having an issue with RT-AC66U/R

[lordv]

Just had this happen for the second time. ASUS support was not really helpful. I will try to describe the issue as best I can and hopefully the community will have a solution that doesn't require me to return this unit because I really do like it. So here it goes:

I have had the router for 1 week now.

About 4 hours after the intial setup of the router, the router seemed to panic and all wireless connectivity was lost. Things that were connected to the device via a wired connection continued to keep connectivity. I was watching something on Netflix via a device connected to the router with a wired connection and the show never stopped playing, never buffered, nothing.

So I tried to connect to the router with a laptop via a new wired connection. The laptop would not establish a connection. Mind you, the wireless networks were still discoverable, but new devices could not establish a wireless connection and currently connected devices could not establish a connection to anything (nor could I ping anything). Ultimately I had to power down the router and power it back up and then operation returned to normal. I did notice that in the process of this happening, my WAN IP changed, so I thought that may have freaked the router out (although it shouldn't).

After it came back up, I updated to the firmware to the latest version (3.0.0.4.372_1300).

Today, the same thing happened again. However, there were some differences. The devices that were connected to the router via a wired connection lost all connectivity (watching netflix the unit started buffering, then lost all connection). I noticed that with the exception of the power light, all the lights on the modem turned off then back on again (as if it had reset itself). When the router came back up after rebooting itself, all connectivity was lost in the same way as before. The only way to regain connectivity was to power down the modem and power it back up. This time there was no WAN IP change.

Brand new CAT6 cables are in use for all devices connected via a wired connection.

The router log is pretty much useless as it is not verbose enough. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can get this issue resolved? I really don't want to have to return this unit and I don't want to go down the RMA path if it isn't going to clear up the issue. I was thinking of throwing merlin's firmware on the unit, but last I checked he said the current Asus build is newer than his most recent firmware.

Help please guys!

TIA

 

[DaveMishSr]

Just had this happen for the second time. ASUS support was not really helpful. I will try to describe the issue as best I can and hopefully the community will have a solution that doesn't require me to return this unit because I really do like it. So here it goes:

I have had the router for 1 week now.

About 4 hours after the intial setup of the router, the router seemed to panic and all wireless connectivity was lost. Things that were connected to the device via a wired connection continued to keep connectivity. I was watching something on Netflix via a device connected to the router with a wired connection and the show never stopped playing, never buffered, nothing.

So I tried to connect to the router with a laptop via a new wired connection. The laptop would not establish a connection. Mind you, the wireless networks were still discoverable, but new devices could not establish a wireless connection and currently connected devices could not establish a connection to anything (nor could I ping anything). Ultimately I had to power down the router and power it back up and then operation returned to normal. I did notice that in the process of this happening, my WAN IP changed, so I thought that may have freaked the router out (although it shouldn't).

After it came back up, I updated to the firmware to the latest version (3.0.0.4.372_1300).

Today, the same thing happened again. However, there were some differences. The devices that were connected to the router via a wired connection lost all connectivity (watching netflix the unit started buffering, then lost all connection). I noticed that with the exception of the power light, all the lights on the modem turned off then back on again (as if it had reset itself). When the router came back up after rebooting itself, all connectivity was lost in the same way as before. The only way to regain connectivity was to power down the modem and power it back up. This time there was no WAN IP change.

Brand new CAT6 cables are in use for all devices connected via a wired connection.

The router log is pretty much useless as it is not verbose enough. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can get this issue resolved? I really don't want to have to return this unit and I don't want to go down the RMA path if it isn't going to clear up the issue. I was thinking of throwing merlin's firmware on the unit, but last I checked he said the current Asus build is newer than his most recent firmware.

Help please guys!

TIA

If you upgraded from a version older than 354 to 372, whether it be Asus or Merlin, then you have to clear the NVRAM and manually re-enter your configuration settings. If you upgraded to 354 prior to going to 372 and failed to clear your NVRAM and manually re-enter your settings then you must do so now. I would clear the NVRAM anyway, reflash the router in recovery mode using the firmware recovery utility and then manually re-enter your configuration settings just to eliminate any issues with the flashing process. My RT-AC66U is running Merlin's 372.30_2 without any issues so far. It has been very stable overall and I can stream a 2 hour HD movie to my bedroom DirecTV receiver in about 40 minutes. Good luck!

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
I have a habit of clearing NVRAM if I diddle with f/w always (old habit). Or the AC adapter
maybe bum one. Any other one you can try? I always keep one spare AC adapter with
heavier rating.

 

[lordv]

If you upgraded from a version older than 354 to 372, whether it be Asus or Merlin, then you have to clear the NVRAM and manually re-enter your configuration settings. If you upgraded to 354 prior to going to 372 and failed to clear your NVRAM and manually re-enter your settings then you must do so now. I would clear the NVRAM anyway, reflash the router in recovery mode using the firmware recovery utility and then manually re-enter your configuration settings just to eliminate any issues with the flashing process. My RT-AC66U is running Merlin's 372.30_2 without any issues so far. It has been very stable overall and I can stream a 2 hour HD movie to my bedroom DirecTV receiver in about 40 minutes. Good luck!

How do you clear the NVRAM? Also, do you think there would have been issues with the router throughout the week if the issue were NVRAM related?

 

[lordv]

Hi,
I have a habit of clearing NVRAM if I diddle with f/w always (old habit). Or the AC adapter
maybe bum one. Any other one you can try? I always keep one spare AC adapter with
heavier rating.

I may have a spare AC adapter. But this leads me to the same question about the NVRAM thing. Don't you think if it were a power issue the problem would be a lot less intermittent?

 

[DaveMishSr]

How do you clear the NVRAM? Also, do you think there would have been issues with the router throughout the week if the issue were NVRAM related?

Absolutely! Throughput could very easily be affected if there is a conflict and/or issue of some kind with your NVRAM. The easiest way to clear the NVRAM is to go to Administration|Restore/Save/Upload Setting and then click the Restore button next to Factory Default. That will clear the NVRAM and bring you into the Quick Internet Setup process. Once you complete that you can then begin the process of manually reconfiguring your configuration settings. Do not attempt to restore your settings from a config file if migrating from version 270 or older to 372. When you upgrade your firmware beyond version 270 you must manually reconfigure your settings

 

[jlake]

If you're having problems with wired and wireless, it could be a double nat on the same subnet. Try putting your modem in bridge mode. If you posted the model # of your modem, I'm sure someone could probably tell you how to do it. or google.

 

[lordv]

Thanks for all the responses guys. An update, the router started getting REALLY slow via wifi. I mean files that should transfer on the LAN in under a minute were going to take 30 minutes. That slow. I have decided to return this router as it seems to be a lot more trouble than it's worth at the moment. Going to go back to my n900 router that has been solid as a rock since day one. I am going to lose some features that I was excited about, but having a stable network that I am not constantly having to fiddle with is more important to me. I work in IT and I do this all day, I don't want to have to come home and keep working, if you catch my drift.