N66U replacement Asus ac86u or Netgear R7800 X4S

[beachBOYken]

hi
Thinking of replacing my Asus n66u with something newer, had my n66u a while now and it doesn’t have ac WiFi and I have a few devices that could make use of it, and generally just feel like it’s getting quite old now.
I’m looking at the Asus ac86u and Netgear nighthawk r7800 x4s.

I believe they are both fairly new so not sure which to get although the Netgear is cheaper and from what I have read so far it has good WiFi coverage.

Based on stability and general performance what would be the best choice out of the two.

It would connect to my VM super hub which would be in modem mode.

Any owners of either can advise?

Thanks

 

[beachBOYken]

Hi

I do think the firmware support by Merlin and the likes is very good, Im also happy enough with stock firmware.

I was hoping to hear from some Netgear R7800 X4S users on here as thats been out a little longer.

 

[beachBOYken]

I can't really give advice at this early stage...

Former Asus RT56U owner here. My Asus that was purchased back in 2012 started behaving oddly last week - I couldn't access its control panel and it wasn't letting through any traffic with my Superhub 2 in modem mode.

I just fitted up an 7800 X4S to my superb hub and all is good. WiFi is very strong across the 5ghz band, yet to fully test the 2.4ghz band.

I grabbed the X4S cheap off amazon during Black Friday as it was £129. The review on smallnetbuilder was quite impressive I thought.
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...ghthawk-x4s-smart-wifi-gaming-router-reviewed

Whilst the Netgear control panel looks dated, it is very functional and clear to use I find.

Do you use the stock firmware on the Netgear, Im still leaning towards the AC86U due to it being newer and the firmware support is good from Merlin, but I think both are similar in performance and features.

Just a tough decision.

 

[beachBOYken]

I know what you mean about the decision for a router. I loved my Asus that ran custom firmware (can't recall the name but used it for years).

I'm still using the stock netgear firmware over here and I shall stick to it for a few months I reckon. Netgear are still updating this router though as I've received 2 since I purchased it a good few weeks ago and I have one that appeared today.

First night of Overwatch gaming was a total failure tonight. The very same dropouts and lag I was experiencing with my superhub 2 in router mode for the past week still persists now. So it's either the game or the hub acting up. Time will tell I suppose.

Thanks for this, so you think your issue could be the super hub 2 causing the dropouts.

 

[beachBOYken]

Got the Asus AC86u in the end, hopefully plan to set it up in the next couple of weeks.

I did like the sound of the nighthawk but Im so used to the GUI on the Asus routers and do like the support from Merlin.

Will update this thread once setup and give my thoughts on it compared to my trusty N66U.

 

[beachBOYken]

I went from the 68U to the 86U, I get better range on the 5GHz band and I like that it’s effectively the exact same size as my old router. Have used Merlin firmware from the start which is nice and stable.

I plan to go onto merlin, would I need to set the 86u up first in stock before I can install merlins firmware.

Also has the 86u got a stable release of merlin firmware or is in beta stages still.

Thanks

 

[beachBOYken]

You can go straight onto Merlin if you want and there is a stable release.

Thank's, I need to do a reset anyway after flashing Merlin firmware.

 

[beachBOYken]

I have both the R7800 and the RT-AC86U.

I bought the 86U to replace the R7800.
Nothing wrong with the R7800, I needed to use a DD-WRT firmware to set up the VPN client when I used the Netgear router.

However I much prefer the UI of the Merlin firmware for the 86U. Setting up a VPN client and policy based routing is so easy.

I bought the 86U and installed the Merlin firmware from the start, did a reset and then set it up from there.

Overall the UI of an Asus based router is easier for me to manage over that of the DD-WRT on the R7800.

I keep planning to sell the R7800 but have not got round to it.

Do you use some of the features on the 86u like AiProtection?

 

[beachBOYken]

As I have only recently bought the router, and it also coincided with my change of VPN service, which didn't work out, I haven't had the time to use many of the "extra" features as yet. I do use policy based routing for the VPN client, easy enough to configure.

Overall it seems a pretty impressive and solid router for my needs, with its dual core 1.8Ghz CPU it does well as a VPN client with AES 256bit CBC encrypted data. Merlin believes that it is a pretty good performer, VPN wise.

Received mine today, will have to wait till weekend to connect up, will go straight to Merlin firmware as well.

 

[beachBOYken]

Connected my Asus RC86U up yesterday, in terms of wireless performance, I would say not much in it between my N66U, I think the 5ghz band is a little stronger though.

The speed of the thing is a lot quicker, in terms of setting it up and the UI is snappy.

I flashed Merlin firmware straight away, not had much time to test any of the features yet.

Anyway so far Im glad I went for the Asus.

Does anyone here know if you need to set the AiProtection up or not or does it just do its thing?

 

[beachBOYken]

@Vimes

What channel do you use on the 5ghz band, I was on Auto for that with channel 100 but my new fire tv stick could not find the 5ghz band, I changed to 44 and it found it ok, not sure why this was the case.

 

[beachBOYken]

@beachBOYken


I am using channel 52 for the 5Ghz band. AFAIK this applies for the UK.....

• Band A : 5150 - 5350 MHz (channels 36 - 64)

I could well be wrong but Band A above is for internal 5Ghz and Band B, which includes the higher channels, for the UK is for outdoor use.

I also use the Smart Connect function, so I only have one SSID for both bands and the router allocates the device to the preferred radio.

As I understand it you have to select each of the three parts of the AI function to configure and enable them, if you wish.

There is also an addon for the Merlin firmware for ad blocking at the router level.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/ab-solution-the-ad-blocking-solution-v3-11.37511/

I have not used it.

Thank's for the information, sounds like channel 44 is ok then, I did not know there was a smart connect function when I set it up, oh well. I prefer to choose myself what devices go on which band, I have all my high bandwidth devices such as games consoles video streaming devices on 5ghz and phones/tablets on the 2.4ghz, although I'm sure this smart connect feature is pretty good at allocating to preferred band.

 

[beachBOYken]

@beachBOYken how are you finding the Asus Ac86u? Stable? What are you using it with? I'm looking the buy the Asus and pair it with a Draytek vigor 130 to use with Plusnet FTTC.

Hi

Had it nearly 2 weeks now, I'm using the latest Merlin firmware on it, I haven't had much time at the moment to look into all the features it has, I have about 12 days uptime now, so no issues (touch wood) and very stable.

I just have connected into my VM superhub which is in modem mode.

 

[beachBOYken]

Great! Coming from the N66U there is definitely an improvement.

Likewise, been rock solid since I purchased mine in December.

 

[beachBOYken]

No, nothing here.

 

[beachBOYken]

I purchased another ac86u a couple of weeks ago and again, this one was making the same high pitched coil whine type sound. Seemed to be coming from the wifi radios/chips, as soon as I turned the wifi off, the noise stopped. I’ve either got super sensitive hearing suddenly or perhaps a dodgy batch? Sent it back again anyway. Keep debating whether to try another one.

Wow that is really unlucky, could be a bad batch, mine makes no noise at all and I am sensitive to noise, where did you purchase from?