amtm amtm - the Asuswrt-Merlin Terminal Menu

[thelonelycoder]

@EeK Unplug router, disconnect everything and wait about 5 minutes, repeadetly push power button on router to off and on. Then connect LAN cable to your PC, plug power back in and push reset button for about 15 secs, then release. The router should now start into setup mode. Make sure your network adapter on the PC is set to obtain the IP address automatically. Check what IP it received and what the DHCP server address is. Use the latter to access the router WebUI in the browser.
Hope that works, it just did for me.

 

[EeK]

@EeK Unplug router, disconnect everything and wait about 5 minutes, repeadetly push power button on router to off and on. Then connect LAN cable to your PC, plug power back in and push reset button for about 15 secs, then release. The router should now start into setup mode. Make sure your network adapter on the PC is set to obtain the IP address automatically. Check what IP it received and what the DHCP server address is. Use the latter to access the router WebUI in the browser.
Hope that works, it just did for me.

@thelonelycoder

Hello again. Just to make sure I got your suggestion right, I should:

1. Unplug the AC adapter and disconnect all cables from the router;
2. Wait 5 minutes;
3. After waiting, and with the router completely unplugged/disconnected, push the power button multiple times (how many?);
   
4. Connect just one Ethernet cable from one of the LAN ports to the PC (any LAN port?);
5. Plug the AC adapter back in and push the power button to turn it on (or leave the button on and then plug the AC adapter back in?);
   
6. With the device on, press and hold the reset button for 15 seconds, release (or start pressing and holding reset before turning on the router?).

Thanks again for your help. Any idea what went wrong with the USB drive?

 

[thelonelycoder]

@thelonelycoder

Hello again. Just to make sure I got your suggestion right, I should:

1. Unplug the AC adapter and disconnect all cables from the router;
2. Wait 5 minutes;
3. After waiting, and with the router completely unplugged/disconnected, push the power button multiple times (how many?);
   
4. Connect just one Ethernet cable from one of the LAN ports to the PC (any LAN port?);
5. Plug the AC adapter back in and push the power button to turn it on (or leave the button on and then plug the AC adapter back in?);
   
6. With the device on, press and hold the reset button for 15 seconds, release (or start pressing and holding reset before turning on the router?).

Thanks again for your help. Any idea what went wrong with the USB drive?

1. Unplug the AC adapter and disconnect all cables from the router
2. Wait 5 minutes, during that push the power button multiple times
3. After waiting, and with the router completely unplugged/disconnected
   
4. Connect just one Ethernet cable from LAN port 3 or 4 (on the Asus RT-AC87 this is important) to the PC
5. Plug the AC adapter back in and push the power button to turn it on (or leave the button on and then plug the AC adapter back in?);
   
6. With the device on, press and hold the reset button for 15 seconds, then release

 

[cmkelley]

@thelonelycoder

Hello again. Just to make sure I got your suggestion right, I should:

1. Unplug the AC adapter and disconnect all cables from the router;
2. Wait 5 minutes;
3. After waiting, and with the router completely unplugged/disconnected, push the power button multiple times (how many?);
   
4. Connect just one Ethernet cable from one of the LAN ports to the PC (any LAN port?);
5. Plug the AC adapter back in and push the power button to turn it on (or leave the button on and then plug the AC adapter back in?);
   
6. With the device on, press and hold the reset button for 15 seconds, release (or start pressing and holding reset before turning on the router?).

Thanks again for your help. Any idea what went wrong with the USB drive?

To answer 3 above, the exact number doesn't matter, 2 to 3 on/off cycles is usually fine. What I've found more important is waiting at least 20 seconds between pushes. So on - wait 20 sec - off - wait 20 sec - on - wait 20 sec - off, lather, rinse, repeat. What you're doing is making sure all the capacitors drain off completely, so if it's just on/off/on/off quickly you may not achieve that.

 

[L&LD]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

@L&LD

I still haven't been able to gain access to the router. Tried various reset methods (reset button, 30-30-30, WPS button), but it's still unreachable. No way to ping it, no SSIDs, nothing. I was able to connect my PC directly to the modem and have internet access, though, so I'm a little less desperate now.

It appears that my modem reverted to its default state (as I was able to connect to the internet without the need for the router), even though I literally never touched it during the entire process (the fiber can be very finicky and I always make sure to be extremely careful around the network devices). On Windows, ipconfig gives me a very unusual default gateway, which does not grant me access to the modem's GUI, and no other more standard addresses work. Some services are unreachable, as well. Not sure what exactly is going on.

Strangely, something similar has happened before. One day, out of the blue, that same router stopped working. I wasn't messing with it and had never used the USB ports until today, but faced the exact same issues: couldn't ping it or access its GUI in any way, or even reset it. My ISP had sent an update to their modem and I assumed that it ended up bricking my router, somehow. I simply asked them to revert the modem to its default settings and removed my router from the network, after wasting as much time as today trying to fix it by myself.

It was only recently, after leaving the router unplugged for months, that I decided to try reviving it one last time. And, to my surprise, the reset worked on the first try. No fancy methods, just plugged it to an outlet, turned it on and then pressed and held down the reset button for 5 seconds. Power LED started blinking and I was able to access the GUI and configure everything to my liking. Asked my ISP to change their modem to bridge again and all was good - that is, until the USB fiasco.

I will try leaving the router completely unplugged, like you suggested, and will follow the rest of your recommendations tomorrow, when I'll report back to you. I really appreciate your help.

@Zonkd

I will also try your suggestions when (if?) I get my router working again. Unfortunately, I'm not in the US, where the router was purchased. And even so, I bought it in November of 2014, so it's been out of warranty for a while.

If there's no way to fix it, what other routers would you recommend? I may have become slightly traumatized with Asus, after two bad experiences, but I still like their functionality. Are there any other models that are more reliable than the RT-AC87U?

Thanks for the update and glad to see you have internet access at least.

A couple of points, questions. I hope that your modem isn't still bridged with the computer directly connected? That means your computer is open to the whole world, which is what a router should be protecting you from.

The second point; Asus routers are ones of the most reliable and stable I have found. The RT-AC87U is the exception though. Has a known history of dying (Quantenna chipset). At four years old, it may be time to replace it. The hardware is known unreliable.

Ensure that the modem is in router mode. Come back when you can.

 

[EeK]

Reporting back, as promised.

@L&LD and @thelonelycoder

I tried both of your suggestions (with the added recommendation by @cmkelley), following the guidelines to the letter, but still wasn’t able to make the router work.

No SSIDs showed up on my phone (neither the one I configured nor the default Asus one) and the router was still unreachable through Ethernet (using ports 3 or 4).

The power LED is the only one that lights up and stays on, without blinking, no matter what I do (same with the appropriate LAN LED when there’s a cable connected).

At this point, I’m giving up and have already ordered an RT-AC86U. All I wanted was to block ads, but I ended up with a $265 paperweight and a $300 bill for a new router (prices are way more expensive where I currently reside).

To makes matters even worse, I contacted my ISP earlier today and they informed me that they couldn’t simply switch their modem from bridge mode to router remotely. Something about oscillations in the fiber signal (their usual excuse). They said that they’d have to send someone here to do it in person, which may happen in up to 5 business days.

They confirmed that the modem is still set to bridge, and that I should be able to have internet access by connecting to it via Ethernet. As I mentioned before, I’d gotten my PC online like that yesterday, but as soon as I hung up the phone with support, Windows started giving me a “can’t communicate with the device or resource (primary DNS server)” error message, and I’m back to having no internet access whatsoever.

I can’t reach the modem (the default gateway is now something in the 200 range), and I’m not sure if resetting it to its factory settings manually (by physically pushing its reset button) would solve anything. I’ve tried rebooting it a few times (by plugging it off, then on again), but that didn’t help.

What do you guys think? Should I try resetting it by myself? Would it obtain the network settings from my ISP automatically, at least so I can connect my PC and other devices directly to it until the new router is here? The modem is a FiberHome AN5506-04-F2.

 

[gattaca]

Reporting back, as promised.

@L&LD and @thelonelycoder

What do you guys think? Should I try resetting it by myself? Would it obtain the network settings from my ISP automatically, at least so I can connect my PC and other devices directly to it until the new router is here? The modem is a FiberHome AN5506-04-F2.

I cannot help you with the ISP.. but before you trash the router, and after you get your new one installed, try to recover the dead router using their recovery tool and FW you downloaded from their site. If you get it booted, leave it sitting to chill. Afterwards, you can try to load Merlin again. Follow their instructions exactly.. they are quite detailed. I've used it at least once to recover an older RT-AC66U I hozed up once.

https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1000814/

I also agree about some comments regarding the RT-AC87U. I did my research here a few years ago and it was clear the AC87U was something of a PITA... so I avoided it.

Also, I always keep an older ASUS (RT-1900U) on-hand when I'm playing around with my live router. Worse case I swap it and upgrade it. Otherwise my home users would be freaking out!

 

[QuikSilver]

Reporting back, as promised.

@L&LD and @thelonelycoder
They confirmed that the modem is still set to bridge, and that I should be able to have internet access by connecting to it via Ethernet. As I mentioned before, I’d gotten my PC online like that yesterday, but as soon as I hung up the phone with support, Windows started giving me a “can’t communicate with the device or resource (primary DNS server)” error message, and I’m back to having no internet access whatsoever.

I can’t reach the modem (the default gateway is now something in the 200 range), and I’m not sure if resetting it to its factory settings manually (by physically pushing its reset button) would solve anything. I’ve tried rebooting it a few times (by plugging it off, then on again), but that didn’t help.

What do you guys think? Should I try resetting it by myself? Would it obtain the network settings from my ISP automatically, at least so I can connect my PC and other devices directly to it until the new router is here? The modem is a FiberHome AN5506-04-F2.

I apologize as I didnt read everything you posted but.....I've had to change a frontier DSL modem into bridge mode as the tech didn't know how. f you can get into the router page (plugging into the unit wired using static ip information) then you could probably google the default username and password for that model and do it yourself. If your not sure of the modem IP, I'd try plugging into it like you did when you were able to get the internet and use a program such as IPSCAN to scan everything in that network range. One should show up as your modem. Then google search that modem and change the settings your wanting to.

 

[EeK]

I cannot help you with the ISP.. but before you trash the router, and after you get your new one installed, try to recover the dead router using their recovery tool and FW you downloaded from their site. If you get it booted, leave it sitting to chill. Afterwards, you can try to load Merlin again. Follow their instructions exactly.. they are quite detailed. I've used it at least once to recover an older RT-AC66U I hozed up once.

https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1000814/

I also agree about some comments regarding the RT-AC87U. I did my research here a few years ago and it was clear the AC87U was something of a PITA... so I avoided it.

Also, I always keep an older ASUS (RT-1900U) on-hand when I'm playing around with my live router. Worse case I swap it and upgrade it. Otherwise my home users would be freaking out!

Hey, @gattaca, thanks for the suggestion.

I’d definitely try to recover my router if I could at least get it into Rescue Mode. Unfortunely, all my attempts at doing so have failed, and there’s not much else I can do at this point.

Let’s hope that the AC86U is less of a PITA.

I apologize as I didnt read everything you posted but.....I've had to change a frontier DSL modem into bridge mode as the tech didn't know how. f you can get into the router page (plugging into the unit wired using static ip information) then you could probably google the default username and password for that model and do it yourself. If your not sure of the modem IP, I'd try plugging into it like you did when you were able to get the internet and use a program such as IPSCAN to scan everything in that network range. One should show up as your modem. Then google search that modem and change the settings your wanting to.

Hi, @QuickSilver.

I’m actually trying to revert the modem from its current bridged state to router.

Right now, I can’t acces its GUI or even connect to it via Wi-Fi, as it’s in bridge mode and unreachable through any means I know of.

Since I removed my router from the network, I’m trying to get the modem back to working as a router so I can connect all of my devices to it (including other access points) and have proper internet access.

Not sure if a manual factory reset would do the trick, as I don’t know if the modem would be able to get all network settings from my ISP automatically. Support has been useless, so far.

 

[cmkelley]

Hey, @gattaca, thanks for the suggestion.

I’d definitely try to recover my router if I could at least get it into Rescue Mode. Unfortunely, all my attempts at doing so have failed, and there’s not much else I can do at this point.

Let’s hope that the AC86U is less of a PITA.



Hi, @QuickSilver.

I’m actually trying to revert the modem from its current bridged state to router.

Right now, I can’t acces its GUI or even connect to it via Wi-Fi, as it’s in bridge mode and unreachable through any means I know of.

Since I removed my router from the network, I’m trying to get the modem back to working as a router so I can connect all of my devices to it (including other access points) and have proper internet access.

Not sure if a manual factory reset would do the trick, as I don’t know if the modem would be able to get all network settings from my ISP automatically. Support has been useless, so far.

Google the modem model (and dig around a little about your ISP) ... You should be able to find out if you can safely reset it yourself to router mode. "Oscillations in the fiber signal" sounds to me like "the flux capacitor needs 1.1 jigowatts to work.", but I could be wrong.

Sorry to hear about bricking your router. It does sound bad. :-(

 

[thelonelycoder]

All I wanted was to block ads, but I ended up with a $265 paperweight and a $300 bill for a new router (prices are way more expensive where I currently reside).

I also only wanted to block ads on the router . About 5 years ago I found out about Asuswrt-Merlin.
Today I own 7 Asus routers and have spent countless hours on the scripts I freely give away on this board.
I'm sorry to hear your router appears to be bricked. That 87U is a special model and the one I have has a dead WAN port. But it's still good as a test unit for my scripts.

 

[L&LD]

@EeK,

I'm not sure if it's mentioned above, but the other thing you can try to check is if your power supply for the router is working/good. If you can get a replacement to test, that would be ideal. These are known to go way before the router usually.

As for your modem in bridge mode, I myself wouldn't be using a computer that I value behind it. There is nothing protecting that computer from all sort of nasties on the internet.

I also do not know your ISP and how they operate, but I would be willing to reset the router myself before I connected to it 'wide open' like it is now. I hope you don't regret using your computer like that. From what I know of ISP operators, the 'settings' of the modem are on their side and the only thing that verifies that it's 'you' to them is the mac address of the modem. So, if this is true, you should have internet if you perform a reset.

CAUTION! This is just me throwing my 2 cents out there. Please don't take additional risks with your internet unless you fully understand the ramifications.

If you can buy/borrow a cheap router (even a $25 special) for now, that would make a lot of sense.

Try getting the power supply looked at.

Leave your modem unplugged from all connections, including power. Overnight, if you don't need it.

Plug it in after an hour (or tomorrow morning) and it should be working again.

 

[joe scian]

@EeK,

I'm not sure if it's mentioned above, but the other thing you can try to check is if your power supply for the router is working/good. If you can get a replacement to test, that would be ideal. These are known to go way before the router usually.

As for your modem in bridge mode, I myself wouldn't be using a computer that I value behind it. There is nothing protecting that computer from all sort of nasties on the internet.

I also do not know your ISP and how they operate, but I would be willing to reset the router myself before I connected to it 'wide open' like it is now. I hope you don't regret using your computer like that. From what I know of ISP operators, the 'settings' of the modem are on their side and the only thing that verifies that it's 'you' to them is the mac address of the modem. So, if this is true, you should have internet if you perform a reset.

CAUTION! This is just me throwing my 2 cents out there. Please don't take additional risks with your internet unless you fully understand the ramifications.

If you can buy/borrow a cheap router (even a $25 special) for now, that would make a lot of sense.

Try getting the power supply looked at.

Leave your modem unplugged from all connections, including power. Overnight, if you don't need it.

Plug it in after an hour (or tomorrow morning) and it should be working again.

What exactly do you mean by this ?
As for your modem in bridge mode, I myself wouldn't be using a computer that I value behind it. There is nothing protecting that computer from all sort of nasties on the internet.

Bridge mode is the configuration that disables the NAT feature on the modem and allows a router to function as a DHCP server without an IP Address conflict.

The modem has to be bridged before connecting to a router since applications like VPN, P2P, and remote management require a public IP Address on the router WAN port for a successful connection.

 

[L&LD]

What exactly do you mean by this - sounds like a LOHW
As for your modem in bridge mode, I myself wouldn't be using a computer that I value behind it. There is nothing protecting that computer from all sort of nasties on the internet.

Bridge mode is the configuration that disables the NAT feature on the modem and allows a router to function as a DHCP server without an IP Address conflict.

The modem has to be bridged before connecting to a router since applications like VPN, P2P, and remote management require a public IP Address on the router WAN port for a successful connection.

You have not followed EeK's journey, I see. His router is possibly dead and he's connecting his computer directly to a bridged modem.

Btw, what does LOHW mean here?

 

[joe scian]

You have not followed EeK's journey, I see. His router is possibly dead and he's connecting his computer directly to a bridged modem.

Btw, what does LOHW mean here?

OK i get it - Thanks - disregard LOHW - its too cryptic

 

[DAVID LONG]

I’m actually trying to revert the modem from its current bridged state to router.

Right now, I can’t acces its GUI or even connect to it via Wi-Fi, as it’s in bridge mode and unreachable through any means I know of.

Since I removed my router from the network, I’m trying to get the modem back to working as a router so I can connect all of my devices to it (including other access points) and have proper internet access.

Not sure if a manual factory reset would do the trick, as I don’t know if the modem would be able to get all network settings from my ISP automatically. Support has been useless, so far.

I don't have the same service as you, but my internet providers modem has a sticker on the bottom with ip address, user name, password etc.

 

[Marin]

You have not followed EeK's journey, I see. His router is possibly dead and he's connecting his computer directly to a bridged modem.

Btw, what does LOHW mean here?

?? LOHW Leerlingen Op Het Web (Dutch: Students on the Web; Netherlands)???


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[martinr]

?? LOHW Leerlingen Op Het Web (Dutch: Students on the Web; Netherlands)???


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

??? Load of Old Hogwash (English: Load of Old Hogwash)???

 

[thelonelycoder]

??? Load of Old Hogwash (English: Load of Old Hogwash)???

Balderdash (German: Dummes Zeug --> English: baloney)

 

[EeK]

Google the modem model (and dig around a little about your ISP) ... You should be able to find out if you can safely reset it yourself to router mode. "Oscillations in the fiber signal" sounds to me like "the flux capacitor needs 1.1 jigowatts to work.", but I could be wrong.

Sorry to hear about bricking your router. It does sound bad. :-(

I tried manually resetting it myself, but it did absolutely nothing. As @L&LD mentioned, only the ISP is able to actually reset the modem's settings. From my understanding, if it's in router mode, pushing the reset button should only reset password settings, if anything. Since it was in bridge, it didn't revert it to router, unfortunately.

And my ISP's excuse was, in fact, just that: an excuse. On Saturday morning, I was able to speak to a support agent who was willing to help, and after convincing her and her supervisor that it was, indeed, possible to remotely switch my modem from bridged to router, they were able to do it and I currently have internet on all devices connected directly to the modem.

Now, I'm just waiting for the AC86U to arrive so I can go through the whole process again, in reverse order. Not looking forward to that one bit, hah.

@EeK,

I'm not sure if it's mentioned above, but the other thing you can try to check is if your power supply for the router is working/good. If you can get a replacement to test, that would be ideal. These are known to go way before the router usually.

As for your modem in bridge mode, I myself wouldn't be using a computer that I value behind it. There is nothing protecting that computer from all sort of nasties on the internet.

I also do not know your ISP and how they operate, but I would be willing to reset the router myself before I connected to it 'wide open' like it is now. I hope you don't regret using your computer like that. From what I know of ISP operators, the 'settings' of the modem are on their side and the only thing that verifies that it's 'you' to them is the mac address of the modem. So, if this is true, you should have internet if you perform a reset.

CAUTION! This is just me throwing my 2 cents out there. Please don't take additional risks with your internet unless you fully understand the ramifications.

If you can buy/borrow a cheap router (even a $25 special) for now, that would make a lot of sense.

Try getting the power supply looked at.

Leave your modem unplugged from all connections, including power. Overnight, if you don't need it.

Plug it in after an hour (or tomorrow morning) and it should be working again.

Hey, @L&LD. I left my router unplugged for a long time, but it was still in the same state when I plugged it back in: the only LED lighting up and staying constantly on was the power one (and the respective LAN LEDs if there were any cables connected). No Wi-Fi or access to the router in any way. Factory reset and Recovery Mode again didn't seem to work.

If the power supply was bad, would it still power on the router? Its behavior after it's powered on is what is unusual.

As for having internet with the modem in bridge, I don't know how exactly it worked, but it stopped soon afterwards, as I believe I mentioned in a previous comment. Luckily, as you can see from my reply above, I got the modem back to working as a router, so at least the devices connected to it have some protection now.

Hoping I have better luck with the AC86U now!

I don't have the same service as you, but my internet providers modem has a sticker on the bottom with ip address, user name, password etc.

Mine didn't, but I still had their default settings written down, as well as the ones I changed myself (login, password, SSID, etc.).

The problem is that I wasn't able to access the modem's GUI due to it being bridged, not even after connecting to it via LAN and typing its IP in a browser (Wi-Fi was disabled).

Strangely, even now that the modem is back to having NAT enabled, I still can't access its settings. I can ping it and have internet working just fine, but when I try to open its GUI by typing the default gateway on any browser, I receive an "unable to connect" error message.

Could the ISP be locking me out of changing settings? That has never happened before with the modem acting as a router.