Firmware 3.0.0.4.246 almost there

[RMerlin]

I kind of notice the same thing, the reset button sometimes does not clear all config files when resetting to factory defaults. Is holding the wps+power on and reset button has the same effect as telnet's "mtd-erase -d nvram"? If not, can anyone explain what the mtd command does? TIA

mtd-erase actually wipe out the content of the nvram partition, so the first time the router gets booted, CFE will write a new set of default values.

I'm not sure how the WPS-based reset works since that code is inside the CFE.

 

[DaveMishSr]

This doesn't apply when upgrading from 220 to 246 though, right?

That is correct. Both versions 220 and 246 support 64k NVRAM. I did not clear the NVRAM before and after flashing as I usually do and have had no issues yet. In fact, version 246 appears to be giving me the best performance from my RT-N66u of any firmware versions so far.

 

[RMerlin]

That is correct. Both versions 220 and 246 support 64k NVRAM. I did not clear the NVRAM before and after flashing as I usually do and have had no issues yet. In fact, version 246 appears to be giving me the best performance from my RT-N66u of any firmware versions so far.

This is odd considering for some people the wireless performance is so bad that they are forced to revert back to 220. Some people flat out have trouble connecting with their router with 246. I suspect this might be specific to some network card models.

 

[bluepoint]

mtd-erase actually wipe out the content of the nvram partition, so the first time the router gets booted, CFE will write a new set of default values.

I'm not sure how the WPS-based reset works since that code is inside the CFE.

Thanks RMerlin. Sorry, I'm noob to all of this, if you won't mind, what is the right way to reset the router to default factory settings? I'm thinking, if I can reset the router with the mtd command then I'd do it that way since it's convenient for me, there is no need for me to go upstairs and reset it physically.

 

[bluepoint]

This is odd considering for some people the wireless performance is so bad that they are forced to revert back to 220. Some people flat out have trouble connecting with their router with 246. I suspect this might be specific to some network card models.

That makes sense RMerlin. You might be into something. I'm one who is having problem with firmware .246's 2.4MHz band connections/speed. The only wireless client that can maintain connection is the broadcom chipped netgear. All the rest in this household in one way or another cannot maintain connection in the 2.4 band, they connect after the router is freshly booted then they all disconnect and then it can not connect anymore. They are atheros chipset clients and whatever is in the ipads, iphones.
Wonder what DaveMishSr wireless clients if he won't mind sharing? Thanks.

 

[dsring]

I had problems initially with 2.4 GHz disconnects on the .246 firmware, but later re-flashed the firmware. I then cleared the NVRAM and power cycled the router. I then disabled 'Enhanced interference management' and 'GRO'. Since doing this, everything has worked well for the last 4 days on 2.4 GHz with zero disconnects on any client. I have (12) total wireless clients. About 75% of those are on 2.4 GHz which include an iPad 2, iPod 1, iPod 2, iPhone 4s, android phone, Samsung refrigerator, Kodak picture frame, and a DirectTV DECA-bridge. I am not sure which ones are Broadcom or Atheros based chipsets, but I have not have any issues at all since clearing the NVRAM, disabling GRO, and disabling Enhanced Interference Management.

 

[RMerlin]

Thanks RMerlin. Sorry, I'm noob to all of this, if you won't mind, what is the right way to reset the router to default factory settings? I'm thinking, if I can reset the router with the mtd command then I'd do it that way since it's convenient for me, there is no need for me to go upstairs and reset it physically.

mtd-erase -d nvram && reboot

 

[RMerlin]

I suspect there's a bit of confusion surrounding the reports about wireless stability issues. Not everyone's issue is the same.

First thing to try is to toggle the Enhanced Interference Management option, disable GRO (on the same page), then reboot the router. See after that if it's any better. For some people just doing this will resolve your stability issues.

There is another group of people which actually suffer from a different stability issue introduced with 246, and for which doing what I described above will still result in stability issues. I'm trying to work with the people having that problem and also running my custom firmware to see if a simple driver downgrade to the build 220 version would resolve it.

And there's is also a fairly large group of people with no problem at all. This might depend on the actual network card and settings those people have on their network.

 

[RMerlin]

An update on the stability issues:

I had a couple of persons run a test build of Asuswrt-Merlin where I kept the build 246 firmware code, but I replaced the wireless driver with the one from build 220. This seems to have fixed most issues for them. So that confirms that the issue in 246 is related to the wireless driver, not to the firmware itself.

Possible solutions for now for those affected by this issue are: a) downgrade to 220, b) switch to my firmware (build 246.19b), or c) wait for a new release from Asus.

 

[SoCalReviews]

I didn't seem to notice it before but I am now noticing some apparent problems with wireless connections with a frequency that I have never seen before with my RT-N66Us. This week I was noticing that gaming performance over 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz wireless didn't seem as good. I had some strange performance issues but at the time it seemed to work "ok". I attributed it to variations of the general internet. This morning I had a chance to more thoroughly test my 2.4Ghz wireless connection from the first of my two routers with Asus official firmware 4.246 to my TEW-680MB while PS3 gaming. I was getting what seemed to be frequent connection drops from the network (at least four in less than an hour of gaming). The online gaming sessions sometimes had stuttering and poor performance worse than I can remember ever having while using these routers. The first router was also being used for wired video streaming at the time which it has handled in the past with no problems. Because the first router was being used I couldn't roll back the firmware to test so instead I rolled back to Asus official firmware 4.220 on my second router (dsl internet).

I connected to that second router over 5Ghz to the same TEW-680MB wireless bridge and right away I noticed it was back to dramatically better performance and no more dropped connections at all during several more hours of PS3 online gaming despite the fact my second router uses a somewhat slower DSL connection than the first RT-N66U router. The problem is suppose to be an issue with 2.4Ghz connections but the performance problems I experienced this week seemed to effect 5Ghz also but that could just be a coincidence. I will try online gaming with firmware 4.246 on the first router with cable internet again and then roll back to firmware 4.220 and test the 2.4Ghz wireless performance while gaming over the next few days to see if there really is a problem with firmware or the drivers in 4.246 compared to 4.220.

 

[dbott]

An update on the stability issues:

I had a couple of persons run a test build of Asuswrt-Merlin where I kept the build 246 firmware code, but I replaced the wireless driver with the one from build 220. This seems to have fixed most issues for them. So that confirms that the issue in 246 is related to the wireless driver, not to the firmware itself.

Possible solutions for now for those affected by this issue are: a) downgrade to 220, b) switch to my firmware (build 246.19b), or c) wait for a new release from Asus.

Like I have said before...WOW...Kind of a joke for ASUS. Amazing to say the least.

But even more...WOW...as in "WOW THANK YOU MERLIN for what you do." Though not even sure why to move from your last firmware which seems to be stable. No sure on if their really is any benefit.

But really, thanks!

 

[jpbarbosa]

Hello guys,

I updated my RT-N66U with Merlin's Firmware 3.0.0.4.246 and noticed some instability with my iPhone 4S wi-fi connectivity. After that I changed RT-N66U Wi-Fi 2 Ghz channel bandwidth to 20 Mhz (was 20/40 Mhz before) and now everything is ok.

By the way, this was the first time I'm using Merlin's Firmware and I'm enjoying with the features that him put on it (i.e.: now I can name wi-fi MAC filters). Thanks Merlin.

 

[jackbrennan]

I updated and havn't notice any problems yet.

Tests were done on an Intel Advanced N 6205 from my laptop at the other end of the house, so not optimal. Signal strength was 'good'

1. Checking my internet connection gave me 70/60Mbps

2. Copying to my NAS reported a transfer speed of about 9MBps which is acceptable considering where i'm located in the house.

3. Copying to my laptop from the NAS gave me around 15MBps transfer rate.

So i can't say i'm experiecing the same issue that have been discussed earlier in the thread, at least not yet.

Sent from my mobile phone.

 

[jackbrennan]

I thought i should clarify that my simple tests were done on the latest official release from ASUS and not Rmerlin firmware release.

If there is indeed a drive flaw I hope ASUS get on it asap.

 

[RMerlin]

To Asus's defense, that flaw only appears in a handful of situations. Out of the hundreds of downloads I got for my own firmware, only 4-5 actually reported having an issue.

So chances are it's something very specific that triggers the issue, and that's something that Asus doesn't have in their own test labs. So the bug went unnoticed by their QA department.

 

[SoCalReviews]

While I didn't notice or attribute any problems with the official Asus 4.246 firmware at first...after more extensive testing yesterday and today with streaming devices and PS3 gaming to my wireless media bridge I can confirm now that I had been experiencing some wireless performance and stability problems (fluctuating throughput, connection drops, lag, etc.) with the official Asus firmware 4.246 that I had not experienced with any previous official firmware releases. This afternoon I rolled back to using the Asus firmware 4.220 on my first main RT-N66U router (cable internet) after rolling back my secondary RT-N66U router (dsl internet) late last night into early this morning. After rolling back the first two routers to 4.220 wireless stability and performance appears to have been restored. I will roll back the firmware on my third router I use at another location for business this week. It will be interesting to know for sure if this problem was due to the wireless driver update in official Asus firmware 4.246 as it has been suggested.

 

[bern43]

I've tried rolling back and am now on Merlin's build, but I'm still having trouble. Slow speeds, random disconnects. To the point where it's affecting usability. Before this everything was really solid. Very strange.

 

[RogerSC]

I've tried rolling back and am now on Merlin's build, but I'm still having trouble. Slow speeds, random disconnects. To the point where it's affecting usability. Before this everything was really solid. Very strange.

Which Merlin build, 246.19 or 246.19b? 246.19b has been reverted back to the wireless driver from the 220 firmware, so if you're not using that one, give it a try.

 

[SoCalReviews]

When I apply my firmware updates I first power cycle the router (power off for ten seconds and then power back on). I wait a minute or two for the router to become fully functional and make sure the internet connection is working again. Then I access the firmware administration settings for the firmware update or rollback. I apply the firmware I want and wait for the firmware change to fully apply. I then test the router and check the firmware version to make sure the update applied and the router is working properly. Then I power cycle the router again the same way I did the first time.

I have had trouble with RT-N66U router performance (complete loss of upload bandwidth, inability to connect to wireless devices, lag, instability, etc.) in the past after applying the firmware update unless I fully power cycled the router after applying the firmware update and testing the connection. With the exception of the firmware update from 32k firmware to the 64k firmware change I have not had to clear the NVRAM. I have found that clearing the NVRAM alone was not effective but power cycling is usually all I need to do as long as the firmware is changing from 32k to 32k firmware or 64k to another 64k firmware and this has seemed to always work for me. While power cycling after the firmware update is the important step I also power cycle before applying the firmware update as a precaution and to clear out and disconnect wireless devices before updating the firmware. This method has made most of these RT-N66U firmware updates mostly trouble free.

 

[bern43]

Which Merlin build, 246.19 or 246.19b? 246.19b has been reverted back to the wireless driver from the 220 firmware, so if you're not using that one, give it a try.

The 246.19b version.