Staus of TM-AC1900 upgrade to Asus Merlin

[seekingbuddha]

Pardon yet another thread on this topic, but i would like some clarifications from experts here. First, let me introduce myself (this is my first post in these forums) and mention the various articles i found on this topic, that maybe of help to someone who is searching before upgrade to Asus-merlin.

I am a average home user, nothing serious who is planning to use the tmobile router (within few days) inside an average home of 1500 sq.ft + backyard coverage of 500 sq.ft. Currently i am on a old Netgear WNR2000 (version 1) that does not have dual band. Mostly 3 devices are connected to this router, streaming in two devices during evening Netflix / Hulu time. WNR2000 has been able to handle the load since i am on a 75 Mpbs comcast internet. At times, we get relatives, and hence the devices would shoot upto 10 onto the router, sharing web + streaming. The only problem i have seen is that WNR is not able to give above 40 Mbps to one laptop that has Intel centrino Advanced-N 6250, even though the driver is latest for this Windows-XP machine and this machine is in the same room as router, with high signal. Other laptops are receiving about 60 to 65 Mbps from this router, and running wireless cards of the same age like 6250. The Roku device would get to use the 5Ghz of the AC1900.

I am experienced working with computer software and hardware and hence, no fear or lack of experience with flashing firmware. I have done hours of research on the internet, and some of the useful links are quoted in this post... From what i gather, the use of Asus-merlin for an average home user is in the form of increased stability and security. For example, there is some security issue with Asus routers discussed 3 months ago, at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14309071 I am hoping these kind of security issues would be fixed in the asusmerlin that i am about to flash to the new tmobile TM-AC1900 that i will be getting in couple of days. Somewhere in an article in this website, i have seen the statement that "increasing transmit power of a router, does not result in increased throughput". But i am hoping that the new router would give me more link speed and reduced packet losses. Around my home there is mostly 2.4Ghz usage and "wifiAnalyzer" shows noise in the range of -30dBm and signal from my current WNR2000 is around -60 dBm near the laptops.

Given that i have never flashed my home routers before, My primary questions are the following :

1. If i keep stock TMobile firmware, would it be better for my Vonage VoIP, which i extensively use to make international calls ? Would AsusMerlin give me equally good VoIP on my Vonage device which is my primary phone connection ?
2. TMobile would send auto update of firmware, whenever they detect serious security issues in future. If i use AsusMerlin, do i have to keep checking into these forums to figure out when i have to manually upgrade to the next release of AsusMerlin? I am usually not active in forums, due to lack of time to attend to my router periodically.
3. I have seen the youtube video on flashing TM-AC1900 mentioned at https://www.snbforums.com/threads/tm-ac1900-flash-problem-no-recovery-mode-and-rebooting.40230/ I have seen a slightly different set of instructions at an older article the following two links :
   https://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=92917711&postcount=2778,
   https://www.reddit.com/r/tmobile/comments/57klh4/if_youre_an_advanced_user_with_a_wifi_cellspot/
   Which instruction is the best to follow, as of August, 2017 ?
4. XeoNox mentions (at post 5620 in https://slickdeals.net/f/9330575-as...-router-59-free-shipping?page=375#commentsBox)
   "...........now it seems like on the latest TMO firmware u gotta flash both the custom CFE and then the custom FIRMWARE first and then nvram reset for it to show the custom updated CFE". So the procedure has slightly changed in past month ? It looks like i need to flash the Asus-CFE as well as Asusmerlin before doing NVRAM reset ?
   
5. For all the needed utilities (like putty, hex editor etc.) there are links given at
   https://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=92917711&postcount=2778,. Are these the official links that do not need any md5 check to verify authenticity ? Is there another place, where the hash verifications are given, for everything downloaded ? A forum does not seem like a safe place to start downloading Asusmerlin and other CFE from. But then, i am newbie to all the networking forums, and do not know what is what.
6. I have also gone through the alternate/simplified suggestion given at
   https://slickdeals.net/f/9330575-as...-router-59-free-shipping?page=145#commentsBox

Thanks for taking the time read my post. All answers/suggestions are appreciated, and would be useful for future recipients of Tmobile router.

 

[seekingbuddha]

This would definitely take a few hours for me, given my skill level and the fact that i need to download all needed stuff. Is a simple home user like me better off using the stock Tmobile firmware, and hoping that they would fix any serious security vulnerabilities ? Past experience says, these kind of projects will suddenly spring unexpected roadblocks and it could take days to get an answer online

 

[KGB7]

If you follow step by step directions 2.0 on Slickdeals site. You will have a full fledged ac68 router running any custom firmware, in less than 3 hours.
There are a lot of steps, read each one carefully and don't rush it.



You can than set up qos for VoIP with any firmware.

You will have to update manually Everytime Asus, Merlin or Fork comes out with new firmware.
You don't have to update to latest firmware, just read the changelog first.

 

[seekingbuddha]

Perhaps my ignorance on this topic shows.....But,

1. What do you refer to as "step by step directions 2.0 "?? The best instructions I have seen so far seems to be at the community wiki here.
2. I am willing to flash updates every 6 months or so, and i will take my chances since that is the best i can do, since this will go on for next several years. I am not sure what you mean by "FORK" - is that another branch (another distinct firmware ?). I wonder if they tag and release "stable versions" of Asus-Merlin, in the same way Ubuntu gets "stable" releases which is the best for most people (like me), who don't want to risk monthly builds or weekly builds. I am not yet sure where i would find Asus-merlin, and all the other downloads. Any pointers ?
3. I was hoping more people here would be interested in this thread, but it looks like not many here have bought this router. Wonder if there is a separate website / forum that is focused on Asus-merlin related issues where i maybe able to get all questions answered.

Thanks for your help.

 

[seekingbuddha]

BTW, i have been told to avoid QoS setup (don't remember the exact article i read here), since that is the resource intensive part of router that could bottleneck other aspects of router performance.

Separately, i should mention that i am planning to setup router such that "only the devices with the mac addresses that i mention" will have access to the router. Hopefully this will provide the security needed, in between the 6 month firmware updates that i intend to perform for next several years of my ownership. Since i am pretty much a low-end home user with nothing serious to hide or protect, hacking into my home network, is the least of my worries.

 

[seekingbuddha]

Received my TM-AC1900 today. The firmware is 3.0.0.4.376_3001-g00 (there could be more letters after that, but this is what was visible in the GUI frontend). I checked the signal levels, without connecting it to internet, from the same spot where my old Netgear WNR2000 was located. Turned off the net gear router, and turned this one on. I had measured the dBm levels across the home when i was using the Netgear WNR2000; so i had something to compare against. Despite the fact that this is much newer router with considerably higher hardware, the signal was weaker than the old Netgear. About 5dBm or more in various places around home, compared to prior baseline levels of old router. This is completely disappointing. The transmit power was already set to maximum on the "sliding control" that was available on this Tmobile firmware.

From what i read on the net, the 2017 releases of Asus Merlin, does not have any facility to increase the transmit power. Is this correct ? Would i gain anything (in terms of transmit power), by moving to Asus Merlin ? This is something that i was looking forward to, even though RMerlin has said on the net that "router power" increase does not always translate to better SNR. Neverthless, i feel that this router currently is not even putting out the FCC allowed max levels, but seems to be lower than the 19mW that my old Netgear WNR2000 was using. I came across an article in this website, to this effect, implying that the AC1900 model is among the lower mW power outputs (by default). So, all i want to have is a mechanism to pump it to the FCC allowed max levels.

If i move to Tomato, would this facility be available to me ? I am starting to consider that as an alternative now, if AsusMerlin won't have any facility to reach FCC allowed levels.

 

[KGB7]

Received my TM-AC1900 today. The firmware is 3.0.0.4.376_3001-g00 (there could be more letters after that, but this is what was visible in the GUI frontend). I checked the signal levels, without connecting it to internet, from the same spot where my old Netgear WNR2000 was located. Turned off the net gear router, and turned this one on. I had measured the dBm levels across the home when i was using the Netgear WNR2000; so i had something to compare against. Despite the fact that this is much newer router with considerably higher hardware, the signal was weaker than the old Netgear. About 5dBm or more in various places around home, compared to prior baseline levels of old router. This is completely disappointing. The transmit power was already set to maximum on the "sliding control" that was available on this Tmobile firmware.

From what i read on the net, the 2017 releases of Asus Merlin, does not have any facility to increase the transmit power. Is this correct ? Would i gain anything (in terms of transmit power), by moving to Asus Merlin ? This is something that i was looking forward to, even though RMerlin has said on the net that "router power" increase does not always translate to better SNR. Neverthless, i feel that this router currently is not even putting out the FCC allowed max levels, but seems to be lower than the 19mW that my old Netgear WNR2000 was using. I came across an article in this website, to this effect, implying that the AC1900 model is among the lower mW power outputs (by default). So, all i want to have is a mechanism to pump it to the FCC allowed max levels.

If i move to Tomato, would this facility be available to me ? I am starting to consider that as an alternative now, if AsusMerlin won't have any facility to reach FCC allowed levels.

Asus Fork let's you increase wifi power levels past oem settings.

 

[strangeluck]

I have bought and converted several of these routers for myself and various family/friends using the slickdeals guide. They are just rebranded RT-AC68Us, there is no difference in terms of hardware (and they are substantially cheaper!). The T-Mobile firmwares lag behind asus' official releases so if you're concerned about security vulnerabilities I would follow the guide and flash asus official or merlin's firmware (I prefer merlin).

As for QoS these devices are more than powerful enough to handle it on my 250mbps connection (I consistently score A+ for bufferbloat on dslreports). Unless you have significantly faster internet speeds (gigabit?) I cannot imagine QoS impacting performance on these devices.

As for md5, merlin provides the hashes for all his releases on the download page.

In regard to signal levels, I doubt there is much difference between t-mobile firmware and stock. I have not noticed an appreciable difference. That said, the signal levels and wireless throughput on my device are more than adequate for my needs. You might consider aftermarket antennas to boost coverage if that is a major concern.

 

[RMerlin]

The T-Mobile firmwares lag behind asus' official releases

Out of curiosity, what's the latest version they offer? Any website where one can download updates, or are they pushing it through some other method (TR69 or whatever)?

 

[strangeluck]

Out of curiosity, what's the latest version they offer? Any website where one can download updates, or are they pushing it through some other method (TR69 or whatever)?

I do not have any devices running the current t-mobile firmware but here is a list of changes on the t-mobile site for version 3.0.0.4.376_3181: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-14950. The latest update is from 8/18/2017 but lists updates to things like dropbear that date back to the 07/31/2016 380.61 build from asus as well as fixing some 2016-0802 vulnerabilities. I convert the devices as soon as I buy them, but judging by UI, features, as well as forum comments they are probably close to 1 year behind the official releases. I believe the updates are only available through the router ui, I have not seen them available for download on the t-mobile site or elsewhere.

 

[Devang Patel]

I do not have any devices running the current t-mobile firmware but here is a list of changes on the t-mobile site for version 3.0.0.4.376_3181: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-14950. The latest update is from 8/18/2017 but lists updates to things like dropbear that date back to the 07/31/2016 380.61 build from asus as well as fixing some 2016-0802 vulnerabilities. I convert the devices as soon as I buy them, but judging by UI, features, as well as forum comments they are probably close to 1 year behind the official releases. I believe the updates are only available through the router ui, I have not seen them available for download on the t-mobile site or elsewhere.

Hello,

How did you convert the routers running version 3.0.0.4.376_3181 firmware? I have two of these routers. I was able to convert one to the the AC68U (it didn't have 3181 firmware). The one with 3181 firmware is being a pain. Here is what I have tried (with firewall turned off):

1. CFE recovery web page. It acts like it is flashing but then I get a page not found error/connection timed out (http://192.168.29.1/f2.html).
   
2. TFTP from windows. tftp -i 192.168.29.1 put <firmware file name>. Error says connection could not be made.
3. I have access to the CFE> prompt via serial connection but no commands work
   
4. serial connection to the router with putty. I tried to flash through the web gui while the serial was connected. I saw the boot sequence then got the following error (not sure if it is relevant to this):
   
   Null Rescue Flag.
   Startup canceled
   CFE> tcb->tcb_rcvnext=3fe27505 seqnum=3fe2771d
   tcb->tcb_rcvnext=3fe2771d seqnum=3fe27505

After all the errors I can still ping the router and get a TTL of 100 (which I think means its in recovery mode). Asus Recovery Tool didnt help.

If I restart the router it works perfectly fine. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Devang Patel]

Out of curiosity, what's the latest version they offer? Any website where one can download updates, or are they pushing it through some other method (TR69 or whatever)?

Hello,

Based on the forum its clear that you know your way around a router. Have you been able to convert Tmobile routers wit 3.0.0.4.376_3181 firmware to AC68Us? I have two of these routers. I was able to convert one to the the AC68U (it didn't have 3181 firmware). The one with 3181 firmware is being a pain. Here is what I have tried (with firewall turned off):

1. CFE recovery web page. It acts like it is flashing but then I get a page not found error/connection timed out (http://192.168.29.1/f2.html).
   
2. TFTP from windows. tftp -i 192.168.29.1 put <firmware file name>. Error says connection could not be made.
3. I have access to the CFE> prompt via serial connection but no commands work
   
4. serial connection to the router with putty. I tried to flash through the web gui while the serial was connected. I saw the boot sequence then got the following error (not sure if it is relevant to this):
   
   Null Rescue Flag.
   Startup canceled
   CFE> tcb->tcb_rcvnext=3fe27505 seqnum=3fe2771d
   tcb->tcb_rcvnext=3fe2771d seqnum=3fe27505

After all the errors I can still ping the router and get a TTL of 100 (which I think means its in recovery mode). Asus Recovery Tool didnt help.

If I restart the router it works perfectly fine. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[strangeluck]

Hello,

How did you convert the routers running version 3.0.0.4.376_3181 firmware? I have two of these routers. I was able to convert one to the the AC68U (it didn't have 3181 firmware). The one with 3181 firmware is being a pain. Here is what I have tried (with firewall turned off):

1. CFE recovery web page. It acts like it is flashing but then I get a page not found error/connection timed out (http://192.168.29.1/f2.html).
   
2. TFTP from windows. tftp -i 192.168.29.1 put <firmware file name>. Error says connection could not be made.
3. I have access to the CFE> prompt via serial connection but no commands work
   
4. serial connection to the router with putty. I tried to flash through the web gui while the serial was connected. I saw the boot sequence then got the following error (not sure if it is relevant to this):
   
   Null Rescue Flag.
   Startup canceled
   CFE> tcb->tcb_rcvnext=3fe27505 seqnum=3fe2771d
   tcb->tcb_rcvnext=3fe2771d seqnum=3fe27505

After all the errors I can still ping the router and get a TTL of 100 (which I think means its in recovery mode). Asus Recovery Tool didnt help.

If I restart the router it works perfectly fine. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

What firmware are you trying to flash? Have you downgraded the firmware to an older version?

 

[Devang Patel]

What firmware are you trying to flash? Have you downgraded the firmware to an older version?

Hi strangeluck! I get stuck trying to downgrade the firmware. I am trying to downgrade from 3.0.0.4.376_3181 to 3.0.0.4_376_1703. Going to 1703 will allow me to use telnet and ssh to change the CFE and then put on the latest ASUS firmware. I dont know if the 3181 will lock out older firmware.