I am running a vanilla GL-AR300M in repeater mode connected to a public WIFI with no VPN, firewall, etc. It is running version 3.212. It has 3 clients connected via WIFI. Generally it works fine, but every so often (I haven’t figured out the frequency yet), it becomes extremely slow, not just in routing traffic, but also in serving the admin web UI or even responding to pings itself. Rebooting the router generally fixes it. It is like something is hogging the CPU.
Here is what ping looks like before and after a reboot, with double digit pings and timeouts before, and then single digit pings after:
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=64
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=38ms TTL=64
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=64
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=25ms TTL=64
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=64
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=39ms TTL=64
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=64
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=34ms TTL=64
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=64
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=34ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.8.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
I know this behavior from internal LAN Cards and competitor devices such as AP/Wireless-LAN Bridge.
Almost every time a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_sink was the temporary solution, until the device can be replaced.
As far as I know, the GL.iNet devices got a big aluminium(?) heatsink in the case. So maybe it is just not properly installed. The case should have screws on the down side, so you don’t have to crack it.
I’ve got a IR thermometer (contact less) to measure the chips directly. I really don’t know what the operating temp should be, but most times I can do a measure before a start and during operation and during failure …
Edit: And you only see this, when there is traffic, when the buffer (TR or TX) is the reason. A ICMP (ping) won’t be buffered.
I assume after the reboot the ping is low, until you start a download that needs to be buffered.
The AR300m is an older design and does not have a heat sink. The case does not have screws, and it is a pain to open if you are not careful. See the photos in: GL-AR300M Series - GL.iNet Docs
I was not able to ssh into the router while it was unresponsive, but it came back after a while by itself. free and demsg don’t show much, but I see the following from logread. Not sure it is correlated with the outage, I need to catch when it happens next time.
Tue May 31 19:01:52 2022 daemon.notice wpa_supplicant[2536]: wlan-sta: CTRL-EVENT-BEACON-LOSS
Tue May 31 19:01:53 2022 daemon.notice netifd: Network device 'wlan-sta' link is down
Tue May 31 19:01:53 2022 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'wwan' has link connectivity loss
Tue May 31 19:01:53 2022 daemon.notice wpa_supplicant[2536]: wlan-sta: CTRL-EVENT-DISCONNECTED bssid=fa:92:bf:ca:49:04 reason=4 locally_generated=1
Tue May 31 19:01:53 2022 daemon.notice netifd: wwan (2652): udhcpc: received SIGTERM
Tue May 31 19:01:53 2022 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'wwan' is now down
Tue May 31 19:01:53 2022 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'wwan' is disabled
Tue May 31 19:01:53 2022 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'wwan' is enabled
Tue May 31 19:01:53 2022 daemon.warn dnsmasq[2381]: no servers found in /tmp/resolv.conf.auto, will retry
Tue May 31 19:01:53 2022 daemon.notice wpa_supplicant[2536]: wlan-sta: SME: Trying to authenticate with fa:92:bf:ca:49:04 (SSID='#PUBLIC WIFI - Holiday Trails' freq=2462 MHz)
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 kern.info kernel: [ 1487.117066] wlan-sta: authenticate with fa:92:bf:ca:49:04
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 kern.info kernel: [ 1487.136406] wlan-sta: send auth to fa:92:bf:ca:49:04 (try 1/3)
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 kern.info kernel: [ 1487.142980] br-lan: port 2(wlan0) entered disabled state
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice netifd: Network device 'wlan0' link is down
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 kern.info kernel: [ 1487.161876] wlan-sta: authenticated
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice wpa_supplicant[2536]: wlan-sta: Trying to associate with fa:92:bf:ca:49:04 (SSID='#PUBLIC WIFI - Holiday Trails' freq=2462 MHz)
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 kern.info kernel: [ 1487.189918] wlan-sta: associate with fa:92:bf:ca:49:04 (try 1/3)
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice netifd: Network device 'wlan-sta' link is up
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'wwan' has link connectivity
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'wwan' is setting up now
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 kern.info kernel: [ 1487.203047] wlan-sta: RX AssocResp from fa:92:bf:ca:49:04 (capab=0x1421 status=0 aid=1)
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 kern.info kernel: [ 1487.211735] wlan-sta: associated
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice wpa_supplicant[2536]: wlan-sta: Associated with fa:92:bf:ca:49:04
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice wpa_supplicant[2536]: wlan-sta: CTRL-EVENT-CONNECTED - Connection to fa:92:bf:ca:49:04 completed [id=0 id_str=]
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: AP-STA-DISCONNECTED b2:a2:bb:3b:5d:51
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: AP-STA-DISCONNECTED 38:00:25:8a:3b:df
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: AP-STA-DISCONNECTED 64:6e:e0:57:dc:8f
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: AP-STA-DISCONNECTED 9c:95:61:34:14:d8
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 kern.info kernel: [ 1487.240763] br-lan: port 2(wlan0) entered blocking state
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 kern.info kernel: [ 1487.246289] br-lan: port 2(wlan0) entered forwarding state
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice netifd: Network device 'wlan0' link is up
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice wpa_supplicant[2536]: wlan-sta: CTRL-EVENT-SUBNET-STATUS-UPDATE status=0
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice netifd: wwan (32704): udhcpc: started, v1.30.1
Tue May 31 19:01:54 2022 daemon.notice netifd: wwan (32704): udhcpc: sending discover
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA 38:00:25:8a:3b:df IEEE 802.11: authenticated
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA 38:00:25:8a:3b:df IEEE 802.11: associated (aid 1)
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: AP-STA-CONNECTED 38:00:25:8a:3b:df
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA 38:00:25:8a:3b:df RADIUS: starting accounting session CE652079B997E328
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA 38:00:25:8a:3b:df WPA: pairwise key handshake completed (RSN)
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq-dhcp[2381]: DHCPREQUEST(br-lan) 192.168.8.247 38:00:25:8a:3b:df
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.warn dnsmasq-dhcp[2381]: Ignoring domain inside.xero.com for DHCP host name XLW-5CD924FNX4
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq-dhcp[2381]: DHCPACK(br-lan) 192.168.8.247 38:00:25:8a:3b:df XLW-5CD924FNX4
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA 64:6e:e0:57:dc:8f IEEE 802.11: authenticated
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA 64:6e:e0:57:dc:8f IEEE 802.11: associated (aid 2)
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: AP-STA-CONNECTED 64:6e:e0:57:dc:8f
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA 64:6e:e0:57:dc:8f RADIUS: starting accounting session 21EE24790F2167DD
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA 64:6e:e0:57:dc:8f WPA: pairwise key handshake completed (RSN)
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq-dhcp[2381]: DHCPREQUEST(br-lan) 192.168.8.236 64:6e:e0:57:dc:8f
Tue May 31 19:01:55 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq-dhcp[2381]: DHCPACK(br-lan) 192.168.8.236 64:6e:e0:57:dc:8f DESKTOP-9C3R0V5
Tue May 31 19:01:56 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA b2:a2:bb:3b:5d:51 IEEE 802.11: authenticated
Tue May 31 19:01:56 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA b2:a2:bb:3b:5d:51 IEEE 802.11: associated (aid 3)
Tue May 31 19:01:56 2022 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: AP-STA-CONNECTED b2:a2:bb:3b:5d:51
Tue May 31 19:01:56 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA b2:a2:bb:3b:5d:51 RADIUS: starting accounting session 7E574D2C631E5060
Tue May 31 19:01:56 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA b2:a2:bb:3b:5d:51 WPA: pairwise key handshake completed (RSN)
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq-dhcp[2381]: DHCPREQUEST(br-lan) 192.168.8.150 b2:a2:bb:3b:5d:51
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq-dhcp[2381]: DHCPACK(br-lan) 192.168.8.150 b2:a2:bb:3b:5d:51
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.notice netifd: wwan (32704): udhcpc: sending discover
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.notice netifd: wwan (32704): udhcpc: sending select for 10.50.10.108
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.notice netifd: wwan (32704): udhcpc: lease of 10.50.10.108 obtained, lease time 432600
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'wwan' is now up
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq[2381]: reading /tmp/resolv.conf.auto
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq[2381]: using local addresses only for domain test
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq[2381]: using local addresses only for domain onion
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq[2381]: using local addresses only for domain localhost
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq[2381]: using local addresses only for domain local
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq[2381]: using local addresses only for domain invalid
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq[2381]: using local addresses only for domain bind
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq[2381]: using local addresses only for domain lan
Tue May 31 19:01:57 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq[2381]: using nameserver 10.50.0.1#53
Tue May 31 19:01:59 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA 9c:95:61:34:14:d8 IEEE 802.11: authenticated
Tue May 31 19:01:59 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA 9c:95:61:34:14:d8 IEEE 802.11: associated (aid 4)
Tue May 31 19:01:59 2022 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: AP-STA-CONNECTED 9c:95:61:34:14:d8
Tue May 31 19:01:59 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA 9c:95:61:34:14:d8 RADIUS: starting accounting session 99DA11795BAE1F52
Tue May 31 19:01:59 2022 daemon.info hostapd: wlan0: STA 9c:95:61:34:14:d8 WPA: pairwise key handshake completed (RSN)
Tue May 31 19:02:00 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq-dhcp[2381]: DHCPREQUEST(br-lan) 192.168.8.237 9c:95:61:34:14:d8
Tue May 31 19:02:00 2022 daemon.info dnsmasq-dhcp[2381]: DHCPACK(br-lan) 192.168.8.237 9c:95:61:34:14:d8 43TCLRokuTV
Tue May 31 19:02:03 2022 user.info mwan3rtmon[2264]: Detect rtchange event.
Tue May 31 19:02:05 2022 user.notice firewall: Reloading firewall due to ifup of wwan (wlan-sta)
This is only showing a few seconds of your log from 19:01:54 to 19:02:05. It would be real helpful to see the time just before it hung till after it was hung, and the time just before it comes back to when its fully operational. How long was your router not reachable? Next time can you also run the command:
uptime
As that will tell us if the router rebooted itself.
Just as an FYI: I’m just a user who owns several GL iNet routers including some AR300Ms, but I am not part of the GL iNet staff. Some of the GL iNet staff reads this forum but you may also want to open a support ticket with them via email.
The most recent outage latest about 1 hour and 20 minutes, starting at about 04:30 and ending at about 05:50. I have attached the output of the commands from just after recovery (too large to include inline).
alzhao: I will try to get data from just before it is unresponsive, but it can go for hours without issue, so it is very hard. Maybe I will try to write a script to query it repeatedly.
I have switched off DNS rebind protection. It failed again. I am running top and ps every 5 seconds. Here are the last results before it became unresponsive.
I am experiencing the same issue. In my case, the router (AR300m16-ext) becomes unresponsive after about 3 days. It doesn’t matter if it has wireguard vpn turned on or not. My router has also stopped responding while in AP mode (not repeater).
One interesting thing is that the middle green LED light blinks sporadically and randomly when it is hung up and the amber wifi light turns solid. I noticed the middle green light begins to randomly blink a few hours before the router becomes unresponsive.
While the router is unresponsive, if I disconnect a client from the wifi signal, it is not able to reconnect until I restart the router by unplugging and plugging back in.