GT-AXE11000 problems: clients disconnect hourly, other issues

[jeffsw6]

Recently, I purchased a GT-AXE11000 router (new from amazon) plus a used RT-AC88U to use as a mesh node.

That went horribly. I began to have progressively severe problems getting devices to connect (wired & wireless) until eventually, my Roku would not work, my MacBook Pro only worked wired (wireless wouldn't connect), and some devices had normal speed e.g. 200Mb/s speedtest while others would get < 5Mb/s. Nothing I did helped, such as rebooting devices & routers, removing mesh node, etc.

I finally factory reset the AXE11000 and reconfigured it as a stand-alone router and suddenly everything was okay.

I've since read about some other users having progressive problems they have to factory reset for, so I'm no longer shocked by this, but I would like to solve it.

Since the factory reset, most things are okay, but I have two devices which briefly lose connection hourly. It doesn't happen to both devices simultaneously; but they lose connection after exactly one hour, down to the second; and this has been going on for a couple of weeks. One device is wired, my MacBook Pro; the other is wireless, an old RT-AC3200 in AP mode (not mesh).

I upgraded firmware to 386_43983 hoping this would fix the some clients disconnect hourly problem, but it didn't.

I'm not a dumb user or anything. I've been a network software engineer for over 20 years. I'm not immune to making mistakes, of course; but given the situation, it seems clear the firmware for the AXE11000 is a dumpster fire.

Any tips or work-arounds would be greatly appreciated.

[Saltgrass]

Since you have the background in this sort of thing, did the System log give you any info related to the situation?

I think I would have chosen an AX router for the mesh node but probably not involved in your situation.

Is 200Mbps your ISP speed? If a device loses it connection every hour, could a lease time be involved? Is there anything else in your environment that repeats every hour?

Lately, I have been seeing situations related to the Security settings on different networks. Some devices may not connect if I use WPA2 or WPA3 or some combination of those.

And of course you are aware the 6 GHz radio is not technically operational unless you want to modify the registry and run that network unsecured..

[jeffsw6]

There are wireless de-association events in the log for the affected wireless device which loses connection hourly, but for the wired MacBook Pro, obviously there's no WPA; and there's nothing relevant logged. Surprising, I know!

Regarding the AC mesh node, I was hoping to use this used one on a budget until ASUS comes out with some WiFi 6E equipment at a lower price point, so I can benefit from 6GHz as the radios become available on more devices.

Saltgrass wrote:

Is 200Mbps your ISP speed? If a device loses it connection every hour, could a lease time be involved? Is there anything else in your environment that repeats every hour?

That's right; 200Mb ISP speed.

I've looked and looked, and I can't find any explanation for the hourly connectivity losses. It's definitely not a DHCP lease time issue; I checked the lease of my affected MBP. And it doesn't seem to be some other environmental issue, as the affected MBP and affected media bridge experience their hourly outages at different times, for example, the media bridge losing connection at 3 minutes past the hour, and the MBP at 27 minutes past the hour.

[Saltgrass]

jeffsw6 wrote:
And it doesn't seem to be some other environmental issue, as the affected MBP and affected media bridge experience their hourly outages at different times, for example, the media bridge losing connection at 3 minutes past the hour, and the MBP at 27 minutes past the hour.

Maybe a couple of things. When did a media bridge get involved in your situation? You stated you were using a MESH node.

It sound really strange to me that certain components have problems at 3 minutes and 27 minutes past the hour and you can't see a connection..

Keep in mind, I have no Apple components involved with my system but my AXE11000 does not seem to be doing what you are seeing. I do use an RT-AX92U as a Media Bridge, but no Mesh Nodes..

You do, of course, have the ability of creating a WLAN report in Windows clients and comparing it with the System log on the router.

[jeffsw6]

I agree, it's super strange! There are no malfunctioning Windows clients, so no insight to be had there.

I reconfigured my old RT-AC3200 as a media bridge temporarily so I could remove the RT-AC88U mesh node (by factory-resetting all the ASUS devices), in case the mesh configuration was the cause. It didn't seem to help. The purpose of the bridge (where I'd like the mesh node) was to supply wired connectivity to devices in my home office, but I could observe the hourly connection outages with or without any devices connected to the bridge; it didn't matter if it had wired clients on it or not.

Last weekend, a relative helped me install CAT6 cable between rooms so I can use wired backhaul between nodes, instead of wireless. Yesterday, I factory-reset the ASUS devices again, and am trying AiMesh again with the AXE11000 and AC88U (the AC3200 is not presently in use). So far, so good.

I have omitted static DHCP assignments and IPv6 from my configuration this time, as well. Perhaps one of these is somehow leading to the problems.

I also recall having used the WiFi Radar previously to try to get some info on channel availability in my neighborhood. It is conceivable some bug with the WiFi Radar (obviously it is extremely buggy; I don't recommend trying it) could've been involved.

I plan to leave things in this configuration for at least a week to see how things go. I can survive without native IPv6 for a while.

[CanadaBri]

I was having regular disconnects on my AX-11000 also. I recently upgraded the firmware to version:3.0.0.4.386_43129

This solved all my problems and I have had a solid connection since then. Not sure if the issue is the same as yours, but this worked for me.

[chevell65]

jeffsw6 wrote:
I agree, it's super strange! There are no malfunctioning Windows clients, so no insight to be had there.

I reconfigured my old RT-AC3200 as a media bridge temporarily so I could remove the RT-AC88U mesh node (by factory-resetting all the ASUS devices), in case the mesh configuration was the cause. It didn't seem to help. The purpose of the bridge (where I'd like the mesh node) was to supply wired connectivity to devices in my home office, but I could observe the hourly connection outages with or without any devices connected to the bridge; it didn't matter if it had wired clients on it or not.

Last weekend, a relative helped me install CAT6 cable between rooms so I can use wired backhaul between nodes, instead of wireless. Yesterday, I factory-reset the ASUS devices again, and am trying AiMesh again with the AXE11000 and AC88U (the AC3200 is not presently in use). So far, so good.

I have omitted static DHCP assignments and IPv6 from my configuration this time, as well. Perhaps one of these is somehow leading to the problems.

I also recall having used the WiFi Radar previously to try to get some info on channel availability in my neighborhood. It is conceivable some bug with the WiFi Radar (obviously it is extremely buggy; I don't recommend trying it) could've been involved.

I plan to leave things in this configuration for at least a week to see how things go. I can survive without native IPv6 for a while.

InSSIDer works well to see those networks in your area. https://www.metageek.com/support/downloads/

[jeffsw6]

chevell65 wrote:
InSSIDer works well to see those networks in your area. https://www.metageek.com/support/downloads/

Thanks for the recommendation; I'll try this. The main reason I was using the ASUS WiFi Radar was to get information on noise & channel availability. A professional solution like the one you suggested makes sense.

[FastRedPonyCar]

I'm having to reboot mine every 2 or 3 days as it just loses WAN connectivity. Cable modem is fine and rebooting it brings it right back up. No other router I've ever owned has had this problem. I'm still within the newegg return period so if this is a known problem, it may be going back.

It's on firmware 3.0.0.4.386_43986 if that makes any difference. I just now upgraded after yet another reboot.

I have an AX86U connected via ethernet backhaul as an AI mesh node too.

[jeffsw6]

The AXE11000 has different builds; for it, there's not a 43129. However, they did just release another build for the AXE which I installed this morning. I'm hoping things will be better on it.

I still have IPv6 disabled and no static DHCP configuration for now. Haven't had any more difficulties since my last factory reset (a few days ago).

Gizmodo just published a WiFi 6E shoot-out between the ASUS, Linksys, and Netgear products. The reviewer experienced a problem I've had, too; though he did not identify it as a bug, but rather, thought he was having a general performance problem. He could only get < 8Mb/s on 5GHz ~50 feet away in his yard. I experienced similar issues with my MacBook Pro (after a few weeks of it working fine, and with other WiFi clients in the same room working fine) and that happened shortly before the MBP stopped being able to connect at all. Changing channels, etc. did not help and eventually that's why I did a factory reset, which totally fixed it.

Keep the bug fixes coming, ASUS.