N66U -> AC87U or AC68U

[ericgcollyer]

Hello all! First off, thank you for providing a great resource for all of us individuals trying to build our own small networks. This forum has provided me with very valuable information over the years.

Secondly, I'm thinking of upgrading my wireless router. I got an N66U when it first came out. I have Merlin's firmware running on the router (Shoutout to Merlin. Your firmware is amazing). While it has been rock solid and stable for the many years I have had it, it is starting to become less stable. Long story short, it looks like it's towards the end of its life.

With that being said, I've been looking at the new router options that Asus has put out. Specifically the AC68U and the AC87U. While the 87U is more attractive on paper, it seems as if there are a lot of concerns with the firmware. Is this still the case? Or a year later have things worked themselves out? Assuming price isn't a concern and given that I will be using Merlin's firmware on my router, which device would you recommend? Thanks in advance!

 

[ssideratos]

I have similar question. I currently have a mix of N-66U and AC68U/P at a few locations I am responsible for (office, remote offices, home, vacation home, parent's, sister's, cousins', friends', etc -- unpaid tech support).

My N-66U routers run Tomato and are great, but they aren't able to keep up routing the full internet connection speed (200/20 or 300/20) when running tomato due to their lower power CPU.

I have an AC68U and AC68P which are running RMerlin's firmware latest firmware and nice and fast -- I never tried tomato on those as it was not mature enough at the time on ARM routers to take the chance. Since then, I haven't been pushed to make the change at any point since things are working fairly well with RMerlin's firmware and those specific locations don't have a need for any Tomato specific features.

I need to upgrade one of my tomato running N-66U since it can't keep up with it's internet connection is especially slow because it requires a long list of parental control filtering that really burden the router. I'd like to continue to run Tomato since the Asus firmware doesn't have the type of Parental Control filtering that Tomato does. I may finally try Tomato on the AC68U/P.

I know that Tomato is not even available for the AC87U, but the question is, investing in so many routers and needing to upgrade at least 2 N-66U's over the next few months, would I be better off buying AC87u's for locations that don't need Tomato specific features (I'm not even sure Tomato will work well on the AC68U anyway)? I imagine that the AC87U is a touch more future proof.

I have read some of the reviews and board comments of the AC87U that compare it with the AC68U. I have also read numerous more complaints in the forums regarding the AC87U, but they were based on early firmware.

1) Has the firmware for the AC87U matured? Especially speaking of RMerlin's builds.
2) Is the AC87U essential on-par with the AC68U/P in terms of wireless range and stability with current firmwares?

If yes to both, then the additional processor and MU-MIMO support soon to be enabled in the AC87U should make that router a more future proof router for a small additional cost (assuming I can find a good sale).

Opinions?

 

[raphaelogy]

I have similar question. I currently have a mix of N-66U and AC68U/P at a few locations I am responsible for (office, remote offices, home, vacation home, parent's, sister's, cousins', friends', etc -- unpaid tech support).

My N-66U routers run Tomato and are great, but they aren't able to keep up routing the full internet connection speed (200/20 or 300/20) when running tomato due to their lower power CPU.

I have an AC68U and AC68P which are running RMerlin's firmware latest firmware and nice and fast -- I never tried tomato on those as it was not mature enough at the time on ARM routers to take the chance. Since then, I haven't been pushed to make the change at any point since things are working fairly well with RMerlin's firmware and those specific locations don't have a need for any Tomato specific features.

I need to upgrade one of my tomato running N-66U since it can't keep up with it's internet connection is especially slow because it requires a long list of parental control filtering that really burden the router. I'd like to continue to run Tomato since the Asus firmware doesn't have the type of Parental Control filtering that Tomato does. I may finally try Tomato on the AC68U/P.

I know that Tomato is not even available for the AC87U, but the question is, investing in so many routers and needing to upgrade at least 2 N-66U's over the next few months, would I be better off buying AC87u's for locations that don't need Tomato specific features (I'm not even sure Tomato will work well on the AC68U anyway)? I imagine that the AC87U is a touch more future proof.

I have read some of the reviews and board comments of the AC87U that compare it with the AC68U. I have also read numerous more complaints in the forums regarding the AC87U, but they were based on early firmware.

1) Has the firmware for the AC87U matured? Especially speaking of RMerlin's builds.
2) Is the AC87U essential on-par with the AC68U/P in terms of wireless range and stability with current firmwares?

If yes to both, then the additional processor and MU-MIMO support soon to be enabled in the AC87U should make that router a more future proof router for a small additional cost (assuming I can find a good sale).

Opinions?

To answer your questions, yes ac87u has matured. There is minimal disturbances in terms of wifi connection and performance. Although there are people experiencing wifi drop out, including myself, I feel that ac87u is currently performing how it should be. Perhaps future firmware updates can resolve the minute bugs here and there, but I don't think these bugs are critical.

Comparing ac68u and ac87u, I would choose ac87u. But if you were to ask about ac3200, then I strongly recommend ac3200.

Reason being, for now God knows when are the 4x4 clients gonna be released. Currently only ea-ac87 is a 4x4 access point/media bridge. Moreover, would mu-mimo be even ready for our mobile devices?

Instead of banging on ac87u, I sold mine and got ac3200, and I nv look back.

 

[sfx2000]

I don't think anyone would argue that the RT-AC68U is an excellent device - it's fast, stable, mature, and a good selection, if one is so inclined, of third party firmware.

While it's "only" AC1900 class - I would honestly say it's the best product in their lineup...

Asus, perhaps, flew a little to close to the sun with the follow up AC2400 class - I just see too many issues being reported here, and they seem to be persistent - it's getting better, but it's been a huge amount of effort, and I'm not sure where things will land with 3rd party firmware due to the Quantenna chipset being based off a non-ARM/non-MIPS architecture - it's a good chip, but something that not many folks really have a lot of experience with. The integration hasn't been smooth, and for the most part, outside of bridging, there's no clients that can leverage into what Quantenna and Asus has to offer - again, better off with the RT-AC68U...

With regards to the AC3200 class device - remember, this is Broadcom's X-Stream architecture, and perhaps an evolutionary dead-end once they bring out their true Wave2 solution - so I wouldn't suggest investing down that path.. once BRCM starts shipping Wave2, they're going to walk away from X-Stream, it's expensive to build (3 radios/basebands vs. 2) - as it is, one gets no better real-world performance on the RT-AC3200 than one would get with the RT-AC68U on a per client basis because they can't gang the radios... and even then, it would need an Xstream client on the other end (of which there are none)

 

[MichaelR64]

So i am basically in the same pos as OP.
My N66 is not as stable on the 5Ghz band with my MBP. Android stuff works fine though.
Since i buy this stuff on my business account i dont care costwise if it is the ac3200 or ac87.
But which one is the best to buy ? Are they both stable ?
Do i read that the ac87 is not really that stable since it has the Quantenna(something) chip in it and Asus are less in controll of drivers than on their other platforms ?
And isn't the Ac3200 too new, meaning it will take months to become stable ?
Also whats this dead-end stuff ?

Anyone ?

 

[MichaelR64]

So i bought a AC87 this weekend.(and installed latest rmerlin fw on it)
I like the extra features over the N66.
However it does have quirks:
My macbook pro still doesn't stay connected at max speed. It connects at 1300 very briefly and then drops to regularly between 350 and 750 mbit, usually around 300 to 500.
My Note II doesn't connect at all even though it can see the 5ghz link.
My Nexus6 and Oneplusone/ Notepro12.2 do connect properly though.

My router is about 4 meters away from me. Not exactly in plain sight but nothing really much in between(actually me and a wooden door being the largest obstacles)

Would the apple connect speed improve if i were to switch to an AC3200 ?
I figure i can still swap it now.
I care less about the extra money involved, i just want a proper connect speed.
I know this is also part Apples fault but i feel i am not getting the most out of it.

 

[RMerlin]

Disable Beamforming, that should resolve most Mac-specific issues.

Asus and Quantenna are currently working on the Samsung issues (which are actually on Samsung's ends, but they apparently got some workarounds available in recent beta releases).

 

[MichaelR64]

Disabling beamforming did not help here.
Linkspeed between 350 and 470, distance 3 meters with only wooden door between.

 

[MichaelR64]

Is this fixed if i use a AC3200 ?
I am contemplating returning my AC87 and getting a AC3200.
I am not happy with my MBP link speeds with my AC87. It briefly connects at 1300 then drops to anywhere between 350 and 550.
I am looking for confirmation that this is solved with a AC3200.
If so i'll gladly swap it even though it is way more pricey.

Disable Beamforming, that should resolve most Mac-specific issues.

Asus and Quantenna are currently working on the Samsung issues (which are actually on Samsung's ends, but they apparently got some workarounds available in recent beta releases).

 

[MichaelR64]

Anyone had a AC87 and went for a Ac3200 and then saw that MBP connect speeds improve ?