Remain with RT-AC87U or upgrade?

[CW1]

I've been running this 87U for quite a while, it has worked reliably and well using Merlin's FW. I currently use it along with a Netgear EX7300 extender and have very stable service. But, I know the 87U has limited days left as far as firmware updates, etc. Should I choose to upgrade, I'm interested in a possible mesh system since I'd rather not continue with the extender use (mesh seems a bit more seamless than using an extender). I like how Asus routers work, have enjoyed them more than other manufacturers I've used over the years (previously had the AC1900W) so I look at them first. Have been looking at the RT-AX92U mesh system, but it isn't supported by Merlin.

Any suggestions? The 87U is still performing admirably, no complaints there, but just looking to the future.

 

[Mutzli]

There are many options but "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".
If you want a shiny new router and you have the money get the RT-AX88U. I personally use that router at two locations and it's absolutely fantastic if configured right.
Also a lot of people here like the new RT-AX58U which can also be configured as a mesh router so you could still use the old RT-AC87U to expand your WiFi range. At $160 it's certainly a better value compared to the $293 RT-AX88U.
Or if you want to wait for another 6-9 months you can get the latest WiFi 6E router. 6E offers quiet a lot of improvements compared to WiFi6

 

[CW1]

There are many options but "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".
If you want a shiny new router and you have the money get the RT-AX88U. I personally use that router at two locations and it's absolutely fantastic if configured right.
Also a lot of people here like the new RT-AX58U which can also be configured as a mesh router so you could still use the old RT-AC87U to expand your WiFi range. At $160 it's certainly a better value compared to the $293 RT-AX88U.
Or if you want to wait for another 6-9 months you can get the latest WiFi 6E router. 6E offers quiet a lot of improvements compared to WiFi6

I fully agree with the "if it ain't broke" philosophy. I'm simply thinking of the future. You make a good point about waiting for the 6E implementations. Also, the AC87U doesn't support mesh, so that's not an option. I think of mesh for the reason that I currently have to use an extender. My cablemodem, and thus router, is on one end of our home. Signal levels are pretty good over the whole house but I do have security cameras in the garage and far end of the house that don't get a good enough signal. Also, outside by the pool the signal is very weak. So, the extender is used to give those areas a good working signal.

 

[K-2SO]

There are many options but "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

This. I wouldn’t throw out a working AC router. No big deal if the firmware is year old.

 

[elorimer]

My cablemodem, and thus router, is on one end of our home.

You might start with this part of the problem. I infer that there is a cable connection at one end of the house where all this is connected. I hypothesize that you do not have only one TV in the same place. So I have the idea that you have a splitter there, and a cable run that goes to other places in the house.

If that is the case, you could take the splitter out and stick it in at a more central location and have your router in the middle of the house. You might not need the extender to begin with.

Or, you might run a cat6 cable from the cable modem to a more central location and put the router there.

 

[CW1]

You might start with this part of the problem. I infer that there is a cable connection at one end of the house where all this is connected. I hypothesize that you do not have only one TV in the same place. So I have the idea that you have a splitter there, and a cable run that goes to other places in the house.

If that is the case, you could take the splitter out and stick it in at a more central location and have your router in the middle of the house. You might not need the extender to begin with.

Or, you might run a cat6 cable from the cable modem to a more central location and put the router there.

No, the only cable outlet is in that location at the end of the house. While a cat6 could be run to the center of the house, I'd have to hire someone to go into the attic (and swim through 3 feet of blown in insulation) to do so, which is just a bit more than I want to do. Much easier to use a good mesh setup.

 

[thebasa]

I’m looking for an upgrade on an AC87U as well because the recent Asuswrt-Merlin builds for it are now separate from the main development branch, and it looks like it’ll be unsupported soon or at least lag on exploit patches. I use it exclusively as an OpenVPN appliance for remote access to my network and I don’t use the wireless radios at all. I use Merlin for the extensive OpenVPN config. I see the the AX56U is the budget next-gen option. Is that my best bet considering my use case? It would be ideal if there was a consumer grade OpenVPN standalone appliance but I’ve not heard of one.

 

[Manuel Silva]

Asus still support this router. Just have lunched a new security update:

Versão 3.0.0.4.382.52230 2020/05/06 38.93 MBytes

ASUS RT-AC87U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.382.52230
- Fixed CVE-2019-15126 (Kr00k) vulnerability.
- Fixed some UI bugs.
- Support router certificate export. After import the certificate to the computer you will not see the warning message when login with https.P

 

[thebasa]

Asus still support this router. Just have lunched a new security update:

Versão 3.0.0.4.382.52230 2020/05/06 38.93 MBytes

ASUS RT-AC87U Firmware version 3.0.0.4.382.52230
- Fixed CVE-2019-15126 (Kr00k) vulnerability.
- Fixed some UI bugs.
- Support router certificate export. After import the certificate to the computer you will not see the warning message when login with https.P

Yes, but this forum is about Asuswrt-MERLIN and RMerlin has said in the release notes of 384.13_6

I am also formally announcing that as of now, the RT-AC87U and RT-AC3200 are on limited support, (which has already been the case for the last two releases, I'm just making it official now). The main reason is these two models are no longer based on the same code as their other recent models, and that older code is no longer compatible with mine, making it impossible for me to compile my latest GPL code for these two models. If eventually Asus decides to bring them back on the same codebase as the other main models, then I will be able to bring them back into full support mode. However if it doesn't happen in the near future, then I will eventually be forced to completely drop these two models. For now I just backported a few fixes to them, see the 384.13_6 changelog for details.

Thus I'm looking for the budget upgrade for ongoing support of Asuswrt-merlin.

 

[K-2SO]

I don’t use the wireless radios at all. I use Merlin for the extensive OpenVPN config.

RT-AC86U. Merlin supported, ARMv8 CPU with AES, 200Mbps+ with OpenVPN. 250Mbps+ speeds reported. If you run concurrent VPN connections, RT-AX88U may offer some advantages. Same ARMv8 CPU in quad-core version. RT-AC86U has a dual-core CPU.