ASUS - RT-AC86U Wifi Router

If you don't want to spend too much then any router will do. If you do however want to get something that will give you all the settings you could dream of then I'd recommend any good old ASUS gaming router. I've had two and what can I say I love messing around with all of the settings. The one I'm using now is the ASUS RT-AC86U there might be a newer model but you cant to wrong with ASUS gaming routers. Gaming routers have more settings, slightly better hardware. I bought my gaming router just to segregate my general wifi devices form my gaming devices. The extra settings make that easy to do.

If you don’t specifically need the 6ghz band the 88U or 86U are better on the 5ghz band which is where most performance devices will connect

My ASUS RT-AC86U has still been going strong and has worked really well for me, I'm actually wondering whether it's time to upgrade myself to something that supports WiFi 6/6E and 6GHz now that I have multiple WiFi 6 series devices

To give a meaningful answer to your question, we need to know more about the home and usage. Are you in Europe where the floors and walls are often concrete (because wifi does not pass well through concrete)? Are you in USA with a woodframe home less than 50 years old (wifi should pass through walls easily)? Or in an older US home with woodframe construction that has plaster walls over chicken wire (wifi does not penetrate as well)? Is it a single floor home or do you need wifi on multiple floors? What kind of use does your inlaws have? Just browsing and streaming to one or two TVs? Or do they expect gamer speeds in all locations? I have a 2000 sq ft woodframe construction home (20 years old). I have one Asus RT-AC86U router that easily provides good wifi everywhere in my home. And my router is located on one side of my home in a suboptimal location. I am not a gamer. But I do have about 30 IOT devices connected

If you have any type of QoS or packet inspection enabled turn it off. Most of these devices cannot do pppoe combined with QoSat gigabit speed. I’ve for many years used this exact asus in access point mode with a Firewalla gold (highly recommended) as router doing pppoe and WiFi easily hits 850 mbps in speed tests with some optimized settings. The Firewalla does packet inspection, qos and more. The asus was flashed with asus-wrt Merlin firmware which I also highly recommend instead of the very buggy standard firmware. There are many ways to get a good system. I now use dedicated access points but the ASUS worked well in access point mode.

I have a very similar network at my place. Old 68U is a media bridge to the basement and the 86U is the main router for the house. Now you have me thinking :) [https://www.asus.com/event/network/eol-product/](https://www.asus.com/event/network/eol-product/) Both are listed. :/ # End-of-life product list When a product is end-of-life, it means: * It is no longer manufactured * Its certification will not be renewed * Its firmware, utility, website, DM, QSG and manual will not be updated * It may be replaced by a new product with updated hardware and similar functions

I have a couple of Asus Routers (RT-AC68U, RT-AC86U) but both are no longer supported with firmware updates from Asus or Merlin and was interested in a more current router OS for use in 2025. I am using the RT-AC86U running Adguard Home behind my ISP's modem/router but prefer using my own router without the ISP's equipment.

I have both 86u and 68u. First used as router and second as AP. Recently moved to Mikrotik RB5009 as router and TP-Link EAP610 as AP. Sad because I love ASUS network stuff but it was worth it to move - new router seems to be faster overall and wifi 6 actually slaps hard on my smartphone and work Mac

Usando o RT-BE92u há um mês e ZERO problemas, zero quedas, Zero reiniciação. É o roteador principal da Minha rede AIMESH com mais dois routers asus, um RT82U e um RT86AC voa. 5 TVs, Gamer XBOX, câmeras, celulares, tablets e outros aparelhos . Tudo funciona sem engasgos ou demora. Consigo jogar COD , com a família todas usando internet, streaming e tudo mais. Ping baixou, upload subiu, antes era 50% do disponibilizado, agora é 100% para down e up.

I have an 82u and a 86s in a mesh configuration and that works well. EDIT: Just be aware that if you use the Asus/TrendMicro security suite with their routers, the router sends your routing data to TrendMicro and their partners. Even though it is nice to have, I have all that turned off because of this.

I’ve been using two ASUS RT-AC86U routers in AI Mesh mode, 2600 sq ft wood frame 3 level house. Main router sits in basement office and the 2nd is on a second floor at opposite side of space, \~60’ away with 2 walls in between. They’ve been great for many years. Now that I’ve learned ASUS has deemed this model as EOL I’m researching the upgrade path. I’ve ever only used LinkSys and ASUS in my networking journey. I’ve been considering trying TP-Link if I can’t find something that I need with ASUS. Originally I was leaning towards the BE550 or AXE75 or AXE95. Not sure about dedicated mesh systems like Unifi or Orbi, etc. I see varying opinions on TP-Link OneMesh/EasyMesh. Usage is a WFH wife using wifi, 2 teenagers constantly on wifi with phones/tablets/some gaming. I game too but keep the consoles (PS5/Xbox One) hardwired. Also have multi room audio (SONOS & Bluesound) with some wifi devices and most hardwired. I now do have a couple of devices that support 6ghz.All told there’s about 35 devices connected via Ethernet or wireless. Budget is not an issue, I will spend accordingly based on features, reliability, and usefulness. Obviously I’m looking for robust. I know the ”gaming” type of router would likely be the ideal type to go with but I’m not a fan of the starship/Alien facehugger designs. I look towards the seasoned users here to direct me to specific models to consider. I’m leaning towards WiFi 6E or 7 router. Let me know if additional info is needed. Thanks in advance!

The 86 will be better from a longevity perspective usually, and has a more powerful CPU, probably better wifi chipset. That being said, for the stuff you list there probably won't be any major difference. The price on that 86 is pretty outrageous though, you can get an 88 Pro (with VLANs and advanced guest network features, latest firmware support, newer router and more powerful CPU) for less than that. It really depends what features you do/don't need. A $80 TP Link will serve many people well if they don't plan to use all the extra (mostly non-performance related) features that Asus have.

I love my Asus routers. They are better than TP Link. However if someone isn't going to use the extra features, there is no reason to pay for them. I know several TP Links I've installed for people still going strong after 5+ years. It wouldn't surprise me if Asus has an average longevity longer than TP Link, but at the same time, most people will be upgrading/replacing them by that time. Asus is not immune, the RT-AC86U was notorious for getting too hot, cracking the BGA solder, and dying an early death. They've had other duds too. I still have an RT-AC1900 in service going on about 9 years now. Its just the RT-AC68U with a bit faster processor. That model is infamous, probably one of the most reliable and longest lasting routers ever made, rivaling the old WRT-54G. I use Merlin firmware also, but again, many don't need 3rd party firmware support. Some TP Links can actually run Tomato or one of the other WRT variants but only a few of them. For my needs, an Asus running Merlin is a bare minimum so I can configure VLANs, custom firewall rules, DNS/DHCP modifications that can't be done in the GUI, etc. But most do not have those requirements, and these days, those that do may be better served by Ubiquiti, TP Link Omada, or PFSense/Opnsense. All 3 are economical options with a lot of flexibility that doesn't require 3rd party firmware, scripting, etc. I'm considering moving back in that direction myself.

If that Asus is the RT-AC68U then it's at least meshable if you buy a newer Asus router to use as your main router. That's one of the things that I like about using AiMesh. You can get a better router, and still put your old one to work somewhere else in the house. My current RT-AX68U Pro replaced by RT-AC86U, and that replaced an RT-AC66U. All three are currently meshed, so the garage and driveway get a good signal, as well as the rest of the house.

I really like my ASUS routers (RT-AX55, RT-AC86U). I have them set up on a mesh network and the ASUS app provides a good bit of useful functionality. The only downside is that the idle CPU temps for both are pretty high (170-175F), so I get worried about thermal throttling when under load. Seems to be a common issue with ASUS routers

TP-Link are great too, unfortunately their latest routers require you to have a subscription for in depth features that are free with other brands. A while back I had an ASUS modem, they support 3rd party software like Asuswrt-Merlin (even when the router is EOL). Not sure if their latest models still support that.

Flint, ASUS 86U is notorious for overheating

Have an 86U in production as AP only since it came out. Haven't had any downtime because of temps

Ive used ASUS for over a decade and I love them. Never an issue. The 86U was rock solid for me. I upgraded to the 88Pro and I used the 86U as an AI Mesh setup in my house to cover more ground. I have a GLiNet portable router for hotel use and that also rock solid for me. I love that little device. That being said, the Flint is my next router I would want to look at but I’ll probably end up staying with ASUS

This is awful advice. You need to take into consideration what the needs are. For example I have 29 devices paired with smart home automation and a 1.5gbps connection. If I use an AXE5400 then I am speed capped over wifi to only get a max of about 850mbps download speeds instead of the full 1.5gbps due to the AXE5400 only having gigibit ethernet ports (Routers with 2.5gbps ports are rare and expensive). The Wifi 6 performance on the AXE5400 is also dreadful. I am getting an AXE75 to see if it's any better because I am so disappointed with the AXE5400. You are probably the sort of person that would have said in the 90s "28 Megs of memory is plenty enough!". My Asus 86u router is also slower over 5g wifi than the crappy AXE5400.

Avoid tp-link and any other CCP networking equipment. Don't intentionally put stuff with backdoors in them just to save a few bucks. Unifi is great but it's expensive and you really should use it wired. If you're just looking for plug and play mesh Asus has good offerings. Their AI mesh system works well

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.

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?

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

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

I've been using Asus Aimesh for years. 3 nodes and seamless switching when walking around. There does seem to be a client limit at about 75-80 wifi devices whiche forced me to move iot devices to a separate wifi network. Asus is great to start with but unifi likely my next system

I use Asus routers in my Ai mesh network and it gives me complete control over everything and I've loved it. I use that coupled with family link from Google and I feel like I've done my job as a parent blocking as much bullshit as I can for my kids.  But don't worry, their friends who's parents don't care about a single thing they consume will come along and ruin your hard work. Or your kids will be kids and find loop holes, which they always do. But you still tried. 

Asus AiMesh can be configured without an app and uses local credentials for management.

For gaming use cable, for wifi coverage of this size, you can do well with asus aimesh, you can pick two routers of your choice, cheaper than ismesh system and many settings available.

I went from DD-WRT for years to ASUS AiMesh and have been on Unifi equipment for a good four years now. I never have any issues with roaming (3600+ home) and I can fine tune whenever necessary (rare). I love the Unifi and don't plan on moving away any time soon. If you want peace of mind, I definitely also recommend Unifi.

As has been said, plug in everything you can. For a basic option, the Asus routers with AiMesh are a pretty simple solution. Start with one on the second floor centrally located and see if you need more. Use inSSIDer to see how your signal strength is as what kind of interference you have and set settings accordingly. If you’re not reaching all corners, add another compatible Asus and put them on floors 1 and 3 (both wired connection to WAN jack)

ASUS AIMESH Stable and cheap.