Trouble connecting to an FTP site behind Asus-Merlin 380.63

[L&LD]

This sounds pretty hardcore - brute force. If i am going to do this, i would like to know the official and very explicit step-by-step BEST method for doing a full-reset/default/out of box etc...
Normally i would just push the reset button on the back of router for like 30 s and release, and in the webgui click to default the router... in no particular order...

Sorry, forgot some links for you.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac66u-slow-wan-to-lan.12973/page-3#post-269410

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/faq-nvram-and-factory-default-reset.22822/


This isn't hardcore at all. Standard practice when you upgrade firmware and you then have these phantom bugs that nobody else seems to have.

 

[ricosauve]

Sorry, forgot some links for you.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac66u-slow-wan-to-lan.12973/page-3#post-269410

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/faq-nvram-and-factory-default-reset.22822/


This isn't hardcore at all. Standard practice when you upgrade firmware and you then have these phantom bugs that nobody else seems to have.

Ok cheers for the links. I am reading through this and will follow the directions you gave. Let's see what happens... I wish myself luck! Will report back in like an hour..

 

[ricosauve]

Well... not a happy camper so far...
Managed to connect to the FTP at one point but did not realize windows file explorer may have been caching results for a while so I can't seem to nail down where it broke
Still plugging away...

 

[ricosauve]

Do a full reset to factory defaults again. Only secure the router and connect to your ISP (do not do further customizations).

Turn off (actually unplug from AC wall outlets) all network equipment, including your modem and any switches you may be using for at least half an hour.

Turn on modem and wait 5 minutes until it is fully booted (and settled).

Plug in the router, wait 5 minutes.

Format the jffs partition (make sure you have a backup, if you've used it). Reboot, wait 5 minutes

Reboot, wait 5 minutes. Reboot, wait 5 minutes. (Don't skip these steps).

Test your ftp connection now. If it works, do ONE customization you need.

Reboot and test again.

Continue the above until you find the customization that borks your connectivity.

Ok I followed this exactly and I still have the problem before any customization?? I don't know what is going on. I must have rebooted and reset like 50 times. Has no one had a similar issue? It is wired that this seems to only affect 1 ftp site. All other connectivity appears to be functional (without close examination)

 

[Piker]

I'm having dramas with port forwarding on another thread http://www.snbforums.com/threads/port-forwarding-problems.35661/ and am going to try a full factory reset as well. Not sure if my problem has a link to yours though...

 

[ricosauve]

The only things I have ever done with this firmware and router for that matter, is to change GUI settings and telnet into the router to type the nvram set wl0.1_closed=1 comment followed by nvram commit to disable the broadcast of a couple guest SSIDs. I don't play with any scripts or JFFS or anything fancy as it is beyond me.

 

[L&LD]

Ok I followed this exactly and I still have the problem before any customization?? I don't know what is going on. I must have rebooted and reset like 50 times. Has no one had a similar issue? It is wired that this seems to only affect 1 ftp site. All other connectivity appears to be functional (without close examination)

Impossible to have done what was recommended '50 times' in less than 4 hours.

What other customizations have you done to your equipment (laptops and other network equipment)?

 

[HeMaN]

Have you tried switching the ftp-application you are using from active to passive?
Since you are behind a firewall when on local lan, there is no way an ftp server can open a communication port to use, it must be initiated from the inside of the network

 

[ricosauve]

Impossible to have done what was recommended '50 times' in less than 4 hours.

What other customizations have you done to your equipment (laptops and other network equipment)?

I was testing last night with:
laptop dhcp address--asus router factory default as best I could -- bridge modem --- isp---internet

So no customizations?

Only other thing I can try is a doing this again but with a never before used SSID as My laptop keeps incrementing my network name as "network 2" "network 3" "network 4" etc...

 

[ricosauve]

Have you tried switching the ftp-application you are using from active to passive?
Since you are behind a firewall when on local lan, there is no way an ftp server can open a communication port to use, it must be initiated from the inside of the network

No I have not but this is interesting. Windows10 file explorer did not give any such option when adding a new network location for this FTP site. Just type in the address and username and password. How do I select active and passive modes? I will have to read up on what that means, but not sure why or how my router would break it compared to other routers?

 

[HeMaN]

I was testing last night with:
laptop dhcp address--asus router factory default as best I could -- bridge modem --- isp---internet

So no customizations?

Only other thing I can try is a doing this again but with a never before used SSID as My laptop keeps incrementing my network name as "network 2" "network 3" "network 4" etc...

When ftp is working when the pc is connected directly to the modem, it must be almost for sure the active/passive port setting that is giving problems.
For Windows Internet Explorer I found the instructions here: https://www.lifewire.com/enable-disable-ftp-mode-internet-explorer-816411

Other site wih a little background info: https://kb.globalscape.com/KnowledgebaseArticle10077.aspx

 

[ColinTaylor]

Only other thing I can try is a doing this again but with a never before used SSID as My laptop keeps incrementing my network name as "network 2" "network 3" "network 4" etc...

Make sure that each time Windows creates a new network that you classify it as a home network and not a public one.

No I have not but this is interesting. Windows10 file explorer did not give any such option when adding a new network location for this FTP site. Just type in the address and username and password. How do I select active and passive modes? I will have to read up on what that means, but not sure why or how my router would break it compared to other routers?

In Internet Explorer the option is in Internet options > Advanced > Browsing > Use Passive FTP. I don't know about Edge.

It might be worth using FileZilla for testing instead because it can give you detailed logging information about what is going on. Go to Edit > Settings... > Debug > Debug information in message log = 4

 

[octopus]

Just a thought, If you use PASV (Passive Mode) you have to set port range for it.

 

[HeMaN]

Just a thought, If you use PASV (Passive Mode) you have to set port range for it.

That is done at the server side

 

[ricosauve]

When ftp is working when the pc is connected directly to the modem, it must be almost for sure the active/passive port setting that is giving problems.
For Windows Internet Explorer I found the instructions here: https://www.lifewire.com/enable-disable-ftp-mode-internet-explorer-816411

Other site wih a little background info: https://kb.globalscape.com/KnowledgebaseArticle10077.aspx

Thanks for this tip unfortunately I'm not sure that this is the solution . Here's why:
I temporarily connected my iPhone to this default asus router. On my iPhone I have a small app called FileBrowser where I have also created the same FTP connection . In this app with the flip of a switch I can change between active and passive mode. It does not work in either active or passive mode when using this app connected to the Asus router. however it works perfectly fine in either active or passive mode when my iPhone is using mobile LTE data. This is why I keep thinking it's a router issue not a computer client issue.

 

[bbunge]

I have noticed that you keep connecting another computer to your modem. Doing this can mess up getting a good IP address from your isp when you connect the Asus router again. Are you trying to connect to the ftp server with a URL or IP address? If URL you could have DNS issues. Are you sure your modem is in bridge mode? What does the router report for a wan IP?

 

[ricosauve]

I have noticed that you keep connecting another computer to your modem. Doing this can mess up getting a good IP address from your isp when you connect the Asus router again. Are you trying to connect to the ftp server with a URL or IP address? If URL you could have DNS issues. Are you sure your modem is in bridge mode? What does the router report for a wan IP?

No I am using one physical computer laptop in the tests.

Wan ip is a PUBLIC 99.x.x.x address not private IP.

I connected by wire my laptop with dhcp enabled to the bridged modem and got a public IP address on laptop. FTP works in that scenario.

Other configuration is just asus router to bridge modem and wifi from asus router to laptop.

Yes my modem is bridged!

I am gonna plug in a cheap resi router to the bridge mode modem and connect my laptop to this router to see if it works. I bet it will work...

 

[ricosauve]

Before I try a different router I tried looking more closely at the FileZilla FTP connection status. It says:
------
Resolving address of "FTP site"

Connecting to "numeric IP address"

Connection established, waiting for welcome message...

Error: Could not connect to server
-------

No all this happens very quickly so there's no delay in establishing a connection or determining that and they were was present so it appears to be some sort of configuration problem. Perhaps the default Asus router blocks certain ports or something like that

 

[john9527]

Sorry i'm not sure i understand? But let me elaborate a little on my end about my situation... I work for company A. Company B has an FTP server that i need to connect to. Company A is a small biz, no IT corporate policy etc.. Just a basic small business ISP plan, with the same kind of router that they give to resi customers. We use that router as a complete modem/router/wifi AP/dhcp/dns server etc.. No frills at company A. Very basic. Company B is big and has IT policies etc... but they tell me that there are no issues with the FTP server. I can take my laptop to Company A or mobile data through my iPhone or direct into my bridged home modem and can connect to the FTP server. My issue is only with my Asus Router between.

So, can you explain a little more explicitly what you want me to do with cloning my MAC address etc..?

I delayed a bit in answering, since the active/passive FTP setting was a better thing to investigate first.

Many internet services will blacklist IPs they view as malicious, either by themselves or by some common industry blacklists. For your Company B, they are either big enough to run their own network (like a Microsoft, Amazon) or they use the services of a provider. In the former case, the folks that run the FTP site may be subject to actions by the Security folks. In the latter case, it's their provider that may be doing the blacklisting.

Your assigned IP by your provider may have been used in the past in such a way as to end up on a blacklist. Although not static, it can be 'sticky' based on the MAC address of the first piece of hardware attached to the modem (now your router). So the idea here is to get your ISP to assign you a new IP address. There are generally two ways to do this.
- Power down your modem/router for about 1/2 hour (sometimes it takes shorter/longer, but it's more than a reboot or quick power cycle) and your ISP may assign the IP to another user and give you a different one.
- Change the MAC address of the router that is presented to the modem. You do this on the primary WAN page in the router gui, where you can specify a specific MAC address, or clone the address of the PC you are using to access the gui.

 

[L&LD]

Yes my modem is bridged!

Did you verify that by seeing a public address for the Asus router for WAN? (I'm sure you did, but just double checking at this point).