ASUS RT-AC5300

[NightOwl326]

Is there anyway to test if all 8 antennas are actually in working order?

No...well not without RF sensing equipment. But, why wouldn't they on a brand new router? Wifi antennas are not very sophisticated.

 

[dfran1]

I received mine yesterday.
I set up my new AC5300, loaded merlins latest 59 alpha2 firmware
-I had a 2.4 hiccup when I first turned on smart connect, so I turned off smart connect, applied manual settings, then turned smart connect back on, been working great so far.
-I had a NVR issue, fixed by-- "NAT Loopback" ,was on Merlin, I switched it to "Asus"
-My tested 2.4GHz is the best of any router I owned to date, I get coverage in my weakest spot of my yard, (this is what I always wanted a router to do, finally, besides the rest below) (router in the same placement as all the rest).
-My 5GHz , no dead spots found yet, wifi to lan device control is great so far in all areas tested.
-No wifi drops seen at all!
-WIFI is switching perfectly/seamlessly so far also, from band to band!! (this is linksys weak spot, would not work at all going from 5 to 2.4 on linksys).
-QOS- I turned on Adaptive QOS, I have no idea if working, I choose Game for it.
-PS4 lag --- none found yet, all my other tests for this (that are meaningless for this router) is testing bad, BUT I see no more lag than my linksys (that was best for no lag).
-I am not seeing UPNP for my PS4 in system log, port forwarding?? I do see it in the connections list though.

All great so far, and seems to be worth the money. This AC5300 is doing what I always wanted a router to do, finally. (I hope I did not write this to soon)
I do take back all my bad comments about Asus Except that POS 87r. I personally think Asus should have given us 87 owners great discounts on this one.
Thanks to all
Thanks to Merlin!!

 

[RMerlin]

I do take back all my bad comments about Asus Except that POS 87r. I personally think Asus should have given us 87 owners great discounts on this one.

Welcome home. As the saying goes, the grass ain't always greener on the neighbour's side

 

[dfran1]

Welcome home. As the saying goes, the grass ain't always greener on the neighbour's side

Hi RMerlin!
I am really glad to be back!

Not saying my EA8500 was problematic at all, I just had one minor issue recently with it, one annoying issue (my device would not auto switch from 5 to 2.4GHz without toggling wifi, it would work with 2.4 to 5 GHz though), and since January linksys is locking down firmware, so no going back firmware OR to any other 3rd party firmware.
This is bad, as you only have the option to roll back firmware to the last version now, not anything before it and absolutely no way to get it back either (I spoke to 2 different linksys tech people), Linksys did offer to replace the unit with an older firmware version pre installed.
now back on topic
I still can not believe how great this router is with your latest alpha2 (not that I tested any other), stable as a rock, smooth as butter with smart connect

Range is the best I have seen to date with any of my previous routers, by a very good noticeable distance (2.4 and 5GHz).

I really think I should not load any more future firmware's, as this one is just perfect for me in every way so far.

Thank You RMerlin!!

 

[sfx2000]

Well, someone in my household thought it would be a smart idea to get hammered late at night and screw around with my RT-AC5300. It was dropped on the floor and now I have a broken antenna and a damaged/loose SMA connector on the board. Is this something I can have ASUS fix if I send it in? If so, does anyone have any idea about how much it will cost (USD)?

Don't feel bad...

Stopped by Fry's (Big-Box Warehouse Store, popular in SoCal and other places..)

They had an RT-AC5300 running a 4K/UHD TV demo by the front door, and 4 out of the 8 antennas were flopping around like fish out of water - tried to sort them, and no resistance, gravity won...

This the first RT-AC5300 Asus device I've seen in the real-world - and looking at it - seems like how they've attached all those antennae - some mechanical/structural issues there on this device...

 

[natzakaria]

Don't feel bad...

Stopped by Fry's (Big-Box Warehouse Store, popular in SoCal and other places..)

They had an RT-AC5300 running a 4K/UHD TV demo by the front door, and 4 out of the 8 antennas were flopping around like fish out of water - tried to sort them, and no resistance, gravity won...

This the first RT-AC5300 Asus device I've seen in the real-world - and looking at it - seems like how they've attached all those antennae - some mechanical/structural issues there on this device...

Thats the reason I asked awhile ago is there a way to find out if all antennas are working because they dont seem secure

 

[RMerlin]

Don't feel bad...

Stopped by Fry's (Big-Box Warehouse Store, popular in SoCal and other places..)

They had an RT-AC5300 running a 4K/UHD TV demo by the front door, and 4 out of the 8 antennas were flopping around like fish out of water - tried to sort them, and no resistance, gravity won...

This the first RT-AC5300 Asus device I've seen in the real-world - and looking at it - seems like how they've attached all those antennae - some mechanical/structural issues there on this device...

Those antennas are pretty bad. The pivot is too weak and it's hard to keep the antenna in a given position, and they are also very easy to unscrew if you just try to rotate one around its axis, causing it to unscrew, and totally flop down.

The RT-AC88U antennas aren't much better either, very easy to unscrew them just by trying to rotate them a bit. I have to refasten them again whenever I try to move one of them, even if it's just to access an Ethernet cable at the back.

 

[sfx2000]

Those antennas are pretty bad. The pivot is too weak and it's hard to keep the antenna in a given position, and they are also very easy to unscrew if you just try to rotate one around its axis, causing it to unscrew, and totally flop down.

The RT-AC88U antennas aren't much better either, very easy to unscrew them just by trying to rotate them a bit. I have to refasten them again whenever I try to move one of them, even if it's just to access an Ethernet cable at the back.

Pretty much what I observed - thought is was because of it being a demo unit - it's like not a lot of friction hold, neither on the angle axis or the spin axis - are these standard RP-SMA?

 

[AnClar]

Pretty much what I observed - thought is was because of it being a demo unit - it's like not a lot of friction hold, neither on the angle axis or the spin axis - are these standard RP-SMA?

Word of warning to those of you who, like me have had issues with the terrible antennae on the RT-AC5300. Do anything to make the antennae you have work. Use glue or chewing gum but do not, under any circumstances, try to get ASUS to repair or replace them. My as yet unresolved horror story follows. I have (well for the past month ASUS has, actually) an RT-AC5300 router on which the antennae simply would not remain upright and were continually flopping over. I stupidly (in hindsight) called ASUS support to get the antennae replaced. The tech informed me that they could not just ship me replacement antennae, and stated that I'd have to return the entire router for a fix!?!?! So, poor trusting fool that I was, I went ahead and returned the router with the RMA ASUS provided. Their support web site reports the router was received on 29 March. It's now 21 April, and the status on the repair hasn't budged...it still says repair in process. I've had NO further communication of any kind from ASUS.

I called support yesterday morning for the FOURTH time in four days, and this time the CSR told me that, according to her notes, that the router could not be repaired. There wasn't anything wrong with the freaking router in the first place...all it needed were antennae that were not pieces of garbage! She said that she would "escalate" the case advising me that I'd be getting a replacement router to fix the router that wasn't broken in the first place, except for the antennae, and that I should be getting an email from ASUS. No email...nothing. I'm disgusted with ASUS support and communication at this point and I want my expensive router the heck back, or else a refund!!

Does anyone know of a good way to contact someone at ASUS who can actually do something about my issue, and is this the norm for warranty repairs? I thought Linksys had gone downhill which is why I changed to ASUS in the first place. It seems that ASUS is no better when it comes to support. Bottom line...I will NEVER purchase another ASUS product again. Even if the devices are the best thing since sliced bread, the nightmare that masquerades as ASUS "support" is totally unacceptable. I'd rather buy a commercial-grade Cisco router if this is what the consumer router market has become. smdh

UPDATE 4-25-16: Two more calls to support, each time they promised to "escalate" the case and I'd get an email within 24-48 hours...confirmed spelling of email addy...nothing...crickets. I really don't know what to do anymore, except maybe sue them in small claims court to either get my router back or a refund.

SECOND UPDATE 4-28-16: After pressing the issue I finally got this email from ASUS...not that I believe it...a three week system upgrade/maintenance!?!?!? Maybe if the facility burned to the ground it would have resulted in the delay of almost 1000 RMAs but a routine maintenance that took three weeks?? There's still a major inconsistency here...the maintenance took place from 3/21 to 4/14...and the repair facility is fully operational as of yesterday...a full two weeks after that??? I'm not buying....and I still do not have an expected ship date for my router...we'll see:

Hello ---------,
Thank you for contacting ASUS Product Support.
My name is -------- Escalation Team, and it's my pleasure to help you with your problem.
Good Day,
We apologize for the delay that happened to your RMA ---------. It is because, last March 21st up to April 14, 2016, our Repair Facility conducted a System Upgrade/Maintenance that is why almost 1000 RMA Cases were delayed. But since yesterday, our RMA Facilities are fully operational. And by that, I will be sending an Escalation Ticket to our Repair Facility to get updates and if possible, to expedite the shipment since it was going on now for more than a month.
Once we get an approval, we will update you right away via e-mail or phone call.

Thank You

FINAL (HOPEFULLY) UPDATE 4-28-16: I finally have a return FedEx tracking number. Hope this is the end of the ordeal and I can get back to actually using the router and evaluating it.

 

[sfx2000]

Does anyone know of a good way to contact someone at ASUS who can actually do something about my issue, and is this the norm for warranty repairs?

Here's a virtual hammer you can bash on folks with if that is any comfort...

 

[AnClar]

Here's a virtual hammer you can bash on folks with if that is any comfort...

View attachment 6071

I only bash when and where it is deserved. Pardon me if I am a tad bit frustrated with service that is unresponsive, uninformed, and generally unhelpful.

 

[sfx2000]

I only bash when and where it is deserved. Pardon me if I am a tad bit frustrated with service that is unresponsive, uninformed, and generally unhelpful.

It was intended in a light-hearted sort of way - I think we've all felt that level of frustration when dealing with various vendors.

Hoping for a positive outcome..

 

[AnClar]

It was intended in a light-hearted sort of way - I think we've all felt that level of frustration when dealing with various vendors.

Hoping for a positive outcome..

I took it as jest...sorry...I'm just at my wit's end with this particular issue. I ran a tech support operation for years and if my CSRs were at the level of what I've gotten from a lot of outfits lately, I would have been tempted to use that hammer you offered. Thanks.

 

[kng]

Hi,

Does any of ac5300u owners around here, had the opportunity to test the ac88u also? Any impressions on that?

Thank you

 

[hackintoshsr]

Hi,

Does any of ac5300u owners around here, had the opportunity to test the ac88u also? Any impressions on that?

Thank you

Yes, mine was night and day 5300 hands down better at everything. I may have got a bad unit with the 88u because it disconnected a lot and the range was bad. This was also way back when the 88u just came out. Just my experience. Could be different elsewhere

 

[Phoenix]

Yes, mine was night and day 5300 hands down better at everything. I may have got a bad unit with the 88u because it disconnected a lot and the range was bad. This was also way back when the 88u just came out. Just my experience. Could be different elsewhere

same experience as well. Got the AC88U as soon as it was released, it was disconnecting randomly no matter what firmware I used be it ASUS or Merlin. Then I sold it and got the AC3200 which was the worst router I ever owned in my life. Kept desperately waiting for firmware updates and checking multiple times a day but even when a firmware update came, it didn't fix the horrible random disconnections I had so I went back to my trusty AC68U for a while.

Decided to give ASUS one last chance with the AC5300 and didn't have a single disconnection since I bought it last month.

 

[AnClar]

It was intended in a light-hearted sort of way - I think we've all felt that level of frustration when dealing with various vendors.

Hoping for a positive outcome..

Received my RMA return today. Interestingly enough, they shipped me a complete new full retail packaged 5300. Upon unpacking and assembling, it's clear that ASUS made some improvements on the antennae. All eight antennae feel much sturdier, even though externally they are identical in appearance to the ones on my original unit, and they stand upright firmly and solidly. With that issue out of the way, I have to say that this is easily one of the best prosumer routers I've ever owned. I still maintain that six weeks from return to receiving the replacement unit is far too long to have to wait, but the router itself is excellent. Now that (at least in my case) the antennae work as intended I would recommend the router to anyone needing its full feature set and excellent range, throughput and capacity.

 

[madusmacus]

when I turn the router on in the morning 5GHz-2 network is the last network to show up in the active network list on my computer, sometimes I have to wait up to 20 minutes for that network to appear.
Is this normal?
p.s. there are no USB devices connected to the router, should I do factory reset?

I get the same thing I purchased this yesterday
I have tried 4 different firmwares (including 9.0.0 betas and merlin's) all with factory resets and its the same 5-20 min wait when on auto/auto/auto

Its a bit quicker if you force ASUS_5G-2 to fixed channel like 100
But even then its 1-2 minutes till is shows up in any of my client ssid lists

but this is very depressing and I dont realy trust ASUS_5G-2 at all now :¬(

I am thinking of chucking it back at them - thank god for amazon

If anyone can say THIS IS NORMAL would be good :¬)
But somehow I doubt it

 

[Alxy]

I bought Asus ac5300 yesterday and 5ghz-2 is not working. Sometimes it appears, but once I change some settings or router restarts 5ghz-2 disappears. I tried beta firmware, playing with different settings, resets. Nothing helps. Does everybody have this issue? Could anyone solve it or get a working replacement?

 

[L&LD]

I bought Asus ac5300 yesterday and 5ghz-2 is not working. Sometimes it appears, but once I change some settings or router restarts 5ghz-2 disappears. I tried beta firmware, playing with different settings, resets. Nothing helps. Does everybody have this issue? Could anyone solve it or get a working replacement?

What settings? What firmware? Did you do a reset to factory defaults after flashing the new firmware?

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

If you have tested logically for a hardware issue, then return it and try another one. If the next one continues showing the same issues, (possibly) it is your configuration that you need to pay closer attention to.