AX56U

[K-2SO]

Any issue on stock firmware is an automatic vote to flash RMerlin firmware

I would say roll back one fw version or try again the same one.
If the router is failing on stock Asus, flashing Merlin won't fix it.

 

[L&LD]

Go back? Never.

Hardware issues are not the norm. It's the firmware that makes it go.

If RMerlin firmware doesn't work, then it's time for a new router.

 

[K-2SO]

Go back? Never.

You are going back anyway with latest Merlin. Current Asus stock for AC86U is 2 releases ahead of 384.17 Merlin. Users not interested in Merlin features have new QoS, Smart Connect, Login options, Open NAT, perhaps updated AiProtection engine and wireless drivers. You don't.

PS. We don't, to be exact. I use Merlin too.

 

[L&LD]

I don't now, but I will. After the stock users have beta tested them enough and RMerlin goes over it with a fine-toothed comb.

Can't go 'back' to something I was never on.

 

[K-2SO]

Can't go 'back' to something I was never on.

In this case what you recommend as "better" is only an assumption.

 

[Thornado]

Missing lan connections, wifi, 2.4 and 5 do not turn on, I can’t get any access to the router at all. After installing the latest firmware from asus website. Can I perform a factory reset with the buttons, is there a cfe bootloader or firmware restoration, or contacts and files for uart? help the router 3 days.

With the reset button on the router

1. Locate the reset button on the backside of your unit
2. with a sharp object, e.g. a paperclip or pencil, press and hold the reset button for 5s or until the power led starts flashing

The 30-30-30 reset
If the above instructions don't work you can always try the 30-30-30 reset as follows:

1. When router is powered on, press the reset button and hold for 30 seconds. (Use a paper clip or something sharp)
2. While holding the reset button pressed, unplug the power of the router and hold the reset button for 30 seconds
3. While still holding the reset button down, turn on the power to the unit again and hold for another 30 seconds.

 

[L&LD]

In this case what you recommend as "better" is only an assumption.

No. You're assuming here.

When I started using Asus routers many years ago, I did use stock firmware, of course. When I discovered RMerlin, and the forks available back then, the difference in stability was noticeable. As was the overall experience on the network too (stability, latency and reliability). To say nothing of the features and UI enhancements too.

Today, those merits are amplified by the inclusive efforts of this great group of script writers and testers and of course made even easier by the built-in amtm functions and features too.

When a customer asks me what router they should buy and I suggest an Asus model, they invariably come back with some issue and I then suggest they try RMerlin firmware. Not because they heard about it previously, but because there was some issue that couldn't be fixed. Rolling back a version or 5 isn't an option. They actually have lives and security is paramount.

Invariably, when RMerlin firmware is installed and set up properly, the issues disappear. Even if that same proper set up was followed as much as possible on stock firmware too.

So recommending RMerlin firmware as 'better' is not an idle assumption. It keeps proving itself correct time and again.

Today, if I have any input, RMerlin firmware is installed by default.

Running stock firmware to use/evaluate an RMerlin Asus router is like going to the student hairstylists at your local school the day before your wedding. Sure you may get lucky. Just as possible though, you won't.

Or, to look at this another way. If stock Asus firmware was the end all and be all, what has RMerlin being doing all these years?

 

[L&LD]

With the reset button on the router

1. Locate the reset button on the backside of your unit
2. with a sharp object, e.g. a paperclip or pencil, press and hold the reset button for 5s or until the power led starts flashing

The 30-30-30 reset
If the above instructions don't work you can always try the 30-30-30 reset as follows:

1. When router is powered on, press the reset button and hold for 30 seconds. (Use a paper clip or something sharp)
2. While holding the reset button pressed, unplug the power of the router and hold the reset button for 30 seconds
3. While still holding the reset button down, turn on the power to the unit again and hold for another 30 seconds.

The 30-30-30 reset doesn't work on an Asus router running Asuswrt (stock or RMerlin).

 

[K-2SO]

No. You're assuming here.

You recommend fw you didn't test. Post #20 as example. Slow down, IT is not a religion.

PS. You may not believe, but on my identical Asus routers current stock fw works better than last Merlin.

 

[L&LD]

I am using the firmware I spoke about in post 20. I just don't need to play with all the features.