RP-AC68U New firmware 3.0.0.4.382.40019

[FTC]

Hi, just saw the subject firmware posted in Asus download page : https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RP-AC68U/HelpDesk_BIOS/ for whoever may be interested in.

Given that this repeater previous firmware still had a few things to be fixed, it will be interesting to read in this thread how it behaves. I will post back myself in a few days after enough experience gathered.

 

[FTC]

Well, this is my initial report after trying this firmware. First of all, just mention that the file that can be downloaded from the ASUS download pages is kind of corrupted. It can be unzipped but gives 'data error' with several tools (7ZIP, windows ZIP support,...) but fortunately you can apply the firmware directly by 'searching for updates' from within the administration GUI.

Now, regarding the nits of the previous versions :
- Red LEDS had a bit erratic behavior before => Now they plain and simple directly don't work. There is no way that I found to switch the led lights on now. So this one is a step back! CORRECTION : They seem to work after a device reboot.
- The IPTV settings 'apply' button was not working. => Now the whole IPTV page is directly disabled (and many others) in expressway modes. Another step back!
- Wifi scheduling was not working right after apply (it worked after a reboot at least). => Now most of the options in the professional page of wifi have been disabled in expressway mode, so there is no way to configure scheduling. I will see tonight if the previous wifi scheduling is still being applied. Third step back!
- There is still no way in the whole GUI to see if wifi rdios are on.
- The connected devices list seems to be correct (it was a bit erratic before). So this one got better behavior.
- MAC filter always showing as unapplied => Thi is still broken

So all in all, 3 steps back, 1 step forward and one bug with same behavior. Not very impressed.

PS To the moderators, feel free to move this thread to the 'Official' firmwares section. I think it may fit better there. Thanks

 

[jerry6]

Thanks , Ill give it a try
Update went well , no problems at all , everything is working as before

 

[FTC]

Hi, I am happy to report that Asus has fixed their download page and the fw can now be correctly downloaded and extracted from their support page.

I can also confirm that the LEDs work finally well (although after a second reboot once the firmware is installed), and its behavior is what it should be (the front panel switch works as expected and there are no spurious leds switch on/off)

The stability of this firmware is in fact quite good.

The remaining complaints of my initial review remain, specially :

- Lots of configuration pages/options removed from the GUI vs previous versions, specially most of the wifi professional options, at least in expressway modes. I have however been able to program my own 'wifi scheduling' through scripts to bypass this limitation (this was the specific option my installation requires besides IPTV settings although IPTV in my case still works with default values).

- Regarding how to see if radios are on, there is still no indication in the main GUI network page. Fortunately the wireless log page shows the state reliably.

- MAC filter page bug not showing current applied filters is still present.

All in all, still mixed feelings but better than my previous report. However, only for its better stability I think it has been worthwile the migration.

 

[snbdora]

After this update, I did notice that it does mount the /jffs MTD partition which wasn't the case before.

 

[jerry6]

Hi, I am happy to report that Asus has fixed their download page and the fw can now be correctly downloaded and extracted from their support page.

I can also confirm that the LEDs work finally well (although after a second reboot once the firmware is installed), and its behavior is what it should be (the front panel switch works as expected and there are no spurious leds switch on/off)

The stability of this firmware is in fact quite good.

The remaining complaints of my initial review remain, specially :

- Lots of configuration pages/options removed from the GUI vs previous versions, specially most of the wifi professional options, at least in expressway modes. I have however been able to program my own 'wifi scheduling' through scripts to bypass this limitation (this was the specific option my installation requires besides IPTV settings although IPTV in my case still works with default values).

- Regarding how to see if radios are on, there is still no indication in the main GUI network page. Fortunately the wireless log page shows the state reliably.

- MAC filter page bug not showing current applied filters is still present.

All in all, still mixed feelings but better than my previous report. However, only for its better stability I think it has been worthwile the migration.

Seems the RP 68U is now disconnecting once or twice a day and I can no longer see the computers attached in the network . Think I'm going back to the previous FW , wish there were a Merlin FW
Update , went back to previous FW , don't think this new FW is ready for prime time , disconnected from network way to often , it would be offline for over 1 hour then magically return

 

[FTC]

Seems the RP 68U is now disconnecting once or twice a day and I can no longer see the computers attached in the network . Think I'm going back to the previous FW , wish there were a Merlin FW

Hi, that is strange. In what mode is your rp-68u configured ? what channels are your radios using ? Is your repeated SSID named the same as the one it is repeating ?. I had some unstabilities yesterday evening and I think that they were caused by the RP choosing a channel (4) interfering with the repeated router radio channel (6) with identical SSIDs. Now switched from 'auto' to fixed channel 11 (no interference with my other identical SSID channel) and all seems well..

 

[jerry6]

I'm using it in bridge mode , never had any disconnects from network before , after 2 days and 3 0r 4 disconnects I gave up . There are no other wireless within a mile of mine so not interference . Changed channels , it made no difference . Am using channel 1 on 2.4 and 48 on 5 ghz radio . After switching to previous FW no more loss of network

 

[FTC]

I'm using it in bridge mode , never had any disconnects from network before , after 2 days and 3 0r 4 disconnects I gave up . There are no other wireless within a mile of mine so not interference . Changed channels , it made no difference . Am using channel 1 on 2.4 and 48 on 5 ghz radio . After switching to previous FW no more loss of network

Absolutely. In (media) bridge mode there is no 'repeated' wifi network to begin with, so the problem I experienced just can not happen. Your repeater has both band radios acting as clients of your router and there is no possibility of self-equipment interference.

In any case if you ever choose to try expressway 5Ghz my experience is that there are no disconnects. (in this way the 5Ghz band acts as the single main link to the router and provides service for the ethernet ports plus the 2.4Ghz band).

 

[agodng]

Hi , I also have this repeater rp-ac68u and a few months ago I posed here a series of problems but without any answer, I also wrote to asus support but it was just a waste of time
this last firmware 3.0.0.4.382.40019 is fabulous,

for experience for cleaning all setting and temp I preferred to do a complete recovery from firmware restoration tool and reconfigure as factory status

now the minidlna server works (service start and work in media client very well)
the icons are associated correct with the type of wifi or lan connection
if a different name and icon is set in the device list, this is retained
the log is not deleted at each restart
he also corrected the vulnerability KRACK wifi
overall it seems very stable and works as before

all my issue are solved,
TX Asus

 

[FTC]

Hi, this is to inform that I am finally rolling back to previous firmware. I have been observing some strange streaming stops in my IPTV service in the last days (I have the decodifier cable connected to the 68), which I initially thought were caused by my provider or some wifi interferences, but after some digging and testing are definetly caused by the 40019 firmware. I've tried resetting and restarting from 0 all the network components, but it seems like the only cure is going back to the 10513 firmware.

 

[jerry6]

Hi, this is to inform that I am finally rolling back to previous firmware. I have been observing some strange streaming stops in my IPTV service in the last days (I have the decodifier cable connected to the 68), which I initially thought were caused by my provider or some wifi interferences, but after some digging and testing are definetly caused by the 40019 firmware. I've tried resetting and restarting from 0 all the network components, but it seems like the only cure is going back to the 10513 firmware.

Well that didn't take long , previous FW was very stable , had no trouble streaming and had no disconnects . Hope they come up with a good stable FW soon , one that fixes the KRACK problem and is stable

 

[FTC]

Well that didn't take long , previous FW was very stable , had no trouble streaming and had no disconnects . Hope they come up with a good stable FW soon , one that fixes the KRACK problem and is stable

Definetly. 40019 has indeed some improvements (KRACK problem, LEDs behavior, working minidlna, better connected devices list display, ...) but it lacks the ultimate stability 10513 had, plus some functionality has been stripped, such as wifi scheduling in some modes...
Lets wait for a 'best of both worlds' firmware soon from ASUS.

 

[Softech]

have to report that this firmware is not working for me.

using it as a repearter mode with same SSIDs as my routers. Device connected with it will suddenly lost the connection. Tried to reconnect but it failed.. i have to shut it down so it can connect with my main router

did a reboot and it was good for around 12-24 hours and issue happen again.. was like this for couple days.. decide to go back to 3.0.0.4.382.10513.

 

[Murtaza12]

Reading mixed reviews here, so reluctant to update, still on the previous FW with no major issues, so unless there is a significant difference, I think I will be staying.

Buying this repeater was a huge mistake in the first place, I do not want to waste my summer trying to get it to work nicely with my Netgear router.

 

[jerry6]

Reading mixed reviews here, so reluctant to update, still on the previous FW with no major issues, so unless there is a significant difference, I think I will be staying.

Buying this repeater was a huge mistake in the first place, I do not want to waste my summer trying to get it to work nicely with my Netgear router.

If you have no problems don't update , nothing but trouble

 

[Softech]

Buying this repeater was a huge mistake in the first place, I do not want to waste my summer trying to get it to work nicely with my Netgear router.

not agree with that.. this is one of the best repeater I have.. gone a linksys one before and return within 2 weeks.. it requires reboot EVERYDAY!!

I dun mind this one firmware issue.. has gone through couple updates and only this latest one gave me issue..

 

[Murtaza12]

not agree with that.. this is one of the best repeater I have.. gone a linksys one before and return within 2 weeks.. it requires reboot EVERYDAY!!

I dun mind this one firmware issue.. has gone through couple updates and only this latest one gave me issue..

Well I've hated mine. It had the manufacturing defect where the reset button was jammed in because of the stupid bottom cover which I had to modify just so it wouldn't always press it. There goes my warranty.

The UI is clunky and doesn't work half the time. There are times when it'll hold a solid connection for 7-10 days, and then for 3 days in a row it'll just decide to be a buggy turd and keep disconnecting, requiring me to reboot it every 2 hours or so.

I'm probably going to throw it in my cupboard and get a Netgear EX8000, it's Qualcomm based just like my router so it should play well and have no issues.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

 

[Murtaza12]

If you have no problems don't update , nothing but trouble

I haven't even updated yet and the red LED strip on the front just decided to stop working. Fantastic. :/

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

 

[snbdora]

I finally rolled back to 10513 after using 40019 for 1 month. I've had issue multiple wireless and wired clients connecting. I think the "KRACK" mitigation changes may have brought issue with the client connectivity and overall stability.