RT-AC66U Reset/Clear NVRAM

[janiii]

Hi all

My router is going superslow once again. Speed goes up and down.
This Router could handle mutliple connections and still max my 100mbits on speedtest
But now its just going up and down once again. Playing games is impossible (from 15ms to 1k for multiple seconds) and youtube videos also take huge time to load for a few sec, then jump to instant loading again.

I had this problem once, like 4 week after I bought it. Tried everything possible by human hands. I somehow fixed it by clearing my nvram. It was on rampage again with full speed.

Well, sometimes it just happens that I get bad connection for a day or some hours. Maybe my ISP. But this is now for a whole week the damn same.

So could anyone know here how to clear the NVRAM? I totally forgot how to and I was googling for days back then without a clear answer (I stumbled upon that nvram clearing)
I hope it would work again. If not, then I blame my damn ISP.

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
Remember how you did it last time? mtd-erase -d nvram is the command. You can do it from router GUI or using telnet or SSH.

 

[janiii]

Hi,
Remember how you did it last time? mtd-erase -d nvram is the command. You can do it from router GUI or using telnet or SSH.

Hi

Thanks for your help. Where do I type it in the router GUI? Got Merlin Build btw

 

[ronan_zj]

turning off our router, and holding the WPS button for 30s(maybe) while you power on it. the router will reset it self.

 

[Asusnet]

turning off our router, and holding the WPS button for 30s(maybe) while you power on it. the router will reset it self.

This method works, but it does not show a clear indication it is resetting (like the RT-N66U/RT-AC66u)

I do not believe the mtd-erase -d nvram works on the RT-AC56U or RT-AC68U.

I'm not sure right now on the telnet command unfortunately.

 

[janiii]

turning off our router, and holding the WPS button for 30s(maybe) while you power on it. the router will reset it self.

Yeah, did this a lot and also back then the first time it had problem. Didnt work.
And yeah, the command I used was different. Cant remember it.
I sadly cannot reset it atm. Will have to try tomorrow.

 

[RogerSC]

I don't have this router, but for the admin GUI for the RT-N66U, under "Advanced Settings", use "Administration" -> "Restore/Save/Upload Settings" tab. There you'll see a "Factory Default" line with a "Restore" button. Just click the "Restore" button and that will take you back to factory defaults (clear nvram).

 

[RMerlin]

This method works, but it does not show a clear indication it is resetting (like the RT-N66U/RT-AC66u)

I do not believe the mtd-erase -d nvram works on the RT-AC56U or RT-AC68U.

I'm not sure right now on the telnet command unfortunately.

On the RT-AC56 and AC68U the syntax is slightly different:

mtd-erase2 nvram

I also recommend doing a power cycle, not using the reboot command after using that command, otherwise I suspect there's a chance that the cached nvram content might be written back to flash.

 

[janiii]

On the RT-AC56 and AC68U the syntax is slightly different:

mtd-erase2 nvram

I also recommend doing a power cycle, not using the reboot command after using that command, otherwise I suspect there's a chance that the cached nvram content might be written back to flash.

What exactly do you mean by "do a power cycle"?

And where exactly can I write the command within the GUI?

nvm - I know what you mean by power cycle. Did that before. Doesnt help

 

[RMerlin]

What exactly do you mean by "do a power cycle"?

And where exactly can I write the command within the GUI?

nvm - I know what you mean by power cycle. Did that before. Doesnt help

That requires you to enable telnet, and to use a telnet client. If you aren't familiar with it, I recommend against doing that. Instead, either press the reset button for 5 seconds while the router is on, or turn it on with the WPS button pressed, wait 10 secs, then release it. EIther procedure should also clear nvram.

 

[DaveMishSr]

What exactly do you mean by "do a power cycle"?

And where exactly can I write the command within the GUI?

nvm - I know what you mean by power cycle. Did that before. Doesnt help

On the Administration|System tab you have to enable telnet. Then you need a client, the most widely-used seems to be a program called Putty. A Google search should yield a download link for Putty. Once you have it set up on your system open the program by selecting "Putty.exe" from the Putty folder (make sure to note it's location when you unzip the program file). In the Host Name (or IP address) field enter the router's IP address, usually 192.168.1.1 and make sure to highlight the telnet radio button just below that field and the click on the "Open" button.

That will bring up a telnet communications window. Enter the login for your router, usually "admin" unless you have assigned something else and press the "Enter" key. Then enter your password. That brings you to the root# prompt. This is where you will enter "mtd-erase2 nvram". Once you see the prompt again simply power down the router manually and wait a minute or two and then power the router back up.

As you can see Merlin is right in that you should avoid using telnet if you are unfamiliar with using it. The other methods Merlin describes accomplish the same thing and are easier for the average "Joe Six-Pack".

 

[janiii]

On the Administration|System tab you have to enable telnet. Then you need a client, the most widely-used seems to be a program called Putty. A Google search should yield a download link for Putty. Once you have it set up on your system open the program by selecting "Putty.exe" from the Putty folder (make sure to note it's location when you unzip the program file). In the Host Name (or IP address) field enter the router's IP address, usually 192.168.1.1 and make sure to highlight the telnet radio button just below that field and the click on the "Open" button.

That will bring up a telnet communications window. Enter the login for your router, usually "admin" unless you have assigned something else and press the "Enter" key. Then enter your password. That brings you to the root# prompt. This is where you will enter "mtd-erase2 nvram". Once you see the prompt again simply power down the router manually and wait a minute or two and then power the router back up.

As you can see Merlin is right in that you should avoid using telnet if you are unfamiliar with using it. The other methods Merlin describes accomplish the same thing and are easier for the average "Joe Six-Pack".

Hi there

Like I said, these methods (doing these reboots n stuff) never worked out.
When I had this problem for the first time, I managed to fix it by blindly clearing nvram (heck, I didnt even know what I did). I actually used some other command, much shorter and I think I used it within the GUI but im not so sure anymore. But it worked after that (I remember that the router didnt respond/work for about 5 mins).

Now I did just what you said to clear nvram. The command "mtd-erase2 nvram" didnt work, instead "mtd-erase -d nvram" worked.
Then I simply restarted router and voila. Im finaaaly getting a stable and fast connection again

Thanks again. Ill be back when it makes trouble again hehe

 

[RMerlin]

"mtd-erase -d" is for MIPS-based routers, "mtd-erase2" is for the AC56/AC68 ARM-based routers.

 

[janiii]

"mtd-erase -d" is for MIPS-based routers, "mtd-erase2" is for the AC56/AC68 ARM-based routers.

I got an error, "blabla not found" or that kind of stuff when I used mtd-erase2.

mtd-erase -d on the other hand worked and it said that nvram was erased/cleared and some other stuff.

 

[RMerlin]

I got an error, "blabla not found" or that kind of stuff when I used mtd-erase2.

mtd-erase -d on the other hand worked and it said that nvram was erased/cleared and some other stuff.

If mtd-erase2 didn't work then it means you don't have either of the two router models I just mentionned...

 

[N1KK]

turning off our router, and holding the WPS button for 30s(maybe) while you power on it. the router will reset it self.

I have a RT66U. I can't turn off the Qos from the Traffic manager. I turned it on earlier today then decided to turn it off and when clicking
the APPLY nothing happens. I am reading this is a bug. I can't Telnet because I can't enable it. When I try I get a pop up, " Specified time interval can not overlap" I have no idea what's causing that.
I did do a configuration save as it is right now. If I do a Factory Restore will that clear the problem and if I do a restore from my config file will
it also restore Qos to still be ON?
I could use some help on this.
I'm a new member and I already appreciate the support.

If factory RESTORE clears the nvram and if my config file will tell it to turn on Qos ,... is there
a way to edit the config file to say off during the RESTORE

My firmware is the latest as of today.

Thanks,
Ken

 

[N1KK]

I have a RT66U. I can't turn off the Qos from the Traffic manager. I turned it on earlier today then decided to turn it off and when clicking
the APPLY nothing happens. I am reading this is a bug. I can't Telnet because I can't enable it. When I try I get a pop up, " Specified time interval can not overlap" I have no idea what's causing that.
I did do a configuration save as it is right now. If I do a Factory Restore will that clear the problem and if I do a restore from my config file will
it also restore Qos to still be ON?
I could use some help on this.
I'm a new member and I already appreciate the support.

If factory RESTORE clears the nvram and if my config file will tell it to turn on Qos ,... is there
a way to edit the config file to say off during the RESTORE

My firmware is the latest as of today.

Thanks,
Ken

Update: I figured out why I could not enable telnet. The message I was getting had to do with the Daylight Savings time start/stop.
I found this by just trying some things. I wish the pop up would have been more clear.
After that I was able to telnet in using the commands posted I was able to turn off the QoS from telnet commands.
That was a life saver.
Thanks to all who posted on this topic which helped me solve my problem. I hope some day ASUS will fix this rotten bug
Ken

 

[L&LD]

What bug? Your settings were incorrect.

 

[N1KK]

What bug? Your settings were incorrect.

The bug that I am referring to is when you enable the QoS in the Traffic manager then click APPLY
then later try and disable QoS and click APPLY its a no go.
I found on this forum which referred me to these post.
I just wanted to reply to what the fix was. I was about ready
to do a factory restore to clear the RAM.
Ken

 

[P A U L]

Can I get an idiot-proof answer for myself?

Reset with WPS held clears NVRAM: Yes/No

and/or

192.168.1.1 > Administration > Restore/Save/Upload Setting > Factory default (Restore button) clears NVRAM: Yes/No

I can't figure out how to log into SSH. It keeps tellin me to put in the password, which I do, and it won't let me in and then eventually locks me out for several minutes.