ASUS RT- AC86U WIFI DROP OUTS/ SLOW AND FLUCTUATING

[agentsmith1]

HI there

My ASUS RT- AC86U has started playing up all of a sudden. The 2.4 ghtz network is very slow around 80meg down and the 5ghtz fluctuates in its performance and sometimes it will reach top speed but not always. I am usually able to get speeds of 250-275 meg down consistently over both networks as I'm 3 meters from modem. I have unplugged modem, tried different bandwiths and channels, updated drivers on PC, tried all the things I can think of.

Im running stock firmware 3.0.0.4.386_48260 and I reboot the modem through the software at 3AM every day.

any help would be great.

Should I upgrade to merlin and what would benefits be?

 

[OzarkEdge]

HI there

My ASUS RT- AC86U has started playing up all of a sudden. The 2.4 ghtz network is very slow around 80meg down and the 5ghtz fluctuates in its performance and sometimes it will reach top speed but not always. I am usually able to get speeds of 250-275 meg down consistently over both networks as I'm 3 meters from modem. I have unplugged modem, tried different bandwiths and channels, updated drivers on PC, tried all the things I can think of.

Im running stock firmware 3.0.0.4.386_48260 and I reboot the modem through the software at 3AM every day.

any help would be great.

Should I upgrade to merlin and what would benefits be?

The AC86U has an early history of specific hardware failure... some radio, some voltage regulation circuitry.

A WiFi analyzer app can be useful to 'see' if the router WLAN signals are broadcasting at their usual levels and appear normal and steady.

Given sudden new trouble for various wireless clients, I would recommission the AC86U (hard reset and then minimal configuration from scratch) to see if the trouble is resolved. If not, then it may be time for a new router.

I would troubleshoot with ASUSWRT firmware and only consider ASUSWRT-Merlin firmware later IF you need its added features.

Reset FAQ
Reset button/webUI Restore/node removal - clears settings in NVRAM; reboot restores fw defaults from CFE (fw defaults)
Hard Reset via WPS button/webUI Restore+Initialize - also clears data logged in /jffs partition (fw defaults+clear data)

OE

 

[agentsmith1]

i have an older 68U that never missed a beat. Should I try that first to see if its router issues or just do the resets you have listed?

 

[VANT]

make factory default with initialisation, and check with basic configuration.

 

[OzarkEdge]

i have an older 68U that never missed a beat. Should I try that first to see if its router issues or just do the resets you have listed?

You could, and this might encourage your suspicion of the AC86U hardware, but you would still want to recommission the AC86U to see if its trouble is resolved or persists.

OE

 

[Tech9]

The 2.4 ghtz network is very slow around 80meg

Reaching 80Mbps on 2.4GHz band is very good, actually. Most people can use 20MHz channel only.

 

[jontalk]

Curious which year the 86U was manufactured. I've interacted with a number of owners and it appears that the hardware issues mentioned vary. Hope you get it resolved

 

[Tech9]

The year doesn't matter much. There were reports for AC86U from 2020 going bad.

 

[agentsmith1]

Curious which year the 86U was manufactured. I've interacted with a number of owners and it appears that the hardware issues mentioned vary. Hope you get it resolved

Made in sunny china ….

 

[agentsmith1]

ok have done the reset ... press reset button 5 seconds than factory reset from the software GUI. Still no luck. What now?

 

[OzarkEdge]

ok have done the reset ... press reset button 5 seconds than factory reset from the software GUI. Still no luck. What now?

Hard Reset = webUI Restore+Initialize

If still odd hardware behavior, then replace the router.

OE

 

[sfx2000]

My ASUS RT- AC86U has started playing up all of a sudden. The 2.4 ghtz network is very slow around 80meg down and the 5ghtz fluctuates in its performance and sometimes it will reach top speed but not always. I am usually able to get speeds of 250-275 meg down consistently over both networks as I'm 3 meters from modem. I have unplugged modem, tried different bandwiths and channels, updated drivers on PC, tried all the things I can think of.

key sign of a power adapter going soft...

The router itself is likely good to go, so look at replacing the wall wart...

 

[agentsmith1]

key sign of a power adapter going soft...

The router itself is likely good to go, so look at replacing the wall wart...

power adapter going soft??? which means??

 

[keefrto]

My 86u acted up last week and no matter what i did, it would not connect to internet. Light on the front remained red. I took my other 86u and plugged that in to the same ethernet port as well and it worked. My old 68u fired up straight away so all remains good so far. Aimesh set up with 2 86u and one 68u. Keeping an eye out for decent deals on ax86u as i think thats what i need. Staples had it for 250 cad before and now they will price match 350 but if it was lower before then it will come down again. Fyi my manufacturer year is 2018

 

[degrub]

power adapter going soft??? which means??

undervoltage or undercurrent, either possibly with high temperature even up to thermally deforming the wart's plastic.

 

[agentsmith1]

My 86u acted up last week and no matter what i did, it would not connect to internet. Light on the front remained red. I took my other 86u and plugged that in to the same ethernet port as well and it worked. My old 68u fired up straight away so all remains good so far. Aimesh set up with 2 86u and one 68u. Keeping an eye out for decent deals on ax86u as i think thats what i need. Staples had it for 250 cad before and now they will price match 350 but if it was lower before then it will come down again. Fyi my manufacturer year is 2018

Thanks that’s interesting. Mine is under warranty brought it from eBay through Scorptec. I may go down the warranty option path. I’m looking for the AX86U too let us know if you find a killer deal.

Does it support vlans?

 

[agentsmith1]

undervoltage or undercurrent, either possibly with high temperature even up to thermally deforming the wart's plastic.

Thx I might try replacing power cable then.Any idea best place to source one?

 

[keefrto]

Thanks that’s interesting. Mine is under warranty brought it from eBay through Scorptec. I may go down the warranty option path. I’m looking for the AX86U too let us know if you find a killer deal.

Does it support vlans?

Dont know about the vlans mate. This forum will be lit up soon when router deals start boxing day. I also set up deal alerts on redflagdeals.com to make sure i am covered

 

[agentsmith1]

Dont know about the vlans mate. This forum will be lit up soon when router deals start boxing day. I also set up deal alerts on redflagdeals.com to make sure i am covered

aweome thx what part of aus are you from??

 

[keefrto]

aweome thx what part of aus are you from??

Er am not. Am Scottish living in Canada.