[SOLVED] RT-AC66U 5Ghz SSID instability

AtotehZ

Distinguished
Nov 23, 2008
403
13
18,815
Hello guys,

When I moved back home with my router after having lived away for 6 months, my 5Ghz SSID started acting up.

Initially I had both SSID's with the same name so I didn't know it was the 5Ghz that was to blame. As soon as I separated them, the 2.4Ghz worked flawlessly and the 5Ghz one disappeared and reappeared in intervals.

The router, an ASUS RT-AC66U has the newest ASUS firmware installed.

The device I've experienced the most troubles on is a Samsung Tab S4.

I've tried a variety of control channels and bandwidths, but all combinations acted similar to each other.. According to an analysis of the surrounding networks there are only 5 others in the vicinity and they are not on the same channel.

Do you know what could've happened to the 5 Ghz SSID?
 

AtotehZ

Distinguished
Nov 23, 2008
403
13
18,815
Your router might be overheating. Try pointing a table fan at it. See if that changes anything. They make USB powered fans specifically for cooling Asus routers.
I don't have a fan, but I will try turning it off when I go to bed, then see if it works for the first while in the morning. I admit that it is hot in a few spots, and since I don't know how much the shell isolates the heat I don't know if it is too much.
 

AtotehZ

Distinguished
Nov 23, 2008
403
13
18,815
If you upgrade to Merlin firmware, it has temperature display. https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/download
This would actually have fixed my problem. I found out what the problem was. I had updated the firmware just before packing it down and by the time I set it up at home I'd forgotten about it.

As soon as I rolled back the updated firmware to the previous version everything worked at 100% again.

What's concerning is that a big problem like that is in the current release of the Asus AC66U firmware.
I tried reporting it to them, but they tried putting me through as many hoops as they could instead of listening to the problem. I told the representative flat out that I didn't feel they could help me with the problem when they insisted I "activated bridge mode" on the modem I got from the ISP, when I had already responded that I had them deactivate NAT when I got it(he didn't know that's what bridge mode does). Furthermore, messing with NAT is so far from having part of your router's wi-fi crap out that I just gave up on their stupidity.

Awarded best answer on account that it would've worked. Unintended or not :)
 
Last edited: