have any body heard of this model. Asus RT-AC68A

[pete y testing]

The confusion is due to Amazon blindly copying and pasting the R\U specs. There was no indication if and what features this SKU will be missing.

and it does state

ASUS AC1900 Dual-Band Gigabit Router, AiProtection with Trend Micro for Complete Network Protection (RT-AC68A)

so if the trend micro stuff isnt there its misleading

 

[Indyrobb]

I didn't have any issues getting refunds on the two I sent back. I even put the reason for return as being that the description was incorrect.

I was more upset that neither company could get me past tier 1 support to talk to someone that may have had real answers,although i was very clear in my requests... Repeatedly.

I have bought several things at special pricing on pre-order, but didn't think I'd get something "half baked" for a reduction in that price, especially when they raised it so quickly a day or two later, then again another few days, and then finally stopped doing the orders all together. I've learned my lesson - don't buy special versions of things unless it's already been vetted. I have my 68u that I need to set up tomorrow for me. And a tmobile branded one to set up for my sister.

I just wonder if they will pull the product, or get it updated soon.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[a5m]

I've read through this thread and have not seen anyone mention how the full featured RT-AC68A C1 revision compares to the B1 revision RT-AC68U. I'd appreciate it if Merlin or anyone can share whether or not they saw an improvement, particularly in the wireless performance.

 

[MMPP211]

Same question as above: how do the B1 U and the A (C1) compare in wireless performance? Also,

1) How are some people able to report on the number of processor cores in use on the A? Does Merlin tell that?
2) Does the A that comes with the U firmware (the "good" firmware) use two processor cores?
3) Does the A have the same CPU and radios as the P? I know that the CPUs are both 1 GHZ, but are they the same?
4) Does the the A (C1) have the more limited output power discussed in the following SNB discussion? Does the B1 U? http://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac68p-with-upgraded-cpu-not-r-or-u.20297/page-3
5) In general, what are the hardware differences between B1 and C1?

 

[a5m]

Also can someone who has a C1 please check to see if they are able to load stock ASUS or Merlin firmware that is older than version 380?

 

[RMerlin]

I'd appreciate it if Merlin or anyone can share whether or not they saw an improvement, particularly in the wireless performance.

I don't have one, so I have no idea how it performs.

 

[trent25]

Anyone tried the new Merlin release on the AC68A?
ver. 380.59 (10-May-2016)

Today my router auto detected an update and popped the nagging notification. Not sure if it was going to update to the newly released 68U firmware or one of the cut-down versions.
So instead I updated from stock 380.1842 to Merlin 380.59
Restored factory defaults just in case, and manually set it up from scratch. So far no problems.

 

[MMPP211]

I received a new RT-AC68U from Amazon, which I bought after returning my RT-AC68A with the 2859 crippleware. Both my A and my new U are hardware version C1, and my new U has the 1842 firmware.

My first speed test with the U matched the very best result I ever got with the A in probably 100 tests: 236 Mbps down and 24 Mbps up on Time Warner with a 200 Mbps plan and choosing the right server on my Speedtest.net app.

I'll be excited to try the Merlin firmware. It's exciting to read the forums with the developer participating. Thank you RMerlin. This will be a fun aspect of owning the Asus that I didn't know about when I pre-ordered the RT-AC68A. It will more than make up for the hassle.

 

[RMerlin]

Both my A and my new U are hardware version C1

So they finally starting getting those RT-AC68U rev C1 into the pipeline. Now I know that the sample I got late last year wasn't a unicorn

 

[trent25]

So they finally starting getting those RT-AC68U rev C1 into the pipeline. Now I know that the sample I got late last year wasn't a unicorn

I was looking through your github repository, particularly here "asuswrt-merlin/release/src-rt-6.x.4708/cfe/build/broadcom/bcm947xx/compressed/" I noticed the 2 68U files that have "C0" in their name. A plain 68U whichh seems to match exactly the hardware that I got (I checked several of the variables in that file against my nvram content). And a 68U V2 with 1.4GHz CPU which might be the RT-AC1900P that "pete y testing" mentioned earlier in this thread.
Does the C0 refer to C1 hardware? and do both have the same 4709 CPU?
This is getting very confusing

 

[L&LD]

trent25, I don't think those are related. Just a coincidence.

 

[trent25]

trent25, I don't think those are related. Just a coincidence.

The 2 files have an extra variable (compared to other AC68U) "cpurev" that is set to c0 for both. No idea what that is supposed to indicate, maybe nothing

 

[RMerlin]

I was looking through your github repository, particularly here "asuswrt-merlin/release/src-rt-6.x.4708/cfe/build/broadcom/bcm947xx/compressed/" I noticed the 2 68U files that have "C0" in their name. A plain 68U whichh seems to match exactly the hardware that I got (I checked several of the variables in that file against my nvram content). And a 68U V2 with 1.4GHz CPU which might be the RT-AC1900P that "pete y testing" mentioned earlier in this thread.
Does the C0 refer to C1 hardware? and do both have the same 4709 CPU?
This is getting very confusing

I have only limited info. All I know is that the RT-AC68U rev C1 has the new C0 revision of the CPU.

I have no idea what the RT-AC68U V2 specifically refers to.

 

[MMPP211]

Today my router auto detected an update and popped the nagging notification. Not sure if it was going to update to the newly released 68U firmware or one of the cut-down versions.
So instead I updated from stock 380.1842 to Merlin 380.59
Restored factory defaults just in case, and manually set it up from scratch. So far no problems.

You were smart. I responded to the notification, and now I can't try Merlin because of it. When I read your post, I thought you were misunderstanding the crippleware issue. You were way ahead of me. I guess I'll have to wait for 380.60.

 

[L&LD]

You were smart. I responded to the notification, and now I can't try Merlin because of it. When I read your post, I thought you were misunderstanding the crippleware issue. You were way ahead of me. I guess I'll have to wait for 380.60.

Use the recovery method to flash the RMerlin firmware (or almost any other version of your choice).

 

[trent25]

I have only limited info. All I know is that the RT-AC68U rev C1 has the new C0 revision of the CPU.

I have no idea what the RT-AC68U V2 specifically refers to.

The AC68 C1 h/w might be a cost effective way to use up lower binned BCM4709-C0/4 that either are not stable at 1.4GHz (require higher voltage) and/or run too hot.
I'm not sure how temperature scales with frequency on these SOCs, but on my unit, even though it's still relatively cold here, my CPU temp hovers around 75C with nearly 0% load, which is no better than previous h/w revs.

 

[hggomes]

RT-AC68A is a single core CPU with BCM4708 at 800MHZ.

 

[mike_in_nyc]

RT-AC68A is a single core CPU with BCM4708 at 800MHZ.

Where did you get that info? My AC68A is a dual CPU running at 1.0 GHZ.

 

[trent25]

RT-AC68A is a single core CPU with BCM4708 at 800MHZ.

I don't think so ...

cat /proc/cpuinfo
Processor : ARMv7 Processor rev 0 (v7l)
processor : 0
BogoMIPS : 1998.84

processor : 1
BogoMIPS : 1998.84

Features : swp half thumb fastmult edsp
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 7
CPU variant : 0x3
CPU part : 0xc09
CPU revision : 0

Hardware : Northstar Prototype
Revision : 0000
Serial : 0000000000000000

nvram get clkfreq
1000,666

 

[hggomes]

You have a different Revision, you can flash any FW manually right?