Honest review of Asus WRT 5.0 (3.0.0.6 Branch)

[L&LD]

It's not an 'accepted fact' that a full reset after every firmware upgrade is necessary.

If glitches are observed, then a full reset often sets things right.

Even then, 15 minutes or so for a full reset is hardly wearying (at least to get back to a stable point with internet access).

 

[aurizn]

ASUSWRT just feel really unpolished at this point. It seems that ASUS is expecting the community to perform QA and QC work for them.

Having to constantly downgrade, reset and flashing firmware is not okay.

 

[tgl]

Not simping for Assus, but CONsumer router landscape is a land mine.

Can't argue with that. Personally I've moved on to SMB-grade gear: it's not that much more expensive, and the price difference is certainly worth it considering the reduction of time I spend maintaining/troubleshooting the equipment.

at least once you find a stable fw, you can always stay put (or revert if you went too far and found instability)

Well, you can until the router manufacturer decides to push a forced update. I abandoned Netgear's Orbi routers when they pushed a forced update that bricked my router. IIRC, there was something similar with ASUS not long ago. I do not think forced updates are a thing in SMB gear, at least not with the Zyxel and Cisco stuff I have now.

 

[ZeustheAsus]

yeah but I dont think they are forcing upgrades on anyone with the gt-ax6000

totally understand wanting to go SMB tier though

but considering you can get the router for like half MSRP open box, its still in a different price range

 

[rudoyeugene]

So many complaints, Asus, shame on you.
Looks like like Asus becomes a Xiaomi in a world if wireless! I hope it's a single hit incident. But, if not, then we have to choose another favourite.

 

[Amplifier]

Story time??

My router's life story or how RT-AX88U Pro was adopted to be part of the family.

Had an AC TP-Link for some years. 2 FW updates.
(Started hinting at an upgrade and to RIP. Random lag and random decreased throughput. Quick debug as a user, from default settings vs. mine. The best I came up with, which ever chip that does encryption, could no longer handle maximum settings. Good service life, IMHO.)

Not knowing much about routers, got a new replacement, same brand TP-Link new/current model.
Started to set up.
❓Help, that explains different settings, missing, MIA, AWOL.
Confirmed with support, is missing on purpose.
"Figure it out" seemed like a regression to me.
Searching through the "User Guide" .pdf, got old, from the get-go.

Took an advantage of the only thing that TP-Link was now good for, and just searched for "routers tp link vs asus vs netgear".

Saw that there is a new trend now (a scheme, if you will), of missing/locked features and hidden subscriptions.
To me, subscription is not a user-friendly extra step, a financial tie around my neck with trust that the tie won't be yanked on by the brand or "unknown source", in a world of leaky faucets. (I have no problem paying more upfront.)

To mitigate this vulnerability, Asus seemed like the best option.

RT-AX88U Pro was available locally, released in January 2023, already 2 updates (I believe 4 if original and beta are included) + Merlin option (with icing on top of hot cakes properly cooled and packed GPL).

+Is it stable for me? Yes, so far.
+Can it improve? I say – Why not?
-Does it dance and sing around me? No.
-Does it pat me on my back? No.
+Does it nag at me? No.
+Has it ever seen me shamelessly transfer myself from a shower to my bedroom from its best vantage point. Yes, it survived without damage.
+Has it ever giggled? Not yet. LEDs just winked in rapid succession, and antennas spread from |||| to \\//.
-Does it support telepathy? No, simple telecom.
+Would I say that Asus isn't doing enough? Sure, only if I'd foolishly disregard what they have done so far.

In conclusion. Freedom.
None of that lockdown, 3 meals a day, 2 hours to play.

Best value for my money? Time will tell.

Edit: +conclusion

 

[maxbraketorque]

Story time??

My router's life story or how RT-AX88U Pro was adopted to be part of the family.

...

I'll take this as an ASUS router endorsement, or at least that ASUS sucks less than TP-Link.

 

[Amplifier]

I'll take this as an ASUS router endorsement, or at least that ASUS sucks less than TP-Link.

No branding iron was included in the box, not even a sticker. Still free to change my mind and choose any brand I see fit for any device for any given situation in time. Others are free to make their own choices.

A router from a small island made in Taiwan appears to provide more freedom of choice than Netgear (USA) and TP-Link (China) combined, "for less", go figure.

Sometimes appearances can be deceiving, and sometimes good things are short-lived.

 

[d5aqoep]

@Amplifier You completely missed the point of this thread. Wait till you update to 3.0.0.6 firmware branch and you will know how unreliable your RT-AX88U Pro will get. Thankfully Internet and wifi connections are stable but everything else is in shambles.

 

[Amplifier]

@Amplifier You completely missed the point of this thread. Wait till you update to 3.0.0.6 firmware branch and you will know how unreliable your RT-AX88U Pro will get. Thankfully Internet and wifi connections are stable but everything else is in shambles.

My apologies if I have.

I thought this was your "Honest review of Asus WRT 5.0 (3.0.0.6 Branch)" and "I have been using the Asus WRT 5.0 firmware 3.0.0.6 release on my GT-AX6000 for a month and here are my views".

---

So I just shared mine... on RT-AX88U Pro.

I am on 3.0.0.6.102_21514 since the time I saw an update offered.
Prior, I was on FW_RT_AX88U_PRO_300438823110 and can't recall if this is the one that came with my unit or if there was another one prior.
I did not run FW_RT_AX88U_Pro_90061024856 (Beta I believe).

Curiosity got the best of me, so I have also ran Merlin for a day or two(?), each.

• RT-AX88U_PRO_388.4_alpha1-gd197da7fd9
• RT-AX88U_PRO_3004_388.4_beta1

(Not sure about RT-AX88U_PRO_388.3_0)

No issue with GUI (besides .css minor cosmetic only in Firefox, that I've mentioned elsewhere).
Only a slight GUI lag after enabling: Local Access Config > Authentication Method > HTTPS.
Enough to be noticeable, not even close enough to be an annoyance.

I don't have a need for a Gig plan and I can't compare or comment on your other issues, since it seems like I've misunderstood you from the beginning already.

My primary device has a Wi-Fi 6 AX210/AX211/AX411 card.
I'm on Ubuntu and I didn't have to deal with any drivers.
Have not received any complaints from a Guest Network and their devices.

Under current 3.0.0.6.102_21514 I did not try, Remote Web Access from WAN, DDNS. I have on previous FW.

 

[Logi]

My apologies if I have.

I thought this was your "Honest review of Asus WRT 5.0 (3.0.0.6 Branch)" and "I have been using the Asus WRT 5.0 firmware 3.0.0.6 release on my GT-AX6000 for a month and here are my views".

---

So I just shared mine... on RT-AX88U Pro.

I am on 3.0.0.6.102_21514 since the time I saw an update offered.
Prior, I was on FW_RT_AX88U_PRO_300438823110 and can't recall if this is the one that came with my unit or if there was another one prior.
I did not run FW_RT_AX88U_Pro_90061024856 (Beta I believe).

Curiosity got the best of me, so I have also ran Merlin for a day or two(?), each.

• RT-AX88U_PRO_388.4_alpha1-gd197da7fd9
• RT-AX88U_PRO_3004_388.4_beta1

(Not sure about RT-AX88U_PRO_388.3_0)

No issue with GUI (besides .css minor cosmetic only in Firefox, that I've mentioned elsewhere).
Only a slight GUI lag after enabling: Local Access Config > Authentication Method > HTTPS.
Enough to be noticeable, not even close enough to be an annoyance.

I don't have a need for a Gig plan and I can't compare or comment on your other issues, since it seems like I've misunderstood you from the beginning already.

My primary device has a Wi-Fi 6 AX210/AX211/AX411 card.
I'm on Ubuntu and I didn't have to deal with any drivers.
Have not received any complaints from a Guest Network and their devices.

Under current 3.0.0.6.102_21514 I did not try, Remote Web Access from WAN, DDNS. I have on previous FW.

Have you installed the latest FW 3.0.0.6.102_33308 for the RT-AX88U Pro? I just installed today and I am having a lot of Web UI inconsistencies and some kind of data corruption, I make an update, Apply the change and the Web UI shows like nothing was changed, only a Reboot will fix in some cases, in other not even a reboot

 

[d5aqoep]

More than 1 yr has passed and they have not been able to provide 3.0.0.6 stable firmware to all their PRO line of routers like GT-AX11000 Pro or even GT-AXE16000. Even GT-AX6000 firmware hasn't been updated for more than 7 months. Kind-asus (Kinda-sus)

 

[L&LD]

Thanks for your observation.

It still won't make the firmware appear any sooner.

I'd rather they issue firmware that is stable and reliable rather than just 'provided'.

 

[scajjr2]

I've been running the 3.0.0.6 on my GT-AX6000 since it was released and it's been rock solid, no issues at all with GUI, changing any settings, etc. Just works and works fine.

sam

 

[wouterv]

A little opinion here:
I am glad ASUS routers are developed and manufactured in Taiwan opposed to Asian competitors.
With my industrial automation background I can safely assume that the ASUS router firmware development department does not count hundreds of employees, not even tens probably. With that same industrial automation background I can assure you that it is extremely difficult / costly / time consuming to issue flawless, bug free firmware or software. It is impossible to test all possible features in all possible combinations under all possible conditions and and to count in all brain waves of the end user. The end user is fully capable to do (or try to do) things with software and firmware and in combinations or sequences that no developer or tester ever could think of, resulting in odd failures.
Many bugs are related to rarely used features or rare combinations of features, this results in end users that do not experience issues (the ones that only use basic functions in a straight forward way) and end users that run into complex issues. The difficulty is often to at first exactly describe the issue and secondly to be able to reproduce the issue (if a developer cannot reproduce the issue, it is difficult to fix it).
One line from Murphy's law always seems true: bug fixes do come with new issues (those issues can even be in features that have been working flawless for ever).
Manufacturers have to decide when it is safe enough to issue a new software or firmware version, the Beta versions are there to help them finding bugs. If there is little use of Beta versions, not much bugs may be found by the end users.

 

[VANT]

Do you assume that a tycoon on the IT electronics market is a company that employs several dozen programmers? Hahaha. This doesn't reflect well on Asus

 

[d5aqoep]

A little opinion here:
I am glad ASUS routers are developed and manufactured in Taiwan opposed to Asian competitors.
With my industrial automation background I can safely assume that the ASUS router firmware development department does not count hundreds of employees, not even tens probably. With that same industrial automation background I can assure you that it is extremely difficult / costly / time consuming to issue flawless, bug free firmware or software. It is impossible to test all possible features in all possible combinations under all possible conditions and and to count in all brain waves of the end user. The end user is fully capable to do (or try to do) things with software and firmware and in combinations or sequences that no developer or tester ever could think of, resulting in odd failures.
Many bugs are related to rarely used features or rare combinations of features, this results in end users that do not experience issues (the ones that only use basic functions in a straight forward way) and end users that run into complex issues. The difficulty is often to at first exactly describe the issue and secondly to be able to reproduce the issue (if a developer cannot reproduce the issue, it is difficult to fix it).
One line from Murphy's law always seems true: bug fixes do come with new issues (those issues can even be in features that have been working flawless for ever).
Manufacturers have to decide when it is safe enough to issue a new software or firmware version, the Beta versions are there to help them finding bugs. If there is little use of Beta versions, not much bugs may be found by the end users.

If they have just a dozen odd programmers, it's highly shameful. They should release lesser amount of routers and avoid idiotic situations where they have 2 overlapping products having similar hardware specs like for eg. RT-AX88U Pro and GT-AX6000.

 

[L&LD]

Those aren't similar. The RT-AX88U Pro is superior.

 

[VANT]

Those aren't similar. The RT-AX88U Pro is superior.

They are identical except for the housing and software. This has been confirmed many times by testers like

RT-AX88U Pro vs. GT-AX6000: Asus' Solid Twins | Dong Knows Tech

Having a hard time picking the right router in the Asus RT-AX88U Pro vs. GT-AX6000 matchup? You're not alone! Check out the two in their glorious details.

dongknows.com

 

[d5aqoep]

Those aren't similar. The RT-AX88U Pro is superior.

You mean having an extra USB 2.0 port is superior.



I would take gamery fancy lights and WebUI of GT-AX6000 any day over RT-AX88U Pro.