GT-AX11000 Pro Failures after firmware 3.0.0.6.102_34721-g77ec56d_403-gcfcea update

[dubhead]

Hello,

    After working on this for a few days and trying unsuccessfully to get Asus Technical support for this warranty issue, I thought I would post here to see if there may be any insights or suggestions on what I can try at this point.  Tried to summarize what I have been attempting to mitigate my issues below.

Hardware:

1 GT-AX11000 Pro - Main router initially running latest firmware of 3.0.0.6_102_34721-g77ec56d_403-gcfcea

3 RT-AX82U AiMesh nodes - Mesh nodes running latest firmware of 3.0.0.4_388_24963-g7d00a47

Issues:

• AiMesh nodes not joining or connecting to main router
• All wireless clients connecting to main router cannot reach internet with exception of mobile phone (Pixel 8 Pro) using wireless connection only

Troubleshooting Steps Tried:

• Factory reset of main router, attempt to reconnect AiMesh nodes - FAIL
• Revert main router to previous firmware versions, factory reset after each, attempt to reconnect AiMesh nodes - FAIL
• Firmware versions tried on main router:
• 3.0.0.6_102_34721-g77ec56d_403-gcfcea
• 3.0.0.6_102_34713-g0d793c1_386-g45e48
• 3.0.0.4_388_24721-ga818331 -- currently installed

Notes:

• No restore settings (CFG files) have been applied to router when upgrading or downgrading firmware - starting with fresh manual configuration after hard reset (button press on back of router) each time
• Attempts to connect clients and join AiMesh nodes occur immediately following firmware update, hard reset and initial wireless network configuration. No additional settings are made or changed after each hard reset, only default values are used.
• Have submitted issue to ASUS for support as router is under warranty but they are slow and generally of no particular help at this point. Repeatedly was disconnected on chat with reps but finally got a case number to enter into the feedback form in router firmware and submit for assistance
• Currently having to use one of the RT-AX82U AiMesh nodes as main router and the other two as AiMesh nodes until this is resolved as my network is unusable without this provisional setup until issues can be resolved with main router.

Questions:

• Had made firmware updates to my main router and AiMesh nodes about 2 weeks ago but had not hard reset my router until the other day which is when all of the trouble began. How would this configuration work all that time and then after a hard reset stop working altogether?
• Why is my mobile phone able to easily connect to the router and internet yet all other clients cannot? The phone is only connected via Wifi (5Ghz and 2.4Ghz networks both working) and not connected to cellular data service.
• Is there any big jump between firmware versions 3.0.0.4 and 3.0.0.6 versions that may be part of this issue? The AiMesh nodes use 3.0.0.4 firmware versions and the main router was using 3.0.0.6 versions but have revered to a 3.0.0.4 version again but this did not seem to change anything.
• What might be the best approach to starting completely fresh again with my setup and getting a working network?

[nitinksingla]

Surprisingly, I am experiencing a similar issue where after the update a few days back, i see frequent WAN dropouts and errors in the log - wan connection failed due to multiple failures. I have restarted the main GT-AX11000 Pro multiple times, including the Fibre optic box from my Service provider. But still experiencing the same issue.

Another thing being observed is the UI getting frozen all of a sudden. It simply stops responding and even page refresh does not work. Will try to revert the firmware to the old version to confirm if this is a firmware issue.

[dubhead]

Interesting, it seems firmware would be to blame for this since I had to revert one of my AiMesh units (RT-AX82U) to become my primary router and re-associate the other AiMesh units with it to get my network provisionally working.  There is no issue with my ISP fortunately and I have not noticed any UI issues when I was doing all of the troubleshooting for the GT-AX11000 Pro.  When I would check the Internet access and speed in the QoS settings, it showed full bandwidth and as I mentioned, I was only able to connect with my phone's wifi to the router and reach the internet with it.  No other clients that connected had any internet access, really weird.  I had also tried to revert to a few older versions of the firmware and the same issues persisted....which is really baffling.  Maybe there is some settings in the NVRAM or something I need to flush a different way than the hard reset?  Who knows, I have already spent an enormous amount of time trying to troubleshoot this $400+ router and it is really disconcerting to have some of my other cheaper routers do so much better.  Maybe they try to do to much with these monster units and hence update the firmware all the time to fix bugs and issues.  I have not ventured so far as to run third-party firmware yet on this unit, but may entertain that just worried it would not work as well with my AiMesh nodes.

[Aureliannn_ROG]

Hi @dubhead @nitinksingla ,

Thank you for providing the detailed information about the AiMesh and wireless connection issues you're experiencing with your GT-AX11000 Pro router after updating to firmware version 3.0.0.6.102_34721-g77ec56d_403-gcfcea. 

We recommend that you try the following steps:

• Rollback Firmware: 

1. Backup: Before rolling back the firmware, please be sure to back up your router settings.
2. Download Firmware: Download the compatible older firmware version from the ASUS official website.
3. Update Firmware: Update the firmware according to the instructions.

• Reset Router: Press the reset button on the back of the router and hold it for about 10 seconds until the indicator light flashes.[Wireless Router] How to reset the router to factory default setting? | Official Support | ASUS Glob...
• Reconfigure: After resetting, please reconfigure the router, including Wi-Fi name, password, AiMesh settings, etc.
• Check Hardware Connections: Ethernet Cables: Check that all Ethernet cables are securely connected.
  Power: Ensure that the router and AiMesh nodes are powered stably.
• Isolate Devices: Try disconnecting other network devices to see if you can narrow down the problem.
• Check Interference: Are there any other wireless devices around causing interference?

If you have any issues when using ASUS router, you can submit a feedback form Web GUI (http://www.asusrouter.com).
1.Connect your device to your router and log in to Web GUI(http://www.asusrouter.com)
2.Find “Administration,” and tap “Feedback”
3.Fill in your region, email (required field), ASUS Service No./Case No.(not required),Select the feedback problem and description.You can also write down comments/suggestions. More details might help us to analyze the issue you have encountered in a faster and more efficient way.
4.Read the agreement and click “I agree.”
5.Tap “Send” to submit your feedback.
Then provide the product serial number, the time of submitting the issue report, the email used for filling out the issue report, and the time when the issue occurred via private message.

Also, kindly provide the following information for further analysis:

• AiMesh Node Model:
• AiMesh Node Firmware Version:
• Wireless Client Model:
• Error Messages (if any):
• Device MAC address

Thank you.

[DJG3]

Where do we find the prior version of the firmware to roll back to?  I'm having similar issues but can find only 3.0.0.6.102_34721 on the Asus website.  

[nitinksingla]

Well it was a surprise for me too that while support team is asking customers to download old firmware from.official website, they have removed the capability to download and no mention of alternate mechanism to download the firmware.

I tried an hack to get the file. On the download link click and copy the hyperlink to a notepad. Then change the zip file name to 300610234713.zip and copies this new url.in browser. It helped me get the old firmware. I was able to download evwn 3004 versions like this just in case.

[nitinksingla]

HI @Aureliannn_ROG 

I am seeing below error in the router logs just before the WAN connection disconnect

Oct 15 17:39:48 kernel: CPU: 2 PID: 9139 Comm: sshd Tainted: P O 4.19.183 #1
Oct 15 17:39:48 kernel: Hardware name: GTAX11000_PRO (DT)
Oct 15 17:39:48 kernel: pstate: 20000010 (nzCv q A32 LE aif)
Oct 15 17:39:48 kernel: pc : 00000000f78f2870
Oct 15 17:39:48 kernel: lr : 0000000000000000

Is this a Hardware issue or issue in the firmware
Oct 15 17:39:48 kernel: sp : 00000000ff813f80
Oct 15 17:39:48 kernel: x12: 0000000000000004
Oct 15 17:39:48 kernel: x11: 00000000f790c54c x10: 000000000000000d
Oct 15 17:39:48 kernel: x9 : 00000000ff814030 x8 : 00000000f790c0c8
Oct 15 17:39:48 kernel: x7 : 000000000000003c x6 : 0000000000000068
Oct 15 17:39:48 kernel: x5 : 0000000002323010 x4 : 000000000000000a
Oct 15 17:39:48 kernel: x3 : 0000000000000001 x2 : 00000000f790a11c
Oct 15 17:39:48 kernel: x1 : 0000000000000001 x0 : 00000000f790a0b0

[nitinksingla]

Update: After doing a rollback aka installing the old firmware (3.0.0.6_102.34713) I do not see any further issues in connection and WAN is stable. UI is also responsive. I have not done a reset of the main AP  GT-AX11000 Pro) yet. Will provide further updates in case the issue reoccurs.

[NORWICH9695]

I ended up returning mine for repairs as I don't trust uploading firmware from the non-asus site.  I'm currently using my Ac82u with their latest firmware update and no issues.  Trying to figure out if I should just buy a new router as best buy said I am more likely going to get a credit from their store...now what should I get, any ideas?

[nitinksingla]

Update: I gave up as the number of disconnections were just too much. Had to finally send it to Customer Care for warranty claim. 

I had an Asus RT-AX88U as a node and changed that to the main router. And the same thing repeated with this router. Upon trying multiple combinations I identified that issue seems to be related to the Samba/USB hard drive components. As soon as I removed the external USB drives the system became stable. Did error checking and everything on the drives to ensure that bad hard drives is not the cause. Fixing any drive errors, upon reconnecting had the same issue again.

So most likely the Samba server/AiCloud causing the issues in disconnection. Also I see a lot of Tainted CPU errors in the logs. The same is observed when there is a disconnection in the WAN.

@Aureliannn_ROG any pointers to this issue.