RT-AX860U Pro 2.5Ghz WiFi Dropouts

[mukd]

Model: RT-AX86U Pro
Firmware: 3004.388.8_4

Hey All,

I recently upgraded to the latest firmware '3006.102.4' and I had been getting IoT devices dropping out and not able to reconnect. I have rolled back to the last version working and I am still getting issues (so possibly a hardware issue). I know this has been happening to lots of people based on other forum posts.

Logs Example:

Jul 26 13:12:40 dnsmasq-dhcp[4355]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.20.34 34:85:18:93:1f:bc espressif
Jul 26 13:12:47 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(645): eth6: Deauth_ind 8C:2A:85:A37:9D, status: 0, reason: Unspecified reason (1), rssi:0
Jul 26 13:12:47 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(685): eth6: Auth 8C:2A:85:A37:9D, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jul 26 13:12:47 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(722): eth6: Assoc 8C:2A:85:A37:9D, status: Successful (0), rssi:-55
Jul 26 13:12:47 hostapd: eth6: STA 8c:2a:85:a3:d7:9d IEEE 802.11: associated
Jul 26 13:12:50 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(662): eth6: Disassoc 34:85:18:93:1F:BC, status: 0, reason: Disassociated due to inactivity (4), rssi:0
Jul 26 13:12:50 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(645): eth6: Deauth_ind 34:85:18:93:1F:BC, status: 0, reason: Deauthenticated because sending station is leaving (or has left) IBSS or ESS (3), rssi:0
Jul 26 13:12:50 hostapd: eth6: STA 34:85:18:93:1f:bc IEEE 802.11: disassociated
Jul 26 13:12:50 hostapd: eth6: STA 34:85:18:93:1f:bc IEEE 802.11: disassociated
Jul 26 13:12:50 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(685): eth6: Auth 34:85:18:93:1F:BC, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jul 26 13:12:50 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(722): eth6: Assoc 34:85:18:93:1F:BC, status: Successful (0), rssi:-57
Jul 26 13:12:50 hostapd: eth6: STA 34:85:18:93:1f:bc IEEE 802.11: associated
Jul 26 13:12:50 hostapd: eth6: STA 34:85:18:93:1f:bc RADIUS: starting accounting session 528061354E1BEFA3
Jul 26 13:12:50 hostapd: eth6: STA 34:85:18:93:1f:bc WPA: pairwise key handshake completed (RSN)
Jul 26 13:12:50 dnsmasq-dhcp[4355]: DHCPDISCOVER(br0) 34:85:18:93:1f:bc
Jul 26 13:12:50 dnsmasq-dhcp[4355]: DHCPOFFER(br0) 192.168.20.34 34:85:18:93:1f:bc
Jul 26 13:12:50 dnsmasq-dhcp[4355]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.20.34 34:85:18:93:1f:bc
Jul 26 13:12:50 dnsmasq-dhcp[4355]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.20.34 34:85:18:93:1f:bc espressif


Troubleshooting:
1. Factory reset back to default (hard reset WPS + Power)
2. Only connected two devices for testing (TV and Vacuum) right next to the router
3. Rolled back to 3004.388.8_4 + hard reset (WPS + Power)
4. Reconfigured with default settings
5. Set to WAP2 only
6. Set manual channels
7. Disabled wireless scheduler

Additional:
- 5Ghz works without issuesFire
- 2.5Ghz works with normal devices (laptop)
- No additional mesh units (just the one)

 

[bennor]

I recently upgraded to the latest firmware '3006.102.4' and I had been getting IoT devices dropping out and not able to reconnect.

Some have reported similar issues with 3006.104.x firmware in these subforums. Certain 2.4Ghz WiFi devices have issues connecting or reconnecting. Some can solve their IoT device connection issues by checking (and changing) their 2.4Ghz WiFi settings. Namely setting a fixed control channel (1, 6, or 11), setting channel bandwidth to 20MHz, authentication method to WPA2-Personal or WPA/WPA2-Personal, and disabling smart connect and using unique SSID names for each WiFi band, not using special characters for WiFi passwords and using shorter length WiFi passwords. For what ever reason some have issues using WPA3. And some WiFi devices are TKIP only for authentication where the router may only support AES authentication for WPA2.

On my RT-AX86U Pro running 3006.102.4, I have a couple of WiFI devices that suddenly cannot connect or reconnect to the 2.4Ghz WiFi after a period of time (usually a few weeks). It's something I don't recall experiencing on the 3004.388.x firmware (Asus-Merlin or stock Asus). A router reboot typically fixes it and the affected 2.4Ghz WiFi devices can reconnect. Currently just monitoring the logs to see if I can catch something consistent when it happens and rebooting the router when it does.

 

[bbunge]

When upgrading to the 3006 firmware it is best to do a factory reset and manually configure the router. You can try to just remove the existing guest network and add it back but I have found that a factory reset is best.

I have tested the Merlin 3006 firmware and the WIFI works well for me. I do put my IoT clients on a 2.4 GHz guest WIFI with WPA2-Personal encryption on a fixed channel (1, 6, or 11). If needed you can drop back to WPA/WPA2-Personal.

If you do not need the Merlin features, the Asus current firmware works very well...