Release ASUS RT-AX86 Series(RT-AX86U/RT-AX86S) Firmware version 3.0.0.4.388.23285 (15-05-2023)

[Tech9]

Well I can tell you the last time this router ran great was January last year I believe stock or either 386.5-2 for merlin.

This is my experience with it as well. It runs better on previous 386 firmware.

 

[iFrogMac]

Well I can tell you the last time this router ran great was January last year I believe stock or either 386.5-2 for merlin. I have no idea how the ax86u gets rated so highly for WiFi. Nothing but bugs, hanging to move places so I can fit a new comms cabinet and move over to the good stuff.

I've had a combination of things here. For example, yes there were a few builds that didn't run so well, and caused problems. Then there were times when I made user error and didn't have things set right, for my particular setup, and that also caused problems making it look like a router problem. Now, with the latest build which this thread is based on, with my setup, and needs, things have been stable. Some of the main problems I read about here from others are VPN and other related issues, and those I don't need, or use here. My needs are pretty simple here now after I've figured out what they were in my new place.

1. Basic network for sharing an internet connection to both wired, and wireless devices.
2. A guest network for the bulbs to protect them from mDNS traffic on the main network so they don't get kicked off all the time.
There are things within these two main points but most can be sorted between the two.

So, after learning what my needs are specially at this point. I could use a much simpler router than an Asus. It was nice though to have the experience of using an Asus product and finding out for myself what they provide, and what I use and don't use from mine specifically now.
It's stable enough for me at this point that I'll probably keep using it until it either dies, or stops getting updates, or I need a newer WiFi standard down the road at some point.

 

[DiGz_Au]

I've had a combination of things here. For example, yes there were a few builds that didn't run so well, and caused problems. Then there were times when I made user error and didn't have things set right, for my particular setup, and that also caused problems making it look like a router problem. Now, with the latest build which this thread is based on, with my setup, and needs, things have been stable. Some of the main problems I read about here from others are VPN and other related issues, and those I don't need, or use here. My needs are pretty simple here now after I've figured out what they were in my new place.

1. Basic network for sharing an internet connection to both wired, and wireless devices.
2. A guest network for the bulbs to protect them from mDNS traffic on the main network so they don't get kicked off all the time.
There are things within these two main points but most can be sorted between the two.

So, after learning what my needs are specially at this point. I could use a much simpler router than an Asus. It was nice though to have the experience of using an Asus product and finding out for myself what they provide, and what I use and don't use from mine specifically now.
It's stable enough for me at this point that I'll probably keep using it until it either dies, or stops getting updates, or I need a newer WiFi standard down the road at some point.

I don't use VPN on my router or really many things as I mainly use apps on devices and I think it's partly due to bugs with the router. Nailed on the head that there's just too many features.

 

[iFrogMac]

I don't use VPN on my router or really many things as I mainly use apps on devices and I think it's partly due to bugs with the router. Nailed on the head that there's just too many features.

Well one main factor that inspired me to want to try AsusWRT is I used to have a Nighthawk R7000 that I ran DD-WRT on, as the Netgear stock firmware was really buggy when it came to keeping stable connections and lacking features. Well seems to me, AsusWRT is just a commercial version of DD-WRT, or maybe the other way around DD-WRT is an open source clone of AsusWRT. That's the impression I get from having used both and seeing many of the same features and config layout. Well, with that said I would still use DD-WRT, but none of the current routers I have support it, and it doesn't seem like anything WiFi 6, or newer will.

 

[DiGz_Au]

Well one main factor that inspired me to want to try AsusWRT is I used to have a Nighthawk R7000 that I ran DD-WRT on, as the Netgear stock firmware was really buggy when it came to keeping stable connections and lacking features. Well seems to me, AsusWRT is just a commercial version of DD-WRT, or maybe the other way around DD-WRT is an open source clone of AsusWRT. That's the impression I get from having used both and seeing many of the same features and config layout. Well, with that said I would still use DD-WRT, but none of the current routers I have support it, and it doesn't seem like anything WiFi 6, or newer will.

I will go prosumer or better. I find the quality of releases and stability has gone downhill big time the past few years

 

[TexasFlood]

Well one main factor that inspired me to want to try AsusWRT is I used to have a Nighthawk R7000 that I ran DD-WRT on, as the Netgear stock firmware was really buggy when it came to keeping stable connections and lacking features. Well seems to me, AsusWRT is just a commercial version of DD-WRT, or maybe the other way around DD-WRT is an open source clone of AsusWRT. That's the impression I get from having used both and seeing many of the same features and config layout. Well, with that said I would still use DD-WRT, but none of the current routers I have support it, and it doesn't seem like anything WiFi 6, or newer will.

As I understand it, AsusWRT was originally based on the Tomato firmware although that was a long time ago.

 

[ZANGIEF]

I quit chasing new firmware because the Trend Micro related problems have not been fixed at all.
Unfortunately, the Asuswrt-Merlin 3004.388.4 beta, based on the newer GPL 388_23588 than the official one, also reported a stack.

In my environment, 386.7_2 is better than 386.5_2.
With Adaptive QoS and AiProtection enabled, only one core is used when communicating on 386.5_2, but on 386.7_2 all cores are used equally and throughput is improved.
It is easy to understand if you run a speed test while checking the CPU utilization.

I have not seen any similar posts, so I am sure my environment is unique.

 

[iFrogMac]

I quit chasing new firmware because the Trend Micro related problems have not been fixed at all.
Unfortunately, the Asuswrt-Merlin 3004.388.4 beta, based on the newer GPL 388_23588 than the official one, also reported a stack.

In my environment, 386.7_2 is better than 386.5_2.
With Adaptive QoS and AiProtection enabled, only one core is used when communicating on 386.5_2, but on 386.7_2 all cores are used equally and throughput is improved.
It is easy to understand if you run a speed test while checking the CPU utilization.

I have not seen any similar posts, so I am sure my environment is unique.

I don't use the Trend Micro features. I did try them out a while back to see what they were, and if I had any need for them in my environment. They really didn't do much for me, so I haven't used them since. What I have decided is, if I need extra security then I'll run it on the computer directly vs router since I only have one computer to attend to, and the rest of my network devices are either iOT devices, an iPhone, or set top boxes of some kind. Plus there has been past discussion as to Trend Micro can be trust on various tech news sources, and I've read quite a few reviews by people who have purchased an Asus router, or other brand router that include Trend Micro, or similar added features and have returned it because either they lack understanding, or are over sensitive about privacy, or there are genuine concerns about such software.

I personally understand why the software exists and is included, however, that doesn't mean we shouldn't still be aware data is being shared, and could potentially be misused.
After I was done testing the settings I was curious about, and put the router back to it's "known good" configuration for my setup, then powering down and back up to flush the memory to clear anything that might have still been in ram, things have been solid here on the existing firmware. So for me, all I want at this point from future firmware updates would be bug fixes, and security updates. That's all that matters to me at this point. I don't need any new features, and I have more features than I need, or will use already.

 

[chetiya]

Hi folks,

I updated my RT-AX86U to 3.0.0.4.388_23285 around 10 days ago and almost immediately started experiencing issues. My work VPN would drop off after 20-30 minutes, my Ring doorbell and wifi extender would work fine for a day or so and then drop off. The fix was to reboot the router every time, restarting the appliance would fix it temporarily for a short while.

After playing around it seems things connect OK no 2.4GHz, but not on 5.

I can't see anything on these forums relating to this problem, or anywhere online. I've raised a support request with ASUS but I'm not holding my breath.

Has anyone had a similar experience or have any ideas what the issue could be?

I have universal beam forming disabled on both 2.4 and 5.

Many thanks,
Chetiya.

 

[Tech9]

Revert to working for you firmware and wait for the next firmware. If you have time - reset to factory defaults and configure manually, test again.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hi folks,

I updated my RT-AX86U to 3.0.0.4.388_23285 around 10 days ago and almost immediately started experiencing issues. My work VPN would drop off after 20-30 minutes, my Ring doorbell and wifi extender would work fine for a day or so and then drop off. The fix was to reboot the router every time, restarting the appliance would fix it temporarily for a short while.

After playing around it seems things connect OK no 2.4GHz, but not on 5.

I can't see anything on these forums relating to this problem, or anywhere online. I've raised a support request with ASUS but I'm not holding my breath.

Has anyone had a similar experience or have any ideas what the issue could be?

I have universal beam forming disabled on both 2.4 and 5.

Many thanks,
Chetiya.

Hard Reset the firmware, configure minimally from scratch, and test again.

FW Reset FAQ

Reset button/webUI Restore/node removal - clears settings in NVRAM; reboot restores fw defaults from CFE

Hard Reset via WPS button/webUI Restore+Initialize - also clears data logged in /jffs partition

OE

 

[L&LD]

And before doing any of the steps OzarkEdge suggests (and they're good ones), perform the following to quickly get back go your working setup if things don't work out during your testing.

Is it a good idea to keep up with Firmware updates?

I have had issues in the past when updating firmware and Internet speed, But it may have just been a fluke, Should I keep up with the updates? If so On all routers or the nodes as well? What about ones acting as access points? Thanks

www.snbforums.com

 

[chetiya]

Thanks all for the suggestions. Will give it a try this weekend when I have some time, I’m able to function on 2.4 for now.

 

[iFrogMac]

Thanks all for the suggestions. Will give it a try this weekend when I have some time, I’m able to function on 2.4 for now.

I'm wondering if it's something unique to your setup, Usually when I've had WiFi issues with my router, it's been with the 2.4Ghz band and 5Ghz has been fine. Anyway many times I've been able to do a clean setup and fix any glitches from doing an update as previously suggested. So far, this firmware has been stable for me, and I've been running it since release date.

 

[chetiya]

I'm wondering if it's something unique to your setup, Usually when I've had WiFi issues with my router, it's been with the 2.4Ghz band and 5Ghz has been fine. Anyway many times I've been able to do a clean setup and fix any glitches from doing an update as previously suggested. So far, this firmware has been stable for me, and I've been running it since release date.

Will see what happens when I do a clean build of the config.

 

[DjiNN]

Hi folks,

I updated my RT-AX86U to 3.0.0.4.388_23285 around 10 days ago and almost immediately started experiencing issues. My work VPN would drop off after 20-30 minutes, my Ring doorbell and wifi extender would work fine for a day or so and then drop off. The fix was to reboot the router every time, restarting the appliance would fix it temporarily for a short while.

After playing around it seems things connect OK no 2.4GHz, but not on 5.

I can't see anything on these forums relating to this problem, or anywhere online. I've raised a support request with ASUS but I'm not holding my breath.

Has anyone had a similar experience or have any ideas what the issue could be?

I have universal beam forming disabled on both 2.4 and 5.

Many thanks,
Chetiya.

I too have been experiencing a similar issue since updating the firmware that I haven't been able to find any relatable experiences until now. Randomly, all devices lose connectivity to the router (WiFi 2.4/5 and LAN) requiring a manual power cycle.

I have done a factory reset and reconfigure but the issue persists. I did have a number of 'optimized' settings configured prior but after the refresh I'm running with mostly bare minimum setting changes.

My setup may be a bit unique but not entirely unusual in that I have an RT-AC68U in Ethernet backhaul and I've disabled the 5 GHz radio on the AC68U. To be thorough, I also have 2 unmanaged Netgear switches throughout my home.

I have noticed that connectivity gets sluggish for a bit before connectivity ultimately drops and logging doesn't seem to be of much help.

I've considered reverting back to the previous firmware but I'd be happy to share what I can if it would be of benefit.

 

[chetiya]

I too have been experiencing a similar issue since updating the firmware that I haven't been able to find any relatable experiences until now. Randomly, all devices lose connectivity to the router (WiFi 2.4/5 and LAN) requiring a manual power cycle.

I have done a factory reset and reconfigure but the issue persists. I did have a number of 'optimized' settings configured prior but after the refresh I'm running with mostly bare minimum setting changes.

My setup may be a bit unique but not entirely unusual in that I have an RT-AC68U in Ethernet backhaul and I've disabled the 5 GHz radio on the AC68U. To be thorough, I also have 2 unmanaged Netgear switches throughout my home.

I have noticed that connectivity gets sluggish for a bit before connectivity ultimately drops and logging doesn't seem to be of much help.

I've considered reverting back to the previous firmware but I'd be happy to share what I can if it would be of benefit.

What you describe about how connectivity drops is similar to what I experience as well. It doesn’t just cut off it seems to just “slow down” and become intermittent before losing all connectivity. To be clear, my wifi is still connected but connectivity to the network (LAN and Internet) becomes non existent.

I haven’t really tweaked much with the settings beyond the basics. Hopefully reconfiguring will fix it, though it doesn’t sound like that worked for you.

 

[willyburz]

Just continue to give me security updates and fix the finicky a$$ 160mhz! I found how, literally found a rando channel where there is very little interference! If there is the smalles crap living at super weak interference it will not stay in 160. I found in my area the magic channel and locked it in. Works perfectly, but it shouldn't suck that bad...The auto channel steering is trash and never changes with much stronger interference, BUT yet it's overly sensitive to dump out of 160mhz when it shouldn't. It should be the other way around and can't be that hard of a fix, yet here we are. I'm happy I finally found the magic to keep my transmit rates at 2400 ish!

 

[chetiya]

What you describe about how connectivity drops is similar to what I experience as well. It doesn’t just cut off it seems to just “slow down” and become intermittent before losing all connectivity. To be clear, my wifi is still connected but connectivity to the network (LAN and Internet) becomes non existent.

I haven’t really tweaked much with the settings beyond the basics. Hopefully reconfiguring will fix it, though it doesn’t sound like that worked for you.

So I’ve done a GUI reset and the default SSID came back but the GUI was inaccessible. I’ve now done a hard reset and same result. The gateway interface never loads though it does ping. asus.router.com resolved to a different IP and never loads the login page.

This is after 30 minutes of waiting. Can I assume that my device is well and truly f**ked? (Side note, I don’t think I’ll be buying ASUS again!)

 

[L&LD]

This isn't an Asus issue, it is your specific unit's issue.

Don't mistake the tree for the forest.

Can you return/RMA or exchange it?