Problem w/ Latest Firmwares > .178 (Daily Disconnects from Modem)

[RMerlin]

RMerlin previously stated that the N66U and the AC66U both use identical firmwares (latest .260 version). Then how can it be explained that when I was using the N66U (.260 firmware), I would get these daily disconnects - but as soon as I changed to the AC66U (also using .260 firmware), I have NOT had a single disconnect in almost 2 weeks now???

Same SB6121 router; Same Ethernet cables; Same Asus firmware version....just different Asus router.

Can this be explained....possibly hardware-related (N66U vs AC66U)?

Same firmware codebase, but not the exact same firmware. There are some parts of the code that are different based on whether it's compiled for the AC66U or N66U. Both devices also use a completely different wireless driver (6.x for the AC66U versus 5.x for the N66U).

 

[xrecar]

Sent my unit in for RMA. Got an AC66u in the meantime. No DHCP issues so far. Go figure.

 

[Lost_Animal]

I had many many problems with ASUS latest FW's. Random disconnects - Freezing downloads - DNS problems - DHCP problems e.t.c.

But is NOT a HW problem.
When i used TOMATO FW, all the above problems just gone.
So if i had BAD HW, then i must experience the same problems on all FW's.

I am sure 100% that the latest FW from asus are VERY BUGGY !!!!

My router run ERROR FREE of problems for many days on Tomato, and Downloaded more than 230 GB without a single disconnect.

I don't know which part of FW is broken but is BROKEN for sure....

Come on ASUS, a Firnware is NOT only a nice Interface.

 

[lfbb]

Lost, I have witnessed the opposite, great DHCP behaviour since build 220. I hope you can solve your problem!

- lfbb

 

[Lost_Animal]

Lost, I have witnessed the opposite, great DHCP behaviour since build 220. I hope you can solve your problem!

- lfbb

I believe you.

But seems to me that FW is Buggy when a combination of settings you used triggering the BUG.

I didn't find the problem to immune it, but i can't from the other hand disable some of the services the FW offering to make it stable.

I useless to keep a firmware when it force you to compromise the performance by disabling features.

From the other side , with Tomato the ONLY problem i have is the low write speed on NTFS usb Drive, but i can live with it.

I am sure that Firmware from ASUS is BUGGY because a BAD HW follow you with the same symptoms on every FW you Load.

Again i am happy for you that in your case all working good with ASUS fw.

PS..... OMG my English sucks..... lol

 

[Poseidon]

Sent my unit in for RMA. Got an AC66u in the meantime. No DHCP issues so far. Go figure.

Keep the AC66U and sell the N66U when you get it back from Asus.

There is definitely a bug in the firmware(s), Factory and Merlin's, that is causing this issue. Asus really needs to look into this and fix it ASAP.

It's been 3+ weeks now since I swapped my N66U for the AC66U and NOT a single disconnect in that time span whatsoever - where I was getting 1-2 disconnects with the N66U previously, even after trying 2 different BRAND NEW N66U routers.

Proof in in the pudding.

 

[xrecar]

Your story is the reason I did it. Thought about going the netgear route, but I really like the support community here and all of the work going into customization. Its weird everone that has these issues has a motarola surfboard(at least from what I've read). It also seems something is definately incompatible past 220. It got to where i had to clear the nvram 3 times a day to connect online. Running 260 now on the AC.

 

[Poseidon]

Your story is the reason I did it. Thought about going the netgear route, but I really like the support community here and all of the work going into customization. Its weird everone that has these issues has a motarola surfboard(at least from what I've read). It also seems something is definately incompatible past 220. It got to where i had to clear the nvram 3 times a day to connect online. Running 260 now on the AC.

Same here. My modem is also a Moto SB6121 (Charter HSI) and I'm running 260 on my AC66U, which is purring like a kitten. Also love the flat Ethernet cable that comes w/ the AC66U.

p.s. Asus > Netgear in EVERY possible way. This coming from someone who has tried Netgear, Asus and Cisco (the worst of the 3).

 

[RogerSC]

Same here. My modem is also a Moto SB6121 (Charter HSI) and I'm running 260 on my AC66U, which is purring like a kitten. Also love the flat Ethernet cable that comes w/ the AC66U.

p.s. Asus > Netgear in EVERY possible way. This coming from someone who has tried Netgear, Asus and Cisco (the worst of the 3).

Yeah, interesting. I have an Arris cable modem, and haven't seen these problems at all. The cable modem I'm using was the only approved DOCSIS 3 modem with IPv6 and the telephony part that Comcast will support. Since I got my modem, they've added a couple of newer ones, a newer Arris and a "Ubee" (whatever that is *smile*).

 

[redpants]

My issues went away (I say away with the past 4 days) when I reflashed and rebooted the router WITHOUT anything attached to the usb ports (usually my 2*2TB media drives). Perhaps this was causing the n66u to choke somhow? I am now on edge running 260 after having multiple disconnects each day. One other change is a windows 7 laptop has been turned off; I noticed an absurd amount of dhcp requests from it when online. (Anyone else notice this with windows 7?)

I'm experiencing the same thing with my win8 laptop. Is that causing occasional connection drop outs? I'm running latest merlin FW and the laptop gets dc once in a while and the systemlog has lots of DHCP requests...

Should i go to LAN - DHCP Server tab and change some setting?

 

[mstombs]

Windoze, Android and Wii all have the same behaviour - they appear to DOS the router with dhcp messages occasionally. BUT this is a result of poor connection to the internet, not the cause. The ancient DHCP protocol has a weakness in the fact there is no standard way for a dhcp sever to revoke a dhcp client lease. If you change something on the router - ip range perhaps or just reboot, it is up to the client to notice and to ask for a new IP.

Win7 etc do check their internet status continuously, wouldn't be surprised if this is by calling home, if the dhcp renew works to wake up the connection it avoids the IT support solution for all of "Turn it off and on again".

I don't know exactly what Asuswrt firmware does - it does have a connection monitoring app "wanduck". Tomato used to have a problem in that it didn't have an equivalent, so if ISP modem/router dropped the connection Tomato would not try to renew until its lease ran out - so I used to use a ping script to do the IT support equivalent. In developing such a script it is easy to see why Asus "wanduck" could be the problem - when ISP routers are overloaded or do 'traffic shaping/QOS' they can drop packets and de-prioritize icmp ping requests - easy to miss identify as broken connection. If the ISP modem is down it may revert to a local access mode, so it is important to check both local routes to the configured gateway and remote routes to somewhere real out on the internet.

If the wan is disconnected and reconnected all the comms passing through the router will be interrupted - sounds familiar?

 

[xrecar]

I'm on a acu66 now with the same amount if not more dhcp requests (3 wdtvs 1 kindle 1 smart tv 1 tablet and 1 win7 laptop). Been up 4 days now without issue (knock on wood). Btw the rtn66u finally choked and I could not reconnect to the internet unless wiping the nvram, reflashing fw did not work anymore. Could be something with the combination of n66u, motarola and charter.

 

[Poseidon]

Could be something with the combination of n66u, motarola and charter.

Most likely. I would NEVER touch another N66U router ever again after this experience. I'd much rather pay the extra $35 for the AC66U and NOT deal with the damn headaches and problems with the N66U.

 

[Poseidon]

Just an FYI, the latest factory firmware for the AC66U (.266) causes the same disconnect problem. Stick with .260 and do NOT update the firmware.

Are the folks over at Asus even aware of this issue with their firmwares???

 

[SoCalReviews]

Before using this Asus router I seemed to have frequent disconnects on my cable connection using a Netgear WNDR3700v2 and a Motorola SB6121. It would be working ok for weeks then the entire network would lock up several times in one week. The only solution was to power off the modem for five to ten minutes and power off the router...then reconnect the modem and wait another few minutes before turning the router back on. I was certain I had found the source problem of these disconnects when I read online that there was a reported bug in the firmware of that specific model of router that made it lock up at times when it was connected to the newer high speed cable modems like the newer Motorola SB6121. I haven't seen the same problem in the last six months since I began using a RT-N66U in place of that model of Netgear.

While there might have been some truth to the information about a possible firmware bug with the Netgear 3700v2 you can't always assume the problem is with your modem or router. There was one week where the cable connection was down more than it was up and I called the cable company. It turned out they were working on the fiber optic cable for several days. I had become so frustrated that I ended up calling the cable company one night. I actually ended up driving down to the end of my street corner and saw the cable company truck and talked to the man working on a main fiber junction. He told me they had to replace a bad fiber optic cable and that the connection would be up soon and sure enough the connection was up about thirty minutes later and I didn't have that connection issue afterwards.

I have not observed any compatibility problems with my RT-N66U and Motorola SB6121 nor have I ever personally seen or heard of any specific problems related to this combination of hardware for Charter cable internet service. A few times I have had to power cycle the router and the modem immediately after doing firmware updates or the connection would sometimes be unstable. Once I power cycle all the hardware it stays stable from then on. I would be more inclined to believe any frequent disconnects would be associated with the service itself and not the router and modem combination. However that is not to say that conflicts don't exist. I would recommend calling the cable company and let them do line testing on their end before jumping to conclusions. Firmware .260 seems to be stable on my RT-N66Us.

 

[xrecar]

Most likely. I would NEVER touch another N66U router ever again after this experience. I'd much rather pay the extra $35 for the AC66U and NOT deal with the damn headaches and problems with the N66U.

After 8 days on 266.22 I had my first 'ISP dhcp disconnect' with my new ac66u. Cleared the nvram and has been up 4 days now. Not sure why/what is going on. Charter never sees my modem disconnect, and and like I found out, a quick nvram erase puts me back online. Trying 23b now. If a quick nvram wipe fixes the issue something is getting messed up over time in the fw.

 

[Poseidon]

I ended up returning the AC66U as well and I'm really irked w/ Asus because I really liked their routers (when worked properly). But I couldn't take these daily disconnects any more. It was becoming a PITA.

I ordered a different brand and will give it a whirl and see if I get better results. If not, then I might consider getting an Asus RT-N16 (with Tomato firmware). I heard that combo is pretty solid (don't need dual band).

 

[xrecar]

New modem - no more problems so far.

 

[CBMC]

New modem - no more problems so far.

What router are you using? I am using the Moto SB6121 and having the problem with charter/asus rt-66n on the newest Merlin firmware.

 

[xrecar]

I had the ac66u which i returned, had netgear r6300 which i returned, i have an rtn66u which this all started with- but i had the sb6121 modem as well, wan disconnects with the isp dhcp error. Bought a Zoom docsis 3 modem, as of last night no problems with downloads reaching max bw. Be warned the Charter rep said they are doing away with customer owned modem activation - I guess it helps limit the variables with tech support.