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I think my RT-AC87R has died

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roldogg

Regular Contributor
Please, I just need some suggestions about anything I could possibly do to maybe set this router back to default, or a factory reset, so I can find out if it's still alive.

First, I've had this router since it came out, I forget exactly when that was, but I'm pretty sure it's over 1 year. I've always used Merlin's firmware, and I've never had any major problems that couldn't be fixed with some tweaking. 2 days ago (this might just be coincidence) I flashed my router with Merlin's 387.55_beta2 firmware, which I liked, even the new login screen. Yesterday, I get home and no WiFi. First thing I do is make sure the bill was paid. Done. Then I hardwired directly to my cable modem, and I had internet. I hooked everything up back like it was, I tried logging into the router, and it's like my PC couldn't even see the router. The only lights that were working on the front of the router were the ports where I had cables plugged up. No power light, no internet light, no WiFi lights. I tried a 30/30/30 reset, and it actually started working again. I went through the setup, set my SSIDs, etc., about 5 minutes later, it's back where it was.

Now, Merlin helped me out with this router a couple of weeks ago. For some reason ports 2 & 3 weren't working. He recommended turning it off, unplugging the power cord to let any power drain from it, leave it unplugged for about 5-10 minutes, then try again, and believe it or not, it worked. All 4 ports were working. Maybe that was a sign of what was to come.

Right now, when I power on my router, the 4 ports lights on the front blink for a second, and then no lights at all. It looks like roadkill. No power lights, no lights at all. I tried unplugging the power, I tried plugging it back in while holding the reset button, I tried powering it on holding the WPS button, nothing works. I still get the same 4 lights that blink initially, but that's it. It doesn't seem like rocket science to know this thing is dead, but I wanted to check and see if anyone had any suggestions that I didn't try.

If it is dead, can anyone recommend the best router out today? This RT-AC87R has worked great, but I really haven't been keeping up with newer routers that have come out since buying this one, but it seems to me like all the manufacturers are starting to add more frequency bands so they can use a higher number on the outside of the box, but when it come down to throughput for 1 client who's connected, it's still going to be the same speed. Is this the case or are there any routers operating faster than 1.3GHz on a 5GHz band? I have quite a few clients, 42 to be exact, but more than half are hardwired, and none of them are all connected at once. Maybe 10 wireless clients at a time. I like the speed of this Asus RT-AC87R, and it has a pretty good range. Have there been any other routers released that might have better coverage or more functionality or has the router market plateaued where manufacturers are now just trying to stick a higher number on the box, but it doesn't amount to anything better than what's already out?

Sorry for the novel, but I thought I would get in a couple of questions in case my router is dead. I'd appreciate any suggestions.
 
Dude I am no pro but I went though 4 AC87r, all of them gave me issues. I now have the ac68p and it has been working fine not one dropped single on both bands and QOS is working great.

Now I will say this I do not hook up usb drives or any other type of drives to my router so maybe since I just use the vanilla settings thats why maybe it runs fine. But I also did this with the ac87r and it still gave me so many issues.

Maybe try out the ac68p, they have it at bestbuy for $200.oo, I think, I always buy the protection plan at BB, that way I have no issues returning items, returned 4 ac87r, tried the netgear r7500 and returned that one for a linksys ea8500 and then ended up with the AC68p.

I have 18 devices hooked up at peek times in my house and it works great, like I said no drops on the wi-fi signals.
 
Welcome to the club, im already on the second one and i know at least 6 RMA's on that model, usually the issue is RADIO 5GHZ (Quantenna) and PORT1 dying, also theres alot people in here reporting faulty HW on that model.

My new RT-AC87U revision has better temperatures compared with the old unit, 5-6º on the Radios and 10º on the CPU, but they were never that high even on the old router anyway.
 
Welcome to the club, im already on the second one and i know at least 6 RMA's on that model, usually the issue is RADIO 5GHZ (Quantenna) and PORT1 dying, also theres alot people in here reporting faulty HW on that model.

My new RT-AC87U revision has better temperatures compared with the old unit, 5-6º on the Radios and 10º on the CPU, but they were never that high even on the old router anyway.

This thing would get blazing hot, not as hot as my cable modem, but uncomfortable hot. So, did you just replace it with the same router, but a more recently manufactured one?
 
RMA replacement is usually the same model, yes it's a more recent revision.
 
That's what I bought. I haven't had time to sit down and figure out how to setup the Smart Connect yet. I also think it's kind of absurd that Asus didn't include any information about how to set it up correctly, so currently, I'm using an SSID for the 2.4GHz network and a different SSID for the 5GHz bands but both 5GHz bands are using the same SSID.

Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
 

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