[Beta] Asuswrt-Merlin 384.15 Beta and 384.13_3 are now available

[SheikhSheikha]

RT-AC5300 Quick and dirty upgrade from Alpha2. Seamless, all works fine, snappy, fast LAN-WAN, stabile WiFi with great signal strength equal to Alpha2. Will look at it for another few hours before deciding to upgrade my second router but as it looks now that should be a no-brainer.

 

[Gar]

a2 to b1 working great. Thanks again and again!

 

[a5m]

I'm not at the level of L&LD, however, I have seen some posts that can minimize the difficulties some have, and some I feel are reckless, they work, but I cringe. Here is my method, some taken from L&LD and others. plus the times I had issues and had to troubleshoot and solve.

• In Administration > System - change "Enable JFFS custom scripts and configs" to No and apply.
• Open SSH session that just closed and issue cli command "halt" - wait for router to shut down.
• Remove USB drive from router and power on
• Log into router, update firmware. Verify successful update, check Admin, syslog, WAN, LAN
• (continued) settings, etc. I repeat this step and upload the firmware twice in a row, some session.
• In Administration > System - change "Enable JFFS custom scripts and configs" to Yes and apply.
• Open SSH session again, issue cli command "halt" - wait for router to shut down.
• Insert USB stick into router and power on.
• Leave router alone for 15 minutes (don't cheat - set a phone timer)
• Log into router, verify settings applied, check Admin, syslog, WAN, LAN settings, etc.

Thanks for this! Very helpful.

I know what you mean. I'm nowhere near the level of the guys here but often times I see a problem and think "a clean install should fix that". I get saving time but for long term stability it's worth taking a few extra steps to do things properly. At least my OCD makes that part easy for me

 

[5stringdeath]

RT3100 A2 dirty to B1 and all is good

 

[Rik Stigter]

I can report that, after updating from 384.14(_2) with 'standalone' amtm/Diversion/Skynet)) both my AX88 and (meshed node) AC86 are running beta1 without major problems and that amtm is accessible after removing the alias for 'amtm' from my ssh-settings (e.g. 'unalias amtm').

That said: Rebooting from the GUI is an issue as it has been for a while (and as I haven't reported it earlier you may conclude that it's not something that I find too distracting as I just reboot by 'pulling the plug' (well: through a remotely controlled plug) nightly). I've been having WAN-disconnect issues (after a GUI-reboot or after a few days) ever since 384.12 (I did M&M it at the time as I added the AX88 at the same time) and that sort of 'fixes' it. I also have some issues with the VPN-client (if you change something the WAN goes down) but that is also something that requires more digging at a convenient moment and it may have to do with the 'WAN-instability' anyway.

I really need more time to check everything once again or do a M&M reset (again) and check after that (or preferably both... with all log-options set) but it will have to wait until it gets even more urgent.

 

[FLA_NL]

Dirty update over 384.14. No specific testing. All running fine. (RT-AC86U)

 

[neil0311]

This information is for users of the RT-AX88u (other routers may also be affected)

I know nothing can be done about it, but this information might be useful for others experiencing lower 2.4Ghz wifi signal after this update. It's actually got nothing to do with agile networking, wpa 3 or any of the other new wifi features. I have determined that the latest closed source driver appears to have altered which antennas transmit the 2.4Ghz radio.

I have several outdoor wifi cameras and prior to this update they all had a good signal strength because I removed one of the antennas from the router, ran a wifi extension cable outside and then mounted an external antenna so that my cameras would all have a good signal without outside walls blocking the signal (I live in the UK and the house has thick outside walls that block wifi). Now after flashing this update I noticed all my cameras had a very poor signal, but indoors the signal was pretty much the same as it has always been. So I decided to connect my external wifi cable to each antenna point in turn and then measure the outside signal. I found that the signal was poor outside on all but one of the antenna points. The only one that appears to be transmitting the 2.4Ghz radio is the rear left hand side antenna. If I connect my external wifi cable to this the signal outside is perfect, but the signal inside is very poor. If I connect the wifi cable to any other antenna then the wifi signal is good indoors but very poor outdoors.

Unfortunately for me this change is a deal breaker, so I'll have to revert to the previous release.

Is this new in the Beta or was this also present in the Alpha release? I’m using the .15 Alpha now but hadn’t noticed 2.4Ghz issues.

 

[Elmer]

AX-88 - dirty upgrade from latest alpha after updating all scripts (amtm, diversion, skynet) and entware. Did a power cycle after upgrade. Everything working fine including aimesh nodes (upgrades not needed). Thanks.

 

[Phil Outram]

Is this new in the Beta or was this also present in the Alpha release? I’m using the .15 Alpha now but hadn’t noticed 2.4Ghz issues.

The problem exists in both. If you have the RT-AX88U try removing the rear left antenna closest to the switch ports and see if this kills your 2.4ghz signal. It's my belief that the router now transmits the 2.4ghz band from only 1 of the 4 antennas. I just need somebody else to verify this for me before I go ahead and reset my router.

 

[scjr]

I did a factory reset here. Didn’t really need to, but what the heck.

Beta 1 humming along here. Thanks, Merlin.

 

[maxbraketorque]

Make sure you disable beamforming, as this relies on antenna diversity to do its job.

Which one - Explicit or Universal or both?

The problem exists in both. If you have the RT-AX88U try removing the rear left antenna closest to the switch ports and see if this kills your 2.4ghz signal. It's my belief that the router now transmits the 2.4ghz band from only 1 of the 4 antennas. I just need somebody else to verify this for me before I go ahead and reset my router.

I rely on 2.4 GHz only for my cabin and on 2.4 GHz at home for all my IoT devices. I have an AC86U at both locations, but I am still tempted to try. It would be clear very quickly whether the number of active antennas had been reduced.

 

[Asad Ali]

Which one - Explicit or Universal or both?

Both. There's no concept of beamforming on 2.4Ghz network and they cause more issues than they try to fix.

 

[Ladioss_Sopp]

AX88, no problem dirty upgrade from alpha-2 to beta-1 with amtm, skyntet and division.

 

[ankhazam]

I just fixed this by removing the /jffs/addons/amtm and rerunning amtm.

All is well now.

Yup... same on my AX88U from A2 -> B1 dirty upgrade.. Removed that directory and AMTM is operational

 

[RMerlin]

Which one - Explicit or Universal or both?

If you are playing with your antennas, then you need to disable both. Beamforming works by adjusting the phase coming out of all antennas, so if one antenna is missing, this will break Beamforming.

 

[Phil Outram]

Which one - Explicit or Universal or both?



I rely on 2.4 GHz only for my cabin and on 2.4 GHz at home for all my IoT devices. I have an AC86U at both locations, but I am still tempted to try. It would be clear very quickly whether the number of active antennas had been reduced.

This is my problem too, I've got ring cameras and doorbell on the outside of the house that all require the 2.4ghz band and unfortunately they don't support 5ghz.

I did try with every single advanced option disabled, including both beam forming options but the result is the same. Only a single antenna now transmits the 2.4ghz band.

Since I have one of the antennas leading outside via a 50 ohm WiFi extension cable with outside antenna attached to provide the signal for my cameras this leaves me with a choice of only having a good 2.4ghz signal indoors or outdoors but not both.

So either it's just my router with the problem or its a problem with the latest wifi drivers in this release. The only way for me to know is to hope someone else with the same router can perform a quick 2 minute test and remove their rear left antenna to see if this kills their 2.4ghz wifi signal. If it does then I guess not much can be done, but if not I'll do a full reset.

 

[L&LD]

@Phil Outram, I wouldn't wait for anyone to do that test for you.

Download the firmware version you're currently running. Make a backup config file and then save both it and the firmware you downloaded to a safe place. This will allow you to 'instantly' get back to where you are now.

Flash the latest firmware for your router. I would recommend the 384.15 Beta 1 if your router supports it.

Do a full M&M Config and after it reboots and you've allowed it to settle down for at least 10 minutes, do your simple test and you'll have your answer.

 

[greggy101]

This is my problem too, I've got ring cameras and doorbell on the outside of the house that all require the 2.4ghz band and unfortunately they don't support 5ghz.

I did try with every single advanced option disabled, including both beam forming options but the result is the same. Only a single antenna now transmits the 2.4ghz band.

Since I have one of the antennas leading outside via a 50 ohm WiFi extension cable with outside antenna attached to provide the signal for my cameras this leaves me with a choice of only having a good 2.4ghz signal indoors or outdoors but not both.

So either it's just my router with the problem or its a problem with the latest wifi drivers in this release. The only way for me to know is to hope someone else with the same router can perform a quick 2 minute test and remove their rear left antenna to see if this kills their 2.4ghz wifi signal. If it does then I guess not much can be done, but if not I'll do a full reset.

Removing the antenna next to LAN#8 kills 2.4GHz band on my AX88U, regardless of beamforming settings - I have tried all the combinations.

 

[Phil Outram]

Removing the antenna next to LAN#8 kills 2.4GHz band on my AX88U, regardless of beamforming settings - I have tried all the combinations.

That confirms it then. Looks like I'm stuck on 384.14 for now. Thanks for checking, very much appreciated.

 

[Aldione]

I have ac86u and I have problems with aimesh and wifi 2.4ghz, with this beta it gonna fix the issue?