Release Asuswrt-Merlin 386.12 is now available for AC models

[Wistuplu]

Nothing to report, except THANKS a million for the continued support.

AC-86U
386.12 installed on 386.10
Dirty install 3 days ago
Just that router, no mesh or anything.
2.4 and 5Ghz clients

 

[MacGyverSG1]

I'm currently running 386.1_2 on my AC86U. Can I update straight to 386.12? I have a basic setup (no mods or scripts). No USB devices connected to router.

I recently read an article about the vulnerability of the RT-AC86U router and two AX models.

I don't like to update firmware unless I need to.

 

[L&LD]

You should be able to update directly to the latest version. However, be prepared to do a full reset and a minimal and manual configuration if you find issues afterward.

With the very basic configuration you indicate, I would allow for the extra 15 minutes or so to do it immediately after flashing 386.12 instead. Peace of mind, and you'll be prepared for a more straightforward troubleshooting path if any issues arise.

There is no good reason to not keep up-to-date on firmware. You're potentially allowing yourself an enhanced attack vector when you don't.

Is it a good idea to keep up with Firmware updates?

I have had issues in the past when updating firmware and Internet speed, But it may have just been a fluke, Should I keep up with the updates? If so On all routers or the nodes as well? What about ones acting as access points? Thanks

www.snbforums.com

 

[RMerlin]

I'm currently running 386.1_2 on my AC86U. Can I update straight to 386.12? I have a basic setup (no mods or scripts).

In theory, yes, but I can't guarantee it, because such a large jump was never considered.

 

[MacGyverSG1]

In theory, yes, but I can't guarantee it, because such a large jump was never considered.

Which firmware would you recommend I update to from 386.1_2? And then update from there, etc... until finally arriving at 386.12.

 

[RMerlin]

Which firmware would you recommend I update to from 386.1_2? And then update from there, etc... until finally arriving at 386.12.

There's no need to upgrade in multiple stages, go directly to the latest. I just can't guarantee that over the course of so many releases that everything will work fine without a factory default reset, a lot has changed over that period of time, and it was never specifically tested.

 

[MacGyverSG1]

Will the factory default reset change my login info (username and password), if so, what are the defaults?

 

[Tech9]

Yes, your old user/pass will be gone.

After factory reset you see Quick Internet Setup screen. Follow the instructions.

[Wireless Router] How to use the QIS (Quick Internet Setup) to set up Router ? (Web GUI) | Official Support | ASUS Global

 

[MacGyverSG1]

Yes, your old user/pass will be gone.

After factory reset you see Quick Internet Setup screen. Follow the instructions.

[Wireless Router] How to use the QIS (Quick Internet Setup) to set up Router ? (Web GUI) | Official Support | ASUS Global

Thanks It's been a while since I first set it up.

 

[NoLight]

After doing dirty flashes for the past 2.5 years, i did a clean install on all of my RT-AC68U mesh routers.
Been rock solid for the past week.

Thanks merlin!

 

[heywire]

Some updates on this:
After flashing back and forth to try and figure out an issue (which was most likely client related), the Network Map is no longer working reliably. Wireless clients pop up on other Aimesh Nodes with a LAN icon (meaning they're not connected to that node), slow updates and clients status not updating etc. For a while, they were actually working better as the post above indicates. No longer the case...

Awesome that it was working reliably for you at one time. Has never worked for me.

So, as previously mentioned, I flashed a bit back and forth to different versions to try and weed out some issues I was having, causing 386.12's initially working (or semi-working/Asus-working) Network Map to act up.

So I tried a few moves you and others experiencing this issue might find applicable to your situation:

- First, 386.12 worked well (upgraded from 386.11)
- When I flashed from the latest official firmware and onto 386.12, it did not work well at all. Even after doing a restart.
- I then tried to flash from the latest official back to 386.11, before flashing up to 386.12 again. Result: the Network Map now seems to be working better. Not like there isn't room for improvement, but it was totally fubar after flashing directly to 386.12 from official firmware, and now it's no longer that bad.

My theory from what I understand about these routers is that there is some lagging NVRAM settings that might be sticking from one release to another, causing issues. A full WPS reset would be ideal, but for environments where this is a major hassle, such as mine, the above is worth a try.

 

[gattaca]

Dirty upgrade 2 days back on RT-AC68U/1900U from 386.11 386.12. No issues to report. Rock solid. Thanks Merlin!

 

[Natty]

Dirty update via web UI from 386.11 to 386.12 on RT-AC66U B1 two weeks ago. Last clean install was 386.9. Running in router mode without any observed issues. I wish my ISP was as reliable. Thank you @RMerlin

 

[Tech9]

Dirty update via web UI from 386.11 to 386.12

RT-AC66U B1 384.18 --> 386.1 --> 386.1_2 --> 386.2_6 --> 386.4 --> 386.5 --> 386.5_2 --> 386.7_2 ..RESET.. 386.9 --> 386.10-->386.11

Don't forget to update your signature too.

 

[Sicario]

After upgrading from 386.11 to 386.12 on my AC86U main node, I have experienced intermittent connection drops (about 2-3 a day, for a few minutes) on my AC66U_B1 Aimesh node (on stock firmware).

I also had issue with 386.12 on my AC86U, more than just 2-3 a day for me. Whenever I'm watching Twitch or I think it happens to some other video streaming services too, I got frequent buffers. Tried to rollback to 386.11, didn't face such issue. I only use Cake-QoS Merlin, no other add-on.

 

[khg]

I have a dowload speed issue with a AC66B1 with .12 firmware. Download speed degragated to 120-140Mbps. I tried everything i could: Factory reset and firmware again. switch off parental control, vpn, qos, etc. CTF is enabled. NVRAM is low. Router is responsive, nothing error but slow dowload. I turned off Wifi radio and tried only via UTP directly on router. same result. WAN port showed as 1Gbs on either side (modem and Asus). I pulled all UTP from Asus, only the laptop, router and modem. Same result. Put laptop utp to modem constant 600Mbs. But trough router constant 120Mbps (router mem low, cpu max at 24% at 120mbs). Maybe a hardware problem? (also tried to switch back to .11 -same. upgrade to .12 -same)
Thank you
Gabor

 

[khg]

I have a dowload speed issue with a AC66B1 with .12 firmware. Download speed degragated to 120-140Mbps. I tried everything i could: Factory reset and firmware again. switch off parental control, vpn, qos, etc. CTF is enabled. NVRAM is low. Router is responsive, nothing error but slow dowload. I turned off Wifi radio and tried only via UTP directly on router. same result. WAN port showed as 1Gbs on either side (modem and Asus). I pulled all UTP from Asus, only the laptop, router and modem. Same result. Put laptop utp to modem constant 600Mbs. But trough router constant 120Mbps (router mem low, cpu max at 24% at 120mbs). Maybe a hardware problem? (also tried to switch back to .11 -same. upgrade to .12 -same)
Thank you
Gabor

Tried to switch back to stock firmware, same result. I have no further idea.

 

[ducky124]

Tried to switch back to stock firmware, same result. I have no further idea.

do a full factory reset, if that doesn't work get a new router

 

[cebu99]

Tried to switch back to stock firmware, same result. I have no further idea.

try calling your isp to reinitialize the modem

 

[khg]

do a full factory reset, if that doesn't work get a new router

Yeah, thanks. tried. same. change it to a fast wired router and asus routers for access points