Release Asuswrt-Merlin 386.1 is now available

[RMerlin]

Feb 12th: 386.1_2 is now available:

386.1_2 (12-Feb-2021)
- NEW: Added snmp support to the RT-AX86U.
- UPDATED: inadyn to 2.8.1.
- UPDATED: nano to 5.5.
- CHANGED: Use local OUI database instead of remote one hosted
           on Asus's server (allows queries to work even when
           accessing webui over https)
- CHANGED: If dropbear cannot create keys in /jffs then
           create temporary ones in /etc so SSH can work even
           without a working JFFS partition.
- FIXED: Missing Game Mode on RT-AC88U
- FIXED: Non-working 160 MHz settings for RT-AC88U region/versions
         that should support it
- FIXED: Missing Instant Guard to RT-AX56U and RT-AC88U.
- FIXED: IPv6 ending with "::" were considered invalid on the
         webui (was breaking the Prefix field on the 6in4 tunnel
         page for instance).
- FIXED: OUI lookups on site survey page not working
         (for non-HND models)
- FIXED: Wifi Radar missing on GT-AC2900
- FIXED: Netools-enabled pages not used by GT-AC2900 and
         RT-AX86U
- FIXED: GeForce NOW UPNP not working
- FIXED: Erasing the JFFS partition would often require a second
         reboot since the operation failed when encountering
         a bad block.  These are now properly skipped.
- FIXED: Parental Control's time scheduler not working properly.

Asuswrt-Merlin 386.1 is now available for all supported models (and a few new ones). This marks the switch to the new 386 code base from Asus, which introduces a few changes of its own:

- AiMesh 2.0 (better node management, shared Guest Networks, topology optimizer and more)
- Both AC and AX models are once again based on the same code base
- Speedtest powered by Ookla (note: can be limited by your router's CPU speed)
- Switch to OpenSSL 1.1.1 (so we can now fully move everything to 1.1.1 on our end)
- IPSEC IKEv2 support
- Instant Guard (new simple-to-configure mobile VPN client based on IPSEC)

And numerous changes under the hood, such as enhanced Guest Network handling (the first Guest Network can now be shared with AiMesh nodes).

On Asuswrt-Merlin's own end of things, this release mark the addition of two new models:

- RT-AX86U
- GT-AC2900 (done in collaboration with Asus)

The latter comes with a few caveats:
- The non-ROG webui is used (meaning some ROG-exclusive features are currently NOT supported)
- VPNFusion is not supported (as it's tied to Asus's own closed source OpenVPN implementation)

The non-ROG UI has been implemented by Asus, they also took care of adding GeForceNow QoS support to our code base. This will serve as an experiment to see if other GT models could be added in the future with their collaboration.


Upgrade notes:
- I strongly recommend making a backup of both your settings and your JFFS content before upgrading to 386.1, in case you need to revert back to 384.19.
- If coming from stock Asus firmware, a factory default reset is recommended, but not mandatory.
- If going back to stock Asus firmware, a factory default reset is STRONGLY recommended.
- If updating your GT-AC2900 from an older 384_xxxx firmware, reformatting your JFFS partition is STRONGLY recommended.
- Direct upgrade from 384.18 or 384.19 should be fine, but be prepared to do a factory default reset if something does not work as expected.
- Asus' 386_41535 as well as 386.1 beta 4 are known to be broken on the RT-AX88U, and require the use of Asus' Firmware Recovery Tool to upgrade
- If using third party addons, make sure you update these to the latest versions. Also check with their authors to ensure compatibility with 386.1.
- Due to encryption getting enabled for password storage on the RT-AC68U, downgrading that model to 384.xx will require a factory default reset.

Here are the highlights of changes since 384.19:

• Merged with GPL 386_41700. Note that logging verbosity for wireless events is higher than usual on some models. This is normal, and does not indicate an issue.
• Added support for the RT-AX86U and the GT-AC2900
• Updated components: dnsmasq (2.84, fixing multiple recent security issues), OpenVPN (2.5.0), OpenSSL (1.1.1i), nano (5.2), curl (7.72.0), zlib (1.2.11), lz4 (1.9.2), e2fsprogs (1.45.6), dropbear (2020.81), miniuppnpd (2.2.0-20201129 snapshot), ipset userspace (7.6, which is compatible with the kernel's v6 protocol).
• Various changes to OpenVPN to support 2.5.0, remove deprecated features (like the old ciphers setting), tweak the webui, and fix a few issues. Please review the detailed list of changes in the Changelog.
• Added an option to run the new Speedtest through a specific OpenVPN client (the webui will automatically detect which client is currently running and add it to the list of available interfaces)
• fq_codel is no longer supported under Adaptive QoS, due to architectural changes made by Trend Micro, preventing Asuswrt-Merlin's previous patch from injecting fq_codel into rules generated by the Trend Micro engine. Also, fq_codel is now the only scheduler used for Traditionnal QoS (removed option to select sfq or codel).
• Fixed some ISPs that failed to renew DHCP leases when Adaptive QoS was enabled.
• Removed largely unused and outdated support for the Cloudcheck mobile app (I bet virtually none of you knew it even existed)
• Improvements to the DNSPrivacy preset list implementation, and the addition of AdGuard and CIRA Canadian Shield to the list
• Increased the number of available mount points for third party web pages from 10 to 20.
• And a brand new website to better accommodate the list of supported models, and make publishing new releases easier (and more automated) for me.

Please review the changelog for the complete list of changes as well as important upgrade informations.

Also, please limit discussions in this thread to this specific release. General support questions should be posted in a separate thread. Also note that this thread will be closed after a while once the initial launch feedback has slowed down.


Downloads are here.
Changelog is here.

 

[RMerlin]

Known issues:

• Lots of syslog errors when using Guest Network 1 on the RT-AX86U or RT-AX88U - use Guest Network 2 instead if you don't need sharing with other AiMesh nodes (issue within Asus's code, same issue also exists in stock firmware and will have to be resolved by them)
• Some users may experience issues upgrading their RT-AC68U (rare/random, also occurs with stock firmware. Asus recommends doing a factory default reset, however using Firmware Recovery Tool might also work)
• Sometimes Adaptive QoS rules aren't created at boot time on the RT-AC88U (and possibly AC300/AC5300) (same issue with stock firmware, try just re-applying your QoS settings to force it to restart)
• Webui very slow or unreachable after upgrading (this is normal as the router is doing database maintenance, just give it time, can take 5-60 mins depending on the router model)
• Missing Instant Guard on some models (build profile out of sync with upstream, fixed in 386.1_2)
• 160 MHz sometimes available but non-working on RT-AC88U (build profile out of sync with upstream, fixed in 386.1_2. Note that this option is only available to certain RT-AC88U SKUs and is either region or revision specific.)
• Missing Game Mode options on some models (build profile out of sync with upstream, fixed in 386.1_2)

 

[RMerlin]

A few noteworthy change since beta 5:

- The wsdd2 fix was reverted, and replaced with a temporary workaround (wsdd2 will get restarted after WAN interface connects). A more in-depth fix will be investigated for a future release.
- There was an Asus change to dnsmasq that was reverted, as it may create issues on some networks issuing LAN leases.

 

[L&LD]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Now, it's the weekend!

Appreciate you RMerlin for your great works here and to all the script authors who help quietly in the background too. All the beta testers are also going to be overjoyed with this release, I'm sure.

 

[Mutzli]

Both router models work as expected. Did a dirty upgrade from beta 5.

 

[trongod]

RT-AC5300. Dirty upgrade. No web interface problems after reboot. Actually the interface was more responsive than before. Speed test is working but seems slower than the browser based version. Only issue I see on visual inspection, which may have already been reported, there's no icon/image next to AiMesh in the menu.

 

[L&LD]

Dirty upgrade from which firmware?

Give it some time to show all icons. I think it is building them pixel by pixel on some routers, while it is updating the database and the nand for the new defaults.

 

[RMerlin]

RT-AC5300. Dirty upgrade. No web interface problems after reboot. Actually the interface was more responsive than before. Speed test is working but seems slower than the browser based version. Only issue I see on visual inspection, which may have already been reported, there's no icon/image next to AiMesh in the menu.

Clear your browser cache.

 

[charlie2alpha]

Sometimes Adaptive QoS rules aren't created at boot time on the RT-AC88U (and possibly AC300/AC5300) (same issue with stock firmware, try just re-applying your QoS settings to force it to restart)

Add the RT-AC86U to this list, the relevant syslog error is

Jan 30 23:13:49 sidonia A.QoS: qos rule is less than 22
Jan 30 23:13:49 sidonia A.QoS: restart A.QoS because set_qos_conf / set_qos_on / setup rule fail
Jan 30 23:13:50 sidonia A.QoS: qos_count=0, qos_check=1
Jan 30 23:13:51 sidonia rc_service: skip the event: restart_nasapps.
Jan 30 23:13:53 sidonia A.QoS: qos rule is less than 22
Jan 30 23:13:53 sidonia A.QoS: restart A.QoS because set_qos_conf / set_qos_on / setup rule fail
Jan 30 23:13:54 sidonia A.QoS: qos_count=1, qos_check=1
Jan 30 23:13:57 sidonia A.QoS: qos rule is less than 22
Jan 30 23:13:57 sidonia A.QoS: restart A.QoS because set_qos_conf / set_qos_on / setup rule fail
Jan 30 23:13:58 sidonia rc_service: skip the event: start_vpnserver1.
Jan 30 23:13:58 sidonia A.QoS: qos_count=2, qos_check=1
Jan 30 23:14:01 sidonia A.QoS: qos rule is less than 22
Jan 30 23:14:01 sidonia A.QoS: restart A.QoS because set_qos_conf / set_qos_on / setup rule fail

 

[RMerlin]

Add the RT-AC86U to this list, the relevant syslog error is

Jan 30 23:13:49 sidonia A.QoS: qos rule is less than 22
Jan 30 23:13:49 sidonia A.QoS: restart A.QoS because set_qos_conf / set_qos_on / setup rule fail
Jan 30 23:13:50 sidonia A.QoS: qos_count=0, qos_check=1
Jan 30 23:13:51 sidonia rc_service: skip the event: restart_nasapps.
Jan 30 23:13:53 sidonia A.QoS: qos rule is less than 22
Jan 30 23:13:53 sidonia A.QoS: restart A.QoS because set_qos_conf / set_qos_on / setup rule fail
Jan 30 23:13:54 sidonia A.QoS: qos_count=1, qos_check=1
Jan 30 23:13:57 sidonia A.QoS: qos rule is less than 22
Jan 30 23:13:57 sidonia A.QoS: restart A.QoS because set_qos_conf / set_qos_on / setup rule fail
Jan 30 23:13:58 sidonia rc_service: skip the event: start_vpnserver1.
Jan 30 23:13:58 sidonia A.QoS: qos_count=2, qos_check=1
Jan 30 23:14:01 sidonia A.QoS: qos rule is less than 22
Jan 30 23:14:01 sidonia A.QoS: restart A.QoS because set_qos_conf / set_qos_on / setup rule fail

You have a different issue, a previous event is currently preventing multiple events from running, causing them to be skipped.

These messages are quite common and do not indicate that QoS is failing to work. The issue I noted flat out has the kernel driver return an error message, and the router won't reattempt to configure QoS until you restart it.

 

[charlie2alpha]

You have a different issue, a previous event is currently preventing multiple events from running, causing them to be skipped.

These messages are quite common and do not indicate that QoS is failing to work. The issue I noted flat out has the kernel driver return an error message, and the router won't reattempt to configure QoS until you restart it.

Unfortunately it does fail though, a "tc qdisc" command reveals all interfaces using pfifo fast.

 

[Makaveli]

Nice.

Upgraded and so far everything looks good thank you sir.

 

[L&LD]

Okay, 2x RT-AX86U's upgraded to 386.1 final.

15 minutes after flashing the wired (2.5GbE) node, I flashed the router.

One hour later, I have rebooted the network via AiMesh, System Settings, System Reboot method.

Immediately after rebooting the two routers and the computer I was using, this is the fast.com results I got (note: both the router(s) and the computer are still 'settling').

Time to open a nice cold bottle.



Edit: And this is what I get when waiting for the equipment to settle down after 15 minutes or so.

Edit 2: And (below), back to normal after about one and three-quarter hours from the last reboot.

These Betas were a good stress test of the RT-AX86U's.

Now time to do a full/Nuclear reset on them with this firmware and latest scripts clean installed too.

With 'dirty upgrades' beginning with Beta 1 and each additional Beta as they become available, these results are fantastic.

I can't wait to see how the network behaves when fully reset and properly set up on 386.1 final (tomorrow or Monday).

(Equipment: 2x RT-AX86U's in wired (2.5GbE backhaul mode) on a Fibre, 1Gbps up/down symmetrical, ISP connection).

 

[AntonK]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Now, it's the weekend!

Appreciate you RMerlin for your great works here and to all the script authors who help quietly in the background too. All the beta testers are also going to be overjoyed with this release, I'm sure.

Ha, indeed! This Saturday afternoon firmware drop immediately improved my mood Thanks RMerlin and other senior persons in this community for anchoring it!

 

[Ramz]

Thanks dirty upgrade and all is good.

 

[mromero]

ASUS Cannot Get Its Act Together - CPU HIGH TEMP BUG PERSISTS - PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE?

Asus RT-AC86U 384.19 - 25°C

Legend: 2.4 GHz - 5 GHz - CPU
Current Temperatures: 46 °C - 52 °C - 73 °C

Asus RT-AC86U 386.1 - 25°C

Legend: 2.4 GHz - 5 GHz - CPU
Current Temperatures: 46 °C - 52 °C - 78 °C

Will let it run for a few hours, then back to 384.19

EDIT: Now up to 80 °C - what a bummer.

 

[Makaveli]

ASUS Cannot Get Its Act Together - CPU HIGH TEMP BUG PERSISTS - PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE?

Asus RT-AC86U 384.19 - 25°C

Legend: 2.4 GHz - 5 GHz - CPU
Current Temperatures: 46 °C - 52 °C - 73 °C

Asus RT-AC86U 386.1 - 25°C

Legend: 2.4 GHz - 5 GHz - CPU
Current Temperatures: 46 °C - 52 °C - 78 °C

Will let it run for a few hours, then back to 384.19

is your complaint about 73 °C vs 78 °C ?

 

[AntonK]

ASUS Cannot Get Its Act Together - CPU HIGH TEMP BUG PERSISTS - PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE?

Asus RT-AC86U 384.19 - 25°C

Legend: 2.4 GHz - 5 GHz - CPU
Current Temperatures: 46 °C - 52 °C - 73 °C

Asus RT-AC86U 386.1 - 25°C

Legend: 2.4 GHz - 5 GHz - CPU
Current Temperatures: 46 °C - 52 °C - 78 °C

Will let it run for a few hours, then back to 384.19

Is a CPU @ 78 °C a problem? I doubt it, though I admit I don't have the chip makers Whitepaper in front of me.

My router's temps at ambient 20 °C

 

[jsbeddow]

Seriously? We are still talking about temperatures? Yawn....

 

[KingBravery]

Done dirty upgrade from Beta 5 and so far everything looks good