RT-N66U not performing well. Where to start?

[geokilla]

I have a ASUS RT-N66U and I went from stock to DD-WRT to Merlin's 3.0.0.4_376.47_0. Ever since I installed DD-WRT, the router has been behaving weirdly and it feels worse than a cheap $30 router at times. Tried to upgrade to 3.0.0.4_376.49_5 and I got a soft brick where I can only access the Recovery GUI now. Can someone guide me (link or otherwise) on how to fix this while simultaneously get a perfectly working router with Merlin's firmware? I remember I flashed CFE 1.0.1.3 prior to installing DD-WRT, so I don't know if I need to redo that, whether it got corrupted, or anything. I just want to start from a clean slate with regards to the software side of things, so let's assume this is a fresh device that I got straight from the store.

 

[RMerlin]

Try turning on your router with the WPS button pressed. Wait 10 secs, then release it. This should wipe the content of the nvram.

DD-WRT now handles settings differently from the stock firmwares, so I think coming back from DD-WRT to stock firmware can be tricky. You might want to check either the long RT-N66U thread on the DD-WRT forums, or their WIki for any article on how best to go back to OEM firmwares (for all intent and purposes, Asuswrt-Merlin can be considered an OEM firmware in this case).

 

[john9527]

To build on Merlin's post, we have had cases on the N16 coming from DD-WRT where only a command line erase of nvram and jffs storage was able to fix things.

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=19167

 

[geokilla]

Try turning on your router with the WPS button pressed. Wait 10 secs, then release it. This should wipe the content of the nvram.

DD-WRT now handles settings differently from the stock firmwares, so I think coming back from DD-WRT to stock firmware can be tricky. You might want to check either the long RT-N66U thread on the DD-WRT forums, or their WIki for any article on how best to go back to OEM firmwares (for all intent and purposes, Asuswrt-Merlin can be considered an OEM firmware in this case).

I've done that before a couple months ago but it's been iffy ever since. It's like there are traces of stuff remaining so it's not running nicely. The DD-WRT Wiki is outdated too so when I recovered it just now, well it wasn't fun.

Could it be a CFE problem? I see that my CFE is possibly old and outdated now so I tried updating it following ryzhov's guide but even though it says it was successfully updated, it wasn't.

Edit: I don't know if it matters or not but my router thinks that it is a RT-AC66U. It's not. How can I get back onto the N66U firmware? Could be the reason for all my problems?

Upgraded to the latest N66U firmware and CFE now. Also formatted jffs2 and NVRAM before and after flashes. Is there a way for me to test whether it is performing like it should?

 

[RMerlin]

Edit: I don't know if it matters or not but my router thinks that it is a RT-AC66U. It's not. How can I get back onto the N66U firmware? Could be the reason for all my problems?

Then it means you flashed an RT-AC66U firmware instead of an RT-N66U firmware. These are different devices. make sure you do flash an RT-N66U firmware, and do a factory default reset afterward to ensure you do get that model's correct default settings.

 

[geokilla]

Then it means you flashed an RT-AC66U firmware instead of an RT-N66U firmware. These are different devices. make sure you do flash an RT-N66U firmware, and do a factory default reset afterward to ensure you do get that model's correct default settings.

I'm back on the RT-N66U firmware and latest CFE now. Is there a way to test whether or not it is functioning the way it should be?

 

[RMerlin]

I'm back on the RT-N66U firmware and latest CFE now. Is there a way to test whether or not it is functioning the way it should be?

Use what you typically need, you should see if it works as expected. There are so many different features, there's no real way to go out and test every one of these specifically.