ZenWiFi XT8 new firmware 3.0.0.4.386_25524

[trick91]

stupid question - got the newest firmware but my nodes all dissapeared from the mesh map. Resetting them didnt get them to show up. They work fine, but i would like them back on the map. If I do a factory reset, does everyone who connects to my wifi have to retype the password? Or if i set the SSID and password exactly the same, would it automatically connect.

 

[A1MB1G]

So I'm noticing that for the 5GHz connection, my devices are sometimes skipping the node which is literally within a few feet of the devices (iPhone, MacBook) and they connect to the router in the basement. This can happen for a few minutes or for a half hour to an hour. At some point it reconnects to the Node but not sure why it's even doing this.

 

[TBONE204]

stupid question - got the newest firmware but my nodes all dissapeared from the mesh map. Resetting them didnt get them to show up. They work fine, but i would like them back on the map. If I do a factory reset, does everyone who connects to my wifi have to retype the password? Or if i set the SSID and password exactly the same, would it automatically connect.

if you set the SSID and password the same, you will not have to re-enter a password for each device, they will connect automatically

 

[mlai]

For some reason, I am having significantly reduced signal strength in 5G-2 radio with the 524 firmware. I have not downgraded it to verify yet.

 

[Louis Hayati]

My set arrived yesterday and it immediately updated to this new version, i'm mainly quite impressed with it so far. The wireless back-haul has tx&rx rates between 2-2.5gbps. I ran an iperf3 test connected by lan to the mesh node and measured in excess of 750mbps to my wired desktop. So it'll handle my 400mbps connection without a sweat.

One thing that's bothering me a little is in my bedroom specifically, with two prior routers I had a noticeably faster 5ghz connection. The router has been placed in the same location. Any ideas why this would be? They weren't particularly good routers and my main two clients (laptop & phone) can make use of WiFI 6 now.

I'm going to try changing the 5ghz-1 channel, in theory which would be the most optimal considering that there are no neighbouring 5ghz signals? My previous router (Linksys EA8300) had channels in excess of 100 but 5ghz-1 doesn't seem to be able to utilise these unlike 5ghz-2.

 

[karma]

My set arrived yesterday and it immediately updated to this new version, i'm mainly quite impressed with it so far. The wireless back-haul has tx&rx rates between 2-2.5gbps. .

hmm interesting.. I haven't seen anything above 1.4Gbps on my wireless backhaul and the RSSI is -60 dBm which isn't bad. Does your say it's using a BW of 160Mhz? Mine has always been limited to 80MHz.

Coul you check your hardware version please? It's on the bottom of the router (HW Vers.) mine is 1.0

 

[L&LD]

@Louis Hayati, different routers most likely need different router locations. As little as 6" may be all that is needed, btw. Only testing (and final adjustments via antennae placement) will determine that.

The Control Channels used should be tested thoroughly with the new router to pick the one 'it' is best optimized for. Again, the channels used in the previous router have little correlation to what would be optimum for the new router. Even if they happen to end up the same (after all, there are only so many choices we can make here).

 

[Louis Hayati]

hmm interesting.. I haven't seen anything above 1.4Gbps on my wireless backhaul and the RSSI is -60 dBm which isn't bad. Does your say it's using a BW of 160Mhz? Mine has always been limited to 80MHz.

Coul you check your hardware version please? It's on the bottom of the router (HW Vers.) mine is 1.0

It's HW Version 1.0 also.
I've attached a screenshot from the "wireless log". It's connected at 160Mhz so that probably is the difference because I'm also at -60db.

 

[Louis Hayati]

@Louis Hayati, different routers most likely need different router locations. As little as 6" may be all that is needed, btw. Only testing (and final adjustments via antennae placement) will determine that.

The Control Channels used should be tested thoroughly with the new router to pick the one 'it' is best optimized for. Again, the channels used in the previous router have little correlation to what would be optimum for the new router. Even if they happen to end up the same (after all, there are only so many choices we can make here).

Wow you're right I moved it a few inches and I've increased by 10dbm. I now get full speeds in that bedroom amazing,

 

[karma]

It's HW Version 1.0 also.
I've attached a screenshot from the "wireless log". It's connected at 160Mhz so that probably is the difference because I'm also at -60db.

thanks for checking. the 160MHz is definitely the difference. really weird that I can't get it. And if I select the control channel manually for the backhaul it doesn't even want to connect. odd. anyways, for the moment everything else is working ok.

 

[Louis Hayati]

thanks for checking. the 160MHz is definitely the difference. really weird that I can't get it. And if I select the control channel manually for the backhaul it doesn't even want to connect. odd. anyways, for the moment everything else is working ok.

On the Asus product page it notes "* The 160MHz bandwidth may be unavailable in the 5GHz band in some regions / countries due to regulatory restrictions." so it's possible this is the reason behind that.

 

[raven-au]

thanks for checking. the 160MHz is definitely the difference. really weird that I can't get it. And if I select the control channel manually for the backhaul it doesn't even want to connect. odd. anyways, for the moment everything else is working ok.

What region are you in, IOW will the channel availability in your region allow it?

 

[Louis Hayati]

What region are you in, IOW will the channel availability in your region allow it?

I'm in the UK

 

[raven-au]

I'm in the UK

I guess that's europe, it looks like you should have enough contiguous channels on both 5GHz low and hi ranges, I wonder if the ASUS (or Broadcomm) WiFI implementation allows their selection?

What channels do you see in the channel selection drop down?

 

[Louis Hayati]

I guess that's europe, it looks like you should have enough contiguous channels on both 5GHz low and hi ranges, I wonder if the ASUS (or Broadcomm) WiFI implementation allows their selection?

What channels do you see in the channel selection drop down?

36-64 on 5ghz-1 & 100-140 on 5ghz-2

 

[raven-au]

36-64 on 5ghz-1 & 100-140 on 5ghz-2

Note that I can't speak for the ZenWiFi XT8, both of mine are nodes to my AX11000, so there may be a problem with the XT8 I cannot check.
I have restrictions on where (power availability), and what (space availalbe), and proximity (far enough away from other node), I can put the nodes so I can't really use one of the XT8s as the main router.

Anyway, that doesn't really tell whether you can get 160MHz.

For example I can get 160MHz on the low band and I have 36-64 listed and they are contiguous, ie. each seperated by 4.
But I have 100-165 listed on the hi band but they are actually 100-116, 132-140 and 149-165, so none of those ranges give me the 8 contiguous channels needed for 160MHz.
So I know I can't get 160MHz on the high band DFS channels or not.

According to WikiPedia (may be out of date), in the IK:
You should be able to get 160MHz on the low band but you will need to use DFS channels and if the router detects any radar signals in any of the DFS channels you won't get 160MHz.
It also looks like you should be able to get 160MHz on the high band, again provided you can use those DFS channels.
Check the wireless log to see a better description of what the router thinks is available, armed with the knowledge you need DFS channels, they may have been excluded due to radar signals.
There's also implementation details around what is done if radar signals are detected which I'm not sure of, again look and see if the router thinks it can use the needed channels in ->System Log -> Wireless Log.

 

[TBONE204]

thanks for checking. the 160MHz is definitely the difference. really weird that I can't get it. And if I select the control channel manually for the backhaul it doesn't even want to connect. odd. anyways, for the moment everything else is working ok.

I am in the same boat. Doesn't even give me the option to use it, and in the wireless log it says the 5G-2 band is using 80mhz for the backhaul. i would really like to have access to that.

 

[RKG81]

I am in the same boat. Doesn't even give me the option to use it, and in the wireless log it says the 5G-2 band is using 80mhz for the backhaul. i would really like to have access to that.

Looking at a site scan of my area I see everyone’s wifi around my house and there’s no one on any DFS channels And no one using 160mhz channels at all. Sucks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[radiomyke]

Could I ask for some advice please about my pair of XT8s? I've had them for just over a week and I'm impressed overall. They've been working well although I did need to reboot the system once during the first week as the node lost the connection to the router which the reboot solved.

Yesterday I upgraded the firmware to the 25524 version that seems to have general approval round here. I followed the procedure recommended (ie flash firmware, factory reset, leave most of the settings as default etc) and all was good for around an hour or so then the node kept losing the 5G-2 backhaul channel. I did a couple of reboots which looked to solve that problem but then the node stopped broadcasting on the 5G-1 channel, so everything connected to that failed to work. Again, I did a couple of reboots and all was good for a few hours until it stopped once again broadcasting on 5G-1. I rebooted just before I went to bed and all was working so I left it overnight but this morning the 5G-1 channel wasn't working yet again (aside from the obvious loss of connection to the clients I also check using a WiFi analyser app). I did another reboot to get things working but decided that I was going to return the units for a refund. But since the reboot this morning, everything has been working perfectly, presently some 6 hours without problems.

My question is that I had to perform a couple of factory resets and more than 5 0r 6 reboots yesterday plus another reboot this morning before the system looks to be reliable. Is this normal and, now the system has been stable for several hours, is it likely to remain so? I like the system and don't want to have to return it but I'm really concerned that the problem may recur which, tbh, was a nightmare yesterday and has taken many hours to apparently resolve. If it's fixed then I'm happy but I'm worried there might be a fault with the hardware.

I'd really appreciate any advice to help me decide whether to keep the set now it's finally working properly or return it as faulty. Thanks.

 

[digits n bits]

Could I ask for some advice please about my pair of XT8s? I've had them for just over a week and I'm impressed overall. They've been working well although I did need to reboot the system once during the first week as the node lost the connection to the router which the reboot solved.

Yesterday I upgraded the firmware to the 25524 version that seems to have general approval round here. I followed the procedure recommended (ie flash firmware, factory reset, leave most of the settings as default etc) and all was good for around an hour or so then the node kept losing the 5G-2 backhaul channel. I did a couple of reboots which looked to solve that problem but then the node stopped broadcasting on the 5G-1 channel, so everything connected to that failed to work. Again, I did a couple of reboots and all was good for a few hours until it stopped once again broadcasting on 5G-1. I rebooted just before I went to bed and all was working so I left it overnight but this morning the 5G-1 channel wasn't working yet again (aside from the obvious loss of connection to the clients I also check using a WiFi analyser app). I did another reboot to get things working but decided that I was going to return the units for a refund. But since the reboot this morning, everything has been working perfectly, presently some 6 hours without problems.

My question is that I had to perform a couple of factory resets and more than 5 0r 6 reboots yesterday plus another reboot this morning before the system looks to be reliable. Is this normal and, now the system has been stable for several hours, is it likely to remain so? I like the system and don't want to have to return it but I'm really concerned that the problem may recur which, tbh, was a nightmare yesterday and has taken many hours to apparently resolve. If it's fixed then I'm happy but I'm worried there might be a fault with the hardware.

I'd really appreciate any advice to help me decide whether to keep the set now it's finally working properly or return it as faulty. Thanks.

You aren’t alone, I had the exact same issue pop up yesterday but just once. I reloaded the firmware, did a factory reset, left everything alone except DNS and it’s been stable for the last 12 hours or so. What’s your setup process step by step?