System Time not updating on Asus RT-AC87U in Access Point mode

[Eving Traveller]

Hi Again,
To recap from my last posting, I have this Router now running successfully as an Access Point connected by wire with the Primary Router (Which is provided by my ISP, & by far not as good as the Asus). It is running with a fixed ip, as otherwise it is not possible to access the GUI. Everything is great except the Router keeps trying (and failing) to update the system time. I have tried leaving it on pool.ntp.org for a couple of days, tried de.pool.ntp.org (as I am in Germany), rebooted, but in the system log I just get the repeated message

Aug * **:**:** ntp: start NTP update

But no change. Used as an access point & not the primary router, I imagine this is not the biggest deal, but still strange. Can anyone suggest a way to "force" the update? Could the fixed ip effect in any way?

Thanks in Advance for any help!

 

[das_stig]

1. Upgrade the router to Merlin 380.66_6 firmware, better than Asus stock.
2. Set NTP to 0.de.pool.ntp.org

 

[Eving Traveller]

1. Upgrade the router to Merlin 380.66_6 firmware, better than Asus stock.
2. Set NTP to 0.de.pool.ntp.org

Thanks for this.

Being cautious, if I change to Merlin can I get back to stock Asus Firmware if I need to?

 

[bill001g]

Merlin is trivial to get back to the stock...unlike dd-wrt that can be a pain sometimes. You will never go back once you load merlin, it looks like the stock asus with a couple extra menus you can just ignore if you don't want them.

I have not checked you particular issue but many times when you run as a AP the router has no ability to get to the internet so those as well as other features that need the WAN function do not work. Pretty much the problem is the AP does not know to go to your main router as the default internet. With merlin you should be able to force a default route but it may not be that simple....something I will have to add to my list of things to try I suppose.

 

[Eving Traveller]

Merlin is trivial to get back to the stock...unlike dd-wrt that can be a pain sometimes. You will never go back once you load merlin, it looks like the stock asus with a couple extra menus you can just ignore if you don't want them.

I have not checked you particular issue but many times when you run as a AP the router has no ability to get to the internet so those as well as other features that need the WAN function do not work. Pretty much the problem is the AP does not know to go to your main router as the default internet. With merlin you should be able to force a default route but it may not be that simple....something I will have to add to my list of things to try I suppose.

Ok - thank you once again for helping me & the clear the advice. I should get switched over to my faster internet today, so once that is up & running I will try out the Merlin Firmware for sure!

 

[kanewolf]

1. Upgrade the router to Merlin 380.66_6 firmware, better than Asus stock.
2. Set NTP to 0.de.pool.ntp.org

That would be an OK NTP server to connect to if you are in Germany. There are pool servers for most countries. Generically pool.ntp.org is the best answer if you don't want to find a pool for your country

 

[Eving Traveller]

1. Upgrade the router to Merlin 380.66_6 firmware, better than Asus stock.
2. Set NTP to 0.de.pool.ntp.org

That would be an OK NTP server to connect to if you are in Germany. There are pool servers for most countries. Generically pool.ntp.org is the best answer if you don't want to find a pool for your country

Yep I put that one in soon as das_stig suggested it, but no difference. I think bill001g hit the nail on the head with his explanation. Unfortunately no Internet upgrade Today as the ISP forgot to send the active splitter to separate the Router from the TV Receiver (Which otherwise acts as an "all in one" box). I'm going to hold off on trying Merlin until I have the upgrade in place & all is working fine

 

[kanewolf]

I do run my APs with a local (192.168.xx.yy) NTP server, so it doesn't HAVE to get beyond the LAN. I probably have never tried to use a "pool" address from my APs.

 

[Eving Traveller]

I do run my APs with a local (192.168.xx.yy) NTP server, so it doesn't HAVE to get beyond the LAN. I probably have never tried to use a "pool" address from my APs.

I Googled doing this but could not find a "how to" - only how this could be done for P.C.'s
Happy to search myself, probably just using the wrong search criteria - could you point me in the right direction?

 

[kanewolf]

I have a linux server as part of my home network. That host syncs to the POOL servers and is the local relay for my network. All my PCs, cameras, APs, etc sync back to my local server. Many commercial NAS units can be NTP servers.

 

[Eving Traveller]

I have a linux server as part of my home network. That host syncs to the POOL servers and is the local relay for my network. All my PCs, cameras, APs, etc sync back to my local server. Many commercial NAS units can be NTP servers.

Ah, OK that takes that option out of the Game for me then 🙂

Thanks for the clarification

 

[duhimgeek]

No sure if you managed to fix this issue.

I have spent hours trying to fix this annoying issue. (Pain in the ass when you are going though System logs)
Tried various firmwares. None worked

Didnt find any solution on ASUS site/ Blog or anyother blog on the net

FIX:
Gog to "Administration >> System >> Basic Config""

Time Zone - Choose your time Zone

THIS IS THE IMPORTANT BIT
DST time zone changes starts - Find exaclty when you time zone changes happend for your region (google your region and time zone changes)
DST time zone changes ends - and ends

NTP server - pool.ntp.org

Hope it helps anyone in the future

 

[Eving Traveller]

No sure if you managed to fix this issue.

I have spent hours trying to fix this annoying issue. (Pain in the ass when you are going though System logs)
Tried various firmwares. None worked

Didnt find any solution on ASUS site/ Blog or anyother blog on the net

FIX:
Gog to "Administration >> System >> Basic Config""

Time Zone - Choose your time Zone

THIS IS THE IMPORTANT BIT
DST time zone changes starts - Find exaclty when you time zone changes happend for your region (google your region and time zone changes)
DST time zone changes ends - and ends

NTP server - pool.ntp.org

Hope it helps anyone in the future

Thanks for posting. This was the route I tried at the beginning.

Unfortunately, in Access Point Mode, the Asus simply cannot "see" the Internet, so this does not work when the Asus is used this way, and with my cable provider the supplied unit must be first in the chain.

 

[kanewolf]

Then you will probably have to use a Raspberry PI as a local network NTP server. You can always build it as a GPS enabled stratum 1 server -- https://www.satsignal.eu/ntp/Raspberry-Pi-NTP.html