RT-68U Interruptions on 2.4 (but 5GHz fine)

[MouseDriverError]

Hello,

Glad this forum is around, it's been helpful to read.

Several weeks ago I bought and set up an RT-AC68U in a house, and I'm finding that multiple computers experience frequent interruptions when using the 2.4 GHz band. I've had at least 3 different Windows laptops all show a caution icon over the WiFi icon in the system tray and say "no internet" under status, but the signal as measured by Wifi Analyzer on Android still looks good. This happens every hour or more. It becomes impossible to browse the net for a few minutes. The 5GHz band hasn't given me any trouble.

At first, I thought that it might be a lemon, but I actually bought a second unit of this exact same router a few days after the first to use in a different apartment, and never had issues with the 2.4 - but when I brought the new unit to the house and switched it with the "defective" one, the new one started having the same issues, too. Then I put the new one back in my other apartment it was fine again. One of these computers is also a laptop that I use in both locations - no problems in the apartment, constant issues in the house. So it seems like there is something about the environment or setup at this house that doesn't play nice with the 68U, but I can't figure it out! The funny thing is, the one in the apartment manages to keep a stable connection on 2.4 even with more than 25 competing access points in the building, but in the house where I'm having trouble, there are less than 10 other access points from around the neighborhood, and I'm having problems.


Observations:

• It doesn't happen to all the clients at the same time. Different computer can be just fine while another is getting no internet.
  
• It happens even if only one client is connected.
• I see no indication that signal strength is affected.
• I am in the same small room as the router (within 4-10 feet), problem persists at longer distances.
• Same setup with identical model 68U replicates the issue in same location, but is fine in different building.
  
• Mostly same setup with an old D-Link DIR-655 works fine, very stable
• Things work again if the client disconnects and reconnects

Some things I have tried:

• I updated to latest firmware and did factory reset
• Tried channels 1, 6, and 11
  
• Changed the SSID to something new
• Tested modem with direct ethernet to computer, no problems surfaced
  
• Disconnected USB storage devices
• Changed bandwidth to 20 instead of 20/40
• Updated wireless drivers on computers, checked that they were set to max transmission power
• Deleted old wireless profiles on computers
  
• Rebooted the modem
• Assigned static IP
• Raised the router higher

This is really driving me nuts. I love this router when it works, but I'm at wit's end here; not being able to use 2.4 would be a significant setback for a router this nice and pricey. All I can figure out so far is that the 68U just doesn't seem to play nice in this particular environment. I'm contemplating returning it and trying the Nighthawk R7000 instead if I can't fix this within the couple of weekends. If you guys have any insight or ideas, I'd be grateful!

 

[MouseDriverError]

Hi, I remember reading that comment by Merlin, but the thing is, my problems happen on both 380.1031 and 378.9313. So I think it might be some other issue or something that wasn't fixed between these two versions. Should I be trying versions further back?

 

[dmont]

I am having a very similar problem with my RT-AC68U running on 378.9313
It disconnects on 2 different Windows laptops. One is running Win10 and the other one is running Win7.
The caution icon over the WiFi icon in the system tray and says "no internet" under status but it shows good signal bars and does not disconnect from the RT-AC68U.
I know the internet connection is solid since all my other devices, ipads and iphones, have no problem getting on the internet at the same time as well as my Win7 pc connected via Ethernet.
The RT-AC68U is setup as an Access Point.
I have configured an old Belkin N750 router as an Access Point and when connected to it, the same Win7 lenovo laptop has no problem with the internet connection at all.
The problem started immediately after I upgraded the firmware on the 68U. I can't remember what firmware version I had before unfortunately.

 

[MarkyPancake]

Has a hard reset and reconfigure been performed? This is always the first thing worth trying, especially if unusual behaviour occurs right after a firmware upgrade.

 

[wahoowad]

I would be suspicious of something interfering with your 2.4Ghz channel - something in/out of the house hammering your channel intermittently?

Why not just make everything in the house use 5Ghz?

 

[MouseDriverError]

Has a hard reset and reconfigure been performed? This is always the first thing worth trying, especially if unusual behaviour occurs right after a firmware upgrade.

Yes, several times actually. Hard reset / reconfigure with new SSID, also updated firmware, factory reset, and reconfigured with new SSID.

 

[MouseDriverError]

I would be suspicious of something interfering with your 2.4Ghz channel - something in/out of the house hammering your channel intermittently?

Why not just make everything in the house use 5Ghz?

Yes, it seems possible given that it only seems to happen at this house. It's weird though, what could it possibly be? It's hard to believe I can have a perfectly good connection in an apartment building with a gazillion routers and problems in an area with free-standing brick houses, and only with this model router but not others, on channels 1, 6, and 11...

I could make everything 5, but part of the reason I bought this router was to be able to separate out the streaming and gaming from lighter traffic, and if I have such a high end router but am unable to take advantage of this entire band while my basic old 2.4 router does fine, I start to feel that maybe I should find one that does play nice.

 

[MouseDriverError]

I am having a very similar problem with my RT-AC68U running on 378.9313
It disconnects on 2 different Windows laptops. One is running Win10 and the other one is running Win7.
The caution icon over the WiFi icon in the system tray and says "no internet" under status but it shows good signal bars and does not disconnect from the RT-AC68U.
I know the internet connection is solid since all my other devices, ipads and iphones, have no problem getting on the internet at the same time as well as my Win7 pc connected via Ethernet.
The RT-AC68U is setup as an Access Point.
I have configured an old Belkin N750 router as an Access Point and when connected to it, the same Win7 lenovo laptop has no problem with the internet connection at all.
The problem started immediately after I upgraded the firmware on the 68U. I can't remember what firmware version I had before unfortunately.

Wow, so far sounds exactly like my problem. Maybe I should go for a much older firmware. But then, if I have to use ancient firmware to get the product to work, maybe I would be better off returning it and getting a Nighthawk R7000 instead?

 

[dmont]

I have not done a hard reset/reconfigure after updating the firmware but I feel I should not have to as it seems a bit too complicated for a regular user.
I have not verified yet that this only happens on the 2.4 Ghz band.
This is my next action.
If it works fine on the 5 Ghz band, I will just use that band for those 2 windows laptops.
I am just hoping that a fix is found in another firmware.
Maybe I will try the Merlin firmware as well.

 

[MarkyPancake]

I have not done a hard reset/reconfigure after updating the firmware but I feel I should not have to as it seems a bit too complicated for a regular user.
I have not verified yet that this only happens on the 2.4 Ghz band.
This is my next action.
If it works fine on the 5 Ghz band, I will just use that band for those 2 windows laptops.
I am just hoping that a fix is found in another firmware.
Maybe I will try the Merlin firmware as well.

Even Asus specify a hard reset is necessary on some of their own firmware releases.

It's the only way to clear hidden settings and flags that relate to the previous firmware and can have an adverse effect on the new version.

If you don't at least try, then you live with the consequences. I don't like having to reconfigure, but it's worth it to eliminate dirty firmware upgrades being the cause of the problem.

 

[L&LD]

I have not done a hard reset/reconfigure after updating the firmware but I feel I should not have to as it seems a bit too complicated for a regular user.
I have not verified yet that this only happens on the 2.4 Ghz band.
This is my next action.
If it works fine on the 5 Ghz band, I will just use that band for those 2 windows laptops.
I am just hoping that a fix is found in another firmware.
Maybe I will try the Merlin firmware as well.

What is complicated? You had to do it at least once before.

What bothers most users is the time involved in doing so.


http://www.snbforums.com/threads/user-nvram-save-restore-utility-r22.19521/


The above link shows a utility that cuts that time to a fraction of what it would normally take.

Do the above after you have followed the steps in the link below.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573


See? Step by step instructions and you will also get a text based output of your settings too (from the utility) as one further backup to refer to without needing to take screenshots of each screen of the gui.

 

[sfx2000]

At first, I thought that it might be a lemon, but I actually bought a second unit of this exact same router a few days after the first to use in a different apartment, and never had issues with the 2.4 - but when I brought the new unit to the house and switched it with the "defective" one, the new one started having the same issues, too. Then I put the new one back in my other apartment it was fine again. One of these computers is also a laptop that I use in both locations - no problems in the apartment, constant issues in the house. So it seems like there is something about the environment

Bang on - environment - got a microwave oven close by?

 

[MouseDriverError]

Bang on - environment - got a microwave oven close by?

There is a microwave nearby, but I have issues when it is off (plugged in but not in use). When it is on it interrupts everything, and I expect that, but can it really do anything when off?

 

[wahoowad]

There is a microwave nearby, but I have issues when it is off (plugged in but not in use). When it is on it interrupts everything, and I expect that, but can it really do anything when off?

No, not an off microwave. But perhaps a neighbor's?

 

[dmont]

Thanks for your info.
I will definitely use this now before moving to a new firmware.
It is great to have a good user community ready to help newbies...

 

[wouterv]

No, not an off microwave. But perhaps a neighbor's?

Disturbance can be caused by many electronic devices, specailly defective ones that start to transmit lots of noise.
Well knows causes:

1. Microwave (only when on...).
2. Wireless telephones (DECT).
3. Bluetooth devices.
4. Your modem.
5. TV set.
6. DVD player.
7. Many more...
   
8. All of the above at the other end of the wall or floor (at your neighbors).

Keep all above on distance from your router, do not stack the router on top of any of the above.
If things go well, don't bother.
In case of random errors: eliminate all above potential disturbance equipment.
Besides all above: bad cables and bad powersupplies are wel known causes for random issues.

 

[dmont]

What is complicated? You had to do it at least once before.

What bothers most users is the time involved in doing so.


http://www.snbforums.com/threads/user-nvram-save-restore-utility-r22.19521/


The above link shows a utility that cuts that time to a fraction of what it would normally take.

Do the above after you have followed the steps in the link below.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573


See? Step by step instructions and you will also get a text based output of your settings too (from the utility) as one further backup to refer to without needing to take screenshots of each screen of the gui.

Ok, I have followed the instructions and moved to the Merlin firmware RT-AC68U_378.56_2 after resetting the config to the default.
It is a little more complicated because I use the AC68U in AP mode and my normal router already has the address 192.168.1.1 so that creates a problem when I reset the config to the default and it picks up the same address...
Anyway, after moving to the Merlin firmware, unfortunately I still have the same intermittent problem.
I also tested the 5 Ghz band and I have the same problem with the same Windows laptop so my issue is not exactly the same as the OP.
I can also rule out a specific problem with the 2.4 Ghz band since I have installed an old Belkin N router configured as an AP (2.4 Ghz) close to the Windows laptop and it does not disconnect when using it.
The Windows laptop is my wife's work laptop and it connects via their own VPN connection so when it disconnects there are several steps involved to get back up.

At the moment, I have backup solutions (Ethernet connection or the old Belkin N router configured as an AP) but it is not ideal.

Maybe at some point a fix will be found.
Thanks.

 

[L&LD]

Ok, I have followed the instructions and moved to the Merlin firmware RT-AC68U_378.56_2 after resetting the config to the default.
It is a little more complicated because I use the AC68U in AP mode and my normal router already has the address 192.168.1.1 so that creates a problem when I reset the config to the default and it picks up the same address...
Anyway, after moving to the Merlin firmware, unfortunately I still have the same intermittent problem.
I also tested the 5 Ghz band and I have the same problem with the same Windows laptop so my issue is not exactly the same as the OP.
I can also rule out a specific problem with the 2.4 Ghz band since I have installed an old Belkin N router configured as an AP (2.4 Ghz) close to the Windows laptop and it does not disconnect when using it.
The Windows laptop is my wife's work laptop and it connects via their own VPN connection so when it disconnects there are several steps involved to get back up.

At the moment, I have backup solutions (Ethernet connection or the old Belkin N router configured as an AP) but it is not ideal.

Maybe at some point a fix will be found.
Thanks.

You reset to factory defaults before flashing to the 378.56_2 firmware?

You need to do this afterwards. If I've understood correctly, you need to do the full 'reset' once again.