Release New AX88U Firmware v3.0.0.4.386.41700

[FTC]

I have it running for 8 hours so far, everything is going well. No nodes just main router with guest network.

Hi, what about transfer speed from wifi clients ? what is the bandwith of your connection ? can you reach its max from the clients with speedtest or similar ?

thanks in advance

 

[Hawk]

On wifi I get about 425 download and upload is around 595,using s10 with about 7 ms latency.
If I used wire connection between router and desktop I am getting about 930 download 935 upload, out of 940 which is max for gigabit with overhead. I am paying for 940/940 with provider. Latency on Ookla speed test is one millisecond during testing with wired connection.

 

[FTC]

On wifi I get about 425 download and upload is around 595,using s10 with about 7 ms latency.
If I used wire connection between router and desktop I am getting about 930 download 935 upload, out of 940 which is max for gigabit with overhead. I am paying for 940/940 with provider. Latency on Ookla speed test is one millisecond during testing with wired connection.

That is great news and may indicate Asus fixed the flaw in previous (retired) version as long as this data is seen with Aiprotection OR QoS OR apps analysis activated. Thanks!

 

[Hawk]

That is great news and may indicate Asus fixed the flaw in previous (retired) version as long as this data is seen with Aiprotection OR QoS OR apps analysis activated. Thanks!

I don't use trend micro stuff, do you want me to test ai protection and apps analysis activated?

Well, I decided to do anyway, so here are my observation when both options are enabled, I loose about 2 to 3 Mbps speed on download and little more on upload but it is less than 10 Mbps, example upload doesn't drop below 925 Mbps. Ping time is 2ms instead of 1ms like before, same server and still same speed test provider. However as expected if you do within router it take significant hit in terms of speed on both download and upload, I will say about 40 to 45% loss of speed.

 

[NSNE]

I did a dirty upgrade over the previous production .386 release. The Let's Encrypt issue appears to be solved, so now I've got a little glowing lock icon next to my DDNS info on the network dashboard. Anecdotally, everything else seems to be going well with my current mesh setup, an AX88U (main) and a 68U (wired node, now on .41634). All 70+ local devices are connecting with no issues reported so far among our school-/work-from-home household. Still can't get Instant Guard to work over the WAN, but that might be a separate issue.

 

[alejandrofm1]

How is the 2.4ghz network going? is there improvement?

 

[Hawk]

How is the 2.4ghz network going? is there improvement?

Is there anything specific in 2.4 ghz, which you want to ask about.

 

[FTC]

I don't use trend micro stuff, do you want me to test ai protection and apps analysis activated?

Well, I decided to do anyway, so here are my observation when both options are enabled, I loose about 2 to 3 Mbps speed on download and little more on upload but it is less than 10 Mbps, example upload doesn't drop below 925 Mbps. Ping time is 2ms instead of 1ms like before, same server and still same speed test provider. However as expected if you do within router it take significant hit in terms of speed on both download and upload, I will say about 40 to 45% loss of speed.

Great news! many thanks. In fact I am a Merlin user but this shows what to expect from next Merlin beta that will be based on GPL 41700.

 

[Hawk]

Great news! many thanks. In fact I am a Merlin user but this shows what to expect from next Merlin beta that will be based on GPL 41700.

I am merlin user myself, so much that I compile my own firmware. I switched to stock because of aimesh and RT-AX88U were having issues if using guest network 1, however I just compiled firmware based on GPL41700 and RT-AX88U is working nicely including guest network 1 and let's Encrypt. Another reason was to test trend micro components since you mentioned about in one of the post and you can't compile trend micro related components yourself. Once Eric release new beta, I will use that instead.

 

[brummygit]

I am merlin user myself, so much that I compile my own firmware. I switched to stock because of aimesh and RT-AX88U were having issues if using guest network 1, however I just compiled firmware based on GPL41700 and RT-AX88U is working nicely including guest network 1 and let's Encrypt. Another reason was to test trend micro components since you mentioned about in one of the post and you can't compile trend micro related components yourself. Once Eric release new beta, I will use that instead.

I reverted to stock 41700 yesterday due to issues with GPL 41535 on Merlin. It's working great (although I miss Merlin features) however I'm now having terrible WIFI issues with my AX56U accepting connections but then the devices can't actually access the internet. I hope there will soon be a stock version of 41700 for my nodes.

Has anyone else run this version with older nodes successfully?

 

[alejandrofm1]

Is there anything specific in 2.4 ghz, which you want to ask about.

yes. I mean if there is improvement in power output from 2.4. That apparently dropped as of 384.14.

 

[Hawk]

yes. I mean if there is improvement in power output from 2.4. That apparently dropped as of 384.14.

Oh yes, in that regard Asus has updated the driver which control radio and power output. In fact all version in 386 branch has improved power output for 2.4 ghz, if memory serve me correctly any version after 384.12 had this issue. So yes if you like you can certainly update it. You may need to factory reset if there are signs of trouble, since lot has changed under the hood.

 

[Cavey]

Hi all,

I just upgraded directly to the following firmware from 384, so far no issues *fingers crossed* but i am curious on a WAN portion setting, by default the NAT Type was on symmetric but i could not get internet access, it gave me an internal IP (presumably from the ISP) and then dropped 5 seconds later (process repeats), only if i match up symmetric with UPNP on or changing it to Fullcone mode will i get internet access.

Looking at posts online and in the forums, seems fullcone is meant more people with multiple gaming consoles or pcs as it makes it simpler to configure. My question is must the ISP be able to support symmetric in order for it to work without UPNP? also since the router defaulted to symmetric is it because it is better or more secure? Assuming ISP supports either modes, any reasons to use symmetric over fullcone?

Thank you!

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hi all,

I just upgraded directly to the following firmware from 384, so far no issues *fingers crossed* but i am curious on a WAN portion setting, by default the NAT Type was on symmetric but i could not get internet access, it gave me an internal IP (presumably from the ISP) and then dropped 5 seconds later (process repeats), only if i match up symmetric with UPNP on or changing it to Fullcone mode will i get internet access.

Looking at posts online and in the forums, seems fullcone is meant more people with multiple gaming consoles or pcs as it makes it simpler to configure. My question is must the ISP be able to support symmetric in order for it to work without UPNP? also since the router defaulted to symmetric is it because it is better or more secure? Assuming ISP supports either modes, any reasons to use symmetric over fullcone?

Thank you!

I believe the default symmetric is preferred and secure, and the ISP should not matter.

OE

 

[mhemil]

I am planning to upgrade to the latest 386.41700.6941 firmware from it's precessor (not Merlin) and wonder if a reset is required after upgrade? Have a lot of customized settings and it will take a while to setup from scratch again.

 

[brummygit]

I am planning to upgrade to the latest 386.41700.6941 firmware from it's precessor (not Merlin) and wonder if a reset is required after upgrade? Have a lot of customized settings and it will take a while to setup from scratch again.

Whilst I haven't seen anything specified, it's usually a good idea anyway. If the predecessor is the now withdrawn 386_4129, any of the betas Asus issued or a version starting 384_xxxx I would strongly advise that you do reset to defaults after the upgrade. This puts back all of the factory settings including some which are not configurable by the GUI as they are used internally in the firmware and can change from release to release.

My own experience is that I did a reset after moving from the 386_41535 beta to this version and it has been very reliable and stable for me, unlike 41535.

The bottom line is that the reset is a very good option.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I am planning to upgrade to the latest 386.41700.6941 firmware from it's precessor (not Merlin) and wonder if a reset is required after upgrade? Have a lot of customized settings and it will take a while to setup from scratch again.

You don't have to reset the firmware, but you should before you bother to troubleshoot weirdness.

OE

 

[neil0311]

So what’s the overall verdict on this firmware? Thumbs up or down?

I use Merlin now, but I don’t use a majority of the features. I use the wireless networks and that’s about it. I just want stable and well performing wifi functionality. Don’t need VPN or QOS or a host of other features.

Merlin 384.19 has been stable but the wireless performance, especially on 2.4 GHz has been poor. Is this release ready for prime time? I think I’m ready to get off the Merlin train.

 

[brummygit]

So what’s the overall verdict on this firmware? Thumbs up or down?

I use Merlin now, but I don’t use a majority of the features. I use the wireless networks and that’s about it. I just want stable and well performing wifi functionality. Don’t need VPN or QOS or a host of other features.

Merlin 384.19 has been stable but the wireless performance, especially on 2.4 GHz has been poor. Is this release ready for prime time? I think I’m ready to get off the Merlin train.

I've temporarily moved from Merlin to Stock as the 386_41535 GPL builds were problematic for me. So far this release has been very good on my network.

I'll be returning to Merlin once his Beta 5 has been released based on 41700, but that's only because I used so of his extra features.

 

[Hawk]

I've temporarily moved from Merlin to Stock as the 386_41535 GPL builds were problematic for me. So far this release has been very good on my network.

I'll be returning to Merlin once his Beta 5 has been released based on 41700, but that's only because I used so of his extra features.

Are you using trend micro stuff or anything related to it? I asked because I compile my own beta 5 based on GPL41700, if you like I can share.