time to upgrade my RT-AC68U, whats a good replacement that won't break the bank?

[bennor]

This makes me nervous about spending a good bit on a newer model only to be a waste of time. How does ASUS expect to keep customers if their high $ routers are unreliable?

Keep in mind that you are only getting a few negative experience responses. There are likely others who are not having issues with their Asus router. Everyone's LAN/WiFi client environment and use case are different.

Personally for my use case and environment, replacing a RT-AC68U with a RT-AX86U Pro have been a positive experience. Getting better WiFi connections with my WiFi clients than I did with the RT-AC68U. One thing I have found in my use case is certain IoT devices and a HP printer were picky about having "WPA3-Personal" enabled on the router. Ran into problems trying to use "WPA2/WPA3-Personal" with a number of my IoT devices so had to roll back to using only "WPA2-Personal" instead.

 

[Tech9]

Guest account?

Perhaps hit by the Guest Network bug with no Internet without access to Intranet enabled.

 

[darkgiants]

I am not looking to revive an old thread, but in a very similar situation here... currently have three RT-AC68Us, one serving as a primary router, and the other two serving as AiMesh nodes (all wired). Everything seems stable, but I have noticed a few glitches here and there requiring more frequent reboots, assuming I should consider upgrading the primary router soon.

However, while I have devices capable of AX, I try to use ethernet for as many of my devices as possible, and for devices connected through WiFi, it is pretty stable. My internet speeds are also sufficient as I don't need a gig. With WiFi 7 slowly becoming mainstream, I am waiting to fully upgrade my hardware to make it truly "future-proof". In the meantime, I am curious, if I were to purchase an RT-AC86U as my primary router, with the pure intention of serving as a temporary solution for my full WiFI 7 hardware upgrade, is that a worth it assuming I can get the RT-AC86U <$50? Would having the two RT-68Us as AiMesh nodes (connected through ethernet) work as well in that setup?

Or are there other cheaper "temporary" solutions worth exploring that are an upgrade from the RT-AC68U? I'd like to stick to ASUS as the configuration it allows for my IOT, POE cameras, and so forth makes it very convenient to manage.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I am not looking to revive an old thread, but in a very similar situation here... currently have three RT-AC68Us, one serving as a primary router, and the other two serving as AiMesh nodes (all wired). Everything seems stable, but I have noticed a few glitches here and there requiring more frequent reboots, assuming I should consider upgrading the primary router soon.

However, while I have devices capable of AX, I try to use ethernet for as many of my devices as possible, and for devices connected through WiFi, it is pretty stable. My internet speeds are also sufficient as I don't need a gig. With WiFi 7 slowly becoming mainstream, I am waiting to fully upgrade my hardware to make it truly "future-proof". In the meantime, I am curious, if I were to purchase an RT-AC86U as my primary router, with the pure intention of serving as a temporary solution for my full WiFI 7 hardware upgrade, is that a worth it assuming I can get the RT-AC86U <$50? Would having the two RT-68Us as AiMesh nodes (connected through ethernet) work as well in that setup?

Or are there other cheaper "temporary" solutions worth exploring that are an upgrade from the RT-AC68U? I'd like to stick to ASUS as the configuration it allows for my IOT, POE cameras, and so forth makes it very convenient to manage.

A new WiFi6/ax router might replace all of your AC68U kit... newer/better WiFi technology. I retired my AC68Us in 2018... getting slow then and about end-of-life now, 5+ years later.

Truly "future proof" is not a thing and not with consumer gear.

The AC86U had/has issues... given where WiFi5,6,7 are now, I would not spend on an AC86U (I've bought eight and used two, then one, and now none... at least three burned out.). A used one for cheap would not matter... same concerns, even more so.

I would use what you have until you can afford to upgrade the network. Given your delay in keeping your network current, I would expect to retire what you have and buy a new router and maybe a second AP/backup router/node to cover your area.

OE

 

[darkgiants]

A new WiFi6/ax router might replace all of your AC68U kit... newer/better WiFi technology. I retired my AC68Us in 2018... getting slow then and about end-of-life now, 5+ years later.

Truly "future proof" is not a thing and not with consumer gear.

The AC86U had/has issues... given where WiFi5,6,7 are now, I would not spend on an AC86U (I've bought eight and used two, then one, and now none... at least three burned out.). A used one for cheap would not matter... same concerns, even more so.

I would use what you have until you can afford to upgrade the network. Given your delay in keeping your network current, I would expect to retire what you have and buy a new router and maybe a second AP/backup router/node to cover your area.

OE

That’s great to hear! So it sounds like no point in considering a AC86U with my setup, even for a temporary solution until a full WiFi7 upgrade when it becomes fully mainstream?

One of the primary reasons for the three RT-AC68U AiMesh setup was due to physical constraints, where one node is placed in an exterior garage (hardwired), and the other in a corner at another end (also hardwired). I do use all the Ethernet ports on both nodes, so I suppose if AX (and the WiFi7 equivalent) hardware really can cover all that space, I can get away with one router and couple of switches at the end of the current AiMesh nodes? Or which APs would be recommended in that scenario?

 

[OzarkEdge]

That’s great to hear! So it sounds like no point in considering a AC86U with my setup, even for a temporary solution until a full WiFi7 upgrade when it becomes fully mainstream?

One of the primary reasons for the three RT-AC68U AiMesh setup was due to physical constraints, where one node is placed in an exterior garage (hardwired), and the other in a corner at another end (also hardwired). I do use all the Ethernet ports on both nodes, so I suppose if AX (and the WiFi7 equivalent) hardware really can cover all that space, I can get away with one router and couple of switches at the end of the current AiMesh nodes? Or which APs would be recommended in that scenario?

I try not to recommend what to buy since I don't know your space and requirements and I don't have broad enough experience with various models. Given your 3xAC68Us are about EOL and require frequent reboots, I can suggest you upgrade your router/network and take it from there... this could mean a new router, new node, an adjustment in their location for new coverage and perhaps a cheap switch for some wired clients.

Regarding models, the AX88U Pro, AX6000, and AX86U Pro are recommended here. Next gen firmware (3.0.0.6.*) is arriving for Pro models (and the AX6000, alledgedly) with vlans and hopefully a better-baked Guest Network feature called Guest Network Pro... we shall see. So, I would want a new router to be able to run this next firmware.

ASUS firmware is currently breaking the old Guest Network feature (a half-baked vlan implementation under the covers, as I have expereinced it). This defect is well-known and yet continues to arrive in firmware releases for various models, so I've been wondering if they have to fully kick users off the old Guest1 WLAN implementation before users can recover on their own by configuring the new Guest Network Pro feature(?).

BTW, it's bad form to post the same issue in multiple subforums... once is enough.

OE