Bricked RT-AC68u?

[Sammy2]

I'm trying to take my RT ac68u out of aimesh mode and when I did the reset it wouldn't come back to life at 192.168.1.1. I proceeded to do a recovery with the latest firmware restoration tool from Asus with the adapter set to 192.168.1.10 to f/w 3004.385.10000 but it fails at about 90% complete.

Are there any other recovery methods?

Should I try an earlier f/w? Where to get it?

The main router is reset already and after this fails I see the following:

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[ColinTaylor]

Try installing Merlin's final 380.70 release. That's much smaller than the current Asus firmware. If that loads OK you can perform a factory reset on it and then attempt to load the current stock firmware.

P.S. Did you reset the router by pressing the reset button for 5 seconds?

 

[Smokindog]

Sorry if this is captain obvious stuff.

I know it sounds convoluted but I had similar issues awhile back with an AC68 when I abandoned AiMesh.

1) "Disconnect" - Completely disconnect everything from the router; lan, wan, usb and power. Also power down your main router (and any others) just for grins.
2) "Discharge" - Wait 2-3 minutes and re-apply power to the AC68. While powered down, you could also hold the reset/WPS/WiFi buttons for a few seconds while unplugged and cycle the power switch.
3) "Reset" - When the device is energized, press the Reset button for approximately 5 secs until the Power LED starts flashing, then release the button.
4) "Access" - ONLY connect a cable between the AC68 LAN and your PC
5) "Reset" - IF you can access the GUI at this time, do another reset via the GUI AND set up ssh so you can log in and clear NVRAM via command line.
6) "Recover" - Now try a recovery reflash using instructions here - https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1000814/
7) Assuming you've been successful, perform yet another reset via the GUI​

I'm trying to take my RT ac68u out of aimesh mode and when I did the reset it wouldn't come back to life at 192.168.1.1. I proceeded to do a recovery with the latest firmware restoration tool from Asus with the adapter set to 192.168.1.10 to f/w 3004.385.10000 but it fails at about 90% complete.

Are there any other recovery methods?

Should I try an earlier f/w? Where to get it?

The main router is reset already and after this fails I see the following:

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Sammy2]

Sorry if this is captain obvious stuff.

I know it sounds convoluted but I had similar issues awhile back with an AC68 when I abandoned AiMesh.

1) "Disconnect" - Completely disconnect everything from the router; lan, wan, usb and power. Also power down your main router (and any others) just for grins.
2) "Discharge" - Wait 2-3 minutes and re-apply power to the AC68. While powered down, you could also hold the reset/WPS/WiFi buttons for a few seconds while unplugged and cycle the power switch.
3) "Reset" - When the device is energized, press the Reset button for approximately 5 secs until the Power LED starts flashing, then release the button.
4) "Access" - ONLY connect a cable between the AC68 LAN and your PC
5) "Reset" - IF you can access the GUI at this time, do another reset via the GUI AND set up ssh so you can log in and clear NVRAM via command line.
6) "Recover" - Now try a recovery reflash using instructions here - https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1000814/
7) Assuming you've been successful, perform yet another reset via the GUI​

Hmm. For a router I'm going to sell on eBay it seems a better use of time to toss it in the trash as I'll probably yield $30 after fees and shipping.

BTW, none of that is obvious to me; that is why I asked.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Smokindog]

Hmm. For a router I'm going to sell on eBay it seems a better use of time to toss it in the trash as I'll probably yield $30 after fees and shipping.

BTW, none of that is obvious to me; that is why I asked.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

OK but why did you bother to ask for help if you're going to just ignore what people tell you? It does take time out of our day to respond.

Best wishes.

PS - the steps may be different but the activities I outlined are pretty standard things to do with computers/TVs/... when confronted with "I can't get it to work, Are there any other recovery methods?"

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hmm. For a router I'm going to sell on eBay it seems a better use of time to toss it in the trash as I'll probably yield $30 after fees and shipping.

BTW, none of that is obvious to me; that is why I asked.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

Try to e-recycle it, if you can. Every little bit helps.

OE

 

[Sammy2]

I'm sorry if I came off rude. I think this one's just a brick because the closest I can get to the GUI is the screen grab I posted above. Since I can't get into the GUI I can't set it to SSH Mode. No recovery methods that I tried of work and I was hoping maybe there was something else that I could do.

Again, sorry for being rude and thank you for your assistance.

I will put it in the blue recycle bin for weekly pick up or take it to the next electronics recycling event put on by my city. Probably some recoverable precious metals on the PCB.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[L&LD]

Hold down the WPS button while the router is off, then press the power button and keep holding the WPS button. Don't rush; it may take some time before it resets itself and reboots.

This should reset it without needing to go into the GUI.

Btw, what firmware is actually installed on it?

I would suggest you reset as suggested above and load the latest RMerlin 384.15 Alpha firmware instead.

 

[Sammy2]

Hold down the WPS button while the router is off, then press the power button and keep holding the WPS button. Don't rush; it may take some time before it resets itself and reboots.

This should reset it without needing to go into the GUI.

Btw, what firmware is actually installed on it?

I would suggest you reset as suggested above and load the latest RMerlin 384.15 Alpha firmware instead.

I'll give that method a try.

It was on ASUSWRT version prior to 385.10000 as I update f/w after checking for issues online so it was one f/w back as during the holidays I was too busy to update. 1

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Sammy2]

Hold down the WPS button while the router is off, then press the power button and keep holding the WPS button. Don't rush; it may take some time before it resets itself and reboots.

This should reset it without needing to go into the GUI.

Btw, what firmware is actually installed on it?

I would suggest you reset as suggested above and load the latest RMerlin 384.15 Alpha firmware instead.

I finally found the time to do this and it worked.

Why didn't I know something so simple already!!??

THANK YOU!

Since I'm Selling it I'm just going to leave it at the "Welcome to RT-AC68U" setup screen and let the buyer set it up however they want to.

 

[L&LD]

@Sammy2, you're welcome.