Asus RT-AX86U 5 GHz router review, is it worth it?

The Asus RT-AX86U (RT-AX86U) router released in 2020. It is powered by Broadcom BCM4908 @ 1.8 GHz chipset, 1024 MB of RAM and 256 MB of flash. The AX5700 router is compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax standards, and the maximum speed that you can get with RT-AX86U is 861 + 4804 Mbps. The router has 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN and 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN ports.

The RT-AX86U supports dual-band Wi-Fi, offering both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. The USB connectors on the RT-AX86U router add versatility to your network by enabling file sharing, media streaming, printer sharing, and other USB-enabled functionality. Asus is a reputable manufacturer in the networking industry known for providing a wide range of networking devices.

Table of contents:

• Asus RT-AX86U specifications
• Asus RT-AX86U pictures

Asus RT-AX86U (RT-AX86U) specifications

Body

If you have limited space available for your router, such as in a small apartment or office, the dimensions can determine whether it can fit in the designated area or not. It's important to consider the physical size of the router, including its height, width, and depth, to ensure it can be accommodated in your space. The weight of router is not typically a critical factor for most home or office setups.

System

The Broadcom BCM4908 @ 1.8 GHz CPU, combined with other factors such as RAM capacity and firmware optimization, determines the overall performance and responsiveness of the router. The router's memory (1024 MB) cannot be expanded. When choosing a router, it is important to consider both the flash memory and RAM specifications. The RT-AX86U has 256 MB of flash. A larger flash memory allows for more space to store configuration backups. It enables you to save multiple versions of your router's configuration settings, which can be useful for restoring previous configurations or reverting changes if needed.

Within the RT-AX86U router's interface, look for a section related to firmware or system settings. The exact location and wording may vary depending on the router's make and model. The Asus provides the appropriate power supply (19 V / 2.37 A) that matches the voltage requirements of the router. The power supply unit is designed to deliver the correct voltage to the router, ensuring its proper operation.

Network

The RT-AX86U router supports multiple networking standards to ensure compatibility with various devices and systems. The majority of networking equipment, including routers, switches, and other network devices, is designed to support IPv4. The RT-AX86U router is also compatible with IPv6. IPv6 provides a significantly larger address space and offers various enhancements and improvements over IPv4. The RT-AX86U has 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN and 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN ports. The LAN ports of RT-AX86U router are numbered and are used to establish wired connections between the router and devices such as computers, gaming consoles, smart TVs, network-attached storage (NAS) devices, and other network-enabled devices.

Gigabit Ethernet ports of the RT-AX86U router allow for faster communication between devices within your local network. WAN ports are the entry point to your local network, making them a potential target for unauthorized access or attacks. It's important to secure your WAN connection by using strong passwords, enabling encryption protocols, and keeping the router's firmware up to date to mitigate security risks.

The RT-AX86U router supports Gigabit WAN. Having a Gigabit WAN port is beneficial when your internet service plan supports high-speed connectivity, as it ensures that your router's WAN connection can handle the maximum speed provided by your ISP. By connecting the 3G/4G USB dongle to the RT-AX86U router, you can share the internet connection with multiple devices on your local network. This allows multiple devices, such as computers, smartphones, or smart home devices, to access the internet simultaneously.

OpenVPN is a popular choice for VPN deployments due to its strong security, flexibility, and broad compatibility. It is commonly used by individuals, businesses, and organizations to establish secure remote access connections and protect sensitive data transmitted over public networks. IPsec provides a robust and standardized framework for securing IP communications. It is commonly used in VPN deployments, remote access scenarios, site-to-site connectivity, and other situations where secure communication over IP networks is required. PPTP has been criticized for its security weaknesses. It has known vulnerabilities, including issues with the encryption algorithm and the potential for password cracking attacks.

Wireless

This router has 3 x 4 dBi, fixed antennas. Many modern routers feature multiple antennas and use Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology. This technology enables simultaneous transmission and reception of multiple data streams, increasing overall throughput and improving the Wi-Fi performance. The RT-AX86U 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-AX86U supports 5 GHz signals. To optimize your Wi-Fi experience, it's often recommended to use a combination of both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, taking advantage of their respective strengths based on your specific needs and the devices you have. The RT-AX86U routers typically offer improved range and coverage compared to previous standards. They can transmit signals more effectively through obstacles, resulting in better connectivity in larger homes or offices.

The AX5700 is a performance indicator that represents the router's theoretical maximum speed. The theoretical maximum speed (861 + 4804 Mbps) represents the highest data transfer rate that the router is capable of achieving under ideal conditions. The maximum TX power of RT-AX86U router is 25 dBm. Adjusting the TX power of a router can be useful in situations where you want to optimize the Wi-Fi signal strength and coverage.

The RT-AX86U router offers several security protocols: WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPA3, 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 WPA3 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 3) is the latest Wi-Fi security protocol designed to address vulnerabilities and strengthen security for wireless networks. It improves encryption, introduces stronger authentication protocols, and protects against brute-force attacks. The RT-AX86U 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. Once the guest network is set up on your Asus RT-AX86U router, your guests can connect to it using the specified SSID and password. They will have internet access, while being separated from your private network.

Connectivity

USB ports can offer additional functionality depending on the router's capabilities. The USB 3 ports provide a fast interface for external storage with data transfer rates of up to 4.8 Gbps. The RT-AX86U router has print server functionality. With a USB print server, you can manage printer settings, monitor print queues, and control access to the printer from a centralized interface. This can simplify printer management and administration tasks. The RT-AX86U router allows you to schedule automated backups of your important data to the connected USB storage device.

Administration

The Asus router setup panel is accessed through a web browser. Connect your computer to the RT-AX86U router via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable. In the address bar of the web browser, type in the 192.168.1.1 IP address. Regularly changing the password is a good security practice to protect your network and devices from unauthorized access. It is also recommended to use strong, unique passwords for other devices and online accounts connected to your network for enhanced security. By changing the default password, you improve the security of your router and reduce the risk of unauthorized individuals gaining control over your network. It helps prevent unauthorized access to your router's settings, network configurations, and sensitive information.

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-AX86U, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

Asus RT-AX86U (RT-AX86U) pictures

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