Beryl AX with usb flash drive causes 2.4 Ghz wifi to drop

[pronto]

I have a GL-MT3000 Beryl AX, and when i plug in a USB flash drive (128 GB) wifi 2.4 Ghz stops working

Firmware 4.2.2 release 2

I have both 5Ghz and 2.4 Ghz wifi enabled
When I plug in the usb drive to the USB3 port on the router, the 2.4 Ghz drops out
when i remove the usb drive, the 2.4Ghz returns.

dmesg output :

state: no usb drive. 2.4Ghz wifi working

plug in usb drive, 2.4ghz wifi stops working

[ 314.728209] usb 2-1: new SuperSpeed Gen 1x2 USB device number 4 using xhci-mtk
[ 314.754098] usb-storage 2-1:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[ 314.764106] scsi host0: usb-storage 2-1:1.0
[ 315.776341] scsi 0:0:0:0: Direct-Access SanDisk SanDisk 3.2 Gen1 DL17 PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
[ 315.785674] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 244457472 512-byte logical blocks: (125 GB/117 GiB)
[ 315.793386] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
[ 315.798187] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 45 00 00 00
[ 315.803458] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: disabled, read cache: enabled, doesn’t support DPO or FUA
[ 315.957855] sda: sda1
[ 315.961657] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI removable disk
[ 316.176785] exFAT-fs (sda1): Volume was not properly unmounted. Some data may be corrupt. Please run fsck.
[ 316.221804] exFAT-fs (sda1): bogus allocation bitmap size(need : 119283, cur : 119357)
[ 324.549270] 7981@C08L1,BcnCheck() 2437: nobcn occurs within 5 sec for band 0 (ra0)!!
[ 329.759881] 7981@C08L1,BcnCheck() 2437: nobcn occurs within 10 sec for band 0 (ra0)!!
[ 334.966608] 7981@C08L1,BcnCheck() 2437: nobcn occurs within 15 sec for band 0 (ra0)!!
[ 340.173418] 7981@C08L1,BcnCheck() 2437: nobcn occurs within 20 sec for band 0 (ra0)!!
[ 345.380318] 7981@C03L1,MtCmdFwLog2Host() 3417: N9(WM) (ret = 0)
[ 350.582976] 7981@C08L2,BcnCheck() 2408: nobcn still occur within 30 sec for band 0 (ra0)!!

unplug usb drive, 2.4ghz starts working again

[ 381.787062] 7981@C08L2,BcnCheck() 2408: nobcn still occur within 60 sec for band 0 (ra0)!!
[ 396.027138] usb 2-1: USB disconnect, device number 4
[ 397.390703] 7981@C08L2,BcnCheck() 2433: bcn recover for band 0 (ra0)!!

[cafebug]

This looks familiar like the notorious USB 3.0 & 2.4GHz band interference one.
Try using an extended USB cable to connect your USB drive to Beryl AX for good.

What Causes USB 3.0 and 2.4 GHz Interference?

[pronto]

Oh wow, that’s annoying.
Thanks for the info.

So for a test… i put the flash drive on a usb3 hub. and wrapped it in foil…
and while not ideal. it seems to be working xD

[cafebug]

The wrapped foil USB drive looks data “leak-proof” than ever.

[pronto]

hahah yep.

Note for people also having this issue: I DO NOT recommend it for long term.
Heat and RF feedback loops might be an issue.
also its extremely finicky.

I have another idea that i’m going to try in a couple days, and I’ll update here with results

[Max3]

I had the same problem with Slate AX, I use a thin adhesive copper foil on my usb 3.0 stick/cables like this:

You actually have to cover only the metal part of the USB stick/cables to stop the interference. I am using this method since last year and I never had interference problems again

[pronto]

Oh awesome. that would be perfect. Just ordered some copper foil tape.

I wonder how piratical it would be to open up the router and put the foil tape on the inside, and if it would work

[pronto]

update: i put the copper tape on the USB3 Port directly inside.

Note: this likely voids warranty, and opens the possibility to shorting something.

quick test: its working now. I’m able to connect to 2.4Ghz wifi, and access the USB3 Storage drive over samba

I’ll update if it fails in the future.

[Renato]

@pronto

update: i put the copper tape on the USB3 Port directly inside

I’m having exactly same problem on Flint2
@alex_zheng
@luochongjun

[gl.camper]

I am having the same issue with a slate AX, however I’m using the M2 Dev board with the 5G modem on it. Using the included USB3 cable.

You’d think since they were built by the same company to work together it would would, but it’s not.

Any suggestions on how, where to shield the M2 Dev board?

[admon]

Could you try a higher quality cable? Mostly the cable is the problem.