Looking for router recommendation for built in VPN use.
We have a 4 bedroom family apartment in China. A number of us live oversees. I want to setup a router with built in VPN so we don't need VPN on all our devices. We have a 1Gbps fiber internet with a modem + router already for Chinese internet. The idea is to plug this router into the existing router and setup a separate wifi network for VPNed international access for family gatherings. My VPN has directions for Asuswrt-Merlin, OpenWRT and DD-WRT. Will mostly be used for emails, general internet usage, YouTube and some mobile iPad gaming to keep kids busy. But we will have potentially 6-8 people with probably a dozen devices at the same time for family gatherings. As this will only be used for a few weeks a year I'm looking for an affordable good enough solution.
I was recommended RT-AC86U w/ Asuswrt-Merlin which costs about $559 here in China or $80 USD. While researching this I came upon this site and discovered that it an old router that is now considered EOL and will not get future software support.
I did a bit more research and it seems like maybe I should upgrade to one of the following:
RT-AX88U Pro - $1299 or $185 USD
RT-AX86U Pro - $1099 or $157 USD
But even these seem to have questionable updates past end of 2024. The question is given my use case is it worth more the 2x the price to get one of these? If so which one is better and is there any other recommended solutions for my use case?
Thanks!
We have a 4 bedroom family apartment in China. A number of us live oversees. I want to setup a router with built in VPN so we don't need VPN on all our devices. We have a 1Gbps fiber internet with a modem + router already for Chinese internet. The idea is to plug this router into the existing router and setup a separate wifi network for VPNed international access for family gatherings. My VPN has directions for Asuswrt-Merlin, OpenWRT and DD-WRT. Will mostly be used for emails, general internet usage, YouTube and some mobile iPad gaming to keep kids busy. But we will have potentially 6-8 people with probably a dozen devices at the same time for family gatherings. As this will only be used for a few weeks a year I'm looking for an affordable good enough solution.
I was recommended RT-AC86U w/ Asuswrt-Merlin which costs about $559 here in China or $80 USD. While researching this I came upon this site and discovered that it an old router that is now considered EOL and will not get future software support.
I did a bit more research and it seems like maybe I should upgrade to one of the following:
RT-AX88U Pro - $1299 or $185 USD
RT-AX86U Pro - $1099 or $157 USD
But even these seem to have questionable updates past end of 2024. The question is given my use case is it worth more the 2x the price to get one of these? If so which one is better and is there any other recommended solutions for my use case?
Thanks!
