Solved RT-AX56U AiMesh node unable to join Wifi network

[jhecking]

I have a home AiMesh network consisting of an AX88U as the main node and an older AX56U. Until recently, everything was working fine and wireless clients would connect to the AX88U or the AX56U depending on which node was closer.

Since a recent firmware update to 3004.388.7 on both nodes, the AX56U is no longer joining the Wifi mesh, and all wireless clients always connect to the AX88U. At least, the firmeware update is the only recent change that I can think of, that could be the cause of this. I'm not sure which version I was running before. But generally I tend to update whenever new versions are available. I have tried to downgrade both nodes back to 3004.388.6_2, but this has not helped.

How can I further troubleshoot this issue?

My mesh topology:

This is what I see in the wireless network information for the AX56U node - the note to "update your router's firmware to the latest version" also appeared when the node _was_ on the latest 3004.388.7 version.

Wired clients are able to connect to the AX56U node. But _all_ wireless clients are connecting only to the AX88U node, even those that are literally placed right next to the AX56U router on my office table. The wireless connection from my office to the main AX88U router is not great - that's why I have the extra mesh node in the first place...

 

[PureSpeed]

Have you done a reset on them yet? I would start there and then redo the mesh setup especially since you did a firmware upgrade on both

 

[jhecking]

You mean "System Reset to Factory Default"? I was looking for a less destructive way to troubleshoot this problem first, since I don't really want to redo all my settings by hand. And I have upgraded firmware frequently on both routers, and never had to do a system reset before.

Do you think the "Information unavailable" notice in the AiMesh status page is relevant to the error? I'm not sure whether the wireless SSID was ever correctly displayed on that page before or not.

 

[Grumpy_Geoff]

You mean "System Reset to Factory Default"? I was looking for a less destructive way to troubleshoot this problem first, since I don't really want to redo all my settings by hand

Have you tried a factory reset of just the RT-AX56U node then?

 

[Ripshod]

I have upgraded firmware frequently on both routers, and never had to do a system reset before.

That's likely the problem then.

 

[jhecking]

@Ripshod are you suggesting that it's considered best practice to do a complete system reset of all AiMesh nodes after every firmware upgrade? If not, how would you decide when a system reset might be required? E.g. I've never seen any note in the release notes indicating that a specific upgrade might require a reset.

 

[jhecking]

@Grumpy_Geoff sorry to be a newb, but how do I do that? In the management section for the node I only see the option to reboot the node or remove it. Do I first remove the node from the mesh, then log in through it's own web admin interface, do the system reset there, and then add it back into the mesh? Or is there some other way I'm missing?

 

[Grumpy_Geoff]

@Grumpy_Geoff sorry to be a newb, but how do I do that? In the management section for the node I only see the option to reboot the node or remove it. Do I first remove the node from the mesh, then log in through it's own web admin interface, do the system reset there, and then add it back into the mesh? Or is there some other way I'm missing?

There's a RESET button on the RT-AX56U isn't there?
Once factory reset, then attempt to find it to join the mesh.

 

[jhecking]

There's a RESET button on the RT-AX56U isn't there?
Once factory reset, then attempt to find it to join the mesh.

I saw that removing the node from the mesh also does a factory reset. So that's what I did.

After adding the node back to the mesh, wireless clients are connecting to the AX56U node again. The "Information unavailable" message has disappeared and instead I can see the expected wireless SSID again in the network settings.

Thanks @Grumpy_Geoff and everyone else who chimed in to help me resolve this!