Asus RT-N12HP WiFi router: Pros and Cons

Asus RT-N12HP (RT-N12HP) pictures

The specifications below 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-N12HP, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

Asus RT-N12HP (RT-N12HP) specifications

Body

If you plan to move or travel frequently and need to take your router with you, the dimensions become important for portability. Smaller and more compact routers are generally easier to transport, while larger routers with external antennas or multiple ports may be bulkier and less convenient to carry. The weight of a router can be a consideration in certain situations, but it is generally not as crucial as other factors such as performance, features, and compatibility.

System

The Broadcom BCM5357C0 @ 300 MHz CPU provides processing power to handle various tasks and services within the RT-N12HP router. The RT-N12HP comes with 32 MB of RAM. The amount of RAM in a router can impact its performance and capacity to handle concurrent operations and traffic. Higher RAM capacity allows for better multitasking, larger routing tables, and improved overall performance. The 8 MB flash memory in the router serves as the storage medium for the router's firmware. It is a non-volatile memory that retains its data even when power is removed from the device.

The Asus often releases firmware updates to enhance the router's functionality, improve security, fix bugs, and add new features. Firmware updates can provide performance improvements, compatibility with new devices or protocols, and address vulnerabilities. The Asus packages the RT-N12HP router with 12 V / 1 A PSU. A good PSU is an essential component of a computer or electronic device that converts electrical power from an outlet into the appropriate voltage and current required to power the internal components of the device.

Network

Like many modern routers, the RT-N12HP supports many network standards too. The IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses, represented as four sets of numbers separated by periods (e.g. 192.168.0.1). The RT-N12HP router also supports IPv6 protocol, allowing you to utilize the latest version of the Internet Protocol. The LAN ports are physical connectors on a RT-N12HP router that allow you to connect devices to your local network using Ethernet cables.

The WAN port on a router stands for "Wide Area Network" port. It is used to connect the router to the external network, typically provided by an internet service provider (ISP). The RT-N12HP is equipped with Fast Ethernet WAN port, which have a maximum speed of 100 Mbps. The PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) is an older VPN protocol that was widely used in the past but is now considered less secure compared to newer alternatives like IPsec or OpenVPN.

Wireless

The 2 x 9 dBi, RP-SMA antennas of RT-N12HP influence the quality and stability of the Wi-Fi signal. A properly positioned and well-designed antenna can minimize interference and signal degradation, leading to a more reliable and stable connection. This router is 2.4 GHz compatible. The 2.4 GHz band is widely supported by a wide range of devices, including older devices that may not be compatible with the 5 GHz band.

The RT-N12HP is a Wi-Fi 4 router, with slower data transfer speeds. This can result in slower downloads, video buffering, and reduced performance when multiple devices are connected. The N300 refers to the maximum combined data transfer rate supported by the router across all Wi-Fi bands. The RT-N12HP is capable of a maximum throughput speed of 300 Mbps. The real-world speed of a RT-N12HP router is typically lower than its theoretical maximum speed.

The TX power of RT-N12HP can be adjusted by the user or set automatically by the router firmware. Higher TX power values indicate stronger signal transmission, which can result in a larger coverage area. The RT-N12HP 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-N12HP 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.

Connectivity

The RT-N12HP router doesn't have file-server or print-server functionality.

Administration

The default IP address of this router is 192.168.1.1. Explore the router's configuration interface to access more advanced settings such as port forwarding, DHCP settings, parental controls, firewall settings, and QoS (Quality of Service) settings. 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-N12HP 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.

Asus RT-N12HP (RT-N12HP) comparisons

According to our statistics, the Asus RT-N12HP router was most often compared on our site with the following routers.

Asus RT-AC85P Asus RT-AX56U Asus TUF Gaming AX4200 Asus RT-N14U Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 Asus RT-N66W Asus RT-AC1200GP Asus RT-AC3100

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