ASUS AX86U Pro with newest Merlin Firmware With Rock Solid Performance!!!!

[marcd5123]

Hi I just wanted to mention that I've got a Asus AX86U Pro (UK) router and running the latest Merlin Firmware RT-AX86U_PRO_3004_388.7_0.zip and I've clocked it now at 3 weeks 5GHZ band set to auto and its been on channel 116 (DFS) at 80mhz and it's been absolutely Rock solid !!! Not a single drop or restart needed. !!

I'm not even going to bother yet with going back to stock AsusWRT 5.0 untill lots of the bugs been reported have been delt with in the next update. To be honest I'll rather wait for Mr.Merlin over the coming weeks/months for Thier next update and go over things with a fine comb before I update the router again .

Running my LG TV and Nvidia Shield Pro 2019 and Apple TV+ device and my mobile phone all devices are mainly AC and only my Oppo Find X5 Pro is AX but the router has definitely been very consistent that's for sure.

By far the 86u Pro has by far been the finest quality router I've ever owned coming from Netgear Nighthawk & TP-Link.

So a big thank you to Mr.Merlin @RMerlin for all his hard work and efforts.

 

[Netbill]

I'll second the above comments - I have recently replaced my aging RT-AC68U with the RTAX86U PRO it has been very solid with the latest Merlin build as well.

In my case I was having some issues with IPv6 setup with the latest "stock" firmware 3006.102_34312 . I was about to roll back the firmware to the previous build 3004..... and checked on Merlin's latest release and decided to try that (3004.388.7) since it was based on the previous build.

With the IPv6 "bug" behind me after a reset and manual setup from scratch I am enjoying a fully functional router. So I will add my thanks to @RMerlin as well, the minor improvements he implements and dedication for others benefit are truly inspirational.

For anyone intrested - for me the latest stock 3006 firware would not pass IPv6 through the router firewall without turning the firewall off (test only). I have a cable connection with my own modem (netgear CM1200) no double NAT (checked) using known (previously working) native IPv6 configuation settings.

Thnaks so much for your work - Bill

 

[marcd5123]

Well it was very interesting how I got channal 116 being a DFS channal.

I live in a block of flats and yes it's pretty congested WiFi wise majority of people using their typical free routers from their ISPs .. so majority of congested networks between channals 36 to 48 . The 86u Pro after around 20secs jumps to channal 100 which is still absolutely excellent ...I did have previous issues being on channal 100 with my recent router Netgear Nighthawk RAX120 and even my previous Linksys MR9500 it would become very unstable after a few days or even a few hours obviously DFS can and will be very temperamental being its nature .

So I thought much of the same would happen with the 86u Pro .. however after 3 days it was absolutely solid ...then a week went by snd it was absolutely solid on channal 100 thats when I starting to get seriously impressed with general performance of the 86u Pro well it was the most expensive router I've ever purchased to date .

After a few weeks I decided to play around a bit and just see how far I could push the router up the band on DFS ...So manually I set it to 120...and 116 and none of my clients would see it period so I worked down and channel 112 was the absolute highest I could go that all my AC and AX devices could see the network.

Then one day I decided to set it back to automatic setting and the router would not go past channal 100 period on auto no matter how many restarts I did .

So having the router set to auto 5GHZ band with the router happily setting itself to channal 100 on 80mhz frequency...after around 7 days continually being on channel 100 no drops or restarts I gave the router a restart and bang it set it self to channel 116 on auto!!!! And it's been that way for 3 weeks solid now with absolute no restarts what so ever...Dam I'm I impressed all that extra money I spent on this router is really paying off now .

So setting it manually it simply won't work on anything higher than channel 112 but yet on auto leaving it for at least 1 week it will ..I suppose this is the weird and wonderful world of DFS the router kinda needs to settle itself for while ....

Mmmm I wonder if it will ever go above channal 116 who knows it must be literally on the very edge of the spectrum for 5GHZ .

 

[sone]

Agreed! I upgraded from an RTAC88U to RTAX88U PRO and slapped Merlin's 3004.388.7 and wow... can't believe I waited so long to upgrade. Freaking solid!

 

[marcd5123]

Agreed! I upgraded from an RTAC88U to RTAX88U PRO and slapped Merlin's 3004.388.7 and wow... can't believe I waited so long to upgrade. Freaking solid!

oddly enough I was towing between the 88u Pro or 86u Pro ...both are insanely well made and have incredible hardware specs !!. I felt for me and what I will be using the router for the 88u Pro would be over ...over ...kill ... So I decided to opt for the 86u Pro 2023 model and despite it still being ridiculously overkill for my needs I just wanted a top spec router that will last me for years longevity...and very importantly will be as will the 88u Pro AsusWRT 5 compliant /compatible!!! As I was warned on this very forum be careful as the older routers will not be supported anymore moving forwards as they are older models and ASUS are discontinuing support for them .

Anyhow its the most expensive router I've ever purchased...but it means that I can choose to toggle between official Asus Firmware or Merlin I mean no one else does this this not like this ..Yes their are other 3rd party firmware available from DD-WRT and Tomato and a few others but Merlin Firmware is absolutely unique to ASUS and even Asus pretty much approve everything the guy does directly!!! Theirs no other manufacturer that does any of this at that level well not to my knowledge.

So for me spending that extra money to get top spec hardware and longevity when it comes to firmware availability it's a no brainer as far as I'm concerned .

Long may it continue!

 

[sone]

You've made an excellent choice!

 

[L&LD]

[Review] ASUS GT-AX6000 vs RT-AX88U Pro vs RT-AX86U Pro

After I tested tested each of the three routers, I decided to make a dedicated video to find out which one of them is the better WiFi 6 router. I look forward to any questions and feedback.

www.snbforums.com

 

[fubag]

yeah current stock firmware is buggy as hell at least for me; currently on merlin for my ax86u pro as well and it's very stable

 

[Tech9]

Mmmm I wonder if it will ever go above channal 116 who knows it must be literally on the very edge of the spectrum for 5GHZ .

Because you are in Europe. Other regions have 132-144 (Ch. 138), 149-161 (Ch. 155) and in some places even 165-177 (Ch. 171). All still 5GHz band.