RT-AC87U vs RT-AC88U vs Ubiquiti

[Marty]

In April 2016 I bought a RT-AC87U with a 2 yr warranty. In July I sent it out for repair to the west coast ASUS repair center, at my cost!. It was disconnecting from the internet, losing the 5 Ghz signal, losing the internet connection when I would try to upload medium size files and other instability issues. Yeah, I now know those are common 87U issues, wish I knew before buying it but I came from a 56U that worked flawless for years, and still does.

ASUS sent me a replacement unit, not the same one I sent them. Ok, didn't care provided it would work. Well, it didn't so its about to go back to their repair center, this time the shipping is on them.

I've lost faith in ASUS and started looking for another solution. In the many complaints I've now read about the 87U, people seem to like the RT-AC88U due to the radio chip change. I like their interface. So I've asked ASUS that instead of repairing and/or returning another 87U, would they take mine in trade for another ASUS router. I have not heard back from them yet so mine sits here in a box ready to go awaiting their reply. I doubt they will say yes.

In the meantime, I have looked into Ubiquiti products, thinking a more commercial type product would be more reliable. Considering the price tag on the 88U, the Ubiquiti products that would be required are not that much more and is a more feature rich system.

Before I buy anything, does anyone here have any comments on a suggested direction to take?

Thanks, Marty

 

[Trentors]

In April 2016 I bought a RT-AC87U with a 2 yr warranty. In July I sent it out for repair to the west coast ASUS repair center, at my cost!. It was disconnecting from the internet, losing the 5 Ghz signal, losing the internet connection when I would try to upload medium size files and other instability issues. Yeah, I now know those are common 87U issues, wish I knew before buying it but I came from a 56U that worked flawless for years, and still does.

ASUS sent me a replacement unit, not the same one I sent them. Ok, didn't care provided it would work. Well, it didn't so its about to go back to their repair center, this time the shipping is on them.

I've lost faith in ASUS and started looking for another solution. In the many complaints I've now read about the 87U, people seem to like the RT-AC88U due to the radio chip change. I like their interface. So I've asked ASUS that instead of repairing and/or returning another 87U, would they take mine in trade for another ASUS router. I have not heard back from them yet so mine sits here in a box ready to go awaiting their reply. I doubt they will say yes.

In the meantime, I have looked into Ubiquiti products, thinking a more commercial type product would be more reliable. Considering the price tag on the 88U, the Ubiquiti products that would be required are not that much more and is a more feature rich system.

Before I buy anything, does anyone here have any comments on a suggested direction to take?

Thanks, Marty

Ubiquiti is not more feature rich. They do not have features like IDP and other security features. And then there is the whole USB application part of AsusWRT which Ubiquiti does not have. Sure they have VLAN support but that's about it.
Why do you consider Unifi to have more features?

In my experience with Unifi AC PRO the performance of both range and speed where terrible compared to Asus routers. This was a bit of a shock but discovered that many have the same experience and still Unifi gets so much praise. It is insanely overrated - especially on Reddit - and its almost a cult. Sure it works though the stabillity is not much superior compared to a good Asus router (NOT the AC87 which is a bad product) but the range and speed is very bad. Many people must have really crappy internet connections - and no LAN to LAN usage - since they can accept this.

 

[Marty]

Ubiquiti is not more feature rich. They do not have features like IDP and other security features. And then there is the whole USB application part of AsusWRT which Ubiquiti does not have. Sure they have VLAN support but that's about it.
Why do you consider Unifi to have more features?

In my experience with Unifi AC PRO the performance of both range and speed where terrible compared to Asus routers. This was a bit of a shock but discovered that many have the same experience and still Unifi gets so much praise. It is insanely overrated - especially on Reddit - and its almost a cult. Sure it works though the stabillity is not much superior compared to a good Asus router (NOT the AC87 which is a bad product) but the range and speed is very bad. Many people must have really crappy internet connections - and no LAN to LAN usage - since they can accept this.

Hi Trentors,
I'd prefer to stay with ASUS. I like their interface, I'm used to it and "when" my 87U was up, it worked well. Just heard back from ASUS that they will not take my 87U in on trade so I'm sending it to their west coast repair center and upon its return, will try and sell it. I'd rather not move to a different platform and start all over again, I just want one that works and so I can depend on it. From what I've read, the 88U does that but when looking at the cost of it, its a bunch more money. So if I have to shell out nearly $300, what else is in the realm? That started me looking.

I wanted to post here so I would hopefully get replies from people like you who might post their views from another perspective, so thanks for that. From a Ubiquiti view, I like their PoE capability as that means one less wire to run and I don't have to place the AP near an outlet. I like having all the gear in my office but its at one extreme end of my house and has proven to be a poor place for the wifi router. So being able to have the Ubiquiti USG router and switch in my office and their AP where it works the best in my house is something I like.

They have a nice feature set for their guest SSID/channels with a hotspot and landing page and I have a B&B that uses the guest channel. Their USG offers VOIP if I decide down the road to go that route. Still, I'd rather stay with ASUS and am trying to explore whats out there before I just buy another one.

Here's my ASUS based network.. ..

 

[Trentors]

Hi Trentors,
I'd prefer to stay with ASUS. I like their interface, I'm used to it and "when" my 87U was up, it worked well. Just heard back from ASUS that they will not take my 87U in on trade so I'm sending it to their west coast repair center and upon its return, will try and sell it. I'd rather not move to a different platform and start all over again, I just want one that works and so I can depend on it. From what I've read, the 88U does that but when looking at the cost of it, its a bunch more money. So if I have to shell out nearly $300, what else is in the realm? That started me looking.

I wanted to post here so I would hopefully get replies from people like you who might post their views from another perspective, so thanks for that. From a Ubiquiti view, I like their PoE capability as that means one less wire to run and I don't have to place the AP near an outlet. I like having all the gear in my office but its at one extreme end of my house and has proven to be a poor place for the wifi router. So being able to have the Ubiquiti USG router and switch in my office and their AP where it works the best in my house is something I like.

They have a nice feature set for their guest SSID/channels with a hotspot and landing page and I have a B&B that uses the guest channel. Their USG offers VOIP if I decide down the road to go that route. Still, I'd rather stay with ASUS and am trying to explore whats out there before I just buy another one.

Here's my ASUS based network.. ..

I do not know your nationality but if you are living in a EU country Asus must take it back according to the consumer proctection laws.

True it is easier to place an Ubiquiti AP (or almost any other proper AP) because of PoE. Just be aware that there is a reason why the Asus routers have those big external antennas. Better range and better performance.

True when it comes to guest networking and landing pages etc. they have more features. Just be warned that adding guest networks reduces overall wifi performance (maybe this have been fixed).

Yes USG does have VoIP (PXB) built in. But you can get VoIP that works without it being built into the gateway so that is hardly a benefit.

 

[Marty]

I do not know your nationality but if you are living in a EU country Asus must take it back according to the consumer proctection laws.

True it is easier to place an Ubiquiti AP (or almost any other proper AP) because of PoE. Just be aware that there is a reason why the Asus routers have those big external antennas. Better range and better performance.

True when it comes to guest networking and landing pages etc. they have more features. Just be warned that adding guest networks reduces overall wifi performance (maybe this have been fixed).

Yes USG does have VoIP (PXB) built in. But you can get VoIP that works without it being built into the gateway so that is hardly a benefit.

We wish we did live in the EU, we love Europe...used to live in the UK for a few years, loved that too! That's where we developed our love for diesel cars. Came back to the US, bought a Golf diesel, absolutely love it and now...dieselgate :-(

I've done the research between ASUS and Ubiquiti and even though Ubiquiti offers some interesting features and is quite scaleable, I would like to stay with the ASUS. When the 87U is up and running, I get 1,300 on the 5Ghz band on my MBP sitting on the other side of the wall from the router about 10-12 ft away. That's far more speed than my measly 15 down/1 up cable internet speed knows what to do with.

There are only two issues of which one is a big one.. ..uptime and overall reliability. The other issue is range but I have come to grips with that by installing a TP-Link WPA8630PKIT Power Line Adapter out in my garage. That offers not only both wifi bands but two ethernet ports as well and its the pass through model so I don't lose a 110vac outlet. It totally solved the dead zone issue out there.
Anyway, the 87U goes back to ASUS today, I'm using my old but trusty 56U in the meantime and will give the 87U its chance to redeem itself when it comes back.

 

[L&LD]

I would give up on the RT-AC87U, even if Asus is the sole provider of the consumer Quantenna chipsets that is still valiantly trying to make it work for their customers.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/sh...-go-with-the-rt-ac1900p-v3.34748/#post-281391

When you get the replacement, sell it as is. But any of the latest Asus routers currently available as they have proved themselves worthwhile to many.

The link above gives you an idea of what the latest routers offer and actually deliver upon. Something the RT-AC87U only promised (on paper).