Newer Firmware breaks TP-Link Kasa Switches

[tmorris1]

I bought 2 RT-AX55's that I am using as Access Points. I updated to the latest firmware and configured them as AIMESH Access Points with ethernet backhaul. Phones and PCs seem to work pretty well, but all of my TP-Link Kasa Samrt switches/plugs seem to be intermittent. They seem to loose connection to cloud service quite a bit and performance is sluggish at best. Alexa control quit working since they have a hard time connecting to the cloud. Most other devices seem fine although most high bandwidth devices are wired ethernet. I tried everything I could think of, turned off AX, setup a quest network, turned of Smart Connect, etc. I saw another post where someone had a similar problem with a different Asus Model and fixed it by downgrading firmware. I tried downgrading to the August 11th version 3.0.0.4.386.43597 and they work great now. I have never had problems with Asus in the past, but I need to decide if I should return these or if Asus will fix this. I don't want to run old firmware all the time,

 

[BrendonSF]

This is a long-running issue that I also have. I had an Asus RT-AX88U prior to my AX8 that also started exhibiting the same behavior.
After insane amounts of troubleshooting, the only thing that fixed it for me was running the beta firmware, as my XT8 won't allow me to rollback to much earlier versions: http://www.snbforums.com/threads/xt8-constant-disconnects.74905/post-721881

 

[CPngN]

Same problem here, first with my inlaws' XT8 (does ok when "the whole family" isn't there!) and now with the new ET8 (two AXE6600's). WiFi will "blip" when in heavy use (5 people with ~2-3 devices each, plus 40 misc IoT, Google, printer, TV, etc) and cause issues with most things. It's not a full drop, but it causes a quick reconnect which is often unsuccessful (for example, movie streams will lose their sync and have to be restarted, or IoT devices drop off unknowingly) .
With about 50+ devices connected and a few streams going, I start losing connections around the house. The Google Home devices love to drop off and, sorry Google, but they REALLY SUCK *** at reconnecting to Wi-Fi. I have to physically rip the damn tight power plug out and put back in on a regular basis because they suck so hard at re-connectivity.

But I digress... it's not Googles fault, it's Asus. Despite only having 512mb RAM, I haven't caught it "full" yet. It's usually about ¾ full, so unless it happens quickly, I don't think I'm running out of memory on the nodes. Especially the upstairs one which only gets up to about 8 devices connected.

Today I have turned off some of the AIProtect features to see if that literally helps keep it cooler (less processing) and more stable this afternoon. I also have nothing to backward to.. it started with firmware already having these issues. But if there's a beta FW avail for ET8 I may have to dive in!
----
Edit: I discovered beta firmware (v9.x instead of 3.x) that may help. Leaving a link from the other thread here for others just in case.

386 rc3-2 – Google Drive

drive.google.com

 

[slrt]

I had a lot of issues with IoT devices disconnecting from my XT8s, though mainly with ESP-based ones, Google Home continued to work.
Initially I moved them to a separate AC router, which solved the issue, but I tried playing with it again, and it seems to work now (with latest firmware):

• Disable Smart Connect (a good idea in any case).
• Only on the 2.4GHz band (these devices don't have a 5GHz radio anyway):
  • General:
    • Disable "802.11ax / WiFi 6 mode"
  • Professional
    • Set "Preamble Type" to Short
    • Disable "Universal Beamforming"

I wish I could disable AX only on a guest network, but that's not part of the config for it. That's not too bad, as at this point the 2.4 band is only used by IoT anyway.

 

[tmorris1]

I had a lot of issues with IoT devices disconnecting from my XT8s, though mainly with ESP-based ones, Google Home continued to work.
Initially I moved them to a separate AC router, which solved the issue, but I tried playing with it again, and it seems to work now (with latest firmware):

• Disable Smart Connect (a good idea in any case).
• Only on the 2.4GHz band (these devices don't have a 5GHz radio anyway):
  • General:
    • Disable "802.11ax / WiFi 6 mode"
  • Professional
    • Set "Preamble Type" to Short
    • Disable "Universal Beamforming"

I wish I could disable AX only on a guest network, but that's not part of the config for it. That's not too bad, as at this point the 2.4 band is only used by IoT anyway.

I tried all of that and it didn't make a difference. The only thing that fixed it was going back to the older August 11th firmware. Exact same settings, but the firmware version makes the difference.

 

[tmorris1]

Same problem here, first with my inlaws' XT8 (does ok when "the whole family" isn't there!) and now with the new ET8 (two AXE6600's). WiFi will "blip" when in heavy use (5 people with ~2-3 devices each, plus 40 misc IoT, Google, printer, TV, etc) and cause issues with most things. It's not a full drop, but it causes a quick reconnect which is often unsuccessful (for example, movie streams will lose their sync and have to be restarted, or IoT devices drop off unknowingly) .
With about 50+ devices connected and a few streams going, I start losing connections around the house. The Google Home devices love to drop off and, sorry Google, but they REALLY SUCK *** at reconnecting to Wi-Fi. I have to physically rip the damn tight power plug out and put back in on a regular basis because they suck so hard at re-connectivity.

But I digress... it's not Googles fault, it's Asus. Despite only having 512mb RAM, I haven't caught it "full" yet. It's usually about ¾ full, so unless it happens quickly, I don't think I'm running out of memory on the nodes. Especially the upstairs one which only gets up to about 8 devices connected.

Today I have turned off some of the AIProtect features to see if that literally helps keep it cooler (less processing) and more stable this afternoon. I also have nothing to backward to.. it started with firmware already having these issues. But if there's a beta FW avail for ET8 I may have to dive in!
----
Edit: I discovered beta firmware (v9.x instead of 3.x) that may help. Leaving a link from the other thread here for others just in case.

386 rc3-2 – Google Drive

drive.google.com

I only had problems with my TP-Link smart plugs/switches. Everything else seemed pretty good. This isn't a hardware problem with overheating or a traffic related thing, mine did this right from bootup until I went back to old firmware

 

[sfx2000]

all of my TP-Link Kasa Samrt switches/plugs seem to be intermittent.

Can you be a bit more specific as to which model, HW/SW version?

(for example - HS103, HW 2.1, SW 1.1.4)

Kasa has quite a few different models out there.

One thing to look at is the "Airtime Fairness" setting, toggle it (if on, set to off, or vice versa).

There's been a number of reports on broadcom based Asus devices where that setting can affect some client chipsets out in the field.

 

[tmorris1]

I have several, HS100, H105, H107, HS210, HS200, KP400 all on the latest firmware according to the app. Everything worked perfectly for years with my 10 year old RT-AC66R access points. Problems started with the new upgraded RT-AX55 access points on the latest firmware.

I don't see a setting for airtime fairness, but I tried turning off AX mode. I can update firmware and break it, and roll it back and fix it without changing any settings. I tried messing with everything you could think of and nothing makes a difference except downgrading firmware.

 

[tmorris1]

I opened a ticket with Asus and they are asking for logs etc, so I have to load the new firmware that breaks it and send them logs, config, settings, etc. Debating whether it is even worth it. Sick of wasting time and may just return them and buy something else.

 

[akb]

I wanted to post that my XD4's were upgraded to latest firmware and my tp-link kasa stuff all took a shirt. Reverting back to previous version fixed it. I hope this is something that will be known to asus to make a fix :X

 

[akb]

One thing i noticed in my troubleshooting with the new firmware was that all my devices had constant dhcp requests that would Happen every minute or so. This aligns to why ping would spike as it alights to the request of dhcp. Seems like another issue that asus will have to fix as the same behavior is not seen on old firmware. Seems like kasa devices are the only ones sensitive to dhcp requests because maybe it needs to update the mothership tplink api about the change??

 

[mgudites]

I have a RT-AX82U and just started experiencing the same problem. Updated to 3.0.0.4.386.45934 the other day (and I think I may have been a few versions behind...) and ALL of my Kasa stuff stopped working...regulars switches, dimmers, 3-way switches, smart plugs, all of it. I just downgraded, version by version, until I found one that worked. Rolled back to 3.0.0.4.386.43588 (August 2021) and just like that, magic...all the Kasa gear started working again.

 

[akb]

I hope the new merlin update doesn't show the same issues :X

 

[KidJoe]

I had the issue. I adjusted my 2.4g settings and got them working again.

Wireless mode: legacy
B/g protection: checked
Wifi agile multiband: disabled
Channel bandwidth: 20mhz

 

[akb]

Thats four settings which one worked? I feel like only one i do not have set the same is legacy mode. If you toggle that one and it works it is just a fluke

I had the issue. I adjusted my 2.4g settings and got them working again.

Wireless mode: legacy
B/g protection: checked
Wifi agile multiband: disabled
Channel bandwidth: 20mhz

 

[jmpr]

I have just found this thread. I have an XT8 and 8 kasa switches with no problems at all, never. But the use the main ssid (with triple band smartconnect), not a guest one. Have you tried to link them in the main ssid?

 

[BrendonSF]

After years with no issues on an RT-AX88U, I started having the same issue with all my Kasa devices. I had some other IoT devices that were also dropping, though not as frequently (such as some nest cams). I moved to an XT8 hoping it would solve it, and it didn't. After trying tons of different suggestions, I finally had success by installing the beta firmware that's on this forum. I've been on it stable for over a month now.

 

[Bagz]

I think this is the same issue with my AC86U. Randomly Kasa and other IoT devices (cameras and stuff) stop working.
Rebooting router works until it randomly stops again.

never had issues before, updated firmware not long ago

 

[jmpr]

I have no issues with 8 kasa devices and XT8. They are in the main ssid (triband smartconnect) not guest. You may try mu 2'4 settings:

 

[Dr Mono]

The new Asus TUF-AX5400 has the same problem with Kasa devices. Already shared with Asus' tech support. Here's my temporary solution. I setup an extender broadcasting a different SSID for the 2.4GHz channel and connected all Kasa devices to said channel. Everything is back to normal. Hopefully, they'll fix this soon...