GT-AX6000 2.4ghz band not working properly

[blue_seather]

So I've had this router for a year and a half now and while 5G works wonderfully with absolutely unreal speeds and latency throughout the whole apartment, all my "smart" appliances have been quite "dumb" for the last couple of months because the router's 2.4ghz band simply refuses to work.

Both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz networks are visible to all my devices, but the 2.4ghz one simply disconnects you the moment you establish connection with it. Updating/downgrading the router's firmware fixes it for about a day and then it gets back to its old business of not working. On the website there appear to be 4 firmware versions, neither of which is the one the router came with. I think the original firmware might actually not have this issue, to be honest, but I can no longer get my hands on it as it's not available on Asus's website.

I tried factory resetting the router about a month ago (I was on firmware 3.0.0.6.102_21514 at the time), and, to my surprise, the 2.4ghz network worked fine for almost a whole week. I actually thought the issue was solved. The happiness didn't last long, however.

I wrote to the support and they pretty much told me they couldn't do anything. The router is still in its warranty period but I don't have a backup currently, and I'm also afraid that they might hook it up and the issue might not present itself for a week or so, so they won't even see the problem. Has someone had something like this happen? Any advice on what I could try out before officially giving up on this router?

 

[bennor]

Post the specific firmware your router is running if you are no longer on 3.0.0.6.102_21514. Also post your WiFi 2.4Ghz settings, redacting sensitive information, so others can see if you have settings issues. And check the system log in the router GUI to see if there are any issues or errors indicated for the 2.4Ghz band.

A standard last resort troubleshooting step is to perform a hard factory reset and manual reconfiguration (do not import a saved router.cfg file).

[Wireless Router] ASUS router Hard Factory Reset - Method 2 | Official Support | ASUS Global

 

[Tech9]

I was on firmware 3.0.0.6.102_21514 at the time

After firmware downgrade this router will most likely auto-upgrade to the latest available Asuswrt anyway.

The happiness didn't last long, however.

Post screenshots of your 2.4GHz band wireless settings as suggested above, General and Professional tabs.

 

[blue_seather]

Thank you, guys! I'm currently on 3.0.0.4.388 23012 since yesterday, it being the oldest firmware available on Asus's website. After downgrading yesterday, the 2.4ghz network was working just fine, even throughout the evening. Today, it's dropping again. Seems like my phone (Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra) and my smart devices (Google Home Mini, AEG washer, etc.) cannot hold a connection but my M1 MacBook Pro can, for some reason. I just reset the system log, tried to connect my phone to the 2.4ghz network and as it dropped the connection, those were the logs that came out:

Jul 1 18:26:31 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(503): eth6: Deauth_ind 70:61:BE:BA:64:90, status: 0, reason: Unspecified reason (1), rssi:0
Jul 1 18:26:31 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(539): eth6: Auth 70:61:BE:BA:64:90, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jul 1 18:26:31 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(568): eth6: Assoc 70:61:BE:BA:64:90, status: Successful (0), rssi:-41
Jul 1 18:26:31 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(503): eth6: Deauth_ind E8:C7:CF:1D:58:BC, status: 0, reason: Unspecified reason (1), rssi:0
Jul 1 18:26:31 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(539): eth6: Auth E8:C7:CF:1D:58:BC, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jul 1 18:26:31 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(568): eth6: Assoc E8:C7:CF:1D:58:BC, status: Successful (0), rssi:-52
Jul 1 18:26:32 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(539): eth6: Auth 66:89:2C:1C:36D, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jul 1 18:26:32 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(568): eth6: Assoc 66:89:2C:1C:36D, status: Successful (0), rssi:-47
Jul 1 18:26:37 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(503): eth6: Deauth_ind 66:89:2C:1C:36D, status: 0, reason: Station requesting (re)association is not authenticated with responding station (9), rssi:-47
Jul 1 18:26:37 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(520): eth6: Disassoc 66:89:2C:1C:36D, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:-47

Here are my General 2.4ghz settings:

My 5ghz General settings, just for good measure, if it matters:

and my 2.4ghz Professional settings:

 

[Tech9]

I would do this:

Select fixed channel for 2.4GHz band at 20MHz channel bandwidth. Then use this FAQ for better compatibility:

[Wireless Router] How to improve compatibility of IoT device with ASUS WiFi 6(802.11 ax) router? | Official Support | ASUS Global

Also disable all Beamforming, MU-MIMO, OFDMA, WMM APSD, set modulation to 802.11n, set N-only in General.

For 5GHz your Wi-Fi will be perhaps more stable and with better range if you disable 160MHz channel bandwidth and set fixed Ch.100 with 80MHz channel bandwidth. Also disable Roaming Assistant for both bands if you have single router only. Your clients won't roam anywhere anyway.

 

[blue_seather]

Thanks, I will try those out! Just one question, about the 160MHz, Beamforming, MU-MIMO and OFDMA - aren't some of those responsible for the speeds I'm getting, at least on the 5ghz network? We're getting 800+ mbps on all our laptops and phones here, on a 1 gbps internet, which has been of huge help for our workloads and the primary reason I went with this router in the first place. Wouldn't getting rid of those settings hinder this?

 

[Tech9]

aren't some of those responsible for the speeds I'm getting, at least on the 5ghz network?

Keep 802.11ac/ax Beamforming enabled, part of specifications, MU-MIMO and OFDMA can actually have negative impact on performance, they also have minimum to none benefits in home environment with limited number of active devices. 160MHz wide channel will work only to 160MHz capable clients and closer to the router because your signal levels will drop with 3dBm and 160MHz channel requires better SNR. Your speeds indicate nothing is actually using 160MHz wide channel. About 800Mbps is what 2-stream AX client can reach at 80MHz. Disabling 160MHz can make your Wi-Fi more stable.

 

[Tech9]

Check the latest firmware release feedback here:

Release - ASUS GT-AX6000 Firmware version 3.0.0.6.102_34791

ASUS GT-AX6000 Firmware version 3.0.0.6.102_34791 61.73 MB 2024/05/22 Bug Fixes and Enhancements: - Added new iptv profile NowTV. - Resolved AiMesh-related issues to provide stable backhaul connection. - Resolved GUI issues to ensure that the user interface is even more user-friendly. -...

www.snbforums.com

I would run the newest firmware. Your Wi-Fi settings perhaps need some adjusting, not firmware downgrade. Jumping back and forth between 388 and 102 may require factory reset followed by manual configuration from scratch. This is a huge waste of time and service disruption for no reason.

 

[blue_seather]

Update on my end:

Factory reset the router - issue wasn't fixed.
Updated once again to the latest firmware - still had this issue.

Then I downloaded some MacOS app that shows me all WiFi signals around me, left it scanning for a while and figured channel 11 was the cleanest 2.4 ghz one, so I set the 2.4 to 20 mhz only and a fixed channel 11. I didn't turn off WiFi 6, not sure if I need it but felt like I paid for it, so might as well use it.

So far, two weeks have passed and the issue has not manifested even once! Hopefully it stays that way. Thanks a lot!