Stock or Merlin for EOL ac68u?

[eastavin]

Could someone shed some light please on this? I understand Merlin is EOL for the ac68u (and that is fine) but I see Asus is still pumping out some firmware updates. The last stock firmware from Asus was Mar 10 2025 Version 3.0.0.4.386_51733.

Looking at the Merlin change notes I see the Merlin firmware was last merged with GPL 386_52805 in July 2024. Looking further through the change notes I have to go back to the first half of 2023 to find merlin merging a GPL with a number older or newer than 51733.

Is there anything I can infer from this? For example is Merlin's last firmware more advanced than Asus current stock and is still the better choice for security, save and except any fixes Asus mentions that may or may not be of interest since Nov 2024? Or is the Merlin number system unrelated to Asus stock number and so no conclusions can be drawn?

I have a couple of these ac68u routers still out there in low priority sites and was wondering when a switch to stock might be in order for the optimal situation? (These sites will get upgraded with a used AX router someday once the AX from elsewhere are displaced with a BE. That is on hold until the price improves)

Many thanks for any input.

Edward

 

[Tech9]

Entirely your decision what firmware you are going to run on an EoL device. From this generation hardware I support one remotely and it runs on stock Asuswrt. It will be replaced soon with something better. The owner of this device finally agreed to move on. If you don't need any of the extra Asuswrt-Merlin features the newer stock Asuswrt is your obvious firmware choice.

 

[Tech9]

Or is the Merlin number system unrelated

Unrelated. Asuswrt-Merlin 386.14 was based on never released as stock firmware GPL. It may have security updates, but it also has Asus EULA annoyances and some broken features around Trend Micro engine, both not present in available stock Asuswrt. At this point - it is what it is, no more fixes and updates are expected unless Asus finds some critical security flaw and updates Asuswrt.

 

[bennor]

Bottom line, RMerlin has indicated repeatedly that 386.x series routers are no longer supported (as of the end of 2024).

- NOTE: Reminder that all models on the 386.xx series will stop being supported by Asuswrt-Merlin at the end of 2024.

The firmware RMerlin receives is unique to each unit and generally not the same version number wise as the one's Asus releases publicly.

Asus may terminate their support for the End of Life RT-AC68U at any point and without notice. Several of the recent Asus firmware releases for the RT-AC68U delt with patching a security vulnerability (AiCloud) that affected most or all of their routers. Other fixes primarily are for AiMesh since the RT-AC68U remains a popular AiMesh router.

Users with internet facing RT-AC68U's should give serious consideration to replacing that 10+ year old end of support router or at the very least relegating it to AP or AiMesh use behind a newer internet facing router that is still receiving regular firmware updates. The RT-AC68U will still make a good Ethernet backhaul AP for IoT devices that don't need blazing speeds.

If one really wants to keep their RT-AC68U internet facing then consider using other third party firmware (Tomato, DD-WRT, etc.) that is still being updated. If those other firmware's are still being updated for the old RT-AC68U.

 

[Josh Schneider]

If I were to switch from Merlin to FT for my RT-AC68P with an RT-AC66U B1 and an RT-AC1750 B1 -- which I'm pretty sure are almost identical, and run the same firmware -- as AiMesh units, I assume I'd have to lose AiMesh. Would I pretty much have to start over from scratch to make the switch?

 

[ColinTaylor]

Would I pretty much have to start over from scratch to make the switch?

Yes, you would have set it up from scratch.

 

[Josh Schneider]

To be sure, there's no mesh functionality at all with FT, correct?

 

[bennor]

To be sure, there's no mesh functionality at all with FT, correct?

Correct. No AiMesh support with Fresh Tomato. AiMesh is generally Asus or Asus-Merlin firmware only.

 

[Tech9]

Wired routers running FT can do VLANs to wired and wireless system wide. Not "mesh" enough?

 

[Josh Schneider]

Currently, this is beyond my comprehension / technical ability, but I'll keep reading. I did see a mention of mesh in VPN Wireguard and VPN tinc documentation.

I could, of course, put extra routers in AP mode, but not the same. The whole reason I'm even thinking about it is that Merlin's already EOL and I don't think there will be much more in terms of Asus firmware updates (looks like there were a couple this year). Eventually, I expect my internet-exposed unit might be more vulnerable to exploits (I really have no idea). They all still work, and it's still a true mesh system.

 

[Tech9]

It's time to replace this 13-years old hardware. New routers for $50 have better Wi-Fi. Not sure what "true mesh system" means, but AiMesh is not very high on the list of home mesh systems. You wired "nodes" are APs with two preset VLANs for GN. The long support of this hardware was for marketing reasons - it was very popular, lots of people had one of the variants, AiMesh had to work on something to sell more routers. This is your true mesh marketing system.

 

[Josh Schneider]

I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to networking, so I also don't really know what "true mesh" means, other than non-technically, that it should allow my devices to seamlessly transition from one node to another. And, on that count, my system's never really lived up to the promise. I'm sure there could be many reasons for that, based on my lack of networking knowledge and configuration skill. When you say "New routers for $50 have better Wi-Fi," I'd be interested to know what you mean. I figure I'll need to spend a fair bit more than that, per node, to build a half-decent new system. Note, I curently have a sub-gigabit connection, and really don't plan on changing that anytime soon.

 

[Josh Schneider]

I just read one of your discussions in another thread. I have a lot to learn and consider (or not, depending on how much effort I'm going to put into this). One thing's for sure is that I'm probably not going to create an optimal system. My house dates to 1924 and there are limits as to where I can run cables. I currently run one AiMesh node on a Powerline adapter. Another is on a fully wired backhaul. I'm sure my setup is far from optimal, but it does ok, and acceptably covers most of our fairly large house.

 

[Tech9]

When you say "New routers for $50 have better Wi-Fi," I'd be interested to know what you mean.

Few years back an AP failed at a business location, I had no replacement and had to jump to the local computer store and get something temporary. It was an Archer C80 home router with AP Mode for $35. It saved the day, I still have it. I also have RT-AC68U and RT-AC1900P on the shelf. MediaTek SoC C80 has better range than both and holds higher link rates at distance. Technology moves forward and something released in 2013 means it was developed perhaps around 2010. It's 2025 now.