New AC66 Firmware 3.0.0.4.376.2524

[bell2200]

I also found that the only 5 GHz control channel choices after upgrade to 3602 were Auto and 0. I downloaded a fresh copy of the firmware, disconnected all cables except for the cable to the desktop in use (as suggested here), and re-installed 3602. Twice! That produced the same results.

 

[RMerlin]

I also found that the only 5 GHz control channel choices after upgrade to 3602 were Auto and 0. I downloaded a fresh copy of the firmware, disconnected all cables except for the cable to the desktop in use (as suggested here), and re-installed 3602. Twice! That produced the same results.

Just in case you are being bit by the corrupted nvram setting that were caused by a bug in a previous firmware, try running these over telnet:

nvram set wl0_nband=2
nvram set wl1_nband=1
nvram commit

See if it helps.

 

[bell2200]

Just in case you are being bit by the corrupted nvram setting that were caused by a bug in a previous firmware, try running these over telnet:

nvram set wl0_nband=2
nvram set wl1_nband=1
nvram commit

See if it helps.

Thanks for the tip but my experience and ddarko's are the same in that a roll-back to a previous version restores it all and re-installing v.3602 makes the channels disappear again. To me, that would suggest that there is not an issue persisting from a previously corrupted nvram setting. If that were the case, then the roll-back would not fix it. No?

 

[RMerlin]

Thanks for the tip but my experience and ddarko's are the same in that a roll-back to a previous version restores it all and re-installing v.3602 makes the channels disappear again. To me, that would suggest that there is not an issue persisting from a previously corrupted nvram setting. If that were the case, then the roll-back would not fix it. No?

No. The issue showed itself on my own firmware only in recent releases. What happens is, a few versions ago, there was a bug in Asuswrt that corrupted these settings. These weren't really used by the firmware, so nobody noticed.

A few versions later, Asus started relying on these settings to determine whether your router had a 5 GHz radio or not (this was done in part to handle the RT-AC3200 multiple radios). So starting with that firmware version, those already corrupted settings would start causing issues. The main issue observed on my end was that the dropdown on the router only displayed the 2.4 GHz radio, and wouldn't display the 5 GHz radio at all, for instance.

That's why a rollback might make the issue disappear, as you are rolling back to a version that doesn't use the corrupted settings yet. The 3602 issue might be different, but there's also a chance it can be caused by the same root cause. Running the commands I gave would restore valid values for these two settings, so give it a try just in case.

 

[bell2200]

No. ...The 3602 issue might be different, but there's also a chance it can be caused by the same root cause. Running the commands I gave would restore valid values for these two settings, so give it a try just in case.

Thanks for the explanation. I assume that clearing the nvram entirely would be effective as well. Yes?

 

[RMerlin]

Thanks for the explanation. I assume that clearing the nvram entirely would be effective as well. Yes?

Yes, it would have the same effect, but in a more annoying way.

 

[bell2200]

Yes, it would have the same effect, but in a more annoying way.

Thanks again. I'll just wait for a new firmware update and hope that all the settings are correct and that it works. For now, v.1123 gives me everything I need. Given that it was bad firmware that previously corrupted the nvram settings, is it likely that new firmware to be released will provide correct settings? My question amounts to, "Does each new version of the firmware over-write those nvram settings?" Thanks for your patience and help.

 

[RMerlin]

Thanks again. I'll just wait for a new firmware update and hope that all the settings are correct and that it works. For now, v.1123 gives me everything I need. Given that it was bad firmware that previously corrupted the nvram settings, is it likely that new firmware to be released will provide correct settings? My question amounts to, "Does each new version of the firmware over-write those nvram settings?" Thanks for your patience and help.

No, existing settings are not overwritten by new firmwares. This is why a newer firmware will not resolve any issue that's related to these corrupted settings - you have to either do a factory default reset running a non-affected version, or fix those two settings with the commands I've posted.

And just to reiterate: I'm not saying that this is definitely the source of the problem. However, it's very easy to rule out that possibility.

 

[colecaz]

I just received a RT-AC66R from Best Buy today (On sale for $135.99 on the web site!!). It came with 3.0.0.4.374_4561 and after reading this thread, I bit my lip and loaded 3.0.0.4.376_3602.

As others reported, I can only get Auto or 0 for 5 GHz control channel. Haven't found anything else wrong yet, so hope that's all.

Disappointing, the number of bugs in the later Asus routers. They're great routers and far outperform others in WiFi range in my experience.

 

[L&LD]

So you read the thread and still updated to .3602?

Did you try this and did it work?

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showpost.php?p=149304&postcount=22

 

[colecaz]

So you read the thread and still updated to .3602?

Did you try this and did it work?

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showpost.php?p=149304&postcount=22

Like I said, I bit my lip and went for it. Other that the control channel issue I haven't seen anything else. Yet.

No, I didn't try it, thinking that a brand new router with firmware from February would be old enough to not have been corrupted. Did I think wrong? Was it bad that far back?



Edit 11/12/14
2157 mst: I did the telnet novram resets and then rebooted. No change.

2212 mst: Confirmed ddarko findings that 5 GHz band is gone. WiFi Analyzer on android phone confirms no signal. Reverting to 3.0.0.4.376.2524 restores 5GHz signal.

 

[L&LD]

Like I said, I bit my lip and went for it. Other that the control channel issue I haven't seen anything else. Yet.

No, I didn't try it, thinking that a brand new router with firmware from February would be old enough to not have been corrupted. Did I think wrong? Was it bad that far back?



Edit 11/12/14
2157 mst: I did the telnet novram resets and then rebooted. No change.

2212 mst: Confirmed ddarko findings that 5 GHz band is gone. WiFi Analyzer on android phone confirms no signal. Reverting to 3.0.0.4.376.2524 restores 5GHz signal.

Thanks for doing these further tests.

 

[bell2200]

Like I said, I bit my lip and went for it. Other that the control channel issue I haven't seen anything else. Yet.

No, I didn't try it, thinking that a brand new router with firmware from February would be old enough to not have been corrupted. Did I think wrong? Was it bad that far back?



Edit 11/12/14
2157 mst: I did the telnet novram resets and then rebooted. No change.

2212 mst: Confirmed ddarko findings that 5 GHz band is gone. WiFi Analyzer on android phone confirms no signal. Reverting to 3.0.0.4.376.2524 restores 5GHz signal.

2524 was a disaster for me as a result of the NAT loopback problem. 1123 has been stable. Waiting for the successor to 3602...

 

[colecaz]

I, too, need the loopback to work, so have now loaded 1123.

I sure hope memory doesn't get trashed with all the OS reloading.

 

[ddarko]

I just received a RT-AC66R from Best Buy today (On sale for $135.99 on the web site!!). It came with 3.0.0.4.374_4561 and after reading this thread, I bit my lip and loaded 3.0.0.4.376_3602.

Best Buy has really dropped the price on this router recently. Two weeks ago when I bought it, they had it on sale for $150, now it's $136. I got mine from Microcenter after they priced matched Best Buy (Microcenter sells the 66U SKU and they didn't try the "it's not the same SKU" excuse when I showed them the price for Best Buy's 66R) and it came with the same 4561 firmware yours did, hardware revision A1.

2212 mst: Confirmed ddarko findings that 5 GHz band is gone. WiFi Analyzer on android phone confirms no signal. Reverting to 3.0.0.4.376.2524 restores 5GHz signal.

And just to add if it wasn't clear from previous posts, the 5ghz radio LED indicator on the router remains lit even though no signal transmits.

So you read the thread and still updated to .3602?

Did you try this and did it work?

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showpost.php?p=149304&postcount=22

Some of us have also posted in the official Asus forums and there are a couple people there who report having no problems with 5ghz after upgrading to firmware 3602. Given that it's relatively easy to get the 5ghz back, it may be worth giving firmware 3602 a shot to see if you're one of the lucky ones.

 

[XSXS]

I upgraded to 3602 before reading this thread but I guess I am one of the lucky ones as my 5ghz band is working, all bandwidths and all channels can be selected on the pull down.
I have the AC66R not U and I downloaded the firmware for the R version not the U version even though the routers are identical. Not sure if this has anything to do with it or not

 

[colecaz]

Strange, XSXS...

I, too, have the AC66R, downloaded, and loaded FW_RT_AC66R_30043763602.trx and lost the 5 GHz band and channel setting.

I didn't do a thing other than the automatic setup before loading it as I recall.

 

[XSXS]

colecaz,

When you were prompted to manually reset the router, how did you do it? I pressed the power button and waited 5 seconds before powering back on. Also what web brower are you using? I used chrome and I know that some other routers are picky about browers.

 

[colecaz]

I use Chrome and haven't had any problems that I've noticed.

And to "Manually Reset" I usually pull the power plug for about 10 sec. Other times I use the Reboot button at the top of the router web page.

 

[ddarko]

I got a hard revision B0 of the router and upgraded it to 3602. It had the same 5ghz bug as hardware revision A1 after the firmware update. Reverting to older firmware restored 5ghz.