AX57 go as wireless AIMESH

[Jherb]

I will try i have an old ac86u but that may be different as it doesn’t have guest network pro.
Regarding wireless type failure. It works fine in wisp mode and extender mode, so wouldn’t that rule that out?

 

[jksmurf]

I will try i have an old ac86u but that may be different as it doesn’t have guest network pro.

Bottom line: When I have any guest network active on the main router, the node goes down and stays there, even if I am not trying to propagate it.

True; and based on your previous note it is only a GNP related failure, when enabling it; agree that just seems buggy and the lack of GNP won't really tell you much.

Regarding wireless type failure. It works fine in wisp mode and extender mode, so wouldn’t that rule that out?

Yes. It really does sound like something disables itself or is flaky with GNP on a Mesh Node, like the Mesh Wireless Backbone is fighting it out with the Wireless bandwidth needed for the Guest Network and no-one wins, so it throws its hands up in the air and says 'I give up'. But IIRC it also happens with your WIRED backbone and ONLY Guest on the MAIN, which is even odder?

I wonder if you (as a trial) selected one band for the backbone and (as a trial) one band ONLY for the Guest Network, whether it would work in that setup; not that it is much use to you, but would give you some more info (to feed back to ASUS...)?

 

[Jherb]

True; and based on your previous note it is only a GNP related failure, when enabling it; agree that just seems buggy and the lack of GNP won't really tell you much.


Yes. It really does sound like something disables itself or is flaky with GNP on a Mesh Node, like the Mesh Wireless Backbone is fighting it out with the Wireless bandwidth needed for the Guest Network and no-one wins, so it throws its hands up in the air and says 'I give up'. But IIRC it also happens with your WIRED backbone and ONLY Guest on the MAIN, which is even odder?

I wonder if you (as a trial) selected one band for the backbone and (as a trial) one band ONLY for the Guest Network, whether it would work in that setup; not that it is much use to you, but would give you some more info (to feed back to ASUS...)?

I actually tried that. I set the backbone to 5ghz and the GNP to 2.4.
Activating the GNP took down the node, even if it wasn’t selected to propagate there. Very strange to me.
Turning off GNP , the node came back.

 

[jksmurf]

I actually tried that. I set the backbone to 5ghz and the GNP to 2.4.

Ahead of me then... .

Activating the GNP took down the node, even if it wasn’t selected to propagate there. Very strange to me.
Turning off GNP , the node came back.

So currently Merlin 3006.102.6 on your RT-AX86U Pro Main and 3.0.0.6.102_56747 Stock on the RT-AX57 Go I guess?

I am fresh out of ideas at this point sorry, it's not that it's working and flaky, the 'bailing out' when GNP is enabled is inexplicable.

At this point I guess you could try the Beta ASUS FW @bbunge mentioned, but it is only stock, so you would lose any Merlin goodies or addons.

 

[Jherb]

Ahead of me then... .


So currently Merlin 3006.102.6 on your RT-AX86U Pro Main and 3.0.0.6.102_56747 Stock on the RT-AX57 Go I guess?
I am fresh out of ideas at this point sorry, it's not that it's working and flaky, the 'bailing out' when GNP is enabled is inexplicable.

At this point I guess you could try the Beta ASUS FW @bbunge mentioned, but it is only stock, so you would lose any Merlin goodies or addons.

Thank you. I will try
I was thinking the issue was with the node but I guess it could be the main as well.
I appreciate all the help. I’ll try the beta.

 

[jksmurf]

Is there something I can track for errors like a log or something? I'm not sure why its failing at 85%, and why it can't connect wirelessly.

btw you asked the right question here, perhaps (before installing the beta) you could save the "System Log, General Log" after you have gone through the the connect node and disconnect fail, post it to file.io and see if someone clever and experienced like @ColinTaylor or @dave14305 can see any obvious issues?

Not sure about log level you would need for this, but try the default Merlin one (IIRC notice/debug); if someone says "I need more granularity" you can change it.

 

[Tech9]

Not good because I have recommended RT-AX57 Go few times for Guest Network Pro low cost node. In general when testing AiMesh - stock firmware only on all units, as designed and delivered by ASUS. Asuswrt-Merlin has nothing to do with AiMesh and has history of issues with wireless node adoption. Some say it was in the past and fixed now, but worth ruling out firmware factor.

 

[degrub]

And it should go without saying, manually configure after the factory reset. Don't restore from a backup config.

 

[Jherb]

Just a followup.
I reproduced the issue over and over with merlin and latest stock.

The good news: With the beta firmware 9.0.0.6.102_37342, issue is resolved. The node is wirelessly detected and no issue with GNP. I did notice that something is different with the AIMESH detection. It starts counting up, then about half way it starts back at zero until it finishes. It almost looks like its transitioning to another method or something, but it does complete without issue.
I tried several times, and it didn't fail. I even reapplied the previous merlin settings, and the node was again found fine after reset.
So I guess there was a bug that was resolved in the beta.

Thanks for all the feedback and clues.

 

[jksmurf]

The good news: With the beta firmware 9.0.0.6.102_37342, issue is resolved.

Excellent outcome for you, finally a usable system. I had a wee look at the release notes of that beta again and while it doesn’t explicitly say it fixes an issue of mesh nodes being dropped on enabling GNP on your specific router pairing (and it’s the first pair that I’ve seen that did not work at all) it does seems it holds promise as regards to AiMesh connectivity.

I’m not sure if there’s a mechanism for feeding back to ASUS on the betas directly but it’d be useful for others if you could add a note to the beta thread pointing to this thread and very briefly state what issue it resolved for you.

For those of us on Merlin FW and staying on it for whatever reasons we have to do so, I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping the GPLs for these betas find their way into the Merlin FW sooner rather than later.

 

[Jherb]

Thanks for the help. I’ll post a link as you suggested. It’s curious no one else reported this issue when it was so reproducible for me.