Release Asuswrt-Merlin 386.1 is now available

[somms]

Folks... forgive me dumb question - is there any way to login to the node router?
I was able to upgrade my node FW to 386.1, and I did have to login at that point, but I have no access to the node. When I do 192.168.xx.116 (the actual node IP address), I do get login page. I enter my user name/password, and it "magically" re-routes me to 192.1.168.xx.yy (main router IP address)

Although the GUI redirects to gateway router, you can access airmesh nodes via ssh to execute commands like reboot, ect...

 

[joomlafab]

Dirty upgrade from 384.19_0 on RT-AX3000 (same firmware than RT-AX58U). Everything is fine.
Webui worked normally immediately after upgrading.
Thanks a lot RMerlin/Eric for your great work !

 

[LostNetSpace]

Problem: Unable to upgrade to 386.1 from 386.1_beta

Disclaimer: I am new to this forum and am not sure of the local conventions with respect to if a new thread is warranted or I should add to this. Since I have seen at least one other similar post in this thread, I am guessing it okay here.

Router: RT-AC1900P
Current Firmware: asuswrt-merlin 386.1_beta4

Issue: Cannot upgrade to the final release 386.1

I get the following message “Firmware upgrade unsuccessful. This may result from incorrect image or error transmission. Please check the version of firmware and try again.”

Comment: On Safari v14.0.2 the manual firmware upload link does not seem to do anything. On both Chrome and Firefox I get the expected file upload selection dialog box.

I am attempting to install is RT-AC68U_386.1 with copies downloaded from primary and secondary servers. Copies from both servers match. And the sha256sum.sha256 file contents match that when creating a checksum on the trx file. So I am pretty certain I have a good copy.

I thought maybe I could upgrade from beta4 to beta5 and then to 3.86.1 but I get the same result when trying to upgrade from beta4 to beta5 (“incorrect image or error transmission”).

Looking at other posts in this forum (e.g. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/problem-instaling-firmware-in-rt-ac86u.69846/ https://www.snbforums.com/threads/asuswrt-merlin-386-1-is-now-available.69783/post-657316 etc.), there is the suggestion to use the “rescue mode” tools from ASUS. Reading through https://www.asus.com/us/support/faq/1000814/ it seems that software requires a flavor of Windows and there are no Windows computers in this house (Linux, MacOS and mobile devices only).

Suggestions?

I am wondering if a hard reset would allow the upgrade. If there is a chance that would work, I will block out some time to manually record all of my configuration (so I don't chance that something in the downloaded cfg is corrupt) and do everything from scratch. Lots of fiddly details in my setup have evolved over the years of using asuswrt-merlin (Thanks for all the hard work!) so it will mean being offline for a while.

 

[L&LD]

@Wallace_n_Gromit I'm not sure in your case. Could it be a hardware issue is surfacing?

Fully Reset Router and Network

I would try the above (and repeat as necessary) until you're successful or you concede that the router may be due for replacement.

 

[mromero]

I know what you're saying, but the problem is the bug *IS* fixed, or at least it's supposed to be fixed. I didn't try any of the beta releases, but I'm surprised that my AC86U - even with the fixed code and CPU Wait enabled by default - is still running 10 degrees hotter than it was. Looks like we just have to live with it or stick to 384.19. It's only been a day, but I haven't experienced any problems yet.

Yes. That is the problem. Denial. It has been fixed. Start a new thread (means go away). Not a problem. Yawn. The white papers say cook the CPU to 95° and be merry. Open the router and slather on fresh thermal paste. It's clogged up. Vacuum it out. Fan it. And so on and so forth.

This release is NOT GOOD for the Asus RT-AC86U. This router will stay on 384.19 for now. In a few months when there is a sale I will get the RT-AX86U for myself and move the Asus RT-AC86U to a weekend retreat / rental where it should run cool in semi-retirement.

P.S. I cannot figure out why I should use a speed test from the router? It does not give me the end destinations I want. On any computer I click and log in automatically to Ookla and chose any test server I want. Firmware bloat?

 

[Smokey613]

Even though both my units are finally running smoothly on 386.1, it almost seems as if 386.1 is geared more towards the AX line of routers. I think I will be fine since I am running in AP mode and thus not really taxing the resources of my units. I have no AX capable devices so no need for an AX router now or in the foreseeable future. I do have an eero 6 I purchased on sale during the holiday sales but it is sitting in it’s box on a shelf in my office. Not being to access it via web browser or at all if my internet is down is a real dumb idea.

 

[diyguy]

tried to upgrade (dirty) on an AX88u from 384.19 and I had a lot of problems. No clients would connect even though it looks ok from the client stand point ( nslookup was fine , etc). I also could not SSH back into the router , connection refused. I reverted back to 384.19. Hopefully someone might be able to shed some knowledge on how I can get this done better.

 

[smbodie]

384_19 to 386.1-5 "dirty" upgrade on RT-AC88U. ~20 mins to clear CPU and login. AiMesh node left on stock 386_40558-gc48f410 firmware. All clients appear connected but the node only shows 2 clients connected (usually has 15) and clicking the icon to see details does nothing. Have rebooted the node to confirm the main router shows it offline and then back but still unable to see the details by clicking.

Hoping someone has gotten past this before I start hard resetting.

 

[Svenskmat]

Dirty Upgrade RT-AC5300 node and RT-AC5300 router - no issues at all. Updated Node first -
Thanks @RMerlin for all your work on this!

 

[RMerlin]

Every time I measure with Ookla Internet speed test.
Nat and Firewall is restarted, is this really necessary?


@RMerlin

If Asus decided to do it, then I`m sure they have a very good reason to do so.

 

[m0rF1uS]

Updated yesterday to the final 386.1 version coming from 384.19 on a ax88u. After the firmware was flashed and router was restarted I lost all WiFi signal both on 2.4 and 5, WAN and LAN connectivity. Couple more restarts did not do anything. Tried to do factory reset with the back reset button but that didn’t help as well.
after hard reset and couple restarts router came back to life. Not the usual upgrade experience but managed to recover from it

 

[RMerlin]

I have to ask and i don't mean this in a sarcastic way. Why in the heck would a router take 1,2,3 hours before the GUI would be accessible after a simple firmware flash ? Is this a fluke or something else. If this indeed the way it is then there is something flat out wrong with the software or something.

Asus is doing some kind of maintenance on a database and it`s taking a long time on routers with a large database and a slower CPU. I don`t know what that maintenance, only possible theory I have is they are truncating it because people are running into issues with their JFFS partition filling up, so they might have decided to truncate it to a smaller size. And truncating a large sqlite database in flash with a slow 800 MHz CPU cannot be done instantly.

Completely unacceptable in my opinion.

You and I have very different opinion of what is acceptable and what isn't. There was ample warning about this in the changelog as well as on these forums. If you failed to heed them and it was that important to you, then either plan accordingly, do a factory default reset and reconfigure things, or don't upgrade your router. Things are what they are when they are necessary.

 

[randomName]

Is sourceforge a safe place to download files? Both times I downloaded a firmware something strange happened to my PC. I downloaded firmware for my AC86U and my AX86U. All my emails temporarily disappeared. Never happened before and hasn't happened since the recent downloading ..

 

[aex.perez]

So far so good. Flawless, painless, quick upgrade from B5 via the Webgui, first the AIMESH nodes (2x AC5300's), then the AX88U.

Only odd ball and it's not a Merlin issue as AIMESH is closed source, is this one Nest Thermostat on the other side of the house on 5Ghz. With two Ethernet back haul AC5300's to the left and right of it, about 15/20ft away yet it continously connects to the AX88U on the complete other side of the house, 75/80ft away. Still works, still connects, and even forcing it to bind to any of the AIMESH nodes doesn't change the 3 bars its connected with in the Network Map/View clients.

But random question to every one, and seeing as the three devices are in relatively close proximity. Would adjusting "Tx power adjustment" have any bearing on signal strength?

In a Sponge Bob-esqe French accent,"9 hours later". Things looking real good all around. Took a bit, but all the wireless devices are where they should be, finally happened on its own. Going to have to use an analyzer app on one of the Android Tablets to fine tune roaming assist, but other than that the only things in my log are related to the scripts running and ddns updating. Actually got a 40Mhz on all three 2.4Ghz radio's can't get anything greater than 20mhz on any device though (se la vie). Had to turn on Wifi 6 on the AX88u to do it (maybe because AC5300 as AIMESH nodes?), not an issue for me as I have a a Cat5E in every room where there was/is a TV or phone jack. IPv6, DNS/DHCP, all the scripts, even Instant Guard is working consistently. 1Gb Fiber symmetrical, Speedtest at the AX88u right where it should be 930D/650U (normal for my setup with Skynet monitoring in and out traffic and no TrendMicro). Ping, Jitter, Loss right where they normally are.

Most importantly Wife and MotherInLaw didn't miss their Telenovela and Jr is getting his streaming on, Cameras and Thermostats all 100%.

Life is good! Great release @RMerlin

 

[airbillion]

Hello,

Anyone able to get Instant Guard working?

I am using this firmware on an ac3100 and the instant guard app says that my router is not compatible...I have hard reset the router and set it up from scratch, but still not able to get it working...

Thanks!

 

[L&LD]

'instant guard app says that my router is not compatible'

Would be my first hint.

 

[eclp]

This setting (LED on / off button) does not exist on my AX58U even after a WPS reset (yes, the browser cache is cleared).
Thanks @somms for providing the picture!

Switching on and off via ssh still works of course (but it is not so convenient).

nvram set led_disable=1
service restart_leds

Thanks for looking ...

 

[heysoundude]

BUG/GLITCH REPORT:
AC86 - the LEDs on my router aren't lighting up, except 5GHz wifi. Router seems to be working normally. Unbound cache hit graph is showing much lower than usual (I'll have to check with @Martineau if something needs changing in the .conf), ntpMerlin drift seems to have shot up (again a .conf thing for @Jack Yaz ).
LEDs- something in my memory banks is vibrating about the scheduler being part of amtm or diversion...maybe I should've looked there before coming here...
standby, I'll be back with an update

alrighty - forcing reinstallation of diversion and the @Jack Yaz scripts (scMerlin, SpdMerlin and ntpMerlin and the DHCP one) and then doing a power cycle with the switch has the LEDs on again...they're due to shut off in 20 mins (I still can't find the scheduler...I'll have to refer back on the forum's archives), so I suppose we'll see if it was tied to updating scripts or there is a scripting bug somewhere tomorrow if they don't come back on as scheduled

Am I the only one?

 

[somms]

This setting (LED on / off button) does not exist on my AX58U even after a WPS reset (yes, the browser cache is cleared).
Thanks @somms for providing the picture!

View attachment 30149

View attachment 30150

Thanks for looking ...

Is it dangerous to post my MAC address publicly?

Appreciate the mac redaction!

 

[jsbeddow]

alrighty - forcing reinstallation of diversion and the @Jack Yaz scripts (scMerrlin, SpdMerlin and ntpMerlin) and then doing a power cycle with the switch has the LEDs on again...they're due to shut off in 20 mins (I still can't find the scheduler...I'll have to refer back on the forum's archives), so I suppose we'll see if it was tied to updating scripts or there is a scripting bug somewhere tomorrow if they don't come back on as scheduled

Am I the only one?

Do you mean the LED scheduler that is part of amtm? I don't know of one built into the GUI, but I do use the one in amtm: it is opened by entering "lc" within amtm to manage the LED control sub-menu, then Option 1 to edit the LED scheduled on/off times. Working fine here....