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.