RT-AC88U w/ 2 x ZenWifi CT8 AiMesh - Gaming Nightmare!

[Enceladus]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and I'd like to begin by saying I've scoured this forum for hours in an attempt to rectify my persistent issue so thank you to all contributors.

I'm not technically illiterate; however, I am when it comes to networking so I apologise if what I say is nonsensical.

A simplistic topology of my network is as follows:

Virgin Media Hub 4 (modem mode) --> Asus RT-AC88U (main) ~~wireless dedicated backhaul (5GHz-1 priority since the 88U is only dual-band)~~> (2 x ZenWifi CT8)

CT8-1 ---> Xbox Series X

CT8-2 ---> 2 x PC's and TP-Link TL-SG1005D Switch
Switch ---> Printer, CCTV, Xbox 360

Almost everything is working fine except for Xbox gaming.

It doesn't disconnect per se; it just seems to have some difficulty regarding the ports required for Xbox networking.

It'll only work intermittently before I'm cut off either from the online game, voice chat or both.

When it cuts out the Xbox NAT on the Series X will display either "Strict" or fail to display at all with a "Teredo Unable to Qualify".

My PC, on the Xbox Networking settings tab (or console companion on W11), also displays a NAT Type of either the same Teredo error or it'll say "Open" with the server connectivity "Blocked".

Since I'm guessing this is a NAT or UPnP issue it should be noted I also have two additional Xbox One's on the network connected wirelessly.

This is definitely a problem regarding the nodes as if I turn them off and connect wirelessly to the AC88u this problem never occurs.

I have done a factory reset on all devices and they're running the following firmware:

RT-AC88U: 386.4 (Merlin)

Both CT8's: 3.0.0.4.386_45934-gb23bdac

I have had this problem for months and have resorted to simply not using them, but when they work I can vastly better connection speeds on all devices.

I realise anybody willing to help me will likely need more information; however, I don't know what information you'll need.

I really hope I'm just being dumb and this is a simple fix.

Thank you in advance

- Jake

 

[ColinTaylor]

Since I'm guessing this is a NAT or UPnP issue it should be noted I also have two additional Xbox One's on the network connected wirelessly.

This is definitely a problem regarding the nodes as if I turn them off and connect wirelessly to the AC88u this problem never occurs.

I don't know the solution to your problem but it's definitely not a NAT or UPnP problem because it's only effecting the nodes. So don't waste time going down a NAT rabbit hole by doing things like manual port forwarding or DMZ, you'll just make things worse. Look for errors in the router's/node's syslog for the time period the problem occurs.

 

[BreakingDad]

Do both xbox's have the same problem ?

Are they manually assigned IP's?

 

[Enceladus]

I don't know the solution to your problem but it's definitely not a NAT or UPnP problem because it's only effecting the nodes. So don't waste time going down a NAT rabbit hole by doing things like manual port forwarding or DMZ, you'll just make things worse. Look for errors in the router's/node's syslog for the time period the problem occurs.

Thanks, I've been down the rabbit hole before and did put the Xbox in a DMZ and it didn't do anything different so in hindsight I should've known that.

So I entered a party/voice com on the Xbox and set a camera up to watch the screen to get a precise time; I also set my system log to log all messages.

I go from fine to "connecting..." followed by a disconnect at 18:14.

Here is a 30-minute snapshot of my log:

Jan 31 18:01:51 dnsmasq-dhcp[2422]: DHCPDISCOVER(br0) dc:f7:56:7a:07:6e
Jan 31 18:01:51 dnsmasq-dhcp[2422]: DHCPOFFER(br0) 192.168.1.242 dc:f7:56:7a:07:6e
Jan 31 18:01:51 dnsmasq-dhcp[2422]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.1.242 dc:f7:56:7a:07:6e
Jan 31 18:01:51 dnsmasq-dhcp[2422]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.1.242 dc:f7:56:7a:07:6e GalaxyWatch-D76D
Jan 31 18:02:03 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth2: Deauth_ind 66:DE:96:92:AD:37, status: 0, reason: Disassociated due to inactivity (4), rssi:0
Jan 31 18:02:03 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(508): eth2: Disassoc 66:DE:96:92:AD:37, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:0
Jan 31 18:02:40 kernel: 42:7C:3F:45:62:14 not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:03:09 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(527): eth2: Auth 66:DE:96:92:AD:37, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jan 31 18:03:09 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(537): eth2: ReAssoc 66:DE:96:92:AD:37, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jan 31 18:03:10 kernel: 192.168.1.86 already exist in UDB, can't add it
Jan 31 18:04:14 kernel: 42:7C:3F:45:62:0C not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:08:57 kernel: B0:41:1D:80:50:54 not exist in UDB, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:08:57 kernel: 70:89:76:BE:D1:FF not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:12:20 kernel: DC:F7:56:7A:07:6E not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:15:23 kernel: 70:89:76:BE:D1:FF not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:20:23 kernel: 70:89:76:BE:D1:FF not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:21:55 kernel: 42:7C:3F:45:62:14 not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:25:14 kernel: 70:89:76:BE:D1:FF not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:29:03 kernel: C0:99:8D:B1:80:BA not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:29:03 kernel: B0:41:1D:80:50:54 not exist in UDB, can't delete it

 

[Enceladus]

Do both xbox's have the same problem ?

Are they manually assigned IP's?

So there are three Xbox's on the network; however, only one is connected directly to a node.
My gaming rig, which is connected to a node, also presents this problem when I play Xbox UWP games online.

The other Xbox's connect to the main router and have never had this issue.

 

[Enceladus]

Are they manually assigned IP's?

Sorry, I forgot your second question.

So I haven't done anything but add the nodes since the factory reset so they're not currently static IP's.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Thanks, I've been down the rabbit hole before and did put the Xbox in a DMZ and it didn't do anything different so in hindsight I should've known that.

So I entered a party/voice com on the Xbox and set a camera up to watch the screen to get a precise time; I also set my system log to log all messages.

I go from fine to "connecting..." followed by a disconnect at 18:14.

Here is a 30-minute snapshot of my log:

Jan 31 18:01:51 dnsmasq-dhcp[2422]: DHCPDISCOVER(br0) dc:f7:56:7a:07:6e
Jan 31 18:01:51 dnsmasq-dhcp[2422]: DHCPOFFER(br0) 192.168.1.242 dc:f7:56:7a:07:6e
Jan 31 18:01:51 dnsmasq-dhcp[2422]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.1.242 dc:f7:56:7a:07:6e
Jan 31 18:01:51 dnsmasq-dhcp[2422]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.1.242 dc:f7:56:7a:07:6e GalaxyWatch-D76D
Jan 31 18:02:03 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(491): eth2: Deauth_ind 66:DE:96:92:AD:37, status: 0, reason: Disassociated due to inactivity (4), rssi:0
Jan 31 18:02:03 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(508): eth2: Disassoc 66:DE:96:92:AD:37, status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:0
Jan 31 18:02:40 kernel: 42:7C:3F:45:62:14 not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:03:09 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(527): eth2: Auth 66:DE:96:92:AD:37, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jan 31 18:03:09 syslog: wlceventd_proc_event(537): eth2: ReAssoc 66:DE:96:92:AD:37, status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Jan 31 18:03:10 kernel: 192.168.1.86 already exist in UDB, can't add it
Jan 31 18:04:14 kernel: 42:7C:3F:45:62:0C not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:08:57 kernel: B0:41:1D:80:50:54 not exist in UDB, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:08:57 kernel: 70:89:76:BE:D1:FF not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:12:20 kernel: DC:F7:56:7A:07:6E not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:15:23 kernel: 70:89:76:BE:D1:FF not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:20:23 kernel: 70:89:76:BE:D1:FF not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:21:55 kernel: 42:7C:3F:45:62:14 not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:25:14 kernel: 70:89:76:BE:D1:FF not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:29:03 kernel: C0:99:8D:B1:80:BA not mesh client, can't delete it
Jan 31 18:29:03 kernel: B0:41:1D:80:50:54 not exist in UDB, can't delete it

Hmm, nothing obvious there. Are any of the MAC addresses shown above that of your Xbox?

I'm not familiar with the CT8's, can you examine their syslogs?

Just to be clear, when you connect this troublesome Xbox to the main router it doesn't have this problem?

 

[BreakingDad]

Well, Colin has advised not going down the port forwarding "rabbit hole", and this disconnect may well be linked to the node and not anything to do with portforwarding.

That said.

When I had multiple xboxes, the only way I could get open NAT on all of them was to set a static ip (on the router, DHCP page) and then use WAN/Portforwarding /Famous Games List - Xbox Live. To forward to those static ips.
Would also set the pc to a static ip via the same method to get the xbox live working on that as well


Not saying this will fix your issue, and it's easy enough to turn off if it doesn't work, but if you enjoy tinkering, it might be worth a go.

Guide here,

I don't know if you would have to port forward on the nodes, or the nodes get their info off the main router, I only have one router.

Good luck anyway

 

[Enceladus]

Hmm, nothing obvious there. Are any of the MAC addresses shown above that of your Xbox?

I'm not familiar with the CT8's, can you examine their syslogs?

Just to be clear, when you connect this troublesome Xbox to the main router it doesn't have this problem?

None of the MAC addresses shown is the Xbox; they're various smart devices (phones, watch etc..).

Sorry, I don't know how to access the nodes syslogs.
Using Putty I can access the primary router and read its syslog but it's identical to the one found on the GUI.

So if I turn off the nodes and just connect the Xbox wirelessly to the AC88U this problem never happens, ever.
It's irritating because using the node I get 700-900Mb/s (when it works) whereas without it I'm lucky to get 300Mb/s.

 

[Enceladus]

Well, Colin has advised not going down the port forwarding "rabbit hole", and this disconnect may well be linked to the node and not anything to do with portforwarding.

That said.

When I had multiple xboxes, the only way I could get open NAT on all of them was to set a static ip (on the router, DHCP page) and then use WAN/Portforwarding /Famous Games List - Xbox Live. To forward to those static ips.
Would also set the pc to a static ip via the same method to get the xbox live working on that as well


Not saying this will fix your issue, and it's easy enough to turn off if it doesn't work, but if you enjoy tinkering, it might be worth a go.

Guide here,

I don't know if you would have to port forward on the nodes, or the nodes get their info off the main router, I only have one router.

Good luck anyway

Thanks for your assistance; I think I've done it correctly.

I checked the advanced network tab on the Xbox's and opened the four corresponding ports to their respective IP's (3 x Xbox's and PC).

Honestly, I don't think it'll do anything since I've had one of the Xbox's as DMZ and the problem persisted but I'll try anything at this point!

Thanks again

 

[ColinTaylor]

Sorry, I don't know how to access the nodes syslogs.
Using Putty I can access the primary router and read its syslog but it's identical to the one found on the GUI.

Can you SSH into the node's IP address and look at the syslog that way?

So if I turn off the nodes and just connect the Xbox wirelessly to the AC88U this problem never happens, ever.

Are the problem Xbox's connected to the nodes by cable or WiFi?

Thanks for your assistance; I think I've done it correctly.

I checked the advanced network tab on the Xbox's and opened the four corresponding ports to their respective IP's (3 x Xbox's and PC).

Honestly, I don't think it'll do anything since I've had one of the Xbox's as DMZ and the problem persisted but I'll try anything at this point!

Thanks again

Manually forwarding ports is really not a good idea. This is something best managed by UPnP. I assume you have UPnP enabled?

 

[BreakingDad]

Thanks for your assistance; I think I've done it correctly.

I checked the advanced network tab on the Xbox's and opened the four corresponding ports to their respective IP's (3 x Xbox's and PC).

Honestly, I don't think it'll do anything since I've had one of the Xbox's as DMZ and the problem persisted but I'll try anything at this point!

Thanks again

It will give you open NAT if nothing else.

 

[Enceladus]

Can you SSH into the node's IP address and look at the syslog that way?


Are the problem Xbox's connected to the nodes by cable or WiFi?



Manually forwarding ports is really not a good idea. This is something best managed by UPnP. I assume you have UPnP enabled?

No, I get "Network error: Connection Refused".

The problem devices are my gaming PC and one of the Xbox's; they're both connected to the node via a wired connection.
The other two Xbox's aren't connected to the node at all.

To be clear they're not complete disconnects.
For example, watching Netflix or something on the problematic Xbox it'll work perfectly without disruption whereas if I play an online game I'll get intermittently disconnected from their servers and it'll very quickly reconnect back to Xbox LIVE but whatever is happening it's long enough to disconnect me from voice chat as well.

Yeah, I've always had UPnP enabled as Blue Iris (my CCTV software) needs it which is why I thought I didn't need to manually forward ports.
Should I disable port forwarding then?

 

[BreakingDad]

No, I get "Network error: Connection Refused".

The problem devices are my gaming PC and one of the Xbox's; they're both connected to the node via a wired connection.
The other two Xbox's aren't connected to the node at all.

To be clear they're not complete disconnects.
For example, watching Netflix or something on the problematic Xbox it'll work perfectly without disruption whereas if I play an online game I'll get intermittently disconnected from their servers and it'll very quickly reconnect back to Xbox LIVE but whatever is happening it's long enough to disconnect me from voice chat as well.

Yeah, I've always had UPnP enabled as Blue Iris (my CCTV software) needs it which is why I thought I didn't need to manually forward ports.
Should I disable port forwarding then?

For some reason upnp wont give you open nat on multiple consoles. It's a thing with xbox's. No harm in trying it with port forwarding, if it doesn't work , turn it off.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Yeah, I've always had UPnP enabled as Blue Iris (my CCTV software) needs it which is why I thought I didn't need to manually forward ports.
Should I disable port forwarding then?

Yes, as you know this is unrelated to your problem and you're just adding more variables into your troubleshooting process.

It sounds like the WiFi backhaul is being briefly interrupted. If you run a continuous ping from the gaming PC to the router's IP address do you get any timeouts that coincide with the Xbox problem?

C:\Users\Colin>ping -t 192.168.1.1

Pinging 192.168.1.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64

 

[Piggie]

Well, Colin has advised not going down the port forwarding "rabbit hole", and this disconnect may well be linked to the node and not anything to do with portforwarding.

That said.

When I had multiple xboxes, the only way I could get open NAT on all of them was to set a static ip (on the router, DHCP page) and then use WAN/Portforwarding /Famous Games List - Xbox Live. To forward to those static ips.
Would also set the pc to a static ip via the same method to get the xbox live working on that as well


Not saying this will fix your issue, and it's easy enough to turn off if it doesn't work, but if you enjoy tinkering, it might be worth a go.

Guide here,

I don't know if you would have to port forward on the nodes, or the nodes get their info off the main router, I only have one router.

Good luck anyway

I like Breaking Dad's solution. If you have multiple Xbox's they will try to use the same port. If they do use the same port you may have lag and drop issues. You can test if this by connecting just one xbox. If you don't have lag or drop issues with just one xbox, then it's likely the other xbox's are tyring to use the same port. To get around this, Breaking Dad's solution is a way around the issue.

 

[ColinTaylor]

@Enceladus Specifically regarding your "Teredo Unable to Qualify" error on PC. Have you tried the "Fix it" option. Doing that removed the error for me.

N.B. Teredo can be quite slow starting up when navigating to the Xbox Networking page. So wait a few seconds and then click "Check again" before trying to fix it.

C:\Windows\system32>netsh interface teredo show state
Teredo Parameters
---------------------------------------------
Type                    : disabled
Server Name             : win1910.ipv6.microsoft.com.
Client Refresh Interval : 30 seconds
Client Port             : unspecified
State                   : offline
Error                   : none

C:\Windows\system32>netsh interface teredo show state
Teredo Parameters
---------------------------------------------
Type                    : natawareclient
Server Name             : win1910.ipv6.microsoft.com.
Client Refresh Interval : 20 seconds
Client Port             : unspecified
State                   : qualified
Client Type             : teredo client
Network                 : unmanaged
NAT                     : cone
NAT Special Behaviour   : UPNP: Yes, PortPreserving: Yes
Local Mapping           : 192.168.1.100:49645
External NAT Mapping    : aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd:49645

If you still have the Teredo error try resetting from a command prompt run as administrator.

netsh interface teredo set state disable
netsh interface teredo set state type=default
netsh interface teredo set state natawareclient

Again, this should not really be related to your main Xbox problem as you said that only occurs when connected to the node.

 

[Enceladus]

@ColinTaylor

So I've run a continuous ping for the past few hours, played some stuff, and it hasn't disconnected with an average response time of 2-4ms.

This could be an intermittent problem doing what they do best and not breaking when I actually want it to.

The only thing that is different since I posted this thread was that I assigned static IP's to each Xbox and my PC as part of BreakingDad's port forwarding method and I simply forgot to revert it.

Would assigning static IP's do something that would fix this? I don't understand.
I cannot put into words how many hours I've spent trying to fix this; I bought the CT8's last May! Disabling Smart Connect, Universal Beamforming, MIMO, FW rollbacks, resets, manual channels... If assigning static IP's is all I had to do I feel like a right dunce. Starting to wish I continued to do my CCNA at Uni instead of going to the programming route.

The Teredo Windows thing you posted is a rabbit hole I've been down long before I even set up AiMesh so I'm aware of that being an issue; so much so I used to have the reset commands as a batch file.
Xbox must have some bizarre way of doing things because the internet is rife with problems regarding it.

It's only been a few hours so I'm not confident it's fixed, so I'll wait and see what happens with it.

Thank you so much for your help thus far though!

 

[ColinTaylor]

Would assigning static IP's do something that would fix this? I don't understand.

It shouldn't have a bearing on anything, although it won't do any harm. I've never used static IP's on any of my PlayStation's or PC's.

The Teredo Windows thing you posted is a rabbit hole I've been down long before I even set up AiMesh so I'm aware of that being an issue; so much so I used to have the reset commands as a batch file.
Xbox must have some bizarre way of doing things because the internet is rife with problems regarding it.

Yeah, I suspect the "Teredo" message is a red herring. Teredo is a way of tunnelling IPv6 over IPv4, and that service doesn't even run until you navigate to that screen.

 

[BreakingDad]

@ColinTaylor

So I've run a continuous ping for the past few hours, played some stuff, and it hasn't disconnected with an average response time of 2-4ms.

This could be an intermittent problem doing what they do best and not breaking when I actually want it to.

The only thing that is different since I posted this thread was that I assigned static IP's to each Xbox and my PC as part of BreakingDad's port forwarding method and I simply forgot to revert it.

Would assigning static IP's do something that would fix this? I don't understand.
I cannot put into words how many hours I've spent trying to fix this; I bought the CT8's last May! Disabling Smart Connect, Universal Beamforming, MIMO, FW rollbacks, resets, manual channels... If assigning static IP's is all I had to do I feel like a right dunce. Starting to wish I continued to do my CCNA at Uni instead of going to the programming route.

The Teredo Windows thing you posted is a rabbit hole I've been down long before I even set up AiMesh so I'm aware of that being an issue; so much so I used to have the reset commands as a batch file.
Xbox must have some bizarre way of doing things because the internet is rife with problems regarding it.

It's only been a few hours so I'm not confident it's fixed, so I'll wait and see what happens with it.

Thank you so much for your help thus far though!

Just a question, did you do the portforwarding as well, or just the static ips?

Believe me I have been there with bloody xbox's trying to get three of them on open NAT, as a COD player this was important back in the day to get the full server list.

Continuing to monitor the thread, between all of us, we will get this sorted.