WebUI kicks-off randomly back to Sign-in screen

[Debil041]

Hi all,

registerred newly to this forum today to ask for help with weird behavior of Asuswrt WebUI after upgrading to Windows 10.

First, I would like sending milion thanks to those doing excellent job developing this alternative piece of firmware.

Second, I goooogled out couple of days to find anything relevant to the problem I experience. Nothing at least close to this issue has been found, so I came to this forum. Should you find my thread duplicit to any other previous one, please let me know in conversation. I did not searched through the forum completely.

Third, sorry for long post, I am trying to describe the issue as precisely I can to provide you the most complete picture of the issue.

Issue description
Since upgrading to Asuswrt version 378.55.0 and buying new laptop with Windows 10 Home, I started experiencing weird behavior of the WebUI. I log in with my user name (ex-admin, admin priviledges), and within either couple of seconds or after clicking anything on the Network Map screen, I am kicked off back to the login screen where I have to log in again.

Only the second or third login attempt lets me use anything else then initial screen. I am able to set various settings, but as soon as I click Save or Use buttons, I am kicked off immediately again without the requested action being taken. So I am - for instance - not able to change the Parental Control setting for my kids, since anytime I click Save after changing the timelines, I got disconnected from WebUI with no effect on settings.

Sometimes it happens (I estimate some 1% of all trials), that everything goes well, until (like today) I make some random change - this time it was disconnecting wifi and connecting wired. All of a sudden, the issue was back and I was not able to establish stable login for anything else than simple look over the network map.

I made factory reset and upload saved configuration with subsequent restart. It run for some time, but then it started f...up again.

Any clue what is the root cause of these problems? I suspected Windows 10, but the issue appeared on Vista with Google Chrome browser, too. The only stable way I can access the router web UI is my Android phone.

Router info
- Asus RT-AC68U
- 380.57
- admin user name changed/customized
- no custom scritps running

System info
- Windows 10 Home, version 1511
- Internet Explorer 11, Edge
- Windows Vista w/ Internet Explorer 9.0 and Chrome

 

[joegreat]

Did you try to use the IP address (not the host name) to connect to the router? It's a known issue in case you do not use the IP address...

 

[Debil041]

Did you try to use the IP address (not the host name) to connect to the router? Is know issue in case you do not use the IP address...

Holy man, it works... Or at least it seems it works... I am gonna spend to it a bit more testing effort. So far I used quasi-DNS record in hosts file in Windows to map host name to router's IP address.

 

[martinr]

"I made factory reset and upload saved configuration with subsequent restart. "

Excellent that joegreat's intuition seems to have solved your problem at the first reply, and I've learnt something new. But be aware that restoring to factory default (RFD) settings (factory reset) and then uploading your saved configuration, UNLESS you used John's nvram save/restore facility, will immediately undo the good of the RFD.

Read Merlin's answer to "Can I just restore my saved settings after I do a factory default reset? "

here:

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/faq-nvram-and-factory-default-reset.22822/

However, if you did use John's facility to restore your settings, then my apologies.

 

[Debil041]

Hi martinr,

I was also quite positively shocked that joegreat did it for the first Needless to say that it is extraordinarilly lucky position I am currently in, since it works...

I have made no fine-tunings or customization to my device, yet. Thus no experience with nvram save/restore facility you refer to. Will give it a try even though I am soooo lucky guy whom it worked regardless of this "sub-optimal" approach. Thanks for driving me there...

 

[martinr]

Hi martinr,

I was also quite positively shocked that joegreat did it for the first Needless to say that it is extraordinarilly lucky position I am currently in, since it works...

I have made no fine-tunings or customization to my device, yet. Thus no experience with nvram save/restore facility you refer to. Will give it a try even though I am soooo lucky guy whom it worked regardless of this "sub-optimal" approach. Thanks for driving me there...

Yes, that's why he's called joegreat.

So, just to make sure I explained it clearly to you; I might have misunderstood you. From what you said, I was thinking that before you restored to factory default settings (RFDS) you went to the Admininstration page in the webui and then to the tab: Save/Restore/Upload setings and saved your settings; then you did the RFDS, and then uploaded the old settings file you'd saved earlier. That would have been wrong for the reasons outlined in my earlier post and would have undone the good of the RFDS. (John's facility does indeed allow you to restore old settings after RFDS in a way that the Save/Restore/Upload settings tab cannot.) Personally, I am not confident enough to use John's facility, plus I feel the need to double-check any changes I make to understand any implications I might be unaware of.

However, from your answer I now think I misunderstood you, and you did not reload the old settings file after the RFDS. Good.

Before you do make any fine tunings/adjustments just remember that the experts advise us, for obvious reasons, only to change that which is absolutely necessary and leave everything else at the default setting - no unnecessary tinkering!

Also, it's worth a read of L&LD's guide:

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

 

[Debil041]

Yes, that's why he's called joegreat.
However, from your answer I now think I misunderstood you, and you did not reload the old settings file after the RFDS. Good.

Initially I did it the WRONG way, obviously. Later on I started thinking more in a common-sense way and asked myself whether it is (or is not) correct step forward. I read some more about nitty-gritty of it and found that this approach is what I shall avoid next time I attempt firmware upgrade. Made pile of sheets full of notes of parameters and settings and re-captured it back after RFDS.

Finding today (thanks to your reference) a much easier way to do so, I am studying the guide and with at least one-off help of my linux-guru-friend I will use this tool to learn doing it easier.

I have been using calculator/computer tools since 1983, so the golden rule of thumb you mentioned is deep under my skin :-D

 

[martinr]

Great. Many thanks for the feedback. I expect in 12 months I'll be quoting one of your guides in answer to postings from people with problems.

"Made pile of sheets full of notes of parameters and settings and re-captured it back after RFDS.". Very wise; I keep a notebook in which I similarly write stuff down, because if I didn't, next time I needed to repeat the process, I'd have to climb the same learning curve all over again. By the way, you might find it easier to take screenshots of every tab rather than write down those particular settings.