Release ASUS ZenWiFi XT8 Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386.49873 (2022/08/04)

[Raven76]

i just want to know this too....plz

i am now in a beta version just to solve this problem, can anyone confirm this bug is solved.

thanx a lot in advance

I don't know... My passphrase is greatly under 32 characters!
But I would assume that the answer is yes... A stable firmware with a greater version number should contain all the previous corrections...

 

[macoloco]

I don't know... My passphrase is greatly under 32 characters!
But I would assume that the answer is yes... A stable firmware with a greater version number should contain all the previous corrections...

i guess you are right.....but last time i had this thinking i had to rolldown to an older version, setup everything again...and now i am more caoutious....

 

[Calkulin]

Has anyone else noticed that this release FINALLY fixed the AiMesh node 12 hr disconnect bug/issue that I've noticed with every AX AiMesh config I've setup. This bug/issue has plagued me for years(with a RT-AX58U router/node, RT-AX88U router/RT-AX58U node, XT8 router/node and GT-AX11000 router/XT8 node) and now with this release, the XT8 node is no longer disconnecting/reconnecting every 12 hrs like it has with every previous firmware. I need to go update the RT-AX58U nodes in the other households to see if those stop doing that also

 

[L&LD]

I didn't know about your setup issues, so couldn't have noticed. Now I do!

 

[Rich-eee]

I don't know... My passphrase is greatly under 32 characters!
But I would assume that the answer is yes... A stable firmware with a greater version number should contain all the previous corrections...

I can confirm, that passphrase longer then 32 characters do work.

Firmware running stable here for couple of days now.

 

[Calkulin]

I didn't know about your setup issues, so couldn't have noticed. Now I do!

It only affected people using wireless backhaul but I wasn't the only one suffering from that issue based on searches I did. Only way to fix it was to switch to wired backhaul till this firmware. I'm glad Asus finally solved the issue because it's been a thorn on my side every AX wireless AiMesh setup I did. I'm just hoping the other AX nodes are fixed also with this GPL.

For example, this is a RT-AX58U router/node and this happens every 12 hrs(I still haven't updated them). The logs for the GT-AX11000/XT8 and RT-AX88U/RT-AX58U combos registered a little different when it disconnected/connected but it still happened at the same interval, every 12 hrs to the minute,

Aug  7 22:26:02 kernel: wl0: set timeout 5 secs to wait dev reg finish
Aug  7 22:26:02 kernel: Flushing net_device wds0.0.1.
Aug  7 22:26:25 kernel: Register interface [wds1.0.1]  MAC: 04:d9:f5:xx:xx:xx
Aug  8 10:26:23 kernel: wl0: set timeout 5 secs to wait dev reg finish
Aug  8 10:26:23 kernel: Flushing net_device wds0.0.1.
Aug  8 10:26:45 kernel: Register interface [wds1.0.1]  MAC: 04:d9:f5:xx:xx:xx

 

[LarryR]

I’ve rolled back to the last Beta version. This one dropped my mesh node twice since installing and has been overall quite a bit slower.

 

[Calkulin]

What's your primary router? Another XT8?

 

[LarryR]

What's your primary router? Another XT8?

Yes, a 2 node xt8 with spectrum modem (no Wi-Fi) 500/20.

 

[macoloco]

I can confirm, that passphrase longer then 32 characters do work.

Firmware running stable here for couple of days now.

thanks..

Upgraded my two XT8 network...no issues with +32 characters passphrase....no issues with IoT devices so far. ... coming days i will try to setup mac filter list that now is disabled due firmware issues between beta and official...

 

[BrendonSF]

I performed a dirty upgrade two days ago from the latest beta; so far so good here. That said, I'm using wired backhaul.

 

[macoloco]

Dirty upgrade from latest beta, Router + node, WPA2 63 charecters passphrase, mac filtering on 5Ghz-2 and 2.4Ghz, wired backhaul.....so far is working good

Roaming working
IoT devices flawless

 

[Chippy_boy]

Again, I agree, and I generally do the same. However, I reset when the version I came from gave problems - especially if several versions in a row report problems (as in this case) - or if I experience problems in the new version which other users don't.

If a previous version gave problems, what is the downside to upgrading without resetting and seeing if the problems are then fixed?

Ok if they are not, sure, try a reset. But if they are fixed before resetting, you've saved yourself a world of hassle.

Its surely better to just give it a go and see if you get away with it.

 

[Chippy_boy]

FWIW having had to wait nearly 1 year for a stable GA release since 3.0.0.4.386.42095, and now seeing wireless backhaul issues on this release, I decided waiting another year without latest security patches, was not on.

So I have switched my XT8 mesh into Access Point mode and installed a cheap Intel J4125 firewall box running pfsense between modem and XT8 primary. The combo works perfectly and I am very happy with it. I now have a much more capable (and perhaps more secure?) firewall which I can upgrade independently. And a fully working wireless mesh system on firmware 48706 which I can leave alone. Result!

All the DHCP duties are done in pfsense - which incidentally fixed a small issue with one of my wireless access points which would constantly drop its connection unless given a static IP address. It was dead easy to install and set up pfsense and it works like a charm.

 

[Greyman]

I have one node. Main router is on 43181, node is on 25790. Everything has been working fine, but I want to bring this setup up to date and load 49873. The node is connected wireless. Can I just click on “update now”, and assume it will upgrade the node first, and then the main unit, or should I manually update the node, then the main unit? Pretty sure I updated the node to 43181 when I did the initial install (10 months ago), so I was surprised to see the version mismatch.

 

[Dodgydrains]

I have one node. Main router is on 43181, node is on 25790. Everything has been working fine, but I want to bring this setup up to date and load 49873. The node is connected wireless. Can I just click on “update now”, and assume it will upgrade the node first, and then the main unit, or should I manually update the node, then the main unit? Pretty sure I updated the node to 43181 when I did the initial install (10 months ago), so I was surprised to see the version mismatch.

It will update all XT8's after you click on update. You may experience issues after updating as your node is on such a low FW. But I have never experienced it before. If you do experience issues, do a WPS Hard Factory Reset on each units which will factory reset them and then set up from scratch

[Wireless Router] ASUS router Hard Factory Reset - Method 6 | Official Support | ASUS Global

 

[RogerSC]

This firmware is working well for me. Didn't do a factory reset after flashing, since I was using a recent build. No problems yet, the 160MHz. channel width backhaul is also working well, and seems stable.

No problems. Do need to turn down the log message severity level though, getting all those information-free wlceventd messages cluttering up the log. You just can't please some people, I guess *smile*.

 

[RogerSC]

Firmware still working well...although I did change the wireless backhaul channel width back to 80MHz. from 160MHz. Using the 160MHz. channel width, although it was stable, cut the backhaul signal strength by 10 - 15dBm. "Great" as the admin interface GUI backhaul connection description feels better than the "good" when using the 160MHz. width. And I don't have anything super fast on my home network, so I don't really have any use case for 160MHz. vs. 80MHz. channel width.

Also got rid of all those content-free wlceventd messages via changing log_level. That's a nice relief when looking at the log for actual warnings or errors. Seems like those should not be in the default log, they seem more useful for debugging.

 

[than7than]

When I plugged External HDD 2TB to this router, it said unmounted, I try so many times to format in FAT or NTFS from router or from PC but still unmounted.
If I plug flash disk, it will mounted well.

Can someone help me...

 

[RogerSC]

Hmmm...just noticed that the XT8's now have the UNII-4 channels, 165 - 177, or 5.9GHz with this new firmware. Opening up a new way to get a stronger 160MHz. backhaul channel width. So I set the control channel at 149, and enabled 160MHz. channel width. Now all the backhaul channels are non-DFS channels, 149 - 177. Which keeps the "Great" connection to the remote node, and only loses about 4dBm in the connection signal strength. Kind of like having your cake, and being able to eat it as well.

Okay, now we're cooking *smile*.