Do you feel Asus has abandoned support for the AC66U?

[jonstatt]

Maybe I have the wrong perception, but it feels like Asus has given up with the AC66U. It has quite a lot of issues with the radio performance such as 5Ghz power dropping etc. The latest firmware .354 has been in Beta for months, and prior to that there was nothing for ages.

Now Asus announce the RT-AC68U and it makes you think, that they have just written off this model and going to replace it with a new model instead!

There are things in .266 that I find better, and things in .354 I find better. The inconsistencies I am finding very annoying. And to top that off I just found a new bug in ALL firmware when using an AC66U in media bridge mode, that it caps out at about 10 device connections...any more than that, and they fail to get DHCP responses.

 

[krum]

I felt the same way, after digging around there is a new beta .372 out that fixes alot of those issues you mentioned. I wish they would just go ahead and release that version;
QOS/ Parental control/ wireless 2.4 , 5 / and stuttering is fixed in that beta.
So I guess it will be shortly when that version or a newer one is released.

Chris

 

[mikeg]

I do not think Asus has left owners of the A66U releasing new firmware BUT they are prioritizing the new AC-models. I have a feeling that they have the main priority to sell more new routers than to support the present AC66U owners.
This raises the question if the next router or whatever product I will buy will be from Asus : for myself the answer is NO.

 

[oshia86]

My AC66U has been terrible overall. If me and the wife stay in and just do some movies/tv shows on Netflix you can guarantee I'll be erasing the NVRAM and reflashing the router to get it working again. We get constant fluctuations in the streams as well. My old WRT320N never had these problems. Not to mention the fact that the external USB storage on the device constantly disappears. I'm even on my second router, as the first one got so bad.

Now there seem to be no more firmware updates. It is sad enough it took this long to get their top of the line device where it is now. I'm positive this will be my last Asus device for a good while.

 

[RMerlin]

I do not think Asus has left owners of the A66U releasing new firmware BUT they are prioritizing the new AC-models. I have a feeling that they have the main priority to sell more new routers than to support the present AC66U owners.
This raises the question if the next router or whatever product I will buy will be from Asus : for myself the answer is NO.

Remember when the RT-N66U and RT-AC66U came out - they were getting a lot of firmware updates, with no updates to the RT-N16. Once they got these new routers stable however they once again released frequent RT-N16 updates.

Just be patient. The focus is on the new routers because they must make them ready for launch. They have a time table to meet there. Once they're launched, you will definitely see new FW updates appear for the RT-N16, RT-N66U and RT-AC66U. They have even already announced that beamforming would be implemented in the RT-AC66U. They released a new RT-N66U FW only a week ago, and last week I have published a beta firmware for the RT-AC66U that resolves quite a few issues as well.

Are things better with the competition? I disagree. The competition stops updating their router firmware after 1 or 2 years on average. If sustained support years after the router release is what you are after, Asus are amongst those who supports their routers for the longest time.

Look at the RT-N16 for a very good example - find any Netgear or Linksys router released the same year as the RT-N16, and check out many FW updates were released for these in the last year. Then count how many RT-N16 FW releases were made in the past year.

 

[maylyn]

Remember when the RT-N66U and RT-AC66U came out - they were getting a lot of firmware updates, with no updates to the RT-N16. Once they got these new routers stable however they once again released frequent RT-N16 updates.

Just be patient. The focus is on the new routers because they must make them ready for launch. They have a time table to meet there. Once they're launched, you will definitely see new FW updates appear for the RT-N16, RT-N66U and RT-AC66U. They have even already announced that beamforming would be implemented in the RT-AC66U. They released a new RT-N66U FW only a week ago, and last week I have published a beta firmware for the RT-AC66U that resolves quite a few issues as well.

Are things better with the competition? I disagree. The competition stops updating their router firmware after 1 or 2 years on average. If sustained support years after the router release is what you are after, Asus are amongst those who supports their routers for the longest time.

Look at the RT-N16 for a very good example - find any Netgear or Linksys router released the same year as the RT-N16, and check out many FW updates were released for these in the last year. Then count how many RT-N16 FW releases were made in the past year.

I second what RMerlin has mentioned, I don't think any other networking vendors have able or managed yet to provide that firmware support and new features implementation as good as ASUS.

Nevertheless ASUS TW HQ should have prioritize their checklist depending on the severity of the bugs/issues (wireless issues with Intel WiFi cards for one which i deem it severe) found and dedicate some manpower/resources in resolving these issues rather the whole team in getting in preparing new stable firmwares for the upcoming ASUS RT-AC56U and ASUS RT_AC68U and leave the ASUS RT-N66U and AC66U users out there hanging since late March 2013 IMHO.

Of cos, the new Broadcom ARM based Cortex A9 SDK is nasty i think i still got a checklist full awaiting ASUS TW HQ for their pending action with their ASUS RT-N15U, ASUS PCE-AC66U, ASUS USB-AC53, next Dual WAN firmware revision, specific IPv6 support and issues etc

My 2 cents

 

[RMerlin]

From what someone tells me, dealing with Broadcom is always a pain in the rear (he works for another company that develops HW based on Broadcom stuff). Wouldn't surprise me that the holdup with the N66U driver issues would be with Broadcom rather than Asus...

 

[maylyn]

From what someone tells me, dealing with Broadcom is always a pain in the rear (he works for another company that develops HW based on Broadcom stuff). Wouldn't surprise me that the holdup with the N66U driver issues would be with Broadcom rather than Asus...

Maybe ASUS should consider Qualcomm Atheros too

Ya, I can understand that sometimes ASUSs' hands are tied with these hardware makers

 

[Solara]

Maybe ASUS should consider Qualcomm Atheros too

Ya, I can understand that sometimes ASUSs' hands are tied with these hardware makers

All I can say is thank heavens for RMerlin. My router RT-AC66R never worked from day one even fresh out of the box and downloading the latest firmware from Asus. I am an IT professional myself and I can only imagine the frustration that people have gone through. If the product is not ready for real time hold off before releasing it to market. The company I work for is also guilty of jumping the gun with software/firmware. I purchased this router strictly on the Asus reputation as I have been using their products for years motherboards etc.. Asus may try holding the feet on their manufacturers to the fire and hold them accountable. Not preaching guys just saying how I feel. Am down a little in the mouth to know another router is getting ready to be released and mine is still not corrected to it's potential.

 

[cmillar6]

I spent $180 on a Linksys EA4500 last year which at the time was a new model. It saw a firmware update in November 2012 and hasn't seen one since and there are still a few serious bugs in the firmware. This forced me to purchase my AC66u from Asus.
I just wish all router manufacturers would slow down on the amount of models and hardware revisions they release so they could focus their efforts on core models. I realize technology advances but there does seem to be too many models coming out from all major manufacturers (Asus included).
As others have noted, props to Merlin, he makes owning a router fun again with his frequent firmware updates. I watch Twitter everyday hoping for another update!

 

[Grievous Angel]

I hope this isn't it. I replaced a 4th gen Airport Extreme with this router. And it got updates throughout its life. And for all it's apple douchiness, it was rock solid and I never had a single solitary issue with it for three years.

I had to reboot my router today (two days old, was up for one day running) because everything connected to the 2.4 band just disconnected and wouldn't reconnect.

Hopefully it was a fluke.

If I get too much trouble out of it I'll go back to Netgear and never look back--had a couple of those before the Airport Extreme and let a "true believer" at Best Buy talk me into the Airport Extreme. And while I can't complain, really, my first instinct was to go with Netgear because of the luck I've had in the past, but the reviews on this site pushed me to Asus.

I hope I get good service out of it. I'm not terribly impressed with my other asus product (Transformer Infinity).

 

[roscolo]

ASUS Abandon? Not in my experience with ASUS products

Been using ASUS mobos for many years. One of the best things about ASUS is how long they continue to support a board, usually long after the retail availability of the board (years)! My RT-AC66U is working great on the latest .354 firmware. And ASUS recently updated Download Master just a couple of weeks ago that fixed a couple of minor annoyances that have already been discussed here.

I have no complaints. In my experience, companies releasing too many firmware updates and releasing them too early, and then people haphazardly installing firmwares without even knowing what issues the firmware addresses creates far bigger problems than slow, measured quality releases and prudent updating by users. I think many complaints here have come from people assuming they have issues related to firmware and then improperly install every firmware version willy nilly and create more problems for themselves.

RT-AC66U is rock solid and working fantastic. By far the best router I've ever used. Keep up the good work, ASUS!

 

[Arrow]

I think many complaints here have come from people assuming they have issues related to firmware and then improperly install every firmware version willy nilly and create more problems for themselves.

Rather, I strongly suspect you don't have a wireless AC adapter, used it on the second floor of a house (a floor removed from the RT-AC66U) and watched data rate/link rate drop using the Asus utility on the 5Ghz network after several days. I've reproduced this now on two different RT-AC66U routers. Switching channels doesn't fix this. Changing TX power doesn't fix this. I'm using 80 MHz channel bandwidth. Resetting the router and re-entering in everything doesn't fix this either (except temporarily, which is to be expected, after the initial reset).

The issue absolutely defeats the purpose of buying an AC router (faster throughput, which drops after a period of time, unless the router is reset).

issues with the radio performance such as 5Ghz power dropping

Yes, this problem is very frustrating, and if this is a Broadcom driver issue, the problem isn't fixed in 3.0.0.4.354

 

[vdemarco]

Rather, I strongly suspect you don't have a wireless AC adapter, used it on the second floor of a house (a floor removed from the RT-AC66U) and watched data rate/link rate drop using the Asus utility on the 5Ghz network after several days. I've reproduced this now on two different RT-AC66U routers. Switching channels doesn't fix this. Changing TX power doesn't fix this. I'm using 80 MHz channel bandwidth. Resetting the router and re-entering in everything doesn't fix this either (except temporarily, which is to be expected, after the initial reset).

The issue absolutely defeats the purpose of buying an AC router (faster throughput, which drops after a period of time, unless the router is reset).



Yes, this problem is very frustrating, and if this a Broadcom driver issue, the problem isn't fixed in 3.0.0.4.354

Just to add more info I am seeing exactly the same thing. For me everything is on the same floor. All my machines (all macs) speed drops after about a week. I reboot and its fixed. The beta firmware 3.0.4.354 has the same problem but the speed drop occurs much faster.

 

[MonkY]

Yes, i feel cheated by Asus. Looks like they gave up on fixing the issues with AC66U... They just ignored the problem and started releasing new products. For me, i think AC66U is the last Asus network product i'll ever buy.

Their last official firmware was released about 5 months ago. And has TONS of problems. Their beta firmware is 3 months old and it's causing me a lot of pain... Even RMerlin kinda gave up on releasing new features or bugfixes.

And don't forget, AC66U is a Premium Product! With the money i paid for it, i could get 2 x DLink or 2 x Linksys with AC standard (btw, they don't have the issues that AC66U has, and they are not in beta for months!).

Goodbye Asus!

 

[RMerlin]

Even RMerlin kinda gave up on releasing new features or bugfixes.

That is not true. In fact, the last three releases I made had some of the longest lists of changes for a release since the start of the project.

EDIT: and so far I have made over 40 commits to the 372 branch, not counting other changes made between 354.29 Beta 1 and the switch to the 372 code branch.

Folks, lack of official releases from Asus does not mean there was zero development. I feel like I am repeating myself, but the work Asus has done between 354 and 372 ALSO applies to the RT-AC66U, not just their new routers. They have already announced they would be implementing beamforming for the RT-AC66U. I have even published a beta 372 build for the RT-AC66U from Asus only a week ago, which solves amongst other things the LAN latency bug that was in 354. So, I'm not really sure what folks are expecting here in terms of support...

 

[mikeg]

I have this problem with drops of signal strength on the AC66U and have been waiting for a solution for more than 6 months. I have an Asus RT-N66U running Tomato USB Shibby with no problems on the 5 Ghz band so I use this instead of my expansive AC66U till the issue has been solved.
I feel cheated too by Asus to just tell me to wait so long.
I will certainly think more than once before I buy another Asus product.

Yes, i feel cheated by Asus. Looks like they gave up on fixing the issues with AC66U... They just ignored the problem and started releasing new products. For me, i think AC66U is the last Asus network product i'll ever buy.

Their last official firmware was released about 5 months ago. And has TONS of problems. Their beta firmware is 3 months old and it's causing me a lot of pain... Even RMerlin kinda gave up on releasing new features or bugfixes.

And don't forget, AC66U is a Premium Product! With the money i paid for it, i could get 2 x DLink or 2 x Linksys with AC standard (btw, they don't have the issues that AC66U has, and they are not in beta for months!).

Goodbye Asus!

 

[krum]

That is not true. In fact, the last three releases I made had some of the longest lists of changes for a release since the start of the project.

EDIT: and so far I have made over 40 commits to the 372 branch, not counting other changes made between 354.29 Beta 1 and the switch to the 372 code branch.

Folks, lack of official releases from Asus does not mean there was zero development. I feel like I am repeating myself, but the work Asus has done between 354 and 372 ALSO applies to the RT-AC66U, not just their new routers. They have already announced they would be implementing beamforming for the RT-AC66U. I have even published a beta 372 build for the RT-AC66U from Asus only a week ago, which solves amongst other things the LAN latency bug that was in 354. So, I'm not really sure what folks are expecting here in terms of support...

Also the fix for parental controls / QOS fixes..


Chris

 

[cmillar6]

Even RMerlin kinda gave up on releasing new features or bugfixes.

Your dismissing the fact that Merlin does this as a hobby and for free. He's probably spending all this time fixing sloppy code in .372

 

[cmillar6]

That is not true. In fact, the last three releases I made had some of the longest lists of changes for a release since the start of the project.

EDIT: and so far I have made over 40 commits to the 372 branch, not counting other changes made between 354.29 Beta 1 and the switch to the 372 code branch.

Folks, lack of official releases from Asus does not mean there was zero development. I feel like I am repeating myself, but the work Asus has done between 354 and 372 ALSO applies to the RT-AC66U, not just their new routers. They have already announced they would be implementing beamforming for the RT-AC66U. I have even published a beta 372 build for the RT-AC66U from Asus only a week ago, which solves amongst other things the LAN latency bug that was in 354. So, I'm not really sure what folks are expecting here in terms of support...

Will beamforming work with all wireless clients or do you need a wireless AC capable device?