Stability of Asuswrt-Merlin vs Stock Firmware

[MarkyPancake]

Never had GUI issues spanning many versions of Merlin with a N66U to an AC68U and now an AC86U that I've had since 2017, nor using different browsers.

 

[pdc]

I've been running a pair of AC-86U (AiMesh) with Diversion and FlexQOS and everything has been working smoothly. At one point in the earlier days, things were going south, but a full reset and L&LD Minimal config got things back on track. The past several Merlin releases have been very stable for me.

 

[royarcher]

That was weird. For the first time ever. today the GUI failed to render the menu items on the left side of my Asus router. I tried logging out and then logging in, no go. I tried a different browser, same thing. I finally rebooted and everything (I've noticed so far) is back to normal. If it happens again I will post a picture/screen shot.

That happens to me from time to time but all I have to do to fix it is open another Google page and it works every time

 

[zz63]

Personally I haven't had any stability issue with either firmware across 3 or 4 different routers. I see a lot of people having GUI issues but often it is when running "extra" things like usb devices, scripts, etc. (Usually a configuration issue). From a plain basic router functionality, both are equal IMO, but Merlin offers many more options.

(I also schedule mine to reboot nightly to ensure a "clean" operating environment)

It has happened to me 2 times in two weeks with rt-ac2900 (rt-ac86U).

I see that for years it has happened to more people but there is no solution, just restart the httpd service.

It seems to be the case with merlin firmware but not with stock firmware.

What firmware do you have?

I have the router in AP mode and connected a 4TB Toshiba 3.0 hard drive.

I don't run any script.

 

[ColinTaylor]

@zz63 Don't double and triple post.

 

[Yo_2T]

Oddly enough I only had it happen twice after I turned on the Statistic page under Traffic Analyzer. Turned that off and it's been smooth sailing since May.

 

[zz63]

Oddly enough I only had it happen twice after I turned on the Statistic page under Traffic Analyzer. Turned that off and it's been smooth sailing since May.

Could you tell me where is the Statistic page under Traffic Analyzer?

 

[Yo_2T]

Could you tell me where is the Statistic page under Traffic Analyzer?

Should just be a tab that says Statistic when you click on Traffic Analyzer. Are you on a 384.x firmware?

 

[zz63]

Should just be a tab that says Statistic when you click on Traffic Analyzer. Are you on a 384.x firmware?

The router is in AP mode, there is no traffic analyzer page.

 

[eddd]

I have an AC86U and I have been experiencing the same issues people have been describing in this thread. The past few months have been awful for router stability. I've recently done a complete refresh and a few weeks alter the issues have returned. I just tried to reboot and it failed. I never had problems like this with my n66u. IDK if it's bad hardware or what but I definitely want to try a different router at this point.

 

[smetlydc2]

I’m running 384.19 on 2 rt-ac3100s in a mesh setup and I’m having a terrible time. Devices are dropping and the routers need rebooted at least once a day. I’m about to go back to stock firmware

 

[Cranium]

I'm sorry you're having issues. Being a nitwit myself, I'll leave it to the experts to help you out.

I can only say that I am running an AX-58U router and an AC 3100 node. It has been up and running for 32 straight days since I installed 384.19. I should add that I do not have any fancy scripts, code, peripherals, or doodads on my network. I routinely have about a dozen devices attached.

 

[Morris]

Merlin code is mostly stock code that is chosen for stability and then improved. It then goes through alpha and beta testing that is visible on this site. If there are issues, they are listed so you know what you are getting into when you upgrade. Issues are rare yet you can hold off if there is something that will affect your use. Besides a few nice features, the role of the dice on an upgrade is gone.

 

[eddd]

I disabled the disk check script and that seems to have resolved my stability issues. Who knows though, I was making so many changes at the time trying to resolve the issues. But there was definitely something wrong, and now there's not. My hunch is the disk check script. YMMV. Good luck!

 

[Swistheater]

I'm having a lot of issues with the latest versions of Asuswrt-Merlin (particularly 384.17 and 384.18) with the GUI disappearing. I am running AC68U and AC88U routers at multiple locations, and this is really becoming a major problem.

I'm looking at alternatives. Is the stock firmware for these routers more stable? Otherwise, should I be looking at a different brand of router?

Merlin is more stable for me. On stock the pages take forever to load, and the routers offer only limited bare bone router features with very limited vpn features.

 

[Swistheater]

At times there are major performance issues with stock firmware versus merlin, paticulary with stocks file transfer and media share performance. In my experience, merlin has honed in on improving many of the features that stock firmware neglects.

 

[Swistheater]

Not to mention , merlins firmware supports dns enforcement through dnsfilter and dns privacy with DoT. Stock has no dns privacy protocol support.