New firmware for AX86U

[ualdrivr]

Today I updated my backhaul wired mesh AX86U with the new firmware for that router by ASUS, 388_22525 which according to ASUS, includes "improvements to wired backhaul mesh" configurations. The router came back to the Mesh configuration very quickly after the update and so far is running very well with 6 devices on it's WiFi signal, both 2.4 and 5. The router is meshed with my primary router GT-AX6000 which is running the older more stable version of firmware 388_21617. You may recall that myself and other users had Mesh issues when the router was upgraded to the not so stable and Mesh friendly 388_22068.

Please post how your Mesh system is doing, if you decided to update the firmware.

 

[SteverinoLA]

I gave up on AIMesh for my AX86U router and AX55 mesh client. Too many unexplained Wi-Fi disconnections and even spontaneous reboots of the devices attached to mesh client. I changed it to a AP and now all is well. I do miss some AIMesh functionality but now I can see the logs and wi-fi connection stats for mesh client, and also use DFS on 86U.

Curious too if anyone who had problems before now do not w/this update.

 

[bbunge]

Release - ASUS RT-AX86 Series(RT-AX86U/RT-AX86S) Firmware version 3.0.0.4.388.22525

ASUS RT-AX86 Series(RT-AX86U/RT-AX86S) Firmware version 3.0.0.4.388.22525 Version 3.0.0.4.388.22525 70 MB 2023/02/07 1.Fixed CVE-2022-46871 2.Fixed Client DOM Stored XSS. 3.Improved AiMesh backhaul stability. 4.Fixed AiMesh topology UI bugs. 5.Fixed the reboot issue when assigning specific...

www.snbforums.com

 

[ualdrivr]

Release - ASUS RT-AX86 Series(RT-AX86U/RT-AX86S) Firmware version 3.0.0.4.388.22525

ASUS RT-AX86 Series(RT-AX86U/RT-AX86S) Firmware version 3.0.0.4.388.22525 Version 3.0.0.4.388.22525 70 MB 2023/02/07 1.Fixed CVE-2022-46871 2.Fixed Client DOM Stored XSS. 3.Improved AiMesh backhaul stability. 4.Fixed AiMesh topology UI bugs. 5.Fixed the reboot issue when assigning specific...

www.snbforums.com

 

[slennon]

With 388.22068 being rediculously unstable to the point it was rebooting my AX86U multiple times per day and would lock me out of UI within 3 minutes. I rolled back to 21709 and am hesitant to upgrade to this version yet. Monitoring various threads to see if major problems raise their heads before taking the plunge.

 

[bbunge]

With 388.22068 being rediculously unstable to the point it was rebooting my AX86U multiple times per day and would lock me out of UI within 3 minutes. I rolled back to 21709 and am hesitant to upgrade to this version yet. Monitoring various threads to see if major problems raise their heads before taking the plunge.

FYI, my AX86U up for 5 days, RAM dropped overnight from 61% to 56%, WIFI very stable! Others report improvement with AiMesh. Seems to be a good release!

 

[OzarkEdge]

With 388.22068 being rediculously unstable to the point it was rebooting my AX86U multiple times per day and would lock me out of UI within 3 minutes. I rolled back to 21709 and am hesitant to upgrade to this version yet. Monitoring various threads to see if major problems raise their heads before taking the plunge.

Be afraid... be very afraid.

OE

 

[Smokindog]

With 388.22068 being rediculously unstable to the point it was rebooting my AX86U multiple times per day and would lock me out of UI within 3 minutes. I rolled back to 21709 and am hesitant to upgrade to this version yet. Monitoring various threads to see if major problems raise their heads before taking the plunge.

If you haven't done so, I'd suggest a factory reset and re-configure. If you've done that, I'd suggest contacting ASUS if still under warranty.

 

[ualdrivr]

Be afraid... be very afraid.

OE

 

[ualdrivr]

With 388.22068 being rediculously unstable to the point it was rebooting my AX86U multiple times per day and would lock me out of UI within 3 minutes. I rolled back to 21709 and am hesitant to upgrade to this version yet. Monitoring various threads to see if major problems raise their heads before taking the plunge.

388_22525 has been very stable for me, without any Mesh issues whatsoever. Try it out.

 

[slennon]

If you haven't done so, I'd suggest a factory reset and re-configure. If you've done that, I'd suggest contacting ASUS if still under warranty.

Thanks Smokindog, I had considered this and tend to use as last resort only but decided to take the plunge.

Factory default restore, initialize all settings, recreated all configs from scratch. 24 hours later cannot get to web interface, just times out before even presenting login page. Two hard resets (just to be sure) recreated all settings from scratch. A couple of glitches with web interface over first fortnight (time outs not being able to get to login page). Power recycle works again for couple of days, but has slowly gotten worse over last two weeks to the point of web interface no longer being accessible within hours of reboot, and mobile app not being able to connect advising problem with router and to reboot.

So after almost a month of testing 22525 have rolled back to 21709 which for me at least has been stable, and over last few days has remained so with no timeouts, get fast responsive performance from web UI and app, Memory utilisation sits around 58% and CPU barely moves off 1-5% range. I do not believe this to be a hardware related issue, and while not impossible, typically very small percentage of units have hardware related defects and these are typically seen regardless of firmware versions in my experience.

I have the following feedback on last two firmware versions which may lead some to ask why I apply the updates at all especially when 21709 for the most part is pretty solid. Quick answer, to take advantage of any security fixes or stability issues and remain as close to most current version as possible.

For now 21709 will remain in place until next update.

Firmware 22525
1.Fixed CVE-2022-46871 - Assessing CVE to understand how it applies to router and risk. Potentially still exposed
2.Fixed Client DOM Stored XSS. - I use third party plugins to prevent DOM XSS vulnerabilities, so while not immune is relatively low risk.
3.Improved AiMesh backhaul stability. - Use wired backhaul and have not experienced any backhaul stability issues across three devices.
4.Fixed AiMesh topology UI bugs. - Unable to validate, have not observed any topology bugs.
5.Fixed the reboot issue when assigning specific clients in VPN fusion. - Unable to validate as I don't use feature.
6.Fixed the VPN fusion bug when importing the Surfshark WireGuard conf file. - Unable to validate as I don't use feature.
7.Fixed network map bugs. - Haven't seen any bugs in network map so can't validate.

Firmware 22068
1. Improved system stability. - Fail
2. Fixed the IPsec VPN compatibility issue with Win10. - Unable to validate as I don't use feature.
3. Fixed the VPN fusion user interface issues under the HTTPS connection. - Unable to validate as I don't use feature.
4. Fixed Client DOM Stored XSS vulnerability. - I use third party plugins to prevent DOM XSS vulnerabilities, so while not immune is relatively low risk.
5. Improved Wireguard performance. - Unable to validate as I don't use feature.