ASUS - ZenTalk

tlchiu40209 · Tuesday

I recently installed my Asus ExpertWiFi system and immediately noticed a strange issue with it.

The topology of my network is quite simple and straightforward, as follows:

Modem → EBG15 → EBP15 → EBA63

This is a standard setup. For reference, the firmware versions running on these devices are:

EBG15: 3.0.0.6.102_45537
EBP15: 3.0.6.2
EBA63: 3.0.0.6.102_45537

When I try to access the management interface of the EBG15 through wireless (via EBA63), the interface is extremely slow and almost unresponsive—something as simple as a page refresh can take up to a minute (!).

However, if I connect my computer directly to the EBG15 via Ethernet, the management interface works fine.

To troubleshoot, I connected my computer via Ethernet to the EBP15 and tried accessing the EBG15 management interface again. The same issue occurred—the interface was slow and unresponsive.

At this point, I suspected the EBP15 switch might be at fault. To resolve this, I checked the EBP15 support page for newer firmware versions and found:

3.0.7.5
3.0.7.18

I attempted to update the switch firmware by uploading the web_flash.bin (3.0.7.5) file from the provided zip archive.

However, I ran into an issue: the web interface appeared to accept the file and seemingly went through the flashing process. But after the procedure completed and the device automatically rebooted, the system information page still showed version 3.0.6.2.

I repeated the update procedure multiple times with 3.0.7.5, but the firmware remained at 3.0.6.2. I then tried 3.0.7.18 multiple times, but the device still refused to accept the new firmware.

Now... how can I get the device to accept the new firmware?

I noticed another flash.bin file in the zip archive. Being a long-time ASUS networking user, I am aware that ASUS devices often have an emergency mode for firmware uploads.
If the EBP15 has an emergency mode, how can I enter it and upload the full firmware instead of the web_flash (incremental) version?

Any guidance on this would be greatly appreciated!

tlchiu40209 · Thursday

Hi, I'm the OP of this post. After a lot of frantic try...

I FINALLY figured a way to upgrade EBP15, just in case if you have a EBP15 running 3.0.6.2 firmware.

1. Connect your EBP15 in to any AI Mesh Sysem of ExpertWiFi

2. Go to the controller router (In my case, it is EPG15...) and go to the firmware upgrade page.

3. Upgrade your EPG15 firmware there

DO NOT Tried to upgrade the firmware FROM THE BUILT-IN WEB SERVER of EBP15, IT WILL NOT WORK AT ALL.

For your information: The problem of slow manaement page of EBG15 did resolved.

View solution in original post

jzchen · Wednesday

About WiFi poor speed by any chance is it connected to a UPS? (I had terrible speed on 6 GHz from what seemed to be noise)...

The latest EBP15 firmware is 3.0.7.18. It's description notes that it fixes the exact issue that you are noting, that GUI firmware updates fail.

I haven't dealt with an ASUS managed switch before...

tlchiu40209 · Thursday

Hi JZ,

I appreciate your prompt reply.
I did tried the 3.0.7.18 firmware for several times now.
It does nothing. Here is what the EBP15 does.
1. If you tried to upload he 3.0.7.18 firmware to the device, the web UI will accept it as it should. And it looks like the switch is doing something.

2. When the machine rebooted and went back to the login page, it still shows that the firmware is still at 3.0.6.2

jzchen · Thursday

I've done this once with an ASUS router, but it takes guts/bravery...

I see it shows "109 seconds". It probably shows a somewhat longer time at the begining of the progress bar. In my case I suspected once it installed the update, somehow the update was rejected, the original firmware reinstalled, then rebooted. This takes a lot more time than a simple reboot as the progress bar completes, then about the same amount of time to reflash the original, and finally the typical reboot length. IF you are noticing this reboot takes a lot longer than usual, you can simply pull the power once you believe the new firmware was flashed, BUT before the old firmware is reverted...

Risky I know. I think there is no harm in just contacting ASUS support and having them deal with it since it seems to be a known issue fixed with 3.0.7.18.

tlchiu40209 · Thursday