AC-3200 384.4 Update WiFi Connectivity Issue

[jerry6]

I'm on 384.4-2 and all is working , so far , only been 24 hours , realtek clients now connecting , so I'll see in 2 days if trouble arises

 

[GameDr04]

AC3200, here.
I had the networking-nightmare weekend from hell.

I'm experiencing the same problems with my 2.4GHz as others have stated but I didn't think the problem would be with that. I assumed that the colon character in my SSID, was the problem...so I changed my SSIDs (it was time, anyway). Holy crap, the number of things I had connected that I forgot about is staggering.

Anyway, any firmware ≥ 384.4 has this problem. I know Merlin will be on top of it in coming releases so I'm not too worried about it.
(edit for firmware version inequality)

 

[jerry6]

AC3200, here.
I had the networking-nightmare weekend from hell.

I'm experiencing the same problems with my 2.4GHz as others have stated but I didn't think the problem would be with that. I assumed that the colon character in my SSID, was the problem...so I changed my SSIDs (it was time, anyway). Holy crap, the number of things I had connected that I forgot about is staggering.

Anyway, any firmware ≥ 384.3 has this problem. I know Merlin will be on top of it in coming releases so I'm not too worried about it.

Did you give it a manual reboot ? I turn off the router and unplug the power cord for 30- 60 sec , then start it up . I have had connectivity problems a few times when I don't do this .

 

[GameDr04]

Did you give it a manual reboot ? I turn off the router and unplug the power cord for 30- 60 sec , then start it up . I have had connectivity problems a few times when I don't do this .

Yeah, I did the manual reboot a few times - including letting it sit for a little bit. Both 5GHz bands work perfectly and the 2.4GHz worked perfectly until I upgraded to 384.4

I even went old-school and did a 30/30/30 and a manual nvram clear. None of that helped.

I'm OK with how things have gone, though. My SSIDs are now all planets in the Lylat System from Star Fox; been wanting to make that change for some time.

 

[Pagla]

AC3200 384.4_2 here as well. Mine has a slight twist to what some other AC3200 owners are reporting.

My 2.4GHz and 5GHz-1 is fine. 5GHz-2 is not. I get the authentication error when I try to connect, even though it is the correct password. However I do see some devices are registered on the 5GHz-2 under the Network Map and then separating by interface (interesting that 5Ghz-2 are all google products i.e a couple of minis, chromecast and chromecast audios). I just cant get other devices (laptop/phone/ipad) to connect to that SSID.

I did the restore to factory default, reboot, wait overnight, and then reconfigure manually in the morning.

 

[jerry6]

AC3200 384.4_2 here as well. Mine has a slight twist to what some other AC3200 owners are reporting.

My 2.4GHz and 5GHz-1 is fine. 5GHz-2 is not. I get the authentication error when I try to connect, even though it is the correct password. However I do see some devices are registered on the 5GHz-2 under the Network Map and then separating by interface (interesting that 5Ghz-2 are all google products i.e a couple of minis, chromecast and chromecast audios). I just cant get other devices (laptop/phone/ipad) to connect to that SSID.

I did the restore to factory default, reboot, wait overnight, and then reconfigure manually in the morning.

What clients are having the problems ? Only my realtek wifi clients had trouble with 384.4 beta , no connection problems with the 384.4 release

 

[GameDr04]

What clients are having the problems ? Only my realtek wifi clients had trouble with 384.4 beta , no connection problems with the 384.4 release

For me and my 2.4GHz, these clients cannot connect:
• iPhone 5s
• Garmin Smart Index scale
• Raspberry Pi Zero W
• HP 3510 Printer
• TP-LINK TL-WN722N USB adapter

 

[skeal]

I'm not sayingthat this will help all of you but it is a great place to start.

https://x3mtek.com/asuswrt-merlin-firmware-upgrade/

 

[jerry6]

For me and my 2.4GHz, these clients cannot connect:
• iPhone 5s
• Garmin Smart Index scale
• Raspberry Pi Zero W
• HP 3510 Printer
• TP-LINK TL-WN722N USB adapter

TP LINK IF VER2 or Ver 3 is Realtek chip , hmmm strange

 

[seth_space]

You try to help and i appreciate that, but when you read this topic you will see all kind of clean starts, 30/30/30, waiting for a day, reboots, restore, initialization etc etc..
It is not a problem with a bad update, it's something in the firmware making it allergic to some brand of Wifi stuff on 2,4Ghz.
Let's hope Merlin or Asus finds a solution.

 

[GameDr04]

I just did the following:

• installed 384.4, with a clean start (no settings restore, complete nvram erase)
• installed 384.4_2, with a clean start (no settings restore, complete nvram erase)
Both have 2.4GHz problems.

I then installed 384.3 (also cleanly) and all radios are performant. Everything connects. Nothing drops out.

(I just realized that "performant" is a made-up word, created by my fellow software engineers; still applies, though)

 

[jerry6]

I just did the following:

• installed 384.4, with a clean start (no settings restore, complete nvram erase)
• installed 384.4_2, with a clean start (no settings restore, complete nvram erase)
Both have 2.4GHz problems.

I then installed 384.3 (also cleanly) and all radios are performant. Everything connects. Nothing drops out.

(I just realized that "performant" is a made-up word, created by my fellow software engineers; still applies, though)

Did you do a manual reboot with power switch and leave off with power unplugged for 2 minutes ? That helped on mine , a gui reboot left me with connection problems on both bands with realtek chipped clients .

 

[jerry6]

i see there's a 383.4_2 version but the in the changelog there is no mentioning about the connection problems. Is it solved or still not known?
https://asuswrt.lostrealm.ca/changelog-382

newest release 384.4.2 is working well on my 3200 , needed 2 manual reboots though

 

[jernau]

I’ve tried nvram resets and reconfigure from scratch, leaving the router off for periods of time, moving my usb 3 connected drive to the usb 2 port and re-flashes of 348.4_2 to no avail. Still getting sporadic client disconnects and then incorrect password messages on clients when trying to rejoin WiFi which for me is 2.4ghz. I’ve also found that certain config changes cause the whole router to reboot. I’ve now gone back to 384.3 to try to hopefully regain stability. I do believe there is something wrong with this branch of firmware for the 3200 router but I believe this lies with the Asus underlying code rather than anything Merlin has included. I wish at the moment there was some way to revert back to the pre 384 code as that was really stable for me.

<EDIT>
Came across this posting here (https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac3200-version-3-0-0-4-382-50010.44206/) where users of the stock Asus firmware on the 3200 are experiancing the exact same wifi issues. Not sure whether stock firmware version 3.0.0.4.382.50010 underpins 384.4_2 but I suspect it does.

 

[Simkin]

AC3200 owner here, everything worked fine on 380 fw, but have one little issue on all three 384 fw's

My devices connected and working are: Samsung Galaxy S9+, LG V20, iPhone 6S, iPAD 2017, Clevo Laptop w/Intel WiFi, PS3 connected via Asus EA-N66, Two digital tuner one connected via 2.4Ghz and one via Asus RP-AC52, Epson printer. No dropouts, and work like it should.

My problem device: LG SmartTV (2016). Problem is on both 2.4 and 5Ghz channel, bitrate on Netflix 0.53mbps to max 4.10 mbps, Youtube also have low quality and buffering. Connecting my TV to my Galaxy S9+ OR my ISP router bitrate is where it should, both Netflix and Youtube.

Seems to me like a router/client problem? Did not have this problem on 380 FW, so what changed ?

I have tried what i can think of, factory reset router twice, reset TV, tried different channels etc etc.

 

[jerry6]

AC3200 owner here, everything worked fine on 380 fw, but have one little issue on all three 384 fw's

My devices connected and working are: Samsung Galaxy S9+, LG V20, iPhone 6S, iPAD 2017, Clevo Laptop w/Intel WiFi, PS3 connected via Asus EA-N66, Two digital tuner one connected via 2.4Ghz and one via Asus RP-AC52, Epson printer. No dropouts, and work like it should.

My problem device: LG SmartTV (2016). Problem is on both 2.4 and 5Ghz channel, bitrate on Netflix 0.53mbps to max 4.10 mbps, Youtube also have low quality and buffering. Connecting my TV to my Galaxy S9+ OR my ISP router bitrate is where it should, both Netflix and Youtube.

Seems to me like a router/client problem? Did not have this problem on 380 FW, so what changed ?

I have tried what i can think of, factory reset router twice, reset TV, tried different channels etc etc.

Any FW /SWupdates for the LG tv WIFI ? Those need updates as well

 

[Simkin]

Any FW /SWupdates for the LG tv WIFI ? Those need updates as well

TV is running lates SW, yes.

 

[guho]

Also went back to 384.3 on my AC3200 from 384.4_2 due to 2.4GHz AC8260 Intel wifi refusing to connect.

 

[Simkin]

This new firmware from Asus really looks like a buggy one

 

[GameDr04]

I got so tired of my 2.4GHz being unreliable, I did the dumbest thing possible: I downgraded to 380.69_2.
Why is this dumb? Because I tried it 5 days ago and it caused a boot-loop that lasted over an hour.

But this time - somehow - it worked.

It's GLORIOUS. All the WiFi channels work. The router is snappy (and so is my gigabit Internet ). I'll be sitting on this firmware until the SNB world at large confirms that firmware ≥ 384.x is stable.

In case you're considering doing the same thing, here's my success story (I'm sure you SNB folks already know all this but the random Googler who's stuck may not):
• make sure you're hard-wired into your router
• give your computer's adapter a manual IP of 192.168.1.9
• power off the router
• power on while holding WDS button to clear NVRAM (hold onto that sucker for a good 30 seconds)
• let go of WDS and wait until you get the initial setup screen at 192.168.1.1 (could take up to 5 minutes)
• power off the router
• hold down reset button and power on router while continuing to hold reset button for about 30 seconds - this gives you the ASUSTEK CFE miniWeb interface ("rescue mode"?)
• flash the downgraded firmware
• don't restore settings; that's never a good idea anyway
• pray

After downgrading, I had a very high NVRAM usage. An aggressive NVRAM clear (holding WDS while booting then factory reset in the GUI) returned my usage back to normal.

Here's the thing: Merlin said that ASUS said downgrading from 382/384 to 380 on AC3200 is not supported due to bootloader size mismatch. So do this at your own risk.

(edit for clarity and mention of NVRAM usage)