RT-BE86U - Severe Gaming Desync/Lag only fixed by Factory Reset (Reboot does not help)

[byTrunK]

Hi everyone,

I’m reaching out because I’m hitting a wall with my ASUS RT-BE86U and I suspect there might be a firmware bug or a resource handling issue specific to this model.

The Setup:

• Router: ASUS RT-BE86U (Stock Firmware).
• ISP: Digi Spain (1Gbps Fiber, PPPoE connection).
• Main Usage: Competitive Gaming (Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, EA FC 26) on PS5.
• Current Settings: Adaptive QoS is Enabled. I have also tried Port Forwarding, but the issue persists.

The Issue:

I experience massive desync and "heavy gameplay" (shoot first/die first, players skating) after the router has been running for a while.

• Ping: Stable and low (approx. 20ms).
• Packet Loss: None reported by game/tests.

The Anomaly (Why I'm posting here):

1. Rebooting the router (power cycle) or the ISP modem (ONT) does NOT fix the issue. The desync persists immediately after the reboot.
2. Factory Resetting (Hard Reset/Initialize) the router is the ONLY thing that fixes it. After a factory reset, the hitreg and connection feel perfect and crisp.
3. However, after few hours of usage, the performance degrades again, returning to the unplayable desync state until I perform another factory reset.

Since a simple reboot doesn't clear the "bad state" but a factory reset does sometimes, it feels like some deep persistent table, cache, or log is getting corrupted or saturated.

Has anyone experienced this behavior with the BE86U? Is there a known degradation issue with the current firmware for this model?

Thanks in advance!

 

[OzarkEdge]

Have you tried not using any QoS settings (adaptive interference?)... your router and Internet service ought to be plenty fast without it.

OE

 

[byTrunK]

Yes, I have tested it.

I ran the router with QoS Disabled, AiProtection OFF, and Traffic Analyzer OFF for several days. The behavior is exactly the same:

1. After a Factory Reset (with QoS OFF): The connection is crisp and perfect.
2. After approx. 24 hours: The desync/hitreg issues return.
3. A simple Reboot does not fix it. I have to Factory Reset again to get that "fresh" feeling back.

The fact that the performance degrades over time even with QoS Disabled (and the CPU mostly idle).

 

[Tech9]

Adaptive QoS doesn't work on ASUS BE-class routers anyway because of broken Trend Micro bwdpi engine.

 

[degrub]

Don't know that it will help, but make sure you "withdraw" from all the AiProtection, etc licenses. Otherwise, disabling is not fully "effective".

 

[KevTech]

Don't know that it will help, but make sure you "withdraw" from all the AiProtection, etc licenses. Otherwise, disabling is not fully "effective".

If case you do not know where that is you go to Administration > Policy.

Also, do not use port 4 as that is the gaming port which has automatic QoS applied to it.

 

[Ripshod]

Do you have a managed switch connected with STP (spanning tree) enabled?

 

[steep]

hello bytrunk, I saw that you made a post about having problems with your flint 2 router as well only a few weeks ago https://forum.gl-inet.com/t/flint-2...cod-is-single-core-sqm-the-bottleneck/65965/1

Did you ever fix the problems you had with the Flint 2? Did it ever give you the same "crisp" internet as you described here when you factory reset your BE86U without desync? I wonder if your problems are on the ISP side if both routers were giving you similar problems.

 

[byTrunK]

Thanks everyone for the inputs!

hello bytrunk, I saw that you made a post about having problems with your flint 2 router as well only a few weeks ago https://forum.gl-inet.com/t/flint-2...cod-is-single-core-sqm-the-bottleneck/65965/1

Did you ever fix the problems you had with the Flint 2? Did it ever give you the same "crisp" internet as you described here when you factory reset your BE86U without desync? I wonder if your problems are on the ISP side if both routers were giving you similar problems.

Good catch spotting that thread! Yeah, that was part of my journey down this rabbit hole.

To answer your question honestly: No, I never managed to fix the Flint 2. It had its moments, but it never gave me that consistent "locked-in" hit registration I was looking for. I spent weeks tweaking SQM (CAKE/FQ_CoDel) and OpenWrt settings, but I couldn't shake the inconsistency. I eventually returned it because I suspected it might be a hardware/driver maturity issue with that specific platform.

Regarding the ISP theory (which is a very logical guess): I actually ruled that out the hard way. I switched between two completely different ISPs—different infrastructure, different routing—and the "heavy/desync" feeling persisted exactly the same way on both.

That’s what led me to the BE86U. I wanted to try a completely different chipset/ecosystem to see if the issue was on my end. The fact that the Asus feels "crisp" sometimes immediately after a factory reset (and then degrades) makes me think the issue is local—either software bloat accumulating or some electrical noise/EMI issue I'm currently investigating.

Don't know that it will help, but make sure you "withdraw" from all the AiProtection, etc licenses. Otherwise, disabling is not fully "effective".

If case you do not know where that is you go to Administration > Policy.

Also, do not use port 4 as that is the gaming port which has automatic QoS applied to it.

Do you have a managed switch connected with STP (spanning tree) enabled?

Thanks for the technical breakdown. Just to clarify my current topology based on your questions:

1. I do not have any managed switch connected. All my devices (PC, PS5, Raspberry Pi, ONT) are connected directly to the router's LAN ports.
2. I have performed the "Withdraw" on the AiProtection privacy tab as suggested to fully kill the engine.

Now, regarding the best port configuration for the lowest theoretical latency/jitter on this specific RT-BE86U hardware, which scenario is superior?

1. Gaming Port (Port 4) with QoS globally Disabled.
2. Standard LAN Port (1-3) with QoS Enabled.
3. Standard LAN Port (1-3) with QoS Disabled.

Finally, regarding the statement "Adaptive QoS doesn't work on ASUS BE-class routers anyway because of broken Trend Micro bwdpi engine" — could you elaborate on that? Is this a known firmware bug that is expected to be patched, or is it a fundamental limitation/defect of the current Broadcom BE platform implementation?


Thanks again for the help!