RT-N66U Multiple Issues

[UnwiseOwl]

Long story short, set RT-N66U to media bridge mode in prep for moving media devices to the opposite side of my apartment to location of main AP router. Worked for 5-7 days. Last issued Firmware installed.

Attempted to re-establish media bridge connection and scan failed to identify any wireless networks available. Manual set up results in "AP maybe switched off" (multiple other wireless devices connected to AP router).

Issues:

1. Radio signal appears not to be working

2. Router system time showing random day and time in 2018

3. Login credentials after reset/hard reset/recovery/restore, clearing NVRAM (successfully?) and firmware downgrade not being recognised forcing another round of resetting, etc.

4. Frequent loss of connection to the GUI via device discovery and 192.168.1.1


Any assistance would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.

(I can provide Syslog if this would help)

 

[L&LD]

Welcome to the forums @UnwiseOwl.

You may want to try/test with a good/known power supply (same pin size, Voltage, and at least the same or greater Amps), before fully resetting it again. Or, your power button may be glitching too. Old model, known issues.

 

[heywire]

Attempted to re-establish media bridge connection and scan failed to identify any wireless networks available.

Manual set up results in "AP maybe switched off" (multiple other wireless devices connected to AP router).

Is 1. happening on the RT-66U node, and 2. happening on the main router? Please be more detailed in your description. I'm finding it a bit hard to read your post because you are not rigorously describing what is happening on the RT-N66U AP node, and what is happening on the main node/client.


That being said, before moving further, I'd suggest trying the latest John LTS fork. It's no longer being maintained, but it is more up to date than the latest official fw anyways, and performs better. There is also a beta version of Johns fork from around summer 2022 that has some more fixes in it.

[Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin 374 LTS Overview

ASUSWRT-MERLIN 374 LTS This is an LTS (Long Term Service) fork of Asuswrt-Merlin based on 374.43_2. This older code base has a history of being very stable, and some of the older code components may perform better in some environments. It may be a good choice for those who desire a 'set it and...

www.snbforums.com

(you have to flash it by running recovery mode)

If you're lucky, it fixes some of your other issues as well.

That being said, I have experienced occasionally (like once every 1-2 year) that my Rt-66U/AC66U routers have randomly factory-reset on their own, out of the blue. So a tip is to export a config file in case this happens, and you'll be back up in no time.

 

[Tech9]

Worked for 5-7 days. Last issued Firmware installed.

For Media Bridge try Asuswrt-Merlin 380.66_x firmware. I remember it was broken in newer releases, stops working over time.

Is 1. happening on the RT-66U node... So a tip is to export a config file

There is no "node" term with RT-N66U. Also there is nothing much to export for Media Bridge. It has few clicks setup in GUI.

 

[UnwiseOwl]

Welcome to the forums @UnwiseOwl.

You may want to try/test with a good/known power supply (same pin size, Voltage, and at least the same or greater Amps), before fully resetting it again. Or, your power button may be glitching too. Old model, known issues.

I will certainly give this ago - At times when trouble shooting I noticed the power light was unlit.

Thank you.

 

[UnwiseOwl]

Is 1. happening on the RT-66U node, and 2. happening on the main router? Please be more detailed in your description. I'm finding it a bit hard to read your post because you are not rigorously describing what is happening on the RT-N66U AP node, and what is happening on the main node/client.


That being said, before moving further, I'd suggest trying the latest John LTS fork. It's no longer being maintained, but it is more up to date than the latest official fw anyways, and performs better. There is also a beta version of Johns fork from around summer 2022 that has some more fixes in it.

[Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin 374 LTS Overview

ASUSWRT-MERLIN 374 LTS This is an LTS (Long Term Service) fork of Asuswrt-Merlin based on 374.43_2. This older code base has a history of being very stable, and some of the older code components may perform better in some environments. It may be a good choice for those who desire a 'set it and...

www.snbforums.com

(you have to flash it by running recovery mode)

If you're lucky, it fixes some of your other issues as well.

That being said, I have experienced occasionally (like once every 1-2 year) that my Rt-66U/AC66U routers have randomly factory-reset on their own, out of the blue. So a tip is to export a config file in case this happens, and you'll be back up in no time.

Thank you for the reply and advice.

In answer to your question, it is the RT-N66U node. When the ASUS router scans for available networks to bridge to it finds none, not even the 10 or so neighbours' wifi signals.

If John LTS fork is a firmware that allows for media bridging I'll flash the RT-N66U. At this point I have nothing to lose.

Again many thanks.

 

[UnwiseOwl]

For Media Bridge try Asuswrt-Merlin 380.66_x firmware. I remember it was broken in newer releases, stops working over time.



There is no "node" term with RT-N66U. Also there is nothing much to export for Media Bridge. It has few clicks setup in GUI.

Likewise, many thanks Tech9 for responding.

I will try Asuswrt-Merlin.

 

[UnwiseOwl]

Many thanks for all your responses.

Your advice is appreciated and your suggestions give me hope.

I'll report back and let you know the results.

 

[UnwiseOwl]

Reporting back.

Having successfully flashed Asuswrt-Merlin 380.66_6 firmware, the status CPU graph shows CPU at 100% constantly, the Radio signal for both 2.4 & 5GHz is set to On yet the Site Survey states both are Off, and again no networks discovered during scan in both Media Bridge setup and Site Survey.

Toggled both 2.4 & 5GHz to Off and saved setting and toggled back to On and saved - no joy.

Rebooted - CPU constant at 100%.

Would the above unequivocally indicate that my router has had it?

In the conjunction with the above, I logged out to log back in to test to see if my user name and password had been set and retained, and found that I am now unable to type/access the User Name and Password fields under Sign In With Your ASUS Router Account and at the top in yellow it states "Note: the router you are using is not an ASUS device or has not been authorised by ASUS. ASUSWRT might not work properly on this device."

"Note: the router you are using .................. device" occurred a couple of times over the past few days at points when trying to fix the RT-N66U.

At every juncture I have been thwarted, and if I didn't know better I would conclude my router has been hacked(?)

If anyone reading this has any suggestions I'd appreciate it and feel free to let me know to give up on what appears to be a losing fight.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Tech9]

I logged out to log back in to test to see if my user name and password had been set and retained

You have to reset the router to factory defaults after flashing 380.66 on it.