ASUS AC2900 WiFi Gaming Router (RT-AC86U) - Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Internet Router, WTFast Game Accelerator, Streaming, AiMesh Compatible, Included Lifetime Internet Security, Adaptive QoS

I thought I had reviewed this router some time ago, but apparently I forgot to do it. I bought one in December 2017 and one in March, 2018. Both are being used and are set up in my two-story, 3100 sq-ft house, in router+AP mode to provide high strength 5 GHz coverage for the entire house. I'm not using AiMesh mode and haven't tried it. These have been great routers for my needs. Fast, inexpensive, reliable. I started with just one RT-AC86U that replaced my RT-AC3100 that had replaced my RT-AC68U, and I found that, overall, RT-AC86U provided better range and speed for both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands than either of those two routers for multiple types of devices (Mac laptop, Android phone, iPad). I did a fairly extensive set of tests that can be found on the SNB forums. I was able to connect in the far bedrooms on the 2.4 GHz band with just a single router and had no problem doing typical internet surfing, but while the connection strength and speed was better than the two previous routers, it still wasn't what I wanted. After doing a fair bit of reading, I realized that no single router would provide the 5 GHz coverage that I wanted in the far bedrooms, so I bought a second RT-AC86U, and set it up in AP mode at a location suitable to provide good signal strength in the far bedrooms. Running in main+AP mode requires a dedicated ethernet connection between the two routers. Running this cable is easy for some, but not others. AiMesh is an option for those who don't have the option of running an ethernet cable. For the main AC86U, I have both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radios enabled, and the satellite AC86U has only the 5 GHz radio enabled. I did this because the 2.4 GHz band on the main AC86U does sufficiently cover the entire house. This dual router setup has been 100% reliable since the day I set it up. My router settings are fairly simple. No attached storage because I have a dedicated NAS. I have several ports on my "server" computer forwarded. The VPN server on the router is enabled, and I use it routinely without issue. Most of the other bells and whistles are disabled. I'm not using traffic monitoring, nor am I using AiProtection. No gamers on my network. I have a typical range of devices connecting - several computers, several phones, security cameras, NAS, printer. All work without issue. WiFi speeds with a strong signal are as good as can be expected. My MacBookPro with 3x3 5 GHz consistently has a 1300 mbps link speed in the vicinity of either router, and transfers to/from my server computer from this laptop go at 70 MB/s. LAN speeds over ethernet are quite fast. If I set up jumbo frames, I can saturate the 1GB/s ethernet between my server computer and NAS in both read and write mode. Its a bit slower with a standard MTU. I will say that obtaining good hand-off between the two AC86Us as people move from location to location in the house took a bit of tuning. I had to enable the Roaming Assistant option on the main AC86U to kick devices off it when the 5 GHz signal strength falls below -66 dBm. Something like this has to be done because most devices don't readily disconnect from one access point until signal strength is in the pits, even when there is another high strength access point in the vicinity. To summarize again, this is a great, inexpensive, high performance router in my experience. 04/05/2020 UPDATE I'm puzzled by the nearly 20% 1-star reviews because I now have four of these in service, two at my house and two at my cabin (large property), and all of them work perfectly. Either I've been really lucky with all four, or there is something about the settings and/or other equipment for some people that is causing issues. 07/21/2021 UPDATE My four RT-AC86Us continue to work flawlessly. Performance and functionality of the devices continue to improve as ASUS and Merlin continue to improve the firmware for this router and other ASUS routers. At the current price of $150, this is an outstanding router to have even considering that AX (WIFI 6) routers are now available. IMHO, WIFI 6 is a bit of a gimmick. 98% of people will not benefit from WIFI 6 even if your laptop/phone/tablet are WIFI 6. There just aren't many needs for that kind of speed, and the reality is that the half-duplex nature of all wifi along with the additional error checking result in a data transmission latency that reduces the value of a very high speed wifi protocol.

The RT-AC86U was purchased as an upgrade, swapping a RT-AC68U as a parent router for this one, in an existing Aimesh network. The 86U is a much more powerful router compared to the 68U, has twice as much RAM (512MB vs. 256MB), and a faster dual-core CPU (64-bit dual core 1.8Ghz vs. the slower sub-1Ghz CPU in the 68U). The other advantage of the 86U is that it is likely to receive long-term support from ASUS in terms of firmware releases, as it is based from ASUS's most widely-selling 68U router. Make sure you update to the latest firmware before configuring and using the 86U, as a number of stability fixes and performance enhancements (as well as security fixes) are part of the latest firmware package. You're always best off upgrading the firmware before configuring, starting from a blank slate rather than copying over settings from an older firmware that may not carry over so well. If you're adding the 86U to an existing Aimesh network, and you're using this router to upgrade the "parent" router, you'll need to hold the reset button down for any Aimesh nodes in order for them to be seen and added to the 86U. It's a fairly simple process. Also, for the router you're replacing, if it's ASUS Aimesh-compatible, make sure you change the router to function as an Aimesh node before unplugging it and moving it. Currently my home network consists of three RT-AC68U's (all Aimesh nodes), with the RT-AC86U as the parent router. All Aimesh nodes use an ethernet backhaul rather than connecting wirelessly, as they are spread fairly far apart throughout my home. When using an ethernet backhaul, there is no loss of bandwidth due to distances between the router and the Aimesh node, so it's definitely the way to go if you have network jacks that are centrally home-run to wherever your router is located. The 86U was easy to set up, and it easily handles the 40+ clients that utilize both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz Wifi bands. No drops on either 2.4Ghz/5Ghz bands, it's a rock solid Wifi/home router on the latest firmware release from ASUS. The 86U also has at least 50-75% more range than the 68U. I now get the 2.4Ghz band well into my 2-acre backyard, whereas the 68U's signal faded at least 100 ft shorter distance by comparison. A great router for the $$$, easy setup, reliable, and great for gaming if used for those purposes. 5 stars for this one.

I bought this router, the Synology 2600 and a Linksys EA9300. I ran a series of tests using a Speedtest like facility installed on one of my servers. I also did a series of tests for file transfer throughput to my NAS. I tested speed in both tests in various places throughout the house. The Synology 2600 came out slightly better than the Asus AC2900, but my unit had a problem with it's WAN port. Internet connections were slow, spotty or non-existent. Synology offered to replace it, but I was already trying the other routers. The Asus AC2900 is almost as fast, excellent coverage. I didn't see a reason to return it. I tried the aiMesh system with my prior router, an Asus 1900. The idea sounded great, but in practice it wasn't reliable for me. I did better making sure I positioned the Asus 2900 optimally and I was able to get great speeds and coverage all over the house (3 floors). The Linksys did the worst. It has the worst configuration ability, least function. Lots of claims of high speed yet speeds were not only usually lower, but they were also the most inconsistent, apparently easily confused by noise or other traffic. Not worth considering given its much higher price, inferior performance and functionality.

First off, this router, like many, comes with a substandard cable. The CCA (copper clad aluminum) cable does not meet Cat6 or Cat5e specs, which means that the speeds the router gets aren't what you would expect. I used my own Cat6 cable and then everything was good. :) One neat feature of this router is the dual-band "smart connect" capability. In theory, devices that can connect via either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz bands will be moved from one to the other, seamlessly, to get the best connection. This does seem to be working. However, it would be better if there were a way to force some devices to never use other bands. For instance, my wireless printer has no need for the faster speeds on the 5GHz band, and in a perfect world I would be able to make a setting change to force it to not be able to switch. This router, however, does not include the capability to do so. The only way to do it is to split the two bands and disable the smart connect functionality. Some of the other features of this router require sending your data to TrendMicro. The features will not turn on unless you do so. These are part of the AiProtection package and include malicious website blocking. Unfortunately, if you do not turn them on, the router's security assessment says that you are "at risk" which is a little annoying. But really, once you set things up, you probably won't be hanging out in your router settings that much. The main reason I purchased this router is that my old router was not capable of handling the multiple devices and higher speeds in a larger house. This new router works wonderfully. I now have 100Mbps (my max speed from the service provider) at the devices that are on the other side of the house, where I was getting only 20 previously. The signal strength is strong with no need for a repeater at this point. I have multiple devices (desktop computers, laptops, phones, tablets, Roku, gaming consoles, wireless printer, etc.) all connected wirelessly and a MagicJack connected by wire, and everything has been working great for the 2 days I have had it so far. :)

I replaced a (very) old router with the AC2900 and cannot be more pleased. The installation and setup was relatively painless, although I was (and still am) puzzled why the default gateway IP is 192.168.50.1 rather than the more common 192.168.1.1. This did mean reconfiguring a few devices on my network, no big deal. The 2.4 GHz band provides extremely strong coverage through out our 3000 sq ft house, penetrating multiple plaster walls amazingly well. In fact, I was able to eliminate a second access point I'd needed in the past to get decent wifi in the farthest part of the downstairs. The range is at least 50 feet better than the (antique) router I'd been using. The 5 GHz band doesn't have the range or the penetration power, but it's SO much faster in the same room as the router. (Think 433 Mbps transfer speed.) Depending on what devices are "up," we can have up to 16 devices connected simultaneously (both wired and wifi), and it handles it flawlessly. Both the browser-based admin screen and the phone app (I use Android) are easy to use. I haven't tried remote management using the phone app, but frankly I've never needed to manage my home router remotely anyway. Finally, it's purely coincidental, but the Asus router happens to look like the twin of my Acer Predator laptop (black with red accents). Again, it's coincidental, but it's still cool! Overall, this has made a great improvement in the operation of my home LAN. Now if AT&T would see fit to run 150 feet of fiber and bring our internet service into the 21st Century...

The ASUS AC2900 WiFi Gaming Router (RT-AC86U) is a powerhouse designed for gamers and high-bandwidth users who demand top-notch performance from their internet connection. With its sleek design and robust features, this router offers an exceptional blend of speed, coverage, and reliability, making it an excellent choice for both gaming and streaming. One of the standout features of the RT-AC86U is its impressive dual-band performance, providing speeds of up to 2900 Mbps. This means you can enjoy lag-free gaming and seamless 4K streaming without worrying about buffering or dropouts. The router also supports MU-MIMO technology, allowing multiple devices to connect simultaneously without sacrificing performance—perfect for households with multiple users. The setup process is user-friendly, thanks to the intuitive ASUS Router app that guides you through the installation and allows you to manage your network settings with ease. The inclusion of AiProtection, powered by Trend Micro, adds an extra layer of security, safeguarding your devices from potential threats and ensuring a safe online experience. In terms of coverage, the RT-AC86U boasts strong signal strength with its powerful antennas and ASUS’ AiMesh technology, which lets you expand your Wi-Fi coverage by adding compatible ASUS routers as needed. Whether you're gaming in the living room or streaming in the bedroom, this router has you covered. Additionally, the router features advanced QoS (Quality of Service) settings that prioritize gaming traffic, ensuring that your online gaming sessions remain smooth and uninterrupted even when other devices are using the network.

Update 3 (08/2019): Here I am trying to use the warranty once again now that they have the router in stock magically. NOPE. Still no luck. They started a replacement process and were supposed to ship me a new router. Instead, I got multiple emails stating that I sent them a router with water damage and that they were not going to fix it. I NEVER SENT THEM ANYTHING. How incompetent can you be to get things mixed up this badly?! I wish I were kidding. If anyone from Asus is reading this, go check my case and your mind will be blown by the mess you have made out of this simple thing: ASUS Service No=N191207669 ; Rma No=USBVKC0045 -------- Original review below: I should have paid closer attention to other reviews before buying this router. This is an extremely expensive router, and for the amount of money I paid, I most definitely did not expect to have the experience I am having. THE GOOD: My 5 Ghz network is excellent and very stable. That is it though. THE BAD: As others have mentioned, the 2.4 Ghz network on this router is awful. There must be something terribly wrong with the design of this router since so many people experience this issue. It first started with my router randomly dropping my devices that were connected to that network. At first I thought this was an issue with my devices since I refused to believe a router this expensive would be having these issues. Then the issue became a lot more frequent, and by then it was too late for me to return this garbage back since I've had it for over 2 months. Now the router won't even try to create a 2.4 Ghz network anymore so all of my older devices that are only compatible with that frequency are deemed useless. I should mention I'm a fairly savvy person and I have tried everything I could to address this issue. I installed 4 different firmwares and none provided me stability. I tried manually selecting all possible settings combinations for that network. All to no avail. Then I gave up and decided to contact Asus and use my warranty. THE AWFUL: Their warranty service sucks! I can't emphasize how disappointed I am. First of all it took me a long time to even figure out how to request service for this router. Then I learned that if I were to use my warranty, I'd have to pay for the shipment of the router both ways and if they decided they couldn't reproduce the problem (which other customers said actually happened), they'd probably just send me the defective unit back. After an incredibly long discussion with one of their representatives, they said they'd ship me a replacement unit so that I could have internet at home while they service my broken router. Mind you, I had to pay the FULL MSRP PRICE FOR A NEW ROUTER plus 2-day shipping (the cheapest option they had). Now you ask... did I get a replacement router in 2 days? Obviously not! It's been a week and they are still SEARCHING FOR A REPLACEMENT UNIT IN THEIR INVENTORY! How is that even possible?! This thing is in stock everywhere! I paid full price for a replacement unit (which, again, is definitely NOT CHEAP) and I paid for 2-day shipping. What on earth?! They said the money I paid for the replacement unit will be reimbursed once they receive my broken router, but I don't even know when that will happen anymore. Also, by then I will have wasted a ton of money on "2-day shipments", a ton of time and energy, and my patience. How can you charge me all of that (which in my opinion you should just do for free since my router has a common issue known to you) while not even having a replacement unit in stock? Just ridiculous. I hope someone from Asus reads this. And if not, I at least hope potential buyers do and avoid this particular router at all cost! Update 1 (12/06): I have followed-up with Asus and so far have not been given a reasonable resolution. After 9 days of me submitting my payment information for a replacement router and not getting any updates, they have confirmed that they have no stock for this router and can't send me a replacement. I'm guessing this model is getting out of production for being so problematic . They also want me to ship my faulty router to them and pay for it myself. I'll likely have to wait a few decades until the item is serviced and I'm not even sure it will actually get fixed given other reports and the fact that Asus is no longer stocking this item. I'm now debating if I should just throw this away and buy another router by a reputable brand, or if I should live without internet for the time it will take asus to attempt to fix mine. Update 2 (12/07): Asus doesn't seem to be producing this router anymore and they don't expect to have it in stock. They also refused to send me a different router as its replacement. I can't ship my ONLY router to Asus and wait for it to get fixed indefinitely. It's not even clear if it would get fixed anyway. So I chose to keep this partially functioning attempt-of-a-router, and replace the dead 2.4 GHz band with a network with the same name created by a $15 mini-router I had laying around. That seems a lot more stable and reliable than what this $200 gives me. Avoid anything network-related made by Asus!!

General: I love that this router is a smart router. It will automatically detect either 2.4ghz or 5ghz for all my devices. The range is pretty good and holds a good amount of speed at low signal. The design of the router is basic but is still looks really cool. App: The app is okay. It’s straight forward on what you want it to do mostly sod that I still consider a win. The only issue that bugs me about the app is sometimes when I name a device and save it, it won’t. But most of the time it works fine. Desktop Access: The home page feels very cluttered. But finding what you want and or need is easy to get to. AiMesh: I bought a second one to have in AiMesh mode to extend my WiFi range. I have it plugged in via Ethernet that is routed in two rooms in my house and it works perfectly. No loss of speed at all. Setting up AiMesh mode on it was a little bit of a headache but once you set it up, it’s perfect. The app and desktop will show each router and tell you what device is connected to them specifically. Suggestions: I highly suggest setting up the auto reboot. I have mine set for everyday in the middle of the night when no device is utilizing internet. I have been having less issues after setting that up than before. Overall for a router shy of $170, I’d recommend it. It does what I want and need it to do. And it’s been better than the Netgear Nighthawk R7000 I used before this.

Great router. Installation was a breeze. The Asus router app is intuitive and gets the job done. Compared to the router given by the ISP this one is phenomenal... Big boost in speed and coverage. Have two of them and linked to the app. Slightly on the expensive side for the features and performance. But a single router, well placed, can easily cover a large house.

While this is a great router from ASUS and everything now works perfectly, this purchase required the use of Google Translate as the initial setup is in Chinese. Once I'd figured out to use the translator, I could then change the language to English, update the firmware and now everything is fine. Given the price saving, this was a small inconvenience.

Muy buen router, hasta ahora me ha funcionado todo perfecto. El alcance es muy bueno inclusive en ambientes con mucha interferencia de otros wifi, las velocidades inalámbricas son excelentes (siempre y cuando se configure con 802.11n). El firmware de fábrica ASUSwrt es bueno y se puede acceder por SSH para poder configurar más cosas por linea de comandos como iptables ya que es un Linux kernel con Busybox instalado. La opción de Logs de sistema es la mejor, ya que puede determinar que está pasando en el kernel o que conexiones están activas solo leyendo el log. También se le puede cambiar por Asuswrt-Merlín para obtener unas cuantas más funcionalidades. Algunas funcionalidadesde Asus como DDNS, Remote connection(Asus router app,Lyra App, AiCloud y AiDisk) requieren registro y compartir datos con Asus. También AiProtection, Traffic analyzer, App analyzer, Adaptative QoS/Game boost y Web history son proporcionados por TrendMicro así que se necesita aceptar los Términos y Condiciones de Trend Micro de colecta de datos personales y tráfico para poder ser analizado, yo en lo personal no lo active pero se puede leer que información se recaba en su política de privacidad de TrendMicro.

É muito bom, eficiente , fácil de instalar e monitorar. Ele nunca foi barato mas entrega em qualidade. Atualmente está um pouco defasado pois não entrega wi-fi 6G , mas se o custo estiver bom é uma excelente opção. Se a internet for rápida e os switchs que estiverem sendo usados forem giga, o resultado surpreende!

Had an old Asus router setup as an access point in basement and it died after almost 10 years of service. I needed a new main router so that I could move my current one into the basement and switch it to the access point. I found the AC86U on sale and it had good reviews, and because I'm familiar with their products, it was a good solution. Setup was easy and flashing Merlin was a breeze. The range is better than the AC68U was and it seems somewhat faster. Would recommend as a good router for normal use (5 users on and off for the day, WFH setup ups and streaming at night)