Asus XT8 Major WiFi Issues

[PorthosJon]

So this is my last ditch effort before I use AMEX to file an insurance claim on defective equipment. ASUS support has been dragging out my case since July and keeps asking for me to submit the same information over and over and now they are claiming it is a hardware issue and I have to pay to ship them their own defective equipment and then pay to have it expedited (which I will not do).

My Configuration:

• FiOS 1GB Fiber Service (NOT using FiOS router or modem, Cat 7 Ethernet Cable Plugged into Ethernet port on the ONT and run to main XT8)
• Main XT8 in the basement receives the Cat 7 Internet Cable and then goes into a 10GB Switch for home backbone (XT8 is in router mode with DHCP server active)
• 2 XT8 units in AiMesh with WIRED backhaul to the 10GB Switch (1 using Cat 6 Cable, 1 using fiber with an SFP transceiver in the switch and the end at the XT8 with a Fiber2Eth media converter with Cat 7 patch) - Both of these units are set with the "Ethernet" Connection Priority in the AiMesh interface.
• 1 XT8 unit in AiMesh with WIRELESS backhaul (shows "Great" connection in web interface)
• All units running latest firmware (3.0.0.4.386_25790) as of this past weekend
• 1 SSID per radio (plus 1 Guest SSID on 2.4Ghz radio) - 5Ghz-2 ONLY used for backhaul, 2.4Ghz for all IoT devices and hubs, 5Ghz-1 for all computers, phones, tablets & smart watches, hardline for all TVs, Streaming, desktop computers.
• Disabled AiProtection, QoS, Firewall, DDNS, Smart Connect
• Wireless Channels all tuned to unused bands using WiFi Explorer
• Speed tests are as expected both wired and wireless.
• Logging being sent to my QNAP Syslog server locally which allows me to see logs even after it fails

The Issue:

• Periodically (usually at least 1-2x per day) the WiFi will disappear from all devices. Attempting to connect will show that the password is invalid (although the SSIDs are usually still showing).
• Wired devices usually continue to perform at normal speeds.
• Seeing a lot of Kernel Messages in logs, like:
  • "kernel: eth0 (Int switch port: 1) (Logical Port: 1) (PhyId: 1f) Link DOWN"
  • "kernel: eth0 (Int switch port: 1) (Logical Port: 1) (PhyId: 1f) Link Up at 1000mbps full duplex"
  • "kernel: br0: port 8(eth0) entered forwarding state
• 2 days of logs show 220K items marked "Error" and/or "Fatal"

Attempted Troubleshooting:

• Followed all ASUS recommended steps in setting WiFi options and disabling various options
• Updated firmware multiple times during 3 month troubleshooting period
• Tuned channels after local assessment
• Replaced main router with another unit in the configuration in case it is a hardware issue (and left the removed router out of the configuration for the time being) 2x
• Full factory reset of all routers and recreated config from the ground up with separated SSIDs for each radio (original config only had main SSID & Guest SSID)

That is where things stand now, I have had to reset the main router 3x in the last 36 hours and I'm just waiting for the next failure for my 10 year old stakeholder to tell me "DAAAAAD, internet's down."

ASUS is claiming this is a hardware issue (as I stated above), but have yet to be able to explain how they would have shipped at least 3 units (only tried with 3 so far) that all have the same defect.


Additional Note 10.8.20:
The identical physical network configuration used to support 4 Eero 2's and did not experience this issue. I replaced the Eeros because their router was not capable of delivering gigabit speeds even when wired (must be a slow processor, or firmware that reduces speed). With the Eeros I got ~500/610 on a wired computer; direct connect to the ethernet coming from the ONT provided ~980/970; and the XT8s only take a small amount of overhead for wired, weighing in at ~920/890.

 

[raven-au]

What makes you think it's a WiFi problem?
It looks like a switch (router switch or network switch) port problem (possibly a firmware problem in disguise).

Is that a managed switch?
Remove the switch from the backhaul connections and re-test.

 

[JagoUK]

Have you tried taking everything else out of the equation?

i.e. All of your XT8's set to AiMesh. The one that gets designated as router (Still AiMesh) connected direct to your modem with a normal ethernet cable.

 

[PorthosJon]

What makes you think it's a WiFi problem?
It looks like a switch (router switch or network switch) port problem (possibly a firmware problem in disguise).

Is that a managed switch?
Remove the switch from the backhaul connections and re-test.

It is a WiFi issue since it is ONLY the WiFi that goes down. All wired equipment remains operational. In addition, hosts connected to Router AP also lose their connection, which wouldn't be possible if it were a switch issue.

As a side note, the switch is not managed, it is an unmanaged 10GB Switch.

 

[PorthosJon]

Have you tried taking everything else out of the equation?

i.e. All of your XT8's set to AiMesh. The one that gets designated as router (Still AiMesh) connected direct to your modem with a normal ethernet cable.

The configuration I posted above notes that the Router IS directly connected to the Fiber ONT with an ethernet cable, there is no "modem" in the loop. Also, as noted above, all XT8s are in AiMesh mode.

I'm not sure what else there is to take out of the equation and still have my network operate.

 

[TrboDeezl]

I had an issue where the 2.5 GIG WAN port was negotiating a weird speed with my FiOS ONT. for me this manifested as slow upload speed on wired and wireless. I would also see CPU usage on the router go way up. My fix, after going back and forth with ASUS support for 2 weeks, was to put a switch in between my ONT and WAN router port. All bandwidth and high CPU issues have gone away for me. If you have a switch lying around, try this and see if it makes a difference for you.

 

[PorthosJon]

I had an issue where the 2.5 GIG WAN port was negotiating a weird speed with my FiOS ONT. for me this manifested as slow upload speed on wired and wireless. I would also see CPU usage on the router go way up. My fix, after going back and forth with ASUS support for 2 weeks, was to put a switch in between my ONT and WAN router port. All bandwidth and high CPU issues have gone away for me. If you have a switch lying around, try this and see if it makes a difference for you.

Thank Trbo. I'm not having any speed issues, just the WiFi network totally dropping out. The speed issues were with the Eeros and that was fixed by putting in the XT8s

 

[Boo5]

I have the same problem. No idea how to fix it. Wifi drops out and refuses to accept my password. Any ethernet connections working perfectly. It's beyond annoying. Reboot fixes the problem.

 

[jmpr]

I have been using a XT8 as a standalone router, exclusively by wifi, with about 20 devices, and I have not had a single problem. Perhaps your problem is related to aimesh? (I do not use it, I only was looking for wifi stability).

 

[Boo5]

Quite possible, but I bought it for the mesh!

 

[jwarthman]

Perhaps you said, but I missed it. What version of firmware is running on your XT8s? I ask, because firmware version 3.0.0.4.386_25790 corrected WiFi issues for me.

 

[Tlex]

same issue here.
I think I was able to reproduce this issue when there is more then 3-4 wifi clients within the same 8 square foot area at about 15 feets from one of the xt8. doing so, wifi will go down randomly until I reboot the unit... crappy units... Not even talking about the stearing between units that is not working at all in my case or the poor wifi6 performances...
Wired backhaul here, in order to access dual-band 5ghz-2 at full wifi6 speed... running 3.0.0.4.386_25790. max speed reached internally is 450mb/s at 15 feet from the AP with only 1 Wifi6 client connected (Iphone12 Pro). Tried to reach Asus, fill all there forms and made diagrams, got feedback that I had to reset the AP. witch I did without success a few time...