[Q]RT-AC66U regularly bricked & range extender selection?

[sgyh0521]

Hello guys, here are 2 separated problems:
1.I've been using Asus RT-AC66U for half a year, and recently it began to brick regularly, no matter if I use official asuswrt firmware(always keeping up for the latest update for several months) or the latest(376.44 beta3) merlin fimware. The router will become in rescue mode (with no wirelss lights, power light slowly flashing while LAN1 and WAN lights are on continuously) after every time I used it normally for several hours within a day and boot it in the next day. I'd have to use the official firmware restoration utility and upload the .trx firmware file every time to get it back. Is this a common problem for other users or just mine? Will it help to reset NVRAM? Or any way else?
2.The RT-AC66U router is in my study and it is unable to move it out of it, but my parents use Wi-Fi in our sitting room, which is far away from it and there're at least 3 walls between them. I plan to buy a Wifi range extender to extend my Wifi range, wonder if you guys can offer some suggestions(models, other way to extend the range, etc )What about Asus RP-N53 and Netgear EX6100? I heard that they're both using the same MediaTek SoC and it is not good while communicating with Broadcom SoC-based AC66U, is it true?

Thank you guys for any posts!

 

[KGB7]

Send it back and get another one.

 

[sgyh0521]

Send it back and get another one.

I asked the seller and he told me to use non-official firmware and said that official asuswrt firmware could become brick sometimes
I already had a try on merlin's firmware without resetting nvram but the brick down still happened. Now I reset it, flashed merlin again and reset factory set for another try

 

[ANJ9686]

I asked the seller and he told me to use non-official firmware and said that official asuswrt firmware could become brick sometimes

I already had a try on merlin's firmware without resetting nvram but the brick down still happened. Now I reset it, flashed merlin again and reset factory set for another try

If I was in your position right now and you have to fix the router everyday I would send the router back and get a full refund and buy another router somewhere else mate.

 

[ANJ9686]

If you looking to extend wifi best option is to get the same brand as your router.. I would suggest another router and put it in AP or simply buy the white Asus adaptor RP-N53 very easy to set-up.. I got 2 in my house

Router upstairs
RP N53 at the front of the house and RP N53 at the back of my house

 

[KGB7]

I asked the seller and he told me to use non-official firmware and said that official asuswrt firmware could become brick sometimes
I already had a try on merlin's firmware without resetting nvram but the brick down still happened. Now I reset it, flashed merlin again and reset factory set for another try

Send the router back.

 

[sgyh0521]

Send the router back.

OK I had a try on tomato and it really works...No brick down today, dont know if it is because the firmware or resetting NVRAM
Thank you for your advice

 

[sgyh0521]

If you looking to extend wifi best option is to get the same brand as your router.. I would suggest another router and put it in AP or simply buy the white Asus adaptor RP-N53 very easy to set-up.. I got 2 in my house

Router upstairs
RP N53 at the front of the house and RP N53 at the back of my house

I compared RP N53 with Netgear EX6100 and found that N53 seemed to work better.
However, I'm wondering if ASUS RP-AC52 will be a better choice
It supports 11ac and may use a Broadcom SoC(both EX6100 and N53 use MediaTek's MT7620A SoC and I doubt if it works well with the Broadcom-based AC66U), but is not on sale still

 

[sgyh0521]

Thank you guys above My problem was solved
The problem is the nearly fulfilled NVRAM...

I flashed several non-official firmwares like Merlin and tomato without resetting NVRAM and they didnt work as well. The router still broke down in the next day.
But AFTER RESETTING NVRAM all the firmwares work quite well

I remembered that before I reset it the NVRAM is nearly fulfilled, there're only several bytes free in my NVRAM...
And after resetting it is used just about 30 kbs, half of the capacity of NVRAM of AC66U

So if someone meet the same problem like this, you can have a try to reset the NVRAM, just get into the rescue mode, enter CFE and reset it