RT-AC86U or RT-AX58U

[o0oKeegs]

Afternoon everyone.

Probably a much debated subject but looking for a current day answer if possible without bumping old threads.

Currently have a Nighthawk R7000 but getting fed up with consistent dropouts and lack of connection with rebooting.

Decided to take the plunge and move my network over to ASUS and have narrowed it down to the 2 routers in the subject.

Can get the RT-AC86U for £120 and the RT-AX58U for £123 so the difference in price is marginal.

Will be flashing either one with the newest Merlin firmware and using about 20-25 devices connected, 90% 5GHz and the rest 2.4.

No AX ready devices at the moment but not sure whether to future proof or if it's still early days for WiFi 6.

Basically I just want a router I can turn on, connect a 350Mbps line to it and forget about it with very little grief or drop outs!

Interested in people opinions on these 2 and which they would pick, especially if anyone has actually had both or also come over from an R7000?

Thanks.

Keegs.

 

[sanke1]

By the same time next year, we will have Wifi6E devices. Tbh, just get RT-AC86U and save money. You can upgrade to Wifi6E devices in 2022.

 

[o0oKeegs]

By the same time next year, we will have Wifi6E devices. Tbh, just get RT-AC86U and save money. You can upgrade to Wifi6E devices in 2022.

Thanks for the quick response.

Do you have experience with the AC86U?

 

[OzarkEdge]

Afternoon everyone.

Probably a much debated subject but looking for a current day answer if possible without bumping old threads.

Currently have a Nighthawk R7000 but getting fed up with consistent dropouts and lack of connection with rebooting.

Decided to take the plunge and move my network over to ASUS and have narrowed it down to the 2 routers in the subject.

Can get the RT-AC86U for £120 and the RT-AX58U for £123 so the difference in price is marginal.

Will be flashing either one with the newest Merlin firmware and using about 20-25 devices connected, 90% 5GHz and the rest 2.4.

No AX ready devices at the moment but not sure whether to future proof or if it's still early days for WiFi 6.

Interested in people opinions on these 2 and which they would pick, especially if anyone has actually had both or also come over from an R7000?

Thanks.

Keegs.

Clarify which AX router you are talking about, if you intend to buy AX now. Otherwise, the AC86U is a good choice.

OE

 

[o0oKeegs]

Clarify which AX router you are talking about, if you intend to buy AX now. Otherwise, the AC86U is a good choice.

OE

Thanks for the reply.

I am looking at the ASUS RT-AX58U.

 

[bbunge]

The AX58U is a 2x2 device on 2.4 and 5 GHZ
The AC86U is 4x4 on 5 GHZ and 3x3 on 2.4
Performance wise go for the AC86U

 

[Smokey613]

I vote for the RT-AC86U and yes, I am very biased.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Thanks for the reply.

I am looking at the ASUS RT-AX58U.

In that case, fix your thread title, compare the specs, and get the AC86U.

OE

 

[sanke1]

Thanks for the quick response.

Do you have experience with the AC86U?

Yes it is a great router which holds on it’s own even today. Check out thousands of amazon reviews and make an informed decision.

 

[L&LD]

The RT-AC86U is a great router.

However, with a small to even negative price difference (today) vs. the 'AC86U (with the sales), the RT-AX86U is the much better bet.

I will be picking up a couple myself today for customers but will be able to test them (briefly) and have a better idea of how they compare.

With reports putting the RT-AX86U's responsiveness above the RT-AX88U (and the 'AX88U being much better than the RT-AC86U already, see my signature for the link), the RT-AX86U at today's prices is the one to beat.

Particularly now with RMerlin firmware support (and 386.1 Alpha 4 around the corner).

 

[o0oKeegs]

In that case, fix your thread title, compare the specs, and get the AC86U.

OE

Cheers. Didn't even notice I'd put the wrong model.

 

[o0oKeegs]

Yes it is a great router which holds on it’s own even today. Check out thousands of amazon reviews and make an informed decision.

That's what I like to hear!

 

[o0oKeegs]

Thanks for all your replies. Not much love for the AX58U.

 

[L&LD]

The RT-AX58U is a good router. But doesn't compare (overall) to the RT-AX86U.

This is how I would rate the Asus routers (with the top spot given an honorary 1st because of the reports on these forums (I'll be testing it myself in the next few days):

• RT-AX86U and RT-AX88U
• RT-AC86U
• RT-AX58U
• RT-AC3100
• RT-AC66U_B1
• RT-AC68U and RT-AC56U

 

[RMerlin]

By the same time next year, we will have Wifi6E devices. Tbh, just get RT-AC86U and save money. You can upgrade to Wifi6E devices in 2022.

By then, 802.11ay will be just around the corner, which means people would then say "Wait for that instead of buying Wifi 6E devices now".

People should just go with whatever fulfills their needs right now, and not wait for any future technology, because there will always be something newer right after that.

 

[o0oKeegs]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts and input.

I'm gonna take the plunge and go for the RT-AC86U for the moment and get Merlin installed on it as it fits my current requirements.

RT-AX58U looks great but seems like a weaker option of the 2 as I don't require WiFi 6 compatibility yet.

 

[cooloutac]

I personally recommend the ax58u. I've tried both each for about a month. Lets just say you might have the same problems with the ac86u you had with the r7000 LOL. Just check out the 1 star reviews on amazon, almost all of them are for a wifi channel dying. That many people with the same exact complaints is insane. I experienced this myself with a 2020 model after 30 days of software and hardware crashes and reboots and reflashes. trying to run a vpn with ai protect on at the same time. I was so frustrated i went back to my ac66u_b1. Google the ac86u complaints on these very forums. Its widespread and real. Most people with the ac86u either don't run a vpn or don't have all the built in features turned on.

I don't think the ax86u or ax88u are worth the money and they have had lots of similar complaints. I agree with Merlin there is no need to buy or wait for the latest just because it is the latest. Unless you absolutely need openvpn speeds above 50MBs, you will have more reliability and stability with the ax58u which was rock solid for me for 30 days. The wifi is just as strong especially the 5ghz range even more so then the ac86u. And out the rest that is the cheapest option, on sale for $140 right now at Amazon.

 

[o0oKeegs]

I personally recommend the ax58u. I've tried both each for about a month. Lets just say you might have the same problems with the ac86u you had with the r7000 LOL. Just check out the 1 star reviews on amazon, almost all of them are for a wifi channel dying. That many people with the same exact complaints is insane. I experienced this myself with a 2020 model after 30 days of software and hardware crashes and reboots and reflashes. trying to run a vpn with ai protect on at the same time. I was so frustrated i went back to my ac66u_b1. Google the ac86u complaints on these very forums. Its widespread and real. Most people with the ac86u either don't run a vpn or don't have all the built in features turned on.

I don't think the ax86u or ax88u are worth the money and they have had lots of similar complaints. I agree with Merlin there is no need to buy or wait for the latest just because it is the latest. Unless you absolutely need openvpn speeds above 50MBs, you will have more reliability and stability with the ax58u which was rock solid for me for 30 days. The wifi is just as strong especially the 5ghz range even more so then the ac86u. And out the rest that is the cheapest option, on sale for $140 right now at Amazon.

Thanks for your reply.

My only concern with the AX58U was a few bad reviews I have read about compatibility issues with some WiFi 5 devices. I'm hoping this is firmware issues though that can be resolved as opposed to hardware reviews.

Gonna be purchasing tomorrow so i still have a bit more time left to compare options and opinions.

 

[L&LD]

Did you see post 14?

 

[cooloutac]

Thanks for your reply.

My only concern with the AX58U was a few bad reviews I have read about compatibility issues with some WiFi 5 devices. I'm hoping this is firmware issues though that can be resolved as opposed to hardware reviews.

Gonna be purchasing tomorrow so i still have a bit more time left to compare options and opinions.

well i have a about 30 iot devices in my home. smart plugs, cameras, light bulbs etc... didn't notice any problems with any of them staying connected on the ax58u. all of them are on the 2ghz. and also most on guest network. some real old and low budget. even a 14 year old laptop running linux.

But I don't use smart connect I used separate ssid for each bandwidth, because smart connect is usually the culprit with issues like that i've found. Even on the AC routers. many of these old devices are 2.4 ghz only. I believe this is a major factor for people who have compatibility issues. I have read some articles about intel network cards needing driver updates, but I'm not sure that is an actual compatibility issues, but more to support the new protocol properly issue. I hear compatibility issues are possible but didn't experience any or read any reviews claiming such curiously. I also had a couple laptops with mu-mimo and a couple galaxy s20 phones with wifi 6. and they all worked great. the galaxy phones always showed the little 6 next to their wifi icon.