Asus Router Doesn't Display All Clients - Simple Solution

[Mike A.]

Just leaving this here in case someone else is searching...

With recent firmware updates my Asus 68U and 86U routers no longer showed the full client list. Specifically, they would not show devices assigned static IP addresses. This excluded my cams. Makes it harder to see what's there and blocking Internet access and renaming devices isn't as simple to do (still can do through parental controls but not as easily).

The simple solution is to enable the guest network. Then all devices are picked up. Not sure why that works but it does. If you don't really want the guest network to be functional then you can restrict it by limiting to a blank MAC address whitelist and a very limited access time (and obviously disable intranet access).

 

[cmos]

Just leaving this here in case someone else is searching...

With recent firmware updates my Asus 68U and 86U routers no longer showed the full client list. Specifically, they would not show devices assigned static IP addresses. This excluded my cams. Makes it harder to see what's there and blocking Internet access and renaming devices isn't as simple to do (still can do through parental controls but not as easily).

The simple solution is to enable the guest network. Then all devices are picked up. Not sure why that works but it does. If you don't really want the guest network to be functional then you can restrict it by limiting to a blank MAC address whitelist and a very limited access time (and obviously disable intranet access).

is that with the latest Version 3.0.0.4.386.41634 firmware? I am still one version back at Version 3.0.0.4.386.40558 and all devices are there with guest network disabled.

 

[Mike A.]

Current Version : 3.0.0.4.386_41634-g08f88ae

That's the latest I think. I just updated and still wasn't working with that one. Not sure what changed on mine but apparently not uncommon from searching around. Lots saying the same. Happened several months ago after that update I think. Though I see earlier reports. Was a pain not being able to see everything.

 

[eeeeesh]

I just run the fing app on one of my computers. It's free and will even indicate when a new device is on the network

This is a link to the desktop version (Windows or Mac) and they also have a version for your phone.

Fing Desktop | Advanced Network Scanner & Device Recognition

Choose Fing Desktop for an advanced network scanner for Windows and Mac. Set automated checks and block intruders from getting into your network.

www.fing.com

 

[Mike A.]

Yes, Fing works well. But doesn't let you control access, etc. as the router does. Harder to do when you have to find the MAC and enter that manually and then do whatever. Easy when they're there in the list. Click and done.

 

[Sybertiger]

I'm just seeing this thread. Thanks for providing that tidbit. I'm on the Merlin firmware 3004.388.4 and the problem still exists. Like you, I Googled the issue and a lot of people are reporting this is a known issue. Surprised Asus hasn't fixed this in over two years.

 

[Sybertiger]

Oh well, it didn't work....exactly. I do see that the router now displays my Trane thermostat in the client list but now my wireless printer disappeared...LOL! I can see the printer on the Asus router phone app under the "offline" section but it's not offline. The phone app was showing the thermostat offline before I did "the trick" above. What's really odd is now I can't even get back to the setup menu for the guest network to turn it back off. I can see the SSID of the guest network so I know it's enabled. The guest network is enabled but it doesn't show it on the guest network page. And if you now go back and click the Enable button it doesn't go to the setup up menu it simply says I changed by SSID or security settings then restarts the WiFi. Guess I'll reboot the router when I have an opportunity but I'm not going to factory reset it...LOL.



Push that ENABLE button and you get the pop-up below. No opportunity provided to modify that guest network I had previously set up. The other two ENABLE buttons to the right behave correctly.



When you click the ENABLE button you should get something like this below, not the image directly above.

 

[Sybertiger]

Oh, the other weird thing I see is when you click on the GUEST NETWORK button (now, after I set up the a guest network) something very quickly flashes on the screen. It took a bit of doing to get a screen shot of it. See below, Facebook WiFi pop-up flashes very quickly before that first screenshot of the Guest Network posted above then displays. I didn't know what Facebook WiFi is so I looked it up and saw: Due to the discontinuation of Facebook WiFi service on June 12th, 2023, we regret to inform you that this service will no longer be available for use. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any concerns or questions, please consult the Facebook Help Center at Facebook Help Center.

 

[Mike A.]

Strange. Unfortunately, I don't have the Asus set up now to test anything. Got tired of various Asus quirks, limitations, and unfixed vulnerabilities not long after I posted this and moved to pfSense. Much better all around. Some learning curve going in but really not too bad if you have a decent networking background. If you can handle setting up Merlin, then you can do pfSense/OPNsense. You'll wonder why you waited so long to do it.

 

[Sybertiger]

This issue appears to be a bug in the firmware and from what I read it could be that it effects just Guest 1. I've seen people mention not to use Guest 1 but rather use Guest 2 or 3 to avoid the bug. Because the bug will not allow me to disable Guest 1 in the GUI here is a workaround using SSH commands. I enabled SSH for just the local LAN the installed PuTTY on my Win10 computer. The SSH commands to disable Guest 1 are as follows:

nvram unset wl0.1_mbss << disables Guest 1
nvram unset wl0.1_ssid << disables the SSID
nvram unset wl0.1_wpa_psk << disables the Password
nvram commit << update the NVRAM

wl0.1 is Guest 1 2.4GHz, while wl0.2 would be Guest 2 and wl0.3 would be Guest 3
wl1.1 is Guest 1 5GHz, while wl1.2 would be Guest 2 and wl1.3 would be Guest 3

Now when I click the Enable button in the GUI is see the setup menu that I didn't see before. It beats the hell out of having to do a factory reset then starting all over.

 

[c hris527]

I'm just seeing this thread. Thanks for providing that tidbit. I'm on the Merlin firmware 3004.388.4 and the problem still exists. Like you, I Googled the issue and a lot of people are reporting this is a known issue. Surprised Asus hasn't fixed this in over two years.

I have a AC1900 and after 3 years the latest firmware fixed that issue, I had given up hope on it and just happened to see everything show up proper after the update. That issue had driven me nuts. My latest version is 3.0.0.4.386.51665, this is the stock firmware.