Should I upgrade to RT-AX88U Pro?

[ivannn]

Hello good people,

I am using AX86 and AC68 in two different locations running latest Merlin.

I have a very specific question regarding RT-AX88U Pro vs RT-AX86U:

Shall I expect improved wifi coverage in general in case of upgrading AX86 to AX88U Pro?
I understand this would be very specific to my spot and the surroundings, but I am looking for information that is either based on the hardware specifications or someone's first hand experience with these devices.

Additional background:

In the past I saw a significant wifi coverage improvement when I upgraded AC68 to AX86 at my primary location. The old router was deployed to a secondary location that would also benefit of a wifi coverage upgrade now, but instead of getting another AX86 I consider AX88U Pro for the primary place and re-deploying the AX86 to the secondary. The AC68 is EOL and running a VPN server that would get faster if I replace it with AX86.

In my primary location I would benefit from the additional 2.5 gig port and VLAN support on the AX88U Pro (possibly eliminating a multi gig managed switch between my internet link to media converter and another managed "core" switch), but some of my wireless clients are experiencing weak wifi signal in the room that is furthest away from the AX86 today and upgrading the router makes less sense to me if wifi coverage wouldn't improve at least a little. In such case I would keep suffering from not quite ideal wifi coverage in both locations until I can get improvement using a wifi 7 router in the future. I am not eager to go bleeding edge today despite I have a wifi 7 device at home. I have considered changing the locations of the wifi routers but this would not be possible in both locations due to missing ethernet cabling. Deploying mesh is also not welcome in my environments. Any hint about wifi coverage diferences between RT-AX88U Pro and RT-AX86U would be appreciated.

 

[L&LD]

While the absolute coverage/range may be very similar, the RT-AX88U Pro offers more bandwidth at the same distance than the old (and effectively obsolete, today) RT-AX86U (orig), as it has been indicated it won't be getting 3.0.0.6.xxx level firmware many times.

Definitely not worth buying the crippled RT-AX86U Pro either today.

The best bang for the buck Asus/RMerlin powered router today is hands down the RT-AX88U Pro.

 

[bbunge]

Shall I expect improved wifi coverage in general in case of upgrading AX86 to AX88U Pro?
I understand this would be very specific to my spot and the surroundings, but I am looking for information that is either based on the hardware specifications or someone's first hand experience with these devices.

No. And with the AX86U Pro on sale for $199 you get a good deal.

 

[ivannn]

I am looking at AX88U Pro (not AX86U Pro) as upgrade to AC68U in terms of wifi coverage. This one is about 300 eur where I live. Based on the specs I have compared - there are more antenas, 5GHz radio is the same and 2.4 seems improved in 88. Is that going to give noticeable difference in coverate or bandwith in theory?

 

[L&LD]

Not only in theory but in practice too.

More effective (i.e. usable) range.

More (~20% more) throughput.

Much longer longevity.


Here is a comparison of the superior RT-AC86U (vs your RT-AC68U) to an entry-level AX class router.

Can I Use Both AiMesh (Wired) and VLAN?

Hi there. I've used Merlin on all my ASUS router for what I think is at least a decade - this question may not be specific to Merlin, but since I use Merlin for everything I figured it's good to have that background as a "constant." Currently have two RT-AC68Us in my property on a wired...

www.snbforums.com

 

[bbunge]

AX86U Pro has 4 antennas. 3 external one internal. Great WIFI coverage too.

 

[PunchCardBoss]

Any hint about wifi coverage diferences between RT-AX88U Pro and RT-AX86U would be appreciated.

I've owned 3 generations of Asus routers...
RT-AC88U -> RT-AX88U -> RT-AX88U-PRO. The 88U-PRO is my primary router - the AX88U is a cold backup. Since the AX-88U is very similar to your AX-86U, my experience may be of some value.

I can tell you that my PRO unit does seem to provide slightly better 5Ghz coverage than the non-PRO 88U. But the difference is not significant and may be the result of a very small location difference or antenna orientation or upgraded WiFi devices.

My router is located on the 1st floor in one corner of the house. I do get adaquate coverage on the opposite corner on the 2nd floor. In my use-case, I have not found a need for a mesh setup. That said, there are "dead" WiFi spots where kitchen appliances or metal fireplace flue or other metalic barriers do block some signal.

As far as VLAN config, my personal experience is very good with the 88U-PRO. I'm running 3 Netgear L2 switch. One of these is configured with 802.1Q ports. The other 2 are for POE devices and each are VLAN configured with the 88U-PRO stock Asuswrt FW. Guest WiFi is on a seperate WiFi 2.4Ghz VLAN. I turn the 2.4Ghz radio off when no guests need router WiFi. In total, Ive got 5 VLAN setup with "Guest Network Pro".

I also connect a Synology DS220+ NAS to the 2.5Gb LAN router port even though the NAS only has dual 1Gb ports.

All this to say that my home network is not overly complex.

The 88U-PRO FW has some bugs (see other posts that cover these). Nonetheless, the basic VLAN capabilities in "Guest Network Pro" do work. For the most part, the FW is relatively stable.

Although not a perfect router, I can recommend the 88U-PRO.

 

[ivannn]

Thanks guys, I am pulling the trigger on an AX88U Pro.