RT-AC68U Most used LEDs (WAN, Power..) seem to fade away a bit (get dimmer) because of high mileage?

[Diamond67]

I purchased my RT-AC68U summer 2015.

I use LAN 3-4 connectors very rarely. The other day I happened to connect a device to one of these. And I noticed that the blue LED was a bit brighter than the other LEDs which are ON almost all the time (WAN, Power, 2.4 GHz, USB 3.0 and 2.0 as well).

Have you noticed this with your router? Just curious.

 

[Erdinc]

The same here. I bought mine in 2015 too. But I started using the USB 3.0 port with external hdd recently. Its led is the brightest. I thought that led was overpowered or something. What you are suggesting might be true too...

Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

 

[RMerlin]

Might be time to remove the thin layer of dust that accumulated over the years.

 

[wouterv]

Recently I found my good old RT-N66U with a "fading away" 2.4 GHz LED (bright after first turned on after complete startup of the router, then in a few seconds fade away to just glowing).
I opened the case, believed to found the cause in some "debris", which after removal and assembly the router turned not be the cause. I never hardly ever found fading LED's or failing LED's in my whole life (I worked with the first very expensive red LED's back in the 1970's).
I assume the blue LED's in Asus routers are of the same poor quality as the power switch.

 

[Diamond67]

Might be time to remove the thin layer of dust that accumulated over the years.

Should I take a shower too?

Anyways, the dust is not the reason.

 

[Diamond67]

I never hardly ever found fading LED's or failing LED's in my whole life (I worked with the first very expensive red LED's back in the 1970's).

Quick Google:
https://www.digikey.com/en/articles...g-the-cause-of-fading-in-high-brightness-leds

I would say that the brightness difference between certain LEDs of my router is rather small. But the "line-up" reveals it to your eye.

BTW: How do you multi-quote here? I cannot find option for that?

 

[Diamond67]

I worked with the first very expensive red LED's back in the 1970's

Me too. And I actually hate (extremely bright) blue LEDs. I prefer old school red, green and amber LEDs. They are much more eye friendly.

 

[sfx2000]

LED's age out, and will dim after a while - white and blue have a faster curve than red/green/yellow...

Things are getting better with the chemistry and the advent of OLED's and LED backlights for LCD's...

 

[MarkRH]

I notice the same thing. The USB 2.0 LED light which I started using a couple months is brighter than the Power, Wan, Lan 1 and 2 lights are now.

Now, the power LED on my PC which is also blue has remained really bright since I got the PC in 2012. When I go to bed, I have to position my chair so that it blocks the light from my head. I can see a blue outline on the wall LOL. It's like a mini night-light LOL. So, I don't mind the router's LEDs not being as bright.

 

[wouterv]

I notice the same thing. The USB 2.0 LED light which I started using a couple months is brighter than the Power, Wan, Lan 1 and 2 lights are now.

Now, the power LED on my PC which is also blue has remained really bright since I got the PC in 2012. When I go to bed, I have to position my chair so that it blocks the light from my head. I can see a blue outline on the wall LOL. It's like a mini night-light LOL. So, I don't mind the router's LEDs not being as bright.

I never found the blue Asus router LEDs that bright, which is good.
In case of my RT-N66U you can hardly see the 2.4 GHz LED after a few minutes in operation.
I do have a USB charger plug with a single bright blue LED which illuminates the whole room when dark, luckily a huge difference compared to the router LEDs.
I also deal with LEDs meant for illumination, in flood lights and TL replacements. Biggest issues there are the drivers, cooling and water tightness. Only a few manufacturers manage to make reliable industry and offshore proof LED light products.

 

[Diamond67]

In case of my RT-N66U you can hardly see the 2.4 GHz LED after a few minutes in operation.

The LED itself may be completely healthy. Perhaps the circuitry (transistor array IC or whatever?) that is feeding/driving it is failing somehow.

 

[RMerlin]

I notice the same thing. The USB 2.0 LED light which I started using a couple months is brighter than the Power, Wan, Lan 1 and 2 lights are now.

Now, the power LED on my PC which is also blue has remained really bright since I got the PC in 2012. When I go to bed, I have to position my chair so that it blocks the light from my head. I can see a blue outline on the wall LOL. It's like a mini night-light LOL. So, I don't mind the router's LEDs not being as bright.

I have a piece of paper folded multiple times taped on top of my Antec blue LEDs. Those damn things are still bright enough to be clearly visible through the paper - but at least they don't light the whole room at night.

 

[sfx2000]

I have a piece of paper folded multiple times taped on top of my Antec blue LEDs. Those damn things are still bright enough to be clearly visible through the paper - but at least they don't light the whole room at night.

Yep - I've got an Antec case and they're pretty bright...

My previous cable modem had blue LED's - and the config had them on a constant blink (Moto SB6141) - the SB6183 does have a setting to turn them off at least

 

[wouterv]

The LED itself may be completely healthy. Perhaps the circuitry (transistor array IC or whatever?) that is feeding/driving it is failing somehow.

Yes, it can be anything. As long as it is just shows up as LED issue I don't care. I am just surprised my RT-N66U was not alone with another silly hardware weakness (after the self releasing power switch).
Some time ago there where also reports of failing yellow LAN RJ45 sockets (bad contact spring force or line up).
Getting hardware parts of sufficient quality for a low price will for sure cause headaches to buyers of consumer electronic manufacturers.

 

[doczenith1]

My old D-Link DGL-4300 router (currently being used as a switch) had the brightest blue leds that I've ever seen.

 

[Diamond67]

I have a piece of paper folded multiple times taped on top of my Antec blue LEDs. Those damn things are still bright enough to be clearly visible through the paper - but at least they don't light the whole room at night.

I have several devices with annoying (too bright) blue LEDs. I have covered many of them with stickers or adhesive tape. Some gadgets have large light conductors as well which spread the light to very wide area. They are harder to cover than just a single LED (spot).

 

[System Error Message]

perhaps your eyes are fading because of mileage

 

[wouterv]

perhaps your eyes are fading because of mileage

Can you type in a larger font, this is hard to read.

 

[sfx2000]

Can you type in a larger font, this is hard to read.

of course

 

[sfx2000]

Me too. And I actually hate (extremely bright) blue LEDs. I prefer old school red, green and amber LEDs. They are much more eye friendly.

I know we're getting a bit off track - but Blue is a horrible color for nighttime - many cars/trucks now days have Blue LED's as interior/dashboard lighting, and it does have a negative impact on night vision compared to the old-school greenish - and red is better there (so it yellow and orange, FWIW, in my humble and honest opinion).

I was the project engineer on a handset (back before Smart Phones), and we did some variations - some with blue, some with green, and some with orange LED backlights - oddly enough, customers responded more favorably to the Blue, however, we had data that showed much better night performance with red and green...