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Does Aimesh work between RT-AC1900P and RT-AC66U B1?

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jea101

Regular Contributor
I am trying to set up Aimesh between a RT-AC1900P and RT-AC66U B1.
Initially one was running Merlin firmware and one Stock.
I upgraded them to latest available firmware (of each) but was unable to add an Aimesh node.
I was also running the AC1900P “router/master” in router mode.
Next, I tried the latest version of Merlin on both – failed to add node.
Third I tried stock firmware on both – failed.
Version 3.0.0.4_48262 on both.
I also tried with the AC66 “master” and the AC1900P as the “node”
By trail and error, I discovered that you cannot add a node if it has an Ethernet connection to the master. I don’t know if this is supposed to be a limitation.
I also switched to using the “master” in AP mode.
With no Ethernet connection I usually can add a node (using stock firmware).
However, when the node is added it shows disconnected even after connecting it to the master via Ethernet and setting Ethernet backhaul mode.
I do see the SSIDs of the node but it appears that the node Wifi is intermittent.
Also, I see these errors continuously in the “master” log.
Code:
May 29 21:22:30 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(527): eth1: Auth 34:97:F6:97:24:81, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
May 29 21:22:30 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(556): eth1: Assoc 34:97:F6:97:24:81, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
May 29 21:22:32 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(508): eth1: Disassoc 34:97:F6:97:24:81, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:-56
May 29 21:22:42 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(527): eth1: Auth 34:97:F6:97:24:81, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
May 29 21:22:42 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(556): eth1: Assoc 34:97:F6:97:24:81, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
May 29 21:22:42 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(527): eth2: Auth 34:97:F6:97:24:84, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
May 29 21:22:42 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(556): eth2: Assoc 34:97:F6:97:24:84, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
May 29 21:22:42 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(508): eth2: Disassoc 34:97:F6:97:24:84, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:-53
May 29 21:22:44 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(508): eth1: Disassoc 34:97:F6:97:24:81, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:-55
May 29 21:22:54 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(527): eth1: Auth 34:97:F6:97:24:81, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
May 29 21:22:54 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(556): eth1: Assoc 34:97:F6:97:24:81, status: Successful (0), rssi:0

34:97… is the MAC add of the “node”
Now that I know to disconnect the Ethernet cable, I could try Merlin firmware on both.
I do have another AC1900P that my sister is currently using as a cheap NAS that I could try.
 
Last edited:
Your best bet to get AiMesh working is to have Asus firmware on both the router and node or Merlin firmware on the router and Asus on the node. Factory reset both and manually configure the router leaving the WIFI settings at default. Add the node over WIFI or Ethernet with the cable connected to a router LAN port and the node WAN port with no switch between. My AC66U_B1 adds as an AiMesh node on the first try with Asus firmware.
 
I was using a lan port on both the router and the node.
I will try using the WAN port on the node.
Should I also use the node WAN port for normal backhaul operation?
I never thought to use the WAN port
 
I never thought to use the WAN port


1653945267782.png
 
Running the ac1900p as the router and the ac66u b1 as the node I was unable to see the ac66 either wired or wirelessly.

Running the ac66u as the router I was able to find the ac1900 but the connect failed either wired or wirelessly at around 75%.

I next got the other ac1900p and updated the firmware to the latest.

Using the second ac1900p as the router and a wired connection I was able to add the other ac1900 on the first try.

However, neither my android phone or a Windows 10 laptop could connect to the ac1900 node.

The Windows laptop kept asking for the password but had no password problems connecting to the router.

I normally use a strong 63-character password. I tried a shorter password.

With a shorter password the laptop and phone could connect to either the node or the router.

This appears to be a bug in the stock firmware. 63 characters should be permitted on the node and work fine on the router.

I also discovered that the wired connection doesn’t work through a smart switch.

If they are using a tagged VLAN for the backhaul this would be easy to fix if I could find the VLAN number.

I also pan to see if I can use MOCA adapters for the wired conection.

I don’t know if the ac66 or the original ac1900 was the cause of the connect problems.

At least I have found one combination that mostly works.
 

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