RT-AC56U With ASUSWRT-Merlin 378.56_2 Freezes Randomly

[Cap10Canuck]

Actually, it started freezing up a couple of builds ago, but continues to do so with this build.

The router will work fine for a couple of days (approximately), then all of a sudden no devices in the house can access the Internet. The router is also inaccessible via the console when this happens. Physically, all LAN port lights on the back of the router begin flashing quickly in unison. The only way to recover is to cycle the power. The 3TB USB drive I have connected does NOT like this and takes a while to be re-mounted. Occasionally I have to unplug it from the router, plug it into my PC and run CHKDSK before it will remount (cycling router power appears to cause random drive errors).

I really don't want to use the programmable auto-reboot feature, as I believe I shouldn't have to. Any ideas??

 

[L&LD]

Does it work indefinitely without the USB drive attached?

 

[Cap10Canuck]

Does it work indefinitely without the USB drive attached?

I don't know... the drive has been attached since Day 1. I use the router as a cheapish NAS and all the family's multimedia is located on it. There would be howls of protest if I disconnected it for more than a couple of hours.

One consideration is that I have always just loaded the latest f/w over top of the older versions since I got the router. I have never cleared NVRAM prior to an upgrade. The latest upgrade added a whole whack of new functionality and come to think of it, my freeze issues may have coincidentally started around the same time. Wondering if I should just bite the bullet and "start over"?

 

[L&LD]

I don't know... the drive has been attached since Day 1. I use the router as a cheapish NAS and all the family's multimedia is located on it. There would be howls of protest if I disconnected it for more than a couple of hours.

One consideration is that I have always just loaded the latest f/w over top of the older versions since I got the router. I have never cleared NVRAM prior to an upgrade. The latest upgrade added a whole whack of new functionality and come to think of it, my freeze issues may have coincidentally started around the same time. Wondering if I should just bite the bullet and "start over"?

Yes, Do a full reset to factory defaults and a minimal and manual configuration to secure the router and connect to your ISP.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

Many phantom issues are addressed by doing the above.

 

[Cap10Canuck]

Yes, Do a full reset to factory defaults and a minimal and manual configuration to secure the router and connect to your ISP.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

Many phantom issues are addressed by doing the above.

OK - did the full reset to default, multiple ways (both by holding the reset button and execting the nvram clear command). Reconfigured the router and again, after a period of time it freezes up (all LAN lights flashing like mad in unison). Power cycle brings it back. Hmmm... I wonder, what if I "revert" to the latest stock ASUS firmware? Go through all the steps of loading the latest ASUS firmware, resetting to factory, reprogramming, and after a few hours, exact same problem I had with the Merlin builds!

Next steps - disabled all the AI Protection options and even turned off both radios. The only thing this router is now doing is basic routing and SMB sharing a 3TB USB drive. Will wait to see if it freezes again. Starting to think I have a duff router. While I can't be sure, I am positive my issues started happening with the newer builds that came with the AI Protection functionality (and a whack of other functions too, not picking on the AI stuff). I have changed nothing physically in my setup over time, simply did f/w upgrades.

 

[L&LD]

OK - did the full reset to default, multiple ways (both by holding the reset button and execting the nvram clear command). Reconfigured the router and again, after a period of time it freezes up (all LAN lights flashing like mad in unison). Power cycle brings it back. Hmmm... I wonder, what if I "revert" to the latest stock ASUS firmware? Go through all the steps of loading the latest ASUS firmware, resetting to factory, reprogramming, and after a few hours, exact same problem I had with the Merlin builds!

Next steps - disabled all the AI Protection options and even turned off both radios. The only thing this router is now doing is basic routing and SMB sharing a 3TB USB drive. Will wait to see if it freezes again. Starting to think I have a duff router. While I can't be sure, I am positive my issues started happening with the newer builds that came with the AI Protection functionality (and a whack of other functions too, not picking on the AI stuff). I have changed nothing physically in my setup over time, simply did f/w upgrades.

You're making some progress, but it doesn't seem like you're taking the 'minimal and manual' configuration setup to heart?

Do a full reset again and then add features and change defaults one at a time (might need to leave it like that for a day or two each time) to see what options are interfering. Of course, just randomly choosing to disable settings might get you there too. But you won't know if that was the issue or just a happy coincidence though.

 

[SatHawk]

Hi, i just signed to this web to say, that I'm experiencing the same issue with freezing up router and also confirming, that it starts few builds back.....probably something is wrong in those builds.....