RT-AC5300 5G_2 Band Issue ... Is It Dead?

[Edropian]

Hello everybody and thanks for stumbling upon another issue of mine!

Unfortunately my 2 weeks RT-AC5300 has given me more trouble than
pleasure of using it and I must figure everything out while I can still RMA it.


So let me walk you through my issue.

When I first started using this router and after I have updated to the latest Asus
Firmware for the first time ... I was able to find 5G_2 band through a couple
of my devices even momentarily (Laptop - mobile phones etc).

After I came across a major issue lately and managed to resolve it (at least for now)
I am trying to find the 5G_2 band and no matter what I do the band is nowhere
to be found!

I have tested a number of things including hard resets, restarts, moving from Asus
Firmware to Merlin's firmware back and forth, power cycle the router by leaving it
completely plugs free for hours but the issue persists and the 5G_2 band is absent.
More than 5 different devices where tested right next to the router (3 mobile phones,
2 Laptops, 2 Desktops, Tablet).

(Keep in mind: Merlin's latest firmware bugs out
when I apply setting to my wireless tab on my bands, mostly when I first apply a setting
on my 5G_2 band and then it makes all other attempts to apply setting to my router
impossible with the router putting me back to the login page every time I press the apply
button with nothing to have been applied and the menu on the left sidebar of the CP
being absent! The only thing that resolves that every time is my moving back to the
Asus Firmware for some reason)

While I was trying to figure this out and see if had to do anything with the
parameters of the band I came across the strange fact that on the 5G_2 band tab under
the wireless settings the "Control Channel" setting is set to auto and it gives me NO option
of choosing a channel manually like the 5G_1 does and in addition to that it says that
"Current Control Channel: 0" every single time. The Extension Channel option is also set
to auto without giving me any options. I think that that this issue i related to the fact that
no channel is under control but I have no clue on how to work around this issue :S (if that is possible)

So guys here is where I need your help ... !

What can I do about it to solve this and get the 5G_2 band back ?
Is the Band dead ... should I RMA - refund?

Please provide any help detailed to a fools level in order for me to understand how to do
what I might be meant to do if you have any ideas.

Thank you all in advance and I would appreciate fast responses because the RMA
clock is ticking against my interests as long as I will have to ship this back to Amazon
during Christmas if this can't be resolved :S

PS: Watching this from a programmers point of view this might be resolved by somehow
forcing a variable with a channel number into the routers parameters ... but I have no idea
on how to do this!

 

[AndreiV]

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/asus-rt-ac5300-firmware-version-3-0-0-4-384-45149.50244/

other threads on the same subject can be found.

 

[Edropian]

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/asus-rt-ac5300-firmware-version-3-0-0-4-384-45149.50244/

other threads on the same subject can be found.

While I honestly appreciate your fast response Andreiv ... after going through this whole thread I am not sure
I saw the relation of my issue with the topic discussed.

The guys in this thread are talking about an AImesh setup which is not my case but I saw a number of reports
regarding the Firmware version 45149 regarding the 5G_2 of being set up as a 5G backhaul band.

The thing now is that my only experience with this router is with 2 firmwares, as long as I just bought it,
one of which is the 45149 of Asus and the latest _2 of Merlin's and in both of them the issue is present now.

With that in mind I said above that before I faced an issue which kept me unable to communicate with the router
through ethernet / wifi and WAN, I was able to see the 5G_2 band with my devices.

After facing that issue and resolved it at last ... from that moment and on my 5G_2 band is absent in both Asus
and Merlin's firmware and in addition to that I am now not able to select a channel for the band as it is locked on
the auto option and channel 0 on that setup exactly as it appears on image above :S

In cased I misunderstood the whole thread can you please tell me what I have missed and how my issue is related to their
problem or maybe straight forward what I can do or not to fix this, if it is always fix-able, in order to help also other who might
land with the same issue on this Thread?

Thanks in advance

PS: I went through an extensive search in the forum before I posted this thread and I was not able to locate anything specific to help me with it and this is why I posted this thread

 

[roguetr]

Hmmmm ... Doubt I can help. The available options with channel select etc are exactly what you get when smart connect is enabled and may relate to some persistent nvram settings.

The only thing I could suggest to ensure is that you performed the factory default reset after flashing the firmware ...

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...&share_tid=22822&share_fid=52425&share_type=t

Sent from my MI 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Edropian]

Hmmmm ... Doubt I can help. The available options with channel select etc are exactly what you get when smart connect is enabled and may relate to some persistent nvram settings.

The only thing I could suggest to ensure is that you performed the factory default reset after flashing the firmware ...

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...&share_tid=22822&share_fid=52425&share_type=t

Sent from my MI 5 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the thread reference roguetr!

I will try to figure out how I can connect via SSH / Telnet to my router and try to use the erase command for nvram as Merlin
describes and then I will let you know how that worked for me.

So lets try to find sources on how to use SSH/Telnet now :S

 

[Edropian]

Well I think that I finally found clarity on the issue and now I am happy that the router is not to blame
as to been faulty but furious to realize that Asus is to blame as long as I bought a Tri-band router to
get a 2 band router considering that I am given no option to setup the 5G_2 band to fit my needs.

AndreiV was right to say that the issue is being discussed on the reference thread of his but I got confused
because they were analyzing a mesh setup while the actual imesh refers the actual router :S
(being a newbie sucks until you figure out your router)

With that being said the thing is that the 5G_2 is reserved as a 5G backhaul band and this is why it won't
appear thus it won't capture a channel and it will stay on 0 ...

Based on what I have read all we can do is to wait for an upcoming firmware from Asus to resolve this
after they will probably realize that they have F***ed up.

I was also right to say that I was able to see 5G_2 band when I first started to use the router as long as
I had made no factory reset after firmware update I made, ignoring its importance due to the NVRam
records and obviously this is also what led me to the first issue I came across ... but 5G_2 band was
available until then!

Pffff ... As I said ... I bought this router to make my life easier and what I have managed so far is that
I have made my life more complex until this point.

Now I am feeling deluded as long as having the 3 bands was a reason to buy this router ... and I will consider
ask for a refund unless I get a response from Asus saying that they will give back the 3rd band with an
upcoming Firmware.

So ... I should thank you both guys for helping me to figure this out! I want you to know that I appreciate that!

 

[RMerlin]

Based on what I have read all we can do is to wait for an upcoming firmware from Asus to resolve this
after they will probably realize that they have F***ed up.

Just downgrade to the previous version - Asus doesn't prevent downgrading firmware versions (to a certain degree).

 

[Edropian]

Just downgrade to the previous version - Asus doesn't prevent downgrading firmware versions (to a certain degree).

I was thinking of doing it at least for testing purposes to makes sure that my point stands but after going
through the Firmware update notes I saw that there were DDoS vulnerabilities on the previous FW and
also bugs on the adaptive QoS and that makes me skeptical as long as the situation is a give or take :S

For now I have loaded your latest firmware because I really want to stress the router out a bit and see how it
performs temps aside now that we have a 20 average in Greece because during summer we average 35 to 40 C
and I'd like to be prepared for what comes

Just for you to know ... you are the main reason I chose to buy this router after reading this forum for some
months now and that is because you support it You practically kept me away from going for the GT or
a Netgear and based on what I see here I might have to thank you for that considering that a 3 years router
like the RT-AC5300 is still struggling like that!

What I am curious about though is, how hard is to figure out how to unlock - release the third band in Your
own firmwares as long as we are discussing about a Firmware based "issue - Decision". (?)

For now I will stick with the good news for me which is that router is not faulty and I will keep my fingers crossed
to see if this will be addressed in the near future.

PG279Q was a far worse experience for me ... but Asus have lost every single bit of credibility for me now.

 

[roguetr]

Wow, ok. I've always used smart connect which distributes clients across the two bands. I hadn't realised this was an issue.

Sent from my MI 5 using Tapatalk

 

[RMerlin]

What I am curious about though is, how hard is to figure out how to unlock - release the third band in Your
own firmwares as long as we are discussing about a Firmware based "issue - Decision". (?)

My latest release is still based on 384_32799, so it's unaffected.

 

[Edropian]

My latest release is still based on 384_32799, so it's unaffected.

This is after a fresh factory reset I did ... the band refuses to allow me to chose a channel, it is set to auto
and captures 0 channel which means no channel

The only way I was able to make it happen sometimes was after moving to your firmware from the original
one without any factory reset but after I was applying a channel the whole was bugging out and was not able
to apply anything else to the router because whenever I tried to do it ... hitting the apply button was moving me
back to the log in screen and the left side bar inside the GUI was disappearing too ... forcing me into a factory reset

Anyway this happened some times ... now after the proper procedure of firmware update with a factory reset
takes me to that result too.

Nevermind ... I will join into the conversation on the Firmware section to discuss furthermore about it
in order to keep this thread clean for whoever lands on it and avoid further confusion to newbies (like myself)
to this matter

 

[RMerlin]

Do a factory default reset and reconfigure everything. If you are still missing the third band, then your router is most likely defective and the radio fails to start at boot time.

 

[Edropian]

Do a factory default reset and reconfigure everything. If you are still missing the third band, then your router is most likely defective and the radio fails to start at boot time.

After I read the magic work "defective" you freaked me out again and after I downloaded all the firmwares I found
on the Asus site in order to make tests ... I turned off the smart connect I had put on on the 5G bands and now the
5G_2 gives me the option to chose a channel ... !

Then I turned to the 5G_1 to change the SSID and after I did I visited the 5G_2 again and it was stuck again to auto :S
I did some applies to both 5 bands and now I got it back to give me the option finally to chose a channel ....

WTF is wrong with band after all :S

The thing now is that even if I can chose a channel to capture ... I still can't see it when I scan for networks.

Tried the 100 - 104 and 140 so far but it wont appear on my scans while the 5G_1 appears normally
with 1-2 seconds of delay after every next scan.

Now after digging even more into that, I checked the WiFi icon on the top right and it was stating that even if
while I was on the 5G_2 page and choosing channels ... the 5G_2 had the 0 channel :S which explains that it
could not be found ...

Then I load the 2.4 band page and go back to the 5G_2 page and the band becomes stuck again to the auto
providing no band options and capturing the 0 channel ... pfff ,,,!

Then I started testing the bandwidth frequencies and when I set the 20 MHz and hit the apply button ... it instantly
captured channel 100 on its own ... and appeared also on the scan (on 80 - 40 it was dead)

So ... what is the catch here? ... I don't think that this is normal behavior right?

The only thing that changes on 20 is the fact that the extension channel goes missing while on 40 - 80 it is present
and it only offers the Auto option!

Then I go back to 40, I am given the choice and chose the 108 and I hit apply ... and after the application is done
I am checking the top right WiFi icon and it says it captures 0 channel (no yellow letters saying that a channel is captured also)
then I right click and reload the page like that and everything is fine ... channel 108 is captured and it also appears
on scans ... then I right click again ( while i remain on the 40) and reload ... and it goes rogue again ... choice stuck on auto ...
0 channel captured and the icon on the top right states the same .... but the band appears on scan!!!!!!!!!

After that I chose to move to the 80 bandwidth and I am given at first the option for channels from 100 to 112 so I chose 112
and I hit the apply button ... after it finishes ... i remain on 0 channel and my options now are the auto and 4 0s ... (ahahahahahha)
In the meanwhile I notice that the 5G_1 from 40 it moves to the 80 where the 5G_2 was supposed to be and by now the scan returns
no 5G_2.

Can they coexist on that bandwidth frequency? (I have no clue).

Lastly I make a final attempt to set it again to 20/40/80 and while I am now given options for channel ... whatever I choose
it will remain on 0 (and yellow letters on the right of the choice to verify channel capture)

At this point I start to suspect that there is some kind of conflict between the 5G_1 and 5G_2 and that "autos" in 5G_1 is to blame
as it is appears to violate somehow the co op of the 2 bands but I am wrong on that assumption as long as wherever I set up 5-1
it will do as it is told to do and 5-2 will remain non functional on any given combination ... unless I choose it to stay only at 20!

But even then, an attempt to connect to it is made every time and I can't connect to it... UNLESS ... I connect first
to the 5-1 which will instantly trigger 5-2 to reset autonomously configuration and return to 20/40/80 and then
after some minutes when it will finally appear with a capture channel by its own ... I will be able to connect to it.

Now I chose to make the final test which is of course to reboot and see what happens ... well ... everything went south
I was not able to connect to 5-2 neither to 5-1 and then also 5-2 vanished again.

I managed to connect to the 5G band after enabling again the smart connect function and waited until the 5G_1 did capture
a channel ...

But up to this point I feel so tired by that situation for real ... I am going to get some sleep and tomorrow I will give it
the last tests with a factory reset from the reset button on Merlis Firmware and then I will do the same tests again
for every legacy Firmware I was able to DL from the Asus site and see if this situation persists in order to have the last
Say from you man ... and let me know what to do with it ... send it back or keep it.

Sorry for the long reply but as long as you are not here to troubleshoot together ... until with what I write above I did put
you above my arms to help you judge.

 

[Edropian]

Update:

Notice: Router was turned off and unplugged over night

Test with RT-AC5300_3.0.0.4_384_21140-ge07a2dd :

- After firmware update ... and setup with the wizard: 5G-2 absent / setting it to 20 won't change anything
- factory reset with reset button: same thing.
- WPS button reset: Same situation.
I was able to connect to 2.4 and 5g-1.

(when the router was booting from the reset it was remaining stuck with the power led on and the
5G band led on for some time before it continued with the rest of the leds)

what is to be noted is that I have noticed that with that firmware the 5G-2 had no Mac Address!

Test with RT-AC5300_3.0.0.4_384_32738-gc9a116a :

- After firmware update ... and setup with the wizard: same situation
- After Initial factory reset from within the GUI: When scanning before
I do the setup with the wizard I see only the Asus and Asus 5g-1. After going
with the setup and split the bands I get stuck eternally on the summary page.
while stuck on the summary, opening a new tab and visiting the router ip
won't connect to the router "the site can't be reached" and in the meanwhile
the SSIDs I see when scanning are the default ones. Only out is to Reboot.
After rebooting going through the wizard brings no summary page and after
finishing setting up the wizard I am put instantly inside the GUI home page.
5G-2 again has no MAC address and it is absent and I can connect normally
on 2.4 and 5G-1.
- After resetting with the reset button: At first only the Asus and Asus 5G-1 default
bands appear on scan but the router can not be contacted over Ethernet
"the site can't be reached". After reboot .. same stuff again and 5G-2 MAC Address
absent
- WPS Reset: again unavailable to connect through ethernet unless I reboot it. After
the reboot I am now able to setup through the wizard and when I finally get into the
homepage of the GUI and click on the tab to see the 5G-2 router reboots on its one!
Nothing changed after all as 5G-2 has no wireless mac address, can not be found with
scans etc ...

Fast Forward ======>
* Test with RT-AC5300_3.0.0.4_384_32799-gfe72567 :
After wizard, stuck on summary,2.4 & 5g-1 SSIDs remain the default, I reboot
and redo the wizard,land on home 5g-2 dead, after applying 20 on 5g-2 router
reboots and no band can be found anymore through scans! Resets returned no
result ... same situation
* Test with Merlin RT-AC5300_380.69_2
* Test with Merlin RT-AC5300_384.5_0
* Test with Merlin RT-AC5300_384.6_0
here the 5g-2 finally appeared with wireless Mac Address but remained dead as always
no matter what I did.
* Test with RT-AC5300_384.7_0
again no wireless mac
* Test with RT-AC5300_384.7_2
* Test with RT-AC5300_384.8_0

All where having no 5G-2 band ... others had no wireless mac ... others managed to
give it a Mac ... but I think that is enough to call it a day right?

I already contacted the Amazon.it in order to ensure that I will be returning it and make
sure I won't be getting charged again if it misses the time frame to be returned due to
Christmas post traffic ... And I had my jaw dropped when she said that she is sending
another one already before I even ship this one back!

Hopefully I will be luckier with the next one which will be here based on estimation
on 28th of this month ... I will return on this post for sure to Either continue trouble shooting
or let you know that everything was ok.

But a Huge thank you to Merlin for the wake up call that it might be indeed defective!

Otherwise I was meant to keep it with the assumption that it was a firmware issue
accounting it as a backhaul band.

That being said ... I might have to add that before having extensive troubleshooting
Do not make assumptions based on what you might read ... make sure you test it hard first.

Lesson learned!

 

[roguetr]

I have to hand it to you for being thorough. I hit like on rmerlin rather than saying a similar thing. I probably would have stopped at flash and factory reset!

It definitely sounds like dodgy nvram/hardware fault. That's great they've been accommodating and proactively sent a replacement.

Sent from my MI 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Edropian]

Hello again

10 Full days have passed since my last post in this thread and the New (Replacement)
router is here.

In its first boot ever without touching anything yet the 3rd band works as it should
and this is happy news for me!

It captures a channel on Auto ... it has a Wireless Mac Address as it should, it appears
on my scans, devices connect on all three bands without issues and all that remains
for now is to set this up and making stress tests towards any given direction to check
if any defection will pop up eventually again!

Again a Huge thanks to Merlin for pushing me towards the right direction in order to
end up with a properly working router on my hands ... (At least for now) !

The only downside is that shipping the defective unit back to amazon raised the initial cost
up 40 Euros and this sucks ... hopefully it won't become 80 :fingerscrossed: