How bad are the AC86U 2.4Ghz issues?

[CaptainSTX]

Asus's stock firmware doesn't meet my needs. Asus firmware doesn't provide the option of policy based routing for VPN clients. I could survive with just a single VPN client and VPN server but the lack of policy based routing is a deal killer for me. Prior to Merlin offering this feature I installed the Astrill app on my ASUS routers and it did the trick.

I don't think the problem is firmware related unless their is an incompatibility issue with the AC86s processor. The Merlin firmware runs perfectly on my AC1900P and if wasn't for the throughput hit it works fine on my N66.

 

[Val D.]

Anyway I have given up

I start to believe the issues you have are not RT-AC86U related. No other logical explanation... 6 routers and all of them failed? Are you sure you haven't secured too many things with your secured double-NATed network + IP blocking scripts, speed measuring scripts and God knows what else? I mean everything mentioned in your post actually works very well on RT-AC86U. I have personally tested all scripts offered in AMTM and found very little hiccups here and there, non router related. I was also very recently running 2 x VPN Clients + 1 x VPN server on this very same router model, with Policy Rules + scripts affecting VPN routing and everything worked properly. VPN Clients disconnect only when I change something, otherwise stay connected forever, not to mention the 250-270Mbps speed the router is capable of through VPN.

I have purchased recently 2 x re-manufactured RT-AC86U routers. Both serve home networks with 10-15 devices with no reported issues whatsoever, 2 months and counting. Stock ASUS firmware, nobody tortured them on a "test bench", were put in "production" right out of the box. Also, ASUS has nothing to do with the custom firmware you run on your router. It was not provided by ASUS, it is not supported by ASUS, possibly voids the product warranty too. It was provided to you for free with no warranties of any kind and the installation/use is solely at your own risk. If something is not working for you, sorry.

RT-AC86U is not perfect, there are some flaws here and there, some fixable, some probably not, but I'm getting kind of irritated to read all the time how the product is so extremely bad, that is barely usable for a door stopper. Fine, get an RT-N12 router for $30 for your IoT devices, they don't need anything more anyway. Simple router, no much of firmware options, no scripts, no VPN... what can go wrong? I'm sure you'll reply to me in a very very long post, but I'm out. I don't want to read anymore how things don't work and there is no hope. Apparently, things work well for many. And please, don't even start with Amazon reviews, some people there can't tell the difference between a router and a toaster.

Good luck!

 

[curlysir]

I start to believe the issues you have are not RT-AC86U related. No other logical explanation... 6 routers and all of them failed? Are you sure you haven't secured too many things with your secured double-NATed network + IP blocking scripts, speed measuring scripts and God knows what else? I mean everything mentioned in your post actually works very well on RT-AC86U. I have personally tested all scripts offered in AMTM and found very little hiccups here and there, non router related. I was also very recently running 2 x VPN Clients + 1 x VPN server on this very same router model, with Policy Rules + scripts affecting VPN routing and everything worked properly. VPN Clients disconnect only when I change something, otherwise stay connected forever, not to mention the 250-270Mbps speed the router is capable of through VPN.

I have purchased recently 2 x re-manufactured RT-AC86U routers. Both serve home networks with 10-15 devices with no reported issues whatsoever, 2 months and counting. Stock ASUS firmware, nobody tortured them on a "test bench", were put in "production" right out of the box. Also, ASUS has nothing to do with the custom firmware you run on your router. It was not provided by ASUS, it is not supported by ASUS, possibly voids the product warranty too. It was provided to you for free with no warranties of any kind and the installation/use is solely at your own risk. If something is not working for you, sorry.

RT-AC86U is not perfect, there are some flaws here and there, some fixable, some probably not, but I'm getting kind of irritated to read all the time how the product is so extremely bad, that is barely usable for a door stopper. Fine, get an RT-N12 router for $30 for your IoT devices, they don't need anything more anyway. Simple router, no much of firmware options, no scripts, no VPN... what can go wrong? I'm sure you'll reply to me in a very very long post, but I'm out. I don't want to read anymore how things don't work and there is no hope. Apparently, things work well for many. And please, don't even start with Amazon reviews, some people there can't tell the difference between a router and a toaster.

Good luck!

I am one of those reviewers and I can tell the difference between a router and a toaster. I went through 3 of their "Used Like New" routers from Amazon before I gave up, On 2 of those 3 routers the 2.4 band was dead when I received them, would not light up on front and could not change channel. The 3rd lasted less then a week before it died. I tried to reset and all the other tricks on this site, nothing worked. Just because you have had good luck with this router does not mean others have not. I also have one RT-AC86U that has worker flawlessly for over a year. That is why I purchase another when Amazon had a sale.

 

[jsbeddow]

It was not provided by ASUS, it is not supported by ASUS, possibly voids the product warranty too.

I have read elsewhere on these forums that Asus will most definitely NOT void your warranty for running Merlin's firmware, so let's drop the dramatic hyperbole.
As for Asus "supporting" alternative firmware, that depends on your expectations: they won't help troubleshoot issues that arise from features that only exist in the alternative firmware, but they certainly have a collaborative exchange of code taking place with serious developers like @RMerlin, as they have been known to implement features that he has introduced into the stock firmware.

 

[Val D.]

That is why I purchase another when Amazon had a sale.

It was not Amazon selling the routers perhaps. It was someone else selling routers on Amazon. This is a hardware defect, no doubt about it. Send the unit back, get a new one or your money back. Amazon covers those things with no questions asked. None of the issues CaptainSTX is talking about are hardware issues and none are ASUS related. I know what exactly functions don't work properly on RT-AC86U and I just don't use them. I don't need any of them anyway. But what is mentioned above as non working is simply not true. Scripts and VPN servers/clients in Asuswrt-Merlin both work very well. Tested multiple times by many and confirmed. The error is somewhere else and it is a repetitive error for every new router put on the "test bench".

I have read elsewhere on these forums that Asus will most definitely NOT void your warranty for running Merlin's firmware...

Even if this is the case (must be an exception from the rule), they don't support routers with Asuswrt-Merlin firmware. If they get a RMA router with Asuswrt-Merlin installed, they will revert the firmware to ASUS official. Case closed, see you later. But what about my scripts, my policy rules? There is no such thing in ASUS official, see you later.

 

[CaptainSTX]

I am not the only individual that has issues with the AC86. Twenty eight percent of the reviews on Amazon are one star and a new one star review seems to be posted every four to five days. While some of the reviews are from clueless individuals others are from what would be considered on this forum as ASUS fanboys. Other routers reviewed on Amazon for the most part receive fewer than 20% one star reviews. If you don't believe the Amazon reviews look at the problems other posters on this forum have reported.

As for the double NAT setup being part of the problem not likely as the AC86 is the Internet facing router. This setup never caused any issues with either the N66 or the AC1900P being the Internet facing router. But I agree that simplicity is better and if the AC86 would work reliably I had planned to simplify my setup and rely strictly on the AC86 and eliminate my second router and its attached VPN appliance. No one needs to do what many posters do on this forum in configuring their networks but they do it as a challenge and because they can.

Finally several of what I referred to IoT devices are streaming devices so they require a router with some processing power and since it is installed as network facing it needs to be able to handle my 200/10 connection from Comcast. For maximum security and isolate the IoT devices they need to be connected to the first Internet connected router.

 

[follower]

I am not the only individual that has issues with the AC86. Twenty eight percent of the reviews on Amazon are one star and a new one star review seems to be posted every four to five days. While some of the reviews are from clueless individuals others are from what would be considered on this forum as ASUS fanboys. Other routers reviewed on Amazon for the most part receive fewer than 20% one star reviews. If you don't believe the Amazon reviews look at the problems other posters on this forum have reported.

As for the double NAT setup being part of the problem not likely as the AC86 is the Internet facing router. This setup never caused any issues with either the N66 or the AC1900P being the Internet facing router. But I agree that simplicity is better and if the AC86 would work reliably I had planned to simplify my setup and rely strictly on the AC86 and eliminate my second router and its attached VPN appliance. No one needs to do what many posters do on this forum in configuring their networks but they do it as a challenge and because they can.

Finally several of what I referred to IoT devices are streaming devices so they require a router with some processing power and since it is installed as network facing it needs to be able to handle my 200/10 connection from Comcast. For maximum security and isolate the IoT devices they need to be connected to the first Internet connected router.

Every time users who have issues with ASUS Routers talk about it ASUS fanboys come out and say "That's your fault. That's user fault". Some strange fanboys say "We always challenge to overcome the issues" " Wait for the next firmware. It will be fixed". But interestingly it's repeated.

 

[Val D.]

If you don't believe the Amazon reviews look at the problems other posters on this forum have reported.

People with issues tend to complain and are the most vocal in forums, especially when they don’t understand where the issues are coming from. 50 people complain, 50.000 have nothing to complain about and stay quiet. How many you think RT-AC86U routers have been sold in 2 years time? A million world wide? Do you really believe 30% of all units have issues, based on your Amazon statistics? If that was true, ASUS would pull the plug on this product long time ago.

You are not going to use this router, nor send it back. Send it to me, I’m paying $50 for it. This same new non working in your network 2019 version. Serious offer. Deal?

 

[CaptainSTX]

Where there is smoke there often is fire.

If you look at the reviews for the N66 only 13% of the reviewers give this router one star. In comparison the AC86 gets more than twice as large a percentage of one star reviews at 28%. Amazon actively solicits reviews from all purchasers of all the products it sells so it isn't a big deal to click on a link and post a review either positive or negative which is why there are 5,349 reviews of the N66. No doubt though that if people have a bad experience with a product they are more likely to respond and post a negative review.

The subject of this forum is the AC86's 2.4 Ghz radio. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine if that radio's SSID is being broadcast and if no number of resets will make it appear than the radio is bad. The AC86 I had with the worst radio I had came out of the box stuck on channel 0. No number of nuclear resets or settings changes would change this. Other problems with this router are harder to diagnose and drive people to this forum seeking solutions.

As a last ditch effort to make my AC86 useful I have it running with just my three VPNs but no scripts. Depending on what happens I will decide what to do with this router, but thanks for the offer to purchase it.

 

[bac2010]

Just setup a new AC86U (yes, from Amazon) and 5ghz is fine but 2.4ghz seems slow. We have 200 Mbps download from Comcast and 5ghz is running close to 200 but 2.4ghz is about 40 from same location. Applied everything I found in SNB Forums (beam forming off, roaming off, airtime fairness off, etc) and will play around some more in the next few weeks. WiFi Analyzer shows about the same strength for each band. Have it setup as vanilla as possible for now (no VPN, no AI protection). Previous router was N66U.

 

[Grisu]

you would have to set 40MHz bandwidth if your surrounding WiFis are much weaker than yours. Bit more should be possible with 20MHz, with one antenna and 72mbps link rate you have to calculate about 1/3 overhead.

 

[Val D.]

2.4ghz is about 40 from same location

Sounds about right. Not bad for 2.4GHz band, actually. Keep it on 20MHz channel width, please.

 

[Grisu]

Keep it on 20MHz channel width, please.

How can you recommend this not knowing his situation???
I am in a house and other Wifi are lower than -80db, I can use what I want and wont hurt anything!

 

[Val D.]

How can you recommend this not knowing his situation???

He never mentioned any details about where he lives. I can, because in 90% of the cases 40MHz wide channel is not a good idea on 2.4GHz band. On his router 2.4GHz band is a "plan B" only. No matter what it won't reach even half of the speeds possible on 5GHz band, even if the client on 5GHz is 1x1 AC only. Why bother with 2.4GHz when he already sees acceptable and expected results?

 

[bac2010]

I'm in the states not too far from the UConn campus. The 2.4ghz is set to channel 1 and 20MHz. I should have done speed tests before I brought the N66U down! I always concentrated on the 5ghz band since that is what I used most but pushed the not so much used devices to the slower band. But still surprised how slow it was unless as Val indicated that I may be getting the most I can already.

Our house is an open large ranch with not a lot of walls to go through and router is sitting pretty high on a old china cabinet in the middle of the house. I know the transmission power for the N66U probably was better since I maxed it out in the Merlin fork and WiFi analyzer sort of indicates that there is some reduction in signal strength. I am running the latest available Merlin software on the AC86U.

 

[Val D.]

I am running the latest available Merlin software on the AC86U.

2.4GHz performance of RT-AC86U is about average, but you’ll be surprised how fast 5GHz is and what coverage it has.

 

[Going_Strong]

Val D.

Congratulations on trying to disprove reality by sheer force of will!

A somewhat tongue-in-cheek comment on my part, so I’ll try to elaborate.

Routers, like most other electronic devices, either work or do not.

My presumptions:

1) There is no single manufacturer that makes a foolproof router which always functions irrespective of anything.

2) There is no single manufacturer that should be viewed as “God” – as a maker of routers which simply cannot fail through any fault of their own (for they have no faults of their own).

With that out of the way …

While I had the RT-AC86U (for a year), I tried everything humanly possible to make it work as advertised. In some things I was successful, but in others I wasn’t. Until it finally bit the dust, after a year of relatively light usage.

So I switched to a TP-Link – first the C4000, then the C5400X. I am very satisfied with both: the first is currently at my in-law’s, while I have the other at home. For me, both are brilliant routers, first and foremost because they work without any undue fiddling on my part.

Which does not mean that I would advertise either to anyone as practically flawless. I’ve read too many stories of failure of both (on TP-Link forums, for example, and – yes – on Amazon) to allow myself to be swayed by my experience as being definitive. In other words, I would never say that “it’s the user’s fault”; sometimes it is, sometimes not, while all too frequently other factors (ISP modems, for example) come into play.

And yet this – a perceived infallibility – is what you suggest with regards to the RT-AC86U.

Further, stating that people who write negative reviews on Amazon are unable to see the difference between a router and a toaster is a bit, well, odd. Condescending even. And completely needless.

And then declaring that those who have a negative experience (through their own fault, obviously) are more willing to write a review. Well no, because only 20-something percent of reviews for the RT-AC86U are negative – the rest are more or less positive. So I would venture to say that those who have something positive to say are more willing to write a review. Seems logical.

 

[Val D.]

I'm going to extend my offer to buy the non-working RT-AC86U 2019 model from @CaptainSTX further:

1. If I manage to run all AMTM scripts on it + VPN Client stays connected
-> @CaptainSTX apologizes to SNB forum members, gets $50 and leaves the forum for posting false statements

2. If I fail to run all AMTM scripts on it + VPN Client doesn't stay connected
- > @Val D. apologizes to SNB forum members, loses $50 and leaves the forum for posting false statements

We split the shipment cost 50/50.

I don't know what happened to this particular unit after unpacking. Some software was flashed, some tests were done on the "test bench"... fine. I'm assuming no permanent damage was done to it so far. Let's see how bad is this router and lets take some responsibility for posting information online.

Deal?

 

[CaptainSTX]

First I am not interested in selling today the AC86 as with 14 alpha as I am able to keep multiple VPN clients and a VPN server up and running for more than a day. I also have spdMerlin, connmon and Skynet running. I will put the AC86 on line in production mode this weekend and see what happens.

Secondly as I have said the radio issues with the units manufactured in 2018 seems to be solved for me. I don't know if this is because ASUS changed something or if I finally got them to ship me a new replacement router manufactured in 2019 instead of a previously returned unit that was not thoroughly tested. That is why I still stand by my recommendation that someone not purchase a refurbished AC86 as there is a good chance that it might be coming from the pool of 2018 duds. No number of "nuclear resets" and entering all the settings manually resulted in the RMA units being stable and that assumed the radio(s) worked out of the box.

Finally the issues I have had are actual problems I have experienced. I have no issues running the exact same configuration on an AC1900P or even on a N66 running just the connmon script so I know how set up my configuration. I am not the only poster on this site that has had AC86 problems and if you look at the negative reviews on Amazon for the AC86, it gets as a percentage of total reviews, twice as many as other routers. So even if you discount half the router reviews as being posted by idiots, the ASUS AC86 still has twice as many negative reviews as other routers.

 

[Val D.]

Sad to say that while ASUS might have fixed the radio issue with the 2019 routers they have not solved the other issues.

So, turns out the router is working properly and the issues you have are software related. We are making some progress here. What exactly you expect ASUS to fix for you? You already send back one router with VPN issues, remember? It was probably perfectly fine unit. Now you have another brand new router, VPN issues again. You had to realize by now that something fishy is happening around your router. Instead of looking for a solution to a very specific issue though, you just blame ASUS. And you are perfectly comfortable with it, repeating it constantly in every single thread someone mentions something closer to what you have experienced. This is wrong. You have to do some more homework before making conclusions. Let me give you examples why:

1. About your favorite Amazon reviews. If you have noticed, the reviews accumulated there are per product. It wasn't a single batch of 1000 or more units sold by one seller. There were multiple sellers of this same product. Why? Because some people mention "renewed" units, some mention "warehouse sale" units, some mention "30 day warranty", some say "new in a wrap"... just read carefully. It was quite possible someone was re-selling re-manufactured returned units at some point, I wouldn't be surprised. Some authorized service provider or re-seller, for example. I've seen this before on Amazon. It hurts the product, it hurts the customers... Amazon is getting their commission anyway. It's a business in a first place and a good one, as far as I know.

2. About VPN issues. Not all VPN providers play well with this specific model. New hardware, new software, first with hardware processing, first with really fast speeds, went through few OpenVPN versions, etc. ExpressVPN, for example. I can tell you what exactly was not working and that was the reason for me to change VPN providers. If I look back in my records I can even find what the issue was, some setting was enforced on their servers preventing the VPN Client to re-connect and auto-connect on boot. They don't offer officially support for this router anyway, so no issues here. There was no solution provided on their end, I moved to another provider, problem solved. Not an ASUS issue, they have nothing to do with it. I can play the RMA game forever, there will be no change. VPN works very well on 384.9~384.13... tested and used by me personally, for a very long time. You don't need to run 384.14 Alpha to solve the issue.

3. About the scripts you are running. It is quite possible one of them is disrupting your VPN clients. And this one is spdMerlin. By itself it runs properly, but eats all your available RAM every time it runs, affecting other things running on the router in the same time. The faster your ISP speed is, the worse it gets. The more VPN clients and servers you have, the worse it gets. Swap file on a USB stick won't help. I did recently tests with Samba server and large file transfers. It also eats RAM like no tomorrow in some specific cases. I had a swap file on USB3 SSD drive, but it didn't help much either. I've lost my VPN clients 3 times during the test due to low memory, the system just starts terminating processes, sometimes important ones due to no other options. Now, this specific issue is related with ASUS. They offered something in their firmware that doesn't work properly. In your case though, the issue might be wrong script in a wrong time.

Think twice next time before you blame ASUS.
Ask the right questions first and someone here on SNB may be able to help.