ASUS RT-AC86U - Sky SR102

YoungBlood · 29 Nov 2019 at 14:12

After doing hours of research (as you do) I ended up buying the ASUS RT-AC86U, seemed to be highly praised across the board, nothing bad said about it.
Guess I was googling the wrong terms.

The 2.4g wireless lasted about 60 seconds before it failed - big known issue apparently..
It will simply not broadcast the signal, or when it does, it's empty.

I needed something with 3/4g fail-over ability and the Asus routers seemed to have that perfected.
Anyone recommend something with tried and tested fail-over capabilities?
Can be modem/router in one, or I can use a separate Openreach modem + router of choice. (if it supports Sky's MER)

Avalon · 30 Nov 2019 at 06:03

Please, stop perpetuating the myth that Sky use MER, it’s simply not true. Have you tried the Merlin firmware for the AC68U? You may be pleasantly surprised.

YoungBlood · 30 Nov 2019 at 06:38

Avalon said:
Please, stop perpetuating the myth that Sky use MER, it’s simply not true. Have you tried the Merlin firmware for the AC68U? You may be pleasantly surprised.

Well if I had known it was a myth I wouldn't perpetuate it.
I see network type "MER" in the current SKY SR102, any replacement modem must support DHCP option 61 right? So I can enter the generic username/pw (I know anything works now)
Yup I tried the Merlin firmware, but the 2.4 wifi was still not working. Hardware fault.
Well documented on google, like I say but I didn't catch it, certainly wouldn't of expected a 2019 model to still have the issue.

Avalon · 30 Nov 2019 at 07:34

Yes, they use DHCP option 61, not MER. ASUS have a horrible history when it comes to networking hardware, switches dropping off router interfaces, modem firmware issues, faked FCC test data, known security issues not patched for years, the list goes on. I’d suggest you would be better off with something else.