AC68R Wireless Drops w/Chromecast

[porthos]

Hi Everyone,

Some background first.

I have an AC68R running Merlin 378.50

The issue I am having seems to be directly related to the Chromecast devices.

The wireless network runs fine without issue. The minute I start a stream on the chromecast, the wireless signal on all the devices drops out. As in the wireless network is completely unavailable for either a few minutes, or after a reset if the router.

I can consistantly make this happen with the chromecast. I've tried casting both a Hulu stream as well as a local Plex stream with the same result. The wireless drops out, comes back after a bit, then I can continue streaming.

Has anyone seen this behavior? Can anyone think of a starting point to troubleshoot the issue? The logs from the GUI are relatively sparse.

*Edit...also wanted to include this has been happening on previous builds of firmware, I have not tried reverting over to ASUS firmware however.

Thanks In advance.

 

[porthos]

I guess noone is seeing this behavior, I can definitely consistantly get this to happen every single time I try to use the Chromecast, first cast always results in every client being dropped off for a bit. Second or Third try, and in goes without issue.

If noone else is having the same issue, could anyone point me to log settings or whatnot where I may be able to get more verbose logging for wireless connections and whatnot?

 

[rljames]

My AC66U has been experiencing sporadic wireless drops for some time. Couldn't isolate problem until using inSSIDer utility to see Chromecast device become "active" during the issues. Currently Merlin v378.54_2 and at least a few versions earlier with same troubles.

Were you able to find a solution? Would like to keep the Chromecast...

 

[chrisinsocalif]

My AC66U has been experiencing sporadic wireless drops for some time. Couldn't isolate problem until using inSSIDer utility to see Chromecast device become "active" during the issues. Currently Merlin v378.54_2 and at least a few versions earlier with same troubles.

Were you able to find a solution? Would like to keep the Chromecast...

I have the AC66U. First factory reset your Chromecast.
To Factory reset your Chromecast, hold the reset button down (on the Chromecast) for 25 seconds or until the solid light begins flashing. You will have to set it up again, but that is easy.

Next, make sure you have a clean firmware installation. Reset your router to clear NVRAM, reinstall the firmware, wait till router is fully booted up, reset again. Enter in settings manually and do not restore.
Sometimes continually updating the firmware and restoring older configuration files can cause a dirty flash. Once we know it's not a dirty flash and still not working, we can troubleshoot further.

 

[L&LD]

I have the AC66U. First factory reset your Chromecast.
To Factory reset your Chromecast, hold the reset button down (on the Chromecast) for 25 seconds or until the solid light begins flashing. You will have to set it up again, but that is easy.

Next, make sure you have a clean firmware installation. Reset your router to clear NVRAM, reinstall the firmware, wait till router is fully booted up, reset again. Enter in settings manually and do not restore.
Sometimes continually updating the firmware and restoring older configuration files can cause a dirty flash. Once we know it's not a dirty flash and still not working, we can troubleshoot further.

Please stop recommending to reset the router to defaults before doing a firmware upgrade (or re-install of the same version).

That is a waste of time as has been pointed out already.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/asuswrt-merlin-378-55-is-now-available.25874/page-23#post-196621

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/asuswrt-merlin-378-55-is-now-available.25874/page-23#post-196719

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/asuswrt-merlin-378-55-is-now-available.25874/page-23#post-196791

 

[chrisinsocalif]

Please stop recommending to reset the router to defaults before doing a firmware upgrade (or re-install of the same version).

That is a waste of time as has been pointed out already.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/asuswrt-merlin-378-55-is-now-available.25874/page-23#post-196621

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/asuswrt-merlin-378-55-is-now-available.25874/page-23#post-196719

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/asuswrt-merlin-378-55-is-now-available.25874/page-23#post-196791

Apparently you glanced over my reply which shows why it's not a waste of time. Let me post it again.

The NVRAM stores persistent settings between reboots. The NVRAM is also retained between flashes of different firmware versions or even different firmware versions.

It is recommended to reset the NVRAM between flashes so that the new firmware encounters known values in the NVRAM.

For example, let's say that Firmware A sets the imaginary variable run_masq to "/usr/bin/masqrun", and this command is run at startup. Now, let's flash the router with Firmware B, which reads the run_masq variable determine whether the router does masquerading. Firmware B expects a boolean value here, such as "1" or "0". In the best case scenario, Firmware B will just throw an error and gracefully continue booting, but there could be cases where it errors out so badly that it bricks the router or makes it unbootable.

Many issues arise with a dirty flash or improper scripts.
First way to alleviate those two is be starting fresh so we can eliminate one of the most common causes.
But I am assuming you already checked for interference (like a microwave or other routers), and different chrome settings (guest setting on/off) if you are coming here. I did have a some issues after upgrading from .54 to .55. My CPU load was unusually high and had problems with connectivity. A fresh reset, reloading firmware and entering in my settings manually fixed my issues. That is why I suggested it.

I come from being an avid DD-WRT user and the first two rules they suggest before posting in the forums is a doing hard reset and not using backup files or they wouldn't even address the issue.

Quote:
"Failing to do a hard reset and failing to wait after flashing are the two most common NOOB errors that lead them to a world of unnecessary pain! This is not a minor optional step. The firmware writes information to the Nvram. This step clears that information. If you don't clear it properly, parts of the old information be present with the new firmware, which can make it not operate properly. Don't cut corners. Doing it before you upgrade can be very important; a hard reset is not just for after upgrades."

Maybe it won't help you as it did for me but it's a method that is often overlooked.

 

[MarioCaires]

Apparently you glanced over my reply which shows why it's not a waste of time. Let me post it again.

The NVRAM stores persistent settings between reboots. The NVRAM is also retained between flashes of different firmware versions or even different firmware versions.

It is recommended to reset the NVRAM between flashes so that the new firmware encounters known values in the NVRAM.

For example, let's say that Firmware A sets the imaginary variable run_masq to "/usr/bin/masqrun", and this command is run at startup. Now, let's flash the router with Firmware B, which reads the run_masq variable determine whether the router does masquerading. Firmware B expects a boolean value here, such as "1" or "0". In the best case scenario, Firmware B will just throw an error and gracefully continue booting, but there could be cases where it errors out so badly that it bricks the router or makes it unbootable.

Many issues arise with a dirty flash or improper scripts.
First way to alleviate those two is be starting fresh so we can eliminate one of the most common causes.
But I am assuming you already checked for interference (like a microwave or other routers), and different chrome settings (guest setting on/off) if you are coming here. I did have a some issues after upgrading from .54 to .55. My CPU load was unusually high and had problems with connectivity. A fresh reset, reloading firmware and entering in my settings manually fixed my issues. That is why I suggested it.

I come from being an avid DD-WRT user and the first two rules they suggest before posting in the forums is a doing hard reset and not using backup files or they wouldn't even address the issue.

Quote:
"Failing to do a hard reset and failing to wait after flashing are the two most common NOOB errors that lead them to a world of unnecessary pain! This is not a minor optional step. The firmware writes information to the Nvram. This step clears that information. If you don't clear it properly, parts of the old information be present with the new firmware, which can make it not operate properly. Don't cut corners. Doing it before you upgrade can be very important; a hard reset is not just for after upgrades."

Maybe it won't help you as it did for me but it's a method that is often overlooked.

As mentioned before, clearing nvram BEFORE the flash is a redundancy since you're going to do it after the flash anyway (with or w/o errors)! And that's one more write cycle made to the nvram that could be avoided...
For your own peace of mind, keep doing it as you please, just don't keep recommending to other people such thing please!

 

[L&LD]

I did read your reply fully, but you are ignoring the other replies which directly address your incorrect assumptions.

Reflashing the same firmware has been known fix issues, resetting to factory defaults resets the NVRAM too (as per RMerlin).

Please don't make recommendations like this again and don't copy paste what you already wrote and I have already read.

Apparently you glanced over my reply which shows why it's not a waste of time. Let me post it again.

The NVRAM stores persistent settings between reboots. The NVRAM is also retained between flashes of different firmware versions or even different firmware versions.

It is recommended to reset the NVRAM between flashes so that the new firmware encounters known values in the NVRAM.

For example, let's say that Firmware A sets the imaginary variable run_masq to "/usr/bin/masqrun", and this command is run at startup. Now, let's flash the router with Firmware B, which reads the run_masq variable determine whether the router does masquerading. Firmware B expects a boolean value here, such as "1" or "0". In the best case scenario, Firmware B will just throw an error and gracefully continue booting, but there could be cases where it errors out so badly that it bricks the router or makes it unbootable.

Many issues arise with a dirty flash or improper scripts.
First way to alleviate those two is be starting fresh so we can eliminate one of the most common causes.
But I am assuming you already checked for interference (like a microwave or other routers), and different chrome settings (guest setting on/off) if you are coming here. I did have a some issues after upgrading from .54 to .55. My CPU load was unusually high and had problems with connectivity. A fresh reset, reloading firmware and entering in my settings manually fixed my issues. That is why I suggested it.

I come from being an avid DD-WRT user and the first two rules they suggest before posting in the forums is a doing hard reset and not using backup files or they wouldn't even address the issue.

Quote:
"Failing to do a hard reset and failing to wait after flashing are the two most common NOOB errors that lead them to a world of unnecessary pain! This is not a minor optional step. The firmware writes information to the Nvram. This step clears that information. If you don't clear it properly, parts of the old information be present with the new firmware, which can make it not operate properly. Don't cut corners. Doing it before you upgrade can be very important; a hard reset is not just for after upgrades."

Maybe it won't help you as it did for me but it's a method that is often overlooked.

 

[chrisinsocalif]

I did read your reply fully, but you are ignoring the other replies which directly address your incorrect assumptions.

Reflashing the same firmware has been known fix issues, resetting to factory defaults resets the NVRAM too (as per RMerlin).

Please don't make recommendations like this again and don't copy paste what you already wrote and I have already read.

Yeah, that's what I said. Reset before flashing or reflashing a firmware.

 

[L&LD]

No, you are not reading what I'm writing at all.

To reflash the same firmware is to simply download the trx file of the same version that the router is currently using and flashing it (over itself, basically).

Resetting the router to factory defaults is clearing the nvram and any custom settings used in the currently running firmware and setting it to it's default values.

These are clearly two different things.

I hope it is clear now. And again; read what the others have posted in reply to your posts too.

Yeah, that's what I said. Reset before flashing or reflashing a firmware.

 

[chrisinsocalif]

As mentioned before, clearing nvram BEFORE the flash is a redundancy since you're going to do it after the flash anyway (with or w/o errors)! And that's one more write cycle made to the nvram that could be avoided...
For your own peace of mind, keep doing it as you please, just don't keep recommending to other people such thing please!

So tell me, if you dirty flash a firmware and soft brick your router, will a reset after the flash fix the issue or would you need to reset the router then reflash the firmware through the recovery process? That's why they suggest to reset prior to installation. Is that method recommended for all flashes? Most the time no with this firmware. But if you have problems, it's good to start with a reset and fresh firmware to make sure there is are no errors.

 

[L&LD]

You are the only one suggesting to reset before flashing to a new firmware.

Try reading what has already been posted already to understand it better. At this point, everyone is just repeating what they have already said to you.

Don't know what you mean by a dirty flash. But after flashing a new firmware, a reset is the first thing to do if something is not working as expected.

Whether or not a reset to factory defaults was required for that firmware in the accompanying release notes (and AFTER flashing to the new firmware).

So tell me, if you dirty flash a firmware and soft brick your router, will a reset after the flash fix the issue or would you need to reset the router then reflash the firmware through the recovery process? That's why they suggest to reset prior to installation. Is that method recommended for all flashes? Most the time no with this firmware. But if you have problems, it's good to start with a reset and fresh firmware to make sure there is are no errors.

 

[MarioCaires]

So tell me, if you dirty flash a firmware and soft brick your router, will a reset after the flash fix the issue or would you need to reset the router then reflash the firmware through the recovery process? That's why they suggest to reset prior to installation. Is that method recommended for all flashes? Most the time no with this firmware. But if you have problems, it's good to start with a reset and fresh firmware to make sure there is are no errors.

You don't need to reflash in case something is not working as expected since nothing is written to the firmware partition other than the firmware itself! If issues are encountered after the flash, all you need to do is reset, manual configuration and you're good to go!
So answering your question, yes, a reset (clear nvram) will fix the issues.