How bad are the AC86U 2.4Ghz issues?

[OzarkEdge]

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.

Nonsense.

OE

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Nonsense.

OE

Maybe. But not likely. Enjoy yours while it still works. LOL

 

[Val D.]

My RT-AC86U is the best router by a margin I ever had.

This router has the best price/performance ratio on the market, this is a fact. Nothing else comes even close in this price range. Unfortunately, this very same router is the one with the worst Quality Control ever, both hardware and software. There are too many reported hardware related issues and even 2 years after the release there are too many software functions with issues, from working sometimes to not working at all.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

This router has the best price/performance ratio on the market, this is a fact. Nothing else comes even close in this price range. Unfortunately, this very same router is the one with the worst Quality Control ever, both hardware and software. There are too many reported hardware related issues and even 2 years after the release there are too many software functions with issues, from working sometimes to not working at all.

I rest my case. Garbage !!

 

[Val D.]

I rest my case. Garbage !!

Well, looking at reviews about the router in your signature, it must be similar garbage too.
This is what we get on the consumer market. Half baked solutions released quickly in order to keep up with the competition.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Well, looking at reviews about the router in your signature, it must be similar garbage too.

Possibly..

 

[CaptainSTX]

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?

The units manufactured in 2017 seem to be OK based on comments on this site.

The Units manufactured in 2018 have many more than their fair share of problem units.

While two posters on this site received units manufactured in 2019 as RMA exchanges for a 2018 units, it is unclear to me if ASUS is manufacturing and selling new units manufactured in 2019 to the general public or if the 2019 units were built just to replace the 2018 units that were returned.

Even if you have a unit that is problem free another complaint regarding the AC86 units is they fail soon after the warranty expires.

It is a great unit so enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[tallytr]

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.

Get a new one? That's what I did when the first one stopped working after 2 to 3 years, that's electronics, nothing lasts forever...
Personally I still like this router much more than any other router I had before and I had many (~10) ...

 

[rwijnhov]

have 2 runing in an aimesh configuration for 3 months now. Totally problem free. Best router i ever had and i had a lot over the years. Both are 2019 models.

 

[CaptainSTX]

have 2 runing in an aimesh configuration for 3 months now. Totally problem free. Best router i ever had and i had a lot over the years. Both are 2019 models.

Where and from whom did you buy your 2019 models?

 

[follower]

Where and from whom did you buy your 2019 models?

I have some 2019 units too. These are new units.

 

[rwijnhov]

i bought them in Holland af 50five

 

[CaptainSTX]

These are new units

What country and what vendor?

 

[CaptainSTX]

i bought them in Holland af 50five

Thanks.

 

[follower]

What country and what vendor?

The US. The vendors are vary.

 

[a5m]

Just got my RMA today. New sealed 2019 unit and Made in Vietnam, whereas the one I sent in was 2018 and Made in China.

 

[curlysir]

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

I agree with this. The RT-AC86U I bought in September 2018 has been rock solid, I went through 3 in July 2019 before I gave up. The first lasted 1 week before the 2.4Ghz quit working, on the next 2 the 2.4 band was Dead On Arrival, the light on the front wouldn't even light. I tried everything I could except getting a Witch Doctor to revive them but no luck.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Just received what appears to be a new AC86 manufactured in 2019 and made in China to replace the multiple junkers that I received on multiple RMAs. Hopefully I will now have a stable router like the majority of AC86 purchasers.

Have it running on my test setup with a couple of VPN clients running and a constant stream on a device using the 2.4 Ghz radio. If it can make a week without any crashes then I will put it into my production setup.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Sad to say that while ASUS might have fixed the radio issue with the 2019 routers they have not solved the other issues.

First the configuration I use works except for scripts on a N66 and with scripts (Skynet, conmon and spdMerlin) on two AC1900Ps I have set up.

Besides the scripts I run two VPN clients with policy routing and a VPN server.

The router is only used to connect 16 IoT clients and then my main secure network is double NATed behind the first ASUS router.

What happens is that all the VPNs stop working, can not be restarted by software switch or reloading the OVPN settings and if your try a factory reset it goes through the motions but after restarting none of the settings were erased or reset.

Then the only option is a nuclear reset and a manual configuration. Just completed the process after the latest fail, unplugged the router and moved it from my test bench and put it back into production mode. Then I checked the settings and all the VPNs were dead.

Anyway I have given up on ever using the AC86 and haven't decided if I will even bother to RMA it. Don't even want to use it as a simple AP since there isn't a track record of the radios being dependable.

 

[jsbeddow]

Sad to say that while ASUS might have fixed the radio issue with the 2019 routers they have not solved the other issues.

First the configuration I use works except for scripts on a N66 and with scripts (Skynet, conmon and spdMerlin) on two AC1900Ps I have set up.

Besides the scripts I run two VPN clients with policy routing and a VPN server.

The router is only used to connect 16 IoT clients and then my main secure network is double NATed behind the first ASUS router.

What happens is that all the VPNs stop working, can not be restarted by software switch or reloading the OVPN settings and if your try a factory reset it goes through the motions but after restarting none of the settings were erased or reset.

Then the only option is a nuclear reset and a manual configuration. Just completed the process after the latest fail, unplugged the router and moved it from my test bench and put it back into production mode. Then I checked the settings and all the VPNs were dead.

Anyway I have given up on ever using the AC86 and haven't decided if I will even bother to RMA it. Don't even want to use it as a simple AP since there isn't a track record of the radios being dependable.

Hardware issues aside, do you hold out any hope that maybe the OpenVPN issues might be resolved by the latest official firmware (3.0.0.4.384_81049) or Merlin's version currently in alpha (384.14)? The official version notes do reference a fix for OpenVPN, but I haven't seen anything more specific. We can always hope, right?