ASUS RT-AC88U - 2.4Ghz broadcasting as 5Ghz / No 2.4Ghz - Urgent

[Arz Bhatia]

Folks,

Just registered right now after scrubbing the internet for people having similar issues but couldn't seem to find any. So I bought this router considering it's been rated and called the latest and greatest but unfortunately, didn't turn out like that, for me at least.

So this is a rather unusual problem. To summarize it, I'm going to use bullet points -

• The router doesn't transmit the 2.4Ghz signal
• The 2.4Ghz LED on the router isn't lit
• The SSID of the 2.4Ghz network is shown but that actually is the 5Ghz network (2.4Ghz SSID)
• There's only signal transmitted (SSID of 2.4Ghz but actually 5Ghz - weird)
• The 5Ghz control channel is shown as 0 - Cannot make any changes, no options in the dropdown
• Upon using grep | show (nvram) - It seems the router isn't able to grab the wl1_hwaddr (ie. 5Ghz)
• Upon setting the hwaddr manually sui, there are no changes
• The 5Ghz MAC Address is not shown in the GUI (Only shown if set manually but that doesn't fix anything)
• Stock, Merlin, downgrading, nvram reset, router reset - Nothing helps
• The 2.4Ghz GUI menu shows options related to the 5Ghz band

Warranty is not a possibility as I bought the router from another country and cannot afford to send it back there and/or fly there (Taiwan). I'm trying to convince ASUS to cover it in my home country but it doesn't seem likely.

I've gone through almost every AC88U post on all forums to check if anyone is facing this problem but I can't seem to find any solution whatsoever. There were some people facing the same using NETGEAR routers but their solution was just to downgrade as an updated firmware ducked their routers - not the case here.

I'm attaching logs + screenshots for a better understanding of the problem. I hope we can fix this, thanks!

 

[pete y testing]

Folks,

Just registered right now after scrubbing the internet for people having similar issues but couldn't seem to find any. So I bought this router considering it's been rated and called the latest and greatest but unfortunately, didn't turn out like that, for me at least.

So this is a rather unusual problem. To summarize it, I'm going to use bullet points -

• The router doesn't transmit the 2.4Ghz signal
• The 2.4Ghz LED on the router isn't lit
• The SSID of the 2.4Ghz network is shown but that actually is the 5Ghz network (2.4Ghz SSID)
• There's only signal transmitted (SSID of 2.4Ghz but actually 5Ghz - weird)
• The 5Ghz control channel is shown as 0 - Cannot make any changes, no options in the dropdown
• Upon using grep | show (nvram) - It seems the router isn't able to grab the wl1_hwaddr (ie. 5Ghz)
• Upon setting the hwaddr manually sui, there are no changes
• The 5Ghz MAC Address is not shown in the GUI (Only shown if set manually but that doesn't fix anything)
• Stock, Merlin, downgrading, nvram reset, router reset - Nothing helps
• The 2.4Ghz GUI menu shows options related to the 5Ghz band

Warranty is not a possibility as I bought the router from another country and cannot afford to send it back there and/or fly there (Taiwan). I'm trying to convince ASUS to cover it in my home country but it doesn't seem likely.

I've gone through almost every AC88U post on all forums to check if anyone is facing this problem but I can't seem to find any solution whatsoever. There were some people facing the same using NETGEAR routers but their solution was just to downgrade as an updated firmware ducked their routers - not the case here.

I'm attaching logs + screenshots for a better understanding of the problem. I hope we can fix this, thanks!

i suggest you put the 88u into restore fw mode and reload the latest fw and see if that fixes it

 

[Arz Bhatia]

i suggest you put the 88u into restore fw mode and reload the latest fw and see if that fixes it

Thanks for replying. Tried & tested, didn't help!

 

[pete y testing]

then its a hardware issue and no choice but to get a replacement

 

[L&LD]

Did you flash the right firmware for your model? Have you tried RMerlin's firmware or one of the forks thereof? Did you perform a full reset to factory defaults followed by a minimal and manual configuration to secure your router and connect to your ISP (do not use a backup config file)?

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/faq-nvram-and-factory-default-reset.22822/

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac66u-slow-wan-to-lan.12973/page-3#post-269410

 

[Arz Bhatia]

Yup, tried all of the selected and I've gone through those links too. It seems to be a hardware problem, too bad I have a $300 router that's worth $80 now - Gonna switch to the 87U, I have a spare one kept around luckily.

 

[L&LD]

If after trying to get it to a good/known state with the links I provided above it still works as you described in post 1, then it is not worth even $1, let alone $80.

 

[CQDan]

Woah! This problem exist even in 2016?!?!

I bought this AC88U a month and the 2.4 GHz band is missing too, making some of my legacy hardware useless. Looks like I need to take it back for replacement too

 

[Arz Bhatia]

Just an update: I managed to send my router back to China and the seller was kind enough to get it shipped to Taiwan, get it replaced there and send it back to my friend in China who happened to be travelling to my home country - This happened a while back, around the time I started this thread. I got a new AC88U and am happy as ever.

 

[jim769]

That's great news glad it worked out for you.

 

[Amey Kanikdale]

Hello Arz,

I actually signed up here because I am facing the exact same problem as you were.
The 5GHz band on my RT-AC86U is dead as the MAC address is not being shown and I have also tried all the solutions posted in this and other forums.

And just like you, my local warranty is also not applicable as I had purchased the router from GearBest.com. I just wanted to know if your router was purchased from GearBest too and if so what was the process to claim the replacement under warranty.

Thanking you,
Amey Kanikdale.

Just an update: I managed to send my router back to China and the seller was kind enough to get it shipped to Taiwan, get it replaced there and send it back to my friend in China who happened to be travelling to my home country - This happened a while back, around the time I started this thread. I got a new AC88U and am happy as ever.