Most of the "advice" in this thread is a bunch of hot air (T9 and OE excepted). The AX86U is a good router! Maybe even better than most out there. Many, on a quest for "speed" or rather high bandwidth, fail to observe this. It is far more important to have a stable WIFI connection and the AX86U will deliver this if the client is working right. Also fooling with the WIFI settings get you deeper into WIFI issues.
USE THE WIFI DEFAULTS!!! THEY WORK! Yes, even Dual Band SmartConnect.
I am running G, N, AC and AX clients on my home network with no issues. OK, I have an old iPod touch that does not like WPA2/WPA3-Personal so I have a Guest WIFI with just WPA2-Personal for it which proves that this router can accommodate just about anything.
It's a good home router indeed. Not excellent though. Good enough for the price you pay for RPi like router + 5-port switch with 2.5GbE port + 4x4 AX access point + firmware support. It has good hardware for Asuswrt-Merlin firmware and custom scripts, but is a bit quirky on Wi-Fi part. Security updates are frequent enough, but Asuswrt has multiple unresolved issues with widely advertised features. I like the vertical space saving design - good for home setup. I don't like the super bright LEDs, cheap plasticky look and all TrendMicro/Ookla bloatware in firmware. Again - no complaints for $250.
I also think that AX86U is a pretty good if not more/less excellent router - I think the feedback in this thread is with the upload wireless speed in certain scenarios. Also hope AX86U Pros are on the truck and will be put on amazon/major stores soon.
It is a great router I agree even with default settings, but we are discussing just one issue we are having with the ax86 that affect certain isp connection when other routers perform perfectly under the same connection.
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asus tech support can not solve this issue even after changing all settings according to their guidance
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Their last resort is to issue you RMA claiming it's a defective router.
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you end up with the same exact issue with the replacement and start over again with their tech support game
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I am sure some people are not having any issue with this router, but this does not mean others don't.
a simple google search on this issue with any asus AX/AXE apart from AX89X (sometimes) will show you what are we having in common (specific isp connection)
my suggestion to go back to any older asus ac router or even ax89x was focusing on resolving that issue while minimizing the financial impact. I addressed that ax89x is having a slow fw development in my previous posts + I am sure it has a set of issues , but this is the only asus ax option I tested using the same connection that did not suffer from the slow upload issue.
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Here is an option if spending is not an issue to solve this issue:
- AX/AXE asus router behind any firewall, put Firewalla Gold or a PFSense as main router/modem.
- Example: OTN > FWG or PFS > (GT-AXE16000)
- Our wireless upload issue now is gone, but for a cost.
*Note: I am not affiliated with any of the companies or brands and brought them as an example , I even think (Firewalla) is using cybersecurity fear as a marketing tactics.
