Having issues with my RT-BE86U as AiMesh node:(

[d_v_us]

Having weird issues now with my RT-BE86U as one of my AiMesh nodes.....for whatever reason none of my devices in my house will connect to it now. I even blew it away and started from scratch and re-added it as a node. I was able to add it correctly and it shows up as a node but.....no clients at all in my house see it In addition.....when I attempt to give it a "custom" name...it'll change it for like 20 seconds and it'll just change back to one of the default names available in the list. Merlin firmware version on the RT-BE86U is 3006.102.7. Also....it'll drop connection as a node and the line will turn orange (weak connection) for a bit and then eventually it'lll turn back to green

It had been working correctly as a node around two or three merlin software versions (can't remember exactly which one though).

 

[penguin22]

I posted about this elsewhere, however recommend loading the stock firmware that was released on March 11th to the BE86U, then removing as a node, to factory reset, and re-adding. I had lots of problems, specifically with IoT devices and have had over a week of stability since loading the latest stock firmware.

Also, don't forget that once you remove a node and re-add it, you have to select it from the Networks section for any network that you want the node to support. If you don't do this, the node will not broadcast that network. The one exception is that primary network is always broadcast by all nodes.

 

[d_v_us]

Ah ok....I think ur saying flash it with the Asus router software right not Merlin? Is it as simple as just overwriting the merlin software it currently has with that software? Guess I was unaware you could mix and match Merlin and Asus software to run together?

 

[jksmurf]

Ah ok....I think ur saying flash it with the Asus router software right not Merlin? Is it as simple as just overwriting the merlin software it currently has with that software? Guess I was unaware you could mix and match Merlin and Asus software to run together?

Yes. But Hard reset it after flashing, especially as you are transitioning FW Merlin→Stock.

Then re-add it as a node.

The Main will push settings to the Node; but on the Main you need to check the re-added Node in the Aimesh drop down in (each) of your Guest network(s) as @penguin22 mentioned.

 

[penguin22]

Thanks for responding before I got back. Had to groom our mini schnauzers .

 

[Tech9]

Guess I was unaware you could mix and match Merlin and Asus software to run together?

AiMesh is Asuswrt feature, closed source. Nothing to do with Asuswrt-Merlin.

 

[CaptnDanLKW]

My $0.02.
When you remove a node from using the GUI it is reset back to factory defaults. So,
When changing firmware on a node, you could add it, remove it, then add it back - this will ensure its reset back to stock (in case the WPS method failed)
...and for my most controversial statement - It's my experience that sticking with identical software across nodes is the best case for success, that mean merlin on even the mesh nodes, not stock.
Remember what's in the GPL and what changes occur when our gracious leader blesses us with a new version. The closed source stuff doesn't change, that means if you mix stock on nodes and merlin on main, you are likely running different AI Mesh binaries like cfg_server, roamast, etc... versions from an unreleased GPL and stock probably never have been tested together. Best case for the least # or problems is having the same AI Mesh binaries everywhere. IMHO

That's why I always run merlin on my nodes (plus i do have startup scripts that send syslog and temp monitoring to my main system - so scripting is needed).

But as I always say, YMMV.

 

[Tech9]

Best case for the least # or problems is having the same AI Mesh binaries everywhere. IMHO

The least # of problems is running Asuswrt on all devices when AiMesh is the main goal and especially when it's wireless. Modifications on top of never released as official firmware base snapshot containing ASUS proprietary software can only break it as it happened in the past. AiMesh in Asuswrt-Merlin is in "as is" state, not tested before firmware release and with no support. Your strategy seems logical, but in reality: 1) it requires all Asuswrt-Merlin supported devices (not always the case); 2) there is a chance to spread potential issue to all devices (the user is the first time tester). So YMMV is correct, but the user is entirely on their own.

 

[penguin22]

While in principle, running the same across all nodes may seem to make the most sense, it also may not be possible and in testing isn't always what works. I have a BE88U router with 3 nodes, BE86U, BE82U, and BE58 Go; across them, what has given the best stability is Merlin on BE88U, and stock ASUS on all others (notably, the BE82U only supports stock).

In particular, I was having a lot of trouble with stability and client disconnects on the BE86U with any version of stock or Merlin until the new stock firmware that was just released. Since loading it on this node, I am on 11 days of uptime with no unexpected client disconnects.

 

[d_v_us]

Bruuuuuh....lookin at you @penguin22 ...thank you!! I'm back up rockin and rollin after following ur suggestions sir. I had been having numerous issues with drops but hadn't really investigated until my son came to me in a panic when his Nintendo Switch kept disconnecting during gaming

@CaptnDanLKW thank you as well for ur comments on the "mix and match" topic sir. I wasn't even aware it was possible until this came up because it had also been my experience that you kinda keep all ur hardware loaded with the same vendor software. Not sure moving forward how this will shake out with this particular model and updating the software but just glad I'm back to the baseline for now.

Glad I ran here to get the right answers...you guys rock

Uh.....actually what I need ta do now is....promote my RT-BE86U to my main and have both my RT-AX86U as nodes but.......this will require me to kick my family off ta get it all done which is always a nightmare When I got my BE86U recently it was a replacement as a node when a old 66U died.

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[penguin22]

Uh.....actually what I need ta do now is....promote my RT-BE86U to my main and have both my RT-AX86U as nodes but.......this will require me to kick my family off ta get it all done which is always a nightmare When I got my BE86U recently it was a replacement as a node when my old 66U died.

This explains things a bit more; since you are running the AX series as your main router, you don't have Guest Network Pro, which is where the Network configuration we were describing comes in. Of note, even if you make the switch to the BE86U as the main router, unless all devices are either BE or Pro models, you still won't have the guest network configuration ability, as it is only applicable to Pro/BE nodes.

I came from a non-Pro AX86U setup myself last year. The transition was not the easiest, though when you do get there, the ability to isolate networks on different VLANs with the ability to further isolate clients if desired is well worth the effort. I was previously using YazFi with the limited Guest network configurations that non-Pro routers offered and it resulted in far too many clients having to stay on my main network due to limitations, in particular with nodes (only supporting one guest network per band). Now that I moved to everything on BE/Pro, here's a picture worth a thousand words. Note that each IoT network is dedicated to a single node to avoid dumb IoT devices from trying to roam between; the others are a mix and match based on what each network is used for and where devices sit.

 

[d_v_us]

Yep..noticed the "IoT network" option when I blew it away to re-add as a node and though "oook..that's a different looking option I've never see before". With me it's always been.....you don't even realize what you have till something goes haywire and you go digging around.

 

[Tech9]

having the same AI Mesh binaries everywhere

By the way, from 3006.102.6 changelog:

Your BE-class and AX-class devices run different software even with the same Asuswrt-Merlin version.

 

[RMerlin]

By the way, from 3006.102.6 changelog:

View attachment 70850

Your BE-class and AX-class devices run different software even with the same Asuswrt-Merlin version.

Same with stock firmware. Wifi 6 and Wifi 7 device are on separate code branches internally.