AX58U - wifi failures - defective unit?

[dev_null]

Yesterday I received my new AX58U (AX3000) from BestBuy.

I immediately updated the firmware to Merlin 384.17, and re-set the NVRAM. I then began to set up the router by hand from scratch, keeping my old _B1 settings open in a separate window.

But something is wonky. I deselected the "dual smart connect" option (I want to control the bands separately). I can make changes in the 2.4 band and those seem to take, but as soon as I make any changes in the 5gHz band both radios turn off. And nothing short of a full reset brings the 5gHz signal back.

The LEDs are lit and the wifi pages indicate the radios are enabled, and restarting wifi with scMerlin is ineffective.

A cold reboot of the device will enable 2.4gHz only. 5gHz never returns once changes are made to that radio.

This is not simply a device or two not detecting. None of my devices - including recent Samsung Galaxy and iDevices - can detect the router, so those radios are for sure off.

The log actually seems to show the router triggering the radios - if I leave the setting at auto, I can see a message about scanning and setting the channel, but even leaving the router powered overnight (in case the DFS scan took longer) resulted in no radios this morning.

Here's what I've tried:

1) full nvram reset 384.17 = both visible, initially-entered settings (during wizard setup)

• Radios continue to function until editing of 5gHz settings (moving to a fixed channel 161 or deselecting some attributes on the professional tab) - then I tried

2) backing out those changes = no effect
3) cold reboot (power down, wait) = no effect (let sit for 20 mins)
4) flash 384.16, followed by reboot = 2.4gHz only
5) full nvram reset 384.16 = both visible, initially-entered settings (during wizard setup), both radios disappear after modifying 5gHz settings.
6) flash Asus fw 3.0.0.4.384.8601 = no effect (let sit for 15 mins) - I did not do a full re-set of nvram for this step since the results were the same.

I've read several threads including some about the AX88U having demonstrated similar issues. I tried some of the settings there (mainly concerning the 160mHz channel width) without success.

I can't afford to re-set the router and lose the settings every time I make a change in the 5gHz settings. I welcome any thoughts, before I send it back as defective.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Some screenshots. Using separate SSID for the 2 bands.

TRY the .18 firmware: https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=!AGY2taGX02nVmWA&id=CCE5625ED3599CE0!1427&cid=CCE5625ED3599CE0

 

[dev_null]

Thanks very much. I did load the 384.18 alpha and my settings are identical, except for universal beamforming (off).

More investigation this morning (after coffee) shows activating some GUEST NETWORKS cause this issue. Delete the guest wifi access and reboot and the radios are back.

I tried many combinations - for a short time 2.4 "guest 2" and 5gHz radios seemed compatible, but after a short time the 5gHz signal disappeared.

Interestingly (but perhaps unrelated) when the security was "WPA/WPA2 Personal" the 5gHz radio stayed up. As soon as I switched to "WPA2 personal" both signal disappeared and a reboot only brought back 2.4gHz signal, not the 5gHz signal.

And any change in guest seems to require a reboot (on my _B1, it seems that the radios restart, but not a full reboot).

I'm going to continue to experiment, but this appears to be related to guest network activation - it is 100% reproducible for me.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else have any issues with AX58U (or AX in general I suppose) and guest networks.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

@dev_null

Was using Yazfi and had major issues so I uninstalled and have not tried again.

EDIT: mac address filter worked on 68U then stopped working. So I stopped using that as well.

I initially tried to import my old setting and usb drive and jffs.(had to try)
A mistake on all levels. Had to reflash, wiping jffs and reformatted usb(after gui unmount)

If you loaded anything from old settings, DON'T. Start from scratch.

 

[dev_null]

Update: some success to report. Steps taken sequentially (though will seem like voodoo):

• Activate 5gHz guest 2, with WPA2 Personal > warm reboot (success 5gHz signal present)
  
• Activate 2.4gHz guest 1, with WPA2 Personal > warm reboot (success 5gHz signal present)

Then:

• Activate 2.4gHz guest 2, with WPA2 Personal > warm reboot (fail 5gHz signal NOT present)
• Remove 2.4gHz guest 2, with WPA2 Personal > warm reboot (success 5gHz signal present)

Followed by:

• Activate 5gHz guest 1, with WPA2 Personal > warm reboot (success 5gHz signal present)
• Activate 2.4gHz guest 2, with WPA2 Personal > warm reboot (fail 5gHz signal NOT present)

It appears that activating more than 1 guest network on the 2.4gHz band causes the 5gHz radios to not restart.

I'm conflicted because I need a 2.4gHz guestnet for my IOT and a second one for some old hardware that I don't want to access the intranet.

Does this seems like a firmware issue rather than a hardware issue (or should I just return the unit)?

Do others need to reboot when updating guest network? That concerns me w/r/t hardware issues.

 

[Digitald00d]

1-AX58U here as router, another AX58U as node, then 1-AC68U as node. 3 total in AiMesh setup. Total provider speed is 15/2 via wireless. All routers are wireless as wired-backhaul is not possible. 2G and 5G are NOT separate. One 2G guest network enabled for house cameras to run on. Running Merlin 384.17 on all units. WPA2 Personal selected. I have not messed with specific channel frequencies or disabling beamforwarwarding and such as I haven’t had any troubles. I’m somewhat on the edge of town and only see two to three networks around me so interference is minimal.

Everything seems to be running as expected. No anomalies or weirdness so far.

I even had 1 additional AC68P in the mesh, but decided to see if three were enough for coverage before re-enabling the fourth. All seems to be working ok.

EDIT: I did NOT need to reboot when adding the ONE 2.4G Guest, WPA2 channel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Update: some success to report. Steps taken sequentially (though will seem like voodoo):

• Activate 5gHz guest 2, with WPA2 Personal > warm reboot (success 5gHz signal present)
  
• Activate 2.4gHz guest 1, with WPA2 Personal > warm reboot (success 5gHz signal present)

Then:

• Activate 2.4gHz guest 2, with WPA2 Personal > warm reboot (fail 5gHz signal NOT present)
• Remove 2.4gHz guest 2, with WPA2 Personal > warm reboot (success 5gHz signal present)

Followed by:

• Activate 5gHz guest 1, with WPA2 Personal > warm reboot (success 5gHz signal present)
• Activate 2.4gHz guest 2, with WPA2 Personal > warm reboot (fail 5gHz signal NOT present)

It appears that activating more than 1 guest network on the 2.4gHz band causes the 5gHz radios to not restart.

I'm conflicted because I need a 2.4gHz guestnet for my IOT and a second one for some old hardware that I don't want to access the intranet.

Does this seems like a firmware issue rather than a hardware issue (or should I just return the unit)?

Do others need to reboot when updating guest network? That concerns me w/r/t hardware issues.

I'm only using a single guestnet 2.4(for range)

Possible firmware related at this point and some things just don't seem to play well.

EDIT: Core 3 appears to never move, don't know what that's about. Would like info on that front.

After making changes(and updating scripts) I like to Clear Log and Reboot. A clean run lets me see if anything isn't right.

Try this (cable/Spectrum 10/100): adjust for your plan

 

[dev_null]

I'm leaning toward defective.

I just updated the IP address range and after the settings were accepted, the radios disappeared again until after reboot.

Something is going on with this unit - all of the settings are being hand-entered, so it's not incompatible nvram settings from what I can tell.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

I'm leaning toward defective.

I just updated the IP address range and after the settings were accepted, the radios disappeared again until after reboot.

Something is going on with this unit - all of the settings are being hand-entered, so it's not incompatible nvram settings from what I can tell.

Are you using any scripts?

EDIT: Don't change any settings and try overflashing .18 again, if you haven't already.

 

[dev_null]

Are you using any scripts?

Nope, wanted to get it stable before I started adding anything. Just the bare router with a 32G flash and 2G swap.

 

[dev_null]

I'm only using a single guestnet 2.4(for range)

@John Fitzgerald - could you try to add a second 2.4 guest network and describe the behavior you observe (if you reproduce my findings, removing the second 2.4 guest should reverse the issues) please?

Or if anyone with this hardware has 2 or more 2.4gHz guest networks, can you comment on the status of your 5gHz signal.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Nope, wanted to get it stable before I started adding anything. Just the bare router with a 32G flash and 2G swap.

BOX LABEL: Looking for lot comparison

RT-AX58U in large white letters with smaller AX3000 above it in gold/mustard brown coloring

What HW Ver. (mine A1)?

Factory FW: V3.0.0.4.384.7739
90lG04Q0-MA1R1T
Made in TAIWAN
MFG: YEAR:2019

 

[John Fitzgerald]

@John Fitzgerald - could you try to add a second 2.4 guest network and describe the behavior you observe (if you reproduce my findings, removing the second 2.4 guest should reverse the issues) please?

Or if anyone with this hardware has 2 or more 2.4gHz guest networks, can you comment on the status of your 5gHz signal.

Added 2nd 2.4 and 1st 5G, not seeing any dropouts (warm reboot initiated by router and waited for cpu to settle)

So maybe it is a bad unit?

 

[Digitald00d]

Both my units:

Model: RT-AX3000
HW Ver: 1.0
F/W Ver: 3.0.0.4.384
90IG04Q0-MA1R2V
Made in Vietnam
MFG Year: 2019


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dev_null]

Added 2nd 2.4 and 1st 5G, not seeing any dropouts (warm reboot initiated by router and waited for cpu to settle)

So the router warm rebooted after changing guest wifi settings? My _B1 does that but the AX58 does not.

And huh, my label actually says "RT-AX58U" HW ver A1 FW ver 384.7739 MFG year 2019. So it looks like a different run (tho the box says AX3000 in addition to RT-AX58U). Interesting.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

So the router warm rebooted after changing guest wifi settings? My _B1 does that but the AX58 does not.

And huh, my label actually says "RT-AX58U" HW ver A1 FW ver 384.7739 MFG year 2019. So it looks like a different run (tho the box says AX3000 in addition to RT-AX58U). Interesting.

Yes to bold.
Do you want a box cover pic?

 

[dev_null]

Do you want a box cover pic?

Nah, but the reviews I previously read indicated that the units BB shipped were referred to as AX3000's whereas my unit is clearly branded AX58U (even on the bottom of the device itself - no reference to AX3000 on the device). I wonder if the AX58U exclusivity period is ending at BB so "generic" labeling is now starting to roll out.

Either way, BB sent me a return label, so this one is going back (they did not offer to replace it, so my search begins anew: maybe an AX88 instead...).

 

[John Fitzgerald]

the reviews I previously read indicated that the units BB shipped were referred to as AX3000's whereas my unit is clearly branded AX58U (even on the bottom of the device itself - no reference to AX3000 on the device).

Bottom of mine (black label, left side)

AX3000 Dual Band Wifi Router
AX3000
Model: RT-AX58U

 

[dev_null]

Bottom of mine (black label, left side)

Mine was a unicorn I guess:

Box label:

Router bottom:

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Mine was a unicorn I guess:

Box label:
View attachment 23447

Router bottom:
View attachment 23448

Did yours ship from: SHEPHERDSVILLE, KY 40165

Our "check #'s are different.

The Router Label is Black on the Left and a white paper label an the Right. The Black label part should read like I posted above.