RT-AC87U / Merlin 380.69 / 5GHz WLAN problem

[Emanuel Paul]

Hello together

I recognize a problem with the 5GHz WLAN. From time to time it seems, like the router hangs up with it. This can happen several times a day, but also only after a few days...

From my notebook I can't then access the router over 5GHz and get no connection to the internet, even if the notebook shows that the connection is established normal.

On my tablet, the 5GHz connection gets lost and reconnected and it is possible to connect to the router, but the internet connection is very slow.

If i change to 2,4GHz both devices work without problems, have access to the router and a normal speed internet connection.

I have to restart the router to solve this problem.

Any idea what I can do? I need a stable 5GHz connection

 

[Emanuel Paul]

Hello together

I recognize a problem with the 5GHz WLAN. From time to time it seems, like the router hangs up with it. This can happen several times a day, but also only after a few days...

From my notebook I can't then access the router over 5GHz and get no connection to the internet, even if the notebook shows that the connection is established normal.

On my tablet, the 5GHz connection gets lost and reconnected and it is possible to connect to the router, but the internet connection is very slow.

If i change to 2,4GHz both devices work without problems, have access to the router and a normal speed internet connection.

I have to restart the router to solve this problem.

Any idea what I can do? I need a stable 5GHz connection

Had the issue now the second time today...Would be very helpful, to hear something from you. Perhaps someone has or had the same issue and has a resolution?

 

[Emanuel Paul]

...really nobody an idea? or is there something wrong with my question? or is it something you think I should know?

please tell me...

 

[RMerlin]

Been extensively covered in past posts on the forums - the RT-AC87U 5 GHz radio is known to be unstable and unreliable, especially when it starts overheating. It's a hardware defect of the design.

 

[Emanuel Paul]

Been extensively covered in past posts on the forums - the RT-AC87U 5 GHz radio is known to be unstable and unreliable, especially when it starts overheating. It's a hardware defect of the design.

thank you. didn't expect a hardware problem...

 

[joegreat]

I have to restart the router to solve this problem.

Any idea what I can do? I need a stable 5GHz connection

Also power cycle the router: turn off - wait at least 10 sec. and turn it on.
A software rest does not always fully reset the hardware!

In the past I also had some 5 GHz issues, but with a power cycle the went away.

In case you update the firmware, I always follow this process:

a) save settings with John's Backup/Restore tool to an USB drive
b) remove USB devices, factory reset & power off
c) turn on and minimal config
d) load new firmware and reboot (required)
e) factory reset with new firmware defaults & reboot (or power cycle if b & c skipped)
f) turn on and minimal config
g) restore saved settings (be care full with jffs restore: better to follow i) step!)
h) power off, connect USB & turn on
i) install add-ons one by one and test to avoid issues​

This ensures that there are no "leftovers" from the old firmware or config which might cause issues. Steps b & c are optional but they ensure that you have enough free RAM and also removes add-ons which which might prevent the firmware update.

With this approach my main AC87U router has an uptime up to 51 days (until I fiddle around again and have to reboot it) and no issues with 5 GHz WLAN.

 

[Emanuel Paul]

Also power cycle the router: turn off - wait at least 10 sec. and turn it on.
A software rest does not always fully reset the hardware!

In the past I also had some 5 GHz issues, but with a power cycle the went away.

In case you update the firmware, I always follow this process:

a) save settings with John's Backup/Restore tool to an USB drive
b) factory reset & power off
c) turn on and minimal config
d) load new firmware and reboot (required)
e) factory reset with new firmware defaults & reboot (or power cycle if b & c skipped)
f) turn on and minimal config
g) restore saved settings (be care full with jffs restore: better to follow i) step!)
h) power off & on
i) install add-ons one by one and test to avoid issues​

This ensures that there are no "leftovers" from the old firmware or config which might cause issues. Steps b & c are optional but they ensure that you have enough free RAM and also removes add-ons which which might prevent the firmware update.

With this approach my main AC87U router has an uptime up to 51 days (until I fiddle around again and have to reboot it) and no issues with 5 GHz WLAN.

Thank you very much. Will try this. Hope it helps.

 

[JohnNerd]

I only have problem with 5 gHz in media bridge mode. This started happening after the latest fws some months ago.

Streaming to three different tvs no problem on 5 gHz even HD.

 

[Thorton]

Emanuel Paul, you are not the only. I experience the same problem since upgrade to latest version as well (had router running Merlin for 18+ months, but never had such a problem with previous releases). While I only had 5 GHz connection dropped a few times (it starts working again after several minutes, so maybe the actual number of drops was bigger, I don't know), my main issue on 380.69 is 5 GHz coverage.

Right after upgrade, the signal is much weaker. While I could get pretty good 5 GHz signal even in my garage before upgrade, it's very unreliable (becomes available/unavailable every few seconds) even near garage now. Once I go to garage, 5 GHz signal is completely lost. The same applies to other parts of the house - the signal is not as strong as it used to be.

 

[RMerlin]

The RT-AC87U 5GHz wireless driver hasn't changed since April 2016, which means nearly two years now. If you see any wifi performance change in a recent upgrade, then this has nothing to do with the firmware.

 

[Emanuel Paul]

So there are completely different views to the problem...

Hardware related, update routine, mode...

@joegreat: The update routine you provided did not help me. Have the problem again today.

So if it is possibly the hardware and the drivers where not changed since a long time...Is it the only way to send the router back? Are there alternatives from ASUS or another manufacturer which offers opvenVPN client mode with the possibility to define routing rules for specific clients?

 

[joegreat]

So if it is possibly the hardware and the drivers where not changed since a long time...Is it the only way to send the router back? Are there alternatives from ASUS or another manufacturer which offers opvenVPN client mode with the possibility to define routing rules for specific clients?

So you have bad luck with your AC87U - my two are working like a charm...

I would always go for an Asus device supported by Merlin: This thread proves the value of having such a good firmware and getting support!

For best OpenVPN performance I would go for a AC86U devices - the firmware might not be yet fully finished but it looks good enough to use it productive.

 

[Emanuel Paul]

So you have bad luck with your AC87U - my two are working like a charm...

I would always go for an Asus device supported by Merlin: This thread proves the value of having such a good firmware and getting support!

For best OpenVPN performance I would go for a AC86U devices - the firmware might not be yet fully finished but it looks good enough to use it productive.

Perhaps I should try a downgrade to 380.65...?

 

[joegreat]

Perhaps I should try a downgrade to 380.65...?

Why should you do this it you have faulty hardware???

 

[Emanuel Paul]

Why should you do this it you have faulty hardware???

to find out, if it is really faulty...but perhaps it's better to send it back and order a new one...

anyway. thank you very much for your help!

 

[Mutzli]

On mine I solved this by running the 5GHz on 40MHz bandwidth only and the 2.4GHz on 20MHz. Also make sure you have good air circulation so that the router doesn't overheat. Some users put theirs on a notebook cooler with fan that plugs into the USB port. Mine works flawless for months now with this settings.

 

[IronSchramm]

I was having this same issue with my 87, if i went back to firmware pre .68 it had no issues, but .68 and higher, the 5GHZ radio would drop out every few hours, with the same symptoms as the original poster elaborated on. There’s nothing in the logs regarding any sort of failure, it was driving me crazy. I ended up about a week ago, updating to .69, defaulting my router, then importing my firmware config. I considered manually inputting all the settings, but figured i’d try importing first. It hasn’t failed since, I work from home and the 5Ghz radio would drop out several times a day. Since performing those steps it’s been rock solid.

I’m by NO means blaming Merlin’s firmware, I’m thinking I did something at some point in the past that was being carried over which was causing it. I’ve enabled/disabled various scripts over time and never default my router when I would update the F/W, and i’ve been using Merlin for a few years now across two routers. So again, NOT Merlin’s fault, I think I had done something or changed something and changed it back that was causing this issue. Basically I think it was self inflicted.

That said, perhaps defaulting your router, updating the firmware and then reconfiguring could help? I wasn’t aware of the hardware issues of the 87 either, had I known i wouldn’t have bought this device, too late now though.

Question if I may, if the issue resurfaces for me is there a way via command line to verify the 5Ghz hardware is the cause? If so, that gives me the ammo I need to justify a new device. I’m just not seeing anything in the GUI log in regards to hardware failure.

 

[W_Keith]

There're any issues with my AC87U A2 , maybe A2 version has been changed any bugs