XT8 not able to find or factory reset

[DaMiddleMan]

Did you assigned a fixed IP address (like for example 192.168.50.2/255.255.255.0) to your PC before starting to ping the IP address 192.168.50.1 through the direct cable connection to the XT8?

I tried it, no luck. Ping to 192.168.50.1 unsuccessful.

I give up, I'm sending these two XT8s back to ASUS. Thanks for suggestions and help!
One attempted firmware downgrade was all it took to make them completely unresponsive.

 

[kildare]

Last try:
set your PC network settings to use a DHCP assigned IP.
Connect the PC directly to a LAN port of the XT8 and check if your PC is being assigned an IP.

 

[DaMiddleMan]

Last try:
set your PC network settings to use a DHCP assigned IP.
Connect the PC directly to a LAN port of the XT8 and check if your PC is being assigned an IP.

I sent them out for repair. 3 years warranty and only 1 year since my purchase. ASUS would not take them, but referred me to the retailer that sold them. Hopefully they can fix them or send me a replacement.
My other 2 XT8s are still producing stable Wi-Fi on 42095, so I’ll stay on that firmware.

 

[DaMiddleMan]

Just to finish up this thread. They sent me two new XT8s, so I guess there wasn't an easy fix.

 

[tgl]

Just to finish up this thread. They sent me two new XT8s, so I guess there wasn't an easy fix.

And ... are the new ones working better for you? Which firmware version are you running on them? Which hardware revision are they?

 

[DaMiddleMan]

And ... are the new ones working better for you? Which firmware version are you running on them? Which hardware revision are they?

The new ones are also hardware version 1.0. My plan is to downgrade them to 42095, so that all 4 XT8s are running the same firmware, but haven't had time to set them up yet.
In general everything seems much more stable on 42095, so I'll stay on that until I hear there is a new release that actually works.

 

[DaMiddleMan]

And ... are the new ones working better for you? Which firmware version are you running on them? Which hardware revision are they?

The new ones are also hardware version 1.0. My plan is to downgrade them to 42095, so that all 4 XT8s are running the same firmware, but haven't had time to set them up yet.
In general everything seems much more stable on 42095, so I'll stay on that until I hear there is a new release that actually works.

I did the set up process for the 2 new XT8s. I added them to my network (connected with ethernet) and then downgraded the firmware to 42095 (both hardware version 1.0). The first one is all good and is up and running. The second one turned in to a zombie

I've now in total downgraded six XT8s to 42095, three are fine and three turned in to zombies.....
Initially i thought that the issue was that I downgraded wirelessly, but this time the same thing happened while connected with ethernet cable.

 

[Tech9]

The firmware you are downgrading to is not even available anymore. Some of the newer firmware versions have the following warning:

No one knows what 42095 is compatible with. Newer h/w v1.0 units in current chip shortage situation may contain different components inside. If you continue deliberately killing good XT8 units you may get warranty claim denied very soon and start paying for your experiments.

 

[DaMiddleMan]

The firmware you are downgrading to is not even available anymore. Some of the newer firmware versions have the following warning:

View attachment 47269

No one knows what 42095 is compatible with. Newer H/W v1.0 units in current chip shortage situation may contain different components inside. If you continue deliberately killing good XT8 units you may get warranty claim denied very soon and start paying for your experiments.

Good point, I thought that all HW v 1.0 would be compatible with 42095. If I get a new XT8, I will not downgrade. My production year is 2021, not 2022.

However, I'm not just killing good XT8s. The whole reason that I'm downgrading in the first place is that my XT8s are producing an unstable wifi, I kept getting disconnected. So, I'm not playing around and damaging XT8 just for fun, I'm simply trying to get stable wifi and so far 42095 seems to be the only firmware working.

 

[Tech9]

You are killing good XT8 units by uploading firmware removed from Asus' support website long time ago. This is your own mistake and not covered by the warranty. You are also significantly decreasing your entire network security by running >2 years old firmware missing patches for perhaps well known bugs and exploits. I know XT8 has firmware issues, but I'm also 99% sure 42095 is NOT the only one working well. Check newer firmware release threads.

 

[DaMiddleMan]

You are killing good XT8 units by uploading firmware removed from Asus' support website long time ago. This is your own mistake and not covered by the warranty. You are also significantly decreasing your entire network security by running >2 years old firmware missing patches for perhaps well known bugs and exploits. I know XT8 has firmware issues, but I'm also 99% sure 42095 is NOT the only one working well. Check newer firmware release threads.

I would love to be running a newer firmware! In December 2022 I was on the lastest firmware and it was very unstable, getting disconnected every hour. When trying to work from home, this makes the internet connection basically useless.
Yes, I'm killing good XT8s, but I'm doing it out of desperation since my so called good XT8s are producing garbage internet.

If you have suggestion on a firmware that actually works, I would be happy to upgrade to that, because whatever was out in mid-December 2022 was not working.

 

[Tech9]

If you have suggestion on a firmware that actually works

Folks around using XT8 may help finding better firmware. The firmware is only one part of the problem. I know nothing about your setup and your settings - can't help you with that. If you do something wrong all the time when setting up your system - no firmware will help. My suggestion is fresh start on most stable as per user feedback stock Asuswrt firmware with settings very close to default. Make additional changes only when the system is proven stable. XT8 is far from the best "mesh" choice, but obviously there are thousands of people using them somehow with zero networking knowledge and firmware updates on Auto. If it was consistently broken and completely unusable BestBuy and Amazon would be full of "open box" and "refurbished" units.

 

[DaMiddleMan]

Folks around using XT8 may help finding better firmware. The firmware is only one part of the problem. I know nothing about your setup and your settings - can't help you with that. If you do something wrong all the time when setting up your system - no firmware will help. My suggestion is fresh start on most stable as per user feedback stock Asuswrt firmware with settings very close to default. Make additional changes only when the system is proven stable. XT8 is far from the best "mesh" choice, but obviously there are thousands of people using them somehow with zero networking knowledge and firmware updates on Auto. If it was consistently broken and completely unusable BestBuy and Amazon would be full of "open box" and "refurbished" units.

I have a very simple set up. One XT8 as a router and two XT8s as wifi mesh nodes (one via ethernet and one wireless). All default settings.
I'm a consumer, not an IT professional, looking for stable wifi in my home. Sure, I can reinstall everything, but there are multiple people having trouble and downgrading to 42095.

Right now, everything is stable and good on 42095. If I do a fresh start and find out that I'm having the exact same problem with instability, then I'll have to downgrade to 42095 again. Or I just give up on ASUS and send them back.

 

[Tech9]

If I do a fresh start and find out that I'm having the exact same problem with instability, then I'll have to downgrade to 42095 again.

Does it mean you never had a fresh start on any firmware change after you purchased and started using the routers?

 

[DaMiddleMan]

Does it mean you never had a fresh start on any firmware change after you purchased and started using the routers?

I've had a few fresh restarts in the past 2.5 years, but I'm reluctant to try it again, given the fact that in the past month three of my XT8s have been turned in zombies in the process of downgrading firmware to 42095.
I'd rather have stable internet on 42095 than unstable on the latest firmware. Or I'll just give up on ASUS altogether and buy a different brand.

 

[Tech9]

The main router controls the nodes. I would always start fresh with the main router and add the nodes after. If you don't reset the main router after firmware change and don't do manual configuration without using any saved configuration files from different firmware versions - your setup may always show some unexplained issues even with good firmware. Another question is why do you need 4x routers? More Wi-Fi doesn't necessarily mean better.

 

[DaMiddleMan]

The main router controls the nodes. I would always start fresh with the main router and add the nodes after. If you don't reset the main router after firmware change and don't do manual configuration without using any saved configuration files from different firmware versions - your setup may always show some unexplained issues even with good firmware. Another question is why do you need 4x routers? More Wi-Fi doesn't necessarily mean better.

Ok, at some point I'll feel brave enough to do a fresh start and leaving 42095 behind.
I need four XT8s because it's one larger house (containing router and one node) and two cottages in the garden that need their own nodes.
Thanks for suggestions.

 

[kildare]

I tested all the XT8 Asus firmware versions up to the 388 branch, and also the Gnuton's 386.08_0-gnuton1.
Unfortunately all the versions released after the 3.0.0.4.386_42095 have significant problems with backhaul and IoT, at least in my installation.
I'm running the XT8 mesh in AP mode, behind a professional Drytek Vigor3910 VPN router, with about 60 IoT devices, 12 wifi security webcams, 6 smartphones, 5 tablets, 5 Alexa Echos, 4 printers, 4 TVs and some wifi domestic appliances (washer, dryer, oven), Home Assistant server.
I'm an electronic engineer, and I know well what I do, so it's not time for further suggestions ... the XT8 Asus firmwares have plenty of problems, and apparently Asus is not able to fix them!