Help Choosing New Router

[LowTechKale]

Hey everyone. Found this forum while researching routers but I wanted to get people's opinions on my situation specifically because of the knowledge here.

Specifics:
- 1200 sq ft single story house with relatively thick walls. We have a basement that isn't currently used for recreation purposes but will in the future. Furthest distance WiFi is used is roughly 65ft from the host
router.

-Home security system with one outdoor camera and doorbell camera.

-I have 1.2gb fiber optic internet and get speeds in each room in the house that average around 250/250 30-65 ft from the host router and 800/700 15ft from it.

-It's a Nokia ONT connected to an Eero 6 pro router. 1 beacon 55ft away in the back corner room.

- We have 9 devices. 2 phones (S21Ultral and Note9). 1 laptop with casual use and podcasting. 1 Chromebook with casual use. 1 smart tv (will be hardwired with more ports). 1 PS5 (hardwired in with 950/500 avg). 2 Rokus. 1 security system (2 cameras) as mentioned above. Just the two of us using devices at the same time.

- I know if it's running well, don't fix it but it's a rented router. I want full access to the settings and use of VPNs and I can't do that currently which is the reason for the change. I'm looking for same performance, if not slightly better if I can find it. Trying to keep everything below 400 if possible.

Because of all this and the discussions on here, I've narrowed it down to an ASUS router, specifically the AX86U Pro but I did see the 88U Pro coming out and was wondering if that would be better or if there were better suggestions.

Thanks in advance for reading and replying. Looking forward to the discussion.

 

[BreakingDad]

I did see the 88U Pro coming out and was wondering if that would be better or if there were better suggestions.

Better yes, necessary no.

I think the 86U pro would be ideal for your requirements. While the 88U has 4x4, for your number of devices the 3x3 would be fine.

Put it this way I have the 86 (non pro) and about 45 devices with no issues.

The cpu is the same in both routers you selected
The memory is also the same
The 88 does have more 2.5gb ports if you are like to upgrade to ludicrous speeds in the future.


Comparison Table:

RT-AX86U Pro、RT-AX88U Pro Product different Compare｜ASUS Global

Comparison between RT-AX86U ProãRT-AX88U Pro in Network Standard ãProduct Segment ãWiFi Data Rate ãAntenna ãTransmit / Receive ãProcessor ãMemory ãBoosts SpeedãOperating Frequency ãOperating ModeãI/O Ports ãButtonsãLED Indicator ãPower Supply ãProduct Weight (g)ãProduct...

www.asus.com

 

[LowTechKale]

Better yes, necessary no.

I think the 86U pro would be ideal for your requirements. While the 88U has 4x4, for your number of devices the 3x3 would be fine.

Put it this way I have the 86 (non pro) and about 45 devices with no issues.

The cpu is the same in both routers you selected
The memory is also the same
The 88 does have more 2.5gb ports if you are like to upgrade to ludicrous speeds in the future.


Comparison Table:

RT-AX86U Pro、RT-AX88U Pro Product different Compare｜ASUS Global

Comparison between RT-AX86U ProãRT-AX88U Pro in Network Standard ãProduct Segment ãWiFi Data Rate ãAntenna ãTransmit / Receive ãProcessor ãMemory ãBoosts SpeedãOperating Frequency ãOperating ModeãI/O Ports ãButtonsãLED Indicator ãPower Supply ãProduct Weight (g)ãProduct...

www.asus.com

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I don't need ludicrous speeds for 2 people and 9 devices especially when it's a $100 difference. I game competitively but not "competitively" and neither one of us works from home. Our doorbell camera drops connection quite a bit but I think that has to do with that and not the current router.

86U Pro looks to be the ideal set up as a host router on an Aimesh system. Trying to decide if I want to get 2 of them or something cheaper to replace the beacon I already have in the back room.

 

[Datalink]

If your ONT is a NOKIA XS-010X-Q as seen by the product tag on the bottom of the ONT, then it has a single Multi-gig ethernet port. That Multi-gig ethernet port is capable of running 100 Mb/s, 1 Gb/s, 2.5 Gb/s ,5 Gb/s or 10 Gb/s. So, fwiw, you don't necessarily need to restrict yourself to routers with WAN ports where the maximum is 2.5 Gb/s. Keeping the budget in mind and not that you're looking to enter the ludicrous speed zone, you could consider routers with 10 Gb/s WAN ports as well. That in theory should give you years of use as you slowly explore the ludicrous speed zone. Other food for thought is, okay, I'm running something over 1 Gb/s via the WAN port, how do I get that beyond the router via an ethernet port. I think more router owners are going to be looking for multi-gig capability for both WAN and LAN ports in order to use those higher data rates on an ethernet connected device or devices down the road. Its a similar situation compared to not so long ago when people said, "who's going to ever need anything over 100 Mb/s." Well, here we are .....

 

[Tech9]

I have 1.2gb fiber optic internet and get speeds in each room in the house that average around 250/250 30-65 ft from the host router and 800/700 15ft from it.

Two people with 9 devices? Some of the devices are cell phones or tablets? You don't need to change your equipment. Your eero is better "mesh" than most home systems including AiMesh and the speed you currently get is excellent. Few hundred dollars later for new router(s) won't improve anything Internet experience related. You may get better speedtest numbers only. Why bother?

 

[Micgang]

I kind of agree with Tech9, but only if you own the current router. I think you may have stated that you rent your current router. I get that in the long run you’re prolly better off buying and using your own. The 86u is a great choice, especially given your fact pattern.

unrelated note. Love the Phillies image. I’m a season ticket holder myself…

 

[Tech9]

Single router won't have the Wi-Fi coverage of current 2x eero Pro 6 and wireless AiMesh is not better than eero. 2x Asus RT-AX86U (Pro) dual-band routers for $500 or more with shared wireless backhaul won't improve much - eero Pro 6 is a tri-band system with dedicated wireless backhaul.

 

[Tech9]

Trying to keep everything below 400 if possible

If you are after AiMesh - 2x identical routers with wired backhaul work best. Only 2x RT-AX86S fit your budget from 86-series. You'll get VPN options, but may not reach eero Pro 6 user experience. Asus ZenWiFi XT8 also fits your budget, but good luck with it. Not the best AiMesh combo around.

 

[BreakingDad]

Why bother?

The op wants more settings and the vpn features of Merlin I believe.

 

[LowTechKale]

I kind of agree with Tech9, but only if you own the current router. I think you may have stated that you rent your current router. I get that in the long run you’re prolly better off buying and using your own. The 86u is a great choice, especially given your fact pattern.

unrelated note. Love the Phillies image. I’m a season ticket holder myself…

Jealous of your season tickets. Enjoy the fun this year!

Two people with 9 devices? Some of the devices are cell phones or tablets? You don't need to change your equipment. Your eero is better "mesh" than most home systems including AiMesh and the speed you currently get is excellent. Few hundred dollars later for new router(s) won't improve anything Internet experience related. You may get better speedtest numbers only. Why bother?

Yes, I said I understood not to change something that works but I do not own the router and would like to along with being able to access all settings and have an open VPN. I'm fine going above budget but 2 wired backhaul routers is out of the question. The house isn't set up for it because it's older. So I may spend the money on the 2 86u Pros and go above budget if it gives me similar performance. Or if there is a better overall system in general you have in mind, the suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Basically I'm looking for everything I have now but with the ability to use a VPN and have access to all settings.

 

[LowTechKale]

I know what I said my budget was but I splurged and went with the Asus XT12s. I'm figured I have 30 days to see if it was worth it and if not, I'll just return them. Thoughts?

 

[Tech9]

You share your thoughts preferably before the 30-days return period expires.

 

[LowTechKale]

You share your thoughts preferably before the 30-days return period expires.

Oh boy, don't know whether that's sarcasm or sincere lol

 

[Tech9]

You have to test how it works in your environment. This is an international forum and people from different regions have differently preset routers with compliance to local regulations, we all live in different configuration and built from different materials houses, our Wi-Fi environment is different, etc.

 

[LowTechKale]

Yeah, I get that. I am only use the forum for everyone's expertise in the technical aspects rather than specific environments. Eventually it just gets to a point of trial and error.

 

[Tech9]

XT12 is the best you can get hardware from Asus (in vase form) with one drawback - no USB port. If you want to run Asuswrt-Merlin firmware on it the Custom Scripts options will be limited to what doesn't use/require USB storage. For some users this limitation is significant.

 

[LowTechKale]

UPDATE: XT12s have been installed. Looks like at the furthest point of 65ft with a node I'm getting 550/300. Everything in between is 1.1GB/700 avg. Put the security system on the 2.4ghz band and that is working flawlessly and better than before. It does say I have a firmware update. Wondering if I should do that or run Merlin?

 

[Tech9]

Keep both units on stock Asuswrt. You have VPN options and VPN Fusion selective routing available - what you asked for. You can't run scripts with no USB port anyway and AiMesh is more stable with stock firmware. You have wireless AiMesh setup - keep it simple for better reliability.

 

[LowTechKale]

Thanks, I appreciate the insight. Simplicity keeps it nice and it's what I'll do to keep things reliable. Going to look into VPN options now and see how consistent everything is over time.

 

[Tech9]

This router will have a new Pro firmware available at some point with even more firmware options. Use official releases for now and change one setting at a time until the system works the way you want it. Use non-DFS channels (36-48, 149-161 if available in your region) and 80MHz wide for better Wi-Fi stability. I would disable Smart Connect and use separate SSIDs for 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands - gives you more control over where your devices connect and prevents disconnections in time-sensitive applications like voice/video calls. Congratulations and good luck!