[Dark_Shadow641]

Hi there!

I've had an ASUS RT-AC56U for around a month now, and I guess I could say it's okay so far. I flashed DD-WRT (ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2016/04-25-2016-r29519/asus-rt-ac56u/) on it when I first got it and only the 5Ghz LED would light up, not the 2.4Ghz one. Range with DD-WRT was great, and link speeds never went down. I switched to Merlin and it runs better now, Chromecast actually works now (it wouldn't work with DD-WRT), but range is kinda bad and link speeds drop to 5Mbps even if you're like 10 feet away from the router. So this leads me to this question; AC56U owners! How do your LEDs on your router look like with DD-WRT? What build are you using? Is DD-WRT faster or slower than Merlin? What should I stick with? I really like DD-WRT.

Thanks!

[Yaffle]

I'm using mine in Client Bridge mode to connect my server to my network. It connects wirelessly to a TP-Link AC router in the next room with both in opposite corners. I'm not at home at the minute to check but I know for sure the lights on it are completely wrong.

I'm on DD-WRT v3.0-r28647 std (01/02/16) as I tried a few newer versions that lost all connection after roughly an hour although I've not tried any for a little while. Looking now it seems to be connected with a signal quality of ~58% and TX/RX rate of 400M.

[Stewox]

So the leds still aren't working correctly hmm

I still have the DD-WRT v24-sp2 (12/22/14) std (SVN revision 25697) and the LEDs are weird, when it turns on some leds show wrongly, then they turn off, I forgot but I think I already posted about this here and already detailed it there.

I also discovered Access Restriction is broken, after like 2 years of thinking it worked,but it did or else I would notice in practice, works half way, I don't want to mess with it more since I have some important stuff blocked there for HDTVs but, I wanted to deny WAN access to my PC temporairly and it didn't work, i tried only IP, and then both MAC and IP, nothing, ofcourse I rebooted the router as well.

A big issue is that Client Lists get mixed up, while clicking stuff, setting up normally, It could just be read issue so the proper intended info may still be active commited, who knows, that's a deal breaker, but I was setting some android blockings for my phone and one time after checking the HDTV blockings the client list of one of the other rules was shwing up in the rule it didn't suppose to, and I noticed this 2 times in a week, so it's probably not a rare bug.

I had to put like 3 filter rules to fit in all the call-home-snooping hosts google and samsung use for android phones and other stock gapps and bloatware which I forcibly removed as well, but not working at all, it's not blocking a few links I tried, but I was already going to do hosts file mod so that worked on the phone.

So I wish there would be expandable items for the website blocking url section of the Acess Restriction feature.

[nitrotc]

Yaffle, thank you. I've been fighting with a few newer versions of dd-wrt on the rt-ac56u and all were unstable. Once I installed the version you posted, performance was solid and the router hasn't crashed.

Otherwise, my LAN light won't light but the radio lights seem to be correct.

I'd love to hear if anyone has been able to get something newer than v3.0-r28647 std (01/02/16) working correctly. The ones I tried all seem to crash after 15-30 minutes.

[yoyoma2]

Does anyone know of a stable recent build for the RT-AC56U? I'm using DD-WRT v24-sp2 (04/22/14) std - build 23940 since the router database suggested it. It is stable and has all the features I need but there's a UTC time bug I want fixed. I don't care about the LED's being wrong since the router is out of sight.

[nitrotc]

I have been running v3.0-r28647 std (01/02/16) for over a month with no hitches. It's stable and performing well as a router. I have not tested either radio as I use an external AP.

[yoyoma2]

Thanks nitrotc. I also only care about wired so that's fine. Would it be too much to ask to confirm that the 'date -u' command shows the correct UTC time (time.gov pick UTC) and the web interface shows your correct local time (hopefully you don't live in the UTC timezone)?

[nitrotc]

It's correct. I'm UTC -5 and the web interface shows my local time while 'date -u' shows 5 hours ahead.

[yoyoma2]

Thanks nitrotc for confirming that UTC time is fixed. I see you are using the 'std' build but the ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2016/01-02-2016-r28647/broadcom_K3X/ folder only has 'big' and 'mega'. The Peacock Thread-FAQ says to only use a generic build to upgrade so should I use

ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2016/01-02-2016-r28647/broadcom_K3X/dd-wrt.v24-28647_NEWD-2_K3.x_big.bin
or
ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2016/01-02-2016-r28647/broadcom_K3X/dd-wrt.v24-28647_NEWD-2_K3.x_mega.bin
or another one?

Strange that 'mega' builds are so much smaller than 'big'.

Sorry for the newb questions.

[Malachi]

Only use the file with the routers name in it. Like this ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2016/12-15-2016-r30949/asus-rt-ac56u/

[nitrotc]

I didn't use the generic build either. I used:

ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2016/01-02-2016-r28647/asus-rt-ac56u/

You could try the Kong build. I've been meaning to but haven't had a chance yet.

It shows in the supported models readme:

http://desipro.de/ddwrt/K3-AC-Arm/Supported%20Models

If you try the Kong build I'd love to hear how you make out as I'm going to try Kong's r30700 on my BUFFALO WZR1750 1st.

[yoyoma2]

I went with the trailed build "DD-WRT v3.0-r28647 std (01/02/16)" since it's working for others. The only issue I had is that in order to get the 30-30-30 reset to work I had to use the WPS button instead of the Reset button. It must be a ASUS RT-AC56U thing.

The Kong private builds crossed my mind but I decided to play it safe for now. If I try it I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the help guys.

[Yaffle]

I seem to have stopped getting notifications from this thread so didn't realise it had more replies.

I'm still using the same version purely as a bridge. I have it set to 5ghz AC only as it's connecting my server to my network and the WiFi seems fine although sods law it has played up for the last couple of days. For some reason the speed had dropped right out but I moved some things around and also replaced the network cable from my server to the AC56U and all seems well again.

I'd like to find a working updated version but haven't got the time (young daughter) at the moment to mess about with restoring backups if the newer versions are still buggy.

[Yaffle]

Well, I've finally caved and have upgraded to a newer version. After searching for other peoples reports for AC56U I went for DD-WRT v3.0-r31160M kongac (01/18/17) which is a Kong build. I use the AC56U as a wireless bridge connecting the server in my kitchen to the Sky router in my living room with TX / RX rates of 400mb and signal quality of approx 56% which I thought wasn't too bad considering the distance and location. After upgrading to the Kong build I now get this reported:-



It seems to be reporting correctly as well as I've just tried copying a 8gb file across and the transfer rate is far higher than before . Now to wait and see if it's stable over time.

Edit

Looking good after just under 48 hours. Unlike the newer BS builds, no reboots or complete dropouts which was the reason I'd stayed with the old version for so long

[sunny0]