Release Asuswrt-Merlin 3004.388.11 is now available

[zzricezz]

I am curious if this has anything to do with the new router firmware, does it? If you have a more complex setup I'd stay 100% on 3004.388.8.4 if that one works for you.

i was going to try to upgrade to this 3004.388.11 but it not in the RT-AX88U_PRO folder so I'm taking it is not compatible?

btw this was ChatGPT summary of my issue,

Key sequence (annotated):

22:17:13 Auth / Assoc / WPA handshake completed
22:17:14 IEEE 802.11: disassociated
22:17:14 Deauth_ind ... reason 3 (station leaving)
Important facts:

• Authentication succeeds
• WPA2 4-way handshake succeeds
• Router immediately deauthenticates the client
• DHCP never even has a chance to start on that association

This is NOT a DHCP issue anymore.
This is ASUS forcibly dropping the Eufy client right after RSN completes.

Root cause (now unambiguous)
On Merlin 3006 (Broadcom SDK 17.x), the 2.4 GHz radio enforces post-handshake capability checks that some legacy IoT devices fail.

Eufy HomeBase 2 triggers one of these checks, causing the AP to immediately deauth it.

This is why:

• You see WPA handshake completed
• Then instant deauth
• Then retry loop
• Then DHCP DISCOVER only on some retries

This behavior does NOT exist in older Merlin (3004) or non-ASUS routers.

 

[bennor]

i was going to try to upgrade to this 3004.388.11 but it not in the RT-AX88U_PRO folder so I'm taking it is not compatible?

The RT-AX88U Pro was moved to the Asus-Merlin 3006.102.x firmware series in May 2025. It is not supported by newer Asus-Merlin 3004.388 firmware.
https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/changelog-3006

3006.102.4 (10-May-2025)
- NEW: Moved RT-AX86U_PRO, RT-AX88U_PRO, ZenWifi Pro XT12,
GT-AX6000, GT-AXE16000 and GT-AX11000_PRO to the
3006 firmware series.

Edit to add: The last Asus-Merlin 3004.388.x firmware that supported the RT-AX88U Pro was 3004.388.8.4 (2024-11-17).

 

[biohazardx92]

Working for me as well on GT-AX11000.

although I think it is time for me to start looking at wifi7 devices I think. - it's been a good router.
Cheers Merlin for all that you do.

 

[tallytr]

Working for me as well on GT-AX11000.

although I think it is time for me to start looking at wifi7 devices I think. - it's been a good router.
Cheers Merlin for all that you do.

I was thinking the same, and not one Wi-Fi 7 client at home, my Wi-Fi 6 router will be good until it dies years in the future me thinking...
One thing would get me to go to Wi-Fi 7 or 8. More coverage with one router, not mesh, no wired access points... wishful thinking I know...

 

[biohazardx92]

I was thinking the same, and not one Wi-Fi 7 client at home, my Wi-Fi 6 router will be good until it dies years in the future me thinking...
One thing would get me to go to Wi-Fi 7 or 8. More coverage with one router, not mesh, no wired access points... wishful thinking I know...

Agreed. Only reason is that Asus haven't put my ax11000 on the new firmware so, merlin can't move it over. Signals end of life is looming in the future.
Be98 however here uses gnutons fork. Torn between getting that one or waiting it out.

 

[PC Pilot]

Hi,

I find myself with a strange issue never previously encountered when either upgrading Merlin firmware on my RT-AX88U (NOT the PRO model) configured as a primary mesh router or when upgrading the AX86S which (currently) serves as a node.

Following a period of illness (I am disabled) over the last several months I returned to my PC with the routine intention of checking/updating the routers' firmware which hitherto was maintained up to date. I discovered that the previously up to date 3004.388.9_2 firmware had since been superseded with upgrades available to 3004.388.11_0 (with 3004.388.10_2 & 3004.388.10_0 having also been released in the interim).

The position was the same for the AX86S node which was as usual successfully manually updated (through the AX88U) using its own dedicated (AX86U) firmware from 3004.388.9_2 to 3004.388.11_0 whereas upon completion of the identical manual upgrade process using the AX88U's dedicated firmware the AX88U continued to indicate that it's status remained at 3004.388.9_2.

A further attempt was made using the AX88U's next incremental version (3004.388.10_0) with the same effect and again indicated status remained at 3004.388.9_2 following the upgrade progress which once again appeared otherwise normal completing successfully with no failure indications. This was also repeated (including the download) in browser 'in-private' mode.

Has anybody encountered this issue when either stepping direct to 3004.388.11_0 (or stepping incrementally to 3004.388.10_0) from this earlier version??

Are there any suggested resolutions to the issue?

Ultimately, I have plans to expand the mesh and a GT-BE98 (utilising the corresponding gnuton fork firmware) and an RT-BE88U were sourced last year with this in mind, although due to physical limitations I must rely upon friends to install the hardware. Am I best advancing these plans without upgrading AX88U which will then in any case become a node, although I had intended to fully update and configure the AX88U before doing likewise with the new routers?

Thank you all in advance for any suggestions/recommendations

 

[ColinTaylor]

Has anybody encountered this issue when either stepping direct to 3004.388.11_0 (or stepping incrementally to 3004.388.10_0) from this earlier version??

There are occasional reports of problems updating the firmware, but it's not related to 3004.388.10_0 or 3004.388.11_0 specifically. Usually all that's needed is to reboot the router in question before attempting the update. If that doesn't work the next piece of advice is usually to remove any connected USB drives and try again. In rare cases the router won't update because of a hardware issue or because it's been infected with malware.

If you don't have any success reboot the router and then wait 5 minutes for it to fully initialise. Log into the router and go to System Log - General Log. Click on the Save button to save the log file. You can upload the file to www.file.io and then post the link here so we can look for clues.

 

[visortgw]

There are occasional reports of problems updating the firmware, but it's not related to 3004.388.10_0 or 3004.388.11_0 specifically. Usually all that's needed is to reboot the router in question before attempting the update. If that doesn't work the next piece of advice is usually to remove any connected USB drives and try again. In rare cases the router won't update because of a hardware issue or because it's been infected with malware.

If you don't have any success reboot the router and then wait 5 minutes for it to fully initialise. Log into the router and go to System Log - General Log. Click on the Save button to save the log file. You can upload the file to www.file.io and then post the link here so we can look for clues.

Also, installing, configuring, and using MerlinAU via amtm can often overcome many upgrade issues as @ExtremeFiretop and @Martinski have incorporated code to handle (almost) every situation that prevents upgrade.

 

[lazyme]

there are also a possibility to force upgrade by putting firmware on flash, insert it into usb, then run a command from an ssh terminal https://www.snbforums.com/threads/how-can-force-flash-fw-using-telnet-or-ssh.11558/#post-72160

the only thing it is better if you know what you are doing here, chances of do something wrong are not equal to zero

 

[ColinTaylor]

there are also a possibility to force upgrade by putting firmware on flash, insert it into usb, then run a command from an ssh terminal https://www.snbforums.com/threads/how-can-force-flash-fw-using-telnet-or-ssh.11558/#post-72160

the only thing it is better if you know what you are doing here, chances of do something wrong are not equal to zero

That post is from 12 years ago and contains a command that is completely inappropriate for the RT-AX86S.

 

[anastrophe2]

When I run the speedtest that's under the adaptive QoS, since upgrading to 3004.388.11, the speeds are significantly lower than the rated speed of my connection. This didn't used to be the case in past revisions. For example, under Merlin, I just ran the test and got 600 Mbps download (which is actually higher than most I've been getting which have ranged from 300-400 Mbps). I ran the desktop Speedtest app immediately after that finished, and got what I tend to get normally - 900+ Mbps. Note that I used the same destination in both speedtests, so that's not a factor.

I can't really explain the discrepancy. My desktop PC is direct ethernet to the Asus router, and the Asus router is obviously directly plugged into the cable router. I'd expect the Asus router to be the most accurate point to test from.

Any thoughts? This obviously isn't a serious issue - I've verified my speeds on desktop, so I know my connection isn't throttled - but when I started seeing those 300 to 400 Mbps results in Merlin, I was a bit worried.

 

[pirx73]

I also had the issue that robot vacuum was not connecting, kept reconnecting all the time after upgrade. Had to reboot vacuum and that solved the issue.