Asuswrt-Merlin 374.39 is out

[ChrisR]

Merlin, forgot to mention that I have different SSID for 2.4G and 5G and only need 2.4G on 3rd floor for smartphone connections only.
I assume I just need to test if 39-0 is workable for me?

 

[bugmenotplz]

After 2 weeks of being up and running, my AC68U with Asuswrt-Merlin 374.39 today could not get the external IP from the cable modem. Initially I thought that it is a disturbance from the provider, tried ipconfig /all and checked, no external IP, called the provider, they say it is ok and cannot see any problem. Then I tried the old e1000 and voila it worked. Pretty strange as GUI and everything seemed ok, just it could not achieve the external IP. It was not overclocked or anything, not even very warm in the back.I have no ideea. I will leave it like this till morning and check tomorrow. Anyone faced this problem till now?

Thank you!

 

[quattroman]

where to find the 39-em build

for which router/ it seems that not all routers have em builds. Anyway check out the link
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/bkfq2a6aebq68//Asuswrt-Merlin

aaaah thats the problem....i have an AC66U, not EM build for this baby

thanks Forty0z!

 

[RogerSC]

Hello all,
I am a new member and not very tech savy. I had no issues with my USB drive connected to RTN66U until switched to new firmware. Looks like no issues until 38_2. each firmware afterwards suddenly disconnects USB drive. I uploaded latest 39-2 (and reset to factory defaults and reconfigured) but no use. USB disconnects just like that any suggestions?

Also, it is a passport WD drive. Looks like I could see files I copied from NTFS formatted drive but not others. I noticed the passport drive is pre formatted with ex-fat. Any suggestions other than reformatting passport drive with NTFS?

Also, I see some people mention about NVRAM clear. should I do that between each firmware change?

Appreciate any and all responses. And I appreciate Merlin for his great efforts on this firmware. Awesome!!

You don't need to do factory reset or "nvram clear" if you're going between 2 closely related firmware versions. If you're going to a new firmware version that has new wireless drivers or lots of other changes, then, yes, you should do a factory reset/clear nvram and manually reconfigure your router after flashing the new firmware version.

Also, if you're having mysterious problems with a particular version, doing a factory reset or clearing nvram via telnet or web interface command line facility and manually reconfiguring is a good troubleshooting step, since it may (or may not) fix the problems that you're having.

 

[HawkInOz]

2.4GHz Drops with 3.0.0.4.374.39_0-em on RT-N66U

I've also noticed EM-build will cause connection drops on 2.4 Ghz. I notice it when I initially flash the firmware, and don't configure my normal settings yet.

The 2.4 Ghz settings I use that fixes the problem are:

N-only
uncheck b/g box
Use "20 Mhz"
I use channel 11, but choose a channel that works for you in your environment.
Remove your wireless profiles from all of your devices and then reconnect.

That's it. I can't tell you specifically which step is the one that resolves the issue because I haven't taken the time (or had any interest) to figure it out. But the troubleshooting steps in link below should solve your problem with EM in addition to the ones that I listed above.

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=12453

I've already done everything you listed, except Use 20MHz. I live in a rural area and have absolutely no interference, so I've always been able to use 40MHz without any problem. However, I did just make the change and will see if it has any affect going forward. I hate to give this option up, but stability and reliability on 2.4GHz certainly trumps that. Thanks.

Well, FWIW, I have been free of any disconnects on 2.4GHz for over a week now since changing from 40Mhz to 20MHz. As previously stated, I had already made the other configuration changes suggested by jlake, so that was the only change I made during the last week, and I have not rebooted the router the entire time (of course).

Any idea why using the 40MHz setting would cause the repeated wholesale disconnects of all my devices on 2.4GHz in an area with almost zero neighboring interference to speak of? I'd like very much to go back to using that setting, which functioned flawlessly for me when using 3.0.0.4.270.26b.

 

[pfuller88]

Running well. Merlin .39

Been up for 2 weeks on .39 with ac68u. FTP, iCloud all work fine.

 

[RMerlin]

Any idea why using the 40MHz setting would cause the repeated wholesale disconnects of all my devices on 2.4GHz in an area with almost zero neighboring interference to speak of? I'd like very much to go back to using that setting, which functioned flawlessly for me when using 3.0.0.4.270.26b.

40 Mhz causes your router to interfere with no less than 5 channels out of 11. It's nearly impossible to maintain a stable connection with such a large section of the band being used.

2.4 GHz interference comes from a variety of sources, not just from other routers, as it's a very crowded radio band. Bluetooth, old cordless phones, microwave ovens...

 

[HawkInOz]

2.4GHz Drops with 3.0.0.4.374.39_0-em on RT-N66U

40 Mhz causes your router to interfere with no less than 5 channels out of 11. It's nearly impossible to maintain a stable connection with such a large section of the band being used.

2.4 GHz interference comes from a variety of sources, not just from other routers, as it's a very crowded radio band. Bluetooth, old cordless phones, microwave ovens...

I understand all of that. However, it doesn't change the fact that on all firmware versions up to and including 3.0.0.4.270.26b I never had any such problem with disconnects. Only when upgrading to 3.0.0.4.374.39_0-em did this start happening. And the fact that the guest 2.4GHz network remained unaffected, even when the main 2.4GHz network dropped everyone, makes it even more befuddling. Something unstable appears to have found its way into the latest code.

 

[RMerlin]

I understand all of that. However, it doesn't change the fact that on all firmware versions up to and including 3.0.0.4.270.26b I never had any such problem with disconnects. Only when upgrading to 3.0.0.4.374.39_0-em did this start happening. And the fact that the guest 2.4GHz network remained unaffected, even when the main 2.4GHz network dropped everyone, makes it even more befuddling. Something unstable appears to have found its way into the latest code.

Could be that the router was automatically downgrading to 20 MHz with past versions.

 

[Jettubby]

I understand all of that. However, it doesn't change the fact that on all firmware versions up to and including 3.0.0.4.270.26b I never had any such problem with disconnects. Only when upgrading to 3.0.0.4.374.39_0-em did this start happening. And the fact that the guest 2.4GHz network remained unaffected, even when the main 2.4GHz network dropped everyone, makes it even more befuddling. Something unstable appears to have found its way into the latest code.

Merlin,
I agree with Hawkinoz. I haven't had this issue either except with version 39-em. I did as you asked and installed 39 non-em and I'm just waiting to see what happens. It's not that often maybe once or twice a week but of course it's usually when I"m working and my wife texts saying the internet is down. It's really just her computer has disconnected or been bumped off.

The weird thing is that it won't let the devices back on even if you delete the wireless connection in Windows "Wireless manager". The ONLY way is to power-boot the router. NEVER has this happen with all my 2.4ghz devices until 39-em. Just saying.

Thanks again Merlin for all that you do.

 

[RMerlin]

Merlin,
I agree with Hawkinoz. I haven't had this issue either except with version 39-em. I did as you asked and installed 39 non-em and I'm just waiting to see what happens. It's not that often maybe once or twice a week but of course it's usually when I"m working and my wife texts saying the internet is down. It's really just her computer has disconnected or been bumped off.

The weird thing is that it won't let the devices back on even if you delete the wireless connection in Windows "Wireless manager". The ONLY way is to power-boot the router. NEVER has this happen with all my 2.4ghz devices until 39-em. Just saying.

Thanks again Merlin for all that you do.

And other people are having issues with the non-em, resolved only by the em build.

Bottom line: Wireless technology sucks, and interoperability in general just blows. So all I can do is stick with whichever wireless driver works best for the majority of users. There not a single solution that works for everyone.

Wireless will never be as stable as wired Ethernet. That's a fact I have long accepted, and so I stopped worrying about trying to find the magic bullet that fixes everything (not that I can do anything about it either, the driver is closed source, and would require a skilled engineer to debug even if the source code were to be available).

That's why I no longer comment or get involved in the majority of wireless-related complains. A lot of issues are resolved by following the sticky thread about wireless troubleshooting. The rest is simply outside of my control.

 

[trekker99]

Merlin,

Perhaps for future releases it should be noted that problems with wireless should be discussed in another thread. All these discussions abt wireless really clutters your release thread making it hard to digest the feedback from users.

Sent from my LG-P875 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Jettubby]

RGR that

And other people are having issues with the non-em, resolved only by the em build.

Bottom line: Wireless technology sucks, and interoperability in general just blows. So all I can do is stick with whichever wireless driver works best for the majority of users. There not a single solution that works for everyone.

Wireless will never be as stable as wired Ethernet. That's a fact I have long accepted, and so I stopped worrying about trying to find the magic bullet that fixes everything (not that I can do anything about it either, the driver is closed source, and would require a skilled engineer to debug even if the source code were to be available).

That's why I no longer comment or get involved in the majority of wireless-related complains. A lot of issues are resolved by following the sticky thread about wireless troubleshooting. The rest is simply outside of my control.

 

[HawkInOz]

Well, FWIW, I have been free of any disconnects on 2.4GHz for over a week now since changing from 40Mhz to 20MHz. As previously stated, I had already made the other configuration changes suggested by jlake, so that was the only change I made during the last week, and I have not rebooted the router the entire time (of course).

Any idea why using the 40MHz setting would cause the repeated wholesale disconnects of all my devices on 2.4GHz in an area with almost zero neighboring interference to speak of? I'd like very much to go back to using that setting, which functioned flawlessly for me when using 3.0.0.4.270.26b.

40 Mhz causes your router to interfere with no less than 5 channels out of 11. It's nearly impossible to maintain a stable connection with such a large section of the band being used.

2.4 GHz interference comes from a variety of sources, not just from other routers, as it's a very crowded radio band. Bluetooth, old cordless phones, microwave ovens...

I understand all of that. However, it doesn't change the fact that on all firmware versions up to and including 3.0.0.4.270.26b I never had any such problem with disconnects. Only when upgrading to 3.0.0.4.374.39_0-em did this start happening. And the fact that the guest 2.4GHz network remained unaffected, even when the main 2.4GHz network dropped everyone, makes it even more befuddling. Something unstable appears to have found its way into the latest code.

I agree with Hawkinoz. I haven't had this issue either except with version 39-em. I did as you asked and installed 39 non-em and I'm just waiting to see what happens. It's not that often maybe once or twice a week but of course it's usually when I"m working and my wife texts saying the internet is down. It's really just her computer has disconnected or been bumped off.

The weird thing is that it won't let the devices back on even if you delete the wireless connection in Windows "Wireless manager". The ONLY way is to power-boot the router. NEVER has this happen with all my 2.4ghz devices until 39-em. Just saying.

Just an update. I'm still running strong with no disconnects after 13+ days. The only configuration change I made: I changed the Channel bandwidth from 40MHz to 20MHz -only on the 2.4GHz Frequency. (I'm still running 40MHz on the 5GHz Frequency without any problems). I still want to change back to 40MHz on both Frequencies, but obviously cannot do so while this disconnect issue remains unresolved in the latest firmware versions.