New 802.11ac router (RT-AC67U).

[njweb]

Any ideas as to, even roughly, when the RT-AC67U might be available for sale?

I just ordered the USB-AC53 802.11ac wifi adapter.
This will allow me to decide whether to hopefully keep my RT-AC66U (unopened so far) and sell my RT-N66U, or vice versa.
The decision will depend on which one works best wirelessly. The former
(AC66U had complaints from 3 users about 5 GHz drops...
I will test it for myself with the latest firmware for each of the two routers.

I assume the release of the AC67U may not be that soon, to say the least.

 

[maylyn]

Any ideas as to, even roughly, when the RT-AC67U might be available for sale?

I just ordered the USB-AC53 802.11ac wifi adapter.
This will allow me to decide whether to hopefully keep my RT-AC66U (unopened so far) and sell my RT-N66U, or vice versa.
The decision will depend on which one works best wirelessly. The former
(AC66U had complaints from 3 users about 5 GHz drops...
I will test it for myself with the latest firmware for each of the two routers.

I assume the release of the AC67U may not be that soon, to say the least.

3rd or 4th quarter 2013 ~ ASUS RT-AC67U

ASUS RT-AC56U will launch in June 2013 during Computex Taipei or earlier?

Having said that, take it as a pinch of salt and all these are based on what i have heard from unconfirmed sources

There is no actual time specifics when ASUS is going to launch the new range of wireless routers

 

[mgunner76]

On top of that, there's a lot that can change between now and the release date. Everything we think we know can change and I wouldn't be surprised if it's pushed back.

I already have the AC66, but when the next AC67 (or whatever they end up calling it), I'll probably just use the original one in bridge mode.

 

[njweb]

Thanks to you both for the replies!
Yes, I would also not be surprised if it gets pushed back. The USB-AC53 was pushed back by many months (5 or 6 months?) and that is just a client. Routers are more complex animals.
A lot could change in the 802.11ac draft standard.

In that case, I will try my AC66U router with my 802.11n adapters on my laptop tonight in 3 key locations in my residence to get baseline measurements against my N66U.

When I receive my USB-AC53 adapter in a day or two, I'll test that with both routers.

I'll also have to wait a week or so to see if I am affected by the 5GHz signal drops on the AC66U before I sell my N66U.

 

[wickedny5]

any updates on this router? I see it doesn't have external antennas, could that mean the N66U and AC66U will still have better range?

 

[RMerlin]

any updates on this router? I see it doesn't have external antennas, could that mean the N66U and AC66U will still have better range?

There is very little details on the web about this router so far, beyond the fact that it seems to be based on the new Broadcom ARM architecture, and would probably be released many months way from now. So things are still likely to change before that happens I guess - I remember the RT-N66U design changed quite a lot before it finally got released (even the version that previewers received was different, as it had a cooling fan at the time).

 

[pepemosca]

I just add a video of this new release:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-xghKyW_QI

And a picture:
http://www.taiwanexcellence.org/index.php/awards/nowdt/content/6/1/102116AB-A040

 

[wickedny5]

I like the design from the picture, but im sure the final product is going to look like the one in the video and like its younger brother AC66U. The one in the picture just looks like a concept design.

Hopefully we get more info and get a early release.

 

[RMerlin]

I know the model name has already changed (based on what is in recent GPL releases), so who knows what else is going to change before it gets released.

 

[speedingcheetah]

AC usb adapter

You people realize that Asus's current AC53 usb wifi dongle is 2x2:2...and the AC66/67 router is 3x3:3. So, you are not going to get full performance from a 3 stream router if you are using a 2 stream adapter.
http://wikidevi.com/wiki/ASUS_USB-AC53

Secondly, its a usb 2.0 adapter....which would max out at well below AC data transfer rate standards.....get a usb 3.0 adapter(if you have 3.0 ports). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833315123(Its still only a 2 stream one though.)

http://wikidevi.com/wiki/ASUS_RT-N66U

Anyway....I personally own the Asus N56U router and have tested the Asus usb-53 adapter(the one that corresponds to that product line)...it was blown away by the Linksys AE3000 usb adapter...just waiting for Cisco to make an AC usb dongle...then may make the switch to AC. I much more like Asus routers than cisco's bloated app enabled routers...but Cisco usb wifi adapters seem much better in my experience.

 

[RMerlin]

USB 2.0 should be fast enough to accommodate a double stream interface however. The link speed (866 Mbps) is only at the radio level. Once the USB device decrypts the data, the data it transfers over the USB port should be at a much lower rate - below 480 Mbps.

 

[speedingcheetah]

USB 2.0 should be fast enough to accommodate a double stream interface however. The link speed (866 Mbps) is only at the radio level. Once the USB device decrypts the data, the data it transfers over the USB port should be at a much lower rate - below 480 Mbps.

well..what i have read on that review for the usb 3.0 adapter says otherwise. Higher throughout out of the 3.0 adapter than a 2.0.

USB 3.0 has been out for years now....why isn't 2.0 dead and scrapped...like they killed of expresscard slots super fast on me...(i loved those things)

 

[bigmag]

http://certifications.wi-fi.org/pdf_certificate.php?cid=WFA19421

 

[Shikami]

Speedingcheetah, you may like this information; including some others too: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us...al-bus/usb3-frequency-interference-paper.html

 

[njweb]

http://certifications.wi-fi.org/pdf_certificate.php?cid=WFA19421

http://certifications.wi-fi.org/pdf_certificate.php?cid=WFA19421

Thanks. So we now have more information; the RT-AC68U will be an AC1900 router as it turns out, which may be the primary distinction when compared to the AC66U (which is an AC1750 product).

I am personally more than happy with my AC1750 RT-AC66U, but the
RT-AC68U will be nice * for users who don't have an 802.11ac router and are looking to jump in.


* Assuming the antennae on the RT-AC68U are as good as those of the AC66U. If the RT-AC68U ends up having internal antennae, it might be prudent to hold off on purchasing it until wireless (range especially) test results are out.