Release Asuswrt-Merlin 386.4 is now available

[Akore]

Hi,

I updated my RT-AC68U from 386.2 to 386.4 today. Seems to be fine except guest wifi. I configured "Access Intranet = Disabled" (as in the past) to ensure guests wifi clients cannot connect to any device within my lan. However, in the past (with 386.2) I was able to contact / ping devices in the guest wifi. As I use the guest wifi for my IOT devices it is important to me to contact them from my lan. With 386.4 I cannot ping devices in the guest wifi any more.

Is there any new setup needed or is this a bug?

Thanks a lot
Chris

I also updated today but my IoT devices are still working. My IoT devices are on Guest 1 2.4 GHz

 

[ColinTaylor]

However, in the past (with 386.2) I was able to contact / ping devices in the guest wifi.

If that was true then it would have been a bug in 386.2. Devices on the LAN are not supposed to be able to communicate with devices on an isolated guest network, and vice versa. YazFi was created in part to offer this ability.

 

[Akore]

If that was true then it would have been a bug in 386.2. Devices on the LAN are not supposed to be able to communicate with devices on an isolated guest network, and vice versa. YazFi was created in part to offer this ability.

I have 386.4 installed and I can ping my IoT devices on my Guest Network 1 with Access Intranet set to "Disable"... does this mean the bug still exists?

 

[ColinTaylor]

I have 386.4 installed and I can ping my IoT devices on my Guest Network 1 with Access Intranet set to "Disable"... does this mean the bug still exists?

It depends where you're pinging from. Pings will probably work from the router itself but shouldn't work from a PC connected to the LAN. Pings are not a good test of isolation, you really need to test with a TCP connection, like the web interface of a camera or printer.

 

[CriticJay]

Strange non-severe (trivial) issue noticed... I feel like as of last week, when I "mouse over" the menu left-side navigation bar (like SYSTEM LOG) I would see the sub-pages like Wireless Log etc. And I could go straight into a sub-page like Wireless Log.

And now I don't see anything when I mouse over... so I have to click into System Log first and then go to Wireless log.

Yup I cleared my web browser (Chrome latest version) cache and restarted it Also rebooted router for good measure.
Any thoughts?

My only recent router change was upgrade to 386.4

 

[ColinTaylor]

... when I "mouse over" the menu left-side navigation bar (like SYSTEM LOG) I would see the sub-pages like Wireless Log etc. And I could go straight into a sub-page like Wireless Log.

I don't ever remember seeing that behaviour. Perhaps it was a feature of an addon script.

 

[CriticJay]

I don't ever remember seeing that behaviour. Perhaps it was a feature of an addon script.

Woah! I've been using Merlin so long I forgot what the pure stock behaviour was.

I will check my installed scripts and see if this was a feature introduced by scripts, thanks.

 

[PR3MIUM]

request to hide the PPTP password with "*****" if possible

 

[AlleyCat]

Woah! I've been using Merlin so long I forgot what the pure stock behaviour was.

I will check my installed scripts and see if this was a feature introduced by scripts, thanks.

Hi, the flyout submenus are enabled by the scMerlin addon. have you tried SSH’ng into the router, then launch amtm and enter ‘u’ at the amtm prompt to check for script updates. the latest version of scMerlin is v2.4.0

 

[alan6854321]

I don't ever remember seeing that behaviour. Perhaps it was a feature of an addon script.

It's provided by the 'scMerlin' addon

 

[GHammer]

FWIW- These are my 2.4 settings that produce a solid connection to many IoT items around the house, including TP-Link smart plugs.

 

[capncybo]

Just noticed dnsmasq: revert to version 2.85
So... my guess would be another release in the not so distant future.
Oh-Boy Eric you sure do know how to have fun, & good luck in the new year.

 

[Akore]

I've done more testing after ~30 hours of the phone remaining connected to the 2.4 GHz WiFi, and can say that my previous testing was wrong and as such my reporting on it was also wrong, for which I apologize.

It seems that every time I tested and the phone could not connect, I actually checked the Disable 11b checkbox. Testing again either one of AsusWRT-Merlin 386.4_0, AsusWRT 3.0.0.4.386.45934 or AsusWRT 3.0.0.4.386.45987, all hard reseted by holding the WPS button, the phone connects as long as I don't apply the checkbox and fails to connect if applying the checkbox.
View attachment 38487
More over, applying the Disable 11b checkbox sets the nvram variables wl_rateset and wl0_rateset from the default values of default to the new value of ofdm and cannot be removed using the WebUI. It can be done from the terminal by executing the following commands:

nvram set wl_rateset=default
nvram set wl0_rateset=default
nvram commit
service restart_wireless

---

Try these, in this order:

1. soft remove all usb drives attached to the router: go to Network Map (/index.asp), under USB 2.0 and/or USB 3.0, hit Remove button. This frees up RAM that can be used in the firmware upgrade process, which gives a better chance of successful upgrade. You can leave the drives physically attached to the router as long as you don't reboot before the upgrade;
2. if 1. fails, cold boot the router without any usb drives attached: turn off router by power button or removing the plug from wall or router, disconnect all usb devices from router, wait ~20 seconds for the electricity remaining in capacitors to drain, replace the plug or press the power button, let the router boot and then try the upgrade;
3. if 2. still fails, first make a backup of your configuration (and jffs partition if you have it enabled) in Administration - Restore/Save/Upload Setting (/Advanced_SettingBackup_Content.asp), Save settings button (and Save button for the jffs partition). Then hard reset the router by following the instructions in this link: https://www.asus.com/us/support/FAQ/1039074. After the router boots up, go through the initial wizzard of setting WAN, WiFi and a new user and password and then try the upgrade again;
4. if even 3. fails, you can use the ASUS Firmware Restoration utility to upgrade the firmware;
5. if 4. fails also, check that your RT-AC68U_386.4_0.trx file has the correct sha256 checksum of 9999cd9a12f97f927af0298a295dcfe269c71e21053e3ae17b4bec4dce0a69a8.

For some reason the file for the RT-AC68U on SorceForge.net when unzipped has the .trx labeled as "RT-AC86U_386.4_0_cferom_ubi.w" but the one from OneDrive is the correct "RT-AC68U_386.4_0.trx" in the zip file. Not sure if I am the only seeing this issue but maybe someone else can confirm it for me?

 

[Comoman]

Dirty upgrade from 3_2 to .4 and all my Sonos devices could not be found.

Rolled back to _2 and it managed to wipe my AX-86U to factory settings. Once restored from backup Sonos working again.

 

[CaptainSTX]

FWIW- These are my 2.4 settings that produce a solid connection to many IoT items around the house, including TP-Link smart plugs.
View attachment 38495View attachment 38496

Your settings seemed to help get my three TP-Link Model HS100 running Firmware 1.2.6 which is the latest available back online and fully functional. Other poster's suggestions didn't resolve the connectivity issues. The issue seems to be while the devices can connect to the router and they will respond to a ping from the router they can't connect to the internet which is needed to modify a schedule and for the plugs to sync their time after a power outage. Also even when they were not totally connected and as long as they hadn't lost power they would run a schedule previously installed. Sometimes but not always reliably you could toggle the outlets on and off from the KASA app.

On the other hand my newer KP115 running firmware 1.0.17 had no problems after updating to Merlin's latest firmware.

 

[lukester01]

Two issues with 386.4. One is a continued issue from 386.3_2. My asus zenbook has no internet when connected to 2.4ghz. Only has internet on 5ghz. That is the continued problem from old firmware. The new issue is with NEST camera losing connection constantly on the 5Ghz. But also there is an issue with old 2.4ghz printer not working on 386.4. Reverting the 386.3_2 solved the problem with the printer. Windows said printer offline for printer with new firmware. Printer came back online (though it was connected via wifi) when I went back to the old firmware. So there is some issue with old 2.4 devices and the new firmware.

 

[Gary_Dexter]

FWIW- These are my 2.4 settings that produce a solid connection to many IoT items around the house, including TP-Link smart plugs.
View attachment 38495View attachment 38496

I really, really hope that network isn’t called “IOT”…!!

I would also suggest changing your channel width to 20 rather than 20/40 and changing the channel to 1, 6 or 11 rather than 3.

 

[bluesummers]

The UI is reporting "Internet status: Disconnected" despite being connected.

I issued these commands via SSH:

nvram set dns_probe_content="131.107.255.255 112.4.20.71 fd3e:4f5a:5b81::1"
nvram set dns_probe_host="dns.msftncsi.com"
nvram commit

but there was no effect.

Is there anything else I should try?

 

[dave14305]

The UI is reporting "Internet status: Disconnected" despite being connected.

I issued these commands via SSH:

nvram set dns_probe_content="131.107.255.255 112.4.20.71 fd3e:4f5a:5b81::1"
nvram set dns_probe_host="dns.msftncsi.com"
nvram commit

but there was no effect.

Is there anything else I should try?

Run nslookup dns.msftncsi.com from the router and see what you get back.

 

[bluesummers]

This is what I get with nslookup on the ssh connection:

Server:    100.64.0.1
Address 1: 100.64.0.1
Name:      dns.msftncsi.com
Address 1: 131.107.255.255 dns.msftncsi.com
Address 2: fd3e:4f5a:5b81::1

It seems to be correct.