Release Asuswrt-Merlin 386.4 is now available

[Ramz]

Hello,
I tried to install the the 386.4 yesterday but once done my pc (lenovo ideapad yoga with Realtek RTL8723AU Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter) could not find the wifi network. I mean it was not even visible on the list of available networks. My phone and tablet worked normally. Any idea why or how to fix this? Reverting to the previous firmware version fixed the problem for now but I would still like to use the latest one available. Yes I know this laptop is like 9 years old but I am sure there are many old devices out there still being used. This is asus rt-ax68u.
Thank you

I have the opposite I see my 2.4ghz on my available network but can't connect to it. So I have all my stuff on 5.0ghz.

 

[richard_svk]

I have the opposite I see my 2.4ghz on my available network but can't connect to it. So I have all my stuff on 5.0ghz.

It's true that I did not really take a close look at whether my cell and tablet was connected to 2.4 or 5GHz as my primary goal was to get my laptop to work. I suspect there might be a bug somehow related to WiFi 6. I keep it off as when I turn it on my laptop does not see the network i.e. the apparent behavior is identical as in this recent case

 

[bbunge]

Oops, sorry for less info.

AX86U, not S. Broken means its enabled, android app successfully see the router but connection does not work at all, trying to connect in ages, then fails by timeout.

As a fix tried to do full reset incl jffs. Didn't help, still timeout.

Here is the instant guard log:

I have learned when changing the router settings/firmware to delete the InstantGuard cache and storage on my Android devices. Then going through the Asus router app to reconnect InstantGuard to the router. Just upgrading the firmware, Asus or Merlin, is usually not a problem.

 

[CaptnDanLKW]

Hello,
I tried to install the the 386.4 yesterday but once done my pc (lenovo ideapad yoga with Realtek RTL8723AU Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter) could not find the wifi network. I mean it was not even visible on the list of available networks. My phone and tablet worked normally. Any idea why or how to fix this? Reverting to the previous firmware version fixed the problem for now but I would still like to use the latest one available. Yes I know this laptop is like 9 years old but I am sure there are many old devices out there still being used. This is asus rt-ax68u.
Thank you

I've had weird problems with a number of RTL USB 2.0 adapters over the years. I had to disable "Protected Management Frames" before the device could connect, though in my scenario I could see the network but not be able to connect - across many versions of firmware.

 

[ElmerFudd]

Have you looked for firmware upgrades for your bulbs? People in that thread resolved the problem that way in the past.

The bulbs are auto updated through the KASA app which says they are all up to date. It looks like they are all running 1.8.11.

Last night I tried upgrading my AX88U to 386.4 again and the bulbs went all haywire. I again tried disabling universal beam forming, air time fairness, and then added disabling WMM APSD (https://community.tp-link.com/us/home/forum/topic/159693 ) but no luck. I then changed the 2.4GHZ mode to legacy and the bulbs stopped dissociating. However, legacy will not be a fix as I have other clients using the 2.4GHZ band and do not want to degrade performance that much. Reverted back to 386.3.2 and every thing works running wifi mode auto, universal beam forming enabled, WMM APSD enabled.

-Mike

 

[ElmerFudd]

AX88/386.4_0 (Clean upgrade): I have over twenty TP-Link devices and am not having any problems. Did you set your 2.4 GHz channel manually? If you have AImesh do you have Roaming enabled (it helps when things get reset), and of course airtime fairness and universal beam should be disabled.

HI Elmer,

What TP-LINK bulbs are you running? Are any of them LB110 or KL120? Also, what version of TP-Link firmware are the bulbs using? My KASA app says 1.8.11 is the most up to date for me.

My 2.4ghz band is set manually, I don't use AImesh, and tried disabling both airtime fairness as well as universal beam forming with not success. The only way I can get the bulbs to stay connected after updating to 386.4 is to set the 2,4GHZ wireless mode to Legacy which is not a long term solution. I reverted back to 386.3.2 and the bulbs are solid again even with wireless mode auto, air time fairness enabled, and universal beam forming enabled. Something in the latest Asus WIFI drivers manifested this problem for me as well as others (see post from @CLK).

-Mike

 

[Imaginous]

Just tested Merlin on my RT-AX86S.
Updating (from stock firmware) went fine, but I was unable to connect to the router via WiFi.
After a power off/on I was able to connect to 2.4GHz but unable to connect to 5GHz.
Tested with my Sony Xperia phone.

Did try some settings but was not able to connect. No time at the moment to reset to factory settings and reconfigure everything.

Restored the original firmware and reloaded my original settings. Everything is working as before.

Something seems quirky with the WiFi on the RT-AX86S.

 

[ElmerFudd]

Have you looked for firmware upgrades for your bulbs? People in that thread resolved the problem that way in the past.

Merlin,

What factory firmware is 386.3.2 based upon? I would like to submit a ticket directly through TPLINK and ASUS as well and tell them issues with the bulbs occur when upgrading from factory firmware xyz to the latest. I have verified that this issue manifests itself in ASUS factory firmware 3.0.0.4.386.45934 2021/11/16 as well.

 

[ColinTaylor]

The bulbs are auto updated through the KASA app which says they are all up to date. It looks like they are all running 1.8.11.

Last night I tried upgrading my AX88U to 386.4 again and the bulbs went all haywire. I again tried disabling universal beam forming, air time fairness, and then added disabling WMM APSD (https://community.tp-link.com/us/home/forum/topic/159693 ) but no luck. I then changed the 2.4GHZ mode to legacy and the bulbs stopped dissociating. However, legacy will not be a fix as I have other clients using the 2.4GHZ band and do not want to degrade performance that much. Reverted back to 386.3.2 and every thing works running wifi mode auto, universal beam forming enabled, WMM APSD enabled.

-Mike

Apologies if you've already said this, but did you try disabling 802.11ax / WiFi 6 mode on the 2.4GHz band? I always disable that as I have no ax-capable devices that connect on 2.4GHz.

 

[ElmerFudd]

Apologies if you've already said this, but did you try disabling 802.11ax / WiFi 6 mode on the 2.4GHz band? I always disable that as I have no ax-capable devices that connect on 2.4GHz.

Yes tried that and no luck. However, bulbs all work fine with WIFI 6 enabled with 386.3.2. Only way the bulbs work with 386.4 is with WIFI Legacy mode.

 

[ElmerFudd]

I'm also seeing the 2.4GHz issues reported by others (particularly @ElmerFudd) with TP-Link bulbs and switches going offline or slow to respond after upgrading to 386.4 on my AX88U where these problems did not previously exist.

The only workaround I have found to work, apart from reverting to a previous firmware, is to set Wireless Mode to Legacy; all the TP-Link devices are able to stay connected and respond snappily.
But, this setting can slow down non-IoT devices connected to 2.4GHz. For example, my mid-2010 Mac mini slows down to around 5 Mbps where it used to test above 35 Mbps on 2.4GHz.

Until this gets resolved (hopefully with updated Asus wireless code?), I've currently disabled 2.4GHz on my AX88U and have set up my GL.iNet Beryl as an access point serving 2.4GHz using the same SSID.
All TP-Link devices and the Mac mini run beautifully and as expected, but clearly, this can't be the final solution.

I logged posted to the TP-Link forum to see if anyone has ideas there:

LB110, KL120, and HS105 Will not stay connected to WIFI after upgrading ASUS AX88U firmware - Smart Home Community

I have 4 TP-LINK LB110 smart bulbs, one KL120, and a HS105 smart plug which have worked flawlessly until I upgraded my ASUS router AX88U firmware to Version 3.0.0.4.386.45934 2021/11/16. However, after upgrading to 3.0.0.4.386.45934, all smart

community.tp-link.com

 

[bbunge]

Just tested Merlin on my RT-AX86S.
Updating (from stock firmware) went fine, but I was unable to connect to the router via WiFi.
After a power off/on I was able to connect to 2.4GHz but unable to connect to 5GHz.
Tested with my Sony Xperia phone.

Did try some settings but was not able to connect. No time at the moment to reset to factory settings and reconfigure everything.

Restored the original firmware and reloaded my original settings. Everything is working as before.

Something seems quirky with the WiFi on the RT-AX86S.

A factory default reset is not just a good idea. When going from Asus to Merlin, or Merlin to Asus, it is required.

Three ways to do it:
1. GUI Administration - Restore/Save/Upload Setting Factory Default and check the Initialize all the settings box
2. Press and hold the reset button for 20-30 seconds
3. Hard Factory Reset https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1039074/

Then manually configure. It is worth your time!

And do not use saved settings from Asus to restore Merlin or vice versa.

 

[bluepoint]

Yes tried that and no luck. However, bulbs all work fine with WIFI 6 enabled with 386.3.2. Only way the bulbs work with 386.4 is with WIFI Legacy mode.

Have you checked " disable 11b"? See if it makes a difference.

 

[archiel]

I've had another similar report, but so far I'm unable to reproduce this. Are you connecting over IPv4 or IPv6?

Although the android client shows both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses under Your Private IP, I am connected over IPv4. I would guess that this is because I am using an Asuscomm DDNS address and as that is still IPV4 only, it will default to IPv4 for the connection. It will be interesting to see how/whether this changes once the Asuscomm DDNS is working properly on IPv6.

 

[rudoyeugene]

I have learned when changing the router settings/firmware to delete the InstantGuard cache and storage on my Android devices. Then going through the Asus router app to reconnect InstantGuard to the router. Just upgrading the firmware, Asus or Merlin, is usually not a problem.

Neither asus app clean install nor instant guard clean install didn't fix the issue. On official Asus firmware right before uodtae it was working just fine. Now its not.

 

[ebalsumgo]

post dirty upgrade on ac68, i cannot get any wifi device to re-establish connection. my ipad just spins indefinitely. things that do manage. to get connected to the wifi do not seem to be able to get to the internet anything wired is working just fine

 

[ebalsumgo]

ok figured out the issue. the new DHCP format doesnt like spaces in the note field which was casuing dnsmasq to not start. removed an offending space and rebooted things seem to be happy now

 

[ElmerFudd]

Have you checked " disable 11b"? See if it makes a difference.

YEs tried that and no difference. Only legacy mode works.

 

[ElmerFudd]

Have you looked for firmware upgrades for your bulbs? People in that thread resolved the problem that way in the past.

Hi Merlin,

Did 386.3.2 include all the vulnerabilities which were addressed with stock ASUS Version 3.0.0.4.386.45375
2021/08/31? Based on someone else's post in a TPLINK forum, I noticed ASUS made several updates to WPA in the 8/31 release as follows and I'm wondering if this is what is causing many of our TP-Link Smart Bulb WIFI disconnect issues once we upgraded from 386.3.2 to 386.4. I'm just trying to isolate so we can get TP-Link to fix.

WPA Vulnerabilities addressed with 3.0.0.4.386.45375 included:

- CVE-2021-30004
- CVE-2021-27803
- CVE-2019-11555
- CVE-2019-9499
- CVE-2019-9498
- CVE-2019-9497
- CVE-2019-9496
- CVE-2019-9495
- CVE-2019-9494
- CVE-2017-13086
- CVE-2017-13084
- CVE-2017-13082
- CVE-2016-4476
- CVE-2015-8041

 

[JoGi]

Dirty update on ax88u, no problems