Dropping Wifi Connectivity - Firmware 374.40

[zzyzx]

I have a N66U which I recently upgraded with 374.40. Shortly after updating I noticed both the iPhones in the house were frequently losing connectivity and either switching to cellular data or requesting to reassociate with the N66U's SSID every 5 - 10 minutes. This has not been a problem for the iPad running the same iOS nor the macbook, both on the same 2.4GHz SSID. This was also not an issue before upgrading to 374.40, but I believe both phones updated to a new iOS around the same time.

Checking the logs I saw repeated DCHPRequests for the phones whenever they are on the network. I have to believe this is related to the wifi connectivity issues. Anyone else have this experience before or know what might be the underlying issue?

This is a N66U router running 374.40 firmware. The wireless mode is Auto, 2.4GHz with mainly default settings, currently on a fixed 20MHz channel but I've tried several settings including N-Only and Auto/40MHz.

Apr 10 17:31:00 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.202 60:fa:cd:ff:ff:ff iPhone4S
Apr 10 17:35:17 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.202 60:fa:cd:ff:ff:ff 
Apr 10 17:35:17 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.202 60:fa:cd:ff:ff:ff iPhone4S
Apr 10 17:36:19 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.202 60:fa:cd:ff:ff:ff 
Apr 10 17:36:19 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.202 60:fa:cd:ff:ff:ff iPhone4S
Apr 10 17:37:12 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff 
Apr 10 17:37:12 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff iPhone4
Apr 10 17:40:49 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff 
Apr 10 17:40:49 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff iPhone4
Apr 10 17:45:17 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff 
Apr 10 17:45:17 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff iPhone4
Apr 10 17:47:26 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff 
Apr 10 17:47:26 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff iPhone4
Apr 10 17:49:17 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff 
Apr 10 17:49:17 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff iPhone4
Apr 10 17:52:19 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff 
Apr 10 17:52:19 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff iPhone4
Apr 10 17:55:18 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff 
Apr 10 17:55:18 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff iPhone4
Apr 10 18:00:44 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff 
Apr 10 18:00:44 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff iPhone4
Apr 10 18:01:18 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff 
Apr 10 18:01:18 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff iPhone4
Apr 10 18:02:19 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.203 40:a6:d9:ff:ff:ff

This continually repeats whenever one or both phones are on the network.

 

[G997]

I have the same issue..no idea whats going on...

 

[KenEsq]

Just wondering are you using Windows 8.1?

 

[zzyzx]

I do have a windows 8 box on the network. I just updated to 8.1, but this has been going on much earlier than this week. Also, that PC is often not even powered on. It's just the two iPhones with this issue.

 

[G997]

No W here
Just iPhone 4s doing it
5s doesn't do it

 

[jlake]

When I tested .40, I noticed the connection was dropping on a Broadcom BCM432236 USB adapter when I initially flashed it, but before I had a chance to configure the settings and do my usual routine. Once I configured it, I didn't notice anymore drops for the week that I tested. The EM driver found in .40 is "special" so I didn't give it too much thought. I didn't look in the log, I just observed the connection dropping on the computer itself. I didn't notice any dropping on iPad mini (Broadcom BCM4334), but I didn't spend a lot of time on it. FYI, iPad mini non-retina and iPhone 5 use the same BCM4334 wifi chipset. Not sure what iPhone 4s or iPhone 5s uses.

Try the steps below:

1. Reset asus router to factory defaults by pressing and holding the reset button for more than five seconds. Be sure to use this reset method for the sake of testing.

2. Remove your old wireless profiles. On iPhone try "forget this network". Or you can reset your network settings. Settings>General>reset>reset network settings.

3. Use something like inSSIDer to help you find the best channel. For 2.4 ghz, use "20 MHz".

 

[G997]

1 and 2 already done, doesn't effect anything

 

[jlake]

1 and 2 already done, doesn't effect anything

How about step 3?

 

[nasedo]

I had the same problem. Back to the stock and problem gone.

 

[RocketJSquirrel]

Yes, there is something going on with wireless in .40 on the N66U.

I have an HP OfficeJet printer sitting about 30 feet from the router. With .40, I would get very frequent pop-ups on my (wired) computer that "Scan to computer" capability has been lost. This is a symptom of the printer losing WiFi.

Going back to 374.39_0-em did the trick for me. I do get that pop-up maybe once a day, but not repeatedly as with .40. I'm too addicted to the Merlin FW to go back to stock.

 

[jlake]

Yes, there is something going on with wireless in .40 on the N66U.

I have an HP OfficeJet printer sitting about 30 feet from the router. With .40, I would get very frequent pop-ups on my (wired) computer that "Scan to computer" capability has been lost. This is a symptom of the printer losing WiFi.

Going back to 374.39_0-em did the trick for me. I do get that pop-up maybe once a day, but not repeatedly as with .40. I'm too addicted to the Merlin FW to go back to stock.

Yes, you're probably right that .40 is unique, because I never noticed any drops on .39 EM.

 

[Mrid]

FWIW, I was experiencing some drops with an older ios device, but that seems to have been remedied by disabling "enable wmm no-acknowledgement."

 

[zzyzx]

Well, not happy to hear others are having issues as well, but glad it's not just my network experiencing issues. Hopefully someone has an idea what's at the root of it.

Mrid - you mentioned disabling "enable wmm no-acknowledgement" fixed the issue for you. Where is that setting? I didn't see it under Wireless|General or Wireless|Professional.

RocketJSquirrel - I have a Canon wifi printer. I turned it on and yep, it is showing the same frequent DCHP requests in the log. I go back to believing this is related to these DHCP requests (either a symptom or a cause). Is anyone else with wifi connectivity issues showing this in their system log?

Apr 11 19:27:22 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.200 88:87:17:ff:ff:ff 
Apr 11 19:27:22 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.200 88:87:17:ff:ff:ff Pixma
Apr 11 19:29:00 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.200 88:87:17:ff:ff:ff  
Apr 11 19:29:00 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.200 88:87:17:ff:ff:ff  Pixma
Apr 11 19:30:00 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.200 88:87:17:ff:ff:ff  
Apr 11 19:30:00 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.200 88:87:17:ff:ff:ff  Pixma
Apr 11 19:31:00 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.200 88:87:17:ff:ff:ff  
Apr 11 19:31:00 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.200 88:87:17:ff:ff:ff  Pixma
Apr 11 19:32:00 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.148.200 88:87:17:ff:ff:ff  
Apr 11 19:32:00 dnsmasq-dhcp[690]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.148.200 88:87:17:ff:ff:ff Pixma

 

[G997]

FWIW, I was experiencing some drops with an older ios device, but that seems to have been remedied by disabling "enable wmm no-acknowledgement."

That doesn't work

 

[krick]

I have an ASUS RT-AC68U running Merlin 374.40 alpha 4 and my log is FULL of the same sort of DHCPREQUEST messages. My log from yesterday alone was 1777 lines long, with the vast majority being the same sort of DHCP related messages. 339 requests were from my Wii alone, but there were other 2.4GHz clients with nearly as many requests.

The odd thing is that my router came from the factory with 3.0.0.4.374_4561 firmware and there was definitely a performance problem with 2.4GHz. Running an online bandwidth speed test, I was only getting 1.5mbps down and streaming video was choppy. Switching to the merlin firmware above, the performance problems went away and I get 15mbps down like I should. I didn't pay attention to my logs with the factory firmware, so I don't know if it was full of DHCP requests or not.

EDIT: I just had a thought. For people who are seeing this issue, are you running both radios with the same SSID and password? I don't know if it could be responsible, but I'm using the same SSID for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

 

[G997]

different ssid's here

 

[Aidic]

Exactly same issue here, except its my wired in computer prompting the DHCPINFORM/DHCPACK spam. I have noticed this over multiple versions of both the stock firmware and Merlin's version. My network looks like this:

AC66U connected with shielded cat6 to my cable modem with Comcast service.

AC66U is hardwired with shielded cat6 to desktop computer, freenas, WHS2011 box, and powerline network box that connects to 1 tv, xbox 360, ps3, appletv, Apple Thunderbolt Display, and DirecTV DVR.

2 different ssid's though they share the same password for the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. I have the 5 GHz band setup for N+AC only and I have set the channel to avoid interference.


I get the messages about 10 minutes apart for my desktop reliably, occasionally another device connected through wireless will do the same. We have ~6-8 devices trying to access the wireless through either ssid at any given time.


It might not be related, but occasionally we drop all wifi connectivity and it looks like the router restarts. Hard to reproduce reliably, but its not power related and normally it happens with a lot of traffic going from a wired connection to a wireless connection (like streaming games from my desktop to an NVIDIA Shield). Have tried a lot of things, included resetting the NVRAM and resetting the device to defaults. Nothing has fixed either issue.

 

[Rvdv]

I just had a look in my logfiles (n66u) and I have a lot of the same lines there as well, for wired as well as wireless devices.
I am not experiencing any wifi drops though, I did notice the router uptimes was 20 hours so there has been an unexpected reboot. I upgraded from a really old version several weeks ago and I always had uptimes of several months (I did a full wipe after upgrading and manually reset all settings).

 

[RocketJSquirrel]

EDIT: I just had a thought. For people who are seeing this issue, are you running both radios with the same SSID and password? I don't know if it could be responsible, but I'm using the same SSID for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

My 5 GHz radio is turned off. So that's not the issue in my case.

 

[bill1228]

The dhcprequest then dhcpack would be the normal sequence of a client (PC, cell phone, tablet, etc) renewing its lease. Why there are multiple for a given client within a very short period of time (minute or 2) does not make sense unless there is something wrong with the ACK response causing the client to make the request again. Also interesting on my N66U not all clients exhibit this behavior. Lennox wireless thermostat follows the rules, renew at the 12 hour mark since my lease time is one day and only have the dhcprequest/dhcpack sequence once as would be expected.
Would appear to me as a dnsmasq bug but I am not a software guy.

--bill