Solved RT-N66: Reboot after power outage

[wh7qq]

I recently noticed that after a power failure, my router does not restart until I manually power the router on. It is a bit vexing, as my water heater timer depends on the network and the result can be cold showers. Any fix for this? RT-n 66 with John's Fork 46e9. Seems like this used to be automatic. and not sure when things changed.

 

[ColinTaylor]

It should be automatic. I'm not sure what you mean by "until I manually power the router on". The power button on the router is either on or off, so when the power is restored it should already be in the "on" position. Or do you mean you have to turn it off and then on again?

If you had a brownout rather than a complete power loss it's possible the router may have hung, therefore requiring a power cycle.

 

[wh7qq]

It should be automatic. I'm not sure what you mean by "until I manually power the router on". The power button on the router is either on or off, so when the power is restored it should already be in the "on" position. Or do you mean you have to turn it off and then on again?

If you had a brownout rather than a complete power loss it's possible the router may have hung, therefore requiring a power cycle.

It is exactly as you said...I have to turn it off (button out) and then press the button down to restart the router. Power outage is complete black out. It used to be automatic.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I can't think of any difference between pushing the power button off and on, unplugging and re-plugging the power adapter from the wall socket, or having the mains fail then recover. Unlike a PC the router doesn't have any sort of "soft" or "smart" power supply, there's either power or there isn't.

Can you recreate the problem by unplugging the power adapter from the wall outlet, waiting a couple of minutes and then plugging it back in?

That said, the power adapters for the RT-N66U are known to become "weak" with age so maybe that's the cause. Maybe it's time for a new power adapter, or a cheap UPS. Or a new router.

 

[L&LD]

If the router isn't on a quality UPS, it (or the power adaptor) has been damaged/corrupted.

To test if it is the router or the power adaptor a full reset would be advised. Download the firmware you are currently using, create a backup config and JFFS backup file and safely remove any USB drives.

Flash the same firmware (or newer, if available), reset the router via the Reset, WPS, and GUI, and see if the issue is resolved.

[Wireless] ASUS router Hard Factory Reset | Official Support | ASUS Global


If the issue persists, you may want to try the following suggestions along with testing with a new power supply too.

In any case, if you don't have a quality UPS on your network infrastructure, now would be a good time to get one (before power surges, blackouts/brownouts corrupts/damage your equipment again).

Fully Reset Router and Network


You may also have some luck by re-flashing the current firmware you have installed and doing the WPS reset method linked above, and restoring the backup config files and JFFS files to get your router back to where you are now (and hopefully without any corruption restored either).

 

[wh7qq]

I can't think of any difference between pushing the power button off and on, unplugging and re-plugging the power adapter from the wall socket, or having the mains fail then recover. Unlike a PC the router doesn't have any sort of "soft" or "smart" power supply, there's either power or there isn't.

Can you recreate the problem by unplugging the power adapter from the wall outlet, waiting a couple of minutes and then plugging it back in?

That said, the power adapters for the RT-N66U are known to become "weak" with age so maybe that's the cause. Maybe it's time for a new power adapter, or a cheap UPS. Or a new router.

You put me on the right track. Tried reproducing it by pulling the power plug and sure enough, it again failed to restart without pressing the button twice like before. Just on a wild-eyed guess, changed the power brick...had done so earlier to test a theory about frequent reboots (which were actually happening at the modem, duhh Paul). The replacement was the "identical" brick for an RT_n56...same voltage/current rating and form factor...that I had acquired used for a totally different thing. It seemed to work OK so I forgot it. Putting the original RT-N66 back restored normal behavior...starts up after power plug pulled. No good reason for it to be that way on the surface .

I may buy a new replacement for the 66 PS just to have on hand...love the old 66 but we will see next month when I get a 500G fiber connection...66 may not be up to it.
Thanks.

@L&LD: May follow your suggestion of a new PS after I get on the fiber. The current John's, 46e9, is working great. Tried reverting to older version earlier...no joy so went back to 46e9.

 

[Zetto]

500G fiber? as in 500 gigabit? I don't think any asus router on the planet can handle that

I guess you probably mean 500mbit. Yeah, n66u will be pretty slow, you will need to enable NAT acceleration to get full 500mbit through ethernet (around 220mbit tops on wireless) which makes it impossible to use a lot of other features on this old router (like QoS although at 500mbit it prolly won't matter much).

 

[wh7qq]

Excuuuuuus me! Of course, my sloppy syntax. Good hint on the NAT acceleration though. Still, hate to think of the rt-n66 as an "old" router. It has been so good to me that it is like an old and faithful friend. Tomato, Merlin, and John's Fork have kept the exploits at bay.

 

[Zetto]

yeah, router is pretty good, I have one myself, used for almost a decade lol It does everything well, but with arrival of fiber, it shows its age