iPhone 17 Pro Max Reboots ASUS ZenWifi BQ16 Pro router - repeatable behavior

[vfontjr]

Here's an interesting case study that appears to indicate a problem with Apple's new N1 networking chip, which controls Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread, enabling support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

I've been running an Asus ZenWifi BQ16 Pro mesh system for much of the year. It's been stable and functions well, that is, until I added my new iPhone 17 Pro Max to the mix. This is the current configuration:

The 2.4Ghz band is its own dedicated IOT network. The high bands are for WiFi 7. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is the only WiFi 7 device in this system.

Sometimes, I have to use analysis equipment that attaches to the iPhone through the device's private network. Whenever I switch networks on the iPhone, the main router reboots. Every single time!!

 

[MDErnst0928]

I'm having the same issues. I reported it to Asus via the Feedback page in the Router's Web interface and they got back to me with a Beta Firmware. They said it was "a compatibility issue with Apple's iPhone 17 series".

I have not installed nor tried the Beta firmware yet. In the meantime, I have forced the iPhone to use the IoT network (which I restrict to 2.4 and 5.0 GHz - no WiFi 7, no MLO) and it does not trigger a reboot of the router.

I assume ASUS will eventually release a "release version" firmware update to address this.

Mike

 

[GDF]

I have the same router and have not seen this behavior with my wife’s 17 Pro Max or my 17 Pro, but don’t do any manual switching. Thanks for posting this as will be on the look out for this type of behavior. Hopefully, Asus does a firmware update fast, but they normally do not.

 

[dmccombs]

Here's an interesting case study that appears to indicate a problem with Apple's new N1 networking chip, which controls Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread, enabling support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

I've been running an Asus ZenWifi BQ16 Pro mesh system for much of the year. It's been stable and functions well, that is, until I added my new iPhone 17 Pro Max to the mix. This is the current configuration:

View attachment 2561698

The 2.4Ghz band is its own dedicated IOT network. The high bands are for WiFi 7. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is the only WiFi 7 device in this system.

Sometimes, I have to use analysis equipment that attaches to the iPhone through the device's private network. Whenever I switch networks on the iPhone, the main router reboots. Every single time!!

There has been a lot of iphone 17 wifi issues. Did you load IOS 26.0.1 onto your 17 Pro Max? This update is supposed to resolve these sort of Wifi issues.

If you are already on this IOS version, you may want to report the issue to Apple. Router vendors should not be having to update their firmware because Apple releases a new phone without proper compatibility.

 

[MDErnst0928]

There has been a lot of iphone 17 wifi issues. Did you load IOS 26.0.1 onto your 17 Pro Max? This update is supposed to resolve these sort of Wifi issues.

If you are already on this IOS version, you may want to report the issue to Apple. Router vendors should not be having to update their firmware because Apple releases a new phone without proper compatibility.

IMO, nothing Apple's chip does, no matter how egregious, should cause my router to reboot. Even once. Much less over and over again. So I think ASUS has some work to do as well.

Mike

 

[vfontjr]

There has been a lot of iphone 17 wifi issues. Did you load IOS 26.0.1 onto your 17 Pro Max? This update is supposed to resolve these sort of Wifi issues.

If you are already on this IOS version, you may want to report the issue to Apple. Router vendors should not be having to update their firmware because Apple releases a new phone without proper compatibility.

I did. It doesn't resolve this issue.

 

[vfontjr]

I'm having the same issues. I reported it to Asus via the Feedback page in the Router's Web interface and they got back to me with a Beta Firmware. They said it was "a compatibility issue with Apple's iPhone 17 series".

I have not installed nor tried the Beta firmware yet. In the meantime, I have forced the iPhone to use the IoT network (which I restrict to 2.4 and 5.0 GHz - no WiFi 7, no MLO) and it does not trigger a reboot of the router.

I assume ASUS will eventually release a "release version" firmware update to address this.

Mike

Thanks for letting me know. I sent the feedback to them as well after reading your reply.

 

[vfontjr]

Until Apple or ASUS removes this issue, I have to keep WiFi turned off on the iPhone when I'm home.

 

[spybyscript]

I have the bq16 also. You have to turn off WiFi 7 and MLO otherwise it will consistently reboot them. Either of those settings turned on cause the router to boot loop; from the logs it appears iPhones are registering with null MAC addresses (even if you turn the mac privacy off) and this gets triggered in a rapid loop until the router crashes.

 

[vfontjr]

I have the bq16 also. You have to turn off WiFi 7 and MLO otherwise it will consistently reboot them. Either of those settings turned on cause the router to boot loop; from the logs it appears iPhones are registering with null MAC addresses (even if you turn the mac privacy off) and this gets triggered in a rapid loop until the router crashes.

This is good information. I had a call with Apple Tier 2 support yesterday. The agent ran hardware diagnostics on the phone and it passed all tests. The phone's hardware is performing as expected. I haven't talked to ASUS yet, but will contact them today. Thanks for these details.

 

[MDErnst0928]

This is good information. I had a call with Apple Tier 2 support yesterday. The agent ran hardware diagnostics on the phone and it passed all tests. The phone's hardware is performing as expected. I haven't talked to ASUS yet, but will contact them today. Thanks for these details.

FYI, I installed the beta firmware ASUS recommended yesterday and it has seemingly "fixed" all issues. No more router rebooting for me.

 

[vfontjr]

Today I spent almost 2-hours with a resource from Apple's engineering team. They seem very concerned over this router reboot situation. I also spect time with ASUS tier 1 support today. An ASUS senior engineer will be calling me back within 2 business days. Hopefully, we'll get to the bottom of this.

 

[MDErnst0928]

Today I spent almost 2-hours with a resource from Apple's engineering team. They seem very concerned over this router reboot situation. I also spect time with ASUS tier 1 support today. An ASUS senior engineer will be calling me back within 2 business days. Hopefully, we'll get to the bottom of this.

Let us know what you find out. Thx.