AC86U dead after 3 years of service, what next?

[KRiSX]

Hey all, been doing some browsing and wanted to get some opinions. My AC86U died today after 3 years of service (dim light on port 4, no other activity). Have loved it since upgrading from my AC68U before it (which I'm running on now temporarily and have been using a media bridge for 6-12 months still). So I'm looking for a replacement, most important thing for me is fast 5ghz speed as I have a couple of PC's running wireless (no choice) and reliable 2.4ghz for all my IoT devices (approx 25-30 devices). Currently in a single story 4 bedroom house, not very big and its new so walls aren't super thick or anything.

I'm tossing up between the AX86U and AX88U and side glancing at the GT-AX11000, but I don't think I want to spend that kind of money. Can currently get the AX88U for cheaper than the 86, but general consensus seems to be the 86U is the better buy?

Very big fan of Asus routers, but would consider something else if its better enough to consider.

Cheers

 

[Tech Junky]

How about a dedicated AP like the NWA210AX instead of wasting money on a "router" and just plug it into your AC68U and disable the wifi on it?

 

[KRiSX]

How about a dedicated AP like the NWA210AX instead of wasting money on a "router" and just plug it into your AC68U and disable the wifi on it?

the thought has crossed my mind for sure... big fan of unifi gear and have deployed a lot of it with my job, but from what I've seen performance is better out of these routers than dedicated AP's? have honestly never looked at zyxel stuff but have heard good things... oh and one big issue I have currently is I can't mount anything... so if its a case of needing to be wall or ceiling mounted its off the table sadly

i should probably also mention I'm in Australia, quick searching shows that aren't easily available here

 

[Tech Junky]

I didn't mount mine and have it sitting on a bookshelf and it covers 1300sq ft corner to corner w/o any issue. I'm sure someone can ship one to AU. I'm not familiar with what's popular in AU though as for brands.

 

[Invisible Boy]

Not a fan of the AX88U because there is no easy way to put a fan on it, especially in Australia where the ambient temperature can be pretty high in Sumner. The hotter it runs, the faster it dies.

 

[Rav0z]

Not a fan of the AX88U because there is no easy way to put a fan on it, especially in Australia where the ambient temperature can be pretty high in Sumner. The hotter it runs, the faster it dies.

Is it not a little bit crazy that you have to think about that?
You buy a router and then have to worry about the temp and put all kind of micky mouse solutions on it to keep it cool (fans with double sided tape or tywraps).
It has almost become normal practice to do so, but when you think about it....is it?

 

[Tech Junky]

you think about it....is it?

This would be a good use case for a DIY setup to provide proper cooling in a PC case.

 

[Tech9]

dim light on port 4, no other activity

Common issue. What happens is described here:

Dump nand content on working ac86u

Hello, I have two ac86u routers, one of them has broken nand memory, I already order chip for replacement as well as programmer for it so I will be ready to replace nand to new one. The question is how to get out image from working router without desoldering nand from it? Is that possible via...

www.snbforums.com

The hotter it runs, the faster it dies.

This is correct in most cases.

 

[Invisible Boy]

Is it not a little bit crazy that you have to think about that?
You buy a router and then have to worry about the temp and put all kind of micky mouse solutions on it to keep it cool (fans with double sided tape or tywraps).
It has almost become normal practice to do so, but when you think about it....is it?

In a perfect world, all software are bug free and all man made products are perfect. Unfortunately, we aren't living in a perfect world and countless software and hardware come with unforeseeable issues.
I only speak from experience that heat kills electronic products. Like TVs or AVs, many died from overeheating because they depend on passive cooling (like routers), and those who repaired them for a living will tell you so, and show you how to fix them. Electronic components die faster when the temperature gets higher, just the way they are. The processors might be able to go up to 100C before dying, but the solder joints can crack and the components surrounding them will have shorten life, especially capacitors.
OP lives in Australia and their Summer can reach above 40C. I won't be surprised that was the reason his router only last 3 years. If he's capable of component level repair. it could be as simple as replacing some capacitors (there are some competent technicians doing exactly this on YouTube). For the rest of the consumers, sticking some cooling fans on them is a very cheap preventive measure. As to myself, my AC68U & AX11000 idle at 58C with room temperature at 15C. With cooling fans, they idle at 38C. This seems silly but when Summer hits, the room temperature will reach almost 40C and the CPU will be over 80C without active cooling, that's when the cooling fans pay off.

 

[Rav0z]

This would be a good use case for a DIY setup to provide proper cooling in a PC case.

Yeah but in a pc case you know you need proper cooling.
Always has and always will.
But when you buy a router around 150 or 200 euro/dollars it is not really normal that you have to provide it with cooling in the strangest ways (my opinion).
I have a ac68u that has been running from 2014 non stop 24/7 and always hovering around 67c..still going strong.
Last year i bought a ac86u because it supposed to be so much better etc etc, but all i read here are horror stories about the router dying from high temp.
Put a fan on it and it will be ok....i find that a bit weird thats all

 

[Rav0z]

In a perfect world, all software are bug free and all man made products are perfect. Unfortunately, we aren't living in a perfect world and countless software and hardware come with unforeseeable issues.

Well if thats the case then asus should have put some active cooling on these routers.
When you buy a car and want to use that in aussie you dont have to put an extra radiator on it also right? ( with tywraps or ductape)
But ok, it might be me...

 

[Invisible Boy]

Well if thats the case then asus should have put some active cooling on these routers.
When you buy a car and want to use that in aussie you dont have to put an extra radiator on it also right? ( with tywraps or ductape)
But ok, it might be me...

Once upon a time, electronic products had lasted almost forever... then some genius discovered planned obsolescence, and the rest is history...

 

[Rav0z]

Once upon a time, electronic products had lasted almost forever... then some genius discovered planned obsolescence, and the rest is history...

Haha, yes indeed.
I am becoming an old fart myself, also hovering above 60, and just amazed sometimes how sensitive/bad some electronics have become.
A commodore 64 from 1982 or 83 somewhere , i plug it in and it still goes.
A sitecom router from the 90s, blows away every router i had after that (signal strength wise) and it is not getting hot.
Ok, the pass through is terrible but it is still going.
And it was cheap compared to the flagships nowadays.
Anyway, back on topic...excuse my little rant