RT-AX86U 2.5G Port Compatibility

[thewan]

Just thought I post my experience here regarding the 2.5G port on my AX86U. I am using a Asustor AS4002t NAS. When the AX86U came out, I purchased it thinking I could use the 2.5G port to connect to my NAS 10G port and get a 2.5G connection. It even advertises on the box that you can connect PC and NAS at 2.5G using that very port. Sadly that is not the case.

My AX86U did not detect my NAS upon connecting the 10G port to the 2.5G port. The connection was detected as 2.5Gbps on the status tab, but the NAS does not appear on the list of devices and does not get assigned an IP address via DHCP. This is with the CAT6A cable that is supplied with the NAS. I also tried various other CAT6 cables that works fine. The NAS works fine when connecting the 10G port to the AX86U Gigabit port with Gigabit speeds using the NAS supplied CAT6A cable, but that defeats the purpose of buying this combination.

After some back and forth communication with Asus Support for nearly a month, with 2 firmware updates and a couple of factory resets in between, they concluded that the AX86U 2.5G port is not compatible with the AS4002t 10G port. You would think that they would at least test compatibility with their own/sister brand products but I guess that is not what happens in this company.

They did say they will issue an update in the near future that should fix this incompatibility, but in my mind, ethernet should be plug and play (assuming that there is nothing wrong with the client or the ethernet cable). Looks like this is the 2nd time Asus has failed me with their ethernet connections. The 1st one I have documented here in this very forum with my AC68U.

If you guys have any experience, good or bad regarding the 2.5G port on the AX86U, please share them too. Maybe it'll help Asus if they read this forum. I really hope they can fix this issue, as if they don't, this is what you call false advertisement dear Asus and you are sure to see me in consumer court if I don't get a refund.

 

[L&LD]

I can't see how this is false advertising. The 2.5G Port is a new breed. The 10G Ports are not (they are a much older standard). There is no guarantee that they will work with each other. Nor is that stated anywhere.

While it would be great to have full compatibility, this is new ground being covered. Be prepared for bumps.

At the price-point of the AS4002t, I don't see how this compatibility can be expected. Just a few short months after the recent availability of the RT-AX86U.

 

[JagoUK]

Have you checked the port to see if it even offers 2.5gb?
Try turning it from auto negotiation to manual. Might need to SSH.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I can't see how Asus can fix this on the router. The best they could do would be to automatically downgrade the link speed to 1Gb. The real issue is that the Asustor doesn't support 2.5GBASE-T (802.3bz).

 

[1ceLaz0r]

You were expecting out of the box compatibility with a new and rare networking standard for home users from a new and untested Asus router with beta firmware? Yeah..... no, it doesn't work that way for the consumer home router market

 

[dfunked]

Mine worked fine connected to a 2.5Gb port on a Zyxel switch, but I ended up getting so worried about the extreme heat emanating from the switch that I've gone back to an old gigabit switch.

As others have said, your NAS probably doesn't support these middle ground standards, but I would have expected should still at least auto negotiate to gigabit. You'd most likely need to use a switch that has ports capable of 2.5Gb and 10Gb, or just connect the NAS to one of the gigabit ports for now.