Asus AC68U vs Asus AC88U range, temperature and stability

[Wutikorn]

I bought Asus AC68U, however the range is still not good enough. So from what I heard, Asus AC88U won't do much better than Asus AC68U, so I think I should get an access point. Which one has function to tell the device to switch to the main router if the signal is too low? I have a 2 story house and my family walk up and down all the time. I also prefer it to be cheaper than $100. Can be anywhere from 300Mbps/300Mbps to 300Mbps/867Mbps for 2.4GHz/5GHz. Should I buy Asus? I only have a few devices, but I want reliability for my network. Thanks

 

[pete y testing]

I bought Asus AC68U, however the range is still not good enough.

then as i suggested in my first post something in your environment or construction materials is blocking the signal and only testing in your location would prove it , however at least you didnt buy the 88u and find that out right

So from what I heard, Asus AC88U won't do much better than Asus AC68U

correct

Can be anywhere from 300Mbps/300Mbps to 300Mbps/867Mbps for 2.4GHz/5GHz. Should I buy Asus? I only have a few devices, but I want reliability for my network. Thanks

what i suggest you do first is take the 68u up stairs and test the wifi coverage up there and see if the 68u covers the entire top floor

if it does then you know that another single unit upstairs will fix the issue

however spending $100 isnt going to get you much coverage wise compared to the 68u and i would recommend running a second 68u up stairs connect to the one downstairs by ethernet

btw it would have been good if you mentioned the fact it was a 2 story house in the first place

 

[Wutikorn]

then as i suggested in my first post something in your environment or construction materials is blocking the signal and only testing in your location would prove it , however at least you didnt buy the 88u and find that out right



correct



what i suggest you do first is take the 68u up stairs and test the wifi coverage up there and see if the 68u covers the entire top floor

if it does then you know that another single unit upstairs will fix the issue

however spending $100 isnt going to get you much coverage wise compared to the 68u and i would recommend running a second 68u up stairs connect to the one downstairs by ethernet

btw it would have been good if you mentioned the fact it was a 2 story house in the first place

Also, the first floor does not have walls of brick but just glass. So what I found out is that the first floor router range does not need to be as much as the second floor's. So I saw Asus AC55UHP which is around $100. Due to the size of its antennas, the one designed for a single floor, will it be better than Asus AC68U? If not, will Asus N56U(edited) or Asus AC51U work fine in the first floor? The old Buffalo router can cover the first

then as i suggested in my first post something in your environment or construction materials is blocking the signal and only testing in your location would prove it , however at least you didnt buy the 88u and find that out right



correct



what i suggest you do first is take the 68u up stairs and test the wifi coverage up there and see if the 68u covers the entire top floor

if it does then you know that another single unit upstairs will fix the issue

however spending $100 isnt going to get you much coverage wise compared to the 68u and i would recommend running a second 68u up stairs connect to the one downstairs by ethernet

btw it would have been good if you mentioned the fact it was a 2 story house in the first place

Getting other Asus AC68U would be a little too much, but if I need to buy it, I will. However, I am looking into Asus RT-AC55UHP at $110 or Asus N66U at $65 if it will work. This is because, I believe that the problem is that the second floor walls were made of bricks while glass is used in the first floor. So I wonder if AC55UHP will have better range than AC68U because of its high gain antennas, or will be worse. If it is worse, N56U(edited) should do fine, right? As my old Buffalo router has good enough range for the first floor. Sorry that I forgot to tell about 2 story house.

I also have another problem; I'm not sure if the router is defected as its signal for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz seem to be slightly worse, in range, compared to Buffalo WZR-HP-AG300H, the old one. And I can only get 1Mbps for both upload and download speed through running the router as OpenVPN server(CPU was not maxed out, but just 3-6%). Should I return it? Or is it normal? Or should I try manual reset?

 

[pete y testing]

AC55UHP

cant really say as its not a model sold where i am , plus its only 300M on 2.4 gig and 867M on 5 gig

the 66u is ok , not great but ok coverage wise esp on 2.4 gig

vpn speeds is not an area im up to speed with but i know it can be quite slow when compared to your normal internet speed

 

[Wutikorn]

cant really say as its not a model sold where i am , plus its only 300M on 2.4 gig and 867M on 5 gig

the 66u is ok , not great but ok coverage wise esp on 2.4 gig

vpn speeds is not an area im up to speed with but i know it can be quite slow when compared to your normal internet speed

Sorry, I mean N56U. Does that have a good coverage too?

 

[pete y testing]

Also, the first floor does not have walls of brick but just glass.

strange dwelling that you have there , brick over glass lol

is the glass completely transparent with no tinting and or metal through it as these can be as bad as brick walls

 

[pete y testing]

Sorry, I mean N56U. Does that have a good coverage too?

nope not compared to the rt-AC units , the n56u is pretty old now , i have one here and its coverage is far less

 

[Wutikorn]

strange dwelling that you have there , brick over glass lol

is the glass completely transparent with no tinting and or metal through it as these can be as bad as brick walls

Just realize how weird my house is, but it was built by my Grandpa's design 40years ago. The glass is completely transparent, but I am not sure what you mean by metal through it. It has a metal that divide each piece of glass to be about 1meter x 1.5meters which is about 3 by 5 square feet.

nope not compared to the rt-AC units , the n56u is pretty old now , i have one here and its coverage is far less

Then should I assume that rt-ac51u will do better than rt-n56u? What is the different between router that was named as "n" but is dual band and router that was named as "ac"?

cant really say as its not a model sold where i am , plus its only 300M on 2.4 gig and 867M on 5 gig

the 66u is ok , not great but ok coverage wise esp on 2.4 gig

vpn speeds is not an area im up to speed with but i know it can be quite slow when compared to your normal internet speed

The speed should be enough for those who use in the first floor, most of them do not download anything or stream.

 

[Wutikorn]

No.

Will it be possible that Asus AC68U gets Smart Connect too?

 

[RMerlin]

Will it be possible that Asus AC68U gets Smart Connect too?

That would require for Asus to switch that router to a newer SDK, which is highly unlikely at this time.

 

[pete y testing]

Will it be possible that Asus AC68U gets Smart Connect too?

why would anyone buy the higher end routers if the older ones could do all the same features

 

[Wutikorn]

That would require for Asus to switch that router to a newer SDK, which is highly unlikely at this time.

I didn't know that they use newer SDK for Asus AC88U.
Do you know when they are going to stop supporting firmware update on Asus AC68U?

why would anyone buy the higher end routers if the older ones could do all the same features

Nice point of view! Also, about the access point, should I assume that rt-ac51u will do better than rt-n56u? What is the different between router that was named as "n" but is dual band and router that was named as "ac"?

 

[pete y testing]

Also, about the access point, should I assume that rt-ac51u will do better than rt-n56u? What is the different between router that was named as "n" but is dual band and router that was named as "ac"?

wireless N is the older standard , in the case of the n56u its 300M on 2.4 gig and 300M on 5 gig and is non amplified and i dont think it even has beam forming

the rt-ac56u is still 300M on 2.4 gig but 867M on 5 gig and has built in amps and beamforming , the rt-ac56u should and will outperform the n56u in both wireless coverage and throughput even for old wireless N clients

Nice point of view!

there has to be a point of difference between models

Do you know when they are going to stop supporting firmware update on Asus AC68U?

its anyone's guess as they are still supporting routers like the asus rt-n16 and rt-ac66u , so i cant see support for any of the asus range ending any time soon

 

[pege63]

Will it be possible that Asus AC68U gets Smart Connect too?

That would require for Asus to switch that router to a newer SDK, which is highly unlikely at this time.

Will it be in the near future?

 

[RMerlin]

I didn't know that they use newer SDK for Asus AC88U.

Newer CPU, newer wifi chips as well, so it's based on a much newer SDK.

Do you know when they are going to stop supporting firmware update on Asus AC68U?

Judging by the way Asus is currently going (the RT-N16 is still actively supported after many years), I'd expect the RT-AC68U to continue to be supported for years. But ultimately only Asus knows, and things can change.

 

[RMerlin]

Will it be in the near future?

As I just said, it's highly unlikely to happen...

 

[pege63]

As I just said, it's highly unlikely to happen...

You write .......at this time.

 

[sfx2000]

As I just said, it's highly unlikely to happen...

agreed - it'll be up to Asus to merge the SDK's - to do so outside of that, it would be a world of hurt trying to keep up...

 

[RMerlin]

You write .......at this time.

Only Asus knows what their long-term plans are.

 

[Preskitt.man]

With regard to AC68U and Smart Connect, I just was just on the phone with Sprint because I was having issues with WiFi calling with my Galaxy S6. They were suggesting I use their router that was designed to work better with WiFi calling, in part because it has a Smart Connect feature. The router that they use is an AC66U. Here's a link to details on their router - it does have some customized Sprint firmware - maybe to provide the Smart Connect - but point is they have it working on the AC66U; seems like the AC68U would be capable as well.