How bad are the AC86U 2.4Ghz issues?

[MjWoneR]

I was convinced to get an AC86U only to read about the 2.4 Ghz issues, and I’m having second thoughts.

How bad are the problems?

 

[OzarkEdge]

I was convinced to get an AC86U only to read about the 2.4 Ghz issues, and I’m having second thoughts.

How bad are the problems?

Only ASUS can answer that.

My six 86Us work as well as the firmware allows.

The 2019 builds may not have the same record as the 2018 builds.

OE

 

[CaptainSTX]

I was convinced to get an AC86U only to read about the 2.4 Ghz issues, and I’m having second thoughts.

How bad are the problems?

On Amazon there are 237 critical reviews of the AC86. Many of these mention that their 2.4 Ghz radios failed or had poor coverage. Some fraction of the failed radios is because of ASUS's policy on RMAs which is to replace defective routers with what they consider refurbished routers that were probably returned by customers that had radio or other problems but with ASUS's limited testing they don't find and destroy routers with problems that take longer than a few minutes to occur and therefore if a bad router is sent to someone else and it fails, they write a bad review about the same bad router.

Two of the AC86s I have received under RMAs have had issues with the 2.4 Ghz radio. One router's 2.4 Ghz radio was dead on arrival and "Nuclear Resets" or even putting the router into recovery mode and loading the firmware would not fix the problem as the radio was stuck on channel 0. The second router's radios crapped on a daily basis and the only way to get them functioning was a factory reset. All my problematic routers were manufactured in 2018. My experience with getting defective routers as the result of an RMA isn't unique. Other reviewers on Amazon have had the same experience.

Based on two responses I had to my post on this forum about the year reader's AC86 were manufactured both these individuals had recently received routers manufactured in 2019 and the AC86 appeared to be working fine. Two responses isn't statistically valid nor is a couple months a long test but if I was in the market to buy an AC86 I would try and find one manufactured in 2019.

 

[MjWoneR]

On Amazon there are 237 critical reviews of the AC86. Many of these mention that their 2.4 Ghz radios failed or had poor coverage. Some fraction of the failed radios is because of ASUS's policy on RMAs which is to replace defective routers with what they consider refurbished routers that were probably returned by customers that had radio or other problems but with ASUS's limited testing they don't find and destroy routers with problems that take longer than a few minutes to occur and therefore if a bad router is sent to someone else and it fails, they write a bad review about the same bad router.

Two of the AC86s I have received under RMAs have had issues with the 2.4 Ghz radio. One router's 2.4 Ghz radio was dead on arrival and "Nuclear Resets" or even putting the router into recovery mode and loading the firmware would not fix the problem as the radio was stuck on channel 0. The second router's radios crapped on a daily basis and the only way to get them functioning was a factory reset. All my problematic routers were manufactured in 2018. My experience with getting defective routers as the result of an RMA isn't unique. Other reviewers on Amazon have had the same experience.

Based on two responses I had to my post on this forum about the year reader's AC86 were manufactured both these individuals had recently received routers manufactured in 2019 and the AC86 appeared to be working fine. Two responses isn't statistically valid nor is a couple months a long test but if I was in the market to buy an AC86 I would try and find one manufactured in 2019.

Thanks for taking the time to write all that. I appreciate it!

I really want peace of mind when it comes to routers. I could easily RMA it but since I work from home I think I’ll chose something more stable.

Probably the Netgear R7800 or the Ubiquity AmpliFi HD (without the mesh).

 

[a5m]

Just RMA'd mine today. Set it up early in the morning around midnight, seemed like everything was fine. Tried to print something and the printer was offline, and all other devices on 2.4GHz were disconnected. The LED on the router was on, but it wasn't broadcasting the SSID at all. Everything seemed fine on the GUI, it wasn't stuck on Channel 0 or anything.

Hoping to get a trouble-free replacement, and hopefully a new 2019 one and not refurbished.

 

[doczenith1]

My 86U manufactured in 2017 with H/W Ver. R1.5 has been flawless.

 

[bitsbytes]

my old one is a 2017 unit and it's been working flawlessly. but I recently got a 2018 unit and after my first fw update I lost both 2.4 and 5 Ghz. I just posted a thread about my problem yesterday.

 

[GuruGuy]

My 86U manufactured in 2017 with H/W Ver. R1.5 has been flawless.

My 2018 with h/w R1.5 has also been trouble free with the exception of the buggy firmware versions

 

[Pierino]

My 2018 R1.5 also working fine.

 

[bones5050]

I was convinced to get an AC86U only to read about the 2.4 Ghz issues, and I’m having second thoughts.

How bad are the problems?

I bought mine last year and had issues with the 2.4 GHz band. I had to send it back and the replacer has been rock solid. No issues on any of the wireless bands.

Given the number of responses there seems to be an issue, maybe with a specific production run where they had a bad chip set.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CaptainSTX]

I bought mine last year and had issues with the 2.4 GHz band. I had to send it back and the replacer has been rock solid. No issues on any of the wireless bands.

Given the number of responses there seems to be an issue, maybe with a specific production run where they had a bad chip set.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just curious. What is the year of manufacture listed on the back of the router that they sent you as a replacement?

 

[Irish]

It is funny, I was directed here from a post I just made. I think there may be some real truth to this theory.

I purchased my first unit in April/May 2018, worked for about a month and then I updated the firmware and lost my 2.4 (only fix was factory reset...and I'd be lucky if it lasted a couple days afterwards). I was in my return window so I exchanged it. The new unit again lasted about a month, and then it too lost the 2.4.... I repeated the process again only this time to lose both my 2.4/5 radios. This took me to December '18 where I got the unit I currently have. I had switched to Merlin in that time period and had partially attributed my "good streak" to that, but now I think there must have been something defective in the units.

During that whole time I had been in contact with ASUS and the only solution they could think of was that I had too many devices connected to the router, possibly causing a "burn out" of that frequency. It seemed odd, but I do have a smart home with 40-50 devices at any one time, so I half believed it. Recently my 5GHz started to "reset" itself and it was suggested I get a second 86U and mesh them as this was theorized to fix my problem. It has only been a day, so it is far too early to tell if it will work long term?

 

[New2This]

Just looking at my box H/W is R1.5- 2017 has been also rock solid

 

[OzarkEdge]

Just looking at my box H/W is R1.5- 2017 has been also rock solid

By my estimation, most of them are, hardware-wise.

OE

 

[New2This]

By my estimation, most of them are, hardware-wise.

OE

Now my ROG 5300 is a different story hahah, cant even give it away

Running it Aimesh node with 86U primary

 

[OzarkEdge]

Now my ROG 5300 is a different story hahah, cant even give it away

Running it Aimesh node with 86U primary

The ROG stuff is niche... too much and/or more than necessary... and suffers accordingly, imo. The savvy buyer should not buy up when choosing an all-in-one network hub... more is less... get the basics first and foremost. Even if conceptually it is the bee's knees for gamers or power users, its definition and implementation is destined to fall short, imo... the economics and time are against it.

I think our next generation Aimesh using tri-band ax routers with dedicated wireless backhauls will be the AiMesh sweet spot. I'm planning on it.

OE

 

[Val D.]

How bad are the problems?

- really bad, if the 2.4GHz circuit is not working
- non existing, if the 2.4GHz circuit is working properly

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Crap shoot... RT-AC86U = Garbage junk !!! Stay far away.

 

[tallytr]

- really bad, if the 2.4GHz circuit is not working
- non existing, if the 2.4GHz circuit is working properly

Couldn't disagree any more. My RT-AC86U is the best router by a margin I ever had. Super stable and functionality (remote WAN access, WOL)...nothing I would be missing...
Sure Netgear makes great routers as well but in the end they are comparable.
My router runs only moderately warm.
Wondering if people with major issues ever restored and set up from scratch?

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Wondering if people with major issues ever restored and set up from scratch?

Dude. Just look at the posts on the 86U from all over. Of course they reset and started from scratch and it was still dead. The 86 is a hit and miss poker game. One that your a fool to play.