RT-AX89X

[kinoka2k]

Follow up to this I am also using the 10 GBPS SFP+ and 10 GBPS plus ports I believe a combination of the ASICS and the network processing chip on the mainboard were getting too hot still no reboots as of this post.

 

[JRiggs]

I have been using this router since mid-April, using latest firmware, and have never had any issues. No random reboots. Rock solid.

Here is my update...About a month ago, I set up an RT-AC88U as an AiMesh node using the AX89X as the AiMesh router. Well, random reboots started. Somedays were worse than others, but happened daily. Two weeks ago I removed the node, and no more reboots. Two weeks solid performance again, like I had from April - September.

 

[vig1116]

Here’s my update as well. After a couple of days sending my unit back to asus repair, they put me in for a replacement unit. After a couple of weeks on the replacement list, I called for a status update and was told there’s no units available yet. Waited a little longer and received a call from them saying they were putting me in for a buyback and I need to send a copy of receipt. They said it would take about 30 days to hear if it was approved. It was approved and received the check from asus by certified mail and check cleared the next day.
My saga with ASUS RT-ax89x is over and I am very pleased I didn’t have to fight for my money back. (I definitely did not want a “comparable” product). I hope asus solves the problem cause it was a pretty good unit for the few months it worked when new. Take care everyone, and good luck.

 

[Starrbuck]

Looks like it ended up great for you. I guess I should have waited longer and then maybe I would have been offered a buyback. I'm really happy with the GT-AX11000 but as you know it only has a single 2.5G port. I have a QNAP QHora-301W incoming so I'll be selling the GT-AX11000 anyway.

 

[ddarko]

Folks I had this exact problem with the rt-ax89x. I spent hours tinkering with settings moving things around replacing cables etc. I found that after ripping apart the heat shroud (if you can even call that cheap piece of metal a shroud) and attaching a thermal sensor to each of the chips it was covering it was apparent that one of the chips was getting extremely hot 80C+ suspect I went into the thermal settings of the router and turned the fan from Auto to FULL and low and behold I have not had a reboot in 4 days and this was after a week or so of multiple hourly reboots or consecutive reboots. I am curious if anyone else changes this setting if they get similar results. Should folks come back with similar results ill end up going into the router and modifying it with a bigger fan as it has a dinky 7mm fan I believe (like a raspberry pi fan). Let me know!

kinoka2k, can you offer some tips on the best way to open the router and the fan type and size that you installed in it? I think your diagnosis is right - the included fan is adequate under light loads like surfing but has trouble handling multiple downloads and streaming simultaneously. Locking the fan speed to high seems to prevent or reduce the reboots but it's too loud. The latest firmware from Asus make the AUTO fan settings spin the fan at high speed, which I think is an implicit recognition by Asus that the router's cooling fan isn't fit for purpose. The temperature monitor in the router is broken and useless, I don't know where it's taking its measurement but I've never seen the temp monitor report anything higher than 50 degrees celsius.

 

[vig1116]

Looks like it ended up great for you. I guess I should have waited longer and then maybe I would have been offered a buyback. I'm really happy with the GT-AX11000 but as you know it only has a single 2.5G port. I have a QNAP QHora-301W incoming so I'll be selling the GT-AX11000 anyway.

I was surprisingly happy they offered it after putting me in for a replacement. I thought I was going to have to wait a long time, or like you, get offered a substitute. I think I just timed it right and maybe they had new info that it was a bigger problem than when you sent yours in? Hopefully you can get a great price when you sell the 11000, and not take a big hit... good luck

 

[Starrbuck]

I think you are right in that they are getting more info on the issue as time passes.

However, I have a really hard time believing it is heat-related. I had an extra fan blowing on mine when I had my reboot repeats. Also, when I had it offline for several days, as I tried to reset it before I sent it back to them, I could not even get the firmware updated and do a full reset before it would reboot. It was very cool at that time since it has been powered off and unplugged.

 

[brianmsailing]

I am also having trouble with my ax89x is there a better contact to quickly resolve the refund than the traditional Asus help desk?

 

[AOD999]

I guess I must be lucky as I'm not experiencing any of these issues you all are experiencing.

 

[JRiggs]

Anyone interested in buying mine? I just set up an all Ubiqiti network: Dream Machine Pro, US-8-150W switch and UAP-AC-HD-US access point. Will likely move the UAP-AC-HD-US outside and add one of their WiFi 6 AP's next month when they are available.

 

[L&LD]

@JRiggs, post that offer in the buy/sell section of the forums.

 

[Starrbuck]

Got my QNAP QHora-301W today from Newegg. About to fire it up after work.

 

[JRiggs]

Got my QNAP QHora-301W today from Newegg. About to fire it up after work.

And?

 

[Starrbuck]

It's good. The speeds are great between my 10gbe devices. The firmware is lacking some features that ASUS has. I opened a support ticket hoping they will consider adding the things I am missing:

"Coming from a premium ASUS router, I have some suggestions for features that I would love to see implemented as soon as possible.

1. Ability to change the management port -- I have an internal Docker cluster one of my servers and I need to be able to point ports 80 and 443 to that server. When I try to point port 80 to the server, I lose access to the router's management dashboard. At this point, I had to restore the router to its defaults to regain access. ASUS routers have the ability to change to any port number. Also, having port 443 pointed to my internal server seems to break some of the router's features, such as remote connections from the QNAP website, since they try to use HTTPS.

2. Ability to define DNS server(s) -- I have a Raspberry Pi running Pi-Hole on my internal network. It blocks ads and serves as my DHCP server. It would be good if the router was able to be configured to use a different DNS when the DHCP server of the router is disabled.

3. NAT/Firewall/Firewall Rule -- Out of the box, the firewall is not enabled. Does this mean the router has no default firewall running? The firewall should be on by default with the most common rules to keep the router and internal network protected.

Other than these items, I am VERY impressed with the router. The dual 10gbe connections are wonderful for speeding up transfers on my internal network. However, the lack of #1 above is very troublesome and unless this is resolved soon, I feel I may have to return the router. The ability to port forward 80 and 443 would be my top wish. #2 above is not a huge deal as only the router is using the Internet provider's default DNS's and I have the DHCP server configured to make clients go through the Pi-Hole. #3 above is just a concern."

Without these features, I'm considering returning it. I would still need a 10gbe switch near the ASUS router to handle the devices.

EDIT: Also it seems to be causing my computer to forget a Philips Hue bridge, which is annoying.

 

[Frederic_L]

It's good. The speeds are great between my 10gbe devices. The firmware is lacking some features that ASUS has. I opened a support ticket hoping they will consider adding the things I am missing:

"Coming from a premium ASUS router, I have some suggestions for features that I would love to see implemented as soon as possible.

1. Ability to change the management port -- I have an internal Docker cluster one of my servers and I need to be able to point ports 80 and 443 to that server. When I try to point port 80 to the server, I lose access to the router's management dashboard. At this point, I had to restore the router to its defaults to regain access. ASUS routers have the ability to change to any port number. Also, having port 443 pointed to my internal server seems to break some of the router's features, such as remote connections from the QNAP website, since they try to use HTTPS.

2. Ability to define DNS server(s) -- I have a Raspberry Pi running Pi-Hole on my internal network. It blocks ads and serves as my DHCP server. It would be good if the router was able to be configured to use a different DNS when the DHCP server of the router is disabled.

3. NAT/Firewall/Firewall Rule -- Out of the box, the firewall is not enabled. Does this mean the router has no default firewall running? The firewall should be on by default with the most common rules to keep the router and internal network protected.

Other than these items, I am VERY impressed with the router. The dual 10gbe connections are wonderful for speeding up transfers on my internal network. However, the lack of #1 above is very troublesome and unless this is resolved soon, I feel I may have to return the router. The ability to port forward 80 and 443 would be my top wish. #2 above is not a huge deal as only the router is using the Internet provider's default DNS's and I have the DHCP server configured to make clients go through the Pi-Hole. #3 above is just a concern."

Without these features, I'm considering returning it. I would still need a 10gbe switch near the ASUS router to handle the devices.

EDIT: Also it seems to be causing my computer to forget a Philips Hue bridge, which is annoying.

Thank you for your reply. I hope Qnap will reply to your requests.

For Information there is a dedicated topic here :

News - QNAP QHora-301W Wi-Fi6 Router

RMerlin tipped me to this. https://nascompares.com/2020/09/14/new-qnap-qhora-301w-wifi-6-10gbe-router-revealed/ Google has links to U.S. product pages, but they come up 404.

www.snbforums.com

Maybe someone has the same problem with the Hue Bridge...

 

[Starrbuck]

QNAP responded back and said they would pass along the requests to their developers.

I'm back on my GT-AX11000 now and it was definitely the QNAP router causing the problem with the Hue Bridge.

 

[sheatsley]

After many developments, my journey with the AX89X is over as well. Sent it in for repairs, was told parts weren't available, offered a GT-AX11000 as compensation (which was a competitor when I was on the market for a new router), which I refused and eventually was offered a refund -- with Wifi-6e on the way, I think I'm just going to sit on my old R7000 Nighthawk and ride it out to the next generation of routers.

Thanks for all of your help! This forum is great!

 

[ddarko]

After many developments, my journey with the AX89X is over as well. Sent it in for repairs, was told parts weren't available, offered a GT-AX11000 as compensation (which was a competitor when I was on the market for a new router), which I refused and eventually was offered a refund -- with Wifi-6e on the way, I think I'm just going to sit on my old R7000 Nighthawk and ride it out to the next generation of routers.

Thanks for all of your help! This forum is great!

Thanks for your update. As someone who just started the RMA process today with my AX89X, I am glad to hear a second forum member has been given a refund by Asus. I've also reverted to a Netgear router which I may stick with for a while if it's stable. I think I will stay away from Wifi 6/6E for. a while - my household has a couple Wifi 6 devices now but the benefits are imperceptible. Maybe another cheap, tried and true 802.11ac router is in my future.

 

[JRiggs]

Ended up selling my AX89X and change over to an all Ubiquiti system. WOW! Never changing back.

 

[ifisher]

The RT-AX89X has been by far the worst router I have ever had and considering it's the most expensive one, it's a sad joke.
I have done multiple resets, upgraded and downgraded firmware, and tweaked just about any setting on it.
Issues I'm seeing:
1. Random WiFi disconnects of devices on the 5G radio (different devices at different times) - highly disruptive as I work from home now.
2. Failing to pass IP traffic on some devices even if the RF connection is established (can't even ping the router)
3. IPv6 losing the lease and requires changing modes (native, something else, native) to work again
4. LAN ports periodically stop negotiating link (I plug to LAN port 1, works fine, plug the same cable to 2,3,4, etc. - no link).
5. Performance is nowhere close to what I see in benchmarks - with Intel AX200 2x2 card I can get to a max of ~550Mbit TCP and ~770Mbit UDP iperf3 speeds using 5G, 160MHz (PHY speeds at 2401) - even within the LAN when the test WiFi client is 6" from the router (server is on 1GbE LAN). On my Galaxy S20 5G it's less than 400Mbit. Also, Iperf is showing packet loss on some tests. Considering it's a QCA chipset on that device that's even more surprising it's unstable and slow.

Most of these issues resolve for a short while after a router restart but I have not had a week without needing to do at least 2-3 restarts since I got this router in April. I initially thought these issues would improve with firmware upgrades but in fact, it has just gotten worse. I am now restarting the route or having to troubleshoot issues almost on a daily basis.

What's even more frustrating is Asus support. Days of useless emails suggesting steps I already explained I took and re-asking for information I already provided, followed by days of no reply even to follow up requests.

Just my time dealing with these issues cost me more 3x the price of the router.
It's strange that this router is so bad, the QCA chipset and radios are the same ones used in enterprise gear from Ruckus and others. I guess Asus can't do good QCA routers, better stick to BCM ones.