I finally got my 2 x RT-AC86U to function without any wifi breakdowns. It's been almost 30 days.
The breakdowns at the time were:
- 2.4 not working within about 24 hours of node reboot.
- Sometimes 5 not working
- Sometimes the Wireless Log would be truncated. There would be nothing after the 2.4 information.
I found out that it was two of my no-brand-name 2.4 wifi cube cameras that could have caused the node 86U to go crazy. Ever since I turned them off, both 86U's have been solid. I even switched from 20MHz to 20/40MHz and still no breakdowns.... yet.
Before I suspected my cube cameras, I thought it was my node 86U going crazy because the main router's System Log would show the node somehow being disconnected from wifi. Also the node 86U's 2.4 LED would remain solid instead of flashing (to indicate activity).
I actually have good experiences with ASUS RMA. I detailed what happened and they allowed my return. I paid for their discounted Fedex shipping and within about a week or so they sent me a new 86U.
Unfortunately the same problems appeared and after a few months of experimenting with unsuccessful router changes to fix the problems, I finally gave up and contacted ASUS RMA and went through the same procedure. Again ASUS allowed my return. I paid for the discounted Fedex shipping and within about a week or so I received a new 86U again.
During the times when I sent my node 86U out, I would break out my previous router, RT-AC68R, as the node. The 68R has been solid. It does once in a while disconnect from the main router, 86U, but it also somehow manages to re-establish wireless connectivity. I like this better than the 86U because the 86U doesn't act like the Terminator in Terminator 2 where it finds an alternate power source to re-gain life.
Since my 86U's have been working for almost 30 days, I decided to list my 68R for sale. After reading this, now I'm having second thoughts about selling it because I think I want a backup if the wifi breaks down again or if it fails like what some users have reported here.