Solved rt-ac68u fw 386.5 one device connected with no access to internet

[iw2ejh]

hello.

I have a strange behavior on my rt-ac68U with latest fw (386.5).
since a couple of weeks, the two smartphones we have at home are able to connect to the WIFI, but they do not have access to internet. THe smartphones report connected to wifi without internet.
I run several tests:
-all the other devices connect correctly to internet
-the two smartphones connect correctly to internet if I use my phone hotspot
-I noticed that one of the two smartphones is able to connect to internet if I use a random mac address in the smartphone configuration.
-One of the two smartphone is able to connect at 5 Ghz to internet, the second smartphone is unable to reach internet in both frequences, 5ghz and 2,4ghz.
-I reset the router to factory default using the internal gui and reconfigured everything by hand.
-I also installed the advanced yazdDHCP in case it was a dhcp problem due to the number of devices (35) in the LAN, but this did not changed anything.
-I reset the smartphone Communication settings, and reconfigured from scratch
-I set a fixed ip directly on the smartphone, or I set a reservation on the DHCP without any results.
-there is no mac address filters set, may be in the past I set it but now everything is clear/disabled.

I now run out of idea. I remember I read a command to found mac address and clear eventually these in the nvram but could not found that anymore.

Any idea how can I troubleshoot this issue?

thanks

 

[L&LD]

Did you try using a new SSID? Or, simply 'forget' the network on the phones?

 

[iw2ejh]

Yes, I changed the ssid, but still the same, and yes I "forget" the networks on the smartphone and acquired again, also reset all the networks parameters from android configuration

 

[L&LD]

What are the specifics of the phones? What models? What firmware?

 

[iw2ejh]

one is a samsung A71 this one only do not have access to internet when connected to 2,4Mhz band wifi, and using the original mac address of the phone, If I ask to use random mac address I can browse internet without issues
The second is a XIaomi Mi A2 lite, this one cannot access internet while connected on both 2,4 and 5Ghz wifi band

 

[iw2ejh]

some more tests, lead me to think the problem is that something is preventing the specific mac address to access internet. Setting the phone mac address on random (this can be done on the samsung smartphone) allow it to access internet. If I select the original mac address of the phone, I get the connection without internet.
So the question is (as I do not have any lock set in the router actually, I did in the past, but I reset to factory default and reconfigured manually), how can I found in the nvram or in the router any references to the mac address involved so I can manualy remove it using ssh access?

Thanks

 

[bennor]

So the question is (as I do not have any lock set in the router actually, I did in the past, but I reset to factory default and reconfigured manually)

Did you do a hard factory reset or some other kind of reset?
[Wireless Router] ASUS router Hard Factory Reset - Method 1

If not a hard reset, try that and manually reconfigure (do not upload saved configuration) and see if the issue persists. If you haven't done so already, double check the Parental Controls > Time Scheduling page, that is where one may find specific devices blocked from the Internet/broadband if Time Scheduling is enabled on that page.

 

[iw2ejh]

Did you do a hard factory reset or some other kind of reset?
[Wireless Router] ASUS router Hard Factory Reset - Method 1

If not a hard reset, try that and manually reconfigure (do not upload saved configuration) and see if the issue persists. If you haven't done so already, double check the Parental Controls > Time Scheduling page, that is where one may find specific devices blocked from the Internet/broadband if Time Scheduling is enabled on that page.

I did not use that method to reset to factory default, I used the web gui and used the restore button to "Factory Defaults" under Administration>Restore/save/upload setting

Parental controls>Time scheduling is off for everrything as per default.

 

[bennor]

I did not use that method to reset to factory default,

Most suggest doing the hard reset when having strange issues. Do the hard reset then reconfigure manually as a troubleshooting step.

 

[iw2ejh]

ok, I will try that tomorow, I thought the two methods where sorting the same effect form what I read in the instruction, what are the differences between them?

 

[iw2ejh]

update:

I did a new reset to factory default using the hardware method, after reconfiguring the basics, i got the same issue.
I did some extended test on the lan from one of the android phones, just to discover that I couldn't reach any of my raspberry pi.
Now, as one of the rpi is hosting pihole and the traffic is filtered by it, if something was blocking the mac address of the android phone, it appear clear the reason why it couldn't go to internet. Now I just need to understand who is blocking the mac address of those two android phone, and why.
The two rpi are located in attic, and served by a switch that in fact is an old router. I take down that switch/router, and make a reset to default.
After that, I could again ping the rpi from my android phone, and then I could connect again to internet.
Problem solved, even if I do not understand how a switch could start filtering specific mac address.... (only the switch part was connected, the router/modem part was not connected.)
Thanks to all those who take time to give me some hints in order to solve this issue.

 

[L&LD]

A router can't be used as a switch 'blindly'. Now you know.

(How do you think that only the 'switch part' was connected on that router you were using)?

This also touches on what it means to fully reset the router/network. The (main) router isn't the only thing affecting the chain of equipment. Assuming that other parts of that chain aren't an issue is usually the first assumption that falls (when tested for properly).

 

[iw2ejh]

in fact I don't know, I assume (as I connected lan cable only on the LAN part of it) that disabling all I can in the gui and not routing to a non existing modem would be enough. It worked for years in that way so I forgot this device could be involved.
I'm getting old

 

[L&LD]

But... you know now.

When there are assumptions of how things work 'today' (with all the changes over the years the firmware, devices, drivers, security fixes, etc. that means to the network as a whole, can bring), regardless of how they worked 'once upon a time', compounded by the fact that even those original assumptions may have been 'wrong' then, even if they seemed to work for so long... just is all the more reason, to begin with, basics. At least, when trying to do proper troubleshooting.

A blueprint of the network (no matter how simple it is or begins as) is the best thing to have in front of you when that network isn't working and you need to troubleshoot, fast. Getting old requires more visual aids.