[Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin 374.43 LTS releases (Archive)

[PringoBo]

@john9527 have you seen this Android issue yet? Apparently new android versions -- especially on Google phones -- flood the network with multicast requests and crash the router. Disabling Hardware Acceleration/NAT Acceleration fixes it. Since you're back (which is awesome, welcome back!) I wonder if you can look into it? Disabling acceleration hasn't impacted anything for the months I've had it set, but I'm curious if there's a fix outside of that?

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/a...phone-connects-to-its-wifi.48421/#post-431093
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/f...lts-releases-v42e7.18914/page-485#post-520339

 

[ColinTaylor]

@john9527 have you seen this Android issue yet? Apparently new android versions -- especially on Google phones -- flood the network with multicast requests and crash the router. Disabling Hardware Acceleration/NAT Acceleration fixes it. Since you're back (which is awesome, welcome back!) I wonder if you can look into it? Disabling acceleration hasn't impacted anything for the months I've had it set, but I'm curious if there's a fix outside of that?

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/a...phone-connects-to-its-wifi.48421/#post-431093
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/f...lts-releases-v42e7.18914/page-485#post-520339

This appears to be two different issues. There's the old Android "multicast flooding" problem which is well known and for which Google issued patches, and there's another unspecified problem that appears to crash the router's wl driver. So far I've only seen 3 users report the latter problem and they were all using MIPS routers.

Does this problem still effect the current stock Asus firmware? Unless Asus have release an updated driver that fixes this I don't see how anyone else can.

 

[john9527]

@john9527 have you seen this Android issue yet?

As @ColinTaylor mentioned, all evidence is that it's either in the NAT acceleration code or the wifi driver (both of Iwhich are closed source). So, really not anything I could do.

I'm testing the next release now, so connected my LG phone (Android Oreo 8.1) to an N66U and it connected without any problems, receiving both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.

 

[Gar]

i use the E version and the tx power trick works just make sure you set these as regions via ssh


and then you can do max tx power on this firmware on E versions! I have it running right now.

This didn't work for me on my 56u, anything else I need to do I may have missed?

 

[dev_null]

As @ColinTaylor mentioned, all evidence is that it's either in the NAT acceleration code or the wifi driver (both of Iwhich are closed source). So, really not anything I could do.

I'm testing the next release now, so connected my LG phone (Android Oreo 8.1) to an N66U and it connected without any problems, receiving both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.

I have experienced the disconnects and wifi restarts associated with both Android and iDevices. In my experience it is more acute with ARM-based devices (anecdotal); when the devices in question are forced to connect to the MIPs-based N66U I rarely get disconnects. NAT acceleration is disabled on both, and even tried AP isolation to see if that made any effect on the ARM-based routers. My experience/observations.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I have experienced the disconnects and wifi restarts associated with both Android and iDevices. In my experience it is more acute with ARM-based devices (anecdotal); when the devices in question are forced to connect to the MIPs-based N66U I rarely get disconnects. NAT acceleration is disabled on both, and even tried AP isolation to see if that made any effect on the ARM-based routers. My experience/observations.

Are you talking about the same kind of problem, a kernel panic that causes the entire router to reboot? Could you post the crash dump so we can compare it with the other one reported.

 

[dev_null]

Are you talking about the same kind of problem, a kernel panic that causes the entire router to reboot? Could you post the crash dump so we can compare it with the other one reported.

Nope, the main symptom seems to be all clients get kicked off that particular interface temporarily. I wasn't reporting a new issue, I was simply observing my experience. Lots of Tomato users report similar issues with wifi (see the FreshTomato boards), particularly with ARM devices. I'll just show myself the door...

 

[john9527]

The only thing I see consistently is that some (not all) Android based devices like to 'burst' DHCPREQUESTs..anywhere from 3-10 at a time. I think it happens when they are either going into or coming out of powersave mode, but that's just a guess.

 

[spotopolis]

Hello. Looking for some advice. I just discovered this thread after going over the changelog of the last Merlin release for the ac66u. I have been running Merlin v380.70 around the time of its release (April 2018). I use the router in AP mode only and use a PFSense VM to handle all of my router/firewall needs.

From what I can see looking over the LTS firmware notes, I may see some stability improvements in WiFi and receive some security fixes at the cost of just some UIX features of the later firmware.

I have my 66u set with a static IP of 192.168.1.2 where my PFSense box is 1.1

I downloaded the latest Asus Firmware Restore Tool and attempted to flash this LTS firmware. After a few moments of the tool working, I got an error along the lines that the 66u was not in recovery mode, and then I started having network issues. Turned out that the tool had changed the IP of the 66u back to a 1.1 address and was now conflicting with my PFSense box. None of the other settings/config or firmware of the 66u was altered. So once I set the IP back to 1.2 everything was behaving correctly.

A few questions at this point.

1. Am I correct in thinking that I will need to isolate the 66u from the network to perform this firmware change?
2. If I flash this firmware, will I need to set the router up manually, or after the flash and factory reset, can I use a current restore file to get back up and running?

• (A) I haven't checked the official firmware from Asus since I started using Merlin way back when. I didn't know they had newer firmware than Merlin's. Merlin firmware v380.70 dated 2018/04, Asus firmware v3.0.0.4.382.51641 dated 2019/11
• (B) Being how I am only using this 66u in AP mode, in your opinion, is it worth flashing? As it is, WiFi is mostly okay at this point, but if there is any potential stability to be gained, I don't mind trying it out.

Any input would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[ColinTaylor]

What router are you talking about? RT-N66U or RT-AC66U?

I downloaded the latest Asus Firmware Restore Tool and attempted to flash this LTS firmware. After a few moments of the tool working, I got an error along the lines that the 66u was not in recovery mode, and then I started having network issues. Turned out that the tool had changed the IP of the 66u back to a 1.1 address and was now conflicting with my PFSense box. None of the other settings/config or firmware of the 66u was altered.

Are you sure none of the other settings were changed? It sounds very much like you did a factory reset on the 66U rather than putting it into recovery mode (an easy mistake to make as they both involve pressing the reset button). That would account for the IP address change and the error message.

1. Am I correct in thinking that I will need to isolate the 66u from the network to perform this firmware change?
2. If I flash this firmware, will I need to set the router up manually, or after the flash and factory reset, can I use a current restore file to get back up and running?

• (A) I haven't checked the official firmware from Asus since I started using Merlin way back when. I didn't know they had newer firmware than Merlin's. Merlin firmware v380.70 dated 2018/04, Asus firmware v3.0.0.4.382.51641 dated 2019/11
• (B) Being how I am only using this 66u in AP mode, in your opinion, is it worth flashing? As it is, WiFi is mostly okay at this point, but if there is any potential stability to be gained, I don't mind trying it out.

1. Yes, just unplug the cable from the Asus to the PFSense box and plug your computer directly into the Asus.
2. No, after the flash and factory reset you need to manually configure it.
2B. If you're only using it as an AP there's nothing to be gained IMHO as this firmware uses the same wireless driver.

 

[spotopolis]

What router are you talking about? RT-N66U or RT-AC66U?

RT-AC66U

Are you sure none of the other settings were changed? It sounds very much like you did a factory reset on the 66U rather than putting it into recovery mode (an easy mistake to make as they both involve pressing the reset button). That would account for the IP address change and the error message.

Yup. just the IP was changed and I never hit a reset button. The only thing I did was hit the "upload" button on the Asus Firmware Recovery Tool. All the names and icons I had manually entered for the devices were the same as before I hit upload.

1. Yes, just unplug the cable from the Asus to the PFSense box and plug your computer directly into the Asus.
2. No, after the flash and factory reset you need to manually configure it.
2B. If you're only using it as an AP there's nothing to be gained IMHO as this firmware uses the same wireless driver.

I see. I must have misunderstood. I thought the wireless driver was rolled back in this LTS firmware for potential reliability issues.

 

[john9527]

• (B) Being how I am only using this 66u in AP mode, in your opinion, is it worth flashing? As it is, WiFi is mostly okay at this point, but if there is any potential stability to be gained, I don't mind trying it out.

Unless your having a specific problem or need more range (some see improvement with the fork, some don't)....I'd say the axiom 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' applies....

 

[ColinTaylor]

I see. I must have misunderstood. I thought the wireless driver was rolled back in this LTS firmware for potential reliability issues.

See post #1 for details.

The 'L' Builds contain the original wireless drivers (2014 release) and DO NOT address the KRACK exploit, and for ARM routers DO NOT contain the latest SDK providing support for the latest AC68U rev levels. In addition, some fixes dependent on either the latest wireless drivers or latest ARM SDK may not be included in the 'L' builds. Note: Due to time constraints the 'L' builds are currently no longer available

 

[john9527]

The E builds also contain some tweaks for the wireless on the N66...

 

[laracroftonline]

This didn't work for me on my 56u, anything else I need to do I may have missed?

It only works for the rt n66u model due to the chipset.

 

[pankajvg]

Hello. Looking for some advice. I just discovered this thread after going over the changelog of the last Merlin release for the ac66u. I have been running Merlin v380.70 around the time of its release (April 2018). I use the router in AP mode only and use a PFSense VM to handle all of my router/firewall needs.

From what I can see looking over the LTS firmware notes, I may see some stability improvements in WiFi and receive some security fixes at the cost of just some UIX features of the later firmware.

I have my 66u set with a static IP of 192.168.1.2 where my PFSense box is 1.1

I downloaded the latest Asus Firmware Restore Tool and attempted to flash this LTS firmware. After a few moments of the tool working, I got an error along the lines that the 66u was not in recovery mode, and then I started having network issues. Turned out that the tool had changed the IP of the 66u back to a 1.1 address and was now conflicting with my PFSense box. None of the other settings/config or firmware of the 66u was altered. So once I set the IP back to 1.2 everything was behaving correctly.

A few questions at this point.

1. Am I correct in thinking that I will need to isolate the 66u from the network to perform this firmware change?
2. If I flash this firmware, will I need to set the router up manually, or after the flash and factory reset, can I use a current restore file to get back up and running?

• (A) I haven't checked the official firmware from Asus since I started using Merlin way back when. I didn't know they had newer firmware than Merlin's. Merlin firmware v380.70 dated 2018/04, Asus firmware v3.0.0.4.382.51641 dated 2019/11
• (B) Being how I am only using this 66u in AP mode, in your opinion, is it worth flashing? As it is, WiFi is mostly okay at this point, but if there is any potential stability to be gained, I don't mind trying it out.

Any input would be appreciated. Thank you.

After installing latest builds from March onward i started facing lot of issue , i have even highlighted in forum earlier .RT-AC-66R

1: My 2.4 GHZ band failed completely , i get max around 20-30 mpbs out of 300MPBS connection
2: Router reboots when i quickly try to change bands from 2.4 to 5.4 or vice versa .

I even flashed lot of other firmware like ddwrt, tomato etc but was never able to fix my 2.4ghz band , i am on new Fork Build .

This is just my experience and i am not blaming John or any developers here .

 

[john9527]

2: Router reboots when i quickly try to change bands from 2.4 to 5.4 or vice versa .

I even flashed lot of other firmware like ddwrt, tomato etc but was never able to fix my 2.4ghz band , i am on new Fork Build .

No worries , let me see if i can find any 19 Volt adapter

Did you ever try a different power adapter? The reboots especially suggest a possible power problem. Could also be a bad capacitor on the main board.

 

[pankajvg]

Did you ever try a different power adapter? The reboots especially suggest a possible power problem. Could also be a bad capacitor on the main board.

Yes John tried with 3 different adapters .
Reboot happens only when I try to switch very fast on my laptop from2 to 5ghz,
not any other time .

This behaviour is only when i switch networks on my laptop & not on my any other devices .

 

[john9527]

@pankajvg
Sorry, can't recreate here.....switched between 2.4 to 5GHz as fast as the interface would allow about 20x with no problem on my laptop (Linux Mint 19.2 with Intel 7260 wifi card).

Forced a 40MHz bandwith (20/40 would default to 20), got a 300Mbs connect, and got a 140Mbps download speed on speedtest.net
(about right since wireless is half duplex).

Seems as if your N66 may be on its last legs....

 

[pankajvg]

@pankajvg
Sorry, can't recreate here.....switched between 2.4 to 5GHz as fast as the interface would allow about 20x with no problem on my laptop (Linux Mint 19.2 with Intel 7260 wifi card).

Forced a 40MHz bandwith (20/40 would default to 20), got a 300Mbs connect, and got a 140Mbps download speed on speedtest.net
(about right since wireless is half duplex).

Seems as if your N66 may be on its last legs....

Thanks for trying this out John .
Appreciate your time , might be your right .

Anyway my router is Ac66R not N66.