RT-N66 Upgrade

[mxb]

I currently have a RT-N66R router and am looking to upgrade. Any suggestions are welcome as I am not loyal to any specific brand.

The router is in an old 1200 sq ft apartment that's old - lath and plaster so I'm assuming that affects signal strength and I could use some better distance (possibly make the RT-N66 a WAP but ideally not).
I use the USB port on the router for my printer and would like to have that option for the new router.
4 or more gigabit ports required.
On a 300Mbp plan from my cable ISP for now.
No gaming, but require lots of FTP usage for work and stream videos on a couple of mobile devices and a Firestick.
VPN is important.
Ideally would like to be closer to $100 price point if that is possible but ok to go over.

Thanks again!

 

[Piotrek]

How and what do you use a VPN?
What is your ISP connection speed (including upload - for VPN server?)?
A cheap solution (about $100) is: RT-AX56 v.1 or RT-AX58U v.1/RT-AX300 v.1)
Better but more expensive is RT-AX86S or possibly RT-AX68U.

 

[mxb]

How and what do you use a VPN?
What is your ISP connection speed (including upload - for VPN server?)?
A cheap solution (about $100) is: RT-AX56 v.1 or RT-AX58U v.1/RT-AX300 v.1)
Better but more expensive is RT-AX86S or possibly RT-AX68U.

VPN I use Nord for security though sometimes have had to use a company's VPN configured separately
Connection speed is 300 down, 12 up
I'll look at those suggestions, thank you!

 

[bcm00re]

You can get the RT-AX68U + a $20 prepaid visa card for $140 total (effectively making the router $120). For more details do a search on Slickdeals.

 

[mxb]

You can get the RT-AX68U + a $20 prepaid visa card for $140 total (effectively making the router $120). For more details do a search on Slickdeals.

Thank you for this suggestion - just ordered one.

I'm planning on changing router locations to a more centralized area but it will be further away from my printer's location. Is it possible to use the old RT-N66r as a switch (disable radios and DHCP?) WITH the USB port still active for my printer attached to it?

 

[Tech9]

You had to read a bit more about this router. It's was cheap for a reason and often on sale price before it disappeared from the stores, at least here in Canada. The only Asus router model with BCM6710 used for 5GHz band, had delayed firmware updates in the past, had connectivity issues, not very popular model around. Not very successful model (because of the way it looks as well) and I wouldn't be surprised if it gets discontinued soon.

 

[bcm00re]

@mxb
I was under the impression that the USB ports weren't available for use on an Asus router that is setup as an access point (which I believe is what you are talking about) but I'm not 100% certain on that. That old N66U cannot be an AiMesh node in case you were wondering.

 

[mxb]

You had to read a bit more about this router. It's was cheap for a reason and often on sale price before it disappeared from the stores, at least here in Canada. The only Asus router model with BCM6710 used for 5GHz band, had delayed firmware updates in the past, had connectivity issues, not very popular model around. Not very successful model (because of the way it looks as well) and I wouldn't be surprised if it gets discontinued soon.

Do you have any other recommendations in a similar price range?

 

[ColinTaylor]

VPN I use Nord for security though sometimes have had to use a company's VPN configured separately
Connection speed is 300 down, 12 up

If you run the VPN client on the router you'll be limiting your maximum internet speeds to 250 Mbps or less depending on the router. Much better to use a VPN client on the host machine as and when required. Services like NordVPN don't really provide any additional security in a home environment.

I'm planning on changing router locations to a more centralized area but it will be further away from my printer's location. Is it possible to use the old RT-N66r as a switch (disable radios and DHCP?) WITH the USB port still active for my printer attached to it?

Yes you should be able to do that. As the previous poster mentioned you would need to configure the N66U as an AP (with the radios turned off ). Assign it a fixed IP address outside the normal DHCP range, e.g. 192.168.1.2 or 192.168.50.2. The option for the USB printer should still be available.

 

[Piotrek]

VPN I use Nord for security though

If you live in a free, democratic country services like NordVPN don't really provide any additional security in a home environment.
RT-AX56 v.1 or RT-AX58U v.1/RT-AX3000 v.1 - VPN to ~100 Mbps.
RT-AX86S or possibly RT-AX68U - VPN to ~250 Mbps.

 

[Tech9]

Do you have any other recommendations in a similar price range?

Pay a little more for AX86S. This is the cheapest Asus router I can recommend.