Router overheating?

[pqtme5]

Using the latest stable firmware 380.69. Here's what it shows in Sysinfo. The router is fairly idle at the moment. CPU is 800Mhz.

2.4 GHz: 49°C - 5 GHz: 53°C - CPU: 76°C

Is this normal?

Edit: Model AC68U

 

[ColinTaylor]

Probably. Are we meant to guess the router model?

 

[pqtme5]

AC68U.

 

[DonnyJohnny]

Try off the memory reflush. In Tools, other settings, memory management off.

Do you have any services running like BitTorrent, DLNA, etc?

Mine is around 56-60. I use a small USB fan blowing it.

 

[Sanna1967]

Your temp are normal

 

[pqtme5]

Try off the memory reflush. In Tools, other settings, memory management off.

Do you have any services running like BitTorrent, DLNA, etc?

Mine is around 56-60. I use a small USB fan blowing it.

Nope, it's just web browsing on a computer and a light streaming box.

Your CPU is 50-60 Celcius?

 

[M@rco]

Without active cooling, these temperatures are indeed perfectly normal.

My RT-AC68U currently, while 'idle':

2.4 GHz: 50°C - 5 GHz: 52°C - CPU: 72°C

I just woke up, so room temp is still rising (which also affects the router as it is close to the ceiling, on top of a 2.2 meter / ~7.2 feet / ~86.6 inch display cabinet) so CPU temps of around 76°C when moderately used are seen frequently. It even goes up when temperature of the living room rises and/or it's under heavy load.

Nothing to worry about, they're made for these temperatures.

 

[Scheggiaimpazzita]

Without active cooling, these temperatures are indeed perfectly normal.

My RT-AC68U currently, while 'idle':

2.4 GHz: 50°C - 5 GHz: 52°C - CPU: 72°C

I just woke up, so room temp is still rising (which also affects the router as it is close to the ceiling, on top of a 2.2 meter / ~7.2 feet / ~86.6 inch display cabinet) so CPU temps of around 76°C when moderately used are seen frequently. It even goes up when temperature of the living room rises and/or it's under heavy load.

Nothing to worry about, they're made for these temperatures.

The temperatures are normal but i think that's crazy to make box like those. I had a billion router that was almost cold even put on the rear of a sofa on vertical mount. When I took an ac88 I was forced to put it on a small shelf to put it horizontally and give it more air otherwise I would feel myself at fire risk. Definitively the chips can run at this temperature but their life will be significatively shorter because of therval derivation of the silicon. I really don't understand why the manufacturers doesen't make devices that don't get so hot. Or maybe yes, Because in That Way they will ensure themselves the devices will be replaced shortly
To cool it you can use a laptop Cooler that is a fast solution but it can be noisy. On first step I tried this but because of proximity to the sofa it was too noisy. Even building a pwm regulator wasn't ok because the fan in the coolermaster laptop cooler was cheap and lowering its rpm was not useful. I then found the best (but not cheap) compromise of cooling almost totally silent with noctua 20cm pwm fan, noctua pwm regulator, a 5 to 12v usb step up cable and a small stand into which I put the fan and the ac88 over it. Now it runs Max at 55 celsius with fan at minimum regulation. During summer I will raise it, but I have already tested that even at max rpm it's more silent than laptop cooler. Obviously no comparation in terms of cooling. Noctua it's a guarantee.

Sent from a phone cab with Tapatalk

 

[M@rco]

I've seen many 'solutions' around the web, to cool routers (as well as other equipment) down. Maybe it will extend its lifespan, I don't know, but it could be. I think the RT-AC68U, one of the most popular routers ASUS ever made, isn't known for its notoriously short lifetime. Many people upgrade to a newer model and are still using it as an AP or keep it on the shelf for backup purposes. I can't recall I've ever had a router dying on me, I still have all my old Netgear/dd-wrt equipment on the attic and I'm sure if I try them, they'll all just still work fine. Maybe I'm lucky...

If someone feels the need to cool it, plenty of solutions around, dyi or pre-made... Most of the times there's a new model around in a couple of years which interests me and when that happens it means something else is going up the attic for backup purposes, after I justified the expense to myself . I'd rather save my money to invest it in a new router, when the time comes and if it's significantly better. Untill then, I'm fairly sure, my RT-AC68U White won't let me down (knocks on wood) .

 

[videobruce]

160 degrees fahrenheit is normal???

How is one suppose to mount that on a wall w/o building a shelf??

 

[ColinTaylor]

160 degrees fahrenheit is normal???

How is one suppose to mount that on a wall w/o building a shelf??

Remember that is the chip's die temperature, not the external temperature.

 

[M@rco]

160 degrees fahrenheit is normal???

How is one suppose to mount that on a wall w/o building a shelf??

Yep, perfectly 'normal'. As for mounting it on a wall w/o building a shelf, that would be tricky as it has no wall mounting brackets. I just use the highest cabinet in the living room. I don't think I would mount it to a wall anyway, because it needs to be able to ventilate.

 

[videobruce]

Remember that is the chip's die temperature, not the external temperature.

Understood, it just seems high for a SOC in a Router. A true PC processor, I wouldn't take issue.
If that was just the air temperature, the box probably wouldn't of melted by now.

I don't think I would mount it to a wall anyway, because it needs to be able to ventilate.

I use standoffs, ideal are those silicone stick on 'feet' to move the bottom of the device away from the mounting surface. There are plenty of these 'feet', some even allow 'stacking'.

 

[st3v3n]

Nice mount, M@rco. I may borrow your idea for mounting our units on a wall shelf. Have you noticed any RFI? I've seen several types of USB powered dual-fan units online/amazon; which fans did you use? Cheers.

 

[M@rco]

Nice mount, M@rco. I may borrow your idea for mounting our units on a wall shelf. Have you noticed any RFI? I've seen several types of USB powered dual-fan units online/amazon; which fans did you use? Cheers.

I think you've misread my post, I don't have any active cooling. The image is just one of the many pre-made solutions around (which I find somewhat overkill, but as said, each his/her own point of view). If you google cooling and RT-AC68U, you'll find this solution on Amazon if I recall correctly. Looking at the price, this might be less 'ultra silent' than the seller claims btw... Good, silent fans cost money...

Edit: Found it here. The 'my router is so much faster now' review made me laugh .

 

[st3v3n]

Touche, M@rco, I got your joke which is why I mentioned Amazon, RFI, etc. Whenever someone posts a photo, sooner or later some fool unfortunately misconstrues the photo as being a serious effort on the part of the OP. I've seen so many USB fans and USB powered plug schemes over the years, I didn't recall where I'd seen the photo, and is why I asked. Your link direct to the amazon page solved that. Folks who screw cheap case fans into their precious Asus routers likely have a screw (or two) loose, since that will spew RFI directly into the radios/antenna. Powering fans off the router USB ports also isn't advisable. The OP that supposedly reviewed the rig on amazon so long ago likely didn't use it; as with all fake news or reviews, who knows?

We've always fan-cooled our routers without mounting a fan directly on the router. It's never made the router 'faster' but it keeps the temps down at least by half. High temps wind up killing most electronics. Our 3200 runs two OpenVPN tunnels and stays between 43-48C. Without fan cooling, the temp reaches what are considered normal hot operating temperature in a just few seconds. When it's uncomfortable to hold your hand on top of the router for more than a few seconds, it can benefit from active cooling. I saw a Asus router with a Peltier thermoelectric cooler and heatsink mounted, similar to what we used on CPUs in the 1990s. Disassembling routers and mounting Peltier units is more in the realm of experimenters and hobbyists, but if you have the time, it can be effective.

Cooling fan maintenance is easy, when you clean the router, clean the fan; both will last a long time. Noctua fans are silent and when compared to the cost of the router, inexpensive, especially when they're on sale. We buy them seasonally. Some will debate the cost but if compared to the cost of beer for an evening (as always, YMMV), the beer is gone all too soon. It's tasty on a hot day, but as any wife will tell you it won't help the router, however as we all know, wives love good WiFi, so buying a good fan is a qualified investment in spousal happiness, and router cooling. A good fan can always be re-tasked, not so beer. My jest about borrowing your jest wasn't serious. We're planning an wall-mounted shelf with the cooling fans suspended below, directing the airflow along the back of the router and other units on the shelf, with a separate A/C USB power source. Cheers.

 

[M@rco]

Cheers.

Great... Now I'm seriously considering buying a 20 cm Nocturna to cool my precious RT-AC68U...

 

[goRt]

Touche, M@rco, I got your joke which is why I mentioned Amazon, RFI, etc. Whenever someone posts a photo, sooner or later some fool unfortunately misconstrues the photo as being a serious effort on the part of the OP. I've seen so many USB fans and USB powered plug schemes over the years, I didn't recall where I'd seen the photo, and is why I asked. Your link direct to the amazon page solved that. Folks who screw cheap case fans into their precious Asus routers likely have a screw (or two) loose, since that will spew RFI directly into the radios/antenna. Powering fans off the router USB ports also isn't advisable. The OP that supposedly reviewed the rig on amazon so long ago likely didn't use it; as with all fake news or reviews, who knows?

We've always fan-cooled our routers without mounting a fan directly on the router. It's never made the router 'faster' but it keeps the temps down at least by half. High temps wind up killing most electronics. Our 3200 runs two OpenVPN tunnels and stays between 43-48C. Without fan cooling, the temp reaches what are considered normal hot operating temperature in a just few seconds. When it's uncomfortable to hold your hand on top of the router for more than a few seconds, it can benefit from active cooling. I saw a Asus router with a Peltier thermoelectric cooler and heatsink mounted, similar to what we used on CPUs in the 1990s. Disassembling routers and mounting Peltier units is more in the realm of experimenters and hobbyists, but if you have the time, it can be effective.

Cooling fan maintenance is easy, when you clean the router, clean the fan; both will last a long time. Noctua fans are silent and when compared to the cost of the router, inexpensive, especially when they're on sale. We buy them seasonally. Some will debate the cost but if compared to the cost of beer for an evening (as always, YMMV), the beer is gone all too soon. It's tasty on a hot day, but as any wife will tell you it won't help the router, however as we all know, wives love good WiFi, so buying a good fan is a qualified investment in spousal happiness, and router cooling. A good fan can always be re-tasked, not so beer. My jest about borrowing your jest wasn't serious. We're planning an wall-mounted shelf with the cooling fans suspended below, directing the airflow along the back of the router and other units on the shelf, with a separate A/C USB power source. Cheers.

Temperature needs to be measured on the Kelvin/absolute scale if you're going to do calculations on the percentage drop - you'll never get a 50% drop in temperature with a fan.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[glehel]

I use cooling. Separate power supply 7.5V works in a 12V fan suction (non-blown) mode.
the fixation is removable two-sided 3M patch. No screw.

 

[st3v3n]

M@rco, we use a Noctua NF-A20PWM for ours, usually $25-$30 and other fans for airflow through various units; a Cooler Master Mega-Flow PWM and Antec's Big-Boy; on high speed it can move over 130 CFU. We've never had to run them at high speed. Both fans usually cost $20 or less and as good as the Noctua. The temp readings are real-world, off the router GUI, not performed with a laser temperature reader; Kelvin/absolute scales weren't used and no calculations of percentage drops were required.

Using an external fan to move air over, through, around or away from hot-running electronics is well established practice and it works. It's also a subject with as many fans for (pun there) as there detractors against active cooling. Please see; https://www.snbforums.com/threads/how-are-you-cooling-your-asus-router.14027/ photo #10). In post #9 same page its hard to picture Asus designers being upset if they observed an owner's fan pulling hot air away from their routers. If the router ran cooler, no one would feel the need to use a fan. Nice pics glehel

Some fan-mount rigs are questionable, but it's your machine; if you're satisfied with the cooler temps resulting from fan cooling, arguing Kelvin points can't compete with success. Active cooling is preferable to having the router overheat to the point invoking automatic power cutbacks or the resulting overload and shutdown. When you lose your connection and work, fan cooling is a no-brainer.

Kelvin theorem and drive-by nay saying, 'you'll never get a 50% drop in temps with a fan' falls into the realm of doubters detracting. Thompson was brilliant but also predicted that airplanes would never be a practical success, and obviously he never owned a hot-running router.