ASUS RT-AC86U Dual Band AC2900 Wireless Router Reviewed

[hotsauce2007]

This is not a sun but a a padlock (not the best icon draw ). I am not sure about the meaning but may refer to the SSL connection and the certificate of the DDNs.

In any case having a public IP it should work for you. Review your DDNS configuration page. Find enclosed how looks like mine. Maybe try with other provider to check if is related with that.

I did the entire process again, look how it finish:

 

[asdfvv]

Happy for you

 

[hotsauce2007]

Happy for you

but it stay in ''updating'' mode forever and I never had this ''symbol'' after the ddns, I will contact asus about it because I did the entire process using the tutorial from the website, what do you do with the ''export'' function? Do you download the file and upload in some place?

 

[asdfvv]

but it stay in ''updating'' mode forever and I never had this ''symbol'' after the ddns, I will contact asus about it because I did the entire process using the tutorial from the website, what do you do with the ''export'' function? Do you download the file and upload in some place?

Sorry I overlooked before.

There is something rare in your certificate. It does show a private ip 192.168.1.1 and not the ddns asuscomm name. See mine enclosed.

I suggest moving to none, see if it does update... apply again the let’s encrypt. If this does not work try a test also creating the update with other provider like ddns.

I believe that is not needed to export the certificate. I think that The “symbol” after the the ddns appears when the dynamic dns server is properly updated (At the end...)

 

[hotsauce2007]

Sorry I overlooked before.

There is something rare in your certificate. It does show a private ip 192.168.1.1 and not the ddns asuscomm name. See mine enclosed.

I suggest moving to none, see if it does update... apply again the let’s encrypt. If this does not work try a test also creating the update with other provider like ddns.

I believe that is not needed to export the certificate. I think that The “symbol” after the the ddns appears when the dynamic dns server is properly updated (At the end...)

Thanks for all the tips, I will try one by one, plus I got another AC86U for my friend, I will do another setup just to test and see how it works in another topology
=]

 

[StinkyDurian]

Hi,
I need some help here, I just ordered AC86U and is on delivery.
Can anyone help to measure the power connector size for AC86U? I need to purchase an extension cord, those female to male type.

If I'm correct, the original barrel port on the ASUS AC/DC adapter is 4.0mm x 1.35mm, but in the market the barrel extension cable available is only 4.0mm x 1.7mm or 3.5mm x 1.35mm. Which one would fit?

Thanks all.

 

[Grisu]

both wont fit on one side or the other.
cut it off and solder an extension.

mine got exactly 4,00 x 1,35mm (hard to measure but should/could be correct).
I tried to insert a 1,40mm screwdriver and not possible, so it must be less!

 

[bidi]

i'm thinking of upgrading from an AC87U to an AC86U (actually shuffling some hardware around and replacing a 10 year old SMC tri-band router in a location where i need more wi-fi range). the review says that the 5 GHz is not really that good on the 86U relative to the other models in the test, behaving more like a 3 stream than a 4 stream. is this still the case today? has the 5 GHz behavior improved in the year since the official release? unfortunately i could not find a direct comparison between these two exact models.

i only use 5 GHz at home (not that large of an apartment, gypsum interior walls), so if the 86U is worse than the 87U it may not be a good choice after all. on the other hand, the CPU is really appealing since i use OpenVPN to access my home network almost daily, so a faster server would be awesome. it's the fastest CPU that Asus seems to be offering at the moment, so the other models like the 88U are not really competitive.

 

[Grisu]

i'm thinking of upgrading from an AC87U to an AC86U (actually shuffling some hardware around and replacing a 10 year old SMC tri-band router in a location where i need more wi-fi range). the review says that the 5 GHz is not really that good on the 86U relative to the other models in the test, behaving more like a 3 stream than a 4 stream. is this still the case today? has the 5 GHz behavior improved in the year since the official release? unfortunately i could not find a direct comparison between these two exact models.

i only use 5 GHz at home (not that large of an apartment, gypsum interior walls), so if the 86U is worse than the 87U it may not be a good choice after all. on the other hand, the CPU is really appealing since i use OpenVPN to access my home network almost daily, so a faster server would be awesome. it's the fastest CPU that Asus seems to be offering at the moment, so the other models like the 88U are not really competitive.

do you really ever use 3 or 4 streams that means more devices running full speed at the same time? Coverage will allmost be the same.
Surfing in the internet even on 1GB line you will never see differences as both can handle faster.

 

[bidi]

maybe i misunderstood the graphs. i just found another review that compared exactly these two models, and it seems like the 86U is a slight improvement over the 87U on the 5GHz band. my point about the streams was that, if you have transfer speeds on a 4 stream router similar to a 3 stream model in a 4x4 test setup (if i understood the procedure correctly), then there's something wrong wither with the 4th antenna being internal, with the way the chipset is handling the traffic or with the software itself (which can be fixed easiest). so even in a 1-2 stream situation there could be problems (could, not necessarily will).

as for the number of streams, 3 cell phones at the same time are already 3 streams. i think my wife's phone and laptop may be 2x2 devices, so, yes, i can find situations when i might need full speed today, with a combination of LAN and WAN traffic. since i keep my devices for a long time, i'd rather have extra capacity today than run into problems 1-2 years from now when i upgrade something else (i have a feeling that my next laptop will be faster than my 2012 model that i currently have, in terms of 5 GHz wireless speed). i still have PTSD from when my mother managed to choke the entire wi-fi network with her ipad a few years ago, when we were using a 1 stream N router (not at my house, but my setup). never again.

edit: we don't use apple devices in our house, but i hear that they've had 3x3 antennas on their laptops for some time. i don't think other manufacturers will be capped at 2x2 for much longer (for example Lenovo Thinkpads).

 

[Grisu]

Then probabely best would be to stay with your quite good 87U and wait one year for 160Mhz bandwith routers
They will double speed!

 

[GuruGuy]

Then probabely best would be to stay with your quite good 87U and wait one year for 160Mhz bandwith routes
They will double speed!

Wont do anything if his clients don't support it.

 

[bidi]

well, i decided to order it while the sale lasts. i've been tracking its price for a year, since it first hit the market, and this is the lowest it's been since then. it launched at a discount, probably because the first batch of customers were practically beta testers. i remember how the 87U was when i first got it, and that was was a few months after launch. 1 year in is probably enough, judging by the feedback i see in these forums.

the only reason to wait another year would be if WPA 3* models were to come out within a month or so. i haven't seen any such announcements from ASUS so far, and one router on the desk is worth two at the next CES (assuming they announce one in January 2019, it's available for me in September 2019 and the software is actually stable by September 2020 - that's two years of having solved the range and VPN speed problems that i'm aiming at with this purchase).

*- i don't yet have clients supporting that either, obviously.

 

[Grisu]

Wont do anything if his clients don't support it.

sure, but he is asking for long time run (10 years), so probabely better to wait for AX, WPA3 and 160MHz, only wanted to say that there is a great step in WiFi next (or 2) year.

For fastest VPN right now the 86U is best you could do.

 

[glimerman]

i just got this router a few weeks ago i had a older asus i just felt like upgrading ,, well i have 400mb x25mb spectrum , for some reason this router has a issue with my pc and my lan cards and only gets 275 to 350 k sometimes 150mb if i unplug my lan cable and plug it back in the speeds go up , i updated firmware ,checked all my wires , when i hook the same wire into the modem which i bought a brand new net gear cm600 just in case that was the issue but its not when hooked to the modem i get 450 to 475 mb on every speed test, long story short i hooked up my old router i get 450mb also ,, this router maxes 350mb if im lucky ,, after reading this page i am about to try this firm ware ,i checked every setting and every possible issue but same wires different router speeds are max .. so the problem is within this router,, any tips on installing this fire ware? also are there any new asus routers that don't have this issue ? i will call amazon and just swap it out of a different one if this can be fixed that way ,,and i know its only a 100mb lose but i cant live with that lol.. so should i install this fireware and give things a try ? or what router should i buy if i return this one . my old asus never had a issue for 2 years ,this router works perfect accept for this speed issue

 

[jrmtz85]

Just got the 86U and really liking it. One question. Seems like my 5.0 connection seems to only connect at 866mps, and 2.4 and 300mbps. I have the new Aero 15x V8 with the Killer 1550 card. Are there specific setting I need to be enabling on either/both to get the higher Wifi speed? Thanks!

 

[ASadani]

Just got the 86U and really liking it. One question. Seems like my 5.0 connection seems to only connect at 866mps, and 2.4 and 300mbps. I have the new Aero 15x V8 with the Killer 1550 card. Are there specific setting I need to be enabling on either/both to get the higher Wifi speed? Thanks!

I believe the AC Cards are maxed to 866.5mbps. I am not sure if you can get 1550 on those cards?

 

[RMerlin]

Just got the 86U and really liking it. One question. Seems like my 5.0 connection seems to only connect at 866mps, and 2.4 and 300mbps. I have the new Aero 15x V8 with the Killer 1550 card. Are there specific setting I need to be enabling on either/both to get the higher Wifi speed? Thanks!

That card is only 2x2, therefore 866 Mbps is the max it can reach.

 

[jrmtz85]

That card is only 2x2, therefore 866 Mbps is the max it can reach.

Mothertruckers! then why do they advertise 1.73gbps max on their site?

 

[RMerlin]

Mothertruckers! then why do they advertise 1.73gbps max on their site?

Requires 160 Mhz wide channels.