ASUSROG Rapture WiFi 6 Wireless Gaming Router (GT-AX11000) - Tri-Band 10 Gigabit, 1.8GHz Quad-Core CPU, WTFast, 2.5G Port, AiMesh Compatible, Included Lifetime Internet Security, AURA RGB

We upgraded from an ASUS AC66U. The previous router was also ASUS. The initial setup took about 30 minutes, and we were able to get things going pretty quickly after that. First thing I did was upgrade the firmware, and we haven't had any issues at all. The only restarts have been from me after configuring new items like the VPN.The one hangup I had was that I was using the ASUS DDNS and didn't see the info that I needed to contact them to release the old domain from the old router before connecting it to the new one. That info is on the bottom of the one of the FAQ pages, but I wish they would make it more prominent. So far this is my only interaction with customer support, but they were very helpful and got it taken care of right away. Hopefully there aren't any more difficult requests that I need to send their way.Previously we had the two routers providing connectivity for the house, and had issues when devices wouldn't disconnect from one, and go to the other. They were setup as a main router, with the secondary as a wired AP. This new router has been working great without need for a second router, although I did setup one of the old ones just in case, it has remained unplugged on the counter. All of our devices for a 4 adult household have been seeing much improved speed, as well as, signal strength. I can easily get signal a couple hundred feet away from our house and browse the internet. The house even has aluminum siding, so I'm sure most people will probably get better signal than I would. The previous router was unable to really handle the full throughput of our connection to Comcast. It would top out around 150Mbps, but the new one easily runs past it around 470Mbps (on a 400Mbps connection).Another thing I setup was the VPN. I decided on the router hosted one for IPSEC with PSK/Secret. That works great and is the one I'm more familiar with having worked with CISCO stuff in the past. It also doesn't require that the traffic go through a 3rd party before going through your router. This is great for if we're traveling and want to make sure that our traffic is transmitted securely even though the WiFi we're on might be open or shared. Additionally, you don't have to pay for a VPN service.In terms of total cost, it is pretty expensive, and fortunately I had a bit of cash that we weren't expecting to have that I used in order to bring down the total cost of the router to about $250. At that price it's basically a steal, but at the full $450 it was something we were contemplating, but would probably not have pulled the trigger on.Having said that, the number of features that are provided are very impressive. I especially appreciate the network security through TrendMicro. I'm sure it's not on the same level as a FireEye appliance, but for the home you probably couldn't do a whole lot better with an all in one solution. We don't have any kids yet, but when we do, I would like to try out the parental controls. I could try them out on the other three people, but I'm not sure how happy they would be.The AIMesh would be nice to try, but both of our older ASUS routers don't support this. There's not a lot that the system can do besides attempting to band steer clients from one AP to the other, so if you really want, you can setup your network to basically provide the same functionality as AIMesh, it just won't be able to do the band steering as well. You can do this by setting your dynamic IP address range like this: 192.168.1.100-254, then statically assign IPs to any APs in the .1.1-.1.99 range. This essentially works like daisy chaining switches together, but over WiFi. You can then adjust the settings for each router where it will either attempt to allow the client to continue to connect, or cede the connection to a "better" one.One more thing I hope for is that they will be able to add WPA3 support in the future, but even if they don't, I'm not super concerned.All in all, this appears to be a pretty good upgrade from our old router. I usually use equipment such as this for longer periods of time by buying the top of the range, then making sure that it will continue to meet our needs. This helps to stomach the cost a bit more too. The older routers will probably see reuse as time goes on, if someone I know is in need of a router, or if I am experimenting with things. I have often thought of setting up a stand alone server to serve this purpose and act as the router and firewall, then using APs for WiFi, but in terms of a total functionality, time spent, money spent (including power), and ease of use for the home environment, I have found myself coming back to these routers, and specifically ASUS for the broad feature set that is offered. Obviously there is brand familiarity too.

I have installed the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 on July 28th, 2019, and so far, I can not praise this router enough. I am a computer system builder and have dealt with all sorts of home and small business networking scenarios over the last 10+ years and the Asus units are by far the easiest to set up and the best in features/performance with the right unit purchased.Installation:Installing the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 was extremely easy. You do NOT need a computer with Ethernet connections to configure or set it up. It is an option, but if you own a tablet or smartphone, a simple app download will get you up in running in no time.I downloaded the Asus router app from the Google Play store. I powered down my ISP's modem, connected the router to it, and then booted the modem. I waited for it to establish a connection, then booted up the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000. I waited a few moments for the router to start communicating with the modem and then launched the Asus Router app on my Samsung S10 smartphone. The app found the router without issue, and after a couple of clicks and setting the signal properties and passwords, I was connected and online. It all took less than 5 minutes. Asus has really simplified the configuration and setup process. Shortly after connections where established, it found a firmware update, and I installed it. Once rebooted, I was back online and ready to go.Features:This router, as well as several other Asus higher-end models, has a FANTASTIC user interface with a slew of options to customize, control, and configure your network. This makes it super easy to monitor your internet/bandwidth usage.In my network, I have an online printer, 3 desktops, 4 smartphones, 2 tablets, and a smart TV all belonging to various family members. The Asus router app will show a complete list of all the devices that have been connected to it. If the device is online and connected to the router at that moment, you can see in real-time the amount of traffic that is being uploaded/downloaded to and from that device. If that device is turned off, it is added to the 'Offline' devices, but still available to be configured in the app.Once a device is connected, you will see it's standard ID name (example - Android 4.4, etc if it is an android phone). You can then rename that device so you can identify it easier. So for example, let's say one of your kids connects their phone to the wifi. You can rename it to 'Joey's Cellphone' and then not only monitor how much traffic is going to/from the phone, but you can limit the bandwidth it sends and receives, and even, with a simple tap of a button, you can turn off the signal entirely so the device no longer has access to the router/internet. You can also set up a schedule of when that device can receive a signal from the router. This is extremely handy if you want to limit a user's online time. If a family member has multiple devices, you can group those devices all together under a single user account, and turn access on/off for all that user's devices with a simple tap of the button.I do a lot of video and audio work, and one of my connected devices is a NAS (network-attached storage unit). One of the features of this router that I found useful was the 'IP Binding' feature. Wat this will do is, it will take a mac address of a certain device, and once that device is powered on/connected, it will assign a specific IP number to that device every single time that device connects to the router. It's somewhat like a static IP address, but without the hassle of all the extra configuration steps. This is helpful to me because, with my NAS, I have mapped network drives on my Windows 10 computer. If the network loses power in any of the devices, there is a chance when the NAS re-connects that it'll get a different IP number, which will force me to have to disconnect all mapped network drives from the NAS and re-map them with the new IP number. With IP Binding, the router will make sure that the NAS, as well as any other device I configure with it, will get the same IP number at all times.Signal Strength:This router has fantastic signal strength. I do not have my router places in the best of places. It's on the bottom shelf of my workstation on the second floor, with a few pieces of computer gear sitting next to it. I still receive 5 bars of 2.4Ghz signal all over the house, and I get a steady 3 or 4 bars of 5Ghz service. This is in a home with an outer wall and inner wall of solid concrete block from the foundation to the roof, with 6 inches of dead air space between them. So there is a lot that signal has to penetrate through in order to reach the devices.I have been online with this router for about 4 days now. In all my testing, I can not say I have run across any issues so far. Connected to my network at random times, I have 3 desktops, 1 laptop, 4 smartphones, 2 game consoles, a tablet, and a Kindle. With having Gigabit internet through my ISP, I have pushed this router pretty hard at times while testing it. My hardest test so far, I simultaneously had Netflix streaming on 2 devices, online gaming on another, doing large file transferring/downloading from the NAS AND internet on another. All devices combined were pulling from all 3 radio bands this router offers. I had no buffering or lag issues on any of the devices.So far, I have ZERO complaints about this router. I have been doing home and small business networking for over 10 years, and this is by far the best networking purchase I have ever made. I highly recommend this router at this point. If I hit any issues in the future, or it doesn't stand the test of time, I will come back to update this review!