ASUS ZenWiFi XT8 Firmware version 9.0.0.4.386.46980 (2022/02/22)

[Thirteen]

No, it's not exclusively for backhaul. Disable hide SSID under Wireless General.

 

[030basti]

I have exactly the same issue. The only way to fix it was by setting both my XT8 into router mode. As long as I ran them in AP in an AiMesh environment the exact problems you described were there. I still do get them sometimes but less often. Now I am on the merlin firmware and it has been ok for a few days. Let's see if that fixed it but I am not too hopeful just yet.

FYI - same problem on Mac and IOS devices came back. Have those session freezes regularly.

 

[Gustour]

It is, if you turn Ethernet backhaul only option.

 

[IAmImagined]

Hi fellow XT8 users, is 5G-2 available for you to be used by clients, or is it exclusively for backhaul?

5G-2 is available for clients as well. You can unhide the SSID. You can set the SSID to be the same as for the other bands and it will be seamlessly shared (also in SmartConnect), but if you give it its own SSID, then it's used just for the clients that explicitly connect to it.

 

[IAmImagined]

Try turning off MU-MIMO. My XT8s(tested 4 of them) and GT-AX11000 keep doing that for no reason until I turned that off. None of my dual-band router ever had that issue(RT-AX58U or RT-AX88U) with MU-MIMO turned on and 160MHz, only when I replaced them with tri-band routers that I started to notice that issue.

Been 2 weeks now without that issue, before it happened multiple times a day,

Thanks, but I have since switched to Merlin's firmware (gnuton's latest build) and haven't experienced any problems, so I won't be testing ASUS's stock firmware any further.

 

[BrendonSF]

Hi fellow XT8 users, is 5G-2 available for you to be used by clients, or is it exclusively for backhaul?

You can use it for clients if you are not using it for backhaul.

 

[tgl]

If you're not planning to use the 5GHz-2 radio for backhaul, it should work --- you can un-hide its SSID in the wireless config menu and away you go. Might want to experiment with whether using the same or different SSID name as the other bands is a good idea.

If you want to also use it for wireless backhaul to/from another node, I'm not sure how well that works; but in any case it doesn't seem like it'd be a win to reduce the available bandwidth for backhaul.

Usual disclaimer that ASUS can barely make their firmware work in the default configuration, you're taking chances when you push it out of the mainstream use-case.

 

[IAmImagined]

If you're not planning to use the 5GHz-2 radio for backhaul, it should work --- you can un-hide its SSID in the wireless config menu and away you go. Might want to experiment with whether using the same or different SSID name as the other bands is a good idea.

If you want to also use it for wireless backhaul to/from another node, I'm not sure how well that works; but in any case it doesn't seem like it'd be a win to reduce the available bandwidth for backhaul.

Usual disclaimer that ASUS can barely make their firmware work in the default configuration, you're taking chances when you push it out of the mainstream use-case.

I use it as wireless backhaul and for clients which support 160GHz bandwidth (so ax and some ac160 clients). Works very well, and of course you can bind the clients to the router to avoid unnecessary double-traffic.

I just unhide the SSID, make sure 160GHz is enabled on it, and give the band a different name. Works flawlessly.

 

[evlo]

If you're not planning to use the 5GHz-2 radio for backhaul, it should work --- you can un-hide its SSID in the wireless config menu and away you go. Might want to experiment with whether using the same or different SSID name as the other bands is a good idea.

If you want to also use it for wireless backhaul to/from another node, I'm not sure how well that works; but in any case it doesn't seem like it'd be a win to reduce the available bandwidth for backhaul.

Usual disclaimer that ASUS can barely make their firmware work in the default configuration, you're taking chances when you push it out of the mainstream use-case.

Yes, I guess my usecase of not using xt8 in 2+ nodes linked wirelessly is not mainstream enough.

I have even tried gnuton's firmware, but it was pretty much the same regarding wifi networks. Maybe factory reset actually works with his firmware, but i don't even want to try it anymore

 

[030basti]

For me, and a colleague that also bought a pair, we have both experienced this this version to be the best since 42095 but. I did have to disable 160 on the 5GHz-2 backhaul to get it to stop rebooting randomly.
There are two sort of issue still relating to Apple devices.
a) When an Apple device goes online (active) other sessions freeze, and
b) Both IOS and MacOS devices gets intermittent freeze in network connection. You have to toggle Wi-Fi off and back on to get it to work. Has been the same for all ios15 releases plus Monterey&BigSur. Problem occurs whether using beta-privacy relay or not, whether using private ip-address or not, whether using Safari, other browser, Speedtest etc. It’s like the session just freezes.
Colleague sold his kit.

Did you find a solution for the freezes? In the meantime I have my main router on the GNUton RMerlin firmware and the node on the beta firmware but still have these intermittent freezes that I can only avoid when reconnecting the wifi. Also checked the log but there isn't even an entry when this happens...

 

[karma]

this firmware does indeed seem to be at least as stable as 42095. let's hope they can carry the stability forward to future non beta versions. really a damn shame that there have been so many issues.

 

[mkcheng]

M

Hi!
Have tested a set of different things. Updated to this version, restored settings from 46061, disabled QoS & 160 on 5GHz-2 as recommended. Node signal strength btwn -48/-50 and approx 50ft from router. Lowered signal strength on 2.4 (width 20) and full signal strength on 5Ghz-1&2, roaming assistant on w disconnect set to -65dBm.
Surprisingly stable + handoff of devices not work as intended without issues of VPN disconnects. Thanks a lot for your advice. Hope my feedback can be of value to someone else experiencing challenges.

My painful experiences over these few days have told me to keep the Mesh-related settings as default (i.e. Auto) as many as possible.
E.g. For the 5G-2, let the network mode stay at "Auto" instead of "AX only", or "AC/N/AX Mixed".

Terrible routes....