ASUS - RT-AX86U Pro (AX5700)

I have both. 86 is main and 3000 is my aimesh The 3000 is a great router. I paid $7.99 at Goodwill for the x86 got really lucky. Get the 3000 should do you well.

all asus routers that i had run hot, so new all my asus routers have cooling fan or cooling pad

flint 2 is better , flint3 seems like a down grade, i personally had the ax86u and just now use it as a node, main is axe16000 https://preview.redd.it/1pg79cu7xcvf1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ad53ab8bca885e17aea6787c810fbc85c93254d

Yeah, routers with stronger CPUs like Asus or GL.iNet handle VPNs way better.

You might want to look into routers with stronger CPUs like Asus models that support WireGuard natively. TP-Link routers tend to struggle with VPN speeds. Asus RT-AX86U or GL.iNet Flint 2 are great for handling Surfshark easily.

A quality wifi 6 or 6e router, I'd suggest an Asus RT-AX86U Pro from experience, will greatly increase wireless performance IF the devices are also wifi 6 or 6e capable.  But if you're only getting 50-150mbps it sounds like you have a very old router.   I can saturate my 400 symmetrical fiber connection from my router to my S24 Ultra for instance.  What model router do you have now and what kinds of devices do you have?  Also, too close to a wireless router is a thing.  You usually want to be at least a few feet away from the router.  

A quality wifi 6 or 6e router, I'd suggest an Asus RT-AX86U Pro from experience, will greatly increase wireless performance IF the devices are also wifi 6 or 6e capable.  But if you're only getting 50-150mbps it sounds like you have a very old router.   I can saturate my 400 symmetrical fiber connection from my router to my S24 Ultra for instance.  What model router do you have now and what kinds of devices do you have?  Also, too close to a wireless router is a thing.  You usually want to be at least a few feet away from the router.  

Get a new router and a Rpi 4 or 5 to install Pihole.  My Asus RT-AX86U Pro has been really solid as one option that has a lot of support outside of Asus via Merlins custom firmware. 

I have the RT-AX86U Pro model.  It's been really solid.  I run custom firmware and a second RT-AC68U as a wired mesh node with it, but just out of the box you should be quite pleased. 

I've had zero problems with M1 for many years. Only went down once, and that was for scheduled maintenance in the middle of the night. Also, it's not just your internet plan that could be the cause of any issues. If your router isn't good enough, or is in a terrible position, or is overheating, or the bomb shelter is between your laptop and the router, you are gonna have issues no matter what plan you have. I have a standard 1Gbps plan but an Asus gaming router with ethernet cables going to the 3 heaviest users in the home – PS5, living TV and bedroom TV. I also set up a second router using Asus AImesh to provide wifi signal to one of the further corners of the house.

Flint, ASUS 86U is notorious for overheating

Buy an Asus AX88U Pro on Amazon used for $184. Even better than AX86U Pro.

You could do BOTH! I looked at the Asus ROG routers, but got an Asus RT-AX86U Pro router since my cable modem also has a 2.5 Gbps port. Plenty of performance for wired or wi-fi. You can use Asus' AI Mesh software to add another device - I could get an Asus Zen or other device if I need more coverage. However, you could also run cables and connect cameras to a switch. If you can centrally locate a device like an Asus RT-AX86U Pro router in a 1200 ft ranch, you likely will have no coverage issues unless your garage has all concrete walls. When I did my research, I found out that most (if not all) "mesh" systems can use wired or wireless backhaul. Wired performs better that wireless, wireless is easier to install. Whatever you do, get all the tech specs of your cameras first and make sure that the network will support them. PoE doesn't work over wi-fi.

So, what's the rest of the setup? Fibre is great and all, but what did your ISP provide as the ONT? How old is the router? Did the ISP provide, or is it your own? Here's what I did. I'm Xfinity, coax, 1 Gbps plan with an Arris S33v3 modem and an Asus RT-AX86U Pro wi-fi router. Why? These devices each have a 2.5 Gbps port for the uplink. I just ran a speed test to my phone and got 613 Mbps. Not too shabby. That router would work with a fiber ONT. Even without wi-fi 6, you're so much faster with fibre vs DSL. I also always buy quality cables, such as Monoprice Flexboot Cat 6, pure bare copper, 550 MHz, and a little bit longer than I need. Also, if you hold a phone or laptop too close to your wi-fi router, you might be in the "donut," i.e. if you're too close, it's can be just as bad as being too far away.

So, what's the rest of the setup? Fibre is great and all, but what did your ISP provide as the ONT? How old is the router? Did the ISP provide, or is it your own? Here's what I did. I'm Xfinity, coax, 1 Gbps plan with an Arris S33v3 modem and an Asus RT-AX86U Pro wi-fi router. Why? These devices each have a 2.5 Gbps port for the uplink. I just ran a speed test to my phone and got 613 Mbps. Not too shabby. That router would work with a fiber ONT. Even without wi-fi 6, you're so much faster with fibre vs DSL. I also always buy quality cables, such as Monoprice Flexboot Cat 6, pure bare copper, 550 MHz, and a little bit longer than I need. Also, if you hold a phone or laptop too close to your wi-fi router, you might be in the "donut," i.e. if you're too close, it's can be just as bad as being too far away.

First, make sure the router is on your ISP's approved or recommended list. I've been happy with Asus AX5700 RT-AX86U Pro. It's part of their AiMesh Extendable Router lineup, so I can connect it to anything else in their AiMesh lineup with either a wired or wireless backhaul. If I need more coverage, I'd probably get the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor.

I like Asus since you don't have to go all-in with mesh on day one. Wireless backhaul is an issue with every mesh system. I started with an AiMesh Extendable Router and I can add anything from the Asus line-up if I need better coverage. And, yeah, that RT-AX86U Pro is pretty nice with its 2.5 Gbps port connecting to my Arris cable modem. This computer is wired to a LAN port and works very well, and the wi-fi around the house is very reliable.

If you're in the USA, I recommend starting here: [https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home](https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home) For a modem, I went from my ISP's recommended list and got an Arris S33. I've been happy with the Asus RT-AX86U Pro for the wireless router since I've got it centered in the house. I can get another Asus device if I want to extend my network. If I were to do it all over again, I'd set aside a weekday so I can call support. I'm glad I got things in writing from my ISP first & I had a laptop with an Ethernet port to test things. First, the modem, I had to call the ISP before their system recognized it. That took about an hour with the laptop connected directly to the modem. I next had to call Arris support. After I could ping google, I connected a good (no flat cables, no CCA) Cat 6 cable between the modem and router on their 2.5 Gbps ports, I also called Asus. The first start-up took about 10 minutes and it needed a software/firmware update. After another half hour of making sure the settings made sense, everything was up.

I like the ASUS AiMesh line. I've got the RT-AX86U Pro & it meets similar needs at my house. If I buy another ASUS AiMesh product, it would likely be the ASUS ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor - wired or wireless backhaul.

I have that same model Asus and love it. I bought it for the decent price and I connect it to my modem since it also has a 2.5 Gbps port. Also, if I need more range, I could get an ASUS ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor - same AiMesh Extendable Router family. No, I don't work for Asus, but my PC has an Asus mobo.

Check out the Asus Extendable Routers and AiMesh. I've been really happy with the Asus RT-AX86U Pro - that doesn't do Wi-Fi 7, but I don't live in a big brick house. For your situation, requirements, and budget, consider the RT-BE55. Then if you need more, check out other AiMesh-compatible ASUS routers. Also, use Ethernet cables to connect the network devices - it will always outperform wi-fi backhaul.

I've got an Asus RT-AX86U-Pro mounted near the center of the house & have good coverage.

With a kiddo on the way - congratulations! I ditched my Xfinity gateway & DVR to save on the monthly rental. I also transitioned to streaming & saved even more. Before I did that, I bought an Arris modem and Asus RT-AX86U-Pro router. If that closet is in a decent spot to provide some wi-fi coverage, I'd keep it there. The idea to run a line from the router to where you need it makes sense. You could get a PoE switch and an Asus AP and you'll probably be fine. You should be able to manage both Asus devices on the same app. So, if the Xfinity gateway is in a bad place for wi-fi coverage, you could move it first. I did that years ago when I had AT&T & the equipment was in the basement.

I'm happy with my ASUS RT-AX86U Pro (AX5700), but that may be overkill for your plan.

You are limited to your quest with ± 1200 Mbps over 5ghz. Im using rt ax55 and ax86u in mesh works great.

I’m covering a three floor 4700 sqft home with 5 ASUS RT-AX86U routers using the 2.5 gbe ports for wired backhaul. Works great for me.

You are limited to your quest with ± 1200 Mbps over 5ghz. Im using rt ax55 and ax86u in mesh works great.

Yeah, routers with stronger CPUs like Asus or GL.iNet handle VPNs way better.

Asus AiMesh - Yea TP-Link Deco - Yes TP-Link Easy Mesh - Not sure

If you're in the USA, I recommend starting here: [https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home](https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home) For a modem, I went from my ISP's recommended list and got an Arris S33. I've been happy with the Asus RT-AX86U Pro for the wireless router since I've got it centered in the house. I can get another Asus device if I want to extend my network. If I were to do it all over again, I'd set aside a weekday so I can call support. I'm glad I got things in writing from my ISP first & I had a laptop with an Ethernet port to test things. First, the modem, I had to call the ISP before their system recognized it. That took about an hour with the laptop connected directly to the modem. I next had to call Arris support. After I could ping google, I connected a good (no flat cables, no CCA) Cat 6 cable between the modem and router on their 2.5 Gbps ports, I also called Asus. The first start-up took about 10 minutes and it needed a software/firmware update. After another half hour of making sure the settings made sense, everything was up.

Yeah I absolutely love my 86 pro. I want to change to a udm-se and ap setup but I'm scared because my asus routers have always done me well, lol.

https://a.co/d/eyOvQvT Amazon has it for $149, this has the 1GB RAM. I have the regular version and it only has 512 RAM. Wish i had the PRO

I like the ASUS AiMesh line. I've got the RT-AX86U Pro & it meets similar needs at my house. If I buy another ASUS AiMesh product, it would likely be the ASUS ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor - wired or wireless backhaul.

If the home is modern woodframe construction with drywall, then one decent consumer router will handle the home. I have an Asus RT-AC86U. I also put an RT-AX86 pro router in a friends 3000 square foot 2 story home and it handles their needs (2 TV’s, browsing, and email) Plaster over chickenwire in older homes does not transmit wifi easily

I just switched to the 86U pro from an Orbi system. House is 2117 sq ft. I was using one router and two satellites with the Orbi. It worked great for many years, and then started having weird issues. Small house with about 55 connected devices so I thought I’d go back to a single router. I’ve had some pain points to adjust to, but we’ve adjusted. I have a hard time with people suggesting setups that are hard wired. Not everyone has the ability to hardwire their house for a unifi-type network. I get that that is the best configuration, but the cost of hardwiring our house puts it low on the priority list. I would love to do it though.

Just get the RT-AX3000. I have used both, and they're both fine for normal use like you've described. Might as well save some money. My parents still use the AX3000 and it's been fine and rarely has issues. I used the 86U myself and rarely ever had to reset it. I really liked it. Not sure if it was worth the money, but it was a rock. These days I'm learning a bunch of network stuff, so I have a pfsense router with Ubiquity APs. That's overkill for most people.

With a kiddo on the way - congratulations! I ditched my Xfinity gateway & DVR to save on the monthly rental. I also transitioned to streaming & saved even more. Before I did that, I bought an Arris modem and Asus RT-AX86U-Pro router. If that closet is in a decent spot to provide some wi-fi coverage, I'd keep it there. The idea to run a line from the router to where you need it makes sense. You could get a PoE switch and an Asus AP and you'll probably be fine. You should be able to manage both Asus devices on the same app. So, if the Xfinity gateway is in a bad place for wi-fi coverage, you could move it first. I did that years ago when I had AT&T & the equipment was in the basement.

Either. I like the 2.5g port lan on the 86U. It’s a long term purchase so maybe spend the extra few $ or wait for a sale Recently switched to ASUS AXE7800 and it’s been great. Was easy to set up and the app is great too. https://www.asus.com/ca-en/networking-iot-servers/wifi-routers/asus-wifi-routers/rt-axe7800/ ^^^ got it on a good sale under $300(CDN) *************REMOVE YOUR DELIVERY DEETS FROM THE PIC….

Agreed, I’ve owned several models including the higher end models(ax86u pro) and its performance is subpar considering its price. I’ve had good experiences with tp link but my only gripe is that it doesn’t get long term firmware support. I have heard good things about Synology, so will check that out.

Buy an Asus AX88U Pro on Amazon used for $184. Even better than AX86U Pro.

Bought my AX86u $120 used been the best router to date I've bought.

I'm happy with my ASUS RT-AX86U Pro (AX5700), but that may be overkill for your plan.

I like Asus since you don't have to go all-in with mesh on day one. Wireless backhaul is an issue with every mesh system. I started with an AiMesh Extendable Router and I can add anything from the Asus line-up if I need better coverage. And, yeah, that RT-AX86U Pro is pretty nice with its 2.5 Gbps port connecting to my Arris cable modem. This computer is wired to a LAN port and works very well, and the wi-fi around the house is very reliable.

I feel the same about my RT-AX86U Pro.

A four years ago I tried multiple routers and the AX86U was the best in performance, features, and least amount of issues (every TP-Link I tried had issues). I'm still using the AX86U without any problem, just update the firmware when new ones are available.

The RT-AX86U pro is a better router than the RT-AX86U. And is often the same price or cheaper. Get the pro version.

ASUS aimesh is the best option besides true ap based systems.

Why not use the 7490 as a repeater and the AX86U as the router (i.e. just swap the hw)? If the landlord’s WiFi signal is WiFi 5-only, then using a WiFi 6 device to receive is just wasteful. Even if the landlord has a WiFi 6 capable router, WiFi 5 may still be a stronger and more stable connection depending on the location of that router and where you can place your repeater

That Asus router is marketed as wifi 7 but it doesnt use the 6Ghz channels so it wont perform any better than a wifi 6 router. Id either look for a wifi 7 router with 6ghz or a wifi 6e with 6 ghz. With a 2Gbit home connection and new devices wifi 7 can be put to good use. If its not in your budget then just get a reputable wifi6 router and upgrade a few years down the road when prices drop. If you have no wifi7 devices now then just go with wifi6. That Asus you mention RT-AX86U Pro has plenty of features and is very future proof.

I like ASUS for consumer needs like yours. They have gaming features, but they're gimmicks. Look at the Asus RT-BE88U for a larger router, or the RT-BE86U for a bit smaller. These are the wifi 7 models which you may not need ot want. You can find the Wifi 6 models as RT-AX88U and RT-AX86U respectively on Amazon. They have some other models as well. I wouldn't pay a premium for any TUF or ROG branded "gaming" routers, the others do the same thing.

I have that same model Asus and love it. I bought it for the decent price and I connect it to my modem since it also has a 2.5 Gbps port. Also, if I need more range, I could get an ASUS ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor - same AiMesh Extendable Router family. No, I don't work for Asus, but my PC has an Asus mobo.

You might want to look into routers with stronger CPUs like Asus models that support WireGuard natively. TP-Link routers tend to struggle with VPN speeds. Asus RT-AX86U or GL.iNet Flint 2 are great for handling Surfshark easily.

Depends how much you want to spend, what speed you're looking for, what your usage is like, what features you want, how big your house is, etc. First, almost any router with a gigabit WAN port and wifi 6 or higher is going to be on par or better than the one Verizon rents out. My last two routers were Asus routers and neither got me my full advertised gigabit upload speed. While I didn't technically 'need' the full upload speed, I like to get what I'm paying for. My latest one (RT-AX86U Pro) SHOULD have been capable of hitting the full upload and download speeds, but it wasn't, despite everything I tried. Meanwhile I was getting full speeds when directly connected to my ONT from my PC. Went with Ubiquiti Dream Router 7. I went this router because: 1) I had some experience with Ubiquiti from my previous job. It's easy to use with a functional UI. 2) I just wanted something that works, has adequate traffic monitoring that is flexible and expandable I will probably add another access point or two down the line, maybe even an outdoor one as our cellular reception in my yard is spotty. For under $300, this was a solid all-in-one package that serves all my needs. Probably overkill for most people, though. A benefit I think to the non-IT oriented folk is that it is remarkably easy to set up. Ubiquiti has been referred to as the Apple of networking equipment, and I tend to agree. As they say "it just works." Outside of my above experience I would say: 1) Stay away from Asus. My experience with the RT-AX86U Pro has been widely reported by others. 2) Pick up something with a Gigabit (or higher) WAN port, gigabit+ LAN ports (if you plan on hard-wiring anything), and Wifi 6 or higher and ideally released within the last couple of years. And as with anything, read user reviews.

I cured my WIFI issues when I invested in a ASUS AiMesh setup with a RT-AX86U Pro as main and 2 RT-AC66U as nodes with wired backhaul. Mesh is the best way to provide better coverage in a multi floor home. The nice thing about this setup is that I can have wired connections on each floor. The Home Theater is in the basement and has a 8 port switch attached to its Node. You gain much flexibility with a Mesh.

Check out the Asus Extendable Routers and AiMesh. I've been really happy with the Asus RT-AX86U Pro - that doesn't do Wi-Fi 7, but I don't live in a big brick house. For your situation, requirements, and budget, consider the RT-BE55. Then if you need more, check out other AiMesh-compatible ASUS routers. Also, use Ethernet cables to connect the network devices - it will always outperform wi-fi backhaul.

Both AX86U and AX3000 have 2 radios: a 2.4GHz one and a 5GHz one There can't be a dedicated channel for mesh becaue there is no extra radio for mesh communication. AX86U does 4X4 MIMO on 5GHz instead of 2x2, so its radio can beamform a 3dB stronger signal to the AX3000, which helps with the bandwidth, especially in case of otherwise weak connection between the 2 devices. Still, every 5GHz device in this case is broadcasting on the same channel, so every client connected to the AX3000 will have at best half the bandwidth available, because of its data having to be repeated on the same 5GHz channel to the AX86U.

I'd get either a GL.iNet Flint 2 or an Asus AX86U and flash merlin on it. Both of those are good solid consumer routers.

I've been using AiMesh since the beginning, and it was rocky at first, but now I'm currently quite happy with it. One solid main router and two APs outside. What unifi did you get to replace your setup and do you think it was worth the cost?

First, make sure the router is on your ISP's approved or recommended list. I've been happy with Asus AX5700 RT-AX86U Pro. It's part of their AiMesh Extendable Router lineup, so I can connect it to anything else in their AiMesh lineup with either a wired or wireless backhaul. If I need more coverage, I'd probably get the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor.

Merlin is supporting but Asus is moving on. The AX86U will never support the newer Asus 3006 firmware. It is stuck with the older 3004 firmware. So Merlin can never implement 3006 firmware on the AX86U. Merlin is continuing to support the older 3004 firmware. The AX86U PRO is slightly different. Asus has released the 3006 firmware on the RT-AX86 U Pro. But Merlin has not committed to releasing 3006 firmware for the Pro. Merlin is still releasing 3004 firmware for the AX86U Pro.

For the price, I'd just get a GL.iNet Flint2 or an Asus AX86U with Merlin firmware. The Flint2 should be supported for a long time if you just want an OpenWRT router. If you want more future updates, buy a purpose built router (or build your own \*sense router). I've bounced back and forth between OPNsense and Firewalla. Firewalla isn't cheap, but it's easy enough to use.