RT-AX86 Series

[DarkKnight75]

I've had AX86U running for 2 days or so (picked up from B&H photo and went OOS within 1 day) and rock solid. Uploaded latest firmware, factory reset, setup like my old AC86U. I agree on US pricing, if you can find and AX86U, its def a better buy than the AX86S.

 

[kmetek]

Should I buy AX86S for 100€?

 

[kmetek]

i bought it anyway

 

[sl4fko]

Is there Merlin support for AX86S? As it was said, the support should exist since 386.4 but cannot find official download anywhere...

 

[OzarkEdge]

Is there Merlin support for AX86S? As it was said, the support should exist since 386.4 but cannot find official download anywhere...

yes

About | Asuswrt-Merlin

OE

 

[sl4fko]

So, I have a chance to buy an AX86S model for 110 EUR. Currently on AC86U, which basicaly works just fine. Still...

Should I upgrade, are there any other benefits than AX signal?

I do not have any NAS hardware connected. Using only NordVPN as a OpenVPN client and a few addons (diversion, Skynet).

 

[Tech9]

Should I upgrade, are there any other benefits than AX signal?

Better reliability perhaps. There is a good chance your AC86U will beat AX86S in performance to existing AC clients. My AC86U is better than my AX86U in both speed and range to AC clients. Perhaps Wi-Fi environment dependent, but this is what I see. I would replace AC86U just because of expected issues. Otherwise it's an amazingly performing router. All routers with BCM4365/6E radios are excellent. To my surprise TP-Link Archer C80 with MediaTek SoC also beats AX86U to AC clients on lower 36-48 channels. Archer C80 is a $50 router. Some people may want you believe all AX routers are better than all AC routers to any client. No, they are not. If you have a good working AC router and ISP up to 500Mbps - no rush to upgrade to AX.

 

[sl4fko]

Thanks, just the answer I was actually silently hoping for...

Sticking with my trusty 3 years old AC86U for now...

 

[Tech9]

Sticking with my trusty 3 years old AC86U for now...

You are at low risk of service interruptions - your AC68U is the backup router.

 

[BK303]

My good old AC86U had its 2.4GHz radio die this week after 3 years in service, which I understand is common failure mode for these models. Loved the performance of that radio, but seems fairly obsolete for the price it still demands when even available. After bunch of research I decided on the Asus RT-AX86S, which is currently a great deal at BestBuy for $180 (USD) plus another 15% off when you bring in a router to recycle via their "trade-in offer". This model is also currently selling in USA for $180 on Walmart and Amazon, and is $200 on Asus online store....at these prices (most $70 below MSRP), I think it's a great alternative to full RT-AX86U for those of us with sub-1Gb internet service. Hope it stays at this price as nice mid-range addition to Asus lineup.

My understanding is the RT-AX86S unit has same radios as the highly rated and high performance RT-AX86U (4x4 5GHz, 3x3 2.4GHz), but this simplified model has removed the extra 2.5G Ethernet LAN/WAN port, reduced the CPU to dual core and DRAM to 512GB, and only one of the USB ports is now 3.2 Gen 1 speed. Since I don't have Gig or Gig+ ISP service, and don't use the router's filtering services or QoS anyway, this smaller switch and CPU seems to fit my needs perfectly. It even supports 2-port link aggregation on LAN and/or WAN ports, so if someday there is a Gig+ device or ISP service in my future I have a path to support that too.

So far the setup was a breeze as I directly imported my .cfg backup file from the old router, using the power-up wizard advanced screen, which thankfully allowed me to avoid re-entering all the DHCP reservations and device names. Even though I'm sure I checked the DDNS migration box during settings backup, however, was not able to keep the same Asuscomm.com DDNS hostname, which is minor inconvenience. Hoping the radio performance is up to my expectation from similar AC86U radio config, might report back here when I have some data.

 

[Tech9]

So far the setup was a breeze as I directly imported my .cfg backup file from the old router

The backup is for specific hardware and for specific firmware version only. Reset your new router to factory defaults and configure manually.

 

[bbunge]

My good old AC86U had its 2.4GHz radio die this week after 3 years in service, which I understand is common failure mode for these models. Loved the performance of that radio, but seems fairly obsolete for the price it still demands when even available. After bunch of research I decided on the Asus RT-AX86S, which is currently a great deal at BestBuy for $180 (USD) plus another 15% off when you bring in a router to recycle via their "trade-in offer". This model is also currently selling in USA for $180 on Walmart and Amazon, and is $200 on Asus online store....at these prices (most $70 below MSRP), I think it's a great alternative to full RT-AX86U for those of us with sub-1Gb internet service. Hope it stays at this price as nice mid-range addition to Asus lineup.

My understanding is the RT-AX86S unit has same radios as the highly rated and high performance RT-AX86U (4x4 5GHz, 3x3 2.4GHz), but this simplified model has removed the extra 2.5G Ethernet LAN/WAN port, reduced the CPU to dual core and DRAM to 512GB, and only one of the USB ports is now 3.2 Gen 1 speed. Since I don't have Gig or Gig+ ISP service, and don't use the router's filtering services or QoS anyway, this smaller switch and CPU seems to fit my needs perfectly. It even supports 2-port link aggregation on LAN and/or WAN ports, so if someday there is a Gig+ device or ISP service in my future I have a path to support that too.

So far the setup was a breeze as I directly imported my .cfg backup file from the old router, using the power-up wizard advanced screen, which thankfully allowed me to avoid re-entering all the DHCP reservations and device names. Even though I'm sure I checked the DDNS migration box during settings backup, however, was not able to keep the same Asuscomm.com DDNS hostname, which is minor inconvenience. Hoping the radio performance is up to my expectation from similar AC86U radio config, might report back here when I have some data.

If you can hook the old router back up and change the asuscomm.com DDNS name to something else. Then go back to the new router and change the DDNS name to what the old router was named.

Also, as tech9 said, do not use the config file from another router model. Factory reset and reconfigure. Too bad about the manually assigned, reserved as you call them, addresses. Better to set static IP addresses and set the DHCP to a restricted range.

 

[Tech9]

@BK303

On the old router in SSH:

nvram get dhcp_staticlist

Example result:
<D4:C9:EF:33:3F:74>192.168.50.12>><24:05:0F:33:38:44>192.168.50.14>>

On the new router enable Manual Assignment in LAN, DHCP Server and in SSH:

nvram set dhcp_staticlist="<D4:C9:EF:33:3F:74>192.168.50.12>><24:05:0F:33:38:44>192.168.50.14>>"
nvram commit
reboot

Done.

 

[Robinbb]

As an aside to this discussion...if one had an RT-AX86U as the primary WAN device, what would the most cost-effective current-generation wired mesh device (to add, say two remote 1GB ports and an extension to the AX coverage)? My head hurts looking at the specs of the AX device range.
Thanks!

 

[OzarkEdge]

As an aside to this discussion...if one had an RT-AX86U as the primary WAN device, what would the most cost-effective current-generation wired mesh device (to add, say two remote 1GB ports and an extension to the AX coverage)? My head hurts looking at the specs of the AX device range.
Thanks!

Given you have an AX86U (and that it was a reasonable choice) and you want to add a node, I'd add another AX86U and consider it to be your backup router. Going forward from there, you upgrade the router and push the old router out to node duty. And so on... that's a premise of AiMesh... you just have to choose wisely to stay on track.

The AC86Us in your signature would also work as nodes, just no WiFi6 features, which is not a problem.

OE

 

[Robinbb]

Thanks for your wise words (as ever), OE

 

[Tech9]

As an aside to this discussion...if one had an RT-AX86U as the primary WAN device, what would the most cost-effective current-generation wired mesh device

AX86U main + AX86S node. Both routers use the same firmware and have the same radios. This is the best option for AiMesh stability, better roaming chances and easier support. Both units will update at the same time when a new firmware is available. AX86S is cheaper, currently on sale for USD145 equivalent in Canada, for example. Hunt for sales and holiday deals. Good luck.

 

[Mogsy]

AX86U main + AX86S node. Both routers use the same firmware and have the same radios. This is the best option for AiMesh stability, better roaming chances and easier support. Both units will update at the same time when a new firmware is available. AX86S is cheaper, currently on sale for USD145 equivalent in Canada, for example. Hunt for sales and holiday deals. Good luck.

I have spare RT-AX86S now too. If I want to do this setup, should I go for Asus stock on the 86S? RT-AX86U currently using 386.7_2 Merlin

 

[OzarkEdge]

I have spare RT-AX86S now too. If I want to do this setup, should I go for Asus stock on the 86S? RT-AX86U currently using 386.7_2 Merlin

Yes.

AiMesh · RMerl/asuswrt-merlin.ng Wiki · GitHub

OE

 

[Tech9]

I have spare RT-AX86S now too. If I want to do this setup, should I go for Asus stock on the 86S? RT-AX86U currently using 386.7_2 Merlin

If you don't use any advanced VPN configurations or custom scripts, run the new stock 388 firmware on both. It has many Asuswrt-Merlin features included plus VPN Fusion with WireGuard in GUI. In my tests wireless AiMesh was consistently more stable with stock Asuswrt on main plus nodes.