Help me Choose between RT AX 86U Pro Vs RT AX 88U Pro

[ptankov]

Thank you for chiming in, @bbunge I will think about this a little bit more. I wonder if my initial issues were because of some static electricity in a condenser or smt. You know how the ISP support person on the phone often wants you to power off your device, disconnect it from the power outlet, wait10 seconds and press the power button several times to let any residual current draw?

 

[ptankov]

Now I wonder if my initial problems which I described above with my router could be due to spaces in the WiFi password. I used spaces between words in my password. Now I have changed the password to not have spaces and I hope that will prevent any potential issues in the future.

 

[glens]

A space is just another ASCII character and they have never caused me problems through several makes of router over the years, as should be expected. I'd be unhappily amazed if that was the cause of your dilemma. Have used short sentences with complete punctuation...

 

[Tech9]

Have used short sentences with complete punctuation...

Me too, but on non-Asus hardware. There were reports Asus restricts the use of some characters in passwords.

Asus new firmware doesn't allow spaces in WPA2/WPA3 passwords

I just got RT-AX82u. I did first setup and setup all configuration including WPA2/WPA3 password which included multiple spaces. After firmware upgrade spaces were gone. New firmware doesn't allow spaces. Last firmware that still allows spaces is: Version 3.0.0.4.386.43588 2021/07/29 Firmware...

www.snbforums.com

 

[ptankov]

Me too, but on non-Asus hardware. There were reports Asus restricts the use of some characters in passwords.

Asus new firmware doesn't allow spaces in WPA2/WPA3 passwords

I just got RT-AX82u. I did first setup and setup all configuration including WPA2/WPA3 password which included multiple spaces. After firmware upgrade spaces were gone. New firmware doesn't allow spaces. Last firmware that still allows spaces is: Version 3.0.0.4.386.43588 2021/07/29 Firmware...

www.snbforums.com

Not only that, but some IoT devices won't let you enter the WiFi password if it has spaces. Anyway, I've also used spaces for many years without problems, but read some stuff about them online and now I've changed the password to not have spaces just to save myself from grief and banging my head against the wall in the future.

 

[ptankov]

How about this: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/a...-wpa2-wpa3-passwords.75729/page-2#post-725467

 

[Tech9]

Asus router again. See post #44 above.

 

[Logi]

I own both RT-AX86U and RT-AX88U models, and have recently bought 2 RT-AX88U PROs to replace my AX86Us and downgrade the AX88U to a mesh node. I may replace it with a PRO model later.

My own experience has been that I hit issues with the configuration of WiFi on my RT-AX86Us effecting the ability of some (mainly IoT) 2.4Ghz devices. These problems only impact when the AX86U is used as a mesh node, and can be temporarily resolved by toggling Wireless Authentication Method to another setting and back to WPA2 - this has also been reported by another user. My AX88U has been rock solid for my use case once early firmware issues were resolved.

However, I think there is some information that has been overlooked in previous replies. The two routers differ in their 2.4Ghz networking - the AX86U is 3x3 and therefore can support 3 concurrent spatial streams, whereas the AX88U is 4x4 and therefore supports 4 concurrent spatial streams. My network is 2.4Ghz heavy due to IoT devices and therefore I prefer the better 2.4Ghz capacity for concurrent client connections.

So far both AX88U PROs are working well.

What are the main advantages of the AX88U Pro vs the AX88U, is it worth an upgrade? Is the Software (Firmware) the same for both?

 

[RMerlin]

What are the main advantages of the AX88U Pro vs the AX88U

Faster CPU, a pair of 2.5 Gbps ports, and most likely to be upgraded to the 3.0.0.6 firmware series which will include among other things VLAN support.

 

[Logi]

Faster CPU, a pair of 2.5 Gbps ports, and most likely to be upgraded to the 3.0.0.6 firmware series which will include among other things VLAN support.

Do you have the list of routers that will get the new AsusWRT 5.0 (3.0.0.6) Firmware? I see the the 88U Pro already has 3.0.0.6 available

 

[OzarkEdge]

Do you have the list of routers that will get the new AsusWRT 5.0 (3.0.0.6) Firmware? I see the the 88U Pro already has 3.0.0.6 available

I suppose you could watch this webpage and hope they update it as Pro models gain ASUSWRT 5.0 support:

ASUSWRT 5.0

version 3008

routerkb.asuscomm.com

(not sure what the version 3008 means... maybe that should be version 3006 or 3.0.0.6)

For example, models with ASUSWRT 4.0 support:

ASUSWRT 4.0

version 388

routerkb.asuscomm.com

Me, I'm fine with assuming "Pro" models will eventually support ASUSWRT 5.0.

OE

 

[Logi]

I suppose you could watch this webpage and hope they update it as Pro models gain ASUSWRT 5.0 support:

ASUSWRT 5.0

version 3008

routerkb.asuscomm.com

(not sure what the version 3008 means... maybe that should be version 3006 or 3.0.0.6)

For example, models with ASUSWRT 4.0 support:

ASUSWRT 4.0

version 388

routerkb.asuscomm.com

Me, I'm fine with assuming "Pro" models will eventually support ASUSWRT 5.0.

OE

Thanks a lot

 

[Jbennett360]

Would anyone here upgrade from an AX86s to an AX88u Pro? Or does it not really seem worth it?

The Pro can be had for roughly £180 at the minute.

 

[L&LD]

I would suggest that may not be an upgrade in performance, but more toward possible future-proofing (i.e. longevity and support).

Unless you can sell your RT-AX86Us for a fair price, this isn't a good 'upgrade' to consider today.

 

[Jbennett360]

I would suggest that may not be an upgrade in performance, but more toward possible future-proofing (i.e. longevity and support).

Unless you can sell your RT-AX86Us for a fair price, this isn't a good 'upgrade' to consider today.

I'll hold off then

 

[freddyjuarez]

Not necessarily better and the biggest reason it will not work for many is it has no Merlin support with the Qualcomm chipset. I looked at it and decided it was not going to work as soon as I saw no Merlin support and that I would need an additional switch to convert 10 gig to 2.5 Gig for my NAS.

Depends on the application. Sure that router has better specs but most households will never realize the difference after spending a $100 premium. Very few will ever really “need” 10gig for the next 5-10 years.

Well it has Merlin support already