RT-AC66U issues after a firmware update

[c0rp1]

Hey everyone.

I've had an AC66U for probably 5 years now and experienced no problems with it whatsoever.
Recently I had to relocate my office to a different room, which is a bit far from the unit itself, so connection wasn't as good as before. Decided to finally mess with the settings a bit, but before that I updated the router's firmware to the latest one available from the official asus webpage. Update completed absolutely fine (done it wirelessly), but after the device restarted itself, it went into this loop of constantly restarting.

In more details, it restarts, then the power led and the 2.4Ghz led light up, I get a wi-fi connection for couple of seconds, then the connection drops, power led begins to flash, after that all leds light up for a sec and router restarts again. This loop continues for 5-10 minutes, until it suddenly stops and the device starts working normally. If I unplug and replug the power adapter, it starts the loop again and gets back to normal in another 5-10 mins.

I tried reinstalling the firmware again, but this time wired and using the Asus Rescue Mode. Reinstall completed fine, but the problem was still present. My question is - is this entirely firmware related and should I download an earlier version and try reflashing it via the Rescue mode again? If yes, which version is known for having no such issues and is recommended?

Thanks in advance!

 

[L&LD]

I could only suggest @john9527's RMerlin fork.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/fork-asuswrt-merlin-374-43-lts-releases-v43e6.18914/

 

[c0rp1]

I could only suggest @john9527's RMerlin fork.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/fork-asuswrt-merlin-374-43-lts-releases-v43e6.18914/

Thanks for the suggestion, but would prefer to stick to the official firmware for now (if possible).

 

[L&LD]

Then I suggest following the M&M Config and ideally, also the Nuclear Reset guides found in the link in my signature.

The following link may also help to get your router to a good/known state, no matter which firmware you want to use.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/ax88-packet-loss.62891/#post-563326

 

[c0rp1]

Then I suggest following the M&M Config and ideally, also the Nuclear Reset guides found in the link in my signature.

The following link may also help to get your router to a good/known state, no matter which firmware you want to use.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/ax88-packet-loss.62891/#post-563326

Thanks, will give it a read. But in other words, it won't work by simply installing an older firmware via Rescue mode?

 

[ColinTaylor]

Thanks, will give it a read. But in other words, it won't work by simply installing an older firmware via Rescue mode?

Probably not. Do a WPS reset.

1. Power off the router.
2. Press and hold the WPS button.
3. Power on the router and wait 10 seconds.
4. Release the WPS button and wait for the router to boot up.
5. Configure the router manually (do not reload a saved config file).