Release Asus ZenWiFi XT8 - New Firmware: 3.0.0.4.386_45898

[ninjabob]

No, I don't. If anything (reading the entire forum here), there are not enough parameters to tweak, according to many.

Best Practice:

• Flash the firmware you want to use.
• Fully reset to factory defaults.
• Minimally and manually configure the router to secure it and connect to your ISP (do not use any form of saved backup files).
• Only change settings past defaults if you know what you're doing, and/or, you fully test that you didn't break what was working before.
• If/when you do find the specific action that breaks your network, ask questions here (there and everywhere) and if it can't be fixed, don't bang your head against the brick wall.
• Use (only) the settings (and procedures) that work.

OR - load new firmware - reset all settings to default - configure SSIDs to suit your situation - use a free WiFi analyser to determine who in your immediate vacinity is using what channel (2.4 and 5ghz) and set yours to one that is least used - connect devices i.e. do the minimum and leave well alone?

OR fiddle with all settings and try and work out why nothing works properly?

Just saying

 

[L&LD]

No, that doesn't work as expected either. Not to mention the wasted time of using the free 'app' too.

See the specific 'control channel' links below.

Almost all L&LD Links

And I thought I specifically said not to 'fiddle with all settings' above too?

 

[ninjabob]

No, that doesn't work as expected either. Not to mention the wasted time of using the free 'app' too.

See the specific 'control channel' links below.

Almost all L&LD Links

And I thought I specifically said not to 'fiddle with all settings' above too?

You did

• Only change settings past defaults if you know what you're doing, and/or, you fully test that you didn't break what was working before.
• If/when you do find the specific action that breaks your network, ask questions here (there and everywhere) and if it can't be fixed, don't bang your head against the brick wall.
• Use (only) the settings (and procedures) that work.

But just changing one setting can cause all the issues some are suffering. Some are by nature impatient and change more than one setting/parameter without waiting (in some cases a considerable amount of time) to see the effect. There are an awful lot of settings to play with.

I am not saying that there are people on here who are not competent at making these changes. I am saying this is a consumer product and some or all of the these settings will be baffling to a lot on people who just want the bl-f£y thing to work.

I am somewhere in between the two camps described above. I am on the latest firmware and have 50 devices connected - six 2.4ghz cameras, 10 wireless switches, Sonos system connected by a Boost (10 speakers), TVs, Laptops, Desktops, Android Phones (WiFi6), Tablets and other Home Entertainment gear. I have had to bind some of the equipment that remains in static positions within my property for better reliability. So far this current firmware has been solid.

 

[L&LD]

Who gets in a car for the first time, turns on the engine, floors it, puts it into gear, and then tries to use every single thing that their hands/feet can reach too?

Slow down, learn and progress at your (and your networks') safe rate.

 

[ArbitRabbit]

Had to revert back to 42095. Had constant disconnections, both of my internet (somehow it can’t keep the pppoe connection stable) and also my nest cams were constantly disconnecting. Worked fine for 2 days though and at least I didn’t have issues with backhaul reverting to 2.4 GHz. I did do a dirty flash though - however, it shouldn’t matter.

 

[L&LD]

But, it looks like it obviously did (matter).

 

[RogerSC]

Had to revert back to 42095. Had constant disconnections, both of my internet (somehow it can’t keep the pppoe connection stable) and also my nest cams were constantly disconnecting. Worked fine for 2 days though and at least I didn’t have issues with backhaul reverting to 2.4 GHz. I did do a dirty flash though - however, it shouldn’t matter.

At that point, I'd have done a full factory reset of both nodes, setup the mesh, and reconfigured it manually.

If you look at Asus's advice on firmware upgrades, they recommend users do a reset after upgrading firmware:

[Wireless] How to update the firmware of your router to the latest version ? (ASUSWRT) | Official Support | ASUS Global

So yes, it does matter.

 

[Raven76]

ok... but if every firmware's change I have to do a complete reset, then there is a big problem on Asus routers software. I have a primary router (XT8) with a very personal configuration and 5 nodes (yes... 5 extra XT8s!) with very specific AiMesh settings and I cannot EVERY TIME waste three hours resetting and reconfiguring everything!

 

[TMcC]

ok... but if every firmware's change I have to do a complete reset, then there is a big problem on Asus routers software. I have a primary router (XT8) with a very personal configuration and 5 nodes (yes... 5 extra XT8s!) with very specific AiMesh settings and I cannot EVERY TIME waste three hours resetting and reconfiguring everything!

I agree. It seems bonkers that a manufacturer actually recommends that given they have implemented an auto-firmware update process during which that reset presumably never happens.

 

[ArbitRabbit]

No it doesn’t - for almost everyone. Most of us

At that point, I'd have done a full factory reset of both nodes, setup the mesh, and reconfigured it manually.

If you look at Asus's advice on firmware upgrades, they recommend users do a reset after upgrading firmware:

[Wireless] How to update the firmware of your router to the latest version ? (ASUSWRT) | Official Support | ASUS Global

So yes, it does matter.

only change a handful of settings like SSID, maybe backhaul priority etc. All that Linux does is create a new copy of the config that it loads in a new partition and if it sees the file there, it loads those values from that file, else uses defaults. So unless ASUS makes a completely breaking change where the name of those variables change, it doesn’t matter to do a dirty flash.

 

[RogerSC]

No it doesn’t - for almost everyone. Most of us

only change a handful of settings like SSID, maybe backhaul priority etc. All that Linux does is create a new copy of the config that it loads in a new partition and if it sees the file there, it loads those values from that file, else uses defaults. So unless ASUS makes a completely breaking change where the name of those variables change, it doesn’t matter to do a dirty flash.

On the other hand, if all you change are a few things, similar for me, then a factory reset and manual reconfig is easy. Just a few minutes, and I've found it worth doing for the ZenWiFi AX when upgrading firmware. Just mentioning what works best for you...if not resetting works well for you, enjoy your extra time *smile*.

 

[sgoldswo]

You did

• Only change settings past defaults if you know what you're doing, and/or, you fully test that you didn't break what was working before.
• If/when you do find the specific action that breaks your network, ask questions here (there and everywhere) and if it can't be fixed, don't bang your head against the brick wall.
• Use (only) the settings (and procedures) that work.

But just changing one setting can cause all the issues some are suffering. Some are by nature impatient and change more than one setting/parameter without waiting (in some cases a considerable amount of time) to see the effect. There are an awful lot of settings to play with.

I am not saying that there are people on here who are not competent at making these changes. I am saying this is a consumer product and some or all of the these settings will be baffling to a lot on people who just want the bl-f£y thing to work.

I am somewhere in between the two camps described above. I am on the latest firmware and have 50 devices connected - six 2.4ghz cameras, 10 wireless switches, Sonos system connected by a Boost (10 speakers), TVs, Laptops, Desktops, Android Phones (WiFi6), Tablets and other Home Entertainment gear. I have had to bind some of the equipment that remains in static positions within my property for better reliability. So far this current firmware has been solid.

I know what you mean. I’m conscious I’m not an average consumer (I have 90+ clients and 3 XT8s and always happy to play with settings to give myself reliability WFH). I have some sympathy with the argument that consumer products shouldn’t require an intimate knowledge of how 2.4Ghz clients function. Equally, the hardware is excellent and very reasonable in cost compared to alternatives. I can only report my experience, which is that with a few tweaks the new firmware gives great results.

 

[Blowsor]

I'm getting these errors in the system log in every firmware after 42095. I have just upgraded to 45898 and it appears once again. I have three XT8, one router and two nodes (wireless backhaul). When the error occurs it only affects the nodes, upload and download get decreased significally and ping increase from 6 ms to around 80 ms. I haven't done a factory reset yet, but I have tried that with earlier firmwares without success. Anyone else having the same trouble?

Oct 25 10:16:50 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <2090849> (jiffies_32 <2090849>)
Oct 25 10:17:07 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <2171794> (jiffies_32 <2171794>)
Oct 25 10:20:15 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <3110508> (jiffies_32 <3110508>)
Oct 25 10:41:23 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <8872677> (jiffies_32 <8872677>)
Oct 25 10:52:46 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <11319129> (jiffies_32 <11319129>)
Oct 25 11:03:13 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <13673842> (jiffies_32 <13673842>)
Oct 25 11:05:52 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <14351965> (jiffies_32 <14351965>)
Oct 25 11:09:02 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <15059634> (jiffies_32 <15059634>)
Oct 25 11:12:30 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <15765542> (jiffies_32 <15765542>)
Oct 25 11:15:33 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <16411001> (jiffies_32 <16411001>)
Oct 25 11:16:48 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <16746046> (jiffies_32 <16746046>)
Oct 25 11:18:28 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <17205716> (jiffies_32 <17205716>)
Oct 25 11:18:29 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <17208254> (jiffies_32 <17208254>)
Oct 25 11:20:10 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <17594222> (jiffies_32 <17594222>)
Oct 25 11:20:34 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <17681470> (jiffies_32 <17681470>)
Oct 25 11:23:03 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <18233164> (jiffies_32 <18233164>)
Oct 25 11:23:35 kernel: ERROR [bcm_timer_add,246]: Timer expiration occurs in the past <18351864> (jiffies_32 <18351864>)

 

[Dodgydrains]

If anyone with Teams issues wants to test a beta firmware, checkout this link post #15851:

ASUS ZenWiFi AX Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System - UKTechHub

UKTechHub ASUS ZenWiFi AX Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System

uktechhub.com

Worked for me and another forum user.

 

[Claira42]

I have a Hydrawise (Hunter) garden raon controler and soem garage door switches which fail to connect on all of the recent firmwares but on the 2095 release (the last where it worked) they connect without any problem. No specail setting done here.

I have the same problem with my Google nest outdoor cam. Seriously thinking of going back to that firmware as all updates after this are so pitiful and do nothing to help.

 

[gz2021]

I tried this firmware again because everyone was raving about it, was having an issue where my laptop looked like it was connected to the wireless but I couldnt even ping the local gateway. (wired worked fine)

Downgraded back to 42095

 

[Blowsor]

If anyone with Teams issues wants to test a beta firmware, checkout this link post #15851:

ASUS ZenWiFi AX Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System - UKTechHub

UKTechHub ASUS ZenWiFi AX Whole Home Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System

uktechhub.com

Worked for me and another forum user.

I have been running 9.0.1.4_386_46197 for 4 hours now, no kernel errors yet. Thank you for the link!

 

[Dodgydrains]

I have been running 9.0.1.4_386_46197 for 4 hours now, no kernel errors yet. Thank you for the link!

That is great to news. This was sent to me by ASUS as a fix to some problems I have with Microsoft Teams.

I have found it very stable as well, only reverted to 45898 as I need Parental Control.

 

[BrendonSF]

Just installed the 9.0.1.4_386_46197 beta in hopes that it'll fix the intermittent drops that have been plauging my IoT devices. I actually upgraded from an RT-AX88U trying to fix the problem, and naturally it looks to be endemic to Asus-WRT. D'oh.

 

[RogerSC]

Finally put my Apple TV 4K boxes on wifi, to check out the wifi-6 interface. Couldn't go an hour without losing touch with the Tablo, and not able to recover without a restart of the Apple TV box. Hadn't seen any other problems with this firmware, no disconnects when doing internet streaming, or anything else, so didn't think that wifi disconnects were a factor in this one. Finally tracked it down via "once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth" *smile*. Reverted the ZenWiFi firmware to 43181, and things look much better now. The wifi-6 on the Apple TV boxes looks just fine, and everything's cool.

Don't know why this firmware version doesn't play nice with the Tablo, and only when using wifi, but so it goes. I may try the Beta firmware version that I have again, to see if the problem is fixed, but for the moment, I'm just enjoying having everything working. Oh yeah, the reason that I stopped using the Beta was simply because the statistical traffic analyzer wasn't working in the Beta...bugged me.