[RT-AC86u] Not Booting - stuck on WLAN / Power Lights

[bitmonster]

After a power failure last night, everything else has come back up except for the RT-AC86u router which is gets stuck on WLAN + Power lights then no further sign of activity. No LAN or WAN lights etc. WLAN is not detected on my phone either.

Router is plugged in to a surge protector and everything else came back up fine including the modem.

Running latest Merlin FW (xx.11) so I am hoping this is just a software glitch that requires a hard-reset at most.

Couldn't do any more diagnosis before having to leave the house.

Rebooted several times. Will try again tonight.

Anyone else ever encountered this?

 

[Dave Parker]

There have been reports of the 86U hanging up on reboot. I have not had this problem myself but if you do I would suggest you unplug it and let it set for 10 minutes or so and then power it up. Should be ok. Would also recommend a good UPS like Cyber Power or APC for your router, computer and any external hard drive or NAS you may have. Saves a lot a headache.

 

[Latzz]

There have been reports of the 86U hanging up on reboot.

Would you be able to link or comment further? Encountered hanging on reboot twice since installing 384.45713 firmware.

 

[Dave Parker]

All I know is what I've read here in the forum. I have not experienced the problem. Don't know if it's related to Asus firmware, Merlins firmware, or both. You can search the forum for more on this issue. Apologies but I don't have any of the post bookmarked. As best as I can remember a hard reboot seems to fix things. If not then a factory default reset may be required followed by a manual reconfiguration. Don't use a saved backup. Doing so could just reinstall the issue causing the problem. I know this is a pain in the drain but it's important to get your router into a known stable state before doing any more setup. L&LD has an excellent post on how to get your router into a stable state. Check his signature on any of his posts.

 

[Latzz]

Thank you for the response. Known state and reconfigure from fresh etc done after the first time it happened. Its a pain having to spend time taking care of the router and not knowing its a failing hardware or bad firmware.

Routers are supposed to be configure and forget. With ASUS its been time consuming. Speaking from experiences that date back to first generation AirPorts and before.

 

[Dave Parker]

Any router can have issues and very few are set it and forget it. The 86U is my 3rd Asus router and if it dies today I'll but another Asus. Some members here feel the same about Netgear routers. I have owned Linksys and D-Link, but no Netgear. Kinda boils down to personal preference.

 

[bitmonster]

Just factory reset and seems fine although was a pain to set back up but seems ok... Odd that a power outage would corrupt it like that though.

 

[Dave Parker]

Even though you have your router connected to a surge protector, not all surge protectors are created equal and it's the surge that occurs when power is restored that usually causes problems. That's why my computer, router, NAS, and all network gear is connected to a Cyberpower 1500. Yes it's an extra expense but if your budget will allow they save a lot of grief and time. Many options and prices available. Have also used APC and Trip Lite. All good. Kinda depends on what's on sale.

 

[Latzz]

Any router can have issues and very few are set it and forget it. The 86U is my 3rd Asus router and if it dies today I'll but another Asus. Some members here feel the same about Netgear routers. I have owned Linksys and D-Link, but no Netgear. Kinda boils down to personal preference.

Having owned AirPorts since the first generation ones, this is the second time a router fail on me (the first being the AC86U which failed within a month). Routers are replaced on a seven or eight years cycle even if they work fine as power supply for one usually start failing or something is going to fail.

Had also owned D-Link and Linksys at one point or another too. Bought AC86U as the specs looked very good.