Asuswrt-Merlin 378.55 is now available

[ruselok]

Hi,

Read the change log: There you will find that the two lists have been merge a while ago.

With kind regards
Joe

My main concern is mac address filter.

 

[chrisinsocalif]

Resetting to factory defaults before an upgrade is wasting your time. Unplugging all USB devices and rebooting without them attached and then upgrading and resetting to factory defaults is better.

It's recommended to clear the nvram before the flash.

 

[L&LD]

No, you have this backwards. After flashing to a new / different firmware; resetting to factory defaults or clearing the nvram is what is recommended..

It's recommended to clear the nvram before the flash.

 

[majnu]

sorry merlin but I am going back to your 378.54_2 firmware. The latest one loses connection with my wireless devices on both 5 and 2.4ghz channels, also the range is worse. The previous firmwares have been rock solid on my ac66u.

 

[TerminX]

No, its useless... clear nvram after the flash

It's not necessarily "useless", just not usually required. It's entirely possible for a newer version of the firmware to, say, refuse to boot when encountering nvram data it doesn't understand from a different firmware.

 

[MarioCaires]

It's not necessarily "useless", just not usually required. It's entirely possible for a newer version of the firmware to, say, refuse to boot when encountering nvram data it doesn't understand from a different firmware.

"nvram data it doesn't understand" may be present no matter if you erase nvram before or not! That's exactly why is recommend after flashing in the first place.

 

[cr1cr1]

Hello guys,

First of all let me just congratulate all those that made Merlin Asusrt possible, as it is a fantastic firmware, allowing for the first time in years to turn a router into a powerful gateway/firewall/vpn server/file server/print server/proxy server.

Owner of an RT-AC68U and I have recently updated to 378.55.
All the normal functionalities are there, except WOL (Wake on Lan) seems to have stopped working. Before the upgrade I used to wake 2 lan computers and it worked every time.

I have tried waking the computers without success:
1. via the Asuswrt administrative web interface
2. from command line, using ether-wake -b -i br0 XX:XX:XX:XX and other variations
3. after forwarding port 9, using outside application from windows device as well as from mobile
All the above methods worked before 378.55

Issuing arp command, it seems that the entry is there:
? (10.100.1.254) at ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff [ether] PERM on br0

The forwarded port (iptables -t nat -nL):
DNAT udp -- 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 udp dpt:10009 to:10.100.1.254:9

Other things I have tried: In the past I have noticed that some NICs on rare occasions stopped working because of static electricity.
So, I have removed all the cables from the NICs, unplugged the PCs from the power supply, removed the power from the router, waited for minutes, reconnected everything and... still not working.

If there are any real changes that impacted this functionality, would be helpful to revise it.
In previous releases (374.41) there was a problem with this that got fixed.

Before you all rush to recommend me to reset all settings, please consider this:
1. I have a lot of settings and customizations
2. I have spread in various places the certificates initially generated by the firmware. Resetting means updating all the configs for openvpn that are spread now on various computers.
3 - most important: I am not in the same place as the router anymore, and there is no one currently that can configure it if I reset everything and I will block everything. For me it is a "production" environment.

If there are particular settings that influence WOL, even when using broadcast on the port 9, please let me know, resetting just those and not everything would be ideal.

Much appreciated.

 

[chrisinsocalif]

"nvram data it doesn't understand" may be present no matter if you erase nvram before or not! That's exactly why is recommend after flashing in the first place.

The NVRAM stores persistent settings between reboots. The NVRAM is also retained between flashes of different firmware versions or even different firmware versions.

It is recommended to reset the NVRAM between flashes so that the new firmware encounters known values in the NVRAM.

For example, let's say that Firmware A sets the imaginary variable run_masq to "/usr/bin/masqrun", and this command is run at startup. Now, let's flash the router with Firmware B, which reads the run_masq variable determine whether the router does masquerading. Firmware B expects a boolean value here, such as "1" or "0". In the best case scenario, Firmware B will just throw an error and gracefully continue booting, but there could be cases where it errors out so badly that it bricks the router or makes it unbootable.

Perhaps it's overkill for most users, but I do this to help alleviate any potential errors that could arise.

 

[RMerlin]

If there are any real changes that impacted this functionality, would be helpful to revise it.
In previous releases (374.41) there was a problem with this that got fixed.

Nothing that I could think of. I use WOL myself now and then to wake up my NAS, and it still works properly for me.

Check if you have a switch on your network, those switches can sometime be quite aggressive in their power management, causing issues with WOL or ARP cached entries.

 

[L&LD]

Flashing firmware 378.55 and doing a complete and full reset to factory defaults and then manually and minimally configuring the router to secure it and connect to your ISP is a requirement, not an option, for all feature to work properly.

You can use john9527's utility to save your current settings and restore them after flashing and resetting to factory defaults (or just use them as a record of what the various settings were). You will also need to backup any files or changes made to the jffs partition too (manually).

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/user-nvram-save-restore-utility-r21.19521/


Trying to use new firmware without properly resetting the router (or the nvram) is just asking for future wild goose chases when (not if) glitches and bugs show up that nobody else experiences.

Hello guys,

First of all let me just congratulate all those that made Merlin Asusrt possible, as it is a fantastic firmware, allowing for the first time in years to turn a router into a powerful gateway/firewall/vpn server/file server/print server/proxy server.

Owner of an RT-AC68U and I have recently updated to 378.55.
All the normal functionalities are there, except WOL (Wake on Lan) seems to have stopped working. Before the upgrade I used to wake 2 lan computers and it worked every time.

I have tried waking the computers without success:
1. via the Asuswrt administrative web interface
2. from command line, using ether-wake -b -i br0 XX:XX:XX:XX and other variations
3. after forwarding port 9, using outside application from windows device as well as from mobile
All the above methods worked before 378.55

Issuing arp command, it seems that the entry is there:
? (10.100.1.254) at ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff [ether] PERM on br0

The forwarded port (iptables -t nat -nL):
DNAT udp -- 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 udp dpt:10009 to:10.100.1.254:9

Other things I have tried: In the past I have noticed that some NICs on rare occasions stopped working because of static electricity.
So, I have removed all the cables from the NICs, unplugged the PCs from the power supply, removed the power from the router, waited for minutes, reconnected everything and... still not working.

If there are any real changes that impacted this functionality, would be helpful to revise it.
In previous releases (374.41) there was a problem with this that got fixed.

Before you all rush to recommend me to reset all settings, please consider this:
1. I have a lot of settings and customizations
2. I have spread in various places the certificates initially generated by the firmware. Resetting means updating all the configs for openvpn that are spread now on various computers.
3 - most important: I am not in the same place as the router anymore, and there is no one currently that can configure it if I reset everything and I will block everything. For me it is a "production" environment.

If there are particular settings that influence WOL, even when using broadcast on the port 9, please let me know, resetting just those and not everything would be ideal.

Much appreciated.

 

[Muyfa666]

I am trying out Asus's Beta FW v3.0.0.4.378.7410 due to 5Ghz dropping out every now and then. Of course I'll switch back to Merlins as soon as possible, but I need to test this FW for a couple of days to see if the 5Ghz issue is resolved.

 

[RamGuy]

I was using the official Asus BETA firmware for my RT-AC3200 and flashed it to 378.55 and have yet to do a clear nvram / reset to factory defaults and it's behaving strangely at times. So I have figured I need to clear the nvram. But I have large amount of DHCP Reservations / IP-reservations configured. Is there some way to backup just this portion of the config and restore it afterwards, or do I need to sit down and re-configure everything?

 

[cr1cr1]

Nothing that I could think of. I use WOL myself now and then to wake up my NAS, and it still works properly for me.
Check if you have a switch on your network, those switches can sometime be quite aggressive in their power management, causing issues with WOL or ARP cached entries.

@RMerlin: thank you very much for your fast response. I do not have any switches, the 2 PCs are connected directly to the Asus router.
@L&LD I know and I do agree with everything you have said. However I have tried first to see if there is even a remote chance of fixing the issue directly and not "burning the house because one rat". I usually prefer to find the issue and fixing it locally rather than reinstalling or reconfiguring everything.
I also know that sometimes starting fresh is the best way .
The next step for me would have been indeed a reset with minimal config just to test this feature explicitly. I will also use the utility you recommended, as it seems it saves everything, including the jffs content - more convenient that manually copying everything.

@Everyone else regarding Riichard's post: I am sorry to say this, but you are polluting this forum as much as he does. It is great to see you are all defending Merlin, but he already defended himself quite well himself making a very good point.
There are a few people reporting some various issues and they are suffocated by all the retaliation to 1 guy's hateful comment, which in my opinion should have been just ignored, not banned (he should have the right to express himself, maybe not on this thread... but still), and not replied by anyone but Merlin.

+1 for Merlin, and starting today, I am also supporting you.

Thank you!

 

[ubimea]

Merlin: Please ignore the earlier inappropriate poorly written rant of one poster apparently dissatisfied with the new Login required by ASUS.

The rest of us who know what you do enjoy the benefit of your expertise. We remain thankful.

6 streaming Tivos, 6 laptops, 6 tablets, 6 android phones, 3 Sony Playstations, 6 ethernet connected smart tv’s, 4 wired desktops, 3 wired access points, Guest Network, Open VPN QOS Tri Band Smart Connect enabled Asus RT AC3200 running Merlin 378.55 signed into each time by typing name and password with exactly ZERO wired or wireless issues.

Thank you Merlin.

 

[Cycle Mycle]

If you use the wireless scheduler you will have noticed that the UI has changed in this f/w version. Using it tripped me up so thought I'd mention it. To see what I mean, do this:

1. From the Professional tab enable the wireless scheduler, click Time Setting and set the schedule you want then click OK.
2. Click Time Setting again and the times just entered are still there.
3. Go to the General tab then back to Professional and click Time Setting - the schedule has gone.

If you click Apply after step 1 and then do 2 and 3 the schedule is retained.

BTW I hope this hasn't come across as negative, I think the Asuswrt-Merlin f/w is superb and donate every year.

 

[RMerlin]

Off-topic posts have been moved to a separate topic.

 

[RussellInCincinnati]

Hello guys,..Before you all rush to recommend me to reset all settings, please consider this:
1. I have a lot of settings and customizations
2. I have spread in various places the certificates initially generated by the firmware. Resetting means updating ...on various computers.
3 - most important: I am not in the same place as the router anymore, ...

It does not make sense for someone in your position to update firmware very often at all. And especially in the case of not updating firmware frequently, consider not updating firmware unless and until you have time to do a proper job of it. Which inevitably includes noting your settings, resetting to factory defaults AFTER a firmware upgrade, and then re-applying your settings.

Such production environments should not upgrade firmware unless they have found something important that the old firmware doesn't do that the new firmware does. And if the new functionality is important, then by the definition of important it's worth going through the trouble of upgrading firmware in a judicious (i.e. by re-setting and re-configuring) manner.

 

[Guibs]

Just want to say that I had to revert back to the 54_2 version. version 55 kept locking up my router when under heavy download. Never happened before. happened to me 4 times in the spam of an hour. Router would not responde, computer wired to the router will show me with no internet connection and router interface would not come up. Restart of the router would fix the issue but come back again after a little while.

I'm using a AC-68U

 

[joegreat]

Version 55 kept locking up my router when under heavy download. Never happened before. happened to me 4 times in the spam of an hour. Router would not responde, computer wired to the router will show me with no internet connection and router interface would not come up. Restart of the router would fix the issue but come back again after a little while.

I'm using a AC-68U

Hi,

Maybe you have the same memory related problem as I had with Transmission - see details for the configuration here.

For me the solution was/is to limit the memory usage by changing some kernel parameters AND to limit also the down and upload speeds (currently max. 15 MBit down and 7 MBit up - on a 150/15 MBit cable internet provider).
But maybe you start with the bandwidth limits and the you will see if it improves.

By the way: Do you use a swap file? The router by sure is running of of memory in heavy download usage...

AND: Do you have some evidence in the syslog.log file for the crashing?

With kind regards
Joe

 

[jpalo]

sorry merlin but I am going back to your 378.54_2 firmware. The latest one loses connection with my wireless devices on both 5 and 2.4ghz channels, also the range is worse. The previous firmwares have been rock solid on my ac66u.

I'm considering the same as all my devices keep dropping off the wifi every 15 mins or so. Looks as if the whole WiFi would disappear, and then reappear after 30 secs, after which all devices connect successfully, and work fine until the next drop.