XT8 - Best firmware for V2 Hardware? Is this the source of all my issues?

[mattred]

Question: What's the best firmware for an XT8 with v2.0 hardware?

Context: I'm not really sure where to start with my issues; I've read countless threads over the last 2 years or so of owning these devices and I have yet to land on a sustainable/reliable solution.

We have 6 XT8 devices (we didn't intend to get that many, but Amazon double-shipped us a 2-pack when we moved and needed more coverage).

I have never, ever, been able to get all of my devices working reliably on this system. It mainly surrounds Google Home / casting, but other devices are constantly having problems.

I was looking into flashing Merlin when I saw that there are two different HW versions out there, so I checked them all, and it turns out we have:

Two v1 (2021 production)
Two v1 (2022)
Two v2 (2023)

And sure enough, the two that have consistently given us problems are the v2. For example, today every single device that was connected to one of the v2 nodes was showing as online/connected in the ASUS app, but offline/unreachable on Google Home or wifi in general. On another, where my wife has her desktop and laptop hardwired into the node (which itself is on wireless backhaul), she could barely get a speed test to load, let alone run one. One of the extra nodes we had lying around was a v1, so I swapped it out, and it's been working perfectly since then (she was getting 500+ download where before she could barely get 30). Unfortunately, I don't have any more v1s to swap out, only v2s.

As I understand it, I can't flash the Gnuton Merlin to the v2 devices.

They are all running the same firmware (3.0.0.4.388_23285-g5068da5).

I have 2.4 and 5 separated. I can post the specific settings of each, but it's definitely changing as I've tried to hone in on a working configuration over the years, so I'm not married to any specific settings like Airtime Fairness or anything else.


What firmware should I be running on the v2 nodes?

Can I run Gnuton on the main router (v1 2021) and the other v1 nodes (2022) while keeping a working stock firmware on the v2's?

 

[Thirteen]

We have 6 XT8 devices (we didn't intend to get that many, but Amazon double-shipped us a 2-pack when we moved and needed more coverage).

Can I run Gnuton on the main router (v1 2021) and the other v1 nodes (2022) while keeping a working stock firmware on the v2's?

How many XT8's are you actually using?

Yes, you can install gnuton on the v1s, or just the on the 'base' and leave the nodes on stock Asus firmware.

 

[mattred]

Right now we're using 5 including the main router.

We have 3 floors - main floor and upstairs are about 2200 sqft each, the basement is about 1800 sqft. We have 2 each on the main and upper floors (living, bedrooms, offices, etc), and one in the basement. Unfortunately the Xfinity connection comes in the very southeast corner of the home, so we have that second one on the main floor about 40' away to ensure coverage in the living room (TV, chromecast, camera, etc). The upper floor devices are a little more "centered" about 30' apart to cover all the bedroom and office stuff (TVs, smart plugs, Google Home speakers, cameras, computers, etc). So we currently have an extra that is a v2.

It actually worked out that Amazon double shipped us, because it was about 3 months before we moved from a 2000 sqft duplex apartment to a 4000 sqft SFH. I've tried to use as few nodes as possible to avoid any oversaturation and this seems to be the sweet spot, minus the issues with the v2's specifically.

Is there an older version of firmware for the v2 that is recommended over the current version (currently running 3.0.0.4.388_23285-g5068da5)? After I swapped out one of the v2s for a v1 yesterday, I'm thinking the stock firmware for the v1s is fine after all.

 

[L&LD]

Unless your home walls/floors are built of brick or concrete, you have way too much WiFi. That is the source of your issues.

RF signals propagate in 3D. You're only covering 2200 Sq Ft, total. Unless you also have 30' ceilings.

A diagram of your setup may help with offered solutions.

But, if I understand your description correctly, you're stacking routers one above the other (on different floors)?

 

[mattred]

Unless your home walls/floors are built of brick or concrete, you have way too much WiFi. That is the source of your issues.

RF signals propagate in 3D. You're only covering 2200 Sq Ft, total. Unless you also have 30' ceilings.

A diagram of your setup may help with offered solutions.

But, if I understand your description correctly, you're stacking routers one above the other (on different floors)?

So as it turns out, the v2's were really causing all of the problems.

The two areas of the house in particular I was having issues with ended up being the two v2s. So, we had previously added more nodes to try to correct the problem, but I don't think the problem was ever the actual reception in those areas (even though the Asus app/portal would constantly show them as disconnected or low bars).

So yesterday I scaled back on the nodes (went from 6 to 4 including the main router) and re-positioned them, the devices that would connect to the v2 nodes were still troublesome.

Since I happened to pull out two of the v1s when scaling back, I replaced the v2 nodes with v1 nodes, and now everything is working perfectly with only 4 total nodes in the house (the main router in the corner of the main floor which unfortunately I can't center anymore, one in the middle towards the far end of main floor, one in the middle of the upper floor, and one in the basement). I'm going to see if I can return these v2s to Amazon, unless there's an older version of firmware that someone can recommend to hopefully solve the problem.

At the same time, I also installed Gnuton which is probably also adding some provided stability (which won't work on the v2s anyway).

 

[PureSpeed]

Gnutons firmware for the v1 has made night and day difference on the XT8 stability. I know Gnuton is or was working on a v2 firmware last update or mention of it was in November.

 

[kildare]

Unfortunately in my case any gnuton release made no difference in backhaul stability (AP mode).