RT-N66U latest build 374.43 will not save settings

[madfusker]

I just moved from DDWRT to Merlin because I really needed to start getting some stability.

1) Set DDWRT to factory defaults
2) Flashed Merlin latest build 374.43
3) Set new Merlin to factory defaults so it was fresh

Everything looks good and it works well until I get about half of the options configured. Then it stops saving options and logout button does nothing, reboot button nothing. I can navigate the router just fine, enter static DNS entries for example, but NOTHING saves.

I then reset to factory defaults again, and same thing after about 5 minutes of configuring. Do I need to go back a version or what is causing this?

-MH

 

[jim769]

Maybe you need to clear the NVRAM it may be holding on to some old config from the last firmware. I thought doing a factory reset cleared NVRAM but some people say it dont.

 

[madfusker]

Can you tell me the best way to do it? I tried to SSH and do a "erase nvram" to make sure it did it for sure, however no erase command in merlin like there was in DDWRT.

 

[jim769]

Can you tell me the best way to do it? I tried to SSH and do a "erase nvram" to make sure it did it for sure, however no erase command in merlin like there was in DDWRT.

Try Holding down the WPS button while you power up the router and hold it for about 10 to 15 seconds thats suppose to clear it.

 

[madfusker]

So here is the deal.....

Did the WPS button and it reset to defaults, no joy on saving after configuring some options.

Next did a:

admin@RT-N66U-2D50:/tmp/home/root# mtd-erase -d nvram
Erasing 0x0 - 0x1ffff
"nvram" successfully erased.
admin@RT-N66U-2D50:/tmp/home/root# reboot

No joy.

Here is what I found. The firmware seems to work fine until I change my LAN ip of the router to 192.168.0.1 from the default 192.168.1.1. That jacks everything up and after the reboot, nothing will save after that. That's really screwy as the firmware should support modification of the LAN ip.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Here is what I found. The firmware seems to work fine until I change my LAN ip of the router to 192.168.0.1 from the default 192.168.1.1. That jacks everything up and after the reboot, nothing will save after that. That's really screwy as the firmware should support modification of the LAN ip.

Sounds like your PC or browser might be caching the previous web pages. After rebooting the router, restart your PC and clear the browser cache.

 

[madfusker]

I tried that as you suggested but get the same results. I then went to another browser and used internet exploder to access the router on 192.168.0.1 and got the same results. It doesn't allow me to save anything and all pages refresh and work fine until I change that LAN IP. Once that happens the only way to recover is to clear NVRAM back to defaults. There might be a way to change the LAN IP through SSH, but clearing NVRAM goes right back to defaults where it works.

I tried another PC as well once I changed LAN IP and same issue. Has to be something broken in firmware.

 

[cofetym]

I have the RT-N66U and my LAN IP set to 192.168.1.2 without a problem

 

[madfusker]

I have the RT-N66U and my LAN IP set to 192.168.1.2 without a problem

1.2 works fine. Try setting your LAN to 192.168.0.1 for bit. Make sure you back up your settings first though!

 

[cofetym]

Any particular reason you can't use 1.2 ? I'd try it but now is not a good time I have a lot dialed in and all is working smoothly. The Family gets pretty upset when I keep tinkering with the network.

 

[cofetym]

Four routers in my network using 1.1,1.2,1.3 and 1.4 two on RMerlin latest and the other 2 stock Linksys.

 

[elorimer]

My 66U has been at 0.1 since .43 was first out, and I have modified settings and saved changes without issue.

 

[bluepoint]

Four routers in my network using 1.1,1.2,1.3 and 1.4 two on RMerlin latest and the other 2 stock Linksys.

Your routers are all in one subnet 192.168.1.x, probably the reason you're not hitting the bug.

 

[madfusker]

I tried a fourth and fifth time and finally gave up. Change that IP to 0.1 and it's all over, can't even get back since you cannot save any changes.

I finally bit the bullet and migrated my whole network to 1.1. It was a PITA but I got it done. I had a lot of databases and legacy machines that had hardcoded services in the old network including mythtv boxes and SQL databases. Took the whole day but got it done. Everything is working great so I really don't have a care anymore, just FYI now if someone else has this same problem. Normally not a big deal for most people, but I had quite a few things to navigate around to make the change and was hoping not to.

This build is SO much better on the Dark Night than DDWRT ever was, so thanks go out to Merlin for these efforts.

-MH

 

[Bad Pretender]

This thread is probably closed now, but I thought maybe others may benefit from my findings.
I have three ASUS RT-AC66U routers running Merlin build 380.64. One is my firewall (runs in wireless router mode) and the other two run in access point mode. I found out that, when the routers are changed to access point mode and moved to a network different than 192.168.1.0/24, they stop saving config when accessed from an IP from a network different than 192.168.1.0/24. Both access points are configured to receive their addresses from the DHCP server (the router that serves as firewall), and those IPs are not in the "standard" 192.168.1.0/24 network.
I also found out that, even though the routers configured as access points are receiving their IP addresses through DHCP (I made IP reservations at the DHCP server), they never stop responding to 192.168.1.1. So, to change their config, I must disconnect them from the network, wire a notebook to the router and access them at their default IP address (192.168.1.1).
Another way is to enable telnet, open a terminal session and issue a "nvram commit" - but it needs more testing to be sure.

Hope this helps to bring a bit more light into the question.

 

[saxyrobert]

I have run into this problem and nothing I tried would fix the problem. So here is my work-around so that I could use the ProRouter protocals with my providor.
Merlin, though a good system, faster and more reliable that DD-WRT, has one major flaw I did not know about. It will not let you flash the router with a different system OR roll the system back to an earlier version of Merlin (once you have reached 380.64 at least). I found this unacceptable. So what I did was go to the ASUS website, download the restore application (listed as recovery software I think), and put the router in recovery mode and manually loaded DD-WRT on to it. Viola, now it will store setting. I contacted my provider and was told the "can't save settings" thing was a known bug. I hope they get it fixed soon because I like the Merlin set up but I am up and running and able to access my VPN again. Perhaps this will be helpful to you.
None of the above suggestions worked for me.
take care

 

[Pierino]

It's not rmerlin that won't let you flash to an older version, it is asus complying with FCC rules.

 

[saxyrobert]

Interesting. Didn't know that. Thank for the info. But the why doesn't actually matter to me. I appreciate the enlightenment just the same.

 

[RMerlin]

You can roll back to any version newer than 380.60, or Asus's 3.0.0.4.380_3000. These are the versions where Asus moved to the new firmware format, for legal compliance.

 

[Bad Pretender]

You can roll back to any version newer than 380.60, or Asus's 3.0.0.4.380_3000. These are the versions where Asus moved to the new firmware format, for legal compliance.

RMerlin, any idea on how to get the routers to save the config changes after they have been set to AP mode? Any config change attempts simply make the routers take me back to the login screen instead of displaying the usual progress screen for saving changes.