Asus RT-AX56U 5 GHz router review, is it worth it?

The Asus RT-AX56U (RT-AX56U) router released in 2019. It is powered by Broadcom BCM6755 @ 1.5 GHz chipset, 256 MB of RAM and 128 MB of flash. The AX1800 router is compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax standards, and the maximum speed that you can get with RT-AX56U is 574 + 1201 Mbps. The router has 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN and 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN ports.

The RT-AX56U is an affortable router that supports Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) technology for faster wireless speeds. You can connect supported USB devices to the RT-AX56U router. The external storage devices such as USB flash drives or external hard drives add file-server functionality to this router. Asus is widely recognized as a reputable and established manufacturer of networking equipment.

Table of contents:

• Asus RT-AX56U specifications
• Asus RT-AX56U pictures

Asus RT-AX56U (RT-AX56U) specifications

Body

The dimensions and design of a router can impact its cooling capabilities. Routers with larger dimensions may have more space for internal cooling mechanisms, such as larger fans or heat sinks, which can help dissipate heat more effectively. If you purchase a router online or have it shipped, the weight may affect the overall cost. Heavier routers can result in higher shipping charges, especially for international deliveries.

System

The Asus RT-AX56U router is equipped with Broadcom BCM6755 @ 1.5 GHz processor. The RT-AX56U has 256 MB of RAM. Some advanced router features and software functionalities require a certain amount of RAM to operate properly. For example, routers with more RAM can support advanced security features, VPN services, or QoS (Quality of Service) prioritization more effectively. The RT-AX56U has 128 MB of flash memory. A larger flash memory allows for more storage space to accommodate future firmware upgrades.

The process of upgrading the firmware on routers has become relatively simple and user-friendly over the years. The Asus provides easy-to-use interfaces and instructions to guide users through the firmware upgrade process. The Asus RT-AX56U router comes with 12 V / 2 A PSU. This unit is responsible for providing electrical power to the router, and if it becomes faulty, it can be replaced with a new, compatible one.

Network

The RT-AX56U router offers built-in security features to protect your network and connected devices. The IPv4 is the fourth iteration of the Internet Protocol (IP) and is the most widely used version of IP on the internet today. The latest firmware supports IPv6 protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the Internet. The Asus RT-AX56U has 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN and 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN ports. LAN or Ethernet ports (RJ-45) are used to connect devices to the local area network (LAN).

This router has Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports. If you have a high-speed internet plan that offers speeds of 1 Gbps or higher, gigabit Ethernet ports are essential to fully utilize the available bandwidth. WAN ports often require specific configuration settings based on the type of internet connection provided by your ISP. The RT-AX56U router supports Gigabit speed on its WAN port, that can support speeds up to 1000 Mbps. This router ensures that you can fully utilize high-speed internet connections provided by your ISP.

The RT-AX56U router supports 3G or 4G dongles, allowing you to connect to a cellular network. This feature can be useful in areas with limited wired internet access or as a backup option in case of an internet outage. The RT-AX56U comes with built-in OpenVPN client. OpenVPN employs a certificate-based authentication system, which enhances security and provides a more robust method of identity verification compared to traditional username/password authentication.

The RT-AX56U router is IPsec capable. IPsec is a widely supported standard and is implemented in various network devices and operating systems. It allows for interoperability between different vendors and ensures consistent security across network infrastructures. PPTP uses the Password Authentication Protocol (PAP) or Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) for user authentication. However, the authentication process itself does not provide strong security guarantees.

Wireless

This router has 2 x 4 dBi, fixed antennas. Antennas play a significant role in Wi-Fi performance and coverage. They are essential components of wireless routers that transmit and receive radio signals to establish wireless connections with devices. The RT-AX56U is compatible with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. Many IoT (Internet of Things) devices, smart home devices, and older Wi-Fi-enabled devices primarily operate on the 2.4 GHz band.

The RT-AX56U supports the 5 GHz band too. The 5 GHz band offers better noise immunity, less interference, and more available channels. This router is a Wi-Fi 6 router. 802.11ax is the sixth-generation Wi-Fi standard, commonly referred to as Wi-Fi 6. It builds upon the previous Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) standard and brings significant improvements in speed, capacity, and overall performance. The AX1800 refers to the maximum combined data transfer rate supported by the router across all Wi-Fi bands.

The RT-AX56U is capable of a maximum throughput speed of 574 + 1201 Mbps. The real-world speed of a RT-AX56U router is typically lower than its theoretical maximum speed. The TX power (25 dBm) of a router refers to the transmission power or signal strength at which the router broadcasts its Wi-Fi signal. It determines the range and coverage area of the wireless network. The RT-AX56U router offers several security protocols: WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPS.

The WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was the first security protocol for Wi-Fi networks but is now considered weak and easily compromised. It uses a static encryption key and has known vulnerabilities, so it is no longer recommended for securing Wi-Fi networks. The WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) was introduced as an improvement over WEP and provides stronger security. If WPA3 is not available, WPA2-Personal with AES encryption is still considered secure.

The RT-AX56U router offers WPS. The WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) provides a simplified and convenient method for connecting devices to a Wi-Fi network. Instead of manually entering the Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password, users can use the WPS feature to establish a connection with the push of a button or by entering a PIN. A guest network on the RT-AX56U router is a separate network that provides internet access to guests or visitors without giving them access to your main or primary network. It allows you to create a dedicated network segment for guests, keeping their devices isolated from your private network, thereby enhancing security and privacy.

Connectivity

USB ports can offer additional functionality depending on the router's capabilities. The USB 2 port has a maximum theoretical data transfer rate of 480 megabits per second (Mbps), which is equivalent to 60 megabytes per second (MB/s). The USB 3 ports provide a fast interface for external storage with data transfer rates of up to 4.8 Gbps. You can attach a compatible USB printer to the Asus RT-AX56U device. USB print servers allow you to connect a USB printer to your network, making it accessible to multiple devices. This eliminates the need for each device to have a direct USB connection to the printer. It has built-in NAS functionality. You can connect external storage devices such as USB flash drives or USB hard drives to your router. This allows you to share files, documents, photos, and media across devices on your network. It can be convenient for accessing and sharing files without the need for separate file servers or cloud storage.

Administration

The default IP addresses of the Asus RT-AX56U device is 192.168.1.1. These address allows you to access the router's console login page. If you are unable to log in to the setup panel of your Asus router, performing a reset can be a helpful troubleshooting step. It is highly recommended to change the default password of your RT-AX56U router after the initial setup. If you forget the new password in the future, you may need to perform a factory reset on the router to revert to the default settings.

The specifications above are based on the official data published by the manufacturer, but we also take user reviews into consideration. If you found an error or something lacking in the specifications above for the Asus RT-AX56U, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

Asus RT-AX56U (RT-AX56U) pictures

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