RT-AC68U v4 Discontinued by Asus

[Intrepid]

Asus has unfortunately discontinued the RT-AC68U v4 and will no longer release new firmware.
See: https://www.asus.com/event/network/eol-product/

UPDATE: RT-AC68U End of Life Announced by Asus (ALL versions):

News - RT-AC68U End of Life Announced by Asus

Sadly, Asus has just announced that the RT-AC68U has been discontinued and has reached end of life. :-( When a product is end-of-life, it means: It is no longer manufactured Its certification will not be renewed Its firmware, utility, website, DM, QSG and manual will not be updated...

www.snbforums.com

 

[wouterv]

It looks like they "only" list the RT-AC68U_V4 which was the very latest and quite special in the range.

 

[RMerlin]

It looks like they "only" list the RT-AC68U_V4 which was the very latest and quite special in the range.

And I wonder if it ever made it to store shelves, as I don't recall ever seeing anyone reporting having one (beside me, of course).

 

[Intrepid]

It looks like they "only" list the RT-AC68U_V4 which was the very latest and quite special in the range.

But they've only ever released one version of the firmware that worked on all hardware reversions...

 

[AndreiV]

Asus has unfortunately discontinued the RT-AC68U and will no longer release new firmware.
See: https://www.asus.com/event/network/eol-product/

No they haven't. As others observe it is the v4 version that is removed. The recommended replacement list includes the RT-AC68U .

 

[Intrepid]

No they haven't. As others observe it is the v4 version that is removed. The recommended replacement list includes the RT-AC68U .

I disagree. As i said, they've only ever released one version of the firmware that worked on all hardware reversions.

 

[wouterv]

The RT-AC68 is no longer listed as recommended replacement for any router, all suggested replacements are AX.

 

[wouterv]

Ah well, even the RT-N66U was dropped after many years being the flagship and Linksys dropped the WRT54, the RT-AC68U will follow naturally and for sure.
As more devices are now build with AX support, the market for AC is slowly dying.

 

[RMerlin]

I disagree. As i said, they've only ever released one version of the firmware that worked on all hardware reversions.

So? That doesn't mean that the previous versions went EOL.

 

[RMerlin]

all suggested replacements are AX.

Which makes sense since all AC models will be left on the 386 branch, while AX models will move forward and get more active development through the 388 branch (and beyond).

 

[jsz]

Ah well, even the RT-N66U was dropped after many years being the flagship and Linksys dropped the WRT54, the RT-AC68U will follow naturally and for sure.
As more devices are now build with AX support, the market for AC is slowly dying.

I'm not really sure why anyone would want a 68U in 2023.. Low power (FCC power limit) Gen 1 AC HW with a 256mb ram limit.

Also predates having an internal CPU on radio. Which is basically the equivalent to NSS/NPU on alternative WIFI hardware.

I'm more confused why Amazon still has them listed for $129.99 USD.

AC86U or GT-AC2900 @ 90-100 USD (also Amazon) are significantly better and can match some popular/much more expensive 4x4 AX routers in specific environments.

IE: 1.8ghz A53 dual core, 512MB RAM, 4x4 5G radio.. 800mhz A7 core on both radios.. etc. Why would anyone give a damn about a 68u? lol

 

[Intrepid]

So? That doesn't mean that the previous versions went EOL.

I believe that it does.

When a product is end-of-life, it means:

• It is no longer manufactured
• Its certification will not be renewed
• Its firmware, utility, website, DM, QSG and manual will not be updated
• It may be replaced by a new product with updated hardware and similar functions

 

[RMerlin]

I believe that it does.

When a product is end-of-life, it means:

• It is no longer manufactured
• Its certification will not be renewed
• Its firmware, utility, website, DM, QSG and manual will not be updated
• It may be replaced by a new product with updated hardware and similar functions

We know what end-of-life means. What we are telling you is that ONLY the V4 version (which uses a different firmware) is discontinued. The RT-AC68U V1 thru V3 as well as the RT-AC66U_B1 are not on that list and therefore are not end-of-life yet, and will still receive updates.

 

[sl4fko]

I'm not really sure why anyone would want a 68U in 2023.. Low power (FCC power limit) Gen 1 AC HW with a 256mb ram limit.

Also predates having an internal CPU on radio. Which is basically the equivalent to NSS/NPU on alternative WIFI hardware.

I'm more confused why Amazon still has them listed for $129.99 USD.

AC86U or GT-AC2900 @ 90-100 USD (also Amazon) are significantly better and can match some popular/much more expensive 4x4 AX routers in specific environments.

IE: 1.8ghz A53 dual core, 512MB RAM, 4x4 5G radio.. 800mhz A7 core on both radios.. etc. Why would anyone give a damn about a 68u? lol

I think, it is not aboat "want" but more aboat " still have".

The router was very popular in its glory days; this means there is still a huge number of people that are using it. The router is still great for (above) average use of WIFI, coverage is good, HW is enough for 500 mbps (or even more) internet connection... Based on all of that I think it would be great, if the support would still exist not by adding new functions or features, but at least in the means of security patches and fixes. Not everyone "needs" an AX signal or mega ninja router HW...

In my case it still serves me great as the Aimesh node, I am very happy with it.

 

[Smokey613]

We know what end-of-life means. What we are telling you is that ONLY the V4 version (which uses a different firmware) is discontinued. The RT-AC68U V1 thru V3 as well as the RT-AC66U_B1 are not on that list and therefore are not end-of-life yet, and will still receive updates.

It seems this little tidbit has escaped the comprehension of most readers…..

 

[wouterv]

I think, it is not aboat "want" but more aboat " still have".

The router was very popular in its glory days; this means there is still a huge number of people that are using it. The router is still great for (above) average use of WIFI, coverage is good, HW is enough for 500 mbps (or even more) internet connection... Based on all of that I think it would be great, if the support would still exist not by adding new functions or features, but at least in the means of security patches and fixes. Not everyone "needs" an AX signal or mega ninja router HW...

In my case it still serves me great as the Aimesh node, I am very happy with it.

Yes right, our home equipment and my business laptop is still at AC level, our iPhones do support AX and that's it. On top of that my ISP subscription is "only" 150 /150 (we scaled down from 600 / 600 and saved some cost), the Internet and Wi-Fi speed is sufficient for our use, including interactive TV.
No reason yet to upgrade to AX, of course the next router will be AX or even BE (Wi-Fi 7).
Another reason to upgrade can be EOL / no more security updates.

 

[Huflatisch]

And some use the AC models only as Internet access, without WLAN.
Also on fiber optic connections (me, for example)
Mainly because of the OpenVPN possibilities

cu HU

 

[jsz]

Yes right, our home equipment and my business laptop is still at AC level, our iPhones do support AX and that's it. On top of that my ISP subscription is "only" 150 /150 (we scaled down from 600 / 600 and saved some cost), the Internet and Wi-Fi speed is sufficient for our use, including interactive TV.
No reason yet to upgrade to AX, of course the next router will be AX or even BE (Wi-Fi 7).
Another reason to upgrade can be EOL / no more security updates.

I think, it is not aboat "want" but more aboat " still have".

The router was very popular in its glory days; this means there is still a huge number of people that are using it. The router is still great for (above) average use of WIFI, coverage is good, HW is enough for 500 mbps (or even more) internet connection... Based on all of that I think it would be great, if the support would still exist not by adding new functions or features, but at least in the means of security patches and fixes. Not everyone "needs" an AX signal or mega ninja router HW...

In my case it still serves me great as the Aimesh node, I am very happy with it.

I understand, but there's a huge difference between early AC and AC Wave 2 hardware. For anyone to consider purchasing the former product (today) is insane or doesn't know what they're buying,

The GT-AC2900/AC86U can be better than a lot of AX class routers, especially low end ones or stuff that doesn't have a BCM 43684/6715 4x4 main radio.

I get the notion of it being a good product in an existing household, but I'm sorta baffled Amazon still carries them with a $130 USD price tag.

Even if the argument was AI mesh expansion/wired backhaul, there is no logic to why anyone should consider a "new" 68U when theres a much superior ACW2 option @ 90-100 USD.

PS: I don't blame people for skipping AX. The two GT-AX6000 I've tried perform rather poorly for penetration in my home.. and that's a "high end" dual band gen2 AX design.

Not say the GT-AX6000 is terrible for everyone, but it was only able to match my GT-AC2900 for 5G throughput at range at fixed distances. I feel like something is broken (poor beamfoaming?) or some newer hardware combo just isn't working out in my environment.

Relatively speaking, the AX86S exceeded my expectations.. 200mbps higher in same locations. It's quite odd.

The only downside? Has the same base hardware as my former router... 4906 dual core + 512MB. I wanted something a bit better, but I guess I can upgrade sooner since I only paid $148 + tax.

 

[bennor]

I disagree. As i said, they've only ever released one version of the firmware that worked on all hardware reversions.

But if one takes a look at the RT-AC68U firmware they'll notice that around May of 2021 with 3.0.0.4.386.43129 the firmware size more than doubled from previous firmware versions. Speculation was they rolled in the RT-AC68U_V4 firmware into the base RT-AC68U firmware and that when updating the firmware the router selects the correct router model firmware version from the firmware package.

Currently it appears ONLY the RT-AC68U_V4 is EOL not the rest of the RT-AC68U line. If they EOL'd the full line or more than one model version they'd likely do something like what they did on that list with the RT-N10P and RT-AC1200 where they listed multiple models; RT-N10P, RT-N10P_V2, RT-N10P_V3, and RT-AC1200, RT-AC1200_V2.

 

[jplw]

Asus has unfortunately discontinued the RT-AC68U and will no longer release new firmware.
See: https://www.asus.com/event/network/eol-product/

That is the same firmware as for the RT-AC66U B1, which is not listed as EOL...does that mean it will continue to get firmware updates?