Unable to Login to GUI despite Hard Reset on RT-AC88U

[redline122]

I am running an AC3100 (RT-AC88U) where I had noticed that my phone app and web GUI could not login for a couple of weeks.

Steps to Fix:
I have run the latest releases from ASUS (3.0.0.4.385.20490) and Merlin (384.17) and come up to the same problem even after:
1. Performing a hard reset (router powered off > hold down WPS button > Continue to press WPS and power on)
2. I walk through the setup wizard (I have tried taking the Advanced steps and going through the typical wizard walkthrough)
3. Setup my administration password
4. Logout
5. Login to router fails with password set in step 3

Tried accessing via:
Windows 10 running Google Chrome, and IE 11 (hard wire connected)
Mac OS X with Safari, Chrome, and Firefox (hard wire connected)
Android with Chrome (wireless)
iOS 13 with Safari (wireless)

All attempts lead to "Invalid Username and Password". I have used both the simplest and more complex passwords (less than 16 characters) with the same failing outcomes.

Any thoughts?!

 

[L&LD]

Are your passwords being auto-filled in? Are any (other) extensions interfering?

Are you using special characters, spaces, punctuation, or smiley faces?

What about using MS Edge and better, Edge Chromium?

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge?form=MA13DE&OCID=MA13DE

 

[redline122]

Are your passwords being auto-filled in? Are any (other) extensions interfering?

Are you using special characters, spaces, punctuation, or smiley faces?

What about using MS Edge and better, Edge Chromium?

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge?form=MA13DE&OCID=MA13DE

L&LD, Thanks for the reply.
1. I am currently NOT using any special characters - strictly alphanumeric and less than 16 characters.
2. Thanks for the link...I downloaded and ran MS Edge on MACOSX. However the results are the same.

Should I consider...
1. Performing yet-another hard reset
2. Go through the QIS wizard and setup the administration password
3. While still in the admin console, ENABLE SSH?
4. Logout

Will having SSH access allow me to get more visibility or opportunity to troubleshoot why the web GUI is generating the "Invalid Password" error?

 

[faria]

Have you tried the default credentials ? "admin " "admin"
Also trie login in with the last working username/password you had .

 

[redline122]

Have you tried the default credentials ? "admin " "admin"
Also trie login in with the last working username/password you had .

Faria, Thanks for chiming in...

1. Yes, I have tried the default credentials. "admin/admin" (username/pw). I went so far to even try "Admin/Admin" and "Admin/admin"
2. Yes, I have attempted using my last known set of passwords.

 

[L&LD]

@redline122 you're welcome.

You may want to try this link below.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/ax88-packet-loss.62891/#post-563326

The link in my signature below also contains the M&M Config and the Nuclear Reset guides too and can also be of help to get your router back to a good/known state.

 

[redline122]

L&LD, Thanks for the information. I will need to go through those steps in an announced maintenance window so that my home-based "coworkers" don't freak out. Heck...sounds tempting enough to move them over to my MiFi device.

 

[faria]

Faria, Thanks for chiming in...

1. Yes, I have tried the default credentials. "admin/admin" (username/pw). I went so far to even try "Admin/Admin" and "Admin/admin"
2. Yes, I have attempted using my last known set of passwords.

i see , i had a similar issue a while back and the old password worked.
My advice is for you to reset again and use a browser in incognito mode to set up.

make sure you write the user name and password on a pc notepad to make sure the character's you hitting in the keyboard are what you want.

 

[redline122]

Faria, we are on the same wavelength on the advice.

 

[faria]

Faria, we are on the same wavelength on the advice.

i believe so
What i meant is , one may have Num Lock on without noticing while inputting a password, or in my case as i switch keyboard languages, you would be surprised how many times what I'm typing isn't what i necessarily want.

 

[redline122]

One thing I did want to mention, is that I have seen this behavior on two DIFFERENT AC88U's. I had the pair in an AIMESH configuration, but when I broke the AIMESH to see if I could replicate the "Invalid Password" issue - I was able to replicate this issue on either piece of hardware with ASUS and Merlin's latest FWs. Currently, waiting out the 15 minutes before I reboot to see if the "Invalid Password" persists after a reboot.

 

[redline122]

I came across the Merlin changelog and the mentioning of how admin passwords were being handled in the newer FW releases from ASUS. Flashing with the newer releases (Merlin or ASUS) continued to result in "Invalid Password" even with the sound advice from L&LD's posts. I ended up going back to the ASUS 3.0.0.4.384.81116 from September 2019 where I was able to successfully logout and log back into the webUI. So now the question goes...

Knowing that the issue was how the password was stored...Is there a specific approach to either upgrading the firmware to successfully handle the encryption change and not get locked out of the webUI again?

 

[d3f]

im running into this problem right now with my 88u, am i being hacked ? im running 384.13

 

[redline122]

im running into this problem right now with my 88u, am i being hacked ? im running 384.13

d3f, Are you fine with doing a factory reset?

As for me, the problem was introduced when the router was updated using my phone app without realizing that Asus had changed the way it handles admin passwords. After the update, a factory reset was not performed and just led to a router that was operational but could not be managed.

I ended up doing a few factory resets (hard reset with the WPS button) so that I could get it back to an older firmware so that I could successfully test by rebooting and logging out and then being able to login to the admin console.

 

[d3f]

i did a bunch of factory resets before, setup my name and pw like normal.. could get in like normal for the first couple times then i would try later to log in and i couldnt... , i did it again today after work because i couldnt login again, this time i used a harder username /pw and enabled ssh this time so i could try to get in with ssh if i had too. but so far im able to still log in with webgui.. dunno whats going on

 

[redline122]

i did a bunch of factory resets before, setup my name and pw like normal.. could get in like normal for the first couple times then i would try later to log in and i couldnt... , i did it again today after work because i couldnt login again, this time i used a harder username /pw and enabled ssh this time so i could try to get in with ssh if i had too. but so far im able to still log in with webgui.. dunno whats going on

Have you changed the firmware where you may have introduced the change of how ASUS is handing admin accounts with encryption? Merlin 384.17 change notes show that. Not sure exactly what could be going on here...

If you can do without your router for a bit, I would consider the following:

I. Equipment used
A. laptop with an ethernet cable
B. ASUS router

II. Steps to Consider after removing the router from service
A. Perform a hard reset of the router by holding down the WPS button before and while you attempt to power up the router. Wait til the router white LED blinks rapidly and then release the WPS
B. Do the bare minimum to setup a new admin username and pw. Do not shutdown or reboot
C. Make sure to note the firmware you are running
D. On the Administration - Restore/Save/Upload Setting, check the box for "Initialize all settings" and press the Restore button
E. The device will restart now.
F. If you are able to login again, proceed to run a second "Initialize". If you are NOT able to login, perform a hard reset with the WPS button (as described in step IIA). The goal is to be able to complete a second "Initialize".
G. Proceed update the firmware to Merlin 384.17, confirm that the firmware took on the hardware
H. Perform another hard reset with the WPS button
I. Perform step IIB again
J. Attempt to "Initialize all settings" at least TWO times again
K. Perform another hard reset and then proceed to minimally setup the router and have it connect to your WAN circuit
L. Give it a day (if you can) to confirm the router is stable and can be managed using your credentials
M. Take note of each feature that you enable one at a time. If you are able to capture syslogs from the router that can prove helpful if the time comes to escalate more troubleshooting.

Hope this helps. I would recommend checking out the articles noted in L&LD's profile.

 

[d3f]

yesterday when i got home, i was reading about the change with admin accounts . and some people had success just powering it off , unplug wait, then plug back in and power up . i tried that still couldnt get in, held the reset button down (not wps). reset router. setup with harder log in. enabled ssh and syslog monitering on another computer.. everything seems ok now, i just changed my login back to what i used to use . so far still goood.. gunna see what happens while im at work.. whats the differnce between holding the reset button down to reset, and powering off and then up while holding wps button?

 

[redline122]

yesterday when i got home, i was reading about the change with admin accounts . and some people had success just powering it off , unplug wait, then plug back in and power up . i tried that still couldnt get in, held the reset button down (not wps). reset router. setup with harder log in. enabled ssh and syslog monitering on another computer.. everything seems ok now, i just changed my login back to what i used to use . so far still goood.. gunna see what happens while im at work.. whats the differnce between holding the reset button down to reset, and powering off and then up while holding wps button?

A regular reset does not clear the NVRAM on the router. By performing the WPS reset, it clears not only software-based configuration but also any corruption that can be found written into the NVRAM.