The 86U has been a great router, albeit overkill for my use. I don't use any of the advanced features on it besides the VPN server to connect to my network remotely. Still, I'm thinking about replacing it because almost all of my devices are now either ethernet, Wifi 6, or 6e.
I live in a two bedroom 1000sqft apartment in a crowded complex. 2.4ghz is pretty much useless for anything except IoT devices. 5ghz works OK for now on my 300mbps fiber connection, but sometimes it'll dip lower than 200mbps during peak times. My ethernet devices never have an issue. Changing channels only helps for a bit as all my neighbors use auto selection on their own routers. DFS doesn't work in my location, it always kicks me off the DFS channels in less than a day.
I'd like to stick with ASUS as my last two ASUS routers each lasted me 4-5 years. I'm not worried about Merlin because I don't use any of the advanced features other than the VPN server. I'm willing to consider other brands if they are recommended highly enough, though I'd like to spend less than $250. Our primary devices are all either ethernet or 6e capable so I'd also like to take advantage of 6ghz to help with the peak hour wifi congestion if possible.
With all that being said, would the ASUS RT-AXE7800 be a good upgrade choice? It's within my price range and seems to have the basic features I'm looking for.
I live in a two bedroom 1000sqft apartment in a crowded complex. 2.4ghz is pretty much useless for anything except IoT devices. 5ghz works OK for now on my 300mbps fiber connection, but sometimes it'll dip lower than 200mbps during peak times. My ethernet devices never have an issue. Changing channels only helps for a bit as all my neighbors use auto selection on their own routers. DFS doesn't work in my location, it always kicks me off the DFS channels in less than a day.
I'd like to stick with ASUS as my last two ASUS routers each lasted me 4-5 years. I'm not worried about Merlin because I don't use any of the advanced features other than the VPN server. I'm willing to consider other brands if they are recommended highly enough, though I'd like to spend less than $250. Our primary devices are all either ethernet or 6e capable so I'd also like to take advantage of 6ghz to help with the peak hour wifi congestion if possible.
With all that being said, would the ASUS RT-AXE7800 be a good upgrade choice? It's within my price range and seems to have the basic features I'm looking for.