Problems with Asus ET12 Pro Ethernet Ports

[AzJazz]

Hi - I have three Asus ET12 Pro Mesh WiFi nodes, and I am running into a random port connectivity issue. I live in a 4-story 3,600 sqft house, and my ET12 router node is located on the second floor.

Typically, my two satellites have perfect connectivity to my router node. Both satellites use the 6 Ghz backbone and show a "Great" connection in the Asus Router app. I see my ISP's 1 Gbps internet speeds for the devices connected to the two satellites.

My office has two devices hard-wired to the 4th-floor satellite. My office is directly above the 2nd floor ET12 router.

Sometimes I will see my PC randomly disconnect from the 2.5 Gbps port and fall back to a mesh WiFi connection. Also, my NAS is connected to one of the 1.0 Gbps ports on that satellite, and the 1.0 Gbps port gets reconfigured to a 100 Mbps connection.

Does anybody know what I can do to fix these ET12 port issues?

[Aureliannn_ASUS]

Hi @AzJazz ,

Thank you for your inquiry. 

To better understand the ET12 Pro-related issue you are experiencing, please perform the following tests:

1. Firmware update confirmation: Have you confirmed that the firmware of your ET12 Pro is updated to the latest version?
2. Network cable replacement test: Please try replacing the network cable connecting your PC and NAS to confirm whether it is a cable issue.
3. Network card driver update: Please confirm that the network card drivers of your PC and NAS are updated to the latest version.
4. Node reset test: If you have tried the above steps but the problem persists, please try resetting the satellite node on the fourth floor to factory settings. You can refer to the following frequently asked questions (FAQ) to learn how to reset the device: [Wireless Router] When Standard Reset Isn’t Working: Hard Factory Reset - Models list | Official Sup...

If you encounter any difficulties during the operation, or if you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you.

[AzJazz]

Hi, @Aureliannn_ASUS - I have done all of your suggested steps a few times over the last month. Two different connected devices (my Windows PC and my QNAP NAS) both have experienced this issue. All devices (PC, NAS, and ET12) are all on their latest driver firmware versions.

The ET12 I am seeing this Ethernet port issue with has been factory reset a number of times. It has also been swapped out with a different ET12 satellite in my house, and both ET12 satellites have exhibited this issue.

My PC and NAS both have 2.5 Gbps Ethernet ports. Both are connected to the ET12 node with CAT 7 cable (I have also tried other CAT7 cables, too), which is more than capable of supporting 2.5 Gbps speeds.

One thing I have observed that indicates this very likely to be an issue in the ET12 firmware: If I connect either my PC or the NAS to the ET12 2.5 Gbps port, that is when the random disconnections and random 1.0 Gbps port downgrades to 100 Mbps occur. If my PC and NAS are both connected to the two ET12 1.0 Gbps ports, I don't see the disconnections or speed downgrades on the ET12 1.0 Gpbs ports.

Considering that my PC and NAS run different operating systems (Windows and Linux) and have totally different NIC hardware, the chances are nearly impossible that this problem is being caused by my PC or by my NAS - the common point of failure is the ET12 2.5 Gbps port.

[jzchen]

6 GHz signal distance is slightly weaker than 5 GHz.  So I hope the 2nd ET12 node is on the third floor, between 2nd and 4th?  Possible concern is you installed a new electronic device and it is making noise.  Anything new installed on the 3rd floor, or nearby either 2nd floor or 4th floor nodes?  For example a microwave oven may make enough noise to temporarily disrupt the Backhaul...

[AzJazz]

Hi, @jzchen - This is all a new installation, we just moved into the house about a month ago. The top 4th floor node has a "Great" (-60 db) signal according to the Asus mobile app, and I am seeing my full ISP bandwidth of 940 Mbps DL/UL internet speeds when the Ethernet ports aren't acting up. It appears that the 6GHz backhaul connection between my 4th floor office and 2nd floor router (about 30 feet apart) is pretty solid.

As I noted in my response to @Aureliannn_ASUS above, I have observed that this issue is only occurring when the ET12's 2.5 Gbps port is in use by any device. It appears to be an ET12 firmware (hopefully not hardware) issue.