Release ASUS ZenWiFi XT8 Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386.49873 (2022/08/04)

[Dd852]

I lazily tried to upgrade over the previous version and that behaved very badly, so I factory reset all and now I’ve gone about 30 hours perfectly - rock solid. Router plus 2 in a daisy chain.

 

[IAmImagined]

I lazily tried to upgrade over the previous version and that behaved very badly, so I factory reset all and now I’ve gone about 30 hours perfectly - rock solid. Router plus 2 in a dash chain.

Indeed, if I am not having any problems with a particular firmware version, I'll update to a new version over the previous. But with all the problems of the previous version of this firmware, I upgraded then factory-reset as you did, and I've now run for almost 48 hours without problems: excellent speed, with no fall-back in my 160MHz wireless backhaul, and no device disconnects.

 

[Chippy_boy]

Respectfully, before you do that, I recommend installing this new firmware on all nodes, then doing a factory-reset, and manually re-initialise, changing the minimum amount of backhaul settings that you have to for your situation. This gives you the chance to fully test the new firmware on its standard (factory) settings. The factory settings can and do change between firmware releases, and ASUS changes them to make it more stable. If you just upgrade on top of a previous version, you are keeping all the old settings, and those can contribute to it not working as solidly as it should.

I'm using my two 2021-model XT8s on this firmware with the 160MHz backhaul, and it seems solid - no fall-backs to 80 MHz or 2.4 GHz so far. After a reset, the only changes I made to the factory defaults for the backhaul are that I changed it to "AX only" and channel bandwidth "160 MHz" (only).

No doubt that is the correct, textbook advice.

But to be honest, it's a right pain the **** resetting everthing and re-entering all your settings. Not to mention the hassle of re-establishing the mesh network and the difficult MANY people have in adding nodes to the mesh.

I upgraded from 42095, which was roughly a year old, and went straight to 48706 with no reset or anything, just whacked it on the top. And it's been faultless since. Several others have done the same. Maybe not recommended but saved a LOAD of unnecessary hassle, and certainly worth a shot, I think. People can always do a factory reset if it doesn't work.

 

[IAmImagined]

No doubt that is the correct, textbook advice.

But to be honest, it's a right pain the **** resetting everthing and re-entering all your settings.

Totally agree, and if you upgrade and everything is fine - especially if upgrading from a version that works fine - then I often do the same.

But if upgrading from a series of versions that had problems, or if experiencing problems after an upgrade, then the only way to properly evaluate the new version is to reset and re-enter. Otherwise it is meaningless to say the version is no good, or to roll-back without giving it a chance at a proper evaluation.

This is a case of a series of problem versions, so with this new version I reset - and I noticed a number of the default settings were different from previous versions -, and so far I have not been disappointed... solid performance, no backhaul fall-backs. I have a large number of settings I needed to make, and it can take up to half an hour to make them all (fortunately I document with screen shots), but this way I get a setup based on how ASUS will have tested it, and what it costs in hassle, it pays back in stability and performance.

Sometimes textbooks are written for a reason.

 

[Raven76]

I upgraded without reset. No problems at all, as it should be!
In my opinion, it is simply absurd to think that it is a good thing to reset a router everytime there is a new firmware!
And if that's really the only way, then Asus has really made a less than mediocre product.

 

[IAmImagined]

I upgraded without reset. No problems at all, as it should be!
In my opinion, it is simply absurd to think that it is a good thing to reset a router everytime there is a new firmware!
And if that's really the only way, then Asus has really made a less than mediocre product.

Again, I agree, and I generally do the same. However, I reset when the version I came from gave problems - especially if several versions in a row report problems (as in this case) - or if I experience problems in the new version which other users don't.

 

[IAmImagined]

After 2½ days, in the middle of the night and for no apparent reason, the wireless backhaul fell back to the 2.4GHz band. I'm examining settings now.
I notice that the 'control channel' for the 5GHz-2 band can only be set to 'auto' on this firmware, if 160MHz-only is selected.

 

[Samoorai]

Everything worked fine at first, with 160 MHz channel bandwidth and great speed ...

But unfortunately with me the same, after about 35 hours a problem with the wireless backhaul occurred that the speed is totally collapsed although still 160 MHz bandwidth for the mesh node connection is displayed in the log. Not a single DFS event occurred in the whole time. However, there was no fallback to 2.4GHz. After a reboot everything is running fine for about 6 hours now.
My adjusted settings for the 5GHz-2 band are for Wireless Mode AX only and for Channel Bandwith 160 MHz only. The Control Channel is set to auto because in fact no fixed channel can be set.

I wish there would soon be a reliable solution for the wireless backhaul.

 

[bbunge]

Everything worked fine at first, with 160 MHz channel bandwidth and great speed ...

But unfortunately with me the same, after about 35 hours a problem with the wireless backhaul occurred that the speed is totally collapsed although still 160 MHz bandwidth for the mesh node connection is displayed in the log. Not a single DFS event occurred in the whole time. However, there was no fallback to 2.4GHz. After a reboot everything is running fine for about 6 hours now.
My adjusted settings for the 5GHz-2 band are for Wireless Mode AX only and for Channel Bandwith 160 MHz only. The Control Channel is set to auto because in fact no fixed channel can be set.

I wish there would soon be a reliable solution for the wireless backhaul.

Set your 5 GHz to 20-40-80-160 and let the router, nodes and clients choose the best bandwidth. Forcing 160 MHz can be problematic.

 

[Samoorai]

I tried that, but the connection is even more unstable and often falls back to 2.4GHz.

Unfortunately, so far all official firmware versions are very unstable in terms of wireless backhaul.
I used the beta firmware 9.0.1.4.386.46197 for quite a while before. This is the only firmware with which there are no wireless backhaul problems. Even the 160MHz operation for the backhaul is rock solid.

 

[IAmImagined]

Set your 5 GHz to 20-40-80-160 and let the router, nodes and clients choose the best bandwidth. Forcing 160 MHz can be problematic.

What's your explanation for this, if there is a strong signal, no interference, good/stable weather and no DFS events? If it's still "problematic" then the problem is with the firmware.

 

[Raven76]

Try using the 20/40/80 bandwidth setting, without the 160.

 

[IAmImagined]

Try using the 20/40/80 bandwidth setting, without the 160.

Because...?

 

[Raven76]

To see if the stability improves...
I've never used 160mhz for backhaul (my internet connection is greatly under the maximum WiFi connection at 80mhz)

 

[bbunge]

What's your explanation for this, if there is a strong signal, no interference, good/stable weather and no DFS events? If it's still "problematic" then the problem is with the firmware.

You really do not know if there are RADAR bounces. Logs do not tell everything.
Strong signals can be interrupted. Have a microwave or cordless phone?
Weather? Lightning?
Do you really know more than the engineers who designed the equipment? Even tech support can be lacking in knowledge as they read from scripts of known issues. Always a good idea to go back to defaults.

 

[IAmImagined]

You really do not know if there are RADAR bounces. Logs do not tell everything.
Strong signals can be interrupted. Have a microwave or cordless phone?
Weather? Lightning?
Do you really know more than the engineers who designed the equipment? Even tech support can be lacking in knowledge as they read from scripts of known issues. Always a good idea to go back to defaults.

Don't live anywhere near an airport, the weather was mild and dry, we (and our neighbours) have no cordless phones, and we weren't operating the microwave at 2.45 in the morning.

 

[IAmImagined]

To see if the stability improves...
I've never used 160mhz for backhaul (my internet connection is greatly under the maximum WiFi connection at 80mhz)

Our Internet connection is much faster, and the connection/throughput to devices drops significantly with an 80MHz backhaul... that's why I bought the XT8s instead of going with a previous model.

 

[Mikester]

Has anyone used this new firmware version will a WPA Pre-Shared key password longer than 32 characters?

 

[stephan1827]

Has anybody figured out what this is?

4. Supported Safe Browsing in the router app to filter explicit content from search results. You can set it in the router app --> Devices or Family.

I cant find any changes to the previous version...

 

[macoloco]

i just want to know this too....plz

i am now in a beta version just to solve this problem, can anyone confirm this bug is solved.

thanx a lot in advance

Does this firmware version solve the WPA Pre-Share key over 32 characters bug from version 3.0.0.4.386.48706?