ASUS RT-AC66U B1

[ng4ever]

Is it still a good router to buy new?

Also sorry for a stupid question but what firmware should I use on it the newest stock firmware from 2020 or merlin asus filmware from 2017 or 2018 (sorry forgot the year)?

 

[bbunge]

Yes, it is a good solid router. Uses the same firmware as AC68U. Not as fast booting up as some of the newer ones but it did a great job on my 100/100 FIOS. WIFI range seems as good as my newer AC86U.
Asus firmware works well. Merlin up to 384.18 is great (have heard issues with 384.19). Also Merlin fork 374.43_44EAj9527 works well. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/fork-asuswrt-merlin-374-43-lts-releases-v44ea.18914/
Still using my AC66U_B1 as an AiMesh node.

Good place to buy: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=ac66u_b1&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma

 

[Chuckles67]

Yes, it is a good solid router. Uses the same firmware as AC68U. Not as fast booting up as some of the newer ones but it did a great job on my 100/100 FIOS. WIFI range seems as good as my newer AC86U.
Asus firmware works well. Merlin up to 384.18 is great (have heard issues with 384.19). Also Merlin fork 374.43_44EAj9527 works well. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/fork-asuswrt-merlin-374-43-lts-releases-v44ea.18914/
Still using my AC66U_B1 as an AiMesh node.

Agreed - it's my current router 384.18 using similar speeds as bbunge with Comcast.

Two issues for me:
- USB3 connected hard disk (SSD or mechanical) cause interference issues with 2.4G WiFi band
- Client VPN using OVPN in the router run bit slower than computer based OVPN software
I'm hoping my future/next router will improve on these.

 

[ColinTaylor]

... the newest stock firmware from 2020 or merlin asus filmware from 2017 or 2018 (sorry forgot the year)?

The newest Merlin firmware is less than one month old. Are you getting confused with the old RT-AC66U model that Merlin stopped supporting in 2018?

 

[ng4ever]

The newest Merlin firmware is less than one month old. Are you getting confused with the old RT-AC66U model that Merlin stopped supporting in 2018?

Yes thank you.

 

[L&LD]

Yes, this is a good router for the cost. Unless you can get the RT-AX58U for a similar cost or slightly higher (if it's on sale).

RMerlin 384.19_0 firmware runs great on it (a full reset is required after flashing RMerlin firmware, please see the link in my signature below for the M&M Config and the Nuclear Reset Guides to get your router to a good/known state after flashing the firmware you want).

The VPN speeds are around 60Mbps, depending on the two ISP's endpoints speeds of course (the remote 'up' speed will be your maximum 'down' and vice versa).

USB 3.0 mode interfering with the 2.4GHz band is normal, depending on how well the USB connected device (and/or it's cable) is shielded.

 

[ng4ever]

Thanks everyone.

Just got it and omg it takes forever to bootup and reboot. That is ok though.

It works wonderful in around a 2000 sq ft house!