RT-AC3100 - hardware revisions

[Andrew]

I recently received two AC3100s as gifts. I see own is hardware revision A5 and the other is A6. Anyone know the difference? I’ve searched and can’t find anything concrete.

 

[maxbraketorque]

I was wondering the same. The FCC website is the best bet to find out, but I haven't looked yet.

 

[Antec800]

In the for the answer also some people say the latest a6 2017 has updated hardware compared to the older models

 

[maxbraketorque]

I just reviewed the available information in the FCC database. There was a "Class II Permissive Change" approved in May 2016 that approves a small revision to one of the circuit boards and also reduces power output on 5 GHz Channels 42 and 46. There was another "Class II Permissive Change" approved in July 2017 that approves a change to the method that ASUS uses to make sure that the router power output conforms to the required limits. Neither of these reference product revisions such as A1, A2, ..., A6, so its a bit of a guessing game as to what's changed from A5 to A6. There have only been three Class II Permissive Change requests along with the original FCC application, but out of these, only three cover variations in HW. However, the AC3100 is up to HW rev A6, so there isn't an obvious relationship between the information in the FCC database and the indicated HW versions by ASUS. It seems to me that the HW versions could include other product changes that don't affect wifi performance.

If anyone knows how long A5 and A6 have been around, it might be possible to determine whether the May 2016 Class II change represents the switch from A5 to A6. My guess is that the May 2016 Class II change represents the switch from A4 to A5.