Solved RT-AX86U - Stuck on old firmware (solved!), WiFi not working (solved!)

[getrikt]

Hey y'all, I'm new to this forum and like many, I come here with a problem I cannot solve myself. Up until this morning, my RT-AX86U has been happily trucking along without issue for the past 3.5 years without any problems whatsoever. This morning, however, I woke up to:
- No wifi network visible on any of my devices
- No connection via the Ethernet ports

A simple power cycle did not solve this, so I held down the reset button to do, well, a reset. And, at first glance, this worked! I could see a happy, working connection on my Ethernet-connected desktop once more. But then I realized: The wifi network was still not back. So I checked the settings via the web interface and... Everything looks normal, wifi is on, the network has the same name and setup that it used to. It's just... Not showing up. The wifi lights on the router aren't even lighting up.

So I tried the obvious: Update to the latest firmware! I hit the "Check Update" button and... Nothing happened? Well, it's possible it has the latest firmware already, so I checked which version it was running:

3.0.0.4.386_42095

That is not the latest firmware. The latest firmware is 3.0.0.4.388_24243, so I tried manually updating it. The process completed without any complaint, the router rebooted, and upon check the firmware version, it reads:

3.0.0.4.386_42095

Huh? But I just updated it? Okay, so I tried a factory reset, making sure to check the box that reads "Initialize all the settings, and clear all the data log for AiProtection, Traffic Analyzer, and Web History." just to be sure that everything is wiped. So I do that, the router reboots, and... Nothing has been wiped. All the settings (username/passwsord/wifi/etc) are as they were before.

So then I tried a "hard reset" with the WPS button. That was successful! My settings were actually wiped! But the wifi still wasn't working, and the firmware wasn't updated. So I tried to install the same firmware update again. And then the router rebooted, and upon coming back up told me the firmware version was:

3.0.0.4.386_42095

Okay, at this point, I'm out of ideas. Nothing I do seems to fix this. The wifi still isn't working, and the firmware refuses to update. I have tried:

• Power cycle
• Reset via the web interface (this did not reset anything)
• Reset via the reset button (this did not reset anything)
• Reset via "hard reset" (this actually reset the settings but fixed nothing)
• Installing the latest firmware (still stuck on 3.0.0.4.386_42095)
• Installing older firmware (still stuck on 3.0.0.4.386_42095)
• Installing custom firmware (latest version of Merlin) (still stuck on 3.0.0.4.386_42095)

Is there anything left to try? Or am I stuck with a half-working router? Any help would be vastly appreciated.

 

[getrikt]

1. Power off the device.
2. Press and hold the reset button, and power on the device.
3. Wait until the Power LED starts blinking slowly - in about 8 - 10 seconds. Release the reset button.

Upload firmware at "AUSTek - CFE miniWeb Server"

OR

[Wireless Router] How to use Rescue Mode (Firmware Restoration)? | Official Support | ASUS Global

Good news! This took some fiddling to get the router updated, but it did work! Router is now on 3.0.0.4.388_2424 so thank you so much for that suggestion!

Bad news: Still no wifi. I checked the Wireless log and I see this:

Not associated. Last associated with
Mode    : AP Only

Not associated. Last associated with
Mode    : AP Only

Not sure if that helps diagnose things at all.

 

[getrikt]

Oh! One thing that might be important: When I go to the Wireless tab in the settings, I get a popup box that says "The Country Code is not exist! Please enter Country Code." (to be clear this started happening before I successfully updated the firmware, I just didn't clock it as an important issue until now)

Looking this up now shows me this thread covering a similar issue: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ax86u-dead-wifi-asking-for-country-code-solved.82312/

Since it came up in that thread (and elsewhere): AFAIK this isn't some wacky hacked router. I bought it brand new from AMZN in February of 2021, it's been rock solid until this happened. So now I guess I get to be another person pinging @ColinTaylor for help (or maybe even @Sildur in case you remember the steps that fixed your router).

 

[bennor]

Yeah not having a country code could could be a potentially serious issue since some of the WiFi settings and capabilities are based on the specific country or region.

Using SSH, access the router and run each of the following three lines of code and report back what they return. It may help others determine what your issue.

nvram show | grep ccode
nvram show | grep location
nvram show | grep country

 

[BlueOrbit]

Try the excellent Merlin Firmware. I am sure it will solve your issues (if this is not HW related).

 

[getrikt]

Yeah not having a country code could could be a potentially serious issue since some of the WiFi settings and capabilities are based on the specific country or region.

Using SSH, access the router and run each of the following three lines of code and report back what they return. It may help others determine what your issue.

nvram show | grep ccode
nvram show | grep location
nvram show | grep country

ccode:

0:ccode=US
sb/1/ccode=US
size: 54029 bytes (77043 left)

location:

location_code=
size: 54029 bytes (77043 left)

country:

fb_country=
modem_country=
size: 54029 bytes (77043 left)
wl0_country_code=US
wl0_country_rev=
wl1_country_code=
wl1_country_rev=
wl_country_code=US
wl_country_rev=

 

[bennor]

ccode:

0:ccode=US
sb/1/ccode=US
size: 54029 bytes (77043 left)

location:

location_code=
size: 54029 bytes (77043 left)

country:

fb_country=
modem_country=
size: 54029 bytes (77043 left)
wl0_country_code=US
wl0_country_rev=
wl1_country_code=
wl1_country_rev=
wl_country_code=US
wl_country_rev=

The Location may be empty (it is on mine, also in the United States) but the country probably/likely should have information there, yours doesn't.
Example of a grep country from a US sold RT-AX86U Pro.

@RT-AX86U:/tmp/home/root# nvram show | grep country
modem_country=
size: 80447 bytes (116161 left)
wl0_country_code=US
wl0_country_rev=615
wl1_country_code=US
wl1_country_rev=615
wl_country_code=US
wl_country_rev=615

No idea if one could manually set those NVRAM entries using a NVRAM commit, to fix the issue, or if there are other fields that may contain WiFi related information that might be causing your issue. It is also pssible the NVRAM entries WiFi are not the cause of the problem.

Have you tried using a different web browser and or a different computer wired directly to the router as a troubleshooting step?

As a last resort you could, if you haven't already, try using the Asus Firmware Restoration tool to flash your firmware outside of the web browser.

 

[aex.perez]

Pulled these from one of the AX86U mesh nodes if it helps

ASUSWRT-Merlin RT-AX86U 3004.388.8_2 Wed Jul 31 23:48:50 UTC 2024

AX86U:/tmp/home/root# nvram show | grep ccode
0:ccode=US
1:ccode=US
size: 85240 bytes (45832 left)

AX86U:/tmp/home/root# nvram show | grep location
location_code=
size: 85240 bytes (45832 left)

AX86U:/tmp/home/root# nvram show | grep country
fb_country=
modem_country=
wl0_country_code=US
wl0_country_rev=741
wl1_country_code=US
wl1_country_rev=741
wl_country_code=US
wl_country_rev=741
size: 85240 bytes (45832 left)

 

[Twiglets]

One possible route to take, pun intended, would be to go into the Administration Tab and perform the 'Factory Default' option [including ticking the 'Initialize all the settings' tickbox.]

 

[getrikt]

Try the excellent Merlin Firmware. I am sure it will solve your issues (if this is not HW related).

I did try that initially! But it did not help my Wifi issue

One possible route to take, pun intended, would be to go into the Administration Tab and perform the 'Factory Default' option [including ticking the 'Initialize all the settings' tickbox.]

I also tried this initially! Similarly, it did not fix the Wifi issue. This seems related to some part of onboard storage that the firmware gets its values from but does not itself modify (see this thread where someone tries to change these values and it does not work, and @RMerlin replies to explain why: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/nvram-set-and-commit-not-holding.34276/ ).

I tried doing the same thing, using nvram set and commit to write the missing values mentioned in my previous post. It did not work.

 

[getrikt]

@ColinTaylor saves the day yet again.

 

[CrashXRu]

Over the last week I have restored more than 4 routers with such problems

There is no connection between them, the devices are different, have different firmware, BUT everything happened within the last week

The user rebooted or reset the device
the partition with factory settings is either damaged or empty

When it is damaged, you can get some of the information that is used to form a new configuration, in particular, the calibration of radio modules is especially valuable

All other data can be taken from the router label and entered.

I started to monitor the problem and it began to have a mass character. Which is all strange.

 

[CrashXRu]

the biggest problem is that new models like Wifi7 do not have backup copies in our database yet. It is difficult to restore such devices, yes, you can take a ready-made template and restore it, but I'm afraid there will be a lot of data missing

 

[ColinTaylor]

Over the last week I have restored more than 4 routers with such problems

There is no connection between them, the devices are different, have different firmware, BUT everything happened within the last week

Same here. On Monday alone five different people contacted me with this problem. Another user who works for an ISP contacted me about three weeks ago when they had four reports in one day.

Rather than us just fixing the problem the best course of action is for the owners to report it directly to Asus and if their router is still under warranty get it replaced. Unless people do this Asus will be unaware of the scope of the problem and there will be no incentive for them to fix it.

 

[CrashXRu]

Same here. On Monday alone five different people contacted me with this problem. Another user who works for an ISP contacted me about three weeks ago when they had four reports in one day.

Rather than us just fixing the problem the best course of action is for the owners to report it directly to Asus and if their router is still under warranty get it replaced. Unless people do this Asus will be unaware of the scope of the problem and there will be no incentive for them to fix it.

all users from Russia and CIS countries
officially the representative office almost does not provide warranty service

the ASUS service center with which I previously worked as an external employee is also closed.

Previously, they gave me equipment for testing and troubleshooting.




Therefore, I restore all devices, just like you

I copy the system partition, restore some critical data, MAC address, serial number, PIN code, etc., then transfer to a template or another dump
using original Asus methods repair and update factory config

I am perplexed by the error in the code that comes from the AX88 with the 388 firmware when the MTD-X remains mounted, which led to such consequences

 

[anozir]

Same here. On Monday alone five different people contacted me with this problem. Another user who works for an ISP contacted me about three weeks ago when they had four reports in one day.

Rather than us just fixing the problem the best course of action is for the owners to report it directly to Asus and if their router is still under warranty get it replaced. Unless people do this Asus will be unaware of the scope of the problem and there will be no incentive for them to fix it.

Hey @ColinTaylor

I'd hate to add to the chorus of folks that are requesting help but also experiencing the same issue. I am going to call Asus to let them know I'm affected with this issue but most likely I'll be out of warranty period since I purchased the device way back in 2021. Do you know if there's any specific wording I should provide to the Asus reps to help me get this resolved?

Any help would be much appreciated. Also happy to help draft some pre work instructions for others with similar issues.

 

[ColinTaylor]

@anozir Tell them all of your router's base configuration data has been erased (hardware information, territory, serial number, PIN code, MAC address, etc.) and it no longer works properly. I'm sure they'll insist that you try various types of factory reset, but that won't change anything.

It's probably also worthwhile sending them a picture of the router's webUI displaying the error: "The Country Code is not exist! Please enter country Code." That should clarify the problem for them.

 

[anozir]

Yeah, it most definitely does not change anything. I've already done all the generic troubleshooting items. The reason why I even reset the router is because my admin password was either changed (or based off of this, somehow corrupted). I suspect that it has to do with the recent firmware update.

I'll definitely mention it to the Asus support when they open here on the US side. If they come up with no resolution, would it be a bother for me to ask you for additional help? @ColinTaylor

 

[CrashXRu]

I support @ColinTaylor, in that you need to contact tech support,

understand that there is no automation of the process yet, because some data needs to be entered manually

who wants to restore the original calibration of the radio module
if you have saved the router settings before the breakdown, this will help a lot



When you write to me in Telegram, please remember that I am from Siberia in Russia, my time zone is +7 GMT and I can answer with a delay

I will try to help everyone who wants to)


I think they should know that the MAC address and other data are incorrect

nvram show | grep -E 'macaddr|odmpid|secret|serial'

 

[ColinTaylor]

@CrashXRu When first reporting the problem to Asus customer support I don't think it's a good idea to include all the pa data (that's if there is any!). That is not particularly helpful to them at that stage and might create confusion. I think it would be better to stick with just the following information which demonstrates the mismatch between the hardware and what's printed on the case label.

nvram show | grep -E 'macaddr|^odmpid|^secret|^serial'

If they need more information later they can always ask for it.