Initialization setup config issue on my ASUS RT-AX88U (mac's are gone)

[donHashid]

Hi everyone,

I’m dealing with a fairly deep issue on my ASUS RT-AX88U and I’d really appreciate some insight from people who have experience with low-level recovery or NVRAM/CFE internals. The problem started after flashing Asuswrt-Merlin. After that, something clearly broke in how NVRAM is mapped or interpreted. Since then, the router behaves inconsistently, and standard recovery steps don’t fully resolve the issue.
Here’s the sequence of actions I took so far:

• Flashed Merlin firmware
• Noticed abnormal behavior (SSID issues, inconsistent config)
• Ran nvram erase via SSH
• Rebooted
• Performed WPS reset (holding WPS while powering on)
• Flashed stock firmware using Rescue Tool

Despite all of this, the problem persists.

Current symptoms
1. Broken / inconsistent NVRAM values
Some key variables are missing or empty:

• lan_hwaddr → present
• et0macaddr → empty
• wan_hwaddr → empty

This looks like NVRAM is not aligned with what CFE expects.

2. SSID / wireless config issues​

After reset:

• SSIDs are missing or incorrect
• Settings don’t persist properly

However Wi-Fi radios do work (likely fallback/default behavior)
3. Suspicious
-rw-rw-rw- 1 admin root 0 Jan 1 1970<br>

• File is 0 bytes
• Timestamp is epoch (1970)

This suggests improper initialization or corruption.

---

4. WPS reset behavior​

When performing WPS reset:

• LEDs turn on → then off → then nothing

Unclear if reset completes correctly or fails silently.

---

Key observation​

Even after

• nvram erase
• WPS reset
• full firmware reflash (stock)

The router still behaves as if NVRAM structure is broken or mismatched.

---

My current hypothesis​

This looks like a low-level mismatch between NVRAM and CFE, possibly:

• incorrect NVRAM layout
• missing default variables
• corrupted flash partition
• or CFE not properly exposing expected values

The fact that:

• some MAC addresses are missing
• Wi-Fi still works (fallback)
• resets don’t fully rebuild config

…points strongly in that direction.

---

What I’m trying to figure out​

I’d appreciate guidance on:

1. How to fully rebuild NVRAM from scratch
   
   • Is there a known clean baseline for AX88U variables?
   • I got my both macs from some screenshots I did
2. Whether this indicates CFE corruption
   
   • And how to verify that safely
3. If manual restoration of key variables (MAC, etc.) is viable
   
   • Or just masking the underlying issue
4. Whether I should consider CFE reflash / UART recovery at this point

---

The router is technically “working”, but clearly unstable at a configuration level. I don’t want to rely on a half-broken state long term.
I saw other simmilar resolved topics here, unfortunatelly without any which helped me.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Tech9]

Most likely just another victim of malware damaging default configuration.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I'll send you a direct message.

 

[donHashid]

Most likely just another victim of malware damaging default configuration.

It looks like, thankfully @ColinTaylor was there.
Case solved by him, really appreciated