Release Asuswrt-Merlin 386.1 is now available

[Fred2u]

Too late!

Oops, I guess I am totally & completely guilty as charged and my only (small) excuse is that I'm a true newbie who often tries to go beyond his capabilities. I will repent tough and follow LD&L's "Best Practice..." link this time! Thanks to both of you, gents -- really appreciate it!
And, dave14305, you're again correct: that AC68U is indeed the result of a "desperate" use of a configuration file from my former AC68U to the 86U, which I had forgotten about. I promise to behave better

 

[Clark Griswald]

@Fred2u
Luckily this will be the last time anyone will ever make that mistake, since this Forum is loaded with diligent "searchers" and "readers" that always do clean installs on freshly reset routers.

Stay Safe Everyone

 

[randomName]

Try disabling upnp security if you havent already? That might fix your problem

I have 'Enable UPnP' set to 'No'

I also just did a full nuke to my entire networking too. A firmware came in for my cable modem, updated that, in the process I completely initialized my router and set it up again from scratch, and the issue still persists. Does Virtual Server / Port Forwarding also need to be enabled under the WAN tab? That's been 'Off'. I've just been on the Open Nat page. I can enable it after it disables and it stays on but it seems maybe there is logical steps to take, e.g. In the Open Nat page, Add all the game rules first, then hit apply, then Enable Port Forwarding in Open Nat.

Again, this is on the AC 86U

EDIT: Oh, ok. After I re-enable the 'Enable Port Forwarding' in 'Open Nat', Virtual Server / Port Forwarding sets to 'On' in the WAN page. But there are no rules set under the WAN page, just the 'Open Nat' page.

EDIT2: I must be doing something wrong somewhere.. I don't normally do port forwarding for gaming.

 

[skeal]

EDIT2: I must be doing something wrong somewhere.. I don't normally do port forwarding for gaming

I get the same results. I turned on the open nat port forwarding switch, checked port forwarding it was turned on. Added a game and the settings applied, it never shows in port forwarding. However if you go to the system log page, check the port forwarding tab. This shows the correct information you are after.

 

[randomName]

@skeal

Ok, I sees it, heh.

Just curious, do I also need to have UPnP enabled for it to work properly? Gaming on PC only.

Thanks!

 

[skeal]

@skeal

Ok, I sees it, heh.

Just curious, do I also need to have UPnP enabled for it to work properly? Gaming on PC only.

Thanks!

Nope.

 

[skeal]

You are manually opening required ports, UPNP does this or tries to automatically for you, but UPNP is not something you want to leave on. Also when done playing you should turn open nat off again, so as not to advertise open ports when not gaming.

 

[shabbs]

Run this and then upgrade to 386.1 and reset after the upgrade. Do it before @L&LD wakes up.

This is gold Jerry, GOLD!

 

[RMerlin]

386.1_2 is now available, resolving a couple of issues.

386.1_2 (12-Feb-2021)
- NEW: Added snmp support to the RT-AX86U.
- UPDATED: inadyn to 2.8.1.
- UPDATED: nano to 5.5.
- CHANGED: Use local OUI database instead of remote one hosted
           on Asus's server (allows queries to work even when
           accessing webui over https)
- CHANGED: If dropbear cannot create keys in /jffs then
           create temporary ones in /etc so SSH can work even
           without a working JFFS partition.
- FIXED: Missing Game Mode on RT-AC88U
- FIXED: Non-working 160 MHz settings for RT-AC88U region/versions
         that should support it
- FIXED: Missing Instant Guard to RT-AX56U and RT-AC88U.
- FIXED: IPv6 ending with "::" were considered invalid on the
         webui (was breaking the Prefix field on the 6in4 tunnel
         page for instance).
- FIXED: OUI lookups on site survey page not working
         (for non-HND models)
- FIXED: Wifi Radar missing on GT-AC2900
- FIXED: Netools-enabled pages not used by GT-AC2900 and
         RT-AX86U
- FIXED: GeForce NOW UPNP not working
- FIXED: Erasing the JFFS partition would often require a second
         reboot since the operation failed when encountering
         a bad block.  These are now properly skipped.
- FIXED: Parental Control's time scheduler not working properly.

 

[Rhialto]

386.1_2 is now available, resolving a couple of issues.

ok I think I'll go with this one... from 384.19 on 1900P
Maybe I'll wait later tonight because of possible slowdown going on right after.

 

[szl]

386.1_2 is now available, resolving a couple of issues.

Thanks, great job!

 

[ATLga]

386.1_2 is now available, resolving a couple of issues.

386.1_2 (12-Feb-2021)
- NEW: Added snmp support to the RT-AX86U.
- UPDATED: inadyn to 2.8.1.
- UPDATED: nano to 5.5.
- CHANGED: Use local OUI database instead of remote one hosted
           on Asus's server (allows queries to work even when
           accessing webui over https)
- CHANGED: If dropbear cannot create keys in /jffs then
           create temporary ones in /etc so SSH can work even
           without a working JFFS partition.
- FIXED: Missing Game Mode on RT-AC88U
- FIXED: Non-working 160 MHz settings for RT-AC88U region/versions
         that should support it
- FIXED: Missing Instant Guard to RT-AX56U and RT-AC88U.
- FIXED: IPv6 ending with "::" were considered invalid on the
         webui (was breaking the Prefix field on the 6in4 tunnel
         page for instance).
- FIXED: OUI lookups on site survey page not working
         (for non-HND models)
- FIXED: Wifi Radar missing on GT-AC2900
- FIXED: Netools-enabled pages not used by GT-AC2900 and
         RT-AX86U
- FIXED: GeForce NOW UPNP not working
- FIXED: Erasing the JFFS partition would often require a second
         reboot since the operation failed when encountering
         a bad block.  These are now properly skipped.
- FIXED: Parental Control's time scheduler not working properly.

Running smooth, Thanks

 

[IshWishDish]

Apple: any old or new Mac, iPad or iPhone (the other stuff like pods I have no clue but I do not think it will be different) (hence why Apple themselves advize very often "reset network settings" as a solution for WiFi or connection problems without further explanation).

BTW: Nest products have the same problem when your router firmware changes. (see their solutions when you have connection problems.

​

• MU-MIMO uses a special form of beamforming that is part of the 802.11ac standard. It works in 5 GHz only.
• MU-MIMO theoretically enables up to four devices to share the same Wi-Fi airtime. Many 4x4 based designs support only up to three simultaneous devices, 3x3 designs support up to two, 2x2 designs can't support any.
• You need both MU-MIMO enabled routers and devices to benefit from MU-MIMO
• You need at least two MU-MIMO devices to get any benefit from MU-MIMO
• MU-MIMO works only for downlink data (moving from router to device). It provides no benefit for uplink
• MU-MIMO works best with strong to medium strength signals
• MU-MIMO does not increase range

If you google you can find more about Mu-Mimo.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac5300-performance-security-guide.45710/ gives you a nice direction on how to configure your Merlin firmware after flashing following the directions of user L&LD.

So to answer your MU-MIMO questions: I do not think you will miss MU-MIMO and no it is not a temporary fix as it is in the architecture of MU-MIMO.

I think choosing the right channel for your Wi-Fi is more important to ensure optimal range and transmission speed. The less crowded your neighborhood is with WiFi routers the better.

See yah!

Thank you very much for the informative and patient response. I did google more after this, and see the hatred for the MU-MIMO implementation is a universal constant.

 

[IshWishDish]

@raion969 Did you make any further progress with your AC5300 issues?
All - I tried all of the items suggested in this thread, Even tried the 386.2 alpha (I see the full version is now available). No luck. Everything was working great for me in 384.19.

While on the 386.x line, I get frequent wifi disconnects, significantly reduced range, and seriously reduced speeds.

I tried the current stock firmware from Asus (a beta posted early this month, so very current). It has the same problems, so it seems like the base code Merlin is using is having these problems on the 5300. Yet somehow I see some folks have success on the 5300 in the 386.x release... not sure why only a few of us are so unlucky.

For now, I went with DD-WRT. Configuration is awful compared to Merlin, but my issues are gone (so are all the great Merlin/Yaz/etc. features I got used to... ) . I will keep an eye on things here to see if more people report the RT-AC5300 issues are fixed.

Thanks all again!

 

[ATLga]

@raion969 Did you make any further progress with your AC5300 issues?
All - I tried all of the items suggested in this thread, Even tried the 386.2 alpha (I see the full version is now available). No luck. Everything was working great for me in 384.19.

While on the 386.x line, I get frequent wifi disconnects, significantly reduced range, and seriously reduced speeds.

I tried the current stock firmware from Asus (a beta posted early this month, so very current). It has the same problems, so it seems like the base code Merlin is using is having these problems on the 5300. Yet somehow I see some folks have success on the 5300 in the 386.x release... not sure why only a few of us are so unlucky.

For now, I went with DD-WRT. Configuration is awful compared to Merlin, but my issues are gone (so are all the great Merlin/Yaz/etc. features I got used to... ) . I will keep an eye on things here to see if more people report the RT-AC5300 issues are fixed.

Thanks all again!

386.2 full version is not available, still Alpha. New 386.1_2 is just released

 

[shabbs]

386.1_2 is now available, resolving a couple of issues.

Upgrading the AiMesh as we speak... let's DO THIS!

EDIT: Upgrades done, letting the nodes settle and will reboot the AiMesh system in a bit. Speed test checks out.

 

[Fred2u]

A picture is worth a thousand words, but selecting a value, being able to copy and paste it, while seeing its context, is worth a thousand pictures or a million videos.

I like the suggestion above for Firefox users.

Release - Asuswrt-Merlin 386.1 is now available

RMerlin wrote- Direct upgrade from 384.18 or 384.19 should be fine, but be prepared to do a factory default reset if something does not work as expected. How about if going from 384.17 ? Just looking for thoughts and/or recommendations. I know I can always factory reset and go to 386.1 that...

www.snbforums.com

In return for receiving your advice today, I'll add a small tip to the Firefox approach of copying router settings. Firefox has an elegant extension called "Single File" which will fully reproduce and then download an entire scrollable webpage, without the usual break-up of files that often happens when just "saving" a web-page. The extension works very well and is a lot faster than a screenshot or photo approach. It also names the saved file properly by using the full GUI (browser) addresses. And it allows copying of settings for pasting. One must, however, open the saved browser page with Firefox -- Chrome and others can not open it. Almost worth switching to Firefox! Hope this helps...

 

[shabbs]

Has the software update notification always worked on Merlin? Today was the first time I noticed it actually alert me.

 

[Andy Shiekh]

While
"Auto select channel including band 1 channels"
seems to toggle successfully, it is always shown selected, be it in Merlin or the original 386 firmware

 

[LetMePutDa]

Does updating the main router to 386.1 on mesh system also update the nodes? Or do I need to update each one individually.