[Staples] ASUS RT-AX58U $189.99 (after $10 coupon and on sale price )

How much better than a blue cave? Thinking if I should upgrade...

Rog ac2900 is also $200 at staples. It has 3x3 2.4 band and 4x4 5ghz band. While this is 2x2 for both bands but is WiFi 6.

As I don’t have any devices that can take advantage of WiFi 6, which one would be better? We usually have 12-15 WiFi clients connected at one time.

Your advice is greatly appreciated!

Merlin supports this model as well. Wouldn't purchase or run an Asus router without Merlin, personally.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/asuswr ... /RT-AX58U/

fq007 wrote: ↑ Rog ac2900 is also $200 at staples. It has 3x3 2.4 band and 4x4 5ghz band. While this is 2x2 for both bands but is WiFi 6.

As I don’t have any devices that can take advantage of WiFi 6, which one would be better? We usually have 12-15 WiFi clients connected at one time.

Your advice is greatly appreciated!

I wouldn't invest in an AC unit these days. Most every new phone comes with WiFi 6 and you can replace most laptop WiFi cards with fast and cheap $25 Intel WiFi 6 cards. Get an AX router as it'll last years (I run the AX11000 with AC68U's via AiMesh).

theflyingsquirrel wrote: ↑ ...
It is a strange thing to fail at the power button as most people rarely touch it.
...

It is indeed strange, and button is very rarely used. But it was surely a bad batch or bad design. They just suddenly pop one day when the latching mechanism fails. There is all sorts of complaints if you google search for "asus router power switch fix".

hystavito wrote: ↑ Ha I thought it was just some fluke with mine. Awhile back I put a rubber band with something to shim it, but funny seeing this today as I just had to touch it again today to fix it. Oddly it happened after a power outage, which of course should have no effect on a physical switch but anyway.

Yup.. Mine also showed up after a power outage. I thought it died to to a power spike of some sort (which would have been strange, since all my equipment is behind a large UPS). But later discovered it was the switch.

My asus n56u died after 6 years with failed 2.4G.

I am tempted to buy too, but with my current internet speed, there isnt really any real advantage with wifi 6.
Does this router has tomato firmware yet?

Dont forget 2% Rakuten today for additional savings!

I am also rocking an N66U since 2013 and has been rock solid and I played with various firmwares during the years but now I am on the latest stock, on my Rogers 300mbs connection it can go up to 200mbs on the 5Ghz band and I get full speed over LAN with QOS disabled. IPv6 works as well.

divx wrote: ↑ you can still buy ac66u these days? isn't that 5 years old by now

Sorry I meant the AC66U B1. I've been watching it for months and it's been $100 for the longest time. Finally pulled the trigger on it for $90 after applying coupon. Gonna keep it sealed and see if the AC86U goes on sale for cheaper.

Hello, I was having issues with my Fizz modem+router and my Videotron router decided to retire So I decided to buy an Asus RT-AX88U. Here are the issues I faced in one week with examples of similar experiences from other users:

1- Cisco Anyconnect VPN on my Windows 10 laptop would cause the router to drop connection for all my devices at once for about 2-3 minutes 3 to 6 times a day.
Example issue: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/cisco ... 68u.34384/
2- Access to router's web interface through http://router.asus.com/ stopped on the second day. It did not work even after factory reset. I figured it would let me connect to the interface if I had only one device connected to the wi-fi. Access via 192.168.50.1 worked sometimes.
Example issue: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/canno ... ion.57210/
3- On day 4, some of our devices could not connect to the wi-fi. I had to restart the router to make them connect. This issue is also present somewhere in the same forum.

Forum people suggest turning off the features like Wi-Fi 6 bands, MU-MIMO etc. to fix some of these issues. I gave in and got an AX6000 router from TP-Link to see if the problem was with the modem or the router. I have been using it for a week and there has not been a single issue since.

So if you have similar issues with an ASUS AX modem, just know that these issues can technically be fixed but it can be too much of a hassle.

^well that is unfortunate, i thought asus is the best brand for routers

theflyingsquirrel wrote: ↑ Are you sure the capacitors inside the router can last 10 years?

My old WRT54GL has been running for 15 years and still going ...

How does this compare to the RT86U?

jeffgao wrote: ↑ My old WRT54GL has been running for 15 years and still going ...

Oh wow.
That is amazing.
I am just wondering how well it handle the internet speed nowadays?
The CPU is relatively slow compare to the modern routers.

theflyingsquirrel wrote: ↑ Oh wow.
That is amazing.
I am just wondering how well it handle the internet speed nowadays?
The CPU is relatively slow compare to the modern routers.

I have the modem and router from my ISP. So the WRT54GL is running in bridge mode, to just provide static DHCP and DNS proxy for me, plus DDNS updates. For that, it handles it very well.

Thanks op, want to move away from AC soon

Is this the best dual band AX router out there today?

I don't care for tri band and the GT-AX11000 is way too pricey anyways

I have the 86u and the 68u. Agree with others that Asus is the way to go - never a problem, except they’ve never AiMeshed properly together.

I think it’s a little early to move away from AC. If you need a router now, I think we’re good for a couple years, esp considering some of the challenges noted on the new AX routers.

Nice to see my failed power button on the n66u isn't actually a rare issue. I can't solder so I just superglued a metal bracket to hold the button in the depressed position.

I want to pull the trigger on this but I'm leery of those issues mentioned further up.

Elrondolio wrote: ↑ Merlin supports this model as well. Wouldn't purchase or run an Asus router without Merlin, personally.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/asuswr ... /RT-AX58U/

What would be the advantage of using Merlin over the official firmware?
A week ago I got from kijiji a brand new, factory sealed AC68U made in 2014. It was a nightmare to update the firmware, Asus website was no help, found the solution in a forum. Looking for an update solution, I stumbled upon Merlin alternative but having initially such an old firmware, even Merlin had some warnings. Just not sure if I there are significant benefits with a Merlin firmware. Thanks