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RT-AC1900P 2.4 GHz Connection Drops & Transient Complete Connection Failure

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jsims

Occasional Visitor
Hey Everyone. I'll try to keep this as short, succint, and relevant info as possible.

So my problem for the longest time has been 2.4 GHz wireless network connections being dropped and then reconnected shortly after on my RT-AC1900P. Yesterday, both wireless bands seemed to drop and connectivity was completely gone even to my FIOS ONT Box. Confirmed this with Verizon Support and after fiddling with my router

I originally started out with the stock Asuswrt firmware as updated as possible, when i noticed these drops started occurring.
I searched online and found some setting config tweaks to the wireless that was supposed to help, but didn't make it go away completely.

Eventually i started noticing the CPU was close to 100% at idle, so i decided to take a chance and flash to the latest Merlin firmware at the time, which made both seem to go away
CPU issue has been gone since, but eventually the 2.4 GHz connection drops came back, albeit a little less frequently
I've been on Merlin version 384.18 since it came out some months ago

I tried another solution by enabling the Guest network and using that, because i heard that it was more stable than the regular network
I've been testing devices on this and the issue seemed to come back regardless

I rebooted the router yesterday to try something and about 30 minutes later or so, all connections seemed to just start going wonky, as in very slow on the 5 GHz or disconnecting on the 2.4 GHz
Shortly after that, I called Verizon Support to start narrowing down the problem and we came to the router
I rebooted the router twice, where i could at least connect to the wireless before. But suddenly couldn't connect to it after the rebooting
Verizon said their ONT box couldn't communicate with the router even

Eventually, i rebooted it sometime after the call ended because it still wasn't working, and it miraculously started working again.

I've been contemplating going back to Stock firmware and trying that out for a little bit so i can at least check with Asus support if the issues come back
I'm not sure how to troubleshoot this anymore with all the above occurring

Can anybody help narrow this down and create some order out of this chaos?
 
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Hey Everyone. I'll try to keep this as short, succint, and relevant info as possible.

So my problem for the longest time has been 2.4 GHz wireless network connections being dropped and then reconnected shortly after on my RT-AC1900P. Yesterday, both wireless bands seemed to drop and connectivity was completely gone even to my FIOS ONT Box. Confirmed this with Verizon Support and fiddling with my router

I originally started out with the stock Asuswrt firmware as updated as possible, when i noticed these drops started occurring.
I searched online and found some setting config tweaks to the wireless that was supposed to help, but didn't make it go away completely.

Eventually i started noticing the CPU was close to 100% at idle, so i decided to take a chance and flash to the latest Merlin firmware at the time, which made both seem to go away
CPU issue has been gone since, but eventually the 2.4 GHz connection drops came back, albeit a little less frequently
I've been on Merlin version 384.18 since it came out some months ago

I tried another solution by enabling the Guest network and using that, because i heard that it was more stable than the regular network
I've been testing devices on this and the issue seemed to come back regardless

I rebooted the router yesterday to try something and about 30 minutes later or so, all connections seemed to just start going wonky, as in very slow on the 5 GHz or disconnecting on the 2.4 GHz
Shortly after that, I called Verizon Support to start narrowing down the problem and we came to the router
I rebooted the router twice, where i could at least connect to the wireless before. But suddenly couldn't connect to it after the rebooting
Verizon said their ONT box couldn't communicate with the router even

Eventually, i rebooted it sometime after the call ended because it still wasn't working, and it miraculously started working again.

I've been contemplating going back to Stock firmware and trying that out for a little bit so i can at least check with Asus support if the issues come back
I'm not sure how to troubleshoot this anymore with all the above occurring

Can anybody help narrow this down and create some order out of this chaos?

Flash latest stock Asuswrt firmware, reset the firmware to factory defaults, and then configure it minimally from scratch. Test that. If it's not stable, replace it.

[FAQ] NVRAM and Factory Default Reset | SmallNetBuilder Forums (snbforums.com)

How to reset the router to factory default setting? | Official Support | ASUS Global

OE
 
These settings fixed my weird 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (dis)connection issues:
Code:
Advanced Settings - Wireless - Professional - 2.4 GHz
Modulation Scheme: Up to MCS 7 (802.11n)
Airtime Fairness: Disable
Universal Beamforming: Disable

Advanced Settings - Wireless - Professional - 5 GHz
Airtime Fairness: Disable
Universal Beamforming: Disable
And in case of an Intel network adapter: seek for a possible driver update from the Intel website.
 
Flash latest stock Asuswrt firmware, reset the firmware to factory defaults, and then configure it minimally from scratch. Test that. If it's not stable, replace it.

[FAQ] NVRAM and Factory Default Reset | SmallNetBuilder Forums (snbforums.com)

How to reset the router to factory default setting? | Official Support | ASUS Global

OE

Just flashed to the most updated factory firmware, Factory reset it from the reset button on the back, and keeping an eye out for anything else


These settings fixed my weird 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (dis)connection issues:
Code:
Advanced Settings - Wireless - Professional - 2.4 GHz
Modulation Scheme: Up to MCS 7 (802.11n)
Airtime Fairness: Disable
Universal Beamforming: Disable

Advanced Settings - Wireless - Professional - 5 GHz
Airtime Fairness: Disable
Universal Beamforming: Disable
And in case of an Intel network adapter: seek for a possible driver update from the Intel website.

I did disable Beamforming and Fairness after the reset because i remember reading that in several tweaks. Seems to help improve the signal strength as well.
Haven't changed the modulation scheme yet, but will try that if the connection dropping comes back.
For the Intel advice, i'm assuming you mean to update the wireless drivers on the device that's dropping connections, right?
 
@L&LD @wouterv @OzarkEdge

Alright, so the wireless driver on the laptop was updated to the latest one i could find, and the router was reset like before stated and only had the settings changed that @wouterv suggested, minus the
Modulation Scheme.

It appears now that the laptop will suddenly disconnect from the 2.4 GHz network and have to manually be connected and disconnected a few times before it will actually connect again.
It seems like the original problem is still there, and probably the driver i updated it to might have made it worse.

Not sure what to do about this now. I did buy the router Re-manufactured, which seems like a bad idea now. But it's too late to send it in for a replacement.
I'm going to try contacting Asus about this and see if they have any ideas about it.
 
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besides you wireless conn issues (wonky your words) - did you confrim that wan connection from router to ONT was in fact 'gone' at some point or intermittant?... intel driver update was for wireless (assumption on my part reading comments) - and not for wired nic?...

all that considered - get a new power supply brick - the cheapest possible fix you can try unless you have the gear to test the power brick under load... long ago I replaced a 'failing' 1900 power supply after 2+ years in service which exhibited similar 'wtf' symptoms... it's still running today...
 
Great advice regarding the power supply. We focus on the routers having issues but it's easy to forget about the problems that can happen with the router power bricks. They go out of spec and the power fluctuates along with the reliability of the router. There are also can be issues with power strips that the router is plugged into and the power supply on the that circuit as well. This is why it is highly recommended to use a high quality UPS battery backup and surge protection.

I have a server grade APC Smart-UPS supplying power for every one of my router and modem combinations at their different locations. It might be a reason why I have very few problems with my networking equipment. Clean power helps keep the equipment up and running and protects it from damage due to fluctuations in the quality of the current.
 
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did you confrim that wan connection from router to ONT was in fact 'gone' at some point or intermittant?
The only way i confirmed it was with Verizon support. I don't think i could even connect to the router to check connections or line statistics.
I didn't think to check the logs afterwards cause it was so late at night.

intel driver update was for wireless (assumption on my part reading comments) - and not for wired nic?...
Yes, drivers were updated for the wireless nic, not the wired one.

all that considered - get a new power supply brick - the cheapest possible fix you can try unless you have the gear to test the power brick under load... long ago I replaced a 'failing' 1900 power supply after 2+ years in service which exhibited similar 'wtf' symptoms... it's still running today...
I'm not sure exactly if it's an issue with the power supply. That was the first and only time the issue with the complete connections failure and working improperly after reboot occurred in the year that i've had it, and didn't seem to have issues powering up or just randomly turning off.
The issue with the 2.4 GHz connection drop to that one device is the only noticeable and recurring issue.
My desktop connected to the 5 GHz network doesn't have these issues. I have Wyze Wifi cameras on the 2.4 GHz, and i can't really tell if they have intermittent drops. Most of the time i check them they don't seem to have problems.


I've also noticed that the 2.4 GHz dropping on this routers' wireless chipset seems to be a fairly common problem when searching online.
Though all the fixes and suggestions i've tried from those forum posts didn't seem to make the issue go away permanently.
 
a last thought - any way to factory reset/reinitialize the cams?...

current draw is dynamic and tough to troubleshoot without the right test equip... not a computer but only cams on the 2.4?... oh, ok... doesn't explain the wan conn going south (maybe a one time fault, but not likely)... but if you've put in the time with a WPS hard reset and reconfig'd the router - well... to RMA it in for repair is $$ - a power-supply is way less... your call...
 
@thecheapseats I actually think i'm just going to get a new router, maybe the TP-Link AC2600. Haven't found any absolutely horrible reviews on it, it's "fairly" new within the past 2 years, but overall sounds to have better performance, possibly better range, and hopefully not the same issues as the 1900P chipset.
Don't know if i want to try another Asus AC1900 again (i know i've got the 1900P, but it's the same basic model and same wireless chipsets that could have the same problems)

I also can't even RMA this thing because it's so far out of warranty and Asus requires "Extended Support" to even troubleshoot it further, which requires payment. I ain't paying to have one of their defective products possibly fixed or not fixed.
 
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@thecheapseats I actually think i'm just going to get a new router, maybe the TP-Link AC2600. Haven't found any absolutely horrible reviews on it, it's "fairly" new within the past 2 years, but overall sounds to have better performance, possibly better range, and hopefully not the same issues as the 1900P chipset.
Don't know if i want to try another Asus AC1900 again (i know i've got the 1900P, but it's the same basic model and same wireless chipsets that could have the same problems)

I also can't even RMA this thing because it's so far out of warranty and Asus requires "Extended Support" to even troubleshoot it further, which requires payment. I ain't paying to have one of their defective products possibly fixed or not fixed.
The highly recommended Asus RT-AX86U is in stock on Amazon U.S. sold by Amazon today at the time of this post but you better act fast since they go back out of stock in no time.
 
Eh, i think i'm going to skip Asus. I'm always finding some reviews mentioning connections dropping, bad support, or a variety of other issues. Maybe the lower-end models might be ok, but i'm not really looking for them.

Only real contenders i'm seeing right now are the Speedefy AC2100 and the TP-Links AC2600 (Archer A10 chipset) or possibly AC1750 as a last resort.
 
So I tried a very simple thing a couple weeks ago that i thought I tried a while ago and didn't work.

I was looking through a tech website list of best routers and found the AC1900/P in there. I saw one of the drawbacks was the 2.4 GHz 20/40 MHz channel bandwidth causing disconnects. Also noticed the Control Channel set to Auto while i was in the routers wireless settings page.
I set the Channel Bandwidth to 40 MHz specifically and the control channel to 1 specifically, wondering if it could be the bandwidth or control channel changing that's causing the disconnects.


Low and behold, there's been no issues with disconnects since changing that, and am even getting the most optimal and consistent speeds out of my IP cameras as well.
I think that actually fixed it.
 
yes - people get confused with two different settings... as suggested often here:
Wireless Mode = Auto (optimum setting - the default)...
Control Channel = a numeric value of 1, 6, 11 - but NOT Auto (the default)...

my weak power supply issue wouldn't manifest until the router was pumping serious packet bandwidth... good you tried/fixed it... drive 'em till the wheels fall off...
 

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