest ( 3.0.0.4.386_22245 ) but the issue was happening before.

I did try one change - which was to disable "Roaming assistant" on the 5GHz-2 network and maybe that is helping to keep a longer connection but when I got up this morning the connection was permanently dropped again.

Before I return the units to Amazon, I'm wondering if there is anything I should try. If there are simple suggestions to get it stable I'd be interested because I otherwise really like Asus routers.

• Should I try a hardware reset and reconfiguration (how do you do this)?
• Should I try switching the nodes around?
• Could this be a hardware issue and should I get a replacement rather than refund?

It's not a settings issue.

Did you reset the firmware before configuring it?

I'd try re-commissioning the network from scratch, starting with a firmware reset. Don't configure the remote node, just search/add it.

I prefer to use the webUI Restore w/Initialize to reset the firmware.

OE

 

[wifiargh]

It's not a settings issue.

Did you reset the firmware before configuring it?

I'd try re-commissioning the network from scratch, starting with a firmware reset. Don't configure the remote node, just search/add it.

I prefer to use the webUI Restore w/Initialize to reset the firmware.

OE

Thanks. I tried a factory reset on the router node via the web GUI (with intialize option set). For the secondary, since there is no GUI, I did a power cycle reset (where you hold the reset button and cycle power). I then swapped them round on the WAN side and reran the configuration wizard using a LAN connection to the router (previously secondary) node, keeping the secondary now within 2 metres. Everything seemed good but within 2 hours the router had dropped out and the secondary showed a red light. This is the first time the router node has dropped out (white light but all wifi connections dropped and no internet over LAN) and also the first time the secondary has indicated with a red light, which leads me to believe it is a hardware fault with the (now) router node in particular. So I'm going to return the pair for a replacement.

 

[L&LD]

Fully Reset Router and Network

New M&M 2020

How to Connect an AiMesh Node

 

[OzarkEdge]

Thanks. I tried a factory reset on the router node via the web GUI (with intialize option set). For the secondary, since there is no GUI, I did a power cycle reset (where you hold the reset button and cycle power). I then swapped them round on the WAN side and reran the configuration wizard using a LAN connection to the router (previously secondary) node, keeping the secondary now within 2 metres. Everything seemed good but within 2 hours the router had dropped out and the secondary showed a red light. This is the first time the router node has dropped out (white light but all wifi connections dropped and no internet over LAN) and also the first time the secondary has indicated with a red light, which leads me to believe it is a hardware fault with the (now) router node in particular. So I'm going to return the pair for a replacement.

A normal reset button reset is sufficient. Or a hard reset. Either way, follow the instructions:

Reset Button/webUI Restore
WPS Button Hard Reset

The issue following the hardware is suspicious.

OE

 

[wifiargh]

Thanks for the information. I've had the faulty secondary disconnected for a day. I plugged it in today and it was not responding and had a solid purple light. I'm getting replacement units on Tuesday, so hopefully I can start again and it will work out this time.