AC3200 and 2.4Ghz issues

[Adrien]

Hi,
So it seems that i am not the only one and i saw in a previous post that @jerry6 was also asking if the 2.4ghz radio was fixed.

I am not sure what issues others have, but for me its been worse and worse.
I reboot the router and all clients connect and are happy.
Then during the day (could be close after reboot or later) the router either crashes or reboots (kids saying Dad the internet is gone).
After a little while the router reboots but refuses to let certain clients to reconnect to the 2.4ghz band until i force reboot.
The funny part is that only the clients that only support 2.4ghz like nest protect, my printer, my alarm system, and the ecobee thermostat cant connect. However the client that can connect to a 5ghz band and who try to connect to the 2.4ghz are able to connect.
I automatically reboot my router on a daily basis at 6am.
I am attaching the syslog sections from a regular reboot and a crash reboot. There are some differences (i tried to sync the logs so i left some blanks). Hopefully that can help.

I am currently on 384.3 but was recently on 384.5 and all versions from the one i have and up have the issue (i tried them all). I dont really want to try any more versions.

I also tried to back up the config using nvram save r26.2, re-install the firmware fresh after a factory reset but still.

As anyone found a fix or work around?

Its annoying because my ecobee or ring doorbell loose connection so when i am at work i do not receive notifications any more until i get back home and hard reboot the router.

Any help is welcome.

--Adrien

 

[Adrien]

linking to https://www.snbforums.com/threads/significant-update-to-2-4ghz-issue-at-least-on-ac3200.47242/
similar issue.

 

[Adrien]

ok So there is definitely something weird going on.
@RMerlin please chyme in as this is maybe a bug

I have 3 SSID
Thorgal_Aegirsson 2.4GHZ channel 1
Guandalf_the_mad 5Ghz auto channel
Kris_De_Valnor 5Ghz auto channel

I've attached screen shots of my wifi config as well as a netspot network survey after a reboot (post_reboot files).
As you can see, especially in the survey, my config matches what the survey found.

After the "router" crash, that is when things are weird.
The survey only shows 2 out of 3 wifi but the most interesting is that now
Guandalf_the_mad is the 2.4 GHZ network instead of the 5GHZ
Thorgal_Aegirsson is a 5GHZ network instead of 2.4GHZ
Kris_De_Valnor which should be a 5ghz is gone!!!

So now this explains why my 2.4GHZ clients can never reconnect to the 2.4GHZ network because it became a 5Ghz network after the crash.

I've also attached the post reboot and post crash Router config and you will see that the 2.4GHZ config now has 5GHZ options.

 

[Adrien]

Rest of the screenshots

 

[kfp]

What do you mean by “crash”?

 

[AntonK]

I'm not having any issues with 2.4 or 5.0 bands with my AC-3200 and Merlin's firmware. My iPhones, Echo, Tablet usually connect to the 5ghz band. My two wireless printers connect to the 2.4 and never lose their connection. Others who come in an connect to my Guest 2.4 never suffer connection issues.

 

[Adrien]

What do you mean by “crash”?

What i mean is that suddently all client are disconnected from the router then after a while reconnect. When this happens i see a red light on the router. I do not know why this happens.
Only those able to connect to a 5Ghz band reconnect the other one cant due to the misconfiguration after this issue

 

[bsdsource]

Thanks for going above and beyond providing a lot more information then others have. Can you save your configuration file before and after the "crash" and compare the 2? The SSID's are stored in NVRAM and if one is changing I'm wondering if any of your NVRAM variables are changing as well.

Have you tried setting your 2.4Ghz control band to auto? Looks like you have the 5Ghz setup with auto but not the 2.4Ghz.

Seems some RT-AC3200 owners aren't having the stability issue. Unfortunately I don't own the router but I would try disabling as many services (the ones you normally use) as possible and test the router by turning on one service (upnp, ntp, etc) at time and monitor your router over time to see if one of the services you are using is triggering the issue. Just a thought.

 

[kfp]

A few others mentioned your SSID might be a source of the problem but seeing as your symptoms (swapped configs) are not widespread I’m responding here.

Have you tried using SSIDs with only one or no underscore (_)?

I can easily imagine somewhere in their code they only accounted for one underscore but not two..

 

[Adrien]

Thanks for going above and beyond providing a lot more information then others have. Can you save your configuration file before and after the "crash" and compare the 2? The SSID's are stored in NVRAM and if one is changing I'm wondering if any of your NVRAM variables are changing as well.

Have you tried setting your 2.4Ghz control band to auto? Looks like you have the 5Ghz setup with auto but not the 2.4Ghz.

Seems some RT-AC3200 owners aren't having the stability issue. Unfortunately I don't own the router but I would try disabling as many services (the ones you normally use) as possible and test the router by turning on one service (upnp, ntp, etc) at time and monitor your router over time to see if one of the services you are using is triggering the issue. Just a thought.

as soon as the issue will show itself (which usually it is once a day) i will save the pre and post reboot nvram state and compare.

 

[jerry6]

I'm not having any issues with 2.4 or 5.0 bands with my AC-3200 and Merlin's firmware. My iPhones, Echo, Tablet usually connect to the 5ghz band. My two wireless printers connect to the 2.4 and never lose their connection. Others who come in an connect to my Guest 2.4 never suffer connection issues.

How long have you had the 3200 ? The ones I bought on release are fine , one I bought 2 months ago has the 2.4 ghz radio problems . Wondering if there was a hardware change ?

 

[Striker317]

How long have you had the 3200 ? The ones I bought on release are fine , one I bought 2 months ago has the 2.4 ghz radio problems . Wondering if there was a hardware change ?

Did you compare the hardware revisions? It is on the box.

 

[AntonK]

How long have you had the 3200 ? The ones I bought on release are fine , one I bought 2 months ago has the 2.4 ghz radio problems . Wondering if there was a hardware change ?

I purchased it about 3 months ago, from Amazon. I'd have to check the box for firmware revision (if I still have it).

 

[bsdsource]

There should be a sticker underneath your router. It will contain the hardware revision and firmware revision. What's important is the hardware revision. Would be interesting to determine if this is a hardware issue instead of a software issue. If you own an RT-AC3200 please post your hardware revision and what issues you are experiencing if any.

 

[jerry6]

The one I bought recently that went bad on 2.4 HW REV R2 35 FW that it came with was 380 , the 2 I have from the day they were released have HW REV R2 34 FW 378

 

[AntonK]

AC-3200 H/W Ver.: R2.35

No issues with any of the wireless bands that I can detect (latest RMerlin firmware).

 

[Treadler]

Hi,
So it seems that i am not the only one and i saw in a previous post that @jerry6 was also asking if the 2.4ghz radio was fixed.

I am not sure what issues others have, but for me its been worse and worse.
I reboot the router and all clients connect and are happy.
Then during the day (could be close after reboot or later) the router either crashes or reboots (kids saying Dad the internet is gone).
After a little while the router reboots but refuses to let certain clients to reconnect to the 2.4ghz band until i force reboot.
The funny part is that only the clients that only support 2.4ghz like nest protect, my printer, my alarm system, and the ecobee thermostat cant connect. However the client that can connect to a 5ghz band and who try to connect to the 2.4ghz are able to connect.
I automatically reboot my router on a daily basis at 6am.
I am attaching the syslog sections from a regular reboot and a crash reboot. There are some differences (i tried to sync the logs so i left some blanks). Hopefully that can help.

I am currently on 384.3 but was recently on 384.5 and all versions from the one i have and up have the issue (i tried them all). I dont really want to try any more versions.

I also tried to back up the config using nvram save r26.2, re-install the firmware fresh after a factory reset but still.

As anyone found a fix or work around?

Its annoying because my ecobee or ring doorbell loose connection so when i am at work i do not receive notifications any more until i get back home and hard reboot the router.

Any help is welcome.

--Adrien

An observation.

I have found both scheduled reboot, & scheduled wireless on/off, to be problematic across all firmwares for a while now. Merlin & OE.

Typical issues: reboot happens but wifi dead, or reboots & router powers down totally.

Wireless scheduling: will work happily for a few days, then gives up altogether. A reboot brings it back to life, then, it just fades again.

 

[kfp]

An observation.

I have found both scheduled reboot, & scheduled wireless on/off, to be problematic across all firmwares for a while now. Merlin & OE.

Typical issues: reboot happens but wifi dead, or reboots & router powers down totally.

Wireless scheduling: will work happily for a few days, then gives up altogether. A reboot brings it back to life, then, it just fades again.

This seems to also be the trend with DD-WRT (kongac) on Broadcom devices recently..

 

[Adrien]

Ok so it happened again today:
I used the nvram util r26.2 to back up the nvram before reboot (bad state) and after hard reboot (clean state)
here are the differences:
NVRAM Saved User Settings

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-NVRAM Saved User Settings 201806251750 92B0
+NVRAM Saved User Settings 201806251742 92B0


 [System - Basic]
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@
 wl0_bss_enabled="1"
 wl0_bw="0"
 wl0_bw_cap="3"
-wl0_chanspec="1l"
+wl0_chanspec="0"
 wl0_closed="0"
 wl0_crypto="aes"
 wl0_expire="0"

The All NVRAM Settings was completely different out the box.
So i sorted all lines and did a diff.
I also replaced in the diff the beginning of the mac address
(dont forget to scroll below)

@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@
 acs_dfs=1
 acs_ifnames=eth2 eth1 eth3
 acs_no_restrict_align=1
-All NVRAM Settings 201806251750 92B0
+All NVRAM Settings 201806251742 92B0
 AllLED=1
 apps_analysis=1
 apps_depend_action=
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@
 boot_wait=on
 bootflags=1
 br0_ifname=br0
-br0_ifnames=vlan1 eth2 eth1 eth3
+br0_ifnames=vlan1 eth2 eth1
 bsd_aclist_timeout=3
 bsd_bounce_detect=180 2 3600
 bsd_helper=192.168.1.2
@@ -1584,7 +1584,7 @@
 wan0_dnsenable_x=1
 wan0_domain=hsd1.il.comcast.net.
 wan0_enable=1
-wan0_expires=216866
+wan0_expires=224973
 wan0_gateway=xx.xx.xx.1
 wan0_gateway_x=0.0.0.0
 wan0_gw_ifname=eth0
@@ -1598,7 +1598,7 @@
 wan0_ipaddr=xx.xx.xx.105
 wan0_ipaddr_x=0.0.0.0
 wan0_is_usb_modem_ready=0
-wan0_lease=216844
+wan0_lease=224951
 wan0_mroute=
 wan0_mtu=1500
 wan0_nat_x=1
@@ -1973,7 +1973,7 @@
 wl0_bw_dl=
 wl0_bw_enabled=0
 wl0_bw_ul=
-wl0_chanspec=1l
+wl0_chanspec=0
 wl0_chlist=1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
 wl0_closed=0
 wl0_corerev=49
@@ -1993,7 +1993,7 @@
 wl0_guest_num=10
 wl0_hw_rxchain=7
 wl0_hw_txchain=7
-wl0_hwaddr=XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:B0
+wl0_hwaddr=XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:B8
 wl0_ifname=eth2
 wl0_igs=0
 wl0_infra=1
@@ -2335,7 +2335,7 @@
 wl1_guest_num=10
 wl1_hw_rxchain=7
 wl1_hw_txchain=7
-wl1_hwaddr=XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:B4
+wl1_hwaddr=XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:B0
 wl1_ifname=eth1
 wl1_igs=0
 wl1_infra=1

I hope this helps discover what could be wrong.
I am not a network savvy person. The only thing that i can see is that it seems that eth3 dies and things shifts or something like that

-br0_ifnames=vlan1 eth2 eth1 eth3
+br0_ifnames=vlan1 eth2 eth1

Then the mac address for the wl0 switches as well

 

[Adrien]

I actually wonder if it has something to do with the fact that most routers have 2 bands (1 2.4ghz and 1 5ghz) but this router has 3 (1 2.4ghz and 2 5ghz) so when the routine for after it crashes it executes the 2 bands routine. I am wildly speculating here.