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Inconsistent Internet with 384.9_beta1 over VPN on RT-AC86U

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ASadani

Senior Member
Hi Everyone. I'm having a weird issue that I am noticing on this firmware of Merlin with the 86u.
While the VPN is connected in about 24 hours post, there are ping drops on my local PC over the VPN. At that moment all connected devices wired and wireless loses internet for few seconds and it gets back to normal for a few seconds until it flips again. Interestingly at this time, the pings are just fine when tested over putty with NO Drops.

Here is the screenshot of the pings from local PC and then through Putty. Any advise tips.? Much Appreciated.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15Wu7MkQpsmwKz2mxIigjf6JeuNPvFE3E/view?usp=sharing
 
Any reason you're not running the final 384.9 firmware?
 
Any reason you're not running the final 384.9 firmware?

I'm sorry I didn't realize that existed. However, I have now done a dirty downgrade to 384.6 which was my firmware when I purchased the unit. I don't recollect having this issue. Let me check if the problem persists. However, the issue comes up in about 24+ hours.

By the way, the vpn provider suspected the provider, however at the time I notified the vpn provider I did not check the ping was still alive with SSH vs local connect.
 
I don't test old firmware; the security issues that new firmware fixes are too important and real to ignore, imo.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/n...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

To properly test a new or different firmware version, I would be following the steps in the link above to be sure you're not introducing bugs and inconsistencies by doing 'dirty' upgrades or downgrades.

The latest 384.9 firmware is stable for many people with many different network configurations and requirements, including me. Give it the best chance possible by doing a proper upgrade to a known / good state.
 
I don't test old firmware; the security issues that new firmware fixes are too important and real to ignore, imo.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/n...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

To properly test a new or different firmware version, I would be following the steps in the link above to be sure you're not introducing bugs and inconsistencies by doing 'dirty' upgrades or downgrades.

The latest 384.9 firmware is stable for many people with many different network configurations and requirements, including me. Give it the best chance possible by doing a proper upgrade to a known / good state.

I didn't have this issue when I was on 384.6. It was stable without this issue. I will install the final version of 384.9 and I usually do the WPS to ensure all settings are erased. I'll follow your guide to see if this issue goes away. What is confusing is that there are packets that are dropped outside the router so hence it's probably not the VPN connection.

Another nasty bug with the 384.9 is that the router needs a physical reboot every time. yes its 100% of the time. Yesterday when I downgraded, I was again able to do a soft reboot on the router. But then again this is a very small issue at this point.

PS: On a side note, I want to kick myself for breaking things that work well time and again. I used to have hugo's perfectly working version on my AC5300 and I updated to his updated firmware which was broken and I could not revert back even through recovery. With Merlin the range was dismal so I then moved over to the 86u. And everything was stable with no issues until I updated to 384.9 beta 1. Now it's daily that I get questioned by my wife (is the internet working). Every time I reconfigure the home switches doesn't auto connect. I have to do a full setup again. I'll try a factory wps and reconfigure out today.
 
I didn't have this issue when I was on 384.6. It was stable without this issue. I will install the final version of 384.9 and I usually do the WPS to ensure all settings are erased. I'll follow your guide to see if this issue goes away. What is confusing is that there are packets that are dropped outside the router so hence it's probably not the VPN connection.

Another nasty bug with the 384.9 is that the router needs a physical reboot every time. yes its 100% of the time. Yesterday when I downgraded, I was again able to do a soft reboot on the router. But then again this is a very small issue at this point.

PS: On a side note, I want to kick myself for breaking things that work well time and again. I used to have hugo's perfectly working version on my AC5300 and I updated to his updated firmware which was broken and I could not revert back even through recovery. With Merlin the range was dismal so I then moved over to the 86u. And everything was stable with no issues until I updated to 384.9 beta 1. Now it's daily that I get questioned by my wife (is the internet working). Every time I reconfigure the home switches doesn't auto connect. I have to do a full setup again. I'll try a factory wps and reconfigure out today.


don't be so down on yourself. Like I tell my customers; do you want to give me a late evening call and have me working overnight to get your network stable? Or do you want to plan the inevitable upgrades that bring greater security (first and foremost) in a controlled fashion?

There have been many RMerlin firmware versions over the years that I had once looked fondly back on. At the time they easily made the supported Asus routers best-in-class of any consumer offering by a long shot. Today, I wouldn't dream of having that rock-solid stability in trade for the security improvements RMerlin, Asus and even the 'locked blobs' that Broadcom has sole control over.

Change is a given; that is today's constant. Having a method like the link I offered above helps to keep the variables we can control to a minimum while giving the latest and most secure version of our router's firmware a chance to work as we need in our network environment.

Some firmware versions are better than others, but so far, I have been able to make all of them work (I've never regressed to an older version). Both for me and my customers varied network setups.
 
don't be so down on yourself. Like I tell my customers; do you want to give me a late evening call and have me working overnight to get your network stable? Or do you want to plan the inevitable upgrades that bring greater security (first and foremost) in a controlled fashion?

There have been many RMerlin firmware versions over the years that I had once looked fondly back on. At the time they easily made the supported Asus routers best-in-class of any consumer offering by a long shot. Today, I wouldn't dream of having that rock-solid stability in trade for the security improvements RMerlin, Asus and even the 'locked blobs' that Broadcom has sole control over.

Change is a given; that is today's constant. Having a method like the link I offered above helps to keep the variables we can control to a minimum while giving the latest and most secure version of our router's firmware a chance to work as we need in our network environment.

Some firmware versions are better than others, but so far, I have been able to make all of them work (I've never regressed to an older version). Both for me and my customers varied network setups.

I plan to follow the above instructions and install the firmware tonight and see what is going on. Hopefully it can get fixed.
 
I plan to follow the above instructions and install the firmware tonight and see what is going on. Hopefully it can get fixed.
Let us know how it goes and also if you have any queries (or comments) as a result of using L&LD’s excellent guide.
 
Let us know how it goes and also if you have any queries (or comments) as a result of using L&LD’s excellent guide.

As of last night, I tried this. I did a firmware recovery back to 384.6 using recovery and then I did a manual downgrade as well. Post which I did a WPS Reset and followed all the above-mentioned instructions to format Jffs partition, disable wps etc. Post setup, I finally installed the VPN and the network has been stable ever since. I can also reboot the router via the GUI as earlier. I will let it run for a few days to conclude but it sure didn't have one disconnect last night.

The VPN Applet also had all the icons display correctly on 384.6 vs 384.9 where there is one icon missing. no biggie but just a visual comparison.

If this runs for a few days successfully, I'll try the same with 384.9 to see if those issues come back.
 
As of last night, I tried this. I did a firmware recovery back to 384.6 using recovery and then I did a manual downgrade as well. Post which I did a WPS Reset and followed all the above-mentioned instructions to format Jffs partition, disable wps etc. Post setup, I finally installed the VPN and the network has been stable ever since. I can also reboot the router via the GUI as earlier. I will let it run for a few days to conclude but it sure didn't have one disconnect last night.

The VPN Applet also had all the icons display correctly on 384.6 vs 384.9 where there is one icon missing. no biggie but just a visual comparison.

If this runs for a few days successfully, I'll try the same with 384.9 to see if those issues come back.
VPN applet - is this Astrill by any chance?
 
Astrill have no intent to update their OpenVPN implementation going forward and want to switch completely to Wireguard. PIA on the other hand are focused on OpenVPN and have a much more updated implementation.


As for Astrill, they don't have any plans on bringing wireguard to the router applet. They have a custom wireguard implementation. As for OpenVPN they have custom solutions for that as well dependent on the country you are connecting from.
 
As for Astrill, they don't have any plans on bringing wireguard to the router applet. They have a custom wireguard implementation. As for OpenVPN they have custom solutions for that as well dependent on the country you are connecting from.
I would recommend trying your vpn using the standard merlin implementation to see if you have the same issues. Right now, your issues are likely caused by the applet
 
I would recommend trying your vpn using the standard merlin implementation to see if you have the same issues. Right now, your issues are likely caused by the applet

Standard is not possible in the country I am. Astrill has a custom protocol called UDP Pro which does a handshake and then an openvpn udp tunnel. If I use the regular openvpn udp protocol, the connection is shaped which means the vpn connects but no data flows through. About 80% of the packets are dropped.
If I use the TCP Protocol, the max speed achieved is about 15 mbps vs the 210 mbps of the applet.
 
Standard is not possible in the country I am. Astrill has a custom protocol called UDP Pro which does a handshake and then an openvpn udp tunnel. If I use the regular openvpn udp protocol, the connection is shaped which means the vpn connects but no data flows through. About 80% of the packets are dropped.
If I use the TCP Protocol, the max speed achieved is about 15 mbps vs the 210 mbps of the applet.
Ok. Have Astrill confirmed compatibility with 384.9?
 
Ok. Have Astrill confirmed compatibility with 384.9?

That I haven't checked. I did write to them on the findings I have on the ping returns on local laptop vs terminal on the router and went back and forth. I've just written to them. I typically have never checked with them on the compatibility. If it was incompatible it wouldn't work a 100% of the times right?
 
That I haven't checked. I did write to them on the findings I have on the ping returns on local laptop vs terminal on the router and went back and forth. I've just written to them. I typically have never checked with them on the compatibility. If it was incompatible it wouldn't work a 100% of the times right?
Hard to say without knowing what is going on under the hood!
 

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