Solved RT-AC86U Router is not stable

[schakalator]

Product Model : RT-AC86U
Operation System / Firmware or BIOS version : Firmware Version:3.0.0.4.384_32799

[Problem Description]
I have already raised a ticket in the past for this router but the solution of updating firmware did not help.
Currently the router is not stable. On average, every two days I have to reboot it because it starts to loose packages randomly . This gets worse with time. It gets problematic because I can not participate in work meetings due to being dropped for 10 - 20 seconds every few minutes (or every minute if it gets really bad)

It got worse yesterday, and router stopped responding to ping at all. Had to reboot by powering off.

Sample ping that I run on the background to check if wireless connection to router is stable showed:
Reply from 192.168.0.200: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.200: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
General failure.
PING: transmit failed. General failure.
PING: transmit failed. General failure.
PING: transmit failed. General failure.

I recently bought this router as me and my wife have to work from home due to COVID-19. Unfortunately, so far it had been a disappointment causing our work calls to drop, connections to reset and necessity to reboot it every couple of days when it starts to fail.

Is there anything I can try or should I trigger warranty replacement?

 

[Dan Ljungberg]

You can try to update to the latest firmware

Your firmware 3.0.0.4.384.32799 is from 2018/09/14.
The latest Version 3.0.0.4.386.40451 is dated 2020/10/22

 

[bbunge]

Once you have updated to 386.40451, do a hard factory reset. See: https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1039078

After reset, configure the router with an SSID of upper and lower case letters with a passphrase of letters and numbers (no special characters). Use Dual Band Smart Connect and set the WIFI 2.4 GHZ to 20 MHZ on channel 1, 6, or 11. 5 GHZ on channel 36 or 149 at 80 MHZ. Turn WPS off. Do not change any other WIFI settings.
You may want to turn off UPnP. Turn on QOS, Adaptive, manual set to 95% of the upload/download speed, and work at home. The new firmware has a speed test option. Turn on AiProtect.
If you want a bit more protection from malware set the WAN DNS server to Quad9 or Cloudflare 1.1.1.2 and 1.0.0.2.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Product Model : RT-AC86U
Operation System / Firmware or BIOS version : Firmware Version:3.0.0.4.384_32799

[Problem Description]
I have already raised a ticket in the past for this router but the solution of updating firmware did not help.
Currently the router is not stable. On average, every two days I have to reboot it because it starts to loose packages randomly . This gets worse with time. It gets problematic because I can not participate in work meetings due to being dropped for 10 - 20 seconds every few minutes (or every minute if it gets really bad)

It got worse yesterday, and router stopped responding to ping at all. Had to reboot by powering off.

Sample ping that I run on the background to check if wireless connection to router is stable showed:
Reply from 192.168.0.200: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.200: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.0.110: Destination host unreachable.
General failure.
PING: transmit failed. General failure.
PING: transmit failed. General failure.
PING: transmit failed. General failure.

I recently bought this router as me and my wife have to work from home due to COVID-19. Unfortunately, so far it had been a disappointment causing our work calls to drop, connections to reset and necessity to reboot it every couple of days when it starts to fail.

Is there anything I can try or should I trigger warranty replacement?

Your router hardware could be faulty. Your router firmware is defective... build 32799 had connection/speed degradation issues.

Upload the latest released firmware, reset it to factory defaults, and configure the firmware from scratch minimally. See my install notes for a basic configuration.

Use the router like that for awhile to see how the hardware behaves.

OE

 

[L&LD]

Agreed, flash the latest firmware available for your router, (RMerlin 386.1 Beta 2 is also stable for many customers and my network too).

After flashing the latest firmware, the following links will get your router and network as stable and reliable as possible.

Beta - Asuswrt-Merlin 386.1 Beta is now available

I recently factory reset my AX88U and currently on Beta 2. After manually setting up everything up again (painfully) my router ALWAYS "crashes" if I make changes now. well I just loses internet and I have to end up rebooting it even though some of the changes made by default doesn't require a...

www.snbforums.com

New M&M 2020

Fully Reset Router and Network


You may not need to do the suggestions in all three links above, but the first two should be followed as closely as possible.

 

[schakalator]

You Gentleman Rock!

I have no clue how i missed the fact that I failed to update router firmware to latest!? Thanks for pointing that out.

I have updated firmware to 3.0.0.4.386_40451. I did reset the router and followed the basic configuration guidelines. Fingers crossed.

I have two outstanding questions:
1. Is there a better way to test my network quality rather than pinging in the background (ping -t 192.168.0.200 and ping -t google.com) ? (200 is my RT-AC86U).
2. I'm planning a mesh, should I get second RT-AC86U? Or is there a better option?

@Dan Ljungberg @bbunge @OzarkEdge @L&LD Thank you for your help!

 

[L&LD]

For the same price or less (if on sale) the RT-AX86U is the current king. You'll want two for AiMesh mode (particularly if you're using wired backhaul and have a fast ISP and want to utilize it as much as possible).

But try using just one RT-AX86U first. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Why do we need to connect one of the mesh pods to the router via ethernet cable?

Hi guys, I've been searching for mesh wifi systems and decided to add ASUS Lyra to my AC68U but for setup, you need to connect 1 of the 3 Lyras to your router (AC68U) via ethernet cable and the other 2 pods can be setup without it. I wonder why do we need to connect 1 of the 3 Lyras to the...

www.snbforums.com

 

[schakalator]

@L&LD, surprised to see you advice. Can you clarify a bit for me please?

1. Where I come from (Poland) the price of RT-AX86U is 266€ while RT-AC86U is 150€. What is the price of AX device you're referring to?
2. I need two devices to cover whole house without the necessity to drag wires around (ISP in the corner of house, lan connected computer close by, secondary AP in the other side of house. multiple floors. In your opinion, is there a chance, that RT-AX86U will have much better signal strenght than RT-AC86U ?
3. Is it OK to use AC & AX devices in a single mesh? In other words if I got RT-AX86U would it fly with my RT-AC86U?

Many thanks for your patience!

Update: I checked the price range for RT-AX86U and it's actually 297€ so it's twice the difference?

 

[L&LD]

1. I'm not from Poland, but the price here is closer, particularly with the sales going on. That price difference you see is how much better the RT-AX86U is to me, over the RT-AC86U that I had last year. I have two in wired AiMesh backhaul mode (via their 2.5GbE ports), so take that into consideration too. But do keep in mind that I had tried them for a few days in wireless AiMesh mode too. And compared to customers' RT-AC86U pairs in AiMesh (wireless) mode, the 'AX86U's are obviously superior. If the price difference, makes them a good buy for you, that depends on how they would perform in your home. Only testing will tell so only buy if you can return. And if you do find a good sale too and buy two, just try one and give it a fair test before opening up the second unit.

2. There is no doubt the RT-AX86U is the superior router with not just lower latency, but also higher throughput too at a farther distance. If it is the same for your home, only testing will tell.

3. Sure, it's okay. But two matched routers are always better. Particularly when they are from different Wi-Fi 'classes' (AX vs. AC). But unless you are planning from the start to move to two 'same' class routers, I think it may be a bit of a waste to have an AX class router and 'dumb it down' to AC class levels.

No worries, I hope this helps, and, you're welcome!

 

[schakalator]

How about testing the stability of my wireless? Is what I'm doing good enough? Or is there a better option to diagnose.

I'm running in the background of my laptop ping -t 192.168.0.200 and ping -t google.com (200 is my RT-AC86U).

 

[OzarkEdge]

You Gentleman Rock!

I have no clue how i missed the fact that I failed to update router firmware to latest!? Thanks for pointing that out.

I have updated firmware to 3.0.0.4.386_40451. I did reset the router and followed the basic configuration guidelines. Fingers crossed.

I have two outstanding questions:
1. Is there a better way to test my network quality rather than pinging in the background (ping -t 192.168.0.200 and ping -t google.com) ? (200 is my RT-AC86U).
2. I'm planning a mesh, should I get second RT-AC86U? Or is there a better option?

@Dan Ljungberg @bbunge @OzarkEdge @L&LD Thank you for your help!

A 2xRT-AC86U wired/wireless AiMesh is a solid choice now, given your existing AC86U, sourcing options, and the emerging state of WiFi6/WiFi6e routers and clients.

OE

 

[schakalator]

Good morning,

I wanted to share, that since I updated firmware (correctly for the first time sigh!) the RT-AC86U had been running for almost three days now. There had not been a single instance of loosing a packet for three days of pinging the router via wireless!

Second RT-AC86U had just arrived, can you recommend how to setup & configure back-haul aimesh with two RT-AC86U?

 

[OzarkEdge]

Good morning,

I wanted to share, that since I updated firmware (correctly for the first time sigh!) the RT-AC86U had been running for almost three days now. There had not been a single instance of loosing a packet for three days of pinging the router via wireless!

Second RT-AC86U had just arrived, can you recommend how to setup & configure back-haul aimesh with two RT-AC86U?

My install notes linked above summarize a basic AiMesh install.

In them is a link to all Asus AiMesh FAQs. More than one of these instructs how to install AiMesh.

You can use the FAQ Search at the bottom of your router webUI page to search for Asus FAQs (instructions).

And, you can upload the current firmware, webUI Restore w/Initialize to reset, and search/add the remote node from within the router webUI. Don't configure the node... AiMesh will do that.

Soooo many options.

OE

 

[L&LD]

The link below is what I would use, after you've flashed the same level firmware as the main router has, and after it has been fully reset (do not try to configure it further), go to the main router and 'add AiMesh node' from the GUI.

Beta - Asuswrt-Merlin 386.1 Beta is now available

I recently factory reset my AX88U and currently on Beta 2. After manually setting up everything up again (painfully) my router ALWAYS "crashes" if I make changes now. well I just loses internet and I have to end up rebooting it even though some of the changes made by default doesn't require a...

www.snbforums.com

 

[schakalator]

Marking thread as solved. Thank you for all your help. Router seems to be running stable for over a week on updated firmware.

Dumb me!

 

[L&LD]

@schakalator, did you see the new Beta 3?

Even better, RMerlin stated that he may do a special build for any RT-AX86U owners. (Seems a new GPL blob dropped right after he uploaded Beta 3).

 

[schakalator]

Hi,

For the sake of history record, I can report after over a month since I setup two RT-AC86 in AiMesh (connected via LAN) and updated both routers to 3.0.0.4.386.40451 there were literally no problems.

I did not have to restart either router even once. Now all works as expected.

Thanks!