I had the same issue yesterday (saw the file on my desktop, which is connected to my RT-66U via wired Ethernet (is that redundant?), whereas on my laptop, connecting to the same RT-AC66U router on the 2.4 ghz channel, I could not see the file at all. Very strange. I took Merlin's suggestion and cleared my browser cache on the laptop, and lo and behold, the file was there all along (which of course I knew, since I had already downloaded it on my desktop to upgrade the router). But I needed it on my laptop, since I'm also running a second RT-AC66U as a "Repeater" and wanted to upgrade the firmware on that as well from .38_2 to the newest .39.
After clearing the browser, the file was visible. I have no idea why that would occur since the laptop's browser (IE11 in Win8.1) is set to "load page every time I visit" (i.e., it doesn't rely on cache). Who knows, yet another IE oddity.
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks to Merlin for all of the great work and share my experience with the newest firmware.
I've been running the newest .39 Merlin firmware on both RT-AC66U's for the past two days and they are rock-solid, better than ever. One of the AC66U's is running as a Router, connected to an Arris Docsis 3.0 cable modem from Time Warner, and the other is located downstairs in our media room running in "Repeater" mode (not "media bridge" but "repeater").
For the past two years, I had been connecting all of my media equipment downstairs using a combination of "N" wireless and d-Link Powerline adapters (to make up for spotty Wi-Fi streaming). Running CAT 5 or 6 was just not practical and I hate seeing wires. I had one Powerline Adapter connected to a plug upstairs which was connected to my old router, and downstairs, another Powerline adapter was plugged in near my equipment and connected to a Netgear Gigabit switch (which I used to then connect to all of my wired media equipment, including an HTPC, Bluray, Smart TV, Denon receiver (for internet radio), etc.). Download speeds on the HTPC were often around 15-20Mbs on a 50/5 account from my ISP (TWC). Decent, and we could stream, but not always reliably and there were frequent "stalls" or hiccups when streaming anything from the HTPC which is connected to a 56" LED. Very annoying.
Recently, however, TWC upgraded all 50/5 accounts to 100/5 (yeah, the upload speed is still pretty pathetic, but they say they are going to upgrade that shortly to 20Mbs, and by the end of the year they claim they will take the entire Los Angeles network where I am up to 300/100...we'll see.
Anyway, I wasn't getting great speeds for streaming downstairs and the wireless and Powerline were just barely passable for that. So this past week, I purchased a second RT-AC66U, upgraded the firmware on both my Router and the new one to Merlin's latest .39 firmware, and set the new one up to operate in "Repeater Mode" (which is different than "Media Bridge" mode from what I've read). The Repeater is also set so that it connects to the upstair's RT-AC66U Router's on the Router's 5G channel.
So, with the new Repeater located downstairs near my media equipment, here's what I've done: I connected my HTPC's Gigabit Ethernet directly to one of the LAN ports on the Repeater via a Cat 6 cable; other wireless devices located downstairs connect to the Repeater using the Repeater's 5ghz band (all of these devices are "N" either 300 or 450). I know they are connecting to the Repeater and not the Router because I've given the downstairs Repeater and the upstairs Router different SSID's...upstairs on the Router I'm using the stock "ASUS" and "ASUS_5G" whereas downstairs on the Repeater, I am using "ASUS 2nd" and "ASUS_5G 2nd". So I know that my downstairs wireless devices are connected to the Repeater's "ASUS_5G 2nd" and in turn I know the Repeater is connected to the Router's "ASUS 5G" radio.
Setting things up this way has almost given me a "doubling" effect on both wired and wireless speeds downstairs on the Repeater from what I can get wirelessly upstairs using either radio on the Router. I'm not sure why this is so, but that is what I have experienced. I'm now getting incredibly fast speeds on my downstairs equipment, almost as fast or as fast as straight Gigabit Ethernet.
For example, on the downstairs HTPC (running Win 7 and XMBC), I am pulling download speeds in excess of 100 Mbs+, sometimes as high as 115 Mbs and with pings of less 10ms or less. Again, my ISP account is 100/5, so I seem to be getting the theoretical highest download speeds, something that I have not previously experienced with any other combination of routers I've ever used (e.g., Belkin, Netgear, Linksys, etc.) I've seen similar speed increases on all of my other wireless equipment located downstairs.
Oddly, upstairs if I connect to the Router's 2.4 or 5 GHz radios with any of the same wireless devices, I'm getting only about half the speed I get downstairs. Same routers, same firmware, no walls interfering in either location. But seemingly twice the speed using the "Repeater".
Anyway, I just wanted to share this. It may not have much to do with the firmware, but at least until I see a bug pop up somewhere in the latest build, I am very happy. In fact, I could not be more pleased with the latest Merlin firmware and the performance of the two RT-AC66U's I'm using.
Thanks again to RMerlin for all of your dedicated work; it's really appreciated.
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