Clear update instructions, please

[jtara]

I see lots of posts asking questions about "did you do this?" "did you do that"? after problems after updates, but they never seem to explain what one SHOULD have done.

There are some vague and ambiguous suggestions in the Installation instructions. It would be really helpful if there were update instructions separate from install instructions, and specific advice for specific major builds.

While it is generally not necessary to restore to factory defaults, it's not a bad idea

It is not recommended to restore settings saved under a different firmware version. It might work, but there is no guarantee

So, "it's not a bad idea", but restore to factory defaults, but then if you do, it's suggested to restore to factory defaults, and then to manually set everything back up again?

That's pretty painful.

Will I get useful information from the backup files? Are they all text that will make some sense, or are some binary and not useful for setting things up again? Or do I need to make a zillion screenshots?

Edit: OK, I see the Settings_RT-AC88U.CFG backup file is binary, and completely useless for manually restoring settings. So, screen shots it is? The backup_jffs.tar file when untared has some readable files, but precious few files at all.

I've had huge WiFi troubles since updating to 382.1.2 from 380.68.4, which has gotten progressively worse. I need to reboot several times a day now. I see a new update is now available (384.3.0).

Can somebody recommend a specific update procedure?

Also, I notice people asking "did you download or did you use the built-in update" (I'm paraphrasing). AFAIK, there is no longer a built-in update, it just directs your browser to the download site.

Edit: from reading the release notes, I'm guessing that GPL 382 was/is a stinker. But no specifics. Release notes just say "various problems". Is it likely it's responsible for my WiFi woes? At first it works, but at some point devices start disconnecting/reconnecting and very bad performance when accessing the Internet from WiFi devices. Yet, strangely, no degraded performance to the router itself. (I use WiFi Sweet Spots). I haven't tested performance to local PC, etc, though.

 

[jrmwvu04]

That's pretty painful.

Welcome to tinkering with your router. It’s just a requirement to eliminate unforeseen effects that old settings have on new software. Fact of life with this kind of evolving code.

 

[RMerlin]

Edit: from reading the release notes, I'm guessing that GPL 382 was/is a stinker. But no specifics. Release notes just say "various problems". Is it likely it's responsible for my WiFi woes?

The release notes you quote are about 382.2 Beta. Is this what you are trying to use? If not, then these notes do not apply.

There are some vague and ambiguous suggestions in the Installation instructions. It would be really helpful if there were update instructions separate from install instructions, and specific advice for specific major builds.

I can't provide such instructions because there are way too many different combinations. I have no idea which model you have, which firmware you are coming from, how long ago did you last do a factory default reset, what configuration you are using, and so on. I know of at least one scenario where for a few firmware releases, both Asus and my firmware were incorrectly setting a wifi-related setting. That only caused a visible problem several firmware releases later, as the firmware started relying on that particular setting for something else.

So that's why people say that IF you encounter weird issues, then you should do a factory default reset. There's way to know if someone's configuration is corrupted/outdated/manually tinkered, etc... So if you run into issues, you can either spend days trying to troubleshoot it, or take a few minutes manually reconfiguring and eliminating various potential causes.

 

[joegreat]

So, "it's not a bad idea", but restore to factory defaults, but then if you do, it's suggested to restore to factory defaults, and then to manually set everything back up again?

That's pretty painful.

It's not painful at all if you attach an USB thumb drive and use John's NVRAM Save/Restore tool!

Long story short I always do the firmware update as described here (beside step i)!
This avoids issues upfront and gives you peace of mind.

 

[martinr]

It's not painful at all if you attach an USB thumb drive and use John's NVRAM Save/Restore tool!

Long story short I always do the firmware update as described here (beside step i)!
This avoids issues upfront and gives you peace of mind.

I amended my collection here:

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/r...-3-is-now-available.44693/page-13#post-383821

to include your sound, concise advice.

 

[ColinTaylor]

It's not painful at all if you attach an USB thumb drive and use John's NVRAM Save/Restore tool!

AFAIK John's tool is only tested against the 380.xx firmwares. Using with 382.x or 384.x may not be 100% successful.

 

[martinr]

AFAIK John's tool is only tested against the 380.xx firmwares. Using with 382.x or 384.x may not be 100% successful.

Thanks, Colin: I half wondered that but then decided it must be. Just shiws: never assume, check!

 

[jtara]

No, I am not using the beta. Mea culpa for using Google to find the release notes...

It failed again this morning, so updating did not get me off the hook. It *might* just be the 5gHz radio - I will switch to 2.4 to see if it still happens, and if not it puts off the inevitable for a few days. I'm in a crunch on a software project, and can't spend the time to do this right now. It does not affect desktop, so is not so critical. (I read documentation on an iPad, but can always reboot or just go to the desktop.)

I will have to take screenshots, then, and I will save the text-based NVRAM backup for belt and suspenders. It's pretty hard to read in some places (DHCP list) and some stuff in hex where I wouldn't have a clue what it is doing, but good to have in case I miss an important screen shot.