Release ASUS RT-AC68U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386.40558 (05-Nov-2020)

[OzarkEdge]

so would it matter which download i did first? i have 2 86u and 1 68U

No, but... given AiMesh, I upload the remote nodes first and the root node last. For a clean install, I remove the remote nodes to reset them and then reset the root node to configure it.

Is that what you were asking?

OE

 

[keefrto]

No, but... given AiMesh, I upload the remote nodes first and the root node last. For a clean install, I remove the remote nodes to reset them and then reset the root node to configure it.

Is that what you were asking?

OE

Hmmm, so one 86u linked straight off of router, other 86 is upstairsconnected via Ethernet and 68u is bedroom also via Ethernet. So I am treating the first 86u as the root and the others as the nodes. Least thats what the app is showing me

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hmmm, so one 86u linked straight off of router, other 86 is upstairsconnected via Ethernet and 68u is bedroom also via Ethernet. So I am treating the first 86u as the root and the others as the nodes. Least thats what the app is showing me

The root node is the hub of the AiMesh. It is typically configured as the network router (AiMesh router), but it can be configured as an AP (AiMesh AP) wired to a non-AiMesh network router.

AiMesh router/root node <wired/wireless> AiMesh remote nodes

OR

non-AiMesh router <wired> AiMesh AP/root node <> AiMesh remote nodes

OE

 

[keefrto]

No, but... given AiMesh, I upload the remote nodes first and the root node last. For a clean install, I remove the remote nodes to reset them and then reset the root node to configure it.

Is that what you were asking?

OE

Hmmm, so one 86u linked straight off of router, other 86 is upstairsconnected via Ethernet and 68u is bedroom also via Ethernet. So I am treating the first 86u as the root and the others as the nodes. Least thats what the app

No, but... given AiMesh, I upload the remote nodes first and the root node last. For a clean install, I remove the remote nodes to reset them and then reset the root node to configure it.

Is that what you were asking?

OE

So remove nodes first then update firmware or update firmware then remove nodes?

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hmmm, so one 86u linked straight off of router, other 86 is upstairsconnected via Ethernet and 68u is bedroom also via Ethernet. So I am treating the first 86u as the root and the others as the nodes. Least thats what the app

So remove nodes first then update firmware or update firmware then remove nodes?

The AiMesh root node is the one you can login to its webUI.

No, update the remote nodes while you can over the network from the root node webUI. Then remove them to reset them automatically, IF you intend to clean install the network.

OE

 

[Yota]

Off to a rocky start with this new firmware on my 66U-B1. The GUI wouldn't load after it installed and I had to pull the power plug. It seemed to be ok after that, I was able to log in but I noticed the CPUs were running at 70-80% (used to be 3-5% at idle) and my client list was missing all the 5Ghz clients. Then the GUI froze up so I closed that tab and now I can't get into it again. It's just sitting there waiting for router.asus.com. Everything else seems to be working ok but this is the first time a firmware upgrade hasn't worked just fine.

Update 30 minutes after this post: I used the internet for a while and now am able to access the GUI. The CPUs are also running at 3-5% at idle which is where they were with prior firmwares. I guess the new firmware needed to "settle in" before the GUI was usable.

Funny answer

After any major software update, your iPhone or iPad will perform various background tasks for some time, which makes the device use more resources. With more system activity going on behind the scenes, battery life is depleted quicker than usual. This is normal, so please be patient and give it some time.

from: https://osxdaily.com/2020/09/27/ios-14-battery-life-fix/

 

[maohvbg]

Question about "Guest WiFi on all Mesh nodes (all node need to upgrade to 3.0.0.4.386 firmware)"

Upgraded my RT-AC68U Router and two nodes, but the Guest WIFI is still only avalible on the Router and not on the AIMSH nodes. Have anyone been able to get this to work?

 

[HanTu]

Hows the Aimesh stability so far? i gave up on Aimesh on my two 68U long time ago due to roaming blackhole issues.

Could this be the firmware that finally fix it?

 

[OzarkEdge]

Question about "Guest WiFi on all Mesh nodes (all node need to upgrade to 3.0.0.4.386 firmware)"

Upgraded my RT-AC68U Router and two nodes, but the Guest WIFI is still only avalible on the Router and not on the AIMSH nodes. Have anyone been able to get this to work?

Did you set the guest WLANs1 to sync to all nodes? And perform a system reboot?

OE

 

[maohvbg]

Did you set the guest WLANs1 to sync to all nodes? And perform a system reboot?

OE

Now I have
It works, thanks for the information.

 

[KC KingC]

ASUS RT-AC68U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386.40558

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/wireless/RT-AC68U/FW_RT_AC68U_300438640558.zip

New Feature

1. AiMesh 2.0
   • System optimization: one click in AiMesh to optimize the topology
   • System Ethernet backhaul mode, all nodes will only connect by ethernet, all bands will be released for wireless clients.
   • System factory default and reboot.
   • Client device reconnect, make the device to offline and online again.
   • Client device binding to specific AP.
   • Guest WiFi on all Mesh nodes (all node need to upgrade to 3.0.0.4.386 firmware)
   • Access nodes USB application.
2. Connection priority and Ethernet backhaul mode introduction
   https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1044184
   How to setup ASUS AiMesh or ZenWiFi Mesh Ethernet backhaul under different conditions
   https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1044151/
3. New Family interface in ASUS router App.
   ASUS Router App for iOS must greater or equal to iOS v1.0.0.5.75.
   Android version greater or equal to v1.0.0.5.74
4. The unit of the WiFi time scheduler goes to 1 minute.
5. 2.4 and 5G on the network map could be configured in the same tab.
6. Captcha for login can be disabled in administration -> system.
7. Printer server port can be disabled on the USB app page.
8. Clients which connect to the guest network can be viewed in the network map -->view list --> interface

I was quite excited about the new AiMesh features. Many of them were ones I had been looking for - ethernet backhaul, guest network on all nodes, client device binding, etc. As I see it, these are the features that make AiMesh competitive.

Alas, after allowing my 2 AC68Us to update to this firmware, my internet connection with Verizon FIOS service became unstable. The symptom was that the main router, which is connected to the Verizon FIOS Optical Network Terminal (ONT) via Ethernet would randomly lose its connection, after which it would not receive an IP address via DHCP from FIOS, unless I rebooted the ONT (and even then it didn't always work). My laptop, directly connected to the ONT (bypassing the AC68U) worked flawlessly. Nevertheless, Verizon was very patient with me in troubleshooting every angle of the FIOS service and the ONT. In the end, though, after many hours of troubleshooting, including factory resetting and reconfiguring my AC68Us from scratch, switching the routers around (Router became mesh node and vice versa) and reconfiguring again - running with just one router, no mesh, etc., it became clear that this wasn't going to work. I ended up having to revert both AC68Us to 3.0.0.4.385_20633, and reconfiguring to the way they had been before... works great . . . minus the new features, of course.

I do look forward to a future release that doesn't have these compatibility issues.

I'm interested to hear whether anyone else had a similar experience.

 

[L&LD]

You may want to test RMerlin's implementation of 386.1 Alpha 2 instead. Working great across many different (supported) router models.

Microsoft OneDrive

onedrive.live.com

From the 'Pre-beta test builds' link below.

Download | Asuswrt-Merlin

www.asuswrt-merlin.net

 

[cannondale]

I was quite excited about the new AiMesh features. Many of them were ones I had been looking for - ethernet backhaul, guest network on all nodes, client device binding, etc. As I see it, these are the features that make AiMesh competitive.

Alas, after allowing my 2 AC68Us to update to this firmware, my internet connection with Verizon FIOS service became unstable. The symptom was that the main router, which is connected to the Verizon FIOS Optical Network Terminal (ONT) via Ethernet would randomly lose its connection, after which it would not receive an IP address via DHCP from FIOS, unless I rebooted the ONT (and even then it didn't always work). My laptop, directly connected to the ONT (bypassing the AC68U) worked flawlessly. Nevertheless, Verizon was very patient with me in troubleshooting every angle of the FIOS service and the ONT. In the end, though, after many hours of troubleshooting, including factory resetting and reconfiguring my AC68Us from scratch, switching the routers around (Router became mesh node and vice versa) and reconfiguring again - running with just one router, no mesh, etc., it became clear that this wasn't going to work. I ended up having to revert both AC68Us to 3.0.0.4.385_20633, and reconfiguring to the way they had been before... works great . . . minus the new features, of course.

I do look forward to a future release that doesn't have these compatibility issues.

I'm interested to hear whether anyone else had a similar experience.

I had issues with my two RT-AC68U after this firmware update. One is the master, the other a mesh node. The mesh node didn't use Ethernet backhaul after the update anymore. No amount of rebooting and trying to turn it on helped. I had to remove the mesh node from the configuration entirely (essentially factory reset it), then reboot, then re-add as a new node. That then turned on Ethernet backhaul again.

I also had issues with my guest network. No device was able to connect to that anymore. Nothing helped -- I had to turn off guest network 1 and configure an identical guest network 2, which then worked. To date, I cannot get guest network 1 to work.

Some of this may be solved by a factory reset of the main router, but that is just too much effort for me right now. It's working ok right now the way I set it up.

EDIT: I, too, am directly connecting to the ONT via an Ethernet cable, but no issues with that.
EDIT2: As was pointed out to me, I mentioned something in my original post that I shouldn't have as per the policy of this forum. I removed mention of that.

 

[L&LD]

@cannondale running RMerlin firmware on unsupported hardware such as yours is not allowed in these discussions (because it is illegal to do so).

 

[cannondale]

@cannondale running RMerlin firmware on unsupported hardware such as yours is not allowed in these discussions (because it is illegal to do so).

Thanks for the heads up, I was unaware.

 

[pypk]

One of the improvements that I was looking for in this new release is the improvement in handling Wifi Calling while "roaming" from node to node on AiMesh. Just upgrade to this new release and hard reset all (router and 2 Mesh node). Unfortunately, I'm still dropping calls while moving from one node to another. I'm using MS Teams and Skype. Any suggestions?

 

[StretchCat]

ASUS RT-AC68U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386.40558

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/wireless/RT-AC68U/FW_RT_AC68U_300438640558.zip

New Feature

1. AiMesh 2.0
   • System optimization: one click in AiMesh to optimize the topology
   • System Ethernet backhaul mode, all nodes will only connect by ethernet, all bands will be released for wireless clients.
   • System factory default and reboot.
   • Client device reconnect, make the device to offline and online again.
   • Client device binding to specific AP.
   • Guest WiFi on all Mesh nodes (all node need to upgrade to 3.0.0.4.386 firmware)
   • Access nodes USB application.
2. Connection priority and Ethernet backhaul mode introduction
   https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1044184
   How to setup ASUS AiMesh or ZenWiFi Mesh Ethernet backhaul under different conditions
   https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1044151/
3. New Family interface in ASUS router App.
   ASUS Router App for iOS must greater or equal to iOS v1.0.0.5.75.
   Android version greater or equal to v1.0.0.5.74
4. The unit of the WiFi time scheduler goes to 1 minute.
5. 2.4 and 5G on the network map could be configured in the same tab.
6. Captcha for login can be disabled in administration -> system.
7. Printer server port can be disabled on the USB app page.
8. Clients which connect to the guest network can be viewed in the network map -->view list --> interface

ASUS RT-AC68U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386.40558

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/wireless/RT-AC68U/FW_RT_AC68U_300438640558.zip

New Feature

1. AiMesh 2.0
   • System optimization: one click in AiMesh to optimize the topology
   • System Ethernet backhaul mode, all nodes will only connect by ethernet, all bands will be released for wireless clients.
   • System factory default and reboot.
   • Client device reconnect, make the device to offline and online again.
   • Client device binding to specific AP.
   • Guest WiFi on all Mesh nodes (all node need to upgrade to 3.0.0.4.386 firmware)
   • Access nodes USB application.
2. Connection priority and Ethernet backhaul mode introduction
   https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1044184
   How to setup ASUS AiMesh or ZenWiFi Mesh Ethernet backhaul under different conditions
   https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1044151/
3. New Family interface in ASUS router App.
   ASUS Router App for iOS must greater or equal to iOS v1.0.0.5.75.
   Android version greater or equal to v1.0.0.5.74
4. The unit of the WiFi time scheduler goes to 1 minute.
5. 2.4 and 5G on the network map could be configured in the same tab.
6. Captcha for login can be disabled in administration -> system.
7. Printer server port can be disabled on the USB app page.
8. Clients which connect to the guest network can be viewed in the network map -->view list --> interface

Apologies in advance for the newbie question: This firmware release is for RT-AC68U. Will that also cover a DSL-AC68U modem router?

 

[L&LD]

No.

 

[tts]

has anyone did a wifi performnace benchmark compare to 385.20633? I assume more feature means slower wifi performance.

 

[mfritzen]

What's the proper way to fully reset the router? Is it ok to use the initialize settings? And after that, "Format JFFS partition at next boot" is necessary? I don't use any script whatsoever.