RT-AC68U 2.4 radio on the way out? - replacement?

[db9]

Hello,
I have been using a RT-AC68U as an AP for some time and running Merlin 386.11
This is connected (hardwired) to a RPi 4 running openWRT - my ISP supplied router is in bridge mode. ISP service is 500/30.

The RT-AC68U 2.4 radio - main SSID (typically my phone and laptop) plus 2 Guest SSID - one Guest SSID is for streaming devices (TV's and Firestick's) and the second Guest SSID for cameras.
Laptops are older spec Macbooks but will be replaced at some point soon.

Recently I find that the 2.4 channel drops off requiring a hard boot.. is this an indication of the 2.4 radio being on the way out (the 5 hz channel is turned off)
How to tell is this is really the case?
If I were to replace the RT-AC68U what would be suggested? (without breaking the bank)

Thank you for reading..

 

[degrub]

you might replace the wall wart power supply first.
How hot is the router getting ? inadequate cooling can be an issue and cause temporary , then permanent failures.
Check the 5 GHz is operating properly. If it is not, then i would suspect power supply.
Otherwise, yes, maybe the radio, assuming everything else is normal.

check this thread -

(RT-AC86U) 2.5Ghz clients dropping from wifi

I've noticed that in the last week or so the router is dropping clients from the 2.5 Ghz network (but not the 5Ghz or LAN). When that happens the client can't reconnect to the router unless they restart the device or unplug and reinsert their dongle. I'm not sure how to diagnose this. It's...

www.snbforums.com

 

[db9]

Thanks,
I'll try as suggested and will post as I'll need to see if the 5 Hz drops as well so could take a few days
Router is "cool" BTW

If it's on the way out what would you suggest as a replacement ?

Thank you..

 

[ColinTaylor]

I have been using a RT-AC68U as an AP for some time and running Merlin 386.11

You appear to be using completely different hardware than you were a year ago?

If I were to replace the RT-AC68U what would be suggested? (without breaking the bank)

With your current setup (unless you're using custom scripting) your guest networks are not isolated from your main LAN or each other. So you might as well just use a single SSID.

If you're only using the RT-AC68U as an 2.4GHz access point then don't restrict your choices to Asus routers as you might be paying extra for a lot of functionality that you're not using. Investigate standalone access points. Preferably ones that support VLANs so that you give yourself more options in the future should you wish to isolate some of the Wi-Fi devices.

 

[db9]

Yes I'm using a few different items than in the past.. The RPi is a recent "project" that replaced my RT-N16 and yes I need to learn scripting to separate the guest networks from the main LAN.
And I did replace the 66U that I had with a 68U

I wish to keep a router as an AP just in case the RPi goes down I then have the ability to use the router in its place

 

[ColinTaylor]

If I were to replace the RT-AC68U what would be suggested? (without breaking the bank)

Any entry level "ax class" router (of any make) would likely be as good or better than the RT-AC68U. The only proviso would be if you're using a three-stream client (e.g. a MacBook Pro) you might want to ensure the new router also supports three streams and not just two. Going forward you probably should be trying to move as many clients as possible onto 5GHz for the extra bandwidth.

If it's within budget something like the GS-AX3000 looks OK, even though it's only two-stream. Alternatively there's the RT-AX68U and RT-AX86S which are three and four stream devices. Cheaper than that you're probably looking at the RT-AX56U although that's unlikely to be supported by Merlin in the long term.

 

[sfx2000]

I have been using a RT-AC68U as an AP for some time and running Merlin 386.11

You might get better assistance by posting in the appropriate sub-forum...

Asus has a dedicated group over there - just saying...