GS-AX3000 Crashes When Connected Device Looses Power

[dwp]

Ever since I got my GS-AX3000 with the latest firmware, I have had a problem whereby the router crashes when I turn off my Vizio Smart TV which is connected via ethernet. I originally started discussing it here. I have reported all this to Asus with detailed logs and such, to which I have never gotten a serious response - just telling me to reset the router - which is not helpful as this is a null pointer error and that is clearly a programming problem that must be fixed in firmware.

Note that there is no crash if I simply remove the ethernet cable from the back of the TV. Only when the TV is powered-off while the ethernet is connected!

Anyhow, I decided to try wifi connection in place of ethernet and the problem does NOT occur. This makes sense to me given what I have seen repeatedly in the log files. But going back to ethernet (regardless of which port is used) brings the problem right back. Since use of wifi for this device is not desirable in my case, I really need to get ethernet working without crashing.

Given that the issue seems to happen when the TV is turned off (it does not completely loose power, it just goes to a sleep more, I think), I wondered what might happen if I kept power applied somehow. So I tried putting an old Netgear ethernet switch between the TV and the router. The switch is powered, of course, so even if the TV is shut down, the switch is still powered. Doing this demonstrates that with the switch in place, turning off the TV no longer causes crashes. This does something to confirm my theory.

I then decided to see what happens if I leave the switch connected to the router and simply pull the switch's power plug. This immediate caused a crash. And in all cases, the log file looks basically the same. This confirms my theory with what seems to be pretty conclusive evidence that the problem is inside the router and NOT specifically a consequence of using this TV (or likely any other specific device).

Given my results, I cannot help but wonder why I have not seen many other posts about this issue. So I wonder if others with this same router (and possibly other routers using a BCM6750 CPU) can replicate this on their systems? Near as I can tell so far, it only matters that a connected device is powered and that the problem arises when power to that device is removed (perhaps suddenly rather than a more controlled power-down as in a clean PC shutdown).

So I wonder if others could try this sort of thing with their routers and post back here what they find? If enough people can replicate this and complain to Asus, perhaps this will get fixed sometime before I am dead!

Thanks

 

[dwp]

Does anyone know if something like a POE Switch could be used in between the router and the TV to avoid this problem? I read a little bit about POE and know enough to know I know nothing. I don't feel like additional hardware should be needed to fix this issue. But putting a powered switch in seemed to handle it. I just do not want to have to power something else. So maybe a POE switch would do it? Thanks

 

[bbunge]

Does anyone know if something like a POE Switch could be used in between the router and the TV to avoid this problem? I read a little bit about POE and know enough to know I know nothing. I don't feel like additional hardware should be needed to fix this issue. But putting a powered switch in seemed to handle it. I just do not want to have to power something else. So maybe a POE switch would do it? Thanks

A PoE switch is used to power clients. For example: I have a PoE switch that provides power over Ethernet to my security cams. That way I do not have to have a separate power cord going to the cams.

Would not help your issue. But I would check the Ethernet cable from the router to make sure it is configured correctly.

 

[dwp]

A PoE switch is used to power clients. For example: I have a PoE switch that provides power over Ethernet to my security cams. That way I do not have to have a separate power cord going to the cams.

Would not help your issue. But I would check the Ethernet cable from the router to make sure it is configured correctly.

Ah, I see. Glad I asked!

Really, you suspect the ethernet cable itself? I don't know how to "configure it". But I could swap it out if you really think that might make a difference. Thanks

 

[bbunge]

Ah, I see. Glad I asked!

Really, you suspect the ethernet cable itself? I don't know how to "configure it". But I could swap it out if you really think that might make a difference. Thanks

Yes, try another cable. CAT5 at a minimum and CAT5e if you have one. If the TV is a distance from the router and someone made up a cable it would be a good idea to brush up, ask Google, what the order of the colored wires in the cable should be. TIA/EIA 568 is the standard: https://www.comms-express.com/infozone/article/eiatia-standard-category-5e-and-cat6-comms-express/

 

[dwp]

Thanks. The TV is no more than 1.5 feet from the router. The router status says it is connected on Port 3 100 Mb/sec. That should be more than adequate as it can only use 2.4GHz wifi. I have tons of cables and none are home made.

 

[bbunge]

Thanks. The TV is no more than 1.5 feet from the router. The router status says it is connected on Port 3 100 Mb/sec. That should be more than adequate as it can only use 2.4GHz wifi. I have tons of cables and none are home made.

No, should be 1 GB if it is a recent TV. Try another cable and it should be more than 1.5 feet long. Average patch cord is at least 6 FT. Could be that you have a bad port in the TV. Vizio is not noted for their quality. The TV should work on 5 GHz as well but you may have to use WPA2-Personal WIFI Authorization. With your router that close 2.4 GHz should work as well.

 

[dwp]

No, should be 1 GB if it is a recent TV. Try another cable and it should be more than 1.5 feet long. Average patch cord is at least 6 FT. Could be that you have a bad port in the TV. Vizio is not noted for their quality. The TV should work on 5 GHz as well but you may have to use WPA2-Personal WIFI Authorization. With your router that close 2.4 GHz should work as well.

Well, the TV is from 2019. So not sure if that is "recent". BUT after reviewing the cable page you sent, I got the cable in use all this time. It has only 4 conductors in it. Not at all like what was shown. No idea what it is. What I have on there now looks like the that shown as T568B in the diagram. Do you think it could have been this? I will have to do some testing. Wow! My box may have a bunch of these cables.

 

[tgl]

4-conductor cable doesn't support 1000Mbps ethernet, only 10/100Mbps. Now, if you're correct that that's all the TV can do, then it doesn't matter performance-wise that you've got an old cable. However, perhaps this is related somehow to your crash problem? It wouldn't be too surprising if ASUS only tests with modern 8-conductor cables, as the old ones are hard to find anymore.

I'm quite prepared to believe that your TV doesn't do 1000Mbps, BTW. I have a fairly expensive LG TV from 2020 that only does 10/100. But it's also possible that your TV would connect at 1000 if you were using a cable that supported that.

 

[dwp]

I just did a couple tests (not enough to be sure) but I have turned off the TV twice now without a crash! Wow!

 

[dwp]

4-conductor cable doesn't support 1000Mbps ethernet, only 10/100Mbps. Now, if you're correct that that's all the TV can do, then it doesn't matter performance-wise that you've got an old cable. However, perhaps this is related somehow to your crash problem? It wouldn't be too surprising if ASUS only tests with modern 8-conductor cables, as the old ones are hard to find anymore.

I'm quite prepared to believe that your TV doesn't do 1000Mbps, BTW. I have a fairly expensive LG TV from 2020 that only does 10/100. But it's also possible that your TV would connect at 1000 if you were using a cable that supported that.

I have a hard time understanding how a device's power on/off condition would impact the router via any ethernet cable (no matter how many conductors). But my limited testing so far indicates that this might be (at least part) of the problem. I will do more TV watching and see if the thing crashes any more.

 

[tgl]

I have a hard time understanding how a device's power on/off condition would impact the router via any ethernet cable (no matter how many conductors).

I'm mystified about that too. But software bugs can behave very strangely. If the router software needs to do something different for 100Mbps than 1000Mbps ports, that could be a code path that hasn't been tested lately.

Out of curiosity, does the router still show the TV as connecting at 100Mbps?

 

[dwp]

I'm mystified about that too. But software bugs can behave very strangely. If the router software needs to do something different for 100Mbps than 1000Mbps ports, that could be a code path that hasn't been tested lately.

Out of curiosity, does the router still show the TV as connecting at 100Mbps?

It does indeed show the TV (ethernet port 3) at 100 Mb/sec. Only 1 device shows as 1G (port 4). I am not 100% sure what that one is. It could be either my audio chromecast or, more likely, my HP mini computer.

Well, if this cable "solves" the problem, I will be happy, informed, embarrassed, and chastised. And I will have to let Asus know as it MAY help them solve the problem. Thanks

 

[bbunge]

Four conductor cable is for phones. My memory does not remember using four conductor cable for Ethernet although I believe Token Ring used four conductors but not UTP cable. But that is really old and obsolete.

OK, I must admit that four conductor cable can be use for 10/100 Ethernet but you must get the transmit and receive pairs connected corrrectly. POTS connection does not work. (POTS=Plain Old Telephone Service)

And I still feel you have messed up the port in the TV. Try cleaning it out with a cotton swab and some alcohol or contact cleaner of you have some.

 

[tgl]

OK, I must admit that four conductor cable can be use for 10/100 Ethernet but you must get the transmit and receive pairs connected corrrectly.

Right. This Wikipedia article gives some of the details. I definitely have some ethernet cables laying around that I found out the hard way could only carry 100Mbps not gigabit. That was years ago though (really gotta clean out my office).

 

[dwp]

Four conductor cable is for phones. My memory does not remember using four conductor cable for Ethernet although I believe Token Ring used four conductors but not UTP cable. But that is really old and obsolete.

OK, I must admit that four conductor cable can be use for 10/100 Ethernet but you must get the transmit and receive pairs connected corrrectly. POTS connection does not work. (POTS=Plain Old Telephone Service)

And I still feel you have messed up the port in the TV. Try cleaning it out with a cotton swab and some alcohol or contact cleaner of you have some.

Thanks. But I know the difference between a modular phone jack and an ethernet cable. The jacks are not compatible. But it must be for 10/100 Mb/sec. The TV never suffered from this - except for the router crashing. However, my first 2 tests do indicate that a more modern cable with 8 conductors manages to avoid this. Cheers

 

[dwp]

Right. This Wikipedia article gives some of the details. I definitely have some ethernet cables laying around that I found out the hard way could only carry 100Mbps not gigabit. That was years ago though (really gotta clean out my office).

Funny, I just finished going through my box of ethernet cables with a magnifying glass to find all of these ancient cables. Sadly, they are all landfill-bound now.

 

[Dr Mono]

It does indeed show the TV (ethernet port 3) at 100 Mb/sec. Only 1 device shows as 1G (port 4). I am not 100% sure what that one is. It could be either my audio chromecast or, more likely, my HP mini computer.

Well, if this cable "solves" the problem, I will be happy, informed, embarrassed, and chastised. And I will have to let Asus know as it MAY help them solve the problem. Thanks

Quick note, most modern TVs still use Fast Ethernet, not gigabit ports. Crazy, but saving a few pennies per unit makes a difference. Plus, 100 Mb/s is more than double the requirement for 4K streaming.

 

[dwp]

It was too good to last! Even using a marked, cat 5e cable the router crashed again when I turned the TV off last night. I had not noticed any crashes in at least 2 weeks so I had hoped I had this licked. Looking at the crashlog, it is the same thing: null pointer at the same address. So I guess not :-(

 

[OzarkEdge]

It was too good to last! Even using a marked, cat 5e cable the router crashed again when I turned the TV off last night. I had not noticed any crashes in at least 2 weeks so I had hoped I had this licked. Looking at the crashlog, it is the same thing: null pointer at the same address. So I guess not :-(

Maybe the TV (and test switch) AC power supply ground/neutral is not properly bonded to the router's AC power supply ground/neutral (a building wiring issue?)... when testing, is all of this equipment using the same AC power outlet? If not, try powering the router and the TV from the same AC power outlet so that they have that common ground/neutral and no voltage difference/ground loop current between their chassis. Admittedly, a long shot guess but one must think outside the box when troubleshooting the unknown!

OE