ASUS RT-AX86U Pro (AX5700) Dual Band WiFi 6 Extendable Gaming Router, 2.5G Port, Gaming Port, Mobile Game Mode, Port Forwarding, Subscription-free Network Security, VPN, AiMesh Compatible

Why did you pick this product vs others?:Great router for the price, had it for about 5 months now and does everything flawlessly. Previous router had a issue with the primary router at home and this one did not. I really like having a app to monitor/troubleshoot connection issues, network monitoring, and remote access. The Wifi 6 is very efficient as well, my phone maxes out at 5 and is still 5 times faster than The previous tenda AC1200I will be looking forward to the mesh networking in the future as well.Signal strength:Good range, better distance on both frequencies compared my previous router, especially in a older building with a good chunk of interference.Stability:100% stable, dosent force update which is also great.Value for money:Although there are others at a equal or lesser price price point i have been using asus laptops, motherboards and other items from them and they typically don't fail. And the one time i did have an issue about 15 years ago they're customer service was great and resolved the problem.Looks:Clean, vertical style take up less space.

I really love the ability to create different profiles for different family members that have different restrictions. I also love how you can actually create a guest portal with a custom background that auto logs people out. You can also edit the terms and conditions on it and make it have a password even though it appears open. There's the ability to make an IOT channel. You can make each channel have different restrictions as well. I have several smart devices in my home and I have no issues with this. The ram seemed high on the app but, it's actually normal and isn't a concern when there's no actual issues going on. The last amazing thing is the schedule you can create for each channel that has specific days or hours it's up or down. Had a netgear nighthawk before changing to this.

In 2021 I purchased an Orbi system (RBK753 or RBK753S which is the membership club equivalent) and it worked fine for a while, but it had one flaw that used to drive me crazy: Whenever there was a need to reboot the router, it would take 1 to 2 DAYS for my 10 nest cameras to sync and for all of them to be online again. After putting up with this for 2 years I had enough and after 2 decades of an exclusive relationship with Netgear, I decide to open myself up and go back to the router dating scene to see what had changed in 2 decades. To my surprise, apparently Netgear is no longer king, and this particular ASUS router was included in the top 5 router rankings on every publication and established website out there. Sometimes it would be ranked #1 sometimes #3 but it would always be in the top 5. So I purchased it. Going from a Netgear Orbi system with 5 satellites (6 if you count the router itself), I was curious as to how much of my 4000sqft home a single router could cover. My goal was, if possible, to do away with Mesh systems. Netgear also had a flaw where despite broadcasting the same SSiD on all satellites, some clients still could differentiate between the one they originally connected to and an identical satellite broadcasting the same SSiD in other parts of the house. Some of my light switches would even see the same SSiD listed several times despite technically being the same network.So I installed the ASUS RT-AX86U PRO and even though it didn’t cover the entirety of the 4000sqft, it did cover a solid 50%. Technically I was able to see and connect to its SSiD from anywhere in the house but in some far corners the signal would not be a solid or steady. I knew I was asking too much of a single router since my previous Orbi alone with no satellites could barely cover 20% of my home so the fact that this one was pushing 50% it was a huge accomplishment. So I decided to order another RT-AX86U PRO and add it to the first one as an iMesh node.In case you’re not familiar AiMesh is the proprietary ASUS technology that allows you to seamlessly add other ASUS products as Mesh network nodes to your main router. Just the future proofing benefits alone make this a brilliant concept. So once I added the second RT-AX86U PRO to AiMesh, with 2 clicks, the remaining part of the house that I was having issues with now had a rock solid signal. Not only that but the 4 LAN ports on that second router acting as a node were active! And allowed me to hardwire several legacy devices in that room for unparalleled speed. I still had 2 nest cameras in a far corner of the property that were actually out of the house in my backyard and only operated in the 2.4 ghz range and were struggling to connect to the network (understandable since now I was not only asking my router to broadcast successfully at that distance but also to penetrate siding and insulation and the odd slab of concrete which are tougher for a wireless signal to penetrate than the drywall inside the house). At 200 bucks a pop my wallet was a bit reticent to add a 3rd RT-AX86U PRO, so I settled for an ASUS RP-AX58 AiMesh extender. At only 80 bucks, if this thing really did what it said it did, which was integrating itself into my AiMesh network, talk to the other routers in the fast 5ghz channel and rebroadcast that data in the far corner of the house both in the 5Ghz and also in the 2.4 GHz frequency that is the only one my aging nest cameras could comprehend, it was a no brainer. And guess what: It did. So using 2 RT-AX86U PRO routers, one as a main and the second one as an AiMesh node, and one ASUS RP-AX58 AiMesh extender, I was now able to flawlessly cover my 4000sqft home. Something that with the Netgear Orbi it used to take 6 satellites to do. And the best part, if I ever needed to reboot the router, all my nest cameras would come back online within a minute. Not 2 days.I am extremely happy with my purchase and considering the 2 routers I just added to my network are top of the line, I expect to be able to continue to purchase the latest and greatest ASUS router every few years and use all existing hardware as AiMesh nodes.

The most advanced router I've ever owned! I recently upgraded my internet to 2 gig, so I had to get new equipment that could handle the higher speeds. A month in and it's been great so far. The ASUS Router app is also great and helps me manage all my connections and setting up a router side VPN (which hasn't decreased my speeds at all).I'll admit I haven't actually used a Wifi 7 connection yet because I don't have any devices that use it... I thought maybe my Switch 2 was going to be the first... but surprisingly that still uses Wifi 6. Good to know I'm future proofed for now though, the main wired LAN port even goes up to 10 gig... so even though this was a pricey purchase, I doubt I'll be replacing it in the next 5+ years.