RT-AC68U AiMesh Guest WiFi Clients Have No Internet

[mocamaster]

Hi everyone, I am hoping you smart folks can help me determine what I am doing wrong.

I have 3 RT-AC68U routers. One functions as the main router and the other two function as AiMesh Nodes. The nodes are connected via Ethernet Backhaul through a MOCA connection. Everything works amazingly well except for the Guest WiFi on all three RT-AC68U.

Problem: Guest clients can connect fine to any of the the Guest WiFi 2.4/5GHz SSIDs however they are not able to get out to the internet. I can see the clients connected to Guest SSIDs on the Asus Admin Web GUI. The only way the Guest clients can reach the internet is if I enable "ACCESS INTRANET" on the Guest Network settings page. This defeats the purpose of a Guest network as I do not want random IOT devices to access my internal network.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks to fix this? All three RT-AC68U routers are running 3.0.0.4.386_49703 firmware. Thank you for your help.

 

[mocamaster]

Disabling NAT Acceleration resolved my AiMesh Guest wifi Issue. Once NAT Acceleration was disabled, I made sure to disable ACCESS INTRANET on my Guest WiFi 2.4/5. When it came back online I could browse the web while connected to the AiMesh Node Guest WiFi. Thanks again @Prowler_gr

Asus AIMesh Guest network issues

Another data point. AX86U router and a second AX86U as node, both running merlin 386.4. Directly connected Ethernet backhaul (no switches) on 2.5gbps ports. Guest network 1 @ 2.4ghz with IoT devices connecting just fine on both router and node and getting 101.x IP addresses. I have experienced...

www.snbforums.com

I have found that NAT acceleration causes the problem with the guest network not connecting with 'access intranet' disabled

Switching NAT Acceleration to "disable" under http://router.asus.com/Advanced_SwitchCtrl_Content.asp solved the problem at least for me

 

[mocamaster]

Upon further testing, I've realized that enabling NAT Acceleration significantly boosts my download speeds up to Gig levels. This contrasted with a maximum of 300 MBPS when NAT Acceleration was disabled. However, this leads me to a predicament - I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. If I enable NAT Acceleration for faster internet speeds, I end up with the persistent problem of my AiMesh Guest WiFi not having internet access when intranet access is disabled.

On several other threads, I've noticed discussions suggesting VLAN adjustments on managed switches as a potential fix. However, this doesn't apply to my environment since I don't have any managed switches in the network paths of the nodes or router. Moreover, if VLAN alterations could provide a solution, I'm puzzled as to why the main router's Guest WiFi would still encounter the no-internet-access issue. It leads me to believe that the problem isn't solely due to the nodes, but affects the main router as well.

I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to resolve this. Any insights or suggestions would be hugely appreciated. At this point, I'm seriously considering abandoning my Asus setup due to this conundrum. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

 

[L&LD]

Your ISP speeds and your network usage has overshadowed the venerable, but old, RT-AC68U.

It isn't time to abandon Asus. But it is time to consider retiring that model you're still using well past its intended use.

 

[bennor]

Haven't setup and or used AiMesh in a good while so I don't remember how Guest WiFi works with it. That said; if using Guest WiFi, which one of the three Guest WiFi networks have you enabled for your Guest WiFi clients? If Guest #1, don't use that, use Guest #2 and or Guest #3 instead and see if the issue persists with the Guest WiFi clients. If I'm off base, disregard.

 

[Sgamat]

Worse case use a second cheap router and set it up as double nat to the main ac68u with its own wifi ssid, provided no vpn involved, as double nat router is having private address.

That said, double NAT is an excellent setup if you want a particular group of devices to be isolated from another group. It's better than using Guest Wi-Fi networks.

What is double NAT and why is it bad?

Double NAT occurs when you connect a router to an ISP gateway or another router.

kb.netgear.com

Double NAT vs Single NAT 101: ISP Gateway's Best Tips | DKT

Can't replace the existing router or ISP-provided gateway? Double NAT vs single NAT? Here's how you can still take full control of your home network, anyway.

dongknows.com

 

[mocamaster]

I'd like to provide a brief update on how I solved an issue with my guest Wi-Fi not connecting to the internet. Initially, the problematic configuration was as follows:

• NAT Acceleration: Disabled
• Guest Network 1 Access Intranet: Disabled

My initial workaround was to enable NAT Acceleration, which successfully provided my guest devices with internet access. However, this resulted in a limit to my internet speeds, approximately capped at around 300.

Based on suggestions from others, I found a solution that involved reconfiguring my guest Wi-Fi networks, specifically Guest 2 and Guest 5. I moved Guest 2 from the first column of the Guest Network settings page to the second column, and Guest 5 to the third column. This change enabled me to set NAT Acceleration to 'Auto'. Consequently, I was able to enjoy Gig download speeds again.

This configuration change allowed devices on my guest network to access the internet while remaining isolated from my primary internal network.
I hope this solution proves useful to others who may encounter similar issues. I spent quite some time figuring it out, so I'd like to thank everyone who offered their assistance!

 

[mocamaster]

Haven't setup and or used AiMesh in a good while so I don't remember how Guest WiFi works with it. That said; if using Guest WiFi, which one of the three Guest WiFi networks have you enabled for your Guest WiFi clients? If Guest #1, don't use that, use Guest #2 and or Guest #3 instead and see if the issue persists with the Guest WiFi clients. If I'm off base, disregard.

This worked! Thank You!!!!