Beta ASUSWRT 386 RC2 public beta with full functions AiMesh 2.0

[D2theZ]

Is AIMesh 2.0 going to be supported on the Blue Cave?

 

[cc666]

If you are not using a mesh setup does this firmware offer any benefits? Speed, wireless drivers etc??

CC

 

[OzarkEdge]

If you are not using a mesh setup does this firmware offer any benefits? Speed, wireless drivers etc??

CC

Read the first post.

OE

 

[cc666]

Read the first post.

OE

So I guess the answer is NO unless you need:

1. Supports 802.11k/v (ZenWiFi already adopted before, this is for RT GT models.) (Don't have clients that use this)

3. WiFi time scheduler now the unit goes to 1 minute. (not needed)

Bug fixes:
1. VPN fusion bug fixes. (Don't use)
2. Offline client clean bug fixes.

Mainly focusing on the Mesh 2.0 unless I am reading this incorrectly.

CC

 

[OzarkEdge]

So I guess the answer is NO unless you need:

1. Supports 802.11k/v (ZenWiFi already adopted before, this is for RT GT models.) (Don't have clients that use this)

3. WiFi time scheduler now the unit goes to 1 minute. (not needed)

Bug fixes:
1. VPN fusion bug fixes. (Don't use)
2. Offline client clean bug fixes.

Mainly focusing on the Mesh 2.0 unless I am reading this incorrectly.

CC

It's a beta test... if your interest is 'what's in it for me now', the short answer is defects, bugs and disappointment.

But yeah, it seems to have an AiMesh 2.0 focus including proper guest networks (for IoT) and roaming protocols, and I wonder too, if it does tri-band differently/better since the packaged mesh competition seems to do tri-band (dedicated wireless backhauls) out of the gate.

OE

 

[Smokey613]

The guest network on AiMesh nodes is the one feature I am waiting on. I am just not too sure how good the support for my model routers will be. I finally put my 1900P node in AP mode to get my network configured like I wanted. At any case, it is interesting.

 

[RainGater96]

Anyone know what exactly happens when you restore a config? I asked this question earlier but no takers. So, here it goes again...

Would restoring a config do a "nvram erase" + load the config? I already went back to Merlin's build and restored the config but not sure whether there are bits and pieces of beta related config entries in the NVRAM lying around?

 

[Ole Vik]

I have now tested this RC2 for 4 days, and i'm having so much trouble with this. First of all, the router "crashes" several times a day, resulting in a reboot. I have tried both an XT8 and a AX92U as router and it happens to both. Feedback from the gui has been sent.

I could not get the mesh backhaul to stay consistent on 80 or 160 Mz bandwidth, Not even stable on the 5 GHz band, as the backhaul seemed to deteriorate over time, and end up choosing 2.4 GHz instead. I have done factory resets multiple times, and every time the system is perfect on startup. RSSI in the -40's between nodes and router, which should be perfect for a wireless backhaul of good quality. Even if the RSSI had been in the -50's or -60's, it should be good enough to stay at least at 5GHz, not switch to 2.4GHz. Whats even more irritating is that when it has fallen back to "OK" or "Poor" on backhaul signal quality, it never heals again. I have to reboot or re-add the nodes, then "magically" the signal strength is back to low -40's.

Forcing the 5GHz bands to use either 80 or 160 MHz (tried static and dynamic channel selection) does not work correctly, as nodes and clients still can end up on 40MHz. Its very rare to see any of the nodes use 160MHz backhaul, even when i set them up in the same room, 30 feet apart. I've tried all the tips and tricks mentioned in this forum (disable Wifi6, static bw/channel),

Its infuriating to have an expensive system (three XT8's) with so much promise, just to see stuff like this. I can't understand why signal strength and transferspeeds would deteriorate over time (well, within a day), as the house physics does not change. I had hoped that this RC2 would at least mitigate some of these issues, but sadly not.

As an experiment, i replaced them (AX92U and XT8's) temporarily with my "old" google mesh - and guess what.. After two days, i still get the same speed on all my clients as the day i set it up. Consistent speedtests all the time, no reboots or slowdowns. The Asus units are far superior to the Google system when "healthy", but my guess is that its a long way to go on these firmwares still.

 

[a-n-other]

Do you expect AiMesh 2.0 to come to the DSL-* models too, over time? eg, the DSL-AC68U as well as the supported RT-AC68U?
Thanks -

Support models:
RT-AC5300
RT-AC86U
RT-AC68U -> your are right, this models, this old model, we still support it.
RT-AX88U
RT-AC88U
RT-AX92U
GT-AC2900
GT-AC5300
GT-AX11000
ZenWiFi XT8 (RT-AX95Q)
(ZenWiFi CT8 will be later due to platform debugging.)

 

[JokerPower]

all bands will be released for coverage.

Does it mean that I will be able to configure all 3 bands to a single SSID?

Right now there are 2 separate settings pages for 2.4/5-1 Ghz and 5-2 GHz, and I can't put the same SSID for 5-2 GHz

Thanks

P.S. RT-AX92U (2-pack)

 

[drabisan]

Does it mean that I will be able to configure all 3 bands to a single SSID?

Right now there are 2 separate settings pages for 2.4/5-1 Ghz and 5-2 GHz, and I can't put the same SSID for 5-2 GHz

Thanks

P.S. RT-AX92U (2-pack)

Yes, but only if you have a wired backhaul. If you can't connect both units by a cable, the second radio will be used as backhaul

 

[JokerPower]

That's great to hear. Yes, it's wired

Also, occasionally I'm getting this error:
Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8)

Did they fix it? I have this with my iPhone XR. Almost every day the Internet disconnects (even if the WiFi connection with the router is active with 3 bars). I have to manually turn off and on the WiFi and it' reconnects with an Internet connection

Thank you

 

[OzarkEdge]

Its infuriating to have an expensive system (three XT8's) with so much promise, just to see stuff like this. I can't understand why signal strength and transfer speeds would deteriorate over time (well, within a day), as the house physics does not change. I had hoped that this RC2 would at least mitigate some of these issues, but sadly not.

You seem to be saying that you have had trouble with your XT8s and that this beta firmware does not fix it. That would not be surprising.

The OP notes ongoing CT8 platform debugging... maybe this should include the XT8, too. Hopefully your Feedback submission will help.

OE

 

[drabisan]

Disabling roaming assistant makes no difference. I still can see the device being kicked off the network.
Deauth_ind 84:F3:EB:83:9F:B3, status: 0, reason: Disassociated due to inactivity (4)
Disassoc 84:F3:EB:83:9F:B3, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8)

I searched all logs of my AX88U, the node in my AiMesh. There isn't a single log about 84:F3:EB:83:9F:B3. It looks highly unlikely the above messages are because of a roaming attempt.

Well, I had to rollback to 3.0.0.4.384.81695. This was the last release with proper 5GHz channel spacing.
Had to do a factory reset, just rollback was still kicking 84:F3:EB:83:9F:B3. That tells me it's something in the settings that causes the issue. Although I tried to keep everything as basic as possible.
No disconnects seen anymore. I need that device to be up&running for at least 1 week. I will be able to upgrade back to 386 if Asus feels for more troubleshooting. If no new suggestions are coming from Asus, I'll give it another try with the next RC. Until then I have to stay on "stable" release.

 

[livefeed]

Hello, been running the beta a few days found a couple of issues that I am sure will be worked out like the network showing 0 kbps in the new AiMesh display but what I can't rap my head around is why two of my RT-ax92u will not connect as wired but the playroom unit is fine.

 

[MarkyPancake]

Would restoring a config do a "nvram erase" + load the config? I already went back to Merlin's build and restored the config but not sure whether there are bits and pieces of beta related config entries in the NVRAM lying around?

Restoring a previously saved config does not erase or clean the NVRAM. You should only use a saved config with the version of firmware it was saved from, i.e. a Merlin 384.17 saved config should not be used to restore your settings after you update to 384.18 or downgrade to 384.16, or with any Asus stock firmware versions, etc.

You haven't said how you went back to Merlin or from what version. Regardless, if it was a downgrade to an older Merlin firmware or going from Asus firmware to Merlin, I would perform a factory reset after the firmware is installed and then set everything up manually, so you know you're running from a clean starting point.

 

[organshifter]

Installed over 3.0.0.4.384_9165 on my GT-AX11000, and factory reset with initialize option right after. Factory reset my RT-AC86U node as well. Starting completely from scratch, I couldn't get AiMesh to function properly while in wireless mode. Adding the node was successful. Problem is that it was nowhere to be found. Apparently, the wireless configuration works correctly as connecting the network cable immediately displays the node. However, it never switches to wireless after disconnecting the cable.

Downgraded the node to firmware 3.0.0.4.384_81992, and AiMesh is stable again. In doing so, I lost some features. On initial inspection, multiple options under the Management tab are gone. No biggie. I'll likely keep it this way until the next release as downgrading the main router isn't a pressing issue. Internet and LAN speed test results are consistent with what I've been getting. As long as the other features I use continue to work properly, I can wait.

 

[Ole Vik]

You seem to be saying that you have had trouble with your XT8s and that this beta firmware does not fix it. That would not be surprising.

The OP notes ongoing CT8 platform debugging... maybe this should include the XT8, too. Hopefully your Feedback submission will help.

OE

Yes, you are right. The XT8's has had random reboot problems also before this beta fw, and with RC2 it actually got a bit worse. To me it seems as if the RC2 brings some new useful functions to the table, but not much in regards to stability in either backhaul or consistency in client connections, which is a bit disappointing. For example, I would be happy if the backhaul would choose to connect on 160MHz instead of 80MHz consistently and by default, not because i've read up on how to force this to happen in some forum. Small things all in all i guess, as the common user probably wouldnt notice the difference when the bw shifts between 20, 40 and 80MHz on the backhaul. Or even if its running on 2.4 or 5 GHz. All thanks to Netflix & Co's awesome streaming quality algorithms.

 

[RainGater96]

Restoring a previously saved config does not erase or clean the NVRAM. You should only use a saved config with the version of firmware it was saved from, i.e. a Merlin 384.17 saved config should not be used to restore your settings after you update to 384.18 or downgrade to 384.16, or with any Asus stock firmware versions, etc.

You haven't said how you went back to Merlin or from what version. Regardless, if it was a downgrade to an older Merlin firmware or going from Asus firmware to Merlin, I would perform a factory reset after the firmware is installed and then set everything up manually, so you know you're running from a clean starting point.

I was on Merlin (RT-AC68U_384.18), took a backup. Then, I flashed the latest Beta (9.x) and didn't like it, so I flashed Merlin 384.18 again + restored the config that was saved earlier (same version that I took the backup from). Would there be remnants from beta hanging in the NVRAM or not?

In DDWRT, it wipes and loads from the saved config as long as the firmware version is the same. In my case, it's the same. I know I can do a factory reset and start all over again but the procedure I followed is working fine. But, I have the nagging feeling that it may not be a clean config as I am not sure how the restore config process works. Hence, my question here.

 

[digits n bits]

Yes, you are right. The XT8's has had random reboot problems also before this beta fw, and with RC2 it actually got a bit worse. To me it seems as if the RC2 brings some new useful functions to the table, but not much in regards to stability in either backhaul or consistency in client connections, which is a bit disappointing. For example, I would be happy if the backhaul would choose to connect on 160MHz instead of 80MHz consistently and by default, not because i've read up on how to force this to happen in some forum. Small things all in all i guess, as the common user probably wouldnt notice the difference when the bw shifts between 20, 40 and 80MHz on the backhaul. Or even if its running on 2.4 or 5 GHz. All thanks to Netflix & Co's awesome streaming quality algorithms.

Ive got my XT8 in the closet for now. I tried both the 25524 build and The RC2 build and both have the same backhaul and stability issues as everyone is commenting on. When the XT8 works like it should they’re terrific but that’s hit and miss. Went back to the RT-AX88U & RT-AX58U Aimesh setup and working fine.