Asus AiMesh causes almost no 2.4GHz throughput

[OzarkEdge]

I noticed you mentioned about trying some betas after 32799 recently. Are those betas uploaded somewhere that you can share the link? Or is it some kind of private internal testing? Thanks.

ASUS has provided a beta directly to me. The most recent one has some logging enabled for their purposes. I could link you to it, but that may not be the best thing to do, all things considered. It's not a released beta so waiting a bit longer for released firmware might be best.

The kicker is, I'm not sure they understand yet what the node connection/speed issue is/was. I'll feel better about it when they announce, 'the issue has been discovered and will be fixed in the next release'. Until then, it's remains unsettled... and unsettling.

OE

 

[LD500]

Arthur Lien sent me a link. When I went to pull it up again to verify the version in my other posting it was already expired.
I wouldn't suggest anyone else try it as I think he specifically was testing something that might fix my Homekit device drops

 

[loveleeyoungae]

ASUS has provided a beta directly to me.
OE

Arthur Lien sent me a link.

Ah, alright. I was surprised about you guys mentioning all these betas but didn't find any official link about that. At least now I know where I could ask if I want to be a beta tester Thank you.

 

[Zephyr]

Yes, that's the problem. Uploads are also unstable but more likely to reach max speed since it's less than the slow down speed. Although if you bang on it repeatedly with speedtest.net, you can make it fall down completely... upload will not complete.

I've seen the issue on both bands. If you read my post/thread about it, you'll find the answer to these questions.

To revert to 21140, download it to your PC, connect your PC to the router LAN, reset the router, access the router GUI, complete the setup Wizard, upgrade the firmware to 21140, reset/Initialize the router again... now you have a ready 21140 router. Repeat for the other router. Then rebuild your AiMesh from scratch.

The client list is flaky; don't waste your time with it. The AiMesh node popup may show its clients. The Wireless Log may show useful info. But it's all imperfect.

See my install notes... they can answer a lot of questions.

OE

Hey Ozark,

Lately I have been having issues where speed and everything looks fine. No packet loss when ping, tracert ok, speed test high on all devices (whether wired or wireless),.
But randomly various web pages will nto load at all or take for ever to load. I can't say whether this issue happened after upgrading from 21140 to 32799 or not - sorry.

I have since downgraded back to an old faithful firmware I used for a long time before 21140 which was 3264. But the issue still happens

My router has always AC68U been setup as default and I only have 1 router. When I downgrade do I need to reset to factory after installing the downgraded firmware?
- I do not setup AiMesh as I only have the one router so not sure if that entire process is needed

If needed then how do I backup my static DHCP addresses that I have bound to all my devices?

Also - to add: If I reset the router then the webistes work fine (or apps on my phone)
Or if I do not reset the router and plug my Internet connection into a different router (to test) it works fine on that router
Sometimes unplugging the internet form teh router and plugging back in the sites / apps work fine again too
But sometimes if I connect directly from the Fibre box to my laptop the issue still remains - (no router in the middle)
Other times I reset the Fibre box only and not the router and then everything works fine that was not

I am starting to believe the issue is not the router but maybe my ISP / Internet connection

But as a last resort (if I have to) I would restore to defaults the router to test but don't want to lose my bind DHCP list and not be able to import again

Thata ll said - all these issues people are having on above 21140 - do they only apply to the AiMesh setup for 2 or more routers connected together?

I only ask as your signature states:
WARNING - RT-AC86U AiMesh firmware after 21140 is broken:

So did not know if it applies to me and a single use Router and if being on Firmware 3264 means no AiMesh issues exist as I do not have that firmware installed?
And if upgrading to 32799 - should AiMesh Issue you mention affect me in a single router setup

So for my rushed and probably confusing post

Zephyr

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hey Ozark,

Lately I have been having issues where speed and everything looks fine. No packet loss when ping, tracert ok, speed test high on all devices (whether wired or wireless),.
But randomly various web pages will nto load at all or take for ever to load. I can't say whether this issue happened after upgrading from 21140 to 32799 or not - sorry.

I have since downgraded back to an old faithful firmware I used for a long time before 21140 which was 3264. But the issue still happens

My router has always AC68U been setup as default and I only have 1 router. When I downgrade do I need to reset to factory after installing the downgraded firmware?
- I do not setup AiMesh as I only have the one router so not sure if that entire process is needed

If needed then how do I backup my static DHCP addresses that I have bound to all my devices?

Also - to add: If I reset the router then the webistes work fine (or apps on my phone)
Or if I do not reset the router and plug my Internet connection into a different router (to test) it works fine on that router
Sometimes unplugging the internet form teh router and plugging back in the sites / apps work fine again too
But sometimes if I connect directly from the Fibre box to my laptop the issue still remains - (no router in the middle)
Other times I reset the Fibre box only and not the router and then everything works fine that was not

I am starting to believe the issue is not the router but maybe my ISP / Internet connection

But as a last resort (if I have to) I would restore to defaults the router to test but don't want to lose my bind DHCP list and not be able to import again

Thata ll said - all these issues people are having on above 21140 - do they only apply to the AiMesh setup for 2 or more routers connected together?

I only ask as your signature states:
WARNING - RT-AC86U AiMesh firmware after 21140 is broken:

So did not know if it applies to me and a single use Router and if being on Firmware 3264 means no AiMesh issues exist as I do not have that firmware installed?
And if upgrading to 32799 - should AiMesh Issue you mention affect me in a single router setup

So for my rushed and probably confusing post

Zephyr

The AiMesh node connection issue applies to firmware after 21140. It is not your issue since you do not use AiMesh nodes.

And since your issue is present without using your router, then maybe the issue is with your clients or ISP or those websites.

I don't know how to restore MAC bindings automatically.

Try testing your ISP by plugging directly into the fiber box and running speedtest.net repeatedly to see how it behaves.

OE

 

[Zephyr]

That for the reply OE.

Speed tests whether via the fibre box or the device having the issue on wifi get about 99.86Mbps but certain websites will not load until I ether restart the router or reset the Fibre box connection (or sometimes just remove and plug the Ethernet from fibre box to the router)

It is a strange issue as sometimes plugging the link into another router things work from that router but back into the ASUS no luck until I reset

Normally running rock solid

My guess is likely the ISP too..

I have downgraded to 3264 and then restored an old config/settings file from before I did any upgrades

These backed up setting files also retain static dhcp setup. Just had to add back a few new devices - pretty easy

I will see how that goes and if still same issue I will go back to 32799 and contact my ISP as I never had issues in this early firmware

Many thanks again for your reply

Zephyr

 

[OzarkEdge]

That for the reply OE.

Speed tests whether via the fibre box or the device having the issue on wifi get about 99.86Mbps but certain websites will not load until I ether restart the router or reset the Fibre box connection (or sometimes just remove and plug the Ethernet from fibre box to the router)

It is a strange issue as sometimes plugging the link into another router things work from that router but back into the ASUS no luck until I reset

Normally running rock solid

My guess is likely the ISP too..

I have downgraded to 3264 and then restored an old config/settings file from before I did any upgrades

These backed up setting files also retain static dhcp setup. Just had to add back a few new devices - pretty easy

I will see how that goes and if still same issue I will go back to 32799 and contact my ISP as I never had issues in this early firmware

Many thanks again for your reply

Zephyr

Be sure to understand this reset FAQ... the importance of resetting after changing the firmware. And I would only restore settings saved from the same hardware, same firmware version.

OE

 

[Zephyr]

Yesterday was the first time I ever restored my settings and I used a backup from this router and it was form the same firmware I did the backup from initially

Wouldn’t do it any other way

I can say: I make no real changes to any of the default settings to be honest

The only things I have changed since day 1 purchase are:

2.5Ghz and 5Ghz SSID/Password
Made 5Ghz optimised Fox Xbox (ticked the box)
I bound IP addresses to devices and have them real names
I added my ISP details to get the internet

Other than everything else has been default for years

I will take a read of the Link you provided

And if I factory reset then so be it... just means fixing the binding IP addresses again... takes time but not end of the world

First I might start with my ISP...

Thanks

Zephyr

 

[LD500]

Just noticed Asus finally got a new firmware up for the RT-AC86U. I'm swamped with stuff the next couple days but will try to test it soon.
Not sure if Ozark or anyone else is still following this thread. Ozark, would be very interested if you get a chance to test it before me and see if it solves your problem which sounded very similar to mine. Drives me a bit crazy, I wait so long for the fix but now I don't have time to test it out. Normally I would be on this in 2 seconds.

 

[LD500]

Apologies to anyone that might be waiting for me to to test the latest firmware. Been too busy but just read a few posts online showing there are still issues with AiMesh so I don't know when I'll get a chance to test it. Asus might come out with an update before I get around to it. Just tonight I had my Homepod go 'dumb' on me so I had to reset my RT-AC86U that's still on an older Beta firmware. Not sure if it's Apple or Asus, or both, but definitely disappointed to I can't get to a stable state even with AiMesh deactivated

 

[LD500]

Finally had a chance to try 45149. Seems to have solved my problems. Previously it was basically unusable.
I updated the firmware on my router 86U and the AiMesh node 86U. Seemed to work fine so then I updated my 68U and added it as an AiMesh node as well.
All worked fine except some of my Homekit devices didn't turn off at night, manually turning them on/off through the iOS Home app worked fine. I reset and re-installed my HomePod and everything seems work now. Didn't do any factory resets on my base 86U, did press the reset buttons on both AiMesh node units to put them into the mode to add them to the AiMesh network.

One thing I noticed is I am maxing out about 230Mbps around my house but I have 600Mbps internet based on Speedtest. Only my hardwired PC shows 650Mbps with Speedtest. All wireless are around 200Mbps. Good enough.

Will let it run a few days and see if any issues pop up but definitely the issue of 2.4GHz throughput crashing down to zero with Speedtest seems to have been fixed.

 

[LD500]

Still some issues with Homekit devices dropping out.
My Leviton light switches are connected at 5GHz and seem to work fine 100% of the time.
A couple other iDevice smart plugs connect only at 2.4GHz and have intermittent problems.

 

[LD500]

I noticed this posting yesterday, it indeed could be the issue I am experiencing. Asus, are you seeing this?
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthre...e-after-roaming-away-from-wireless-AiMesh-nod

 

[LD500]

Tried various settings, still dropping HomeKit devices randomly. Now going to try turning off the Roaming Assistant on both 2.4 &5GHz. Would be odd if Roaming Assistant disable fixes it as my HomeKit devices don’t move around.

Hope this compromise makes things workable otherwise it’s back to turning off AiMesh and waiting for a new firmware.
Yes, getting a bit frustrated with the waste of time. If I didn’t need the extra range for my Ring Flood Cam I wouldn’t even bother.

 

[LD500]

Turning off Roaming Assistant on both 2.4 & 5GHz seems to fix things except for one problem remains. On my two Leviton HomeKit switches running on 5GHz, they occasionally go NO RESPONSE in the iOS Home app but come back online after 30-60 minutes. No idea why they seem to go offline, even more odd why are they reconnecting. Works but there’s definitely a problem still. I suspect if any automations are timed when they are NO RESPONSE then it won’t work

 

[OzarkEdge]

Turning off Roaming Assistant on both 2.4 & 5GHz seems to fix things except for one problem remains. On my two Leviton HomeKit switches running on 5GHz, they occasionally go NO RESPONSE in the iOS Home app but come back online after 30-60 minutes. No idea why they seem to go offline, even more odd why are they reconnecting. Works but there’s definitely a problem still. I suspect if any automations are timed when they are NO RESPONSE then it won’t work

Maybe the switch(s) is faulty.

Are they in metal junction boxes?

OE

 

[LD500]

Yes in metal boxes but they definitely aren't faulty. When I disabled AiMesh waiting for the updated firmware all my Homekit devices worked fine for many weeks.
Once I went AiMesh then I received the seemingly random NO RESPONSE. Last night I had one of my 2.4GHz Homekit devices go NO RESPONSE but it also self-corrected after roughly 30 minutes.

So, works much better than before the firmware update but the recurring NO RESPONSE on devices has me uneasy. Quite sure it will result in devices not turning on/off as desired if the timing lines up the wrong way. In the next couple days I'll determine if it's working good enough to keep AiMesh enabled while I wait for the 'perfect' firmware update

Any idea what other setting I could try that could alleviate the random temporary drops? I can't think of anything else. At this point, I'm not planning to go madman trying to diagnose and test new settings as I did previously as the last round seems to be 99% caused by firmware improvement, not settings

Thanks

 

[OzarkEdge]

Yes in metal boxes but they definitely aren't faulty. When I disabled AiMesh waiting for the updated firmware all my Homekit devices worked fine for many weeks.
Once I went AiMesh then I received the seemingly random NO RESPONSE. Last night I had one of my 2.4GHz Homekit devices go NO RESPONSE but it also self-corrected after roughly 30 minutes.

So, works much better than before the firmware update but the recurring NO RESPONSE on devices has me uneasy. Quite sure it will result in devices not turning on/off as desired if the timing lines up the wrong way. In the next couple days I'll determine if it's working good enough to keep AiMesh enabled while I wait for the 'perfect' firmware update

Any idea what other setting I could try that could alleviate the random temporary drops? I can't think of anything else. At this point, I'm not planning to go madman trying to diagnose and test new settings as I did previously as the last round seems to be 99% caused by firmware improvement, not settings

Thanks

There is no shortage on the Internet of similar issues with smart switches... I'm not sure a firmware update is the solution. Your other wireless clients are getting along ok, yes?

Have you tried confining them to a 2.4 GHz SSID?

OE

 

[LD500]

Yes, all good lately when AiMesh is not activated. Once on, random NO RESPONSE.
Putting them all on a single 2.4GHz SSID could be an idea but the 5GHz Leviton switches have been trouble free without AiMesh so this might fix the problem but indirectly. I still think it's an Asus firmware issue. I should say the Leviton switches have been trouble free AFTER their firmware was updated a few months ago.

 

[empyrials]

Yes, all good lately when AiMesh is not activated. Once on, random NO RESPONSE.
Putting them all on a single 2.4GHz SSID could be an idea but the 5GHz Leviton switches have been trouble free without AiMesh so this might fix the problem but indirectly. I still think it's an Asus firmware issue. I should say the Leviton switches have been trouble free AFTER their firmware was updated a few months ago.

when you say AiMesh not activated, you mean disabling Roaming Assistance?