best way to backup settings before factory default?

[Mohammad Wahiduzzaman]

Asus merlin recommends resetting to factory default after flashing to a firmware that is 3 releases older. so I try to reset after every 3rd firmware update. is it ok to backup settings & use that after every reset or does that defeat the purpose? or should I take a note/screenshot of all the changes I made & change the setting manually? I am asking this because i have made so many changes to make the router work properly/ the way i want that i am bit scared to reset

 

[RMerlin]

If you always keep up to date then there is no real need for factory defaults resets.

 

[Hawk]

Rmerlin has answered well, I am just gone add that there are specific releases which require factory reset, though they will be mentioned and usually it is in read me document. In either case do not load save setting from backup, rather it must be done manually.

 

[johndoe85]

If you always keep up to date then there is no real need for factory defaults resets.

Does this apply to stable versions only or is the betas included too?

 

[RMerlin]

Does this apply to stable versions only or is the betas included too?

Too many beta releases over the past year, I don't remember all the details. You'd have to look at the beta release posts to see if I ever mentioned a setting that needed to be manually adjusted between two beta releases.

 

[geobernd]

If you simply reload your backup that won't help to avoid problems.
You would need to not reload any backup but instead enter everything manually.

I only do it when there are problems:
I have been on Merlin releases for as long as I can remember (the time before is not worth remembering..) and maybe had to do a full reset and reconfigure 2 or 3 times over the years...

The rest of the time of me the steps are:
Reboot -> Install the update -> let the router settle for an hour or so and then do a full power off, wait 30 seconds or so and power back on... (I had cases where omitting that last step caused some weird wifi issues - probably because some of the chips are not fully reset without power off....)