ZenWiFi AX XT8 Firmware 3.0.0.4.386_43169

[yoonlim]

buh... I finished the ideas...

No worries, appreciated your input.

 

[radiomyke]

Yep... asus released a fix:

Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386_43170
- Release Note -

Bug Fixes and Enhancements:
1. Fixed USB HDD throughput degraded issue.

Thaanks, I'll give it a go and see.

 

[jmpr]

Just tried 43170 and my problem is not solved yet.

 

[Mike49]

My AiMesh home network consists of 3 ZenWiFi XT8 units (one of which is the router) and 1 RT-AC68U unit (node). Since installing the 3.0.0.4.386_43169 firmware upgrade on the XT8 units two days ago, my Lenovo P2 phone running Android v7.0 will not connect to any of the XT8 router / nodes, but it WILL connect to the RT-AC68U node. I have tried to fix this in various ways, including resetting the XT8 router and all the nodes, assigning a static IP address for the phone, and resetting the network settings on the phone. None of these fixed the problem. Today, I installed firmware version 386_43170 (just released) hoping that would fix the problem, but unfortunately it hasn’t. Can anyone suggest other possible solutions?

 

[jmpr]

My AiMesh home network consists of 3 ZenWiFi XT8 units (one of which is the router) and 1 RT-AC68U unit (node). Since installing the 3.0.0.4.386_43169 firmware upgrade on the XT8 units two days ago, my Lenovo P2 phone running Android v7.0 will not connect to any of the XT8 router / nodes, but it WILL connect to the RT-AC68U node. I have tried to fix this in various ways, including resetting the XT8 router and all the nodes, assigning a static IP address for the phone, and resetting the network settings on the phone. None of these fixed the problem. Today, I installed firmware version 386_43170 (just released) hoping that would fix the problem, but unfortunately it hasn’t. Can anyone suggest other possible solutions?

Same problem, but with 2 Motorola MotoG3 (Lenovo made?). Send feedback from router GUI. Together we may be listened.

 

[Mike49]

Same problem, but with 2 Motorola MotoG3 (Lenovo made?). Send feedback from router GUI. Together we may be listened.

Sent feedback yesterday, but no response so far. I'll post again if / when I get one.

 

[Raven76]

My AiMesh home network consists of 3 ZenWiFi XT8 units (one of which is the router) and 1 RT-AC68U unit (node). Since installing the 3.0.0.4.386_43169 firmware upgrade on the XT8 units two days ago, my Lenovo P2 phone running Android v7.0 will not connect to any of the XT8 router / nodes, but it WILL connect to the RT-AC68U node. I have tried to fix this in various ways, including resetting the XT8 router and all the nodes, assigning a static IP address for the phone, and resetting the network settings on the phone. None of these fixed the problem. Today, I installed firmware version 386_43170 (just released) hoping that would fix the problem, but unfortunately it hasn’t. Can anyone suggest other possible solutions?

Until Asus addresses the issue I think that the only possible solution is to revert to an older firmware...

 

[Mike49]

Just received the following response from Asus tech support:

"Try disabling the Wi-Fi 6 only for the 2.4 Ghz band , this seems like compatibility issue to be honest. Navigate in User interface to -> Wireless -> General -> Band select the 2.4 Ghz band -> Wi-Fi 6 mode set to disabled and Wi-Fi multi agile band disabled. Here is a guide with screenshots -> https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1042475/"

However, I just tried this and it made no difference whatsoever. My phone connected instantly with Wi-Fi 6 enabled before the 43169 firmware upgrade, so I don't think this is the problem.

 

[jmpr]

Just received the following response from Asus tech support:

"Try disabling the Wi-Fi 6 only for the 2.4 Ghz band , this seems like compatibility issue to be honest. Navigate in User interface to -> Wireless -> General -> Band select the 2.4 Ghz band -> Wi-Fi 6 mode set to disabled and Wi-Fi multi agile band disabled. Here is a guide with screenshots -> https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1042475/"

However, I just tried this and it made no difference whatsoever. My phone connected instantly with Wi-Fi 6 enabled before the 43169 firmware upgrade, so I don't think this is the problem.

Tried too with no result.

 

[radiomyke]

I've had it with both latest FWs. 43170 worked for all of a couple of hours, then the node lost the backhaul connection but, after around 10 minutes, reconnected. That lasted all of 30 minutes before disconnecting again. Rolling back to 42095

 

[Joburgal]

I’ve experienced the issue with 43169 and 43170 where the wireless backhall was dropping to 2.4ghz.Turning both router and node off and on at the wall fixed it for me.

 

[radiomyke]

I’ve experienced the issue with 43169 and 43170 where the wireless backhall was dropping to 2.4ghz.Turning both router and node off and on at the wall fixed it for me.

I did try that, but it didn't last for more than a short while. Thanks for the tip, I'm back on earlier FW after a very frustrating weekend.

 

[Joburgal]

I did try that, but it didn't last for more than a short while. Thanks for the tip, I'm back on earlier FW after a very frustrating weekend.

I feel your pain.. hours of fiddling with settings and rebooting! Note to self, fight the temptation to hit the update button on day 1, particularly if it’s not bringing any substantial new features!

 

[FrontSide]

Is there consensus on what is the best “stable” version of firmware? I started on and continue to use 25790. I tried 42095 and had frequent node disconnects. I sent in logs and ASUS tech support said it was a “hardware failure” until I told them 25790 worked fine. They now say it is not a hardware problem, but “what you need is stable firmware” and to “wait for the next firmware update.” It seems like we will need to keep waiting for a workable version. For now, is there better firmware than 25790 for stability and features? Thanks.

 

[fullhack]

Is there consensus on what is the best “stable” version of firmware? I started on and continue to use 25790. I tried 42095 and had frequent node disconnects. I sent in logs and ASUS tech support said it was a “hardware failure” until I told them 25790 worked fine. They now say it is not a hardware problem, but “what you need is stable firmware” and to “wait for the next firmware update.” It seems like we will need to keep waiting for a workable version. For now, is there better firmware than 25790 for stability and features? Thanks.

I've had the most stability with 42095 as far as recent-ish firmware is concerned. As soon as I moved to 43169 or 43170 my main AP (I'm running in AP mode connected via ethernet to an RT-AC86U running Merlin 386.2_4) I would get constant disconnects of my node and the main unit switched it's LED color to a steady red. Reverting back to 42095 restored stability for me (well, within reason anyways... but I've still had a less than optimal experience with these XT8 units ever since I started using them). I also want to note that I am using the 5GHz-2 network for a DWB in my setup. I just know these last two releases have not worked at all for me :-(

 

[Raven76]

Is there consensus on what is the best “stable” version of firmware? I started on and continue to use 25790. I tried 42095 and had frequent node disconnects. I sent in logs and ASUS tech support said it was a “hardware failure” until I told them 25790 worked fine. They now say it is not a hardware problem, but “what you need is stable firmware” and to “wait for the next firmware update.” It seems like we will need to keep waiting for a workable version. For now, is there better firmware than 25790 for stability and features? Thanks.

Can you tell me how do you keep track of disconnections (is there any particular event to look for in the log?). It doesn't seem to me to have any, but I'm not always monitoring the status of the network ...

 

[radiomyke]

Is there consensus on what is the best “stable” version of firmware? I started on and continue to use 25790. I tried 42095 and had frequent node disconnects. I sent in logs and ASUS tech support said it was a “hardware failure” until I told them 25790 worked fine. They now say it is not a hardware problem, but “what you need is stable firmware” and to “wait for the next firmware update.” It seems like we will need to keep waiting for a workable version. For now, is there better firmware than 25790 for stability and features? Thanks.

I've gone back to 42095 as I don't recall having any major issues with it before. So far it's been stable, the big issue for me with both 43169 and 43170 was that the node would lose the 5Ghz backhaul, dropping back to 2.4Ghz and shortly after disconnecting altogether. Early days yet as it's only been just over 12 hours but so far, so good, fingers crossed.

 

[fullhack]

Can you tell me how do you keep track of disconnections (is there any particular event to look for in the log?). It doesn't seem to me to have any, but I'm not always monitoring the status of the network ...

I use a Zabbix instance running icmp checks on several of my devices, so it is monitored externally to the AiMesh itself. I can chart out the drops and extreme latency experienced when monitoring the IP of the node in question. I also confirmed by doing some manual ping checks and watching the drops (3 or 4 pings dropped coupled with extremely high latency in some cases). Mine was often enough that if you just run a continuous ping you would easily see the node dropping every minute or two.

 

[Raven76]

I use a Zabbix instance running icmp checks on several of my devices, so it is monitored externally to the AiMesh itself. I can chart out the drops and extreme latency experienced when monitoring the IP of the node in question. I also confirmed by doing some manual ping checks and watching the drops (3 or 4 pings dropped coupled with extremely high latency in some cases). Mine was often enough that if you just run a continuous ping you would easily see the node dropping every minute or two.

Thanx!!

 

[FrontSide]

I've had the most stability with 42095 as far as recent-ish firmware is concerned. As soon as I moved to 43169 or 43170 my main AP (I'm running in AP mode connected via ethernet to an RT-AC86U running Merlin 386.2_4) I would get constant disconnects of my node and the main unit switched it's LED color to a steady red. Reverting back to 42095 restored stability for me (well, within reason anyways... but I've still had a less than optimal experience with these XT8 units ever since I started using them). I also want to note that I am using the 5GHz-2 network for a DWB in my setup. I just know these last two releases have not worked at all for me :-(

Thanks for this. It’s so strange - 42095 made my node go haywire. It would disconnect a few times an hour, going from a “great” signal to “weak” and then fully disconnecting with a blue led light on the node for about 20 minutes and then rebooting. 25790 has been rock solid. I really hope ASUS can figure out how to make a newer version that is stable. I’m getting a little nervous though - particularly with two firmware versions released within 3 days of each other and reported problems with both.