Beta Asuswrt-Merlin 386.1 Beta (stage 2) is now available

[bradbort]

for us that already installed beta4 on ax88, we won't be able to install the next upgrade? will i need to use the recovery tool?

I was able to revert to the ASUS stock firmware without using the tool. I was not able to revert to beta 3.

 

[FTC]

Hi, this is to report success this time with 386.1 b4b on my rt-ax88u. Now I get no transfer speed drops even with AIProtection switched on, moreover AIProtection does now count events successfully with this version (it did not since last summer in my machine) as proved by accessing 'wicar.org' malware test pages.

Thanks again Merlin for your very fast reaction and a great work on b4 !

 

[slidermike]

** update **
So after several attempts, the update to merlin beta4, it went on to update as expected.
I have rebooted the router and will see how it fairs.
I should mention that currently the router is in AP mode. I run a pfSense box as my FW.

** original post **
I have an ax86u and coming from stock firmware ver 3.0.0.4.386_41535.
I would like to install Merlin beta4.

I have rebooted the router.
Unsuccessfully tried installing the beta firmware manually.
It says something to the effect to wait while the upgrade is performed. However it never goes back or says anything further.
Eventually I refresh the page and its still on stock firmware.

The beta4 file is the correct ax86u .w file roughly 85meg in size.

I assume it is something I am missing.
Any assistance would be appreciated.
Thank you
Mike

** 2nd update **

AX86u
dirty upgrade from latest stock firmware as noted previously.
Under professional tab
OFDMA/802.11ax MU-MIMO is greyed out and a note next to it says "Need to enable 802.11ax/ Wi-Fi 6 mode"
Though on the general page
"N/AC/AX mixed" is in fact enabled.
I changed it, applied "legacy"
Then went back and set it to N/AC/AX mixed mode and applied.
Still the MU-MIMO is greyed out saying ax needs to be enabled.

I did not have this issue on stock firmware.

 

[SubElement]

Hello! Running Beta 4 on an RC-AX86U and just had the router crash and restart. Unsure what exactly caused the issue, would love help identifying it from the logs. Whatever happens it seems like the date goes wrong.

I've attached a dump of the log around that time. Turns out I can't upload a .txt of the dump, what's the best way to get it on here?

I've pasted as much as the system will allow, let me know if more is needed.

Jan 10 19:39:42 kernel: CONSOLE: 129565.151 wl1: wlc_ampdu_recv_addba_resp: e8:81:52:48:71:f2: Failed. status 1 wsize 0 policy 0
Jan 10 19:40:36 kernel: CONSOLE: 129618.882 wl1: wlc_ampdu_recv_addba_resp: e0:2b:96:a6:4a:16: Failed. status 1 wsize 0 policy 0
May  5 13:05:07 syslogd started: BusyBox v1.25.1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: klogd started: BusyBox v1.25.1 (2021-01-08 17:43:19 EST)
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: LOG
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>Task dump for CPU 0:
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ++++Runner gso_desc_pool created successfully
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: rdd_init_params.runner_nat_cache_key_ptr=0xffffffc00bd00000
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: rdd_init_params.runner_nat_cache_context_ptr=0xffffffc00b400000
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>swapper/0       R  running task        0     0      0 0x00000002
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: rdd_init_params.runner_context_cont_ptr=0xffffffc00b800000
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: FPM_BPM phy_addr 0x82c30000,virt_addr 0xffffff8000c5c000
May  5 13:05:07 kernel:  RDP PKT memory = 32MB : Max Possible Bufs <16384> of size <2048>; Allocating <15360> bufs; RDP enum <5>
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: brcmchipinfo: brcm_chipinfo_init entry
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <0>Call trace:
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Broadcom Ingress QoS Module  Char Driver v1.0 Registered<303>^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Broadcom Ingress QoS v1.0 initialized
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;36;44mBroadcom Packet Flow Cache ^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: FCACHE_CONFIG_MAX_FLOW_ENTRIES<16384>
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: FCACHE_CONFIG_MAX_FDB_ENTRIES<1024>
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: FCACHE_CONFIG_MAX_HOST_DEV_ENTRIES<64>
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: FCACHE_CONFIG_MAX_HOST_MAC_ENTRIES<32>
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <4>[<ffffffc0000854d4>] __switch_to+0x64/0x80
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: npe_max_entries<32768>
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Bind blog_notify_evt_enqueue_fn[<ffffffbffc469888>]
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: fc_evt task created successfully
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: max_ent = 16384 intvl_msec = 10000 num_slices = 2000 num_ent = 9 period_msec = 5
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: NBUFF v1.0 Initialized
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <4>wl0: random key value: 9E19BC53B14EFA97055B03DE5EDCF0A829BC109A55AC0F0EA076B36E4B5625B7
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;36;44mTotal # of labels = 68^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;36;44mInitialized fcache state^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_sta_info : GET STA INFO failed, -1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel:     Pkt HW acceleration is disabled/unavailable.
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;36;44mBroadcom Packet Flow Cache  Char Driver v4.0 Registered<302>^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: fc_timer_task created successfully
May  5 13:05:07 kernel:     Pkt HW acceleration is disabled/unavailable.
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Created Proc FS /procfs/fcache
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_sta_info : GET STA INFO failed, -1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;36;44mBroadcom Packet Flow Cache registered with netdev chain^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;36;44mBroadcom Packet Flow Cache learning via BLOG enabled.^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;35m[FHW]  pktDbgLvl[0xffffffbffc481c08]=0^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;34m[FHW]  fhw_construct: ^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;36;44mInitialized Fcache HW accelerator layer state^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: flwStatsThread created. numFlwsPerPoll 546 maxFlwIdx 16383
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_sta_info : GET STA INFO failed, -1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;36;44mFcache Pathstats created^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;36;44mConstructed Broadcom Packet Flow Cache v4.0^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Broadcom Command List Driver v1.0
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: crossbar[0]: Allocated cb_idx=0 int_ep=0
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: crossbar[0]: Add cb_idx=0 ext_ep=0 SERDES:6
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: crossbar[1]: Allocated cb_idx=0 int_ep=1
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_sta_info : GET STA INFO failed, -1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: crossbar[1]: Add cb_idx=0 ext_ep=1 GPHY:12
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_sta_info : GET STA INFO failed, -1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: crossbar Mux: connect cb_idx:0  int_ep 0 to ext_ep 0
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: crossbar Mux: connect cb_idx:0  int_ep 1 to ext_ep 1
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_sta_info : GET STA INFO failed, -1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Detecting PHYs...0x40000000
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: 54991EL  B0 3590:5089 --> 0x1e
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Loading firmware into detected PHYs...
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Firmware version: Blackfin B0 v01-00-14-2019-08-08
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_del_station : WLC_GET_ASSOCLIST error -1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Loading firmware into PHYs: map=0x40000000 count=1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Halt the PHYs processors operation
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Upload the firmware into the on-chip memory
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^M0%^M1%^M2%^M3%^M4%^M5%^M6%^M7%^M8%^M9%^M10%^M11%^M12%^M13%^M14%^M15%^M16%^M17%^M18%^M19%^M20%^M21%^M22%^M23%^M24%^M25%^M26%^M27%^M28%^M29%^M30%^M31%^M32%^M33%^M34%^M35%^M36%^M37%^M38%^M39%^M40%^M41%^M42%^M43%^M44%^M45%^M46%^M47%^M48%^M49%^M50%^M51%^M52%^M53%^M54%^M55%^M56%^M57%^M58%^M59%^M60%^M61%^M62%^M63%^M64%^M65%^M66%^M67%^M68%^M69%^M70%^M71%^M72%^M73%^M74%^M75%^M76%^M77%^M78%^M79%^M80%^M81%^M82%^M83%^M84%^M85%^M86%^M87%^M88%^M89%^M90%^M91%^M92%^M93%^M94%^M95%^M96%^M97%^M98%^M99%^M100%
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Reset the processors to start execution of the code in the on-chip memory
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_del_station : WLC_SCB_DEAUTHENTICATE_FOR_REASON err -1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Verify that the processors are running: OK
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Verify that the firmware has been loaded with good CRC: OK
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Firmware loading completed successfully
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_del_key : WLC_SET_KEY error (-1)
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: BCMENET: Enabling Software GSO for eth0
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_sta_info : GET STA INFO failed, -1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: NOTE: Using Port Grouping for IMP ports : [ 0 --> 4 ] [ 1, 2 --> 5 ] [ 3, 7 --> 8 ]
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: LAG/Trunking enabled <0x08>
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: getrcal for res select 5, int 668, ext 620, ratio 118 ratio1 168, rcal 10
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Setting SGMII Calibration value to 0xa
May  5 13:05:07 kernel:     PLL_PON(8051): 0x0290; TX_PON(8067): 0x0050; RX_PON(80b2): 0x0a80
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: eth0: Down <24:4B:FE:D3:95:48> <IntSw P3, Logical 03>
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_del_station : WLC_GET_ASSOCLIST error -1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel:       Chip Port 10, CrossBar Port 1, PHY_ID <0x0007f00c:0x0c: On-chip 1G GPHY> Cfg: ANG.1G; Down
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: eth1: Down <24:4B:FE:D3:95:48> <ExtSw P0, Logical 08> PHY_ID <0x0007f008:0x08: On-chip 1G GPHY> Cfg: ANG.1G; Down
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: eth2: Down <24:4B:FE:D3:95:48> <ExtSw P1, Logical 09> PHY_ID <0x0007f009:0x09: On-chip 1G GPHY> Cfg: ANG.1G; Down
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: eth3: Down <24:4B:FE:D3:95:48> <ExtSw P2, Logical 10> PHY_ID <0x0007f00a:0x0a: On-chip 1G GPHY> Cfg: ANG.1G; Down
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_del_station : WLC_SCB_DEAUTHENTICATE_FOR_REASON err -1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: eth4: Down <24:4B:FE:D3:95:48> <ExtSw P3, Logical 11> PHY_ID <0x0007f00b:0x0b: On-chip 1G GPHY> Cfg: ANG.1G; Down
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: eth5: Down <24:4B:FE:D3:95:48> <ExtSw P7, Logical 15>
May  5 13:05:07 kernel:       Chip Port  9, CrossBar Port 0, PHY_ID <0x06100006:0x06: On-chip 2.5G SERDES> Cfg: ANG.2.5G; Down
May  5 13:05:07 kernel:                                      PHY_ID <0x0388001e:0x1e:External Cascaded 10G EXT3> Cfg: ANG.2.5G; Down ===> Activate Deep Green Mode
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: bcmswlpbk0 (Ext switch port: 8) (Logical Port: 8) Virtual link DOWN
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_del_key : WLC_SET_KEY error (-1)
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: dgasp: kerSysRegisterDyingGaspHandler: bcmsw registered
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: bcm_enet_init:L2396 ENET system contructed and configured enet-kthrd thread
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_sta_info : GET STA INFO failed, -1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: enet_kthread_handler:L295 Instantiating ENET thread
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;34m[NTC bitpool] idx_pool_init: 551:PktRnr[0]:Create Index Pool_Size = 16512^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;34m[NTC bitpool] idx_pool_init: 551:L2L3-ucast:Create Index Pool_Size = 16384^[[0m
May  5 13:05:07 crashlog: <6>CFG80211-ERROR) wl_cfg80211_del_station : WLC_GET_ASSOCLIST error -1
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Initialized Runner Host Layer
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Initialized Runner Unicast Layer
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: Initialized Runner L2 Unicast Layer
May  5 13:05:07 kernel: ^[[0;34m[NTC bitpool] idx_pool_init: 551:mcast:Create Index Pool_Size = 128^[[0m

 

[slidermike]

Hello! Running Beta 4 on an RC-AX86U and just had the router crash and restart. Unsure what exactly caused the issue, would love help identifying it from the logs. Whatever happens it seems like the date goes wrong.

I've attached a dump of the log around that time. Turns out I can't upload a .txt of the dump, what's the best way to get it on here?

Try insert spoiler or code.
But if its a lot of output it would likely be better to only apply a snippet of what is likely useful right before the restart.

 

[slidermike]

So that dump is post reboot of the router.

The time stamp difference is when the router reboots it defaults till it can communicate with the NTP server. Then it sets the router time based on that.

If you have another device on your network that can act as a log server you can point the router to offload the logs to the other device. Then you wont lose the log info after a reboot.

I see nothing in there of use to determine the reason for a reboot.

 

[SubElement]

So that dump is post reboot of the router.

The time stamp difference is when the router reboots it defaults till it can communicate with the NTP server. Then it sets the router time based on that.

If you have another device on your network that can act as a log server you can point the router to offload the logs to the other device. Then you wont lose the log info after a reboot.

I see nothing in there of use to determine the reason for a reboot.

Hmm okay thank you. I'll see what I can do!

 

[elorimer]

If you have another device on your network that can act as a log server you can point the router to offload the logs to the other device. Then you wont lose the log info after a reboo

or install scribe.

 

[paul0363]

A bit late on this one as beta 4 for the RT-AX88U was uploaded overnight where I am (Scotland). However, have flashed over Beta3 this morning after the following journey Beta3>Beta4(Original)>Asus Stock (only image I could get to flash)>Beta3>Beta4b and have been running ror 4 hours or so now.

Happy to report all is back working with TrendMicro enabled (Ai protection, QoS and Parental Controls). Speeds are back to 500Mbps ( from 60Mbps with original beta4) both on connected (wired) clients and using the built-in speedtester.

 

[Slawek P]

..disabled AI Protection and no resolution. ..

Disabling does nothing. Trying withdrawing from TrendMicro privacy agreement on Administration/Privacy tab (Advanced_Privacy.asp)
That restores full performance for me on both spdMerlin and WebUI Oookla.

 

[Slawek P]

Stupid question..... Does anyone have skynet running on their AX88U with this beta?

yes works Skynet works just fine

 

[Sanna1967]

compared to beta 2 and .19 , still +5 C , temp is not what it was

*who would have said at the beginning of 2021 I will break my head with the temp of a router, f,,,,, back to .19 and i forget it! good luck

 

[ahyrych]

for this CPU that temperature is OK, and +90 C its OK too (by Broadcom's whitepapers).

 

[paul0363]

I got the same message on the AC68U at our holiday house in the post before yours

RT-AC68U

Got round to trying to flash Beta 4 on my RT-AC68U after sorting out the AX88U. No matter what I try I can't get Beta 4 to flash over Beta 3 (reset to default, reboot) only thing I haven't tried so far is rescue mode. I get the same as others have noted and the router rebooting to Beta 3:

 

[ollimoe]

Couldn't resist an upgraded my AX88U from 384.19 to 386B4b - seamless upgrade with no issues so far. Will keep on monitoring ...

 

[juched]

I was running beta 4 original on my RT-AX88U. Downloaded 4b. On Chrome it would just sit at "Applying settings, please wait" but using Edge I got the invalid firmware error. I decided to try a couple times and sure enough on the 3rd go I upgraded to 4b direction.

Perhaps the failure is intermittent, so before running the restoration utility, you may try to run the update a couple times from a different browser. Just sharing my results. Trend seems better, I tried that out, but the spam to the log and the fact it never finds anything makes me suspect... then again, I would hope not to find anything and I run a fairly tight ship.

 

[Wisiwyg]

Upgrade to B4b.. was running B4, attempted B4b dirty upgrade, received invalid firmware msg. Rebooted, direct dirty downgrade to Merlin B3 without issue. Rebooted, direct dirty upgrade to Merlin B4b without issue. Waiting for it to settle, will reboot and run through the menus to see if all is well. Checked the OFDMA greyed out note above and it is not greyed for me. I was not looking forward to recovery process, was anticipating a wipe. I'm planning on 1 more wipe when I install final 386.x, but would rather avoid if possible.
Edit: rebooted, all running as expected

 

[Triton]

Before going through the trouble of using the Firmware Restoration Utility i wanted to try to get b4b onto my b4 AX88 directly.
It was always stuck on "Applying Settings" and didn't initiate the upgrade.
Then i thought "what about NOT ejecting the USB drive?". This did the trick. It upgraded to b4b without any issues and it didn't need the longwinded way of upgrading.
Two things i have noticed though:
1. AIProtection still impacts the Ookla Speedtest, but less than before (around 20% instead of 50%)
2. The CPU temp is still around 84°C

Now i wonder if those results are skewed by my way of upgrading. I leave the guessing to RMerlin

 

[cyu6722]

Upgraded my AX88U to 4b and my ax58u aimesh node to beta 4 from stock firmware. My 58u node would not show or accept any wifi clients and sometimes even show disconnected. Anyone else have similar experiences?

Update: did a hard reset on my ax 58u and now it doesn't even show an AIMesh setup function

 

[figorr]

Upgraded my AX88U to 4b and my ax58u aimesh node to beta 4 from stock firmware. My 58u node would not show or accept any wifi clients and sometimes even show disconnected. Anyone else have similar experiences?
View attachment 29315

If you are moving from stock to Merlin’s firmware ... a factory reset after upgrading is highly recommended