ASUS-RT-AX82U Router Randomly disconnecting

[ASUS-RT-AX82U]

Hello everyone,

Thank you for a great forum. This is my first post, so please go easy on me.

I bought an ASUS-RT-AX82U last year and although most of the time it's great, I've been having a lot of problems with it where it randomly disconnects from 2.4GHz / 5Ghz WIFI and wired LAN devices (sometimes only once in a day and sometimes several times a day).

At first I thought it might be my devices (PC, TV, Laptop etc) that are causing the issue,, but I've ruled this out because all devices are disconnected at same time, then I have to either wait or reboot the router to reconnect.

I have already done various tests, such as reducing number of devices, but the problem still continues.

I would be very grateful if someone can help guide me into diagnosing this issue as it's driving me nuts.

Thank you

ASUS-RT-AX82U

 

[ColinTaylor]

It sounds like the router is rebooting itself. When it happens wait a couple of minutes and see if you can log into the router. Check the System Log > General Log for clues.

 

[ASUS-RT-AX82U]

It sounds like the router is rebooting itself. When it happens wait a couple of minutes and see if you can log into the router. Check the System Log > General Log for clues.

Thanks Colin. When it happens again, I'll get copies of the General Log and post it on her for you to diagnose. I'll keep you posted.

Really appreciate your help

 

[ASUS-RT-AX82U]

Hello.

Just happened again on one of the Android TVs we have (Approx 5 minutes ago) - There was a message on TV screen "ethernet disconnected"

I've attached the router log.

Thank you.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Thanks. That confirms that the router crashed and rebooted.

There's not a lot to go on in the log other than it looks like it might be a WiFi related issue. wl0-kthrd was the running process that crashed. I can't really guess more than that.

Some general WiFi suggestions:

You appear to be using 2.4GHz guest network #1. I suggest you disable #1 as it works slightly differently than the other two and use guest network #2 or #3 instead.

You have the Control Channels set to Auto. I suggest that for the 2.4GHz band you change that to a fixed channel. Try channel 1 with a bandwidth of 20MHz.

 

[ASUS-RT-AX82U]

Thanks Colin. I've done what you've said, although apologies, but being honest, I'm not sure how this would have any impact on the router as it's my ethernet connection that are getting disconnected and not just the wifi.

But I'm happy to give it a try and will let you know how I get on.

Much appreciated.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Thanks Colin. I've done what you've said, although apologies, but being honest, I'm not sure how this would have any impact on the router as it's my ethernet connection that are getting disconnected and not just the wifi.

Because when the process crashed it caused the entire router to reboot. So you will loose all connectivity, both WiFi and Ethernet.

It may well be unrelated to WiFi, but it's the only clue we've got at the moment.

 

[ASUS-RT-AX82U]

Because when the process crashed it caused the entire router to reboot. So you will loose all connectivity, both WiFi and Ethernet.

It may well be unrelated to WiFi, but it's the only clue we've got at the moment.

Ahh right, I understand now. I thought my problem was due to the router clogging up or something, so to avoid these kind of issues, I have set the router on a schedule reboot late every night.

Shall we let it run and see how it goes and I'll keep you posted?

Thanks ever so much again.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Shall we let it run and see how it goes and I'll keep you posted?

Sounds like a plan. I'd remove the scheduled reboot as that shouldn't have any affect on this problem.

 

[ASUS-RT-AX82U]

Sounds like a plan. I'd remove the scheduled reboot as that shouldn't have any affect on this problem.

I just assumed that just like a computer needing a reboot now and again, surely the router rebooting at 3am in morning is not going to cause any issues, is it? In fact it'll clear up any dodgy bugs or clogging up software? No??

 

[ColinTaylor]

I just assumed that just like a computer needing a reboot now and again, surely the router rebooting at 3am in morning is not going to cause any issues, is it? In fact it'll clear up any dodgy bugs or clogging up software? No??

Debatable (quite literally, the pro's and con's of scheduled reboots have been argued to death in these forums without consensus).

On the one hand this is not a PC, it's designed to run 24x7x365. On the other hand maybe there's some obscure bug and rebooting will hide the problem. Personally, as someone that's spent 30+ years supporting enterprise servers, I'd want to know ASAP if there's a problem and not hide it behind a reboot only for it to bite me in the a$$ at a critical moment. YMMV

 

[ASUS-RT-AX82U]

Debatable (quite literally, the pro's and con's of scheduled reboots have been argued to death in these forums without consensus).

On the one hand this is not a PC, it's designed to run 24x7x365. On the other hand maybe there's some obscure bug and rebooting will hide the problem. Personally, as someone that's spent 30+ years supporting enterprise servers, I'd want to know ASAP if there's a problem and not hide it behind a reboot only for it to bite me in the a$$ at a critical moment. YMMV

In that case, I totally agree with you and have now disabled the reboot scheduler. Let's hope we find the problem soon. Either way thanks ever so much for all your assistance. Really appreciate it. I'll keep you posted on any issues that arise. Take care.

 

[ASUS-RT-AX82U]

Hello again. I want to say a big thank you to @ColinTaylor for all the help you provided. Since that time of making the adjustments you've recommended, the Asus router has been absolutely rock-solid with no disconnections at all, so thank you again.

My only gripe is that since changing the settings, the router's wireless signal strength has become very weak. Before it's strength was so much that I could get a signal up to 70 metres away in the garden. Now depending on where I'm sat, it's only within 10-15 metres and patchy. I don't want to mess up the settings that we've already chosen, but is there anyway of bettering the signal again?

Thanks ever so much!

 

[ColinTaylor]

What WiFi changes did you make to the 2.4 and 5 GHz settings?

Has the change of range only affected the 2.4 GHz signal or the 5 GHz as well?

Setting the 2.4 GHz band with a bandwidth of 20 MHz should provide the most range. If it isn't then either there's interference on the channel or there's an environmental change (e.g. you've moved the router or it's antennas slightly, or there's some objects in the path like doors). If it's the former try using channel 6 or 11.

If the problem is with the 5 GHz signal bear in mind that this band is usually much weaker than 2.4 GHz by it's nature. However it's signal strength does change significantly depending on what channels you're using (and which country you're in). So set it's bandwidth to 80 MHz and then compare the range when using channel 36, then 52, then 100 and then 149 (if it's available). Pick the best one.

With all that said probably the biggest effect on signal range is the environment. WiFi signals tend to "reflect" off some solid objects and be absorbed by others. Someone standing in front of the router can have a very noticeable effect on the signal. So it's very difficult to do controlled testing in a home environment.

 

[ASUS-RT-AX82U]

What WiFi changes did you make to the 2.4 and 5 GHz settings?

Has the change of range only affected the 2.4 GHz signal or the 5 GHz as well?

Setting the 2.4 GHz band with a bandwidth of 20 MHz should provide the most range. If it isn't then either there's interference on the channel or there's an environmental change (e.g. you've moved the router or it's antennas slightly, or there's some objects in the path like doors). If it's the former try using channel 6 or 11.

If the problem is with the 5 GHz signal bear in mind that this band is usually much weaker than 2.4 GHz by it's nature. However it's signal strength does change significantly depending on what channels you're using (and which country you're in). So set it's bandwidth to 80 MHz and then compare the range when using channel 36, then 52, then 100 and then 149 (if it's available). Pick the best one.

With all that said probably the biggest effect on signal range is the environment. WiFi signals tend to "reflect" off some solid objects and be absorbed by others. Someone standing in front of the router can have a very noticeable effect on the signal. So it's very difficult to do controlled testing in a home environment.

As always, thanks very much Colin for your help. Okay, so here's the thing....I'm not sure which one is the issue. My suspicious is that it's the 2.4GHz one that's the problem. So here is what I've done:

• I've adjusted the antennas a little - no difference
• I've downloader 'Wifi Analyser' app on my android phone and it seems that: channels 1,2,3 of 2.4Ghz wifi are rated poor, but all 5ghz channels are rated good.

Please kindly have a look at the screenshots I've attached which show the above and let me know your thoughts.

Thanks.

 

[ColinTaylor]

That's some rather strange results from the WiFi app. I've never found the apps to be particularly accurate but I've never seen it show all channels (apart from 1-3) being "good". Do you live a long way away from your neighbours?

How close to the router were you when you did the test?

I would change the 2.4 GHz channel to 11 and see what the app thinks of that.

I suggest you change the 5 GHz bandwidth to 80 MHz and the channel to 100. Does the signal strength increase?

 

[ASUS-RT-AX82U]

That's some rather strange results from the WiFi app. I've never found the apps to be particularly accurate but I've never seen it show all channels (apart from 1-3) being "good". Do you live a long way away from your neighbours?

How close to the router were you when you did the test?

I would change the 2.4 GHz channel to 11 and see what the app thinks of that.

I suggest you change the 5 GHz bandwidth to 80 MHz and the channel to 100. Does the signal strength increase?

I followed what you said and changed 2.4ghz to ch11 and 5ghz to 80mhz/ch100. The 5ghz shows good strength on app for all channels, but now the ch4 to 11 on 2.4ghz show poor strength. This is getting weirder or the app is crap.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Yeah, I don't think I trust those results. Try a different app.

It's also possible that the phone you're using cannot report the information properly. You might need to run the app on a different phone to get sensible results.

EDIT: Bear in mind that the "Channel Rating" is not a measure of signal strength. It's mostly just trying to determine if there are nearby routers operating on the same channel. To see the signal strength look at the "Access Points" screen, where it says dBm.

 

[ASUS-RT-AX82U]

Yeah, I don't think I trust those results. Try a different app.

It's also possible that the phone you're using cannot report the information properly. You might need to run the app on a different phone to get sensible results.

EDIT: Bear in mind that the "Channel Rating" is not a measure of signal strength. It's mostly just trying to determine if there are nearby routers operating on the same channel. To see the signal strength look at the "Access Points" screen, where it says dBm.

To be honest, this is the only open-source app that I know that is supposed to give good results, unless you know of any other app?

I'm going to have a problem with regards to getting another phone as I don't have one.

I stood approx. 10 metres away (Router is upstairs and I'm downstairs) and retried the Access Points Screen. The results are attached and your right, they don't make much sense. For example it shows that the ASUS SSID is 30.6m away, but at the end it shows the same SSID being 54.6m away.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I have the same app and another one on my phone. I stood in a similar location to you and got consistent dBm figures with both apps.

Ignore the "distance" number. That just seems to be a guess based on the signal strength.

So, I got -66 dBm on 5GHz and -69 dBm on 2.4 GHz. So my 5 GHz signal was the stronger of the two. I was getting about 250 Mbps throughput on 5 GHz.

Try comparing the 5 GHz signal strength on channels 48, 52 and 149. It's important to try and be standing in exactly the same position and orientation each time you do the test.

The reason for testing those bands is because the router's legally allowed output power varies for different channel groups. The allowed output power also varies by country. I'm in the UK, what country are you located in?