Delayed internet connection...

[Cr00zng]

Router: AX86U
Firmware Version: ASUSwrt-Merlin: 386.2_4
Issue: Accessing a website, pretty much any website, at times delayed.

The browser displays a standard "Unable to access the site..." and before I could finish reading it, the browser refreshes itself and displays the webpage. This has been observed with different browsers and different devices. The sites impacted are random, but the issue isn't always present and hard to replicate. I am also not certain, if it is related to Asus, or the Merlin firmware. For all practical purposes, I've used the Asus firmware for two or three days.

The router's temperature is 50C max, less than half the memory is used up and the internet connection is 200Mbps from the cable company. The previous RT-N66R during its 6-7 years did not have this issue, with pretty much the same devices and network connections.

Could this be related to the AiProtection, that had not been enabled? Does the router calls home, even if the protection is not enabled?

TIA...

 

[ColinTaylor]

The only times I've seen this sort of behaviour is when my ISP is having issues, manifesting in erratic or very slow internet speeds. Or when my WAN DNS servers are taking a long time to respond.

Have you recently made any changes that could throttle your internet speed (e.g. QoS), or effect DNS?

 

[Tech9]

I am also not certain, if it is related to Asus, or the Merlin firmware.

It's user related most of the time.

 

[Cr00zng]

The only times I've seen this sort of behaviour is when my ISP is having issues, manifesting in erratic or very slow internet speeds. Or when my WAN DNS servers are taking a long time to respond.

Have you recently made any changes that could throttle your internet speed (e.g. QoS), or effect DNS?

Thanks Colin...

The QoS is not enabled on the router:

For that matter, none of the options are enabled under the "General" heading at the moment.

My internet connection is stable and had been for long time, except down time due to storms. Other than that, this is the usual speed test result:

Testing the the DNS query response with PowerShell script results in sub-milliseconds response time.

This issue may show up once, or twice a day, or not at all. As stated in the OP, this issue last only a second or two and the website in question displayed in the browser. Testing the internet connection and the DNS query response time after the issue shows up is pretty much useless, the results are the same as above.

The AX86U replaced the previous Asus RT-N66R router about two weeks ego and that's when this issue started to show up. There had been no other changes made to the BAN and it seems logical that the new router might be the culprit.

It's user related most of the time.

For an Asus tech, yes...

Please do tell, if I've clicked too fast/slow sometimes on a link. That's about all that the user does to have this issue. But I digress, maybe I should just type in the URLs, right?

 

[ColinTaylor]

A bit of a long shot but you could try taking the WAN MAC address of your old N66U and cloning it on your new router. That might give you your old public IP address which in turn might be routed slightly differently through the ISP network. Like I said, a long shot.

 

[Cr00zng]

A bit of a long shot but you could try taking the WAN MAC address of your old N66U and cloning it on your new router. That might give you your old public IP address which in turn might be routed slightly differently through the ISP network. Like I said, a long shot.

Thanks Colin...

I was going to swap back in service the N66U, but yours is a better idea. It's probably going to take me a day or two, Mother's Day is coming and I have a lot to do...

 

[Tech9]

For an Asus tech, yes...

I only read your other posts and your signature. Good enough information to get the picture. Your QoS settings are mostly irrelevant because your router can do 200Mbps even with hardware acceleration disabled. What scripts you experiment with and what DNS settings do you have?

 

[Cr00zng]

I only read your other posts and your signature. Good enough information to get the picture. Your QoS settings are mostly irrelevant because your router can do 200Mbps even with hardware acceleration disabled. What scripts you experiment with and what DNS settings do you have?

Thanks...

I didn't read many of your posts, but did get the picture...

I did think that QoS has anything to do with it. I don't recall disabling it, maybe it's the default setting?

No scripting has been tested on the router as of yet, that'll take more time. I'll need to get comfortable with apps installation on the router, including backup/restore in case I mess up.

Most of the devices in my BAN utilize NextDNS, that bypasses the router and the cable company DNS settings. Some devices do utilize the router's DNS settings, but the issue shows up with both type of devices. Again, maybe once or twice a day, or not at all.

 

[Tech9]

Good luck.

 

[alba666]

Is this with 5GHz connections? If so, is this on a DFS channel?

 

[Cr00zng]

Is this with 5GHz connections? If so, is this on a DFS channel?

I haven't seen it on wireless connections, just on the LAN. For that matter, I haven't seen it on the LAN either for the last couple of days. I haven't done @ColinTaylor suggestion yet, but will do it if it returns...