RT-AC88U What is a good operating temperature for this router

[Southernclipper]

I had this router running F/W 4180. Which I updated a few months ago and I did a full factory reset and manually reenter my changes but I have had constant issues with the router rebooting about every 5 to 7 days and then once it reboots on its own it gets worse, it starts to drop the 2G signal and sometimes its comes back online and sometimes it doesn't. I scheduled a reboot for once a week which fixed the issue but then one week when I was out of town it did the scheduled reboot but it did not fully reboot which caused a lot of issues for me since I was 2000 miles away with no one home and I could not access my systems. So i went back to manually rebooting once a week because the router cannot be trusted. So to my question. I noticed that my operating temperature is hitting 120 degrees, I measured this with a infrared reader. Now this has me thinking that it could be a cause that may be rebooting due to heat. So what is a normal safe operating temp I should expect? I am hoping the next release of F/W will fixed my issues, if not I am ready to through in the towel and go back to netgear...

 

[Nullity]

Does the log mention why it's rebooting (maybe a remote log or a nvram-stored log is required to see this).

Where are you seeing this temp? On the exterior case or some internal part? What temp does the GUI report?

 

[TonyH]

I had this router running F/W 4180. Which I updated a few months ago and I did a full factory reset and manually reenter my changes but I have had constant issues with the router rebooting about every 5 to 7 days and then once it reboots on its own it gets worse, it starts to drop the 2G signal and sometimes its comes back online and sometimes it doesn't. I scheduled a reboot for once a week which fixed the issue but then one week when I was out of town it did the scheduled reboot but it did not fully reboot which caused a lot of issues for me since I was 2000 miles away with no one home and I could not access my systems. So i went back to manually rebooting once a week because the router cannot be trusted. So to my question. I noticed that my operating temperature is hitting 120 degrees, I measured this with a infrared reader. Now this has me thinking that it could be a cause that may be rebooting due to heat. So what is a normal safe operating temp I should expect? I am hoping the next release of F/W will fixed my issues, if not I am ready to through in the towel and go back to netgear...

If you suspect heat, provide extra cooling to prove it. If you suspect flaky AC adapter, try another one. If you think f/w is doing it roll it back. And as already mentioned, check syslog for a possible clue. Trouble-shooting is logical process of elimination, not a random guess work.

 

[joegreat]

I noticed that my operating temperature is hitting 120 degrees, I measured this with a infrared reader.

I assume you are talking about 120 degrees Fahrenheit - Celsius would be a real problem!

Yes, your router is warm from outside, but the only important measurement is INSIDE the chips of the router.
If you install Merlin's fork you can see the internal temperatures on the Tools page...

 

[Southernclipper]

I assume you are talking about 120 degrees Fahrenheit - Celsius would be a real problem!

Yes, your router is warm from outside, but the only important measurement is INSIDE the chips of the router.
If you install Merlin's fork you can see the internal temperatures on the Tools page...

Yes it was 120 F. Yes I have checked the logs, they mentioned nothing. Its going long and then shows Jul 31st messages as it does on normal reboot. I got the internal temp by pointing the infrared red through the vent. I looked through GUI and didn't see any temps. Lastly I spent several nights looking through the forums and disabling / enabling features to see if that would fix it. Thanks for responding.

 

[Southernclipper]

If you suspect heat, provide extra cooling to prove it. If you suspect flaky AC adapter, try another one. If you think f/w is doing it roll it back. And as already mentioned, check syslog for a possible clue. Trouble-shooting is logical process of elimination, not a random guess work.

I have spent several weeks trouble-shooting and wasn't guessing. I haven't found a solid f/w that is stable for this router and had this issue for a while. I have tried many things that the forum has suggested and ASUS has suggested. As part of the trouble shooting process I am trying to determine if the router is overheating and causing the router to reboot. Hence the question what is a acceptable temp the router should operate? Since I couldn't find anything foroum are trouble shooting section. If it is I can simply move it to a better ventilated area. Thanks anyway

 

[Southernclipper]

Does the log mention why it's rebooting (maybe a remote log or a nvram-stored log is required to see this).

Where are you seeing this temp? On the exterior case or some internal part? What temp does the GUI report?

Where would I see the temp in the GUI? Also where from the command line can I get more detail sys log because the sys log from the GUI doesn't show anything useful. I am reading the temp through the vent with a infrared heat reader.

 

[Pierino]

As joegreat said "If you install Merlin's fork you can see the internal temperatures on the Tools page..."

 

[TonyH]

Where would I see the temp in the GUI? Also where from the command line can I get more detail sys log because the sys log from the GUI doesn't show anything useful. I am reading the temp through the vent with a infrared heat reader.

Personally if core temp. approaches 90F I'd start noticing and worried if it stays there all the time. Measurement of vent air temp will vary greatly with ambient temp. in the room. Also temperature varies depending on how busy the chip is. My house has year round indoor temp. of 68F. Also Broad Comm chips run hotter. My NG R7800 is just luke warm to touch. Router is very stable. Maybe cpu heat sinking compound is not well applied at the factory? You can apply better quality compound.

 

[JimmyGRadio]

Personally if core temp. approaches 90F I'd start noticing and worried if it stays there all the time. Measurement of vent air temp will vary greatly with ambient temp. in the room. Also temperature varies depending on how busy the chip is. My house has year round indoor temp. of 68F. Also Broad Comm chips run hotter. My NG R7800 is just luke warm to touch. Router is very stable. Maybe cpu heat sinking compound is not well applied at the factory? You can apply better quality compound.

My AC-66U B1 has a core temperature of 47 degrees Celsius (116 F) The building temperature is about 80F. Anybody Else running Merlin on a RC68U or RC66U and could check their core temperature?

 

[Pierino]

47 degrees Celsius is fine. My rt-ac68u with the same CPU is at 80C now.

 

[JimmyGRadio]

47 degrees Celsius is fine. My rt-ac68u with the same CPU is at 80C now.

Thanks!