Have i got faulty hardware Asus RT-AC86U Openvpn Port forwarding

[vwsplitty1980]

Hi there,
im going round in circles here and can only put down the problem to faulty hardware. I have the China version bought from gearbest and is R1.5HW version.
I have the latest firmware 384.6 and reset all setting and reconfigured from scratch.

The problems i am getting are two fold:


1. my port forward setting never withstand a reboot, if i have to reboot my router i always loose all port forward settings.

2. i had this before and never got to the bottom of it, my openVPN server 1 or 2 never populates any keys or certs like my old n66 used to so i haven't really been able to use it.


it just strikes me as i must have a faulty unit as these faults seem to carry across firmware versions but i dont know this for sure and seems a little strange???

any thoughts please as i really don't feel like sending this to gearbest.

 

[indark]

I will power cycle and clear nvram first to see if the issue still there.

if it doesn't help, use recovery tool to load the stock firmware, power cycle and clear nvram as well
check the issue still happening with stock firmware.

make sure you keep everything stock and no usb attached to reduce potential conflicts.

to power cycle and clear nvram:
power off the router for 30 sec - 1 min
hold wps button while powering up
wait till the power led start flashing/blinking, then release the wps button
wait till it is reboot properly, and reconfigure from there, dont load any previous config file.

 

[Striker317]

Hi there,
im going round in circles here and can only put down the problem to faulty hardware. I have the China version bought from gearbest and is R1.5HW version.
I have the latest firmware 384.6 and reset all setting and reconfigured from scratch.

The problems i am getting are two fold:


1. my port forward setting never withstand a reboot, if i have to reboot my router i always loose all port forward settings.

2. i had this before and never got to the bottom of it, my openVPN server 1 or 2 never populates any keys or certs like my old n66 used to so i haven't really been able to use it.


it just strikes me as i must have a faulty unit as these faults seem to carry across firmware versions but i dont know this for sure and seems a little strange???

any thoughts please as i really don't feel like sending this to gearbest.

Had the same issue when I tried to import my list of static ip list. On 384.6 final.

Presumably the same thing would happen if you tried to use one of those nvram backup and restore programs.

I started from scratch (initialize and didn’t try to take shortcuts restoring anything, all from scratch) and no problems. Have since upgraded to 384.7 alpha and still no problems.

 

[vwsplitty1980]

I will power cycle and clear nvram first to see if the issue still there.

if it doesn't help, use recovery tool to load the stock firmware, power cycle and clear nvram as well
check the issue still happening with stock firmware.

make sure you keep everything stock and no usb attached to reduce potential conflicts.

to power cycle and clear nvram:
power off the router for 30 sec - 1 min
hold wps button while powering up
wait till the power led start flashing/blinking, then release the wps button
wait till it is reboot properly, and reconfigure from there, dont load any previous config file.

Ok will try the wps button way and report back but can I ask is using the restore to factory button on the web gui not the same thing?
I haven’t used any old saved settings and setup from scratch each time.

 

[indark]

Ok will try the wps button way and report back but can I ask is using the restore to factory button on the web gui not the same thing?
I haven’t used any old saved settings and setup from scratch each time.

I have had instances, where the issues persist through out the multiple factory resets, being solved with combination of both power cycle (30sec - 1min)and clear nvram.
So it's pretty much the first thing I suggest to people still experience weird issue after reset.

It might not necessary to be the solution, but it doesn't hurt to try first.

 

[vwsplitty1980]

Well I tried as said and did the power off for 30 secs then hold wps and release when fashes , go to the new setup page the same one when I use the restore inside the web gui.
BUT still getting the same thing happen. The lack of keys and Certs has been an issue since day one and the losing of port forwarding settings pretty much the same.

All times prior I have always set up from scratch and I even tried offfical software

What worries me is it because I have one of the China versions??? Or is it just faulty or????

 

[indark]

Well I tried as said and did the power off for 30 secs then hold wps and release when fashes , go to the new setup page the same one when I use the restore inside the web gui.
BUT still getting the same thing happen. The lack of keys and Certs has been an issue since day one and the losing of port forwarding settings pretty much the same.

All times prior I have always set up from scratch and I even tried offfical software

What worries me is it because I have one of the China versions??? Or is it just faulty or????

have you tried the stock firmware as well?
I checked the https://www.asus.com.cn/Networking/RT-AC86U/specifications/
it does list to have openvpn server, so I dont think it's region locked
I think the only way to see if it's region locked is reset and set it up without connecting to the wan port
play around the setting that you have issue with without connecting to the internet.

i think it's most likely a faulty hardware though, might wanna try with asus support as they will be able to provide further steps on obtaining necessary logs for diagnostic

 

[Grisu]

1. my port forward setting never withstand a reboot, if i have to reboot my router i always loose all port forward settings.

BUT still getting the same thing happen. The lack of keys and Certs has been an issue since day one and the losing of port forwarding settings pretty much the same.

What worries me is it because I have one of the China versions??? Or is it just faulty or????

Have the same chinese version and tested port forward, rebooted and they are still there.

But I think they really sold devices with bad or broken cfe, had one where Wifi changes did not apply, only after a reboot settings are changed, yes you learn to live with this issue, but nobody else had this problem. My second device seems to be ok (or still not found its problem).
And you have your special problem.

 

[skeal]

Well I tried as said and did the power off for 30 secs then hold wps and release when fashes , go to the new setup page the same one when I use the restore inside the web gui.
BUT still getting the same thing happen. The lack of keys and Certs has been an issue since day one and the losing of port forwarding settings pretty much the same.

All times prior I have always set up from scratch and I even tried offfical software

What worries me is it because I have one of the China versions??? Or is it just faulty or????

Using the webui restore tool does not and has not saved ovpn certs for a while now. You can get new certs by importing new config files into the ovpn client. Don't forget to make visual backup with screen captures of your settings. When upgrading firmware always be ready to restore to factory defaults.

 

[skeal]

Important note: Immediately following a reset to factory defaults, the router should be left to sit in its powered on state for 10 minutes. The restore to defaults takes a little time after reset...

 

[vwsplitty1980]

thanks for all the advice guys, i have decided to get a next day prime delivery from that well known online seller and see if a new UK version works any differently. i shall report back.

@skeal im not expecting to have those either but when i put some new details in the openvpn server and export the config it should contain generated keys/cert like my old n66u im hoping unless i have this completely wrong?

 

[vwsplitty1980]

right just got a new one sent still hardware r1.5 but as soon as i start it up i can get content in the keys and cert section of openVPN server and port forwards stay through a reboot.

so it looks like for what ever reason the one from gearbest is faulty