RT-AX88U (PERHAPS ANY ASUS ROUTER) - 2.4GHZ SMART DEVICES DROPPING ON AND OFF

[REZISTENCE]

RT-AX88U (PERHAPS ANY ASUS ROUTER) - 2.4GHZ SMART DEVICES DROPPING ON AND OFF

I have an RT-AX88U and I am finding that my 43+ attached devices are sometimes not responding, not all of them simultaneously, just a random one or two, all the problem ones are on the 2.4Ghz channels. These devices are mainly Smart Home devices (lights, cameras, switches, etc), I find that the devices connect up just fine, but randomly are not accessible unless I do a router reboot, most of the time once, but sometimes twice is needed. Is there a maximum number of devices you can connect to Asus Routers?

Can anyone make suggestions for me to test?

So far I have done the usual:
• Full firmware reset and upgrade and manually adjust any settings (rather than just coming from a backup.config)
• I use Merlin and am currently at 388.2
• I have checked to make sure I'm not competing with neighbouring WIFI channels
• I just disabled QoS today to see if this makes a difference
• I have checked signal strength at the device end and it's full bars
• Other devices in the same area work fine as well

Please any guidance or other troubleshooting ideas would be greatly appreciated

 

[OzarkEdge]

So far I have done the usual:
• Full firmware reset and upgrade and manually adjust any settings (rather than just coming from a backup.config)

Folks frequently write, 'reset and upgrade', which is unclear. The order is important. It should be 'upgrade and then reset', because you want to reset the newly installed firmware to its default settings to reconfigure the router (or to configure the router correctly in the first place).

Maybe this FAQ on IoT compatibility with WiFi6 can help.

OE

 

[Tech9]

Can anyone make suggestions for me to test?

Asus?

[Wireless Router] How to improve compatibility of IoT device with ASUS WiFi 6(802.11 ax) router? | Official Support | ASUS Global

 

[doczenith1]

I'll add another data point that may or may not be related. I also have some 2.4 GHz IoT devices that are experiencing the same issues you are. I'm using a AC86U on 386.10. I also have a AC68U at my parents house that is also on 386.10. I was doing some testing with the AC68U to see if the 2.4 GHz would provide better performance than the 5 GHz band in a distant bedroom using my Pixel 6 Pro. It would not stay connected to the 2.4 GHz radio. I did a full factory reset including "initialize all settings" and also" Format JFFS partition at next boot". I did a very minimal setup and the Pixel 6 Pro still wouldn't stay connected to the 2.4 GHz radio.

 

[SwatKat]

I have a similar problem with a newly purchased AC-2900. I have smart connect option enabled (bridge the 2.4&5 GHz) and 10 smart Homekit devices. Most of them are not used daily. Sometimes they show up as unresponsive and I have to reboot the router. Laptops/phones have internet. Sometimes even the Homepod is working (it's connected to the 5Ghz band) - so I guess there is a fault with the 2.4 band?

 

[Crimliar]

I think elsewhere on these boards the advice has been on the 2.4GHz band to use WPA2 WiFi authentication and turn off MU-MIMO and universal beamforming (all but WPA3 is usually good to go on 5GHz).
Here I've a large number of devices that also use 433MHz and 866Mhz with controllers and now bridges to the LAN. Especially since the beginning of the move to bridges, it seems to be important that these devices don't conflict with each other, as a lost connection on 433/866MHz seems to generate a lost connection via the bridge. Curing conflicts is often simple as a power cycle, sometimes a reset.
The only devices here that have still had the potential to drop off are the Netatmo thermostats, which really do seem to like "full" batteries, and it's when the 433MHz between head and controller drops that not just the connection breaks but the 2.4GHz WiFi drops out too - odd and annoying!

 

[Diablo99]

I got a RT-AX86U with latest Merlin fw.
How to add iot devices to 2.4 ghz instead of 5.0 ghz?
It's a Sony Bravia Google TV with Chrome cast inside it.
A should I use a Guest network for this?
Or else?

 

[OzarkEdge]

I got a RT-AX86U with latest Merlin fw.
How to add iot devices to 2.4 ghz instead of 5.0 ghz?
It's a Sony Bravia Google TV with Chrome cast inside it.
A should I use a Guest network for this?
Or else?

You should wire it.

Otherwise, connect it to your 5.0 band/SSID for best streaming performance. If it doesn't stay there, disable Smart Connect band steering and define different SSIDs and only connect it to the preferred band/SSID (user band steers/segregates clients/traffic).

OE