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RT-AC88U

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many discussions read about this router, i own a 68u right now, are there improvements that would make me decide to buy this router?

i have connected a nas voip several wireless clients, most default stuff imho. some streaming to smart tv tablet etc

i can get this router cheaper than it's new price, what should i do?
 
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many discussions read about this router, i own a 68u right now, are there improvements that would make me decide to buy this router?

i have connected a nas voip several wireless clients, most default stuff imho. some streaming to smart tv tablet etc

i can get this router cheaper than it's new price, what should i do?

You need to provide more details, first off. But if the biggest reason for you is because it is cheaper than it's 'new price', it doesn't sound like you need it to me. Btw, how much of a savings are we talking about (absolute and percent)?

What are your ISP speeds? Are you expecting to be able to increase your ISP speeds substantially (soon)?

How many devices (N Class, AC class, wired) are you currently using on your network? Will this change drastically soon?

How are your current devices being used on your current network? Is the NAS being used 24/7 with multiple clients? Is streaming a high priority for many devices? How many concurrent users with how many concurrent devices are using the network at any one time?

The most important question though is how is your current router handling the network load today? Is it struggling? Is it randomly rebooting, or giving other signs of being overly stressed? Is there a certain feature that you need from a new router that your current one doesn't offer?

Buying something just because it is on sale is not a reason to buy.

If you have more concrete reasons (not for us, but for yourself) to upgrade from what you have, that is another story. But everything you have presented so far points to 'keep enjoying your current router', to me.
 
You need to provide more details, first off. But if the biggest reason for you is because it is cheaper than it's 'new price', it doesn't sound like you need it to me. Btw, how much of a savings are we talking about (absolute and percent)?

Cost in the netherlands for this router is starting at 325 euros including tax, i can get the router for 282 euros including tax

What are your ISP speeds? Are you expecting to be able to increase your ISP speeds substantially (soon)? Speeds are 100 100 through glass fiber speed won't change

How many devices (N Class, AC class, wired) are you currently using on your network? Will this change drastically soon? About 15, will stay the same most n class

How are your current devices being used on your current network? Is the NAS being used 24/7 with multiple clients? Is streaming a high priority for many devices? How many concurrent users with how many concurrent devices are using the network at any one time? Nas is 24-7 also uploading backups to several cloud services. Sometimes streaming video to tv or tablets, this will increase a little

The most important question though is how is your current router handling the network load today? Is it struggling? Is it randomly rebooting, or giving other signs of being overly stressed? Is there a certain feature that you need from a new router that your current one doesn't offer? The 68u is also used for voip, when nas is uploading/synchronising to cloud voip will have lags so the conversation cannot continue. Router is not having any problems from itself

Buying something just because it is on sale is not a reason to buy.

If you have more concrete reasons (not for us, but for yourself) to upgrade from what you have, that is another story. But everything you have presented so far points to 'keep enjoying your current router', to me.
 
many discussions read about this router, i own a 68u right now, are there improvements that would make me decide to buy this router?

i have connected a nas voip several wireless clients, most default stuff imho. some streaming to smart tv tablet etc

i can get this router cheaper than it's new price, what should i do?

No. The cost of the AC88U cannot justify the marginal wifi improvements it would bring over an RT-AC68U, and your usage scenario wouldn't gain anything from its faster CPU.
 
Just wondering if it is possible to use link aggregation in dual wan mode to combine the speed of both WANs or this feature is for LAN/NAS usage only?
 
its lan side only

fyi to have any link aggregation work on the wan side you must also have both internet providers that support the same link aggregation standard , these are few and far between and are quite expensive to run
 

As RMerlin has already pointed out, you'll gain very little for the cost involved for the RT-AC88U.

Can you use QoS to improve the voip situation? That is where I would concentrate my efforts on.
 
thanks people,

i skipped this opportunity due to the fact that my current setup would not change that much when replacing the 68u, thanks!
 
Having gone from a 68, to a 87 to an 88, there is great difference in Wifi speed stability between the 68 and the 88.
 
Having gone from a 68, to a 87 to an 88, there is great difference in Wifi speed stability between the 68 and the 88.

and how exactly can you use that speed ? as the max client speed atm is 1300M and so the speed will be the same on all as they all do 1300M

coverage wise the 88u has a very slight edge over the 68U with the 87u not as good

stability wise perhaps at the edges of reception would you notice the 88u but otherwise im with merlin

at this stage no one can justify they $$$ to buy an 88u over the 68u based on wifi specs alone

dont get me wrong the 88u is a great beast but like all these new 2156M routers they are just over priced for what they are

they are priced so high as to keep the 1900ac class still worth buying and are considered their premium products
 
Could someone with an 88u confirm whether or not the 88u with the current firmware version 380.3341 has the Tx power adjustment option under Wireless > Professional (at the bottom of the page - below universal beamforming). The pdf manual for the 88u shows that it has a Tx power adjustment option but that was before the recent FCC compliant firmware releases.
 
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Hi all,

Just ponder if I setup a VPN on my router (IPVANISH) if I can tune it to the extent were only certain devices will be connected to the VPN?

I.e I don't want my gaming consoles connected to the VPN at all, but other devices more likely.

Running the 88U with latest Asus standard firmware.

Toon
 
Will I retain all my current settings when switching to Merlin? Think I'll give it a go today

Toon


Even if it does (no guarantee and a full reset is recommended anyways), that is not how I would run my network. Old code bits with new firmware will give random and mostly un-trackable glitches that nobody else will have ever heard of (and lead you on a wild goose chase).

Use john9527's NVRAM Save/Restore utility to at least have a text based (human readable) backup file of your settings,

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/user-nvram-save-restore-utility-r24.19521/


Flash the RMerlin firmware you want to use, reboot. Do a full reset to factory defaults, clear the NVRAM and partition the JFFS partition (reboot at least three times afterwards) and then proceed to manually configure the router minimally and manually.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac66u-slow-wan-to-lan.12973/page-3#post-269410


A full 'sanitize' of your network is also beneficial if you really want to test the latest firmware on a level playing field. Without interference from past 'microcode' on client machines interfering. Ssid's, passwords and device names all checked for only alphanumeric characters. And resetting the connection between your router and your ISP (by leaving the modem off for as long as possible, minimum 10 minutes).
 
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Even if it does (no guarantee and a full reset is recommended anyways), that is not how I would run my network. Old code bits with new firmware will give random and mostly un-trackable glitches that nobody else will have ever heard of (and lead you on a wild goose chase).

Use john9527's NVRAM Save/Restore utility to at least have a text based (human readable) backup file of your settings,

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/user-nvram-save-restore-utility-r24.19521/


Flash the RMerlin firmware you want to use, reboot. Do a full reset to factory defaults, clear the NVRAM and partition the JFFS partition (reboot at least three times afterwards) and then proceed to manually configure the router minimally and manually.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac66u-slow-wan-to-lan.12973/page-3#post-269410


A full 'sanitize' of your network is also beneficial if you really want to test the latest firmware on a level playing field. Without interference from past 'microcode' on client machines interfering. Ssid's, passwords and device names all checked for only alphanumeric characters. And resetting the connection between your router and your ISP (by leaving the modem off for as long as possible, minimum 10 minutes).
Just about to do this now :) Thank you.

Ponder, will I still be able to use the ASUS phone app with the router?

Toon
 
Lastly....I may be been daft here, but on the Merlin downloads page there is a choice between RT-AC88U & RT-AC3100

Aren't they the same device?

Toon
 

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