[RT-AC86U] what are the differences between European and Asian variants?

[cowst]

I ask because in Germany there is a 70€ price difference between European ones and Asian imported.
Cannot be just the extra power adapter annoyance, right?

 

[RMerlin]

Do not purchase a router from outside of your region. Its configured to that market's regional regulations, running it in a different region will cause wireless issues and potentially break local laws.

 

[cowst]

Cannot be configured to comply with local laws /settings using your FW?
Are such differences carved in HW?

Do not purchase a router from outside of your region. Its configured to that market's regional regulations, running it in a different region will cause wireless issues and potentially break local laws.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Do not purchase a router from outside of your region. Its configured to that market's regional regulations, running it in a different region will cause wireless issues and potentially break local laws.

Whilst I agree with you and I personally wouldn't buy any wireless product (including mobile phones) that wasn't manufactured specifically for my region, I do think that Asus appear to be creating confusion here.

The routers people are buying from China seem to be "world" versions that can be configure to a particular region. So what's that all about?

 

[niXta]

I’ve got the AC86U China edition, it has an open region setting.
I’ve been having some issues but nothing regarding the region.
However, I didn’t know that the bootloader was locked on the AC86U which means that my plan B to flash with another fw goes out the window.
If asus decides to lock this Chinese model, I’m ducked...


Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk

 

[cowst]

You mean you cannot flash merlin FW?
I'll pay the 70€ difference for the European version then.

I’ve got the AC86U China edition, it has an open region setting.
I’ve been having some issues but nothing regarding the region.
However, I didn’t know that the bootloader was locked on the AC86U which means that my plan B to flash with another fw goes out the window.
If asus decides to lock this Chinese model, I’m ducked...


Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk

 

[Odkrys]

The routers people are buying from China seem to be "world" versions that can be configure to a particular region

US ver = region locked
JP ver = region and language locked

Other country models can change region in wireless page.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Other country models can change region in wireless page.

EU ver = region locked

 

[cowst]

EU ver = region locked

But that means only Asian are unlocked and could be used in Europe for example?

 

[Latzz]

But that means only Asian are unlocked and could be used in Europe for example?

Most (if not all) 'Asian' versions are actually China region version. There is a separate Asia region version sold and the price is a lot more expensive.

 

[cowst]

Most (if not all) 'Asian' versions are actually China region version. There is a separate Asia region version sold and the price is a lot more expensive.

Mh, I wonder the compromises of the people buying those clearly China with extra EU adapters.
I suppose they just don't care and things kinda work.

 

[drabisan]

@cowst, couple of examples:
- china has less 5GHz channels. That's causes no harm, but it restricts your options.
- DFS regulations are different. You may/will see weird behaviour when client knows it has EU regulations but router things differently.

The big deal, potentially harmful, is when power is different. Ex. You get a device from US where power is higher and you'll have some higher noise your European client don't know how to deal with.
Another big deal, with ugly consequences, is when you use channels that are reserved in Europe. If you're unlucky and interfere with a radar, they will find you and it won't end with a fine

I know price is important and you may want to dodge the bullet, but it can get ugly and locked bootloader will not allow you to change the region - Asus knows better, as they had to pay a big fine in US because of it.

 

[cowst]

@cowst, couple of examples:
- china has less 5GHz channels. That's causes no harm, but it restricts your options.
- DFS regulations are different. You may/will see weird behaviour when client knows it has EU regulations but router things differently.

The big deal, potentially harmful, is when power is different. Ex. You get a device from US where power is higher and you'll have some higher noise your European client don't know how to deal with.
Another big deal, with ugly consequences, is when you use channels that are reserved in Europe. If you're unlucky and interfere with a radar, they will find you and it won't end with a fine

I know price is important and you may want to dodge the bullet, but it can get ugly and locked bootloader will not allow you to change the region - Asus knows better, as they had to pay a big fine in US because of it.

Didn't know about the lock, and that's why I asked about the difference .
Now that I know, my path is set

 

[umarmung]

@cowst, couple of examples:
- china has less 5GHz channels. That's causes no harm, but it restricts your options.
- DFS regulations are different. You may/will see weird behaviour when client knows it has EU regulations but router things differently.

The big deal, potentially harmful, is when power is different. Ex. You get a device from US where power is higher and you'll have some higher noise your European client don't know how to deal with.
Another big deal, with ugly consequences, is when you use channels that are reserved in Europe. If you're unlucky and interfere with a radar, they will find you and it won't end with a fine

I know price is important and you may want to dodge the bullet, but it can get ugly and locked bootloader will not allow you to change the region - Asus knows better, as they had to pay a big fine in US because of it.

Good post. You should also clarify you mean Transmit Power of the wireless radios. Exceeding the Transmit Power of the regulatory domain for a country can have multiple consequences, none of them good, though incorrect channel selections are by far the most serious violation.

In addition, getting devices outside your region can break firmware upgrades (with your own region's firmware) and any custom firmware. This applies to not just routers, but many devices, notably IP cameras, where a large grey market exists for cheap Chinese versions of international models. Such models often intentionally brick themselves if non-Chinese firmware is applied, and you end up with an expensive and completely unsupported paperweight ...

 

[niXta]

You mean you cannot flash merlin FW?
I'll pay the 70€ difference for the European version then.

No, merlin works, because it’s just a modded Asus version. Dd-wrt or tomato etc is what I mean.
And for the region specifics, there’s no problem as long as asus doesn’t lock the region menu. So at the moment my AC86U runs at the same channels and the same tx power as the European device.

 

[SalemDE]

I have the AC86U China version. and the region menu is open so I cant understand why to spend more when you can have it for far less and more option!

 

[RMerlin]

I have the AC86U China version. and the region menu is open so I cant understand why to spend more when you can have it for far less and more option!

Because some things may be referring to the hardcoded bootloader region instead of the setting changed in the webui. Asus for instance has said that for AiMesh to work, devices must be from the same region, regardless of what you configure on the webui - that setting is ignored by AiMesh.

 

[maxbraketorque]

I always stick with official purchase channels and devices for my region, but I've often wondered as well about what differences exist. Not sure anything I have read here truly clears it up though. If the bootloader is region specific, then can an ASUS router truly be region unlocked by having an unlocked region setting in the webUI? If AiMesh functionality depends on the hardcoded region, then what else also depends on it?

 

[lukaszzsch]

I always stick with official purchase channels and devices for my region, but I've often wondered as well about what differences exist. Not sure anything I have read here truly clears it up though. If the bootloader is region specific, then can an ASUS router truly be region unlocked by having an unlocked region setting in the webUI? If AiMesh functionality depends on the hardcoded region, then what else also depends on it?

Currently i have 2 pieces of 86u
One piece was bought from Gearbest and has chinese bootloader. Chinese one has unlocked option to choose WiFi region.

Second unit i bought in Poland from official, european distribution and that one has polish bootloader and also WiFi region changing is unavailable. I have bought second one because i experienced problem with 2.4 g radio on chinese one. May it be independent but so far so good.

 

[Grisu]

Currently i have 2 pieces of 86u
One piece was bought from Gearbest and has chinese bootloader. Chinese one has unlocked option to choose WiFi region.

Second unit i bought in Poland from official, european distribution and that one has polish bootloader and also WiFi region changing is unavailable. I have bought second one because i experienced problem with 2.4 g radio on chinese one. May it be independent but so far so good.

I get >10dB differences between US or Asia and EU region setting.

does TXpower and possible channel settings equal on your EU-version and China-version set to region EU?