Login denied - factory reset - Wifi radios now wont work - RT-AC86U

[Tim 23]

RT-AC86U​

TLDR: randomly became locked out of the Asus UI page after rebooting my ISP router- router worked as it should then did factory reset to gain control - wifi radios now don't work


I was having issues with my Optimum Fiber, kept having the internet drop, lasting only a few seconds at at time before coming back online.

ISP came out and they checked their equipment and gave the all good. (issue resolved after they left and then started a week or two later, their wifi also would drop internet, so i'm blaming them vs the router)

The problem:
The Modem is in bridge mode and should have nothing to do with their built in router so this may all be coincidental. I hit the WPS button in attempt to disable their wifi, and ended up just rebooting the modem to get the light to stop flashing after the wifi disable trick didn't work. After, I went to log into the Asus Web UI and my user and password was denied ( I 100% did not change it, it has been the same for year, no user error there). The Asus router continued to work, internet, wifi.. etc... I did a factory reset to gain back access.. and now the wifi radios are not working... I get no lights for either band.

Has anyone had something like this happen where the router login loses the user/pass info, and then wifi radios fail. All firmware is the latest, I even re loaded it. The rest of the router seems good now, just lost wifi.. Seems odd to be working until I did a reset.. and no idea how my login info was wiped.

 

[OzarkEdge]

RT-AC86U​

TLDR: randomly became locked out of the Asus UI page after rebooting my ISP router- router worked as it should then did factory reset to gain control - wifi radios now don't work


I was having issues with my Optimum Fiber, kept having the internet drop, lasting only a few seconds at at time before coming back online.

ISP came out and they checked their equipment and gave the all good. (issue resolved after they left and then started a week or two later, their wifi also would drop internet, so i'm blaming them vs the router)

The problem:
The Modem is in bridge mode and should have nothing to do with their built in router so this may all be coincidental. I hit the WPS button in attempt to disable their wifi, and ended up just rebooting the modem to get the light to stop flashing after the wifi disable trick didn't work. After, I went to log into the Asus Web UI and my user and password was denied ( I 100% did not change it, it has been the same for year, no user error there). The Asus router continued to work, internet, wifi.. etc... I did a factory reset to gain back access.. and now the wifi radios are not working... I get no lights for either band.

Has anyone had something like this happen where the router login loses the user/pass info, and then wifi radios fail. All firmware is the latest, I even re loaded it. The rest of the router seems good now, just lost wifi.. Seems odd to be working until I did a reset.. and no idea how my login info was wiped.

The RT-AC86U has a history of burning out.

OE

 

[Tim 23]

The RT-AC86U has a history of burning out.

OE

Thanks, 2 years old and shot. My older ac68u still going strong as a node. Bummer, was hoping to retire the ac86u to my node.

 

[Tech9]

2 years old and shot

If you purchased it in 2022 - RT-AC86U was already 5 years old model. It was released in 2017, the first NHD platform Asus router and known for multiple progressing and sudden hardware failures. Nothing even close to RT-AC68U quality - perhaps the most successful Asus router ever built.

 

[Tim 23]

If you purchased it in 2022 - RT-AC86U was already 5 years old model. It was released in 2017, the first NHD platform Asus router and known for multiple progressing and sudden hardware failures. Nothing even close to RT-AC68U quality - perhaps the most successful Asus router ever built.

Just checked the purchase date, January 2022, so going on 3 years would be more accurate. I have had 2 RT-AC68U, one purchased in 2015 and then again in 2020. Both still work, so at the time being an already older model didn't matter. I thought the RT-AC86U was going to be an upgrade and build on the older RT-AC68U, I never really looked into its track record. Asus should have pulled it from its line up if it kept having failures. Was never anything great. Giving the RT-BE88U a try now.

 

[CrashXRu]

ac86 and gt-ac2900
great router, yes it is hot and could overheat, but if you put a cooler it works without interruptions

make a check in the SSH

nvram show | grep -E 'macaddr|odmpid|secret|serial'

 

[Tech9]

Now it sounds like someone helped this one die.

@CrashXRu, do you have statistics which models are affected? All of them, NHD models, running specific firmware?

 

[CrashXRu]

all models on HND suffer

there is a serious bug that Asus ignores

After long discussions, support responded that this is how it should work, although they also agreed with the unsafe method

I gave an example of different firmware versions where everything was fine, and then they broke these mechanisms

that is why factory data is lost

so far the most affected are RT-ax86u/s



on mtk and qualcom platforms, everything is solved by a simple reset of the settings and the router continues to work without problems

 

[Tech9]

there is a serious bug that Asus ignores

Seems like some folks will need new routers. Asus will readily sell them a new one.