ASUS RT-AC68U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.380.4164

[wouterv]

I can not agree with that. Merlin is alone and also fixes a lot of errors from Asus. Also new futures, and in his spare time.



You can not test all the configurations. Thats true.
But Ping, traceroute is i think hardware independent.

To stay OT:
Software and firmware is often released or in use with a (long) list of known issues. I bet Asus and Merlin also have a list of known issues in AsusWRT. Items in such a list are usually categorised or prioritised like:

1. Safety, security or primary function related (to be fixed as soon as possible or before the release date).
2. Issues with a work around or with seldom used functions (to be fixed in a next release).
   
3. Nice to have or for future consideration (often new functions or enhancements, to be implemented when time and budget allows).

Usual the known issues list is not at all or only partly published.

Further I can tell you many software issues are related to totally unexpected relations within the software, some examples:

• A change in module A is for sure not expected to have an effect on module B. After the changes in module A, module B will not be tested. During use of module B a new issue is found which after deeper investigation is related to the changes in module A.
• New software is tested according a pre defined test protocol (test this, in that way and check for an expected result). In the wild users appear to use equipment in such a way which the developers and testers never thought of: a user presses buttons 1, 4 and 6 together simply out of boredom and initiates a crash of the equipment. Where the developper never intended and never tested the pressing of these buttons at the same time.
• Have you ever written a book, a manual or tutorial? Of course you read and re-read again to correct the typos and other faults. Others can read and check. Even then, you may after years find a typo or other fault in what you have written.

 

[tomgru]

so help a guy out. I have 3.0.0.4.378_4585 still running on my AC68P. Every time I come to this forum to think about upgrading, I get scared off because of threads like this.

My router seems to be working fine, but I fear newer security issues, etc. I also have over 30 static IPs setup that i'll have to redo (or use telnet to copy/paste settings).

So... I assuming not being able to poll is a bad thing?

 

[wouterv]

so help a guy out. I have 3.0.0.4.378_4585 still running on my AC68P. Every time I come to this forum to think about upgrading, I get scared off because of threads like this.

My router seems to be working fine, but I fear newer security issues, etc. I also have over 30 static IPs setup that i'll have to redo (or use telnet to copy/paste settings).

So... I assuming not being able to poll is a bad thing?

I strongly advise to upgrade the router firmware to the latest version. You mention the reason: security updates.
The recent RT-AC68U firmware versions are to my opinion very reliable.
After the upgrade revert the router to factory defaults and manually configure the router again.

To ease the pain you may find valuable information here regarding text based backup and restore:
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/faq-nvram-and-factory-default-reset.22822/

In any way you can keep (or download) the current router firmware 3.0.0.4.378.4585 and keep a configuration backup for that firmware version as rollback scenario.

 

[tomgru]

I strongly advise to upgrade the router firmware to the latest version. You mention the reason: security updates.
The recent RT-AC68U firmware versions are to my opinion very reliable.
After the upgrade revert the router to factory defaults and manually configure the router again.

To ease the pain you may find valuable information here regarding text based backup and restore:
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/faq-nvram-and-factory-default-reset.22822/

In any way you can keep (or download) the current router firmware 3.0.0.4.378.4585 and keep a configuration backup for that firmware version as rollback scenario.

Thanks... super helpful, including the nvram tool.

I found this does require a bit of patience, especially when setting the router to factory default. At times i had to wait quite a bit for the UI to come back up ... and that was even after full reset, etc.

Eventually... i got back in and could turn telnet back on... then use the tool, which worked great!

Three questions... the new GUI seems really slow compared to the old one... I'm currently using IE and Edge... so maybe that's it.... but was much faster to load pages before (almost instant) - where new it can take a few seconds.

Number two - in the DHCP settings (i didn't screen capture the top part of this, only my static ips :-( ) the IP pool starting address is set at 192.168.1.2 , yet many of my IPs are 192.168.1.1xxx. Does this matter.

Number three. when i run a simple network speed test... ironically, i see GREAT wireless speeds for both upload/download. however, LAN connected PCs are down by a factor of 10x. where i used to get updwards of over 50-90 Mbps download speeds, now i'm seeing 2.5. what gives?

 

[wouterv]

You don't specify which settings you have imported from the old configuration settings, maybe you also imported unsupported ones.
I suggest to Save the configuration (as fall back scenario), then revert to factory defaults.
The router shall be accessible at 192.168.1.1 with admin/admin and start with the setup wizard.
Make minimal configuration changes to allow Internet access and wireless access then test the behavior and speeds again.

 

[KevTech]

Facebook Wi-Fi special version

ASUS RT-AC68U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.380.4164 (Facebook Wi-Fi special version)
Facebook Wi-Fi special version, turn your business into a Wi-Fi hotspot, read more: https://www.facebook.com/business/facebook-wifi

* Please note this service is provided by Facebook, please check the facebook Wi-Fi website to make sure the support list and status.
* This service will not work at regions without Facebook services.

Security related
- Updated OpenSSL library to 1.0.2j to fix security issues.
- Updated Dropbear SSH to 2016.74 to fixe security issues.
- Fixed a security vulnerability regarding XSS.
- Fixed a security vulnerability regarding CSRF.
- Added protection for Brute-force attack.

Bug fixed
- Fixed Chrome, Edge and IE compatibility issues.
- Fixed quick internet setting wizard compatibility issues.
- Fixed NAT issue caused by UPnP media server.
- Fixed dual wan issues in PPPoE or PPTP or L2TP + DHCP environment.
- Fixed AiCloud related issues.
- Fixed AP mode interoperability issues

Modified
- Updated NAT Acceleration setting help message.
- Supported Google DDNS support .
- Modified the Quick Internet Setting wizard behavior to enhance compatibility.
- Enabled smart sync under AP/Media Bridge/ Repeater mode.
- Supported new 3G/LTE USB dongle Docomo L-03D.

http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/wi...WIFI.ZIP?_ga=1.147116991.929572645.1482594739

 

[wouterv]

Facebook Wi-Fi special version

ASUS RT-AC68U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.380.4164 (Facebook Wi-Fi special version)

To avoid confusion they luckily gave the normal and fb version the same number

 

[sm00thpapa]

And what does this FB version actually do?

 

[KevTech]

And what does this FB version actually do?

https://www.facebook.com/business/facebook-wifi

 

[tomgru]

You don't specify which settings you have imported from the old configuration settings, maybe you also imported unsupported ones.
I suggest to Save the configuration (as fall back scenario), then revert to factory defaults.
The router shall be accessible at 192.168.1.1 with admin/admin and start with the setup wizard.
Make minimal configuration changes to allow Internet access and wireless access then test the behavior and speeds again.

Wanted to report back on this. Ironically, what you suggest is what I was going to try to do, give or take. I figured I could factory reset again, then just copy over (with NVRAM) my static IP settings... as that was the biggest area I didn't want to create from scratch.

I went to factory reset from the unit itself.... then went back in to login. Weirdly, I still needed the new user/password I had setup - and, as you'd suspect, once in all my settings were still there. So clearly I must have only rebooted.

Yet.. speeds from page loads to download/upload tests were all great again, and it's been working fine every since. Not sure what happened.... maybe I just didn't wait long enough after the upgrade for things to shake out?

 

[Ive]

Hello,

Long time, infrequent lurker, but new-time poster. I still have 3.0.0.4.380_1842 on my router because I understood from this quote that Asus has locked subsequent firmware from downgrading and any/all 3rd party firmware from installing:
"ASUS has been dedicated to cooperate with third party developers to come up with more innovative features.
To comply with regulatory amendments, we have modified firmware verification rule to ensure better firmware quality.
This version is not compatible with all previously released ASUS firmware and uncertified third party firmware."

I have never run Merlin's firmware before, but was seriously interested in doing so in the future, and was worried that if I put a future stock Asus firmware on, I would not be able to put a Merlin one on later on.

Is this Asus non-revertable firmware still a thing? You can see by my current firmware version, that it is quite dated and I too am concerned about security patches. However I'm wondering if Asus still prevents third-party firmware, and if so, should I take the Merlin plunge or just go the Asus firmware route and forever hold my peace? I'm still a bit daunted on how to install Merlin's firmware if it's different than just loading the file like an Asus one (I don't want to brick my router if I perform the steps wrong).

Thanks very much in advance!

 

[MarkRH]

I have never run Merlin's firmware before, but was seriously interested in doing so in the future, and was worried that if I put a future stock Asus firmware on, I would not be able to put a Merlin one on later on.

Is this Asus non-revertable firmware still a thing? You can see by my current firmware version, that it is quite dated and I too am concerned about security patches. However I'm wondering if Asus still prevents third-party firmware, and if so, should I take the Merlin plunge or just go the Asus firmware route and forever hold my peace? I'm still a bit daunted on how to install Merlin's firmware if it's different than just loading the file like an Asus one (I don't want to brick my router if I perform the steps wrong).

Thanks very much in advance!

The current versions of Merlin's firmware are able to be installed even with the new ASUS firmware. It's based on the same code so Merlin's new firmware will also not allow the installation of older Merlin or ASUS firmware. So the non-revertible thing still applies to both firmwares. As long as you stay with the newer versions, you can go back and forth.. just not to the older firmware before this change was made.

 

[Ive]

The current versions of Merlin's firmware are able to be installed even with the new ASUS firmware. It's based on the same code so Merlin's new firmware will also not allow the installation of older Merlin or ASUS firmware. So the non-revertible thing still applies to both firmwares. As long as you stay with the newer versions, you can go back and forth.. just not to the older firmware before this change was made.

Thank you so much for that information! That's a great relief to hear!

 

[KHH]

Facebook Wi-Fi special version

ASUS RT-AC68U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.380.4164 (Facebook Wi-Fi special version)

To avoid confusion they luckily gave the normal and fb version the same number

I'm on firmware version 9.0.0.4.380_2695 since the release day (2016/03/28) and I never had any issues whatsoever with it.

Now I'd like to update the firmware to get the latest security patches, etc, but I don't know what version to install: Facebook or non-Facebook?

Also, do you strongly suggest to update the firmware to these new, restricted firmware versions, or should I wait a little bit more?

EDIT
I am asking you because the 3.0.0.4.380.4164 'non-Facebook' changelog says:

[Important]
If your firmware version is 3.0.0.4.380.2717 and used Facebook Wi-Fi, please DO NOT update to this version.

So I'm afraid that there are going to be double releases from now on. Of course I'm not interested in the Facebook special features at all.

 

[wouterv]

I'm on firmware version 9.0.0.4.380_2695 since the release day (2016/03/28) and I never had any issues whatsoever with it.

Now I'd like to update the firmware to get the latest security patches, etc, but I don't know what version to install: Facebook or non-Facebook?

Also, do you strongly suggest to update the firmware to these new, restricted firmware versions, or should I wait a little bit more?

EDIT
I am asking you because the 3.0.0.4.380.4164 'non-Facebook' changelog says:


So I'm afraid that there are going to be double releases from now on. Of course I'm not interested in the Facebook special features at all.

Your router is now on non-Facebook firmware 2695, you indicate to not want Facebook extra's, this means you shall install the non-Facebook version 3.0.0.4.380.4164 (dated 2016/12/13).
Given the many security fixes I strongly advise to upgrade the router firmware.
I hope Asus will avoid duplicate version numbers with the next releases.
As long as you stay with Asus or Merlin firmware, you will not notice upgrade or downgrade restrictions.

 

[KHH]

No, I am not planning to install any other 3rd party firmware in future: only Asus or maybe Merlin.

Thank you very much!

 

[KevTech]

I'm on firmware version 9.0.0.4.380_2695 since the release day (2016/03/28) and I never had any issues whatsoever with it.

2695 was a beta release.

Last official non facebook is: http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/wi...04164.ZIP?_ga=1.53101921.838773009.1483677555

 

[doczenith1]

I am noticing that the flash based Ookla speedtest is not liking the 380.4164 firmware. The test takes longer than usual to start and I'm getting speeds in the 600 down 300 up range vs 945/945 normal. Router config is factory defaults with CTF and FA enabled. Other flash based and HTML5 based speedtest sites are working just fine. As a side note I'm seeing the same behavior on the Ookla site with Merlin 380.64 on this router. I didn't check any of the other sites while the 380.64 was loaded. The issue is not present on my AC3100 on 380.64.

 

[ablatt]

The Ookla stuff is happening for me as well on a 68P with official 380.3831. Some sites take a while to start and have much slower results than they used to.

 

[doczenith1]

I just found out what is causing the issue for me after reading another thread on this site. With NAT acceleration set to auto and with both CTF and FA enabled the flashed based Ookla site has issues. I enabled AiProtection on my 68U (to force FA off) and with only CTF the flash based Ookla site works just fine so there is an incompatibility with FA. This would also explain why I didn't see any issues on the 3100 as FA is not an option on that router.