Looking for a new router....and an observation

[Wrecked]

Hello all:

This is my first post here. Just found the site and really like it. I'm looking for a new router to replace my AC68U (it has some minor issues that I'm done trying to troubleshoot and I like upgrades!).

First, the observation - I've looked at a lot of professional reviews and hardware site reviews and no matter how highly rated a router is by the professionals when I look at customer reviews at Amazon, Newegg, etc. they all seem to have a LOT of bad reviews. I'm wondering is it user error, poor support, bad hardware or what? I haven't seen a router yet that had consistently positive feedback. And a reliable router is pretty important to have. Anyway, just curious about your thoughts on that.

Regarding a recommendation for a new router, I'm not looking for something blazingly fast or with tons of features. I just want something that is reliable, can handle port forwarding and has decent range. It looks like the Asus AC88U is very popular (with the professional reviews) but I'm a little concerned with Asus' lack of support - they've never been very good when I've contacted them in the past and the poor customer reviews. Anything similar in price and features I should consider? I don't have any real brand loyalty. Just want something that won't' fail me.

Sorry for the long post.

W

 

[yk101]

I recently upgraded from AC66U to AC88U, and find it to be marvelous! Flashed Merlin firmware day one, and never regretted the choice!

As for various reviews - you are absolutely correct. For every good one, there is always one bad. I found that most bad reviews come from people that don't understand what they are doing... There is always a possibility of getting bad hardware, but that is what retailer return/exchange program is for!

 

[System Error Message]

usually when someone like me criticises something its either because of bad design or high failure rate. Dlink used to have a high failure rate and netgear firmware is terrible. The ac87U design wasnt that good for a performance orientated router.

 

[Wrecked]

I recently upgraded from AC66U to AC88U, and find it to be marvelous! Flashed Merlin firmware day one, and never regretted the choice!

As for various reviews - you are absolutely correct. For every good one, there is always one bad. I found that most bad reviews come from people that don't understand what they are doing... There is always a possibility of getting bad hardware, but that is what retailer return/exchange program is for!

Why did you flash Merlin? Never used it before.

 

[sfx2000]

I'm looking for a new router to replace my AC68U (it has some minor issues that I'm done trying to troubleshoot and I like upgrades!).

Depends on what one wants/needs...

For most, I try to recommend upgrades dependent on what one already has... Netgear/Asus/DLink/Apple/Linksys/whatever... don't preach to the converted..

Because most home Router/AP's - they tend to do a job, do it well enough, so when time to update/upgrade a device...

The comment about Asus and Support - I'll be the last one standing, but they've done a more than decent job of supporting their devices over most... and more open that others if one want's to do that 3rd party thing...

Most of the faults on Asus, they're similar to others - on the SNB/Asus Subforums here... we see more problems than usual...

And more solutions from the community for configs, and from folks like RMerlin, John, and others with regards to hard changes in the firmware.

So it's all good...

 

[kvic]

I'm looking for a new router to replace my AC68U (it has some minor issues that I'm done trying to troubleshoot and I like upgrades!).

If you have AC68U already, personally I find little sense upgrading to AC88U or anything newer than AC68U at the moment. You need to look for the quality elsewhere (as your post may imply..). I would suggest more "professional" gears like Edgerouter-X or Mikrotik hEXr3 and convert AC68U to AP or pairing up with one or additional AP from UBNT/Mikrotik/TP-link (business line). You'll not look back again.

The comment about Asus and Support - I'll be the last one standing, but they've done a more than decent job of supporting their devices over most... and more open that others if one want's to do that 3rd party thing...

I would agree. To certain extent, Asus stock firmware is daemonized by the community here. It's not bad compared to 3rd party offerings. And Asus support is pretty good compared to the rest of consumer vendors. FW update is still available for my 3-years old AC56U!

 

[yk101]

Why did you flash Merlin? Never used it before.

Merlin's rendition allows me to run custom scripts and has a lot more options to tweak settings than stock version.

 

[Wrecked]

Sounds like still a lot of support for Asus....

 

[Wrecked]

You need to look for the quality elsewhere (as your post may imply..). I would suggest more "professional" gears like Edgerouter-X or Mikrotik hEXr3 and convert AC68U to AP or pairing up with one or additional AP from UBNT/Mikrotik/TP-link (business line).

But those are just wired routers, no? I'd still need something for wireless?

 

[yk101]

But those are just wired routers, no? I'd still need something for wireless?

Reference is to AC68U in AP mode. That would provide your wireless...

 

[Wrecked]

Reference is to AC68U in AP mode. That would provide your wireless...

Not trying to be difficult but if I'm using the Asus for wireless why not just use it for both?

 

[yk101]

Not trying to be difficult but if I'm using the Asus for wireless why not just use it for both?

That is not a question for me. I'm happily using AC88U as a main router, and 2 x AC66U in AP mode to provide additional coverage across 3 floors, back and front yards.