RT-AC88U frequent wifi disconnection/deauthenticated

[CAVOK84]

For quite a while now, I've been struggling to correct an issue with my RT-AC88U, which seems to be getting worse. Any help is very much appreciated.

Router: Asus RT-AC88U
Firmware: 386.2_6 current 384.17_0 previous
Modem: Motorola MB8600
Adapter: ASUS PCE AC88
Devices: Windows 10, Desktop PC [problem seems to be affecting other devices too (e.g., LG TV); however, I haven't had enough free time to observe and confirm.]
Setup: Xfinity gigabit (speeds and latency are excellent). Currently, no devices are connected via ethernet, although this will change whenever I finish setting up my new house. Typically, I keep a Brother printer, LG TV, iPhone, and Ipad connected to the 2.4GHz band, and my computer to the 5GHz band.

Problem: While running firmware 384.17_0, I began to notice that occasionally my connection to the 5GHz network would be interrupted. When the connection is dropped, my wifi icon (located on the taskbar) disappears, appearing as if I've disabled my adapter. The connection returns after approximately 15 seconds, whereupon the wifi icon returns as well. I haven't been able to correlate these disconnections with any other network behavior or usage.

My issue is always accompanied by the following system log:

*I'm a little curious why the MAC is proceeded by "eth2", not sure if this means ethernet, but all devices are on wifi.
*I believe my LG TV was suffering from this issue as well, but as I said earlier, I haven't had time to confirm this.
*My PC and iPhone were the only devices connected to the router yesterday and today, yet this issue has persisted.

Troubleshooting: I'm not sure if this issue is occurring more frequently or if I've just become more aware of it lately; regardless, I upgraded to the most recent firmware (386.2_6) last night.
After manually updating the firmware, I executed a restore with initialize settings selected. I then performed a reboot via the GUI, after which I unplugged the router and modem for 20 minutes.
I suppose it's possible I'm having an issue with my wifi adapter, but given that I've had some momentary disconnects on my TV, I thought it likely this was a firmware/router issue.

Intermittent disconnections continue to plague me, and I would greatly appreciate some advice.

 

[David Patrick]

I've the same router and had the same issues as you - wireless connections to the router were really unstable especially from LG TV and iPhone. I ended up reverting back to 384.13 or 384.17 (check previous posts on the same subject with this router as I can't quite remember which). I'm running 384.19 these days after having done the full router reset procedure which you'll also find somewhere on this site (will see if I can find you links)

 

[David Patrick]

RT-AC88U wireless issues

Hi, I've seen a lot of posts regarding wireless issues and wonder whether anyone can help? I have a RT-AC88U with a mix of Apple iPhone, Samsung Phones, LG TVs & PCs. When connected to BTHomeHub all connections are solid and connect at full speed, download tests near to homehub sync speed -...

www.snbforums.com

Reverted to 384.13 initially - but this is the f/w just before how the password is stored changed so you need to manually apply it.

 

[CAVOK84]

I've the same router and had the same issues as you - wireless connections to the router were really unstable especially from LG TV and iPhone. I ended up reverting back to 384.13 or 384.17 (check previous posts on the same subject with this router as I can't quite remember which). I'm running 384.19 these days after having done the full router reset procedure which you'll also find somewhere on this site (will see if I can find you links)

Thanks for the reply and information! I was using 384.17 when I first began experiencing intermittent disconnections. Updating the router and doing a full reset hasn't helped. If I were to roll back to an older FW, what did you mean by "but this is the f/w just before how the password is stored changed so you need to manually apply it."? Is the procedure different than just manually uploading the file?

Thanks

 

[David Patrick]

Thanks for the reply and information! I was using 384.17 when I first began experiencing intermittent disconnections. Updating the router and doing a full reset hasn't helped. If I were to roll back to an older FW, what did you mean by "but this is the f/w just before how the password is stored changed so you need to manually apply it."? Is the procedure different than just manually uploading the file?

Thanks

Have a look at the Changelog.NG if you still have the f/w downloaded. It's been a while since I did this but you can't just go direct back to 384.13 - you would need to do a flash downgrade to 384.17 and then 384.13.
And come to think of it, yes I had the same issues starting at 384.17.
I still haven't found the thread that discussed this, have a look around to see and research about downgrading before you try if that's the route you choose.
I'm still not 100% sure it is f/w related as I'm running 384.19 which is stable
Have you tried the full nuke reset which can also be found in this forum? I definitely had to do this procedure along the way and during my own troubleshooting while having the same issues.

In the changelog:
384.17 (26-Apr-2020)
Updating some models (like the RT-AC88U) from stock firmware
3.0.0.4.384_81790 and newer will require a factory default reset
after flashing Asuswrt-Merlin, due to a change in how Asus
stores the admin password starting with 384_81790.

- NEW: Add Chacha20-poly1305 support to dropbear (themiron)
- UPDATED: dnsmasq to 2.81-openssl (themiron)
- UPDATED: openvpn to 2.4.9.
- UPDATED: curl to 7.69.1.
- UPDATED: openssl-1.1 to 1.1.1g (themiron)
- UPDATED: nano to 4.9.2.
- FIXED: RT-AC88U/RT-AC3100/RT-AC5300 could fail to upgrade
from newer stock versions to Asuswrt-Merlin.
- FIXED: Various webui issues with sorting DHCP reservations.