Do I need the AC87U router?

[olem88]

Hi,

Yesterday I bought the AC87U, coming from N66U.
I bought it manly because I had some WiFi instability (5GHz) and somewhat bad 2,4GHz signal.

I only have one computer using the AC, and using it manly for gaming, torrenting, alot of music on youtube and streaming on chromecast.
I have one phone capable of 5ghz, but not needed.
And 3 laptop, one PS4, and 2 additional phones connected to the router 2,4ghz channel.

And I must say the AC87U did disappoint me in the 5GHz area.
My Internet is 100/10, and with N66U I got a stable 5Ghz connection with 20/6, where the AC87U gives 15/4 - 50/7 and alot unstable (lag in games, few seconds every hour where it is unusable).

As of now, the router is on top floor of a three floor building, and Im about to move it to the middle, or the basement where my only AC computer, chromecast, and PS4 is located. And there is about 25cm of concrete between each floor, as of now there is 50cm of concrete and 20m between AC USB and the AC router.

So my question is, do I really need the AC87U?
I never copy files around the network, every wifi devices/computer is only doing internet activity.
And the reason I have the AC in one computer is that the USB adpater got huge antennas, and boosted the signal reading?!
Where my earlier N66 usb adapter was utter shirt comparing to my current AC usb adapter.

 

[L&LD]

Try it in a more central location with the latest firmware from Asus or RMerlin and be sure you do a reset to factory defaults and then manually entering the minimum settings required to get the router working. Use a new ssid too to make sure that the router bonds with the clients in an optimal way with it's new settings and wireless drivers.

Mainly, you want to give the router the best spot in the house and also try aligning the antenna to your most important devices (if they stay in the same room or area).


If any of the above doesn't work, then I guess return it and see if another router will be better matched for your environment and your devices.

 

[wctest]

Your not alone, my Macbook Pro and iPhone are unusable when connected to the RT-AC87U/R 5GHz network. The internet connection drops to almost 56k or won't work at all. I'm only 5 feet from the router and no walls in-between. When I switch to 2GHz everything is fine again. To compare, I turned the 5GHz network on for the Airport TimeCapsule and the internet works perfect on both the laptop and phone. Something is definitely wrong with the 5GHz network on the Asus 87U router. Either that or there's some sort of conflict with certain types of devices (because it worked fine on the iPhone for the first few days and didn't work right of the bat on the macbook).

Edit:....
I also forgot to mention I connected an xbox one to the 87U 5GHz network and it worked fine for the first night (even though NAT type showed as Strict and not Open as when connected through LAN cable). The next day it had trouble connecting to the internet and when it did it kept losing connection. I switched back to the LAN cable.

 

[colecaz]

Some of the throughput graphs I've seen here on SNB show a dip in throughput at strong signal strengths. Why not back off a few more feet and give it another try? Also try rotating your laptop so the antennas in it are in different positions relative to the router.

 

[olems]

I've read something about the 5ghz channel don't like long and complicated passwords. After I change my 5ghz channel password, I could connect 7/10 times. But before when I used a mutch stronger and longer password, I could only connect 2/10 times.

As for my case, I returned the ac87. And went back to the n66u. Only thing I notice was that the 2.4 GHz channel on the ac87 gave better speeds. But not enough to justify the cost. I think for now, the ac68 is a better a upgrade.

 

[wctest]

Some of the throughput graphs I've seen here on SNB show a dip in throughput at strong signal strengths. Why not back off a few more feet and give it another try? Also try rotating your laptop so the antennas in it are in different positions relative to the router.

I change the antennas and position of the router and the range has improved greatly but the 5GHz performance hasn't changed.

I've read something about the 5ghz channel don't like long and complicated passwords. After I change my 5ghz channel password, I could connect 7/10 times. But before when I used a mutch stronger and longer password, I could only connect 2/10 times.

As for my case, I returned the ac87. And went back to the n66u. Only thing I notice was that the 2.4 GHz channel on the ac87 gave better speeds. But not enough to justify the cost. I think for now, the ac68 is a better a upgrade.

I have a very long and complicated password. Maybe that is the cause? I will try changing it and seeing if there are any improvements.

 

[smithft]

I had problems with the 5Ghz channel as well and ended up returning the 87R. I noticed that on the router itself the 5Ghz light would blink rather slowly and periodically. It would go out for nearly a second and then come back on and this was continual. Changing settings or firmware had no effect on this and the transfer rates varied greatly and would generally go do to 0 during testing and then come back up. The radio lights on the other Asus routers I have had are generally always on or may blink very fast. I wondered if anyone else who was having problems with the 5Ghz channel had seen this type of behavior? By that I mean the slow blinking 5 Ghz light.

 

[RMerlin]

I had problems with the 5Ghz channel as well and ended up returning the 87R. I noticed that on the router itself the 5Ghz light would blink rather slowly and periodically. It would go out for nearly a second and then come back on and this was continual. Changing settings or firmware had no effect on this and the transfer rates varied greatly and would generally go do to 0 during testing and then come back up. The radio lights on the other Asus routers I have had are generally always on or may blink very fast. I wondered if anyone else who was having problems with the 5Ghz channel had seen this type of behavior? By that I mean the slow blinking 5 Ghz light.

The blinking behaviour is irrelevant. This is not a Broadcom chip, so its blinking behaviour will be different from the 2.4 GHz - this is perfectly normal.

 

[philmiami]

just return it and go with a R68U
I had just got my 68u when a few months later they came out with the 87u.
I don't care what bs people say, any and ALL routers operate in the 2.4Ghz and/or 5Ghz range
you can only get the amazing fiber like speed if both the router and the wi-fi connection do it
and it's line of sight
like 3 feet...because the specs they throw out to people are in a lab, without the usual stuff floating around in the air, like other radio frequencies, sun spot/magnetic push-pull, cell phones,etc,etc.....
so just save the money, get a 68u and down grade the firmware to a older version so you can get the true total output power of the router
if you leave it by the guidelines from the FCC, you will have blazing fast speeds at 30 CM.....or 1 foot line of sight..
just my thought on your post...
the latest and the greatest is not all the best