RT-AC3100 Refurbished but having problems

[energized]

Hello, first posting, a complete newbie as far a routers go, last purchased the D-Link 615 (Version B).

I purchased the AC3100, refurbished router, followed the directions, and got blazing speeds compared to the 615 router. I just left everything as I found it, except changing the network name and password. Everything was great!

Until, I noticed I wasn't on that router any more, so I reconnected to the 615. Thus began a series of problems.

First, only the 5ghz LED was on, but I still couldn't see any wireless network to sign onto for the 3100. I read here, and then did the factory reset. That left the power light blinking for about an hour. I then unplugged it, waited 30 seconds, and plugged it in again. It then had the LED for the WAN lit, which seems as if it alternates between red and white, looking almost pink. I read about the WiFi button on the front of the router, which seems a bit of a questionable location, and pressed it, even though I'm pretty certain it wasn't pressed before. When that did nothing, I pressed it again, and it did nothing again.

I would hate to RMA a perfectly good router just because I don't know what I'm doing. It also seemed, at least for the initial period, that it worked spectacularly. I just don't know what happened between then and now, so I'm hoping one or more of the experts here will help, as all help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[TonyH]

Hello, first posting, a complete newbie as far a routers go, last purchased the D-Link 615 (Version B).

I purchased the AC3100, refurbished router, followed the directions, and got blazing speeds compared to the 615 router. I just left everything as I found it, except changing the network name and password. Everything was great!

Until, I noticed I wasn't on that router any more, so I reconnected to the 615. Thus began a series of problems.

First, only the 5ghz LED was on, but I still couldn't see any wireless network to sign onto for the 3100. I read here, and then did the factory reset. That left the power light blinking for about an hour. I then unplugged it, waited 30 seconds, and plugged it in again. It then had the LED for the WAN lit, which seems as if it alternates between red and white, looking almost pink. I read about the WiFi button on the front of the router, which seems a bit of a questionable location, and pressed it, even though I'm pretty certain it wasn't pressed before. When that did nothing, I pressed it again, and it did nothing again.

I would hate to RMA a perfectly good router just because I don't know what I'm doing. It also seemed, at least for the initial period, that it worked spectacularly. I just don't know what happened between then and now, so I'm hoping one or more of the experts here will help, as all help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[TonyH]

Exactly what is the status of router now? Did you have power glitch/failure in the house? If you'll, turn off power to the router, wait a few minutes, then press and hold the reset button down and turn on power to the router. When front LED lights start blinking, release the reset button. What is the status at this point?

 

[energized]

Right now, the router has the Power LED lit (white). The router has the WAN LED lit (red/blinking white).

There has been no problems with power, it has only been plugged in one day.

I will try leaving the router unplugged a bit longer and press/hold the reset button, then plug the router in.

Thank you for your help.

 

[energized]

OK, I left it unplugged for 10 minutes, pressed the reset button as it was plugged in, and held it while the Power LED blinked on and off.

It has now been flashing On/Off for another 10 minutes. I guess I'll just leave it overnight and see what happens, but I am losing hope for this one.

Have people been happy with this model, or are the "refurbished" units really just bad units with the dust blown off? I thought Asus did the refurbishing, but now I'm wondering.

 

[Pierino]

You put the router in recovery mode. It will stay like that till you either upload firmware or turn it off.
I have a refurbished rt-ac3100 that works fine.

 

[Csection]

You it the router in recovery mode. It will stay like that till you either upload firmware or turn it off.
I have a refurbished rt-ac3100 that works fine.

I also have a refurb that works just fine. It's not the refurb that is a problem. I had to test a lot till I understood this unit. I also have a X4s that works great with Voxel's firmware. It is a little faster, but it does not have the versatility of the rt-3100 do to Merlin firmware.

 

[energized]

You pu the router in recovery mode. It will stay like that till you either upload firmware or turn it off.
I have a refurbished rt-ac3100 that works fine.

I didn't know it had to be turned off and turned on again to go beyond recovery mode. In fact, I was ready to RMA it this morning because the light was still blinking. In my opinion, it should progress in recovery mode, but I did then turn it off, turn it on again, and have the white Power LED on.

I am wondering, will the WiFi LEDs be lit if there is no cable in the WAN socket? I see that without a cable in the WAN socket that LED is red. Both the 2.4ghz and the 5ghz LEDs are dark.

I would definitely like to find out, as Csection stated, "It's not the refurb that is a problem." Unfortunately I don't have the skill to know what to test or how to test it. I only know that initially it worked spectacularly, with all the LEDs properly lit. I then saw that the 2.4ghz LED was not lit, but the 5ghz LED was lit, but I still did not see anything when searching for WiFi. In addition, this mirrors closely what has been reported on Newegg by several customers, however they too may not have understood how to properly diagnose and recover from a problem with this router.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Yes the radio lights should be lit if the wifi radios are enabled. I would do a complete factory reset of your 3100 and start over given the issues you have been going through. Turn router off with switch on the back left. Wait 10 seconds then hold the WPS button while turning the power button back on. Continue to hold WPS button for 15 seconds then release. Your router will now have all NV ram erased and returned to factory default. Reconfigure all settings manually and your router should be ok.

 

[energized]

Turn router off with switch on the back left. Wait 10 seconds then hold the WPS button while turning the power button back on. Continue to hold WPS button for 15 seconds then release. Your router will now have all NV ram erased and returned to factory default. Reconfigure all settings manually and your router should be ok.

OK, I turned the router off with the switch, and waited, turned it back on while pressing the WPS button.

Now once again, the Power LED came back on and was the only LED lit. The Center LED (Internet) is on, first white, now alternating white/red.

But should the 2.4ghz and the 5ghz LEDs be lit at this point?

And do I now have to connect the computer to the AC3100 with another ethernet cable to reconfigure all the settings manually? The first time I connected the router I was able to do the settings through the WiFi.

 

[Pierino]

Log into the router, go the the wireless tab. If you only see channel 0 as an option for both bands, you have a faulty router.

 

[energized]

OK, that seems straightforward.

And I am understanding that I must connect via ethernet cable to do this, as the WiFi isn't available.

But I don't seem to be able to do this via ethernet cable, as I connect the cable between the computer and the router, into the LAN socket, and try 192.168.1.1, and it won't connect.

Also, is it possible to just connect directly to the router, via ethernet, without the router being connected to the modem?

 

[sfx2000]

purchased the AC3100, refurbished router, followed the directions, and got blazing speeds compared to the 615 router. I just left everything as I found it, except changing the network name and password. Everything was great!

Until, I noticed I wasn't on that router any more, so I reconnected to the 615. Thus began a series of problems.

First, only the 5ghz LED was on, but I still couldn't see any wireless network to sign onto for the 3100. I read here, and then did the factory reset. That left the power light blinking for about an hour. I then unplugged it, waited 30 seconds, and plugged it in again. It then had the LED for the WAN lit, which seems as if it alternates between red and white, looking almost pink. I read about the WiFi button on the front of the router, which seems a bit of a questionable location, and pressed it, even though I'm pretty certain it wasn't pressed before. When that did nothing, I pressed it again, and it did nothing again.

I'd return it - it's a refurb, and perhaps escaped QA there...

So don't waste time - the behavior here is not typical...

 

[energized]

I'd return it - it's a refurb, and perhaps escaped QA there...

I am now going to return this one, but I am now in a dilemma about what to do next.

I researched, and the Asus AC3100 seemed spectacular. I connected it and it was beyond spectacular!! Then it died, seemingly within minutes. Now, if I was the only one having this problem, I'd just reorder another AC3100. But there are many who seem to have the exact situation as me, or worse where it happens 5 months or so after purchase, so I'm wondering about the quality control or even the hardware design.

So, what do I do next? Get another refurbished AC3100, a new AC3100 hoping it will be newer and more reliable, choose the AC88U with a few more features, or even the AC5300? Or do I abandon Asus, as it seems there are many, many problems with these routers (possibly with the extreme heat which could be mitigated)? I'm wondering about the Linksys EA9500, or the TP-Link Archer C5400. The refurbished was a great deal at just over $100, but if it doesn't work, or won't work for long, it will be money wasted. I was having second thoughts about the AC3100 being a dual band, whereas many of the others are tri-band, as I just keep thinking three is better than two, and if even one went out, I'd still be OK.

 

[sfx2000]

For most folks - the RT-AC3100 has been a good device, so like I mentioned earlier, I'd suggest the RMA and swap for another AC3100..

 

[bbunge]

OK, that seems straightforward.

And I am understanding that I must connect via ethernet cable to do this, as the WiFi isn't available.

But I don't seem to be able to do this via ethernet cable, as I connect the cable between the computer and the router, into the LAN socket, and try 192.168.1.1, and it won't connect.

Also, is it possible to just connect directly to the router, via ethernet, without the router being connected to the modem?

192.168.1.1 may not be the IP address of the router. Use router.asus.com instead. Or it could be 192.168.50.1

Sent from my P01M using Tapatalk

 

[energized]

Thank you to everybody who helped, I appreciate it.

Ultimately, the reviews which mirrored my experience convinced me to RMA it back.

I'm now pretty much finished taking a chance on a refurbished router, simply because it seems they operate so hot, that unless somebody is prudent as those here and put a fan on it, even though it might work now, there is no telling how much longer. At least with a new router, of any brand, I will attempt to keep it cool from new, and hopefully prolong its lifespan. I see these are in a different league than my D-Link 615, which has lasted years and years, but which probably operates without much heat generation.

I'm now in the dilemma about what to do next, but as this ends my original question, I'll post the new request for help deciding in the "Buying Advice" subsection.

Thank you to everybody again.