RT-AX88U 2.4G drops on some Firmware Versions

[TranquilityX]

Hello Guys, I recently bought an RT-AX88U, HW rev: A1.1, out of the box the router worked fine, but for some reason when I upgraded to the latest Firmware 3.0.0.4.384.9566, the 2.4G band would stop working.

What I mean by that is, the light on the router would be on, and the interface would say everything is OK, but the signal wouldn't be broadcast, I could only see the 5G with my mobile devices / laptops, checked with Wi-fi Analyzer.

I tried every single firmware version Asus has posted on the support page and have found that only 2 older versions allow me to use the 2.4G band, FW_RT_AX88U_30043845247 & FW_RT_AX88U_30043846436, I have tried the latest version of Asuswrt-Merlin with no luck.

The tests were done by installing every firmware & resetting the router for each firmware separately, all behaved the same way except the 2 firmware versions I mentioned earlier.

I would like my router to benefit from the latest updates, is there any way to fix this or do I need to return the product and ask for a new one?

As a side question, while using a working firmware, the 2.4G band seems a little slow, on a Oneplus 5 speedtest reports around 90 MBps while the 5G goes to 500Mbps, this is on a 1GBbs connection, are the speeds ok? not sure what to expect at this point.

Thanks in Advance!

 

[L&LD]

The speed differences on the 2.4GHz band vs. the 5GHz band are normal/expected.

Try the latest firmware again and reset to factory defaults after flashing it. Choose a manual Control Channel (1, 6, or 11). That should get you going.

If not, see if the following suggestions help.

Troubleshooting 101 Asus/RMerlin Routers 2020

Top 10 Simple Asus/RMerlin firmware powered Router Troubleshooting steps to try first: NOTE: Although this is for Asus/RMerlin-firmware powered routers, the steps below may be relevant to all routers, to get to a quick fix for common symptoms. Check that the router’s System Time is accurate on...

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[Spartan]

Hello Guys, I recently bought an RT-AX88U, HW rev: A1.1, out of the box the router worked fine, but for some reason when I upgraded to the latest Firmware 3.0.0.4.384.9566, the 2.4G band would stop working.

What I mean by that is, the light on the router would be on, and the interface would say everything is OK, but the signal wouldn't be broadcast, I could only see the 5G with my mobile devices / laptops, checked with Wi-fi Analyzer.

I tried every single firmware version Asus has posted on the support page and have found that only 2 older versions allow me to use the 2.4G band, FW_RT_AX88U_30043845247 & FW_RT_AX88U_30043846436, I have tried the latest version of Asuswrt-Merlin with no luck.

The tests were done by installing every firmware & resetting the router for each firmware separately, all behaved the same way except the 2 firmware versions I mentioned earlier.

I would like my router to benefit from the latest updates, is there any way to fix this or do I need to return the product and ask for a new one?

As a side question, while using a working firmware, the 2.4G band seems a little slow, on a Oneplus 5 speedtest reports around 90 MBps while the 5G goes to 500Mbps, this is on a 1GBbs connection, are the speeds ok? not sure what to expect at this point.

Thanks in Advance!

I just tried FW_RT_AX88U_30043845247 & FW_RT_AX88U_30043846436 because I remember I had an old laptop that was having trouble connecting to this router and it has an old WiFi card so your post made me think maybe it had trouble connecting because the latest firmware has crappy 2.4 GHz support.

Anyway, I flashed back like you but I realized the older firmware has no 160hz band.

I dunno if it's a placebo effect but loading sites is so much snappier with this old firmware.