[Release] Asuswrt-Merlin 384.15 (and 384.13_4) are now available

[theirongiant]

Just upgraded my AX-88U from 384.14. IPSEC VPN works, but I am having a problem turning on 802.11ax / Wi-Fi 6 mode. I select "Enable" and click Apply, and when it comes back the setting is still disabled. I'm eager to test out OFDMA.

I have Smart Connect dual band enabled, WPA2 personal authentication, and one remote AiMesh node in the system. Anything else I should check before I file this as a bug?

 

[Asad Ali]

Can I do that when using Smart Connect?

Not from within the Web UI but you can force change the channels using NVRAM manipulation.

For example:
For 2.4 GHz band use:
"nvram set wl0_chanspec=11/40"
"nvram commit"
"service restart_wireless"

This will set your 2.4Ghz band to a fixed channel 11.

For 5 GHz band:
"nvram set wl1_chanspec=149/80"
"nvram commit"
"service restart_wireless"

This will set your 5Ghz band to fix channel 149 with 80Mhz width.

Note: For 2.4Ghz band, you'll have to experiment a little to find any unused Extension channel because the ACSD (Automatic Channel Selection Demon) will disregard any NVRAM values and will downgrade/upgrade the channel forcefully.

 

[ShelaMonster]

Can I do that when using Smart Connect?

(my router is still offline; so I can't check right now)

Pretty sure you can. (AX-88U)
This is with 384.15, nothing special, no extra scripts or addons save for NextDNS.

 

[Asad Ali]

Pretty sure you can. (AX-88U)

Not all models support that for example I can do that on my AX88U via Web UI but not on AC86U.

 

[Curado Kev]

Merlin - I have the new ASUS ZenWifi XT8 Mesh system coming Friday - will 384.15 work for that system ? I have been using you for the last 5+ years. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Butterfly Bones]

Merlin - I have the new ASUS ZenWifi XT8 Mesh system coming Friday - will 384.15 work for that system ? I have been using you for the last 5+ years. Thanks for the reply.

The RMerlin wiki lists all supported routers.
https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin/wiki/Supported-Devices

 

[doczenith1]

Odd. On Android 10? In my case a OnePlus 7 Pro. Something makes OpenVPN connect and OpenVPN for Android fail (bit only when coming home to my own wifi)...

Yes, on Android 10 with a Pixel 4XL.

 

[swejuggalo]

Just upgraded my AX-88U from 384.14. IPSEC VPN works, but I am having a problem turning on 802.11ax / Wi-Fi 6 mode. I select "Enable" and click Apply, and when it comes back the setting is still disabled. I'm eager to test out OFDMA.

I have Smart Connect dual band enabled, WPA2 personal authentication, and one remote AiMesh node in the system. Anything else I should check before I file this as a bug?

I havn't messed around at all with AiMesh but I have a hunch/guess that is the problem. I have a single AX88 and did a reset with the last special beta with WPA3 enabled. Still use the same configuration on 384.15.
If AiMesh is the problem would it take much effort to run the AX88 solo and see what happens?

 

[swejuggalo]

Yes, on Android 10 with a Pixel 4XL.

Truly odd. Oxygen OS may have some quirks more than the normal Android 10 ones so... Anyway. Really impressed by the "VPN Client Pro" app. So I'll stick with that.

 

[XIII]

On my AC86U I can only select "Auto" (channel) in the GUI, so I will try the nvram trick. Thanks for that!

This morning several devices (Homey, Pi) were again disconnected...

I see 100/80 & 112/80 in acsd.log; I believe both are indeed DFS in Europe?

Which channel should be safe? (Where is a good overview?)

 

[gattaca]

^^^ If you SSID scan the surrounding area, you can determine which channels are being used and avoid or minimize the overlap... then I lock my router into those channels. The keeps thing stable and minimizes channel interference with neighbors. In apartments, dorms and other closer proximity, that gets harder to do. At one time I know some of these routers had a scanning feature. I've used inSSIDer for years.. but there are phone apps now-a-days too. What I found is my PC antenna were usually much more sensitive than my phone in picking up more distant neighbors. SNB has written many articles on channel selection etc.. such as this older one -> https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...s-lans-collide-how-to-beat-the-wireless-crowd Just scan this site for "channels" or did I misunderstand your question? Later.

 

[GHammer]

On my AC86U I can only select "Auto" (channel) in the GUI, so I will try the nvram trick. Thanks for that!

You know, it may not be what you are looking for, but I have simply given the two (2.4 and 5) SSIDs the same name on my 86U. Unless Smart Connect does something other than hand off to a different band, I'm not missing anything. I can roam my house and property with good reception. I also notice that our phones do indeed change from 5 to 2.4 and back.

Worth a shot if you are having issues.

 

[XIII]

You know, it may not be what you are looking for, but I have simply given the two (2.4 and 5) SSIDs the same name on my 86U. Unless Smart Connect does something other than hand off to a different band, I'm not missing anything.

I'm afraid most devices will only use 2.4 GHz because the signal is a bit stronger than the 5 GHz one.

Smart Connect can steer devices to a specific (preferred) band and do some load balancing as well.

 

[MDM]

I'm afraid most devices will only use 2.4 GHz because the signal is a bit stronger than the 5 GHz one.

Smart Connect can steer devices to a specific (preferred) band and do some load balancing as well.

Lower the 2.4GHz signal strength, and they won't..?

 

[CaptnDanLKW]

Following this thread intently since I'm in the same situation AND I have some of the same comments and feedback.

About two months ago I was a Single router RT-AC68U user with a single SSID, fixed channels (11/20 and 149/80) and roamassist enabled on 2.4Ghz only, with a value that worked for my house and yard. My reliability was stellar, no disconnects, no offline devices... Nice. I had a single guest WLAN for my 4 IoT devices - some cheap smart bulbs. It also helps to have only 2 distant neighbors and an uncluttered spectrum.

About 2 months ago I 'upgraded' to two RT-AC86Us using AI Mesh AND Smart Connect which throws all that manual stuff out the window. I've started having issues with my IoT devices, showing offline in the vendor's Smart App. When this happens, I can see the WLCEVENTD flooding the logs as it keeps (unsuccessfully) trying to reconnect; I know the log entries are NOT the source of the problem. Restarting the wireless service or disable/re-enable the Guest network will allow them to reconnect temporarily.

I disabled SmartConnect only - leaving everything else to auto (and keeping Same SSID) for the past 2 nights and so far the devices have NOT gone offline. The byproduct of this is my 5GHz capable devices, once they decide to re-associate with the network (probably due to low signal) will connect to the 2.4Ghz network and never go back to 5Ghz. Hence the benefit of SmartConnect.

Now, I just set the channelspec nvram variables as mentioned above (thanks!) with one exception, 2.4Ghz to only 20Mhz - I think that's actually the consensus/recommended value for a number of reasons we should all know. We'll see if SmartConnect ON with Fixed Channels solves my IoT offline issue.

One observation I made is that after I turned OFF SmartConnect two nights ago, that annoying dcd fault started occurring. Prior to that change, I have NEVER had a dcd fault. As the endless discussion about the crashing ended I figured Asus fixed it... but regardless, I dont recall seeing any discussed correlation between SmartConnect and the "Feb 12 08:48:01 kernel: dcd[15536]: unhandled level 3 translation fault (11) at 0x00000000, esr 0x92000007" errors, so I'll just mention it for reference.

 

[RMerlin]

I see 100/80 & 112/80 in acsd.log; I believe both are indeed DFS in Europe?

They are.

There should be a checkbox on the wifi settings telling the router not to use any DFS channel when auto selecting one.

Channels 36-44 would be non-DFS channels.

 

[MDM]

Oh, I found a small typo.

completely instead of completed

 

[CriticJay]

Updated my 86U to 384.15 Final and all is good for the past 12 hours or so ... no problems to report.

 

[RMerlin]

Oh, I found a small typo.
View attachment 21348
completely instead of completed

Welcome to English strings written by native Chinese programmers. It's not as bad as it was 5+ years ago (back when we were being "Logined out"), but there are still a few areas that could use the touch from a native speaker.

This is outside the scope of this project however.

 

[gattaca]

Personally, I have NEVER used "Smart Connect" and never will. I don't want the router mucking with the connections period. As a best-practice, I create a different SSID for 2.4/5 GHz band on each router. I can look at the name of the SSID and know exactly what I'm getting or if there's a problem, then I know which routers is down. Maybe I've been lucky but in the past 5+ years, we never, ever get disconnects unless I'm mucking with the routers in upgrades or AMTM stuff. This is on both RT-AC86U/AC88U/1900U models. I think heading down that same road may help stabilize your wireless setups. Cheers.