RT-AC86U hit the FCC

[GregT]

Any updates on the release date? Anyone seen it in stores?

 

[RMerlin]

Any updates on the release date? Anyone seen it in stores?

Only available in China, and no info as to whether they intend to release it in other regions or not.

 

[Broken Hope]

This seems to indicate it's getting a global release?

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/58883/asus-announce-gaming-focused-rt-ac86u-wi-fi-router/index.html

There's also a ton of regulatory information

https://www.asus.com/Networking/RT-AC86U/HelpDesk_Manual/

Is this likely to be supported by Merlin at some point?

 

[RMerlin]

This seems to indicate it's getting a global release?

Yes, it should launch somewhere in September.

Is this likely to be supported by Merlin at some point?

I don't know. It's a radical platform change over the currently supported models (completely different Broadcom SDK, newer kernel, etc...), plus the 382 GPL has a lot of changes. It definitely won't be supported in the near future, no idea about later.

 

[scajjr2]

Newegg taking pre-orders, says Sept 8 release date.

sam

 

[maxbraketorque]

I don't know. It's a radical platform change over the currently supported models (completely different Broadcom SDK, newer kernel, etc...), plus the 382 GPL has a lot of changes. It definitely won't be supported in the near future, no idea about later.

I'm in the market for another wifi router because I've found that I need two to completely cover my house at full speed. I'd like to move my RT-AC68U to the relatively unused portion of my house, and then put something newer in its place in the main portion of my house. I'd been leaning towards the RT-AC88U, but the large number of reports of failed radios is quite scary, and the processor specification is getting a bit outdated. I have been holding out in hopes that a revision would come out that fixes the radio issue and updates to a new processor. However maybe the better solution is to go with the RT-AC86U? With its three external antennas and single internal antenna, is it going to have comparable range to the RT-AC88U that has four external antennas? Is the chipset going to be better than the RT-AC88U? I guess I have to wait for the review to see...

 

[RMerlin]

However maybe the better solution is to go with the RT-AC86U? With its three external antennas and single internal antenna, is it going to have comparable range to the RT-AC88U that has four external antennas? Is the chipset going to be better than the RT-AC88U?

According to Asus, the RT-AC86U should have better coverage than the RT-AC68U (they didn't mention the RT-AC88U, so I don't know how they would compare). Best to wait for a review from Tim to know for sure.

Performance-wise, the RT-AC86U definitely has better hardware on paper. How that will translate in performance is hard to say at the moment. Based on the GT-AC5300 feedback, I suspect there might be some growing pains before the product becomes as mature as older platforms like the AC68 or AC88.

 

[maxbraketorque]

Thanks. I hope that Tim can test this soon.

 

[scajjr2]

First review I've seen on the 86U- http://www.jayceooi.com/asus-rt-ac86u-review/

Sam

 

[maxbraketorque]

Not as glowing of a review as I had hoped. I understand the bugs, but was hoping for at least as good of range.

 

[RMerlin]

Not as glowing of a review as I had hoped. I understand the bugs, but was hoping for at least as good of range.

I would wait for a more thorough review. I only quickly glanced at it, and the fact the author complains about shorter range at the same time that he reports HIGHER throughput makes me believe his testing methodology might not be up to snuff. Watching the RSSI in a mobile client is not a good indicator of actual range.

I'm sure Tim will eventually review this device once it hits the North American market and he has a chance to spend some time with one.

 

[wouterv]

I like to read and see about this "new" RT-AC86U.
A fancy new front, good old rear, further enhanced electronics, finally a new unique nomenclature.
The firmware doesn't seems to offer much new, besides stability and performance enhancements (which is all one need).
Curious to a serious review.

 

[RMerlin]

The firmware doesn't seems to offer much new, besides stability and performance enhancements (which is all one need).

That's because that review didn't look too closely. Quite a few changes, starting with the brand new Trend Micro engine, the new notification center, a completely different software stack from Broadcom which replaces CTF with a new NAT acceleration engine, etc...

There are also a number of new features that ain't enabled at this time, unsure if it's because they're not finished yet, or if Asus is reserving these for their top-of-the-line GT-AC5300. IPSec, Let's Encrypt, VPN Fusion, enhance permission management, ...

 

[Smedley]

That's because that review didn't look too closely. Quite a few changes, starting with the brand new Trend Micro engine, the new notification center, a completely different software stack from Broadcom which replaces CTF with a new NAT acceleration engine, etc...

There are also a number of new features that ain't enabled at this time, unsure if it's because they're not finished yet, or if Asus is reserving these for their top-of-the-line GT-AC5300. IPSec, Let's Encrypt, VPN Fusion, enhance permission management, ...

Is there likely to be any performance or feature benefit in the 86U over the 68U when running in Access Point mode?

 

[RMerlin]

Is there likely to be any performance or feature benefit in the 86U over the 68U when running in Access Point mode?

Not sure, that's something that a thorough review would be able to tell. I suspect that the AC86 might have slightly better wifi performance (the wifi SoC each have their own CPU, compared to the AC68U having everything running from the main CPU). There's also the MU-MIMO support, provided you have the clients to take advantage of it (and that MU-MIMO works properly - no one has actually tested it so far on these BCM4366E).

Personally, I wouldn't spend 250$ to upgrade an RT-AC68U AP to an RT-AC86U AP. I would if it was used as the main router however, and that I needed its improved VPN/USB sharing throughput.

 

[Temchenko]

RMerlin
What is the chance that we'll get support for that router from your side in near future? I can see that you've already looked into firmware. What will you say now?

 

[RMerlin]

RMerlin
What is the chance that we'll get support for that router from your side in near future? I can see that you've already looked into firmware. What will you say now?

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/asuswrt-merlin-project-update.41065/

 

[RMerlin]

BTW, here's a 800 MB file transfer done over SMB, from a USB disk plugged to the RT-AC86U. Looks like Broadcom finally got their USB subsystem finetuned!

 

[RMerlin]

And for sake of completeness, here's when running an early alpha build of my firmware, with Samba 3.6.25 and SMB2 enabled:

Looks like this platform has the necessary horse power to use SMB2 out of the box.

 

[Dxcv]

And for sake of completeness, here's when running an early alpha build of my firmware, with Samba 3.6.25 and SMB2 enabled:

View attachment 10429

Looks like this platform has the necessary horse power to use SMB2 out of the box.

Would you happen to have any inital thoughts or advice about the RT-AC86u? I was considering it with a network switch to replace an RT-AC88u with apparent port issues. WAN is stuck at 100FD and LAN 1 is unresponsive. Other ports randomly switch from 10FD to 100FD or 1000FD.

Any advice on the 86 would be greatly appreciated!