Two ac68u in AiMesh - node constantly drops to "offline"

[Lazz]

Good day fellow nerds! I need help from the Hive Mind.

I've got two RT-ac68u routers at home in AiMesh mode (one router, one node) but the node continuously goes "offline" despite not being touched and still being powered on. Every time it randomly drops out of the mesh, all connected devices get bumped off and have to reconnect to the main router. This causes dropped meetings, etc. and is super annoying.

The reason for AiMesh is that my house is very old (1966 build) and only has a single RG59 connection, at one end of the house on the main floor, for the modem. The node is wireless backhaul and placed centrally in the basement to get signal to the other side of the house and down a floor where our entertainment system and office computers are located. Wired backhaul is not an option unfortunately.

I'm running latest 41634 firmware on both nodes, both have been recently reset (WPS button method) after latest firmware update. I've tried the auto-optimize button but no change. When the node is connected and working, connection strength shows 'great'.

Any ideas? Any at all? I'll try anything at this point.

 

[L&LD]

If moving the AiMesh node closer or further (yes, try both) away from the main router doesn't give you instant results...

Or if moving the node to the same floor as the main router, but closer to the area it needs to cover...

Or testing with manual control channels (test all of them, do not use an 'app' or analyzer if your time is limited and you only care about results) ...


What I would try instead of that known 'buggy' firmware you're currently using is below.

Flash to RMerlin 386.1_0 release final on both routers.

Download | Asuswrt-Merlin (asuswrt-merlin.net)

Features | Asuswrt-Merlin (asuswrt-merlin.net)

Changelog | Asuswrt-Merlin (asuswrt-merlin.net)


Use the suggestions in the link below to get your routers/network stable.

Best Practice Update/Setup Router/AiMesh Node(s) 2021

 

[OzarkEdge]

Good day fellow nerds! I need help from the Hive Mind.

I've got two RT-ac68u routers at home in AiMesh mode (one router, one node) but the node continuously goes "offline" despite not being touched and still being powered on. Every time it randomly drops out of the mesh, all connected devices get bumped off and have to reconnect to the main router. This causes dropped meetings, etc. and is super annoying.

The reason for AiMesh is that my house is very old (1966 build) and only has a single RG59 connection, at one end of the house on the main floor, for the modem. The node is wireless backhaul and placed centrally in the basement to get signal to the other side of the house and down a floor where our entertainment system and office computers are located. Wired backhaul is not an option unfortunately.

I'm running latest 41634 firmware on both nodes, both have been recently reset (WPS button method) after latest firmware update. I've tried the auto-optimize button but no change. When the node is connected and working, connection strength shows 'great'.

Any ideas? Any at all? I'll try anything at this point.

Is this a new install or an existing install with a new problem?

The recommended reset info:
Reset FAQ
Reset Button/webUI Restore
WPS Button Hard Reset

Are you using fixed, least congested, non-DFS channels? Have you tried different channels? My install notes have some WiFi setting suggestions.

Have you tried moving the nodes around some to improve the wireless backhaul path? Are they near any EMF sources/interference like a furnace blower motor or cordless peripheral devices operating on the WiFi frequencies? Ideally, they should be located high and in the clear, not buried behind other electronic boxes.

Have you observed your WiFi signals (and neighbors') with a WiFi Analyzer or similar app to see if they are unstable or dropping out (sick hardware)?

Have you checked the router Log for clues at the time of the trouble event?

Are both 2.4 and 5.0 wireless backhauls listed in the Wireless Log... they'll have NSS of 3 for 3 streams/antennas, and router MACs. Do they have good RSSI and Tx/Rx numbers?

OE

 

[Lazz]

Is this a new install or an existing install with a new problem?

The recommended reset info:
Reset FAQ
Reset Button/webUI Restore
WPS Button Hard Reset

Are you using fixed, least congested, non-DFS channels? Have you tried different channels? My install notes have some WiFi setting suggestions.

Have you tried moving the nodes around some to improve the wireless backhaul path? Are they near any EMF sources/interference like a furnace blower motor or cordless peripheral devices operating on the WiFi frequencies? Ideally, they should be located high and in the clear, not buried behind other electronic boxes.

Have you observed your WiFi signals (and neighbors') with a WiFi Analyzer or similar app to see if they are unstable or dropping out (sick hardware)?

Have you checked the router Log for clues at the time of the trouble event?

Are both 2.4 and 5.0 wireless backhauls listed in the Wireless Log... they'll have NSS of 3 for 3 streams/antennas, and router MACs. Do they have good RSSI and Tx/Rx numbers?

OE

Hey, I really appreciate your reply. I'll check over your suggestions here and get back to you, but honestly thank you so much for taking the time out to put all this down!! <3

 

[DRL]

Hi. This may help regarding Aimesh and wifi backhauls (where an ethernet hardwired backhaul is not possible). My configuration has all ethernet backhaul nodes except for one wireless backhaul node that continuously experienced client drops and node disconnects intermittent and recurring.

Fixed (tried pretty much everything else to no avail): Installed an Asus as a media bridge and then added another Asus as Aimesh for the wifi as a hardwired ethernet backhaul directly connected to the media bridge beside it and no more problems. Months now and 100% trouble free. Still wireless from the router to the Aimesh node but via the media bridge and ...rock solid.

 

[Lazz]

Is this a new install or an existing install with a new problem?

The recommended reset info:
Reset FAQ
Reset Button/webUI Restore
WPS Button Hard Reset

Are you using fixed, least congested, non-DFS channels? Have you tried different channels? My install notes have some WiFi setting suggestions.

Have you tried moving the nodes around some to improve the wireless backhaul path? Are they near any EMF sources/interference like a furnace blower motor or cordless peripheral devices operating on the WiFi frequencies? Ideally, they should be located high and in the clear, not buried behind other electronic boxes.

Have you observed your WiFi signals (and neighbors') with a WiFi Analyzer or similar app to see if they are unstable or dropping out (sick hardware)?

Have you checked the router Log for clues at the time of the trouble event?

Are both 2.4 and 5.0 wireless backhauls listed in the Wireless Log... they'll have NSS of 3 for 3 streams/antennas, and router MACs. Do they have good RSSI and Tx/Rx numbers?

OE

As an update, I tried everything on here and still the node will just randomly disconnect. Oddly, it shows as offline in the phone app but not in the Asus browser GUI.

It is (or rather was, I've gone back to a single router) a new setup, and I never did manage to get it to stay stable. I tried several firmware versions (always matched on both routers) and went through not only your list but a bunch of other tips and tricks from across the web. Router logs showed nothing other than the node going offline. The node logs showed nothing at all - it thought was still "connected" and working without issue.

There were no issues with signal or interference, and when both units were connected and working speeds were awesome. The issue was that the node would simply go offline or stop being seen by the router. I tried swapping them a few times too, making the node the router and the router the node, but it was the same exact issue either way (meaning it's either not a device issue or both of my AC68s have the same issue).

Through all of this my wife and I have sold our house and are moving to a bigger and newer place, which means my choice now is simply to invest in a new mesh system. Suggestions welcome

 

[OzarkEdge]

As an update, I tried everything on here and still the node will just randomly disconnect. Oddly, it shows as offline in the phone app but not in the Asus browser GUI.

It is (or rather was, I've gone back to a single router) a new setup, and I never did manage to get it to stay stable. I tried several firmware versions (always matched on both routers) and went through not only your list but a bunch of other tips and tricks from across the web. Router logs showed nothing other than the node going offline. The node logs showed nothing at all - it thought was still "connected" and working without issue.

There were no issues with signal or interference, and when both units were connected and working speeds were awesome. The issue was that the node would simply go offline or stop being seen by the router. I tried swapping them a few times too, making the node the router and the router the node, but it was the same exact issue either way (meaning it's either not a device issue or both of my AC68s have the same issue).

Through all of this my wife and I have sold our house and are moving to a bigger and newer place, which means my choice now is simply to invest in a new mesh system. Suggestions welcome

So, perhaps intermittent radio/wifi fail... or interference... on one router. When the node 'drops', what is the status of the wireless backhauls in the Wireless Log... one or both should indicate no connection(?). How strong are those backhauls when working?

Perhaps try just one router for a week or so to detect a hardware fault. Then switch to using the other router for a period to detect a hardware fault.

Have you tried other channels for signal stability?

OE