Mine is still kicking after 7 years. I haven't seen anything like it. 24/7 downloading torrents with a 4TB HDD & Media Server is always ON. It's a beast feeding 8-10 clients like a rock on a single flat. No issues, nothing, nada ! RT-AC68U is a f*cking stability king. Though I'm not using all the optional "things" (QoS, Traffic Analyzer, Ai Protection etc.) as most of them is not needed at all. So, lowering my CPU/RAM usage. RT-AC68U is the best Price/Performance router that you can get for lower client networks. Love your channel & thanks for sharing detailed info about networking.
Like you I retired an older ASUS router. Though I retired a RT-AC66R that i had when it was the fastest router avaliable and few AC routers were out. I had run merlin for years even after merlin ceased updates. One day it just died. I fell back on the older DLINK DIR-825 that I had held onto for backup while I shopped. Like you I went with ASUS again and settled on the RT-AX86U. I immediately istalled Merlin. Loving it.
I'm planning on getting Netgear's RBK753S Orbi today on sale at Costco. Triband with wifi-6 backhaul. I can't wait any longer to find out what you're going to get but really respect your opinions. I have been using an RT-AC68U router with two Bluecave nodes for a year. Prior to AI Mesh, I had the 68U for years. Your channel is highly informative and fun. Keep it up!
I have loved my RT-AC68U for years because of you, and I just recently purchased an RT-AX3000 (still sitting in the box next to me) from a Black Friday sale. Thinking that maybe I want to wait and see what you decide putting in the word of completely redoing my network. Hardware-wise, the AX3000 seemed like a good upgrade, and I also loved the fact that it supports Merlin firmware.
I was having similar issues with my Asus RT-68U after we upgraded to fiber with 250Mbps symmetrical. It was just too much for the router to be able to handle and process all the tasks and traffic. My solution: 1x Small box computer w 2x LAN ports running OPNSense as the firewall, NAT, DHCP, etc, that goes into a managed $30 TP-Link 8 Port gigabit switch. That connects to my ac-68u router setup as a WiFi access point only. Works like a charm. Essentially I offloaded its responsibilities as the firewall and server and multi-port switch
I have also been using two Asus RT-AC68U routers but with a wired backhaul (AiMesh) for almost as many years as you, and have recently been thinking of upgrading the routers because I have found that the wireless and mesh performance hasn't been as good and reliable as I hoped. So I really look forward to your next video and finding out what you eventually upgrade to! PS. I really enjoy your channel - you have a unique presentation style which is very easy to understand, and I like the humour you also bring into your videos. Keep it up!
Could you kindly expand on what Aimesh hasn't achieved for you... I'm considering purchasing second ac86u to pair with my current one, by doing so extending the WiFi and have a single SSID. Thx.
@@manc4806 Two main issues: 1. The handover between routers for my iPad isn't very good. What I find is that when I move from one router to another, the iPad doesn't find the other Wi-Fi's router easily, and tends to get fixated on the previous one, unless I leave the iPad near the other router for a long time. Even if I try to switch off WiFi and reassociate with the SSID, it still has issues. I think this is more likely a problem with the way Apple implements WiFi on the device, causing some incompatibility. 2. Sometimes my phone can't find the other router when I move from one to the other. It's a high end Samsung Android phone from this year and shouldn't have any issue, but for some reason it does. You mentioned in your comment that you are thinking of getting an RT-AC86U as a second. It might work better than the RT-AC68U I am using (note the difference in model number), as it is a newer router. Right now I'm considering upgrading to a WiFi 6 router (probably still Asus), which I heard has more stable performance and probably better mesh stability. But I'm curious to see what Behfor ends up with.
@@anobservr Thank you for your reply 😀. Yes sorry I have a RT-AC86U which as you say is a newer model, I've had great success with hence choosing to get another, still going to pursue another fingers crossed one comes up during Black Friday I'm hoping I don't run into similar issues as yourself, wish me luck ☺️
I too have two identical ac68u routers and for a time I was using AI mesh with a wired backhaul but I found it to be unreliable and I noticed that the Wi-Fi networks on both routers were the exact same channel so they were fighting and competing with each other for the same airspace. I did not like that and went to a different set up with two separate ssids and now I have an open sense firewall box on a small computer with two ports and I have a separate managed 8-port gigabit switch in between them all so now the routers are only access points so I'm offloaded a lot of the processing to other switches and firewall devices and it's much smoother and faster now. I just do not mess with aimesh anymore
I have an RT-AX88u and its amazing. You should take a look at it. By the way love the channel and I think you have an excellent on screen presence. I can really see this channel taking off.
I second everything Leonard C says, my situation is very similar and I am noticing some devices have connectivity issues (new computer, iPhone). Main computers are wired. Turned on the security options per your other video. I have not installed DD-WRT, so I can not see the CPU usage. Running three AC68 routers, two wired as access points, no AIMesh yet. I switched the main router to see if one of the other ones is more stable. Hoping to hold out for wifi 6"e" router to get the 6GHz bands, but will be watching your next video. ....Also agree that your videos are easy to understand and delve into details that I find very necessary to make similar decisions. Router pricing is getting a bit crazy, so looked at TPLink, but from your other video AIMesh has better features. -Thanks!
I also have this Asus router and it's great, have had it for a few years now and I run Merlin FW on it. I am not overloading the router with too many tasks, so it's fine for my purposes. Might be interested in upgrading to WiFi 6 capable router in a while though. Thanks for the video.
Can you tell me how to transport iptv protocol data wirelessly from asus router/modem to another asus router (ap or repeated mode) which is connected to IPTV STB with ethernet cable ? I can only connect to IPTV via LAN with cable now.
Just stumbled across your channel. My DSL-AC68U also the best modem/router I have ever had! Excited to see what tweaks you have made to your router to this point and looking forward to see where you go from here!
I’m at nearly 8 years of use on mine. Only reason I’d consider replacing is to get more coverage toward the front of my house. Luckily the smart home stuff uses 2.4 so coverage is great for that purpose.
I've had mine for similar time. 4 years ago I bought another one second hand on eBay really cheap, set it up as AIMesh with WIFI backhaul and stuck it up in my ceiling near a power point. It's worked brilliantly all that time and extends coverage all over our propertly. Brilliant router.
I have two of this router (the og RT-AC1900P) and I'm glad for the continual support this router receives from ASUS. The second router is the AiMesh Node. No other router came close to the feature set this router has at the price point. Although it does suffer it bit from my Fios connection. I can't get the full gigabit WAN. Many forums recommended to turn off QOS but it slowed my connection further. I take the CPU might have hit its limit on what it can do. I look forward to upgrade to a new Asus router and make my main router another node.
Hi Behfor, long time. I think it was thank to you I got my hands on a T-Mobile RT-AC68U and installed DD-WRT and use my older RT as Bridge on the living room. Thanks God my CPU max is just only around 20% and the MEM on 50%. Don't tell me that I have to get a new one!!! :D
I offload all the routing/VPN work to a pfSense box and use my 2 AC68Us in AP mode with AI-mesh enabled. This setup works great even when routing a gigabit connection. The CPU usage on the APs now never exceeds 20%.
I've been having problems with my RT-AC68U too. DHCP errors, I've factory reset and changed the toggleable DHCP options in the setup and copied the Mac address (basically every fix I could find). I've been thinking about booting custom firmware on it but I've also had the slow setup menu problems as-well, so I'm not sure if it's entirely a software issue or if it's a combination of both hardware and software. It was working a couple of days ago before I went to bed but when I got up I got the errors and couldn't connect to the internet through the router, wired and wireless. So, does anyone know what's going on here? I'm going to attempt DD-WRT and see if that helps, but again not sure if entirely software as every time I factory reset the thing i would have to wait 30secs to a minute to select and enter every option (curser when typing was frozen too)
Hi Behfor. Have you got problem login asus router? Suddenly my router can't login. First I try unplug cable power after that i can login to router but only work for 2 minutes. So i can't configure it. Second I've already reset factory, but it didn't work. If there any solution? Thx
thanks for this video. super informative. i have a similar setup (2x ac68u) and am noticing that device handover is pretty poor with aimesh. similar issues as the video -- webpages don't load until the wifi resolves itself. i checked loads and cpu is under 10% and RAM usage is low. any idea how i can improve my setup?
Hello, I just bought this router. I use it behind the ZTE F660 with a fiber optic subscription. I have the problem of losing packets when playing either in ethernet or in wifi. do you have any idea where the problem might be. Thank you
Hi you should first find out if it's the internet connection or your local network causing this, and then you can troubleshoot further! As it was mentioned in this video you can connect your computer directly to modem and then test to find the answer to that question. Thanks.
wow i had the same problem with my dlink dwr953 ac750 it has (one core at 580 Mhz and 128mb ram)and after only 3 years we had a lot of drop outs and my speed went down by 10 times and only one client could work. i checked avery thing but nothing was going on and i changed my router to xiaomi ax3600 (in has 4 cores at 1.4 Ghz and 512mb ram) and averything is solved soooooooo upgrade your router first i think you will see the difference :) great video it helped my find my issue
I make it a priority to connect all of my tvs (I have 3) with ethernet so they're not in contention with the wireless devices. I have the house wired with cat 6, so wired backhaul with 2+ T-Mobile cellspots converted to RT-68u. Debating whether I need to upgrade.
I don't know, man. I see some high CPU and RAM load on my RT-AC68U, but I haven't noticed any performance hit. I just tried simultaneously streaming 4K 60 FPS RUclips (WAN, LAN), while my daughter watches 1080p RUclips Kids (5GHz wifi, WAN), while I stream a 1080p movie off of the HDD NAS via the router's FTP server over the router's OpenVPN (5GHz wifi, USB3, WAN), while uploading a 10GiB file from my PC to the FTP NAS (LAN, USB 3), while playing Minecraft over the internet on my local Minecraft servers (LAN, WAN). - No noticeable lag and zero frame drops, but then I'm not using QoS, nor some of the other Asus online router services. The bottleneck must be having a lot of wi-fi clients and/or running a lot of the third party router services. 🤷♂ I ordered the RT-AX86U as well anyway though, since I want a wireless bridge to the dungeon for my vintage computers to connect up to.
@Behfor i bought an RT-AX56U, and I'm planning on creating a mesh network, should I go for another AX or it could work fine with a AC? (I dont have yet many wifi 6 devices, but you know its going to happen anytime soon). BTW I love your videos!
Hi, really enjoying your videos. You put a lot of effort. On the other side, may I ask you a question? Basically, I have an old router (Not ASUS) as my Primary, And I recently bought ASUS RT-AC86U (Not 68), and I have it as my secondary router. Basically I’m using it’s repeater mode option and connect to my primary router. Everything works fine, but my problem is, I can’t connect more than 4 or 5 devices to my Asus at once... every time I find myself restarting my internet. I recently installed Merlin, and was wondering if there’s any option to fix this issue when in repeater mode?
Hey guys - wondering if anyone can help - just purchased the AC68 really like it but having problems with the WiFi - I run speed test and I get 300 down and 75 up which is my connection - on the WiFi the speed alters quite a lot even when close to the router and sometimes I have had no internet on WiFi but wired is ok - I have to turn off the router leave it for a few mins then turn it back on again and then it usually works ok with full speed on WiFi - not sure if there is a setting wrong but I would of thought it would work straight out of the box once the router was configured to access the internet through your isp - I tried turning on and off different settings like the QoS - hope you can point me in the right direction as I’m ready to send it back
I have put all file management stuff on two separate NASes, don't use the print server, AI protection, QoS or guest network. I do however run Skynet. This works very well for me - none of the CPUs are over 1--2%. Maybe you can get some more life out of your AC68U by removing some of the heavy load from the router?
Salaam @Behfor. Would migrating your RT-AC68U to DD-WRT have made the router perform with less load do you think in this scenario? I have been using the tm-ac1900 on the merlin firmware for last 3 years and it does not give any issues for my home wifi needs. However, I cannot update the firmware beyond v384.5 due to it being the tm-ac1900. Thanks to your channel, I am now considering changing to dd-wrt which I used to run on my old WRT54G back in the stone age.
You may want to watch these 2 videos where I tested the AiMesh system: ruclips.net/video/qusVMXQC9zU/видео.html ruclips.net/video/5sagIw6_ofE/видео.html
My Asus RT-AC68 router is unable to handle 2-3 IP cameras. I notice if I connect the cameras to the Asus, the video feed is clunky and not smooth...but if I connect the cameras to my ISP modem, the video is very smooth... I think the Asus is unable to handle them for some reason.
I discovered your channel yesterday from your reviews and guides on the TP-Link Archer A7, and I ordered it on Amazon for about $45 a few days ago. It hasn't arrived yet, but I'm really interested in what suggestions you give on the video!
These things are fine as access points, not as a router or server. For routing it is zillions times better to use mikrotik or even openwrt device. For other tasks just get yourself an RPi/NUC or such. That's it. And that 68U could serve you another 10 years as AP with no questions.
For most people the 68u is all you need. I've had none of those issues. But I'm not trying to use its USB ports for a hard drive. That is best done elsewhere. Don't try to turn a router into a PC and you will be fine. Just use it for routing. I've got 25 wired connections on mine and the cpu use is hardly any. Never maxed out like this video. And I transfer 30 GB each day off it.
@@Physics072 the problem with these "routers" is that Asus can stop ship firmware any day. I do have RT-N66U that is fine hardware-wise for routing but no software updates for last 2 years. And you can't really use it as a router anymore because of absence of security fixes. Same will happen with your AC68U soon. But won't happen with my RB4011 for example. And second is very limited toolkit of Asus'es. You can't just go and change your firewall rules. Or use VLAN's. Or add wireguard/zerotier support or zillions of other functions. That's not fun. I still use Asus "routers" as access points and they serve wireless fine but will get rid of them over time for sure.
@@D9ID9I Yea the N66u was a great one. You can still get updates for it just not via merlin or asus. I have 86u and 68u still being updated years later. Use Merlin on both no issues.
@@D9ID9I I have not found a need for other features. VPN and basic routing is all I need. I find the software very intuitive no reading directions needed. EZ.
My friend,I like your videos, they are very clear. I have a question, is it possible to use aimesh with an ac68u and a "tm1900" (fw ac68u). Regards Mi casa es tu casa.
Any recommendations for a wifi 6 with a vpn option? Also, is it worth buying the AC66U ? Asking because it's now $85 on black Friday. Thank you all in advance!
I tried to upgrade to ac86u and ax58u. they both sucked. they don't handle more devices, even with wifi 6 devices. same goes for aimesh which is extremely unstable and doesn't help the dhcp server. They were not an upgrade . The only real upgrade at this point seems to be building a real router and buying a wap like a unifi device. I'd be interested to see what your experience is. Because at this point I'm wondering if you are not simply shilling lol. I ended up sticking with my ac66u_b1 which still works fine besides slightly lower 5ghz range. I will uise it until the wifi bands totally start dropping connnections. I have only had mine for 2 and half years though. You might just be better off replacing yours and then test it. ;)
Thanks for sharing your experience. I agree using a router is definitely gonna help. I really wanna have WiFi 6, so based on that I'll have to test many different scenarios . thanks :-)
Too funny, I actually realized the same thing on my network with 4 people at home all trying to use video ... ended up with the AX88U, so I could use AiMesh
Well, the issue could be 1-the router. 2- the node. 3- the connection between them, so it doesn't necessarily mean that the router is to blame before a thorough troubleshooting has been done! Thanks.
You may be better served with a X86 mini-itx PC, around 100 USD, with opnsense doing the hardwork, letting the 2 AP AC68U just as "dump access points". Or even cheaper, a NanoPI R2S/RPI 4B with Openwrt instead of an industrial opnsense firewall/IPS/IDS option.
Your videos are good and informative and give you other avenues to look at if you are having issues... Keep Up with The Good Work.!!!! ..... Now I noticed a few things on your router... I need to bring to your attention... Your Firmware is 384.19 ( it's so old Asus don't even have it in their archives and That's going back to Summer of 2018 or You are using Asuswrt Merlin and their up to 386.2 ), try to update the firmware to current version 386.4.... And how many guests do you have on your network and What's on your USB... could be any one of those hogging up your resources and your CPU usage... Me... I make bet, it's the USB and Firmware ..... Great Video
Thanks so much for watching the videos and attention to details. Regarding the old firmware I should mention that when I made that video, that was the most recent Auswrt-Merlin firmware for my router and the 386.1 version came out in Jan 2021! You can check it in the link below sourceforge.net/projects/asuswrt-merlin/files/RT-AC68U/Release/ Thanks again and have a great day :-)
Great information thanks, does that mean it is not viable to purchase this particular Asus router? Reason being I am wondering which Asus router to buy the Asus RT-AC 68 U or the RT-AC 87U both of these routers have been recommended by Express VPN as they are comparable with there firmware, after watch this video now I am uncertain which one to buy, can you advise please... TIA regards Christine Jones
Thanks Chris, the AC68U in my opinion is a great router, it's just not powerful enough for my home network anymore! Let me put it this way, I think of the AC68U like a Toyota Corolla which is an amazing car, very durable and a great choice for my every day commutes! However, if I change my job and become a handyman for example, then I'd better replace the corolla with a truck so I can carry my tools and stuff easier! I am personally at a point that I need a truck to handle my busy home network, and that's why I'm gonna have to replace my wireless router. The AC68U in my opinion is still a great choice for many people, and as long as they do not have a very busy and advanced home network! I hope that can help. Thanks.
Thanks for getting back to me, I am still thinking about which router to buy, I have a list from Express VPN to advise me on the fastest routers that Express VPN firmware can be downloaded but some of them can be be very expensive like the Linksys AC3200, I have found a ASus Rt-AC87U priced at €89.90 on Ebay ES which I think is a great price, it is a brand new one but it is red in colour Mmm not sure on the colour , though the price is good, Do you know if the AC 87U covers dual broad band Fiber optics 2.5/ 5 ? I have my Wifi set on 5 for a better speed connection to my Smart TV , thanks again Chris Jones
Hi. A hard reset MIGHT fix your router... might not... even reboot might help. If you thinking about AC86U you have to know its WIFI is WEAKER than on Netgear R7000 by around 10dB. 86U does EASILY 200Mb over 256bit OpenVPN but Wifi is weak. I run nearly all features and OpenVPN, AMTM scripts and is ROCK solid... All above - from my own experience/tests not from YT...
Oh man good luck with finding a better router. I have a RT-AC68U (former tmobile) and wifi was spotty on one side of the apt so I wanted to find a router that can service the whole apt without repeaters or mesh. It serves 20+ clients mostly cameras, and wall swithces plugs, google hubs computers TVs phones etc. tested: Speededy AC2100. Fantastic coverage after having been spoiled with the asus features this is a joke. NETGEAR - Nighthawk AX5400 For some reason didn't work with my webpass WAN connection D-Link WiFi 6 Router AX4800 This one didn't work with the WAN either Another RT-AC68U for mesh A lot of disconnections, I will try again. TP-LINK Deco M3 Great coverage but changing settings is a joke and it basically as no features. Asus AX3000 3 core CPU 2x memory of the ac68U , same coverage as the RT-AC68U but together in mesh they work great. Probably two of this would work wonders for your traffic or if you need more you might need to look for a tri-band. In the process I learned a few important things The router needs to be higher to have better coverage, no way around it. Once you get used to the ASUS/Merlin DDWRT GUI and features is very difficult to get sed to a router with little or no features. Asus standard firmware is pretty good. When AIMesh works and is well tuned is phenomenal. I look forward to the outcome of your tests.
“The router needs to be higher” a good solution. But not always possible. I added an access point to my router. Better coverage and the router get less workload.
@@IvanDoroshenko7 Text from Wkipedia “pfSense is an open source firewall/router computer software distribution based on FreeBSD. It is installed on a physical computer or a virtual machine to make a dedicated firewall/router for a network. It can be configured and upgraded through a web-based interface, and requires no knowledge of the underlying FreeBSD system to manage”
This seems like the only reasonable upgrade. Because if this guy is legit and not just shilling he will realize any of these consumer routers will not be enough for what he wants. I tried out the ac86u and ax58 to upgrade my ac66u and not only are the newer routers so unstable, they don't handle more devices like the marketing claims. All they have is better 5ghz wifi but are actually a downgrade in everything else including reliability and stability. AImesh is also a joke even with wired backhaul. Doesn't help the dhcp server and is totally unstable. They only now finally allowed guest networks to work with it as of a week or two ago and its a buggy mess. Pfsense and a wap for sure. Its the only option. I plan on doing exactly this with a uac lr ap eventually. I have an old i5 pc for pfesense and raspberry pi for a unifi controller. Its crazy how these consumer routers are failing by the waist side since the avg household is going to have 50 iot devices in their homes soon. So many horror stories with the ax88u and ax86u. I would avoid them.
Sounds like a bad, buggy firmware version, like Asus is notorious for. Most users should try and roll back to previous version and save their money. Do use the official FW and not Merlin if you are running Aimesh, tho. Merlin will have benefits only if you are using it as main router. And yes, you can mix Merlin on main and AsusWRT (official) on nodes, including repeaters and bridge mode.
![Faulty ASUS Gaming Router [RT-AC86U] | Can I FIX It?](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pNDlRE5wuFY/mqdefault.jpg)
![5 Reasons why I prefer ASUSWRT-Merlin to ASUSWRT Firmware [RT-AC68U]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XykUML3T2VA/mqdefault.jpg)
![Asus AiMesh 2.0 [Whole Home WiFi System]](/img/1.gif)
Oh no! May it rest in router heaven.
Thanks for everything. I never knew one person had so much stuff to say about the AC68U
Happy to help! Thanks for watching :-)
Mine is still kicking after 7 years.
I haven't seen anything like it. 24/7 downloading torrents with a 4TB HDD & Media Server is always ON. It's a beast feeding 8-10 clients like a rock on a single flat. No issues, nothing, nada !
RT-AC68U is a f*cking stability king. Though I'm not using all the optional "things" (QoS, Traffic Analyzer, Ai Protection etc.) as most of them is not needed at all. So, lowering my CPU/RAM usage.
RT-AC68U is the best Price/Performance router that you can get for lower client networks.
Love your channel & thanks for sharing detailed info about networking.
This video is incredible. Great animations. Very interesting educational content.
Glad you liked it! Thanks 👍🙂
Like you I retired an older ASUS router. Though I retired a RT-AC66R that i had when it was the fastest router avaliable and few AC routers were out. I had run merlin for years even after merlin ceased updates. One day it just died. I fell back on the older DLINK DIR-825 that I had held onto for backup while I shopped. Like you I went with ASUS again and settled on the RT-AX86U. I immediately istalled Merlin. Loving it.
I'm planning on getting Netgear's RBK753S Orbi today on sale at Costco. Triband with wifi-6 backhaul. I can't wait any longer to find out what you're going to get but really respect your opinions. I have been using an RT-AC68U router with two Bluecave nodes for a year. Prior to AI Mesh, I had the 68U for years.
Your channel is highly informative and fun. Keep it up!
I have loved my RT-AC68U for years because of you, and I just recently purchased an RT-AX3000 (still sitting in the box next to me) from a Black Friday sale. Thinking that maybe I want to wait and see what you decide putting in the word of completely redoing my network. Hardware-wise, the AX3000 seemed like a good upgrade, and I also loved the fact that it supports Merlin firmware.
I was having similar issues with my Asus RT-68U after we upgraded to fiber with 250Mbps symmetrical.
It was just too much for the router to be able to handle and process all the tasks and traffic.
My solution:
1x Small box computer w 2x LAN ports running OPNSense as the firewall, NAT, DHCP, etc, that goes into a managed $30 TP-Link 8 Port gigabit switch. That connects to my ac-68u router setup as a WiFi access point only.
Works like a charm. Essentially I offloaded its responsibilities as the firewall and server and multi-port switch
That's great!! Thanks for sharing 👍🏻
I've had my RT-AC68U for like 8 years. It's still amazing. That being said my wireless usage isn't huge.
I have also been using two Asus RT-AC68U routers but with a wired backhaul (AiMesh) for almost as many years as you, and have recently been thinking of upgrading the routers because I have found that the wireless and mesh performance hasn't been as good and reliable as I hoped. So I really look forward to your next video and finding out what you eventually upgrade to!
PS. I really enjoy your channel - you have a unique presentation style which is very easy to understand, and I like the humour you also bring into your videos. Keep it up!
Could you kindly expand on what Aimesh hasn't achieved for you...
I'm considering purchasing second ac86u to pair with my current one, by doing so extending the WiFi and have a single SSID.
Thx.
@@manc4806 Two main issues:
1. The handover between routers for my iPad isn't very good. What I find is that when I move from one router to another, the iPad doesn't find the other Wi-Fi's router easily, and tends to get fixated on the previous one, unless I leave the iPad near the other router for a long time. Even if I try to switch off WiFi and reassociate with the SSID, it still has issues. I think this is more likely a problem with the way Apple implements WiFi on the device, causing some incompatibility.
2. Sometimes my phone can't find the other router when I move from one to the other. It's a high end Samsung Android phone from this year and shouldn't have any issue, but for some reason it does.
You mentioned in your comment that you are thinking of getting an RT-AC86U as a second. It might work better than the RT-AC68U I am using (note the difference in model number), as it is a newer router. Right now I'm considering upgrading to a WiFi 6 router (probably still Asus), which I heard has more stable performance and probably better mesh stability. But I'm curious to see what Behfor ends up with.
@@anobservr Thank you for your reply 😀.
Yes sorry I have a RT-AC86U which as you say is a newer model, I've had great success with hence choosing to get another, still going to pursue another fingers crossed one comes up during Black Friday
I'm hoping I don't run into similar issues as yourself, wish me luck ☺️
@@manc4806 Good luck! Would be interested to know how it goes.
I too have two identical ac68u routers and for a time I was using AI mesh with a wired backhaul but I found it to be unreliable and I noticed that the Wi-Fi networks on both routers were the exact same channel so they were fighting and competing with each other for the same airspace. I did not like that and went to a different set up with two separate ssids and now I have an open sense firewall box on a small computer with two ports and I have a separate managed 8-port gigabit switch in between them all so now the routers are only access points so I'm offloaded a lot of the processing to other switches and firewall devices and it's much smoother and faster now.
I just do not mess with aimesh anymore
I have an RT-AX88u and its amazing. You should take a look at it. By the way love the channel and I think you have an excellent on screen presence. I can really see this channel taking off.
are you running as many high demanding things with all features turned on like this guy? lol
@@cooloutac 3 smart locks, 8 smart bulbs, 5 google hubs, 2 cells, 2 laptops, tvs, printer.
That's definitely on the list, cheers.
I just promoted my ac68u into an Ai mesh and upgraded to ac3100 as my main router! Great info!
I second everything Leonard C says, my situation is very similar and I am noticing some devices have connectivity issues (new computer, iPhone). Main computers are wired. Turned on the security options per your other video. I have not installed DD-WRT, so I can not see the CPU usage. Running three AC68 routers, two wired as access points, no AIMesh yet. I switched the main router to see if one of the other ones is more stable. Hoping to hold out for wifi 6"e" router to get the 6GHz bands, but will be watching your next video. ....Also agree that your videos are easy to understand and delve into details that I find very necessary to make similar decisions. Router pricing is getting a bit crazy, so looked at TPLink, but from your other video AIMesh has better features. -Thanks!
I also have this Asus router and it's great, have had it for a few years now and I run Merlin FW on it. I am not overloading the router with too many tasks, so it's fine for my purposes. Might be interested in upgrading to WiFi 6 capable router in a while though. Thanks for the video.
You're very welcome 🙂 yeah if ain't broken don't touch it I guess 😁👍
you can built your own router like a pc replace the wireless extend usb/LAN ports and use a upgradable x86 or diferent soc boards(ARM)
Can you tell me how to transport iptv protocol data wirelessly from asus router/modem to another asus router (ap or repeated mode) which is connected to IPTV STB with ethernet cable ? I can only connect to IPTV via LAN with cable now.
Still running my RT-68U but noticed Asus has an AX 68U on the site for $60. Anyone tried this model yet? There doesn't seem to be many reviews of it.
Just stumbled across your channel. My DSL-AC68U also the best modem/router I have ever had! Excited to see what tweaks you have made to your router to this point and looking forward to see where you go from here!
Awesome, thank you!
I’m at nearly 8 years of use on mine. Only reason I’d consider replacing is to get more coverage toward the front of my house. Luckily the smart home stuff uses 2.4 so coverage is great for that purpose.
Wow 8 years is great! Thanks for sharing 👍
I've had mine for similar time. 4 years ago I bought another one second hand on eBay really cheap, set it up as AIMesh with WIFI backhaul and stuck it up in my ceiling near a power point. It's worked brilliantly all that time and extends coverage all over our propertly. Brilliant router.
I have two of this router (the og RT-AC1900P) and I'm glad for the continual support this router receives from ASUS. The second router is the AiMesh Node. No other router came close to the feature set this router has at the price point. Although it does suffer it bit from my Fios connection. I can't get the full gigabit WAN. Many forums recommended to turn off QOS but it slowed my connection further. I take the CPU might have hit its limit on what it can do. I look forward to upgrade to a new Asus router and make my main router another node.
Hi Behfor, long time. I think it was thank to you I got my hands on a T-Mobile RT-AC68U and installed DD-WRT and use my older RT as Bridge on the living room. Thanks God my CPU max is just only around 20% and the MEM on 50%. Don't tell me that I have to get a new one!!! :D
I offload all the routing/VPN work to a pfSense box and use my 2 AC68Us in AP mode with AI-mesh enabled. This setup works great even when routing a gigabit connection. The CPU usage on the APs now never exceeds 20%.
I've been having problems with my RT-AC68U too. DHCP errors, I've factory reset and changed the toggleable DHCP options in the setup and copied the Mac address (basically every fix I could find). I've been thinking about booting custom firmware on it but I've also had the slow setup menu problems as-well, so I'm not sure if it's entirely a software issue or if it's a combination of both hardware and software. It was working a couple of days ago before I went to bed but when I got up I got the errors and couldn't connect to the internet through the router, wired and wireless. So, does anyone know what's going on here? I'm going to attempt DD-WRT and see if that helps, but again not sure if entirely software as every time I factory reset the thing i would have to wait 30secs to a minute to select and enter every option (curser when typing was frozen too)
Love your videos, keep it up!!!
Thank you! Will do!
Hi Behfor. Have you got problem login asus router?
Suddenly my router can't login. First I try unplug cable power after that i can login to router but only work for 2 minutes. So i can't configure it. Second I've already reset factory, but it didn't work.
If there any solution? Thx
thanks for this video. super informative. i have a similar setup (2x ac68u) and am noticing that device handover is pretty poor with aimesh. similar issues as the video -- webpages don't load until the wifi resolves itself. i checked loads and cpu is under 10% and RAM usage is low. any idea how i can improve my setup?
My Asus RT-AC68U is 5 years and working strong. I only have 3 devices on wired and 2 on wireless.
It's a great device, no doubt, it's me asking it to do too much! :)) Thanks
@@Behfor Yep, what router are u getting next?
Hello, I just bought this router. I use it behind the ZTE F660 with a fiber optic subscription. I have the problem of losing packets when playing either in ethernet or in wifi. do you have any idea where the problem might be. Thank you
Hi you should first find out if it's the internet connection or your local network causing this, and then you can troubleshoot further!
As it was mentioned in this video you can connect your computer directly to modem and then test to find the answer to that question. Thanks.
wow i had the same problem with my dlink dwr953 ac750
it has (one core at 580 Mhz and 128mb ram)and after only 3 years we had a lot of drop outs and my speed went down by 10 times and only one client could work.
i checked avery thing but nothing was going on and i changed my router to xiaomi ax3600 (in has 4 cores at 1.4 Ghz and 512mb ram) and averything is solved
soooooooo upgrade your router first i think you will see the difference :)
great video it helped my find my issue
Nooooo, you cant do that. Let me watch this video now.
I have to say thanks, as am doing fine with it, can still keep rocking it
Rock on! :-)
I make it a priority to connect all of my tvs (I have 3) with ethernet so they're not in contention with the wireless devices. I have the house wired with cat 6, so wired backhaul with 2+ T-Mobile cellspots converted to RT-68u. Debating whether I need to upgrade.
I don't know, man. I see some high CPU and RAM load on my RT-AC68U, but I haven't noticed any performance hit. I just tried simultaneously streaming 4K 60 FPS RUclips (WAN, LAN), while my daughter watches 1080p RUclips Kids (5GHz wifi, WAN), while I stream a 1080p movie off of the HDD NAS via the router's FTP server over the router's OpenVPN (5GHz wifi, USB3, WAN), while uploading a 10GiB file from my PC to the FTP NAS (LAN, USB 3), while playing Minecraft over the internet on my local Minecraft servers (LAN, WAN). - No noticeable lag and zero frame drops, but then I'm not using QoS, nor some of the other Asus online router services. The bottleneck must be having a lot of wi-fi clients and/or running a lot of the third party router services. 🤷♂
I ordered the RT-AX86U as well anyway though, since I want a wireless bridge to the dungeon for my vintage computers to connect up to.
@Behfor i bought an RT-AX56U, and I'm planning on creating a mesh network, should I go for another AX or it could work fine with a AC? (I dont have yet many wifi 6 devices, but you know its going to happen anytime soon). BTW I love your videos!
Hi, really enjoying your videos. You put a lot of effort.
On the other side, may I ask you a question?
Basically, I have an old router (Not ASUS) as my Primary,
And I recently bought ASUS RT-AC86U (Not 68), and I have it as my secondary router. Basically I’m using it’s repeater mode option and connect to my primary router.
Everything works fine, but my problem is, I can’t connect more than 4 or 5 devices to my Asus at once... every time I find myself restarting my internet.
I recently installed Merlin, and was wondering if there’s any option to fix this issue when in repeater mode?
Hey guys - wondering if anyone can help - just purchased the AC68 really like it but having problems with the WiFi - I run speed test and I get 300 down and 75 up which is my connection - on the WiFi the speed alters quite a lot even when close to the router and sometimes I have had no internet on WiFi but wired is ok - I have to turn off the router leave it for a few mins then turn it back on again and then it usually works ok with full speed on WiFi - not sure if there is a setting wrong but I would of thought it would work straight out of the box once the router was configured to access the internet through your isp - I tried turning on and off different settings like the QoS - hope you can point me in the right direction as I’m ready to send it back
I just got the RT-AX68U. Would love to hear your thoughts on it
I bought this, superb. Very solid throughput.
I have put all file management stuff on two separate NASes, don't use the print server, AI protection, QoS or guest network. I do however run Skynet. This works very well for me - none of the CPUs are over 1--2%. Maybe you can get some more life out of your AC68U by removing some of the heavy load from the router?
Salaam @Behfor. Would migrating your RT-AC68U to DD-WRT have made the router perform with less load do you think in this scenario?
I have been using the tm-ac1900 on the merlin firmware for last 3 years and it does not give any issues for my home wifi needs. However, I cannot update the firmware beyond v384.5 due to it being the tm-ac1900.
Thanks to your channel, I am now considering changing to dd-wrt which I used to run on my old WRT54G back in the stone age.
I have this router still, it doesnt have wpa3. Should i buy a newer one? Or is wpa2 still good enough?
Does the AiMesh function works ok in this router???
From Brazil, thank u.
Hi, it does for me, thanks.
What's the maximum speed do you get in 5ghz???
I'm pretending to contract an ISP plan of 600MB...
You may want to watch these 2 videos where I tested the AiMesh system:
ruclips.net/video/qusVMXQC9zU/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/5sagIw6_ofE/видео.html
@@Behfor For sure I'll watch it... thanks
My Asus RT-AC68 router is unable to handle 2-3 IP cameras. I notice if I connect the cameras to the Asus, the video feed is clunky and not smooth...but if I connect the cameras to my ISP modem, the video is very smooth... I think the Asus is unable to handle them for some reason.
I discovered your channel yesterday from your reviews and guides on the TP-Link Archer A7, and I ordered it on Amazon for about $45 a few days ago. It hasn't arrived yet, but I'm really interested in what suggestions you give on the video!
That's not the fastest or most powerful wireless router in the world but definitely a good value for money device and I like it :-)
@@Behfor It is exceeding my expectations! Thank you for your videos on the router. They are very helpful :D
These things are fine as access points, not as a router or server. For routing it is zillions times better to use mikrotik or even openwrt device. For other tasks just get yourself an RPi/NUC or such. That's it. And that 68U could serve you another 10 years as AP with no questions.
For most people the 68u is all you need. I've had none of those issues. But I'm not trying to use its USB ports for a hard drive. That is best done elsewhere. Don't try to turn a router into a PC and you will be fine. Just use it for routing. I've got 25 wired connections on mine and the cpu use is hardly any. Never maxed out like this video. And I transfer 30 GB each day off it.
@@Physics072 the problem with these "routers" is that Asus can stop ship firmware any day. I do have RT-N66U that is fine hardware-wise for routing but no software updates for last 2 years. And you can't really use it as a router anymore because of absence of security fixes. Same will happen with your AC68U soon. But won't happen with my RB4011 for example. And second is very limited toolkit of Asus'es. You can't just go and change your firewall rules. Or use VLAN's. Or add wireguard/zerotier support or zillions of other functions. That's not fun. I still use Asus "routers" as access points and they serve wireless fine but will get rid of them over time for sure.
@@D9ID9I Yea the N66u was a great one. You can still get updates for it just not via merlin or asus. I have 86u and 68u still being updated years later. Use Merlin on both no issues.
@@D9ID9I I have not found a need for other features. VPN and basic routing is all I need. I find the software very intuitive no reading directions needed. EZ.
@@Physics072 there is no openwrt for n66u, no official, no marlin, no tomato. What updates are you talking about?
My friend,I like your videos, they are very clear. I have a question, is it possible to use aimesh with an ac68u and a "tm1900" (fw ac68u).
Regards
Mi casa es tu casa.
Yes, but as long as the TM1900 is successfully converted to an AC68U, which might be a somewhat tricky process though!
so if someone doesn't have as many clients as you....rt-ac68u is still a beast router to own right?
Definitely, mine is still kicking after 7 years.
RT-AC68U is the best Price/Performance router that you can get for lower client networks.
Any recommendations for a wifi 6 with a vpn option? Also, is it worth buying the AC66U ? Asking because it's now $85 on black Friday. Thank you all in advance!
Will the retierd RT-AC68U function well as a aiMesh node, if you buy a new Asus router? Or will it drag the network down in performance?
I got the new Asus RT-AX68U. It's a direct replacement for what you have.
Yep, 1Gb ram, quad core cpu and, most importantly, Merlin FW support!
@@NirreFirre where did you see this? Asus website states 512MB RAM and 1.8Ghz dual core CPU.
@@Francoisdp82 that's for the ac model
What's the cm length of the base on the bottom?
I tried to upgrade to ac86u and ax58u. they both sucked. they don't handle more devices, even with wifi 6 devices. same goes for aimesh which is extremely unstable and doesn't help the dhcp server. They were not an upgrade . The only real upgrade at this point seems to be building a real router and buying a wap like a unifi device. I'd be interested to see what your experience is. Because at this point I'm wondering if you are not simply shilling lol.
I ended up sticking with my ac66u_b1 which still works fine besides slightly lower 5ghz range. I will uise it until the wifi bands totally start dropping connnections. I have only had mine for 2 and half years though. You might just be better off replacing yours and then test it. ;)
Thanks for sharing your experience. I agree using a router is definitely gonna help. I really wanna have WiFi 6, so based on that I'll have to test many different scenarios . thanks :-)
@@Behfor I think you should wait for wifi 6e routers. ax is the beta testers stage.
Too funny, I actually realized the same thing on my network with 4 people at home all trying to use video ... ended up with the AX88U, so I could use AiMesh
Did you get a new router?
My RT-68U keeps dropping the node . How is it the best AC router then?
Well, the issue could be 1-the router. 2- the node. 3- the connection between them, so it doesn't necessarily mean that the router is to blame before a thorough troubleshooting has been done! Thanks.
So what did you end up getting?
At least Black Friday is around the corner so maybe you can find a good deal! I'd really like to see what you could do with a newer model as well!
Yes, you're right, thanks :-)
Over heating?
CPU temperature is around 80 c, so maybe a little bit but not that crazy
@@Behfor agree, that's not stupid hot.
Is there a way to single out the process using all the CPU I wonder...
still waiting for the new one 😊
Thanks and sorry for the delay 😔
@@Behfor No problem :)
If you could choose between RT-AX58U vs RT-AX82U witch one you would take? (Price don't matter)
You may be better served with a X86 mini-itx PC, around 100 USD, with opnsense doing the hardwork, letting the 2 AP AC68U just as "dump access points".
Or even cheaper, a NanoPI R2S/RPI 4B with Openwrt instead of an industrial opnsense firewall/IPS/IDS option.
Maybe you should consider Unifi Security Gateway or Mikrotik. Your Asus router only function as AP. Or you want to upgrade to Unifi AP. Just a thought
Hmmm I faced same problem and made AC68U just a client of AiMesh based on AX86U
Maybe buy a dedidate NAS to offload the network file access from this router to reduce CPU pressure.
Would recommend a nas, it is specially made for the task. Attaching a drive to your router takes a big amount of memory.
Your videos are good and informative and give you other avenues to look at if you are having issues... Keep Up with The Good Work.!!!! ..... Now I noticed a few things on your router... I need to bring to your attention... Your Firmware is 384.19 ( it's so old Asus don't even have it in their archives and That's going back to Summer of 2018 or You are using Asuswrt Merlin and their up to 386.2 ), try to update the firmware to current version 386.4.... And how many guests do you have on your network and What's on your USB... could be any one of those hogging up your resources and your CPU usage... Me... I make bet, it's the USB and Firmware ..... Great Video
Thanks so much for watching the videos and attention to details.
Regarding the old firmware I should mention that when I made that video, that was the most recent Auswrt-Merlin firmware for my router and the 386.1 version came out in Jan 2021! You can check it in the link below
sourceforge.net/projects/asuswrt-merlin/files/RT-AC68U/Release/
Thanks again and have a great day :-)
@@Behfor Did it Help updating
The beta of aimesh 2 supports the ac68 u
we are still waiting man for your choice
will you buy AX86u?
That's on the list
Great information thanks, does that mean it is not viable to purchase this particular Asus router? Reason being I am wondering which Asus router to buy the Asus RT-AC 68 U or the RT-AC 87U both of these routers have been recommended by Express VPN as they are comparable with there firmware, after watch this video now I am uncertain which one to buy, can you advise please... TIA regards Christine Jones
Thanks Chris, the AC68U in my opinion is a great router, it's just not powerful enough for my home network anymore! Let me put it this way, I think of the AC68U like a Toyota Corolla which is an amazing car, very durable and a great choice for my every day commutes! However, if I change my job and become a handyman for example, then I'd better replace the corolla with a truck so I can carry my tools and stuff easier! I am personally at a point that I need a truck to handle my busy home network, and that's why I'm gonna have to replace my wireless router. The AC68U in my opinion is still a great choice for many people, and as long as they do not have a very busy and advanced home network! I hope that can help. Thanks.
Thanks for getting back to me, I am still thinking about which router to buy, I have a list from Express VPN to advise me on the fastest routers that Express VPN firmware can be downloaded but some of them can be be very expensive like the Linksys AC3200, I have found a ASus Rt-AC87U priced at €89.90 on Ebay ES which I think is a great price, it is a brand new one but it is red in colour Mmm not sure on the colour , though the price is good, Do you know if the AC 87U covers dual broad band Fiber optics 2.5/ 5 ? I have my Wifi set on 5 for a better speed connection to my Smart TV , thanks again Chris Jones
I'm replacing mine once Asus release WiFi 7 versions of the ET12 Zenwifi
we want to see the follow-up to this video !
you are a great man I wish freedom to Iran people (Syrian frind)
I treat my RT-AC68U as a modem to Nest WiFi router. It downgraded long time ago 😆
Hi. A hard reset MIGHT fix your router... might not... even reboot might help. If you thinking about AC86U you have to know its WIFI is WEAKER than on Netgear R7000 by around 10dB. 86U does EASILY 200Mb over 256bit OpenVPN but Wifi is weak. I run nearly all features and OpenVPN, AMTM scripts and is ROCK solid... All above - from my own experience/tests not from YT...
Hi and thanks for sharing your experience :-)
There will be a new version of this router, RT-AX68U. It will be a no-brainer replacement
Oh man good luck with finding a better router.
I have a RT-AC68U (former tmobile) and wifi was spotty on one side of the apt so I wanted to find a router that can service the whole apt without repeaters or mesh. It serves 20+ clients mostly cameras, and wall swithces plugs, google hubs computers TVs phones etc.
tested:
Speededy AC2100. Fantastic coverage after having been spoiled with the asus features this is a joke.
NETGEAR - Nighthawk AX5400 For some reason didn't work with my webpass WAN connection
D-Link WiFi 6 Router AX4800 This one didn't work with the WAN either
Another RT-AC68U for mesh A lot of disconnections, I will try again.
TP-LINK Deco M3 Great coverage but changing settings is a joke and it basically as no features.
Asus AX3000 3 core CPU 2x memory of the ac68U , same coverage as the RT-AC68U but together in mesh they work great. Probably two of this would work wonders for your traffic or if you need more you might need to look for a tri-band.
In the process I learned a few important things
The router needs to be higher to have better coverage, no way around it.
Once you get used to the ASUS/Merlin DDWRT GUI and features is very difficult to get sed to a router with little or no features.
Asus standard firmware is pretty good.
When AIMesh works and is well tuned is phenomenal.
I look forward to the outcome of your tests.
“The router needs to be higher” a good solution. But not always possible. I added an access point to my router. Better coverage and the router get less workload.
PFSense for “everything” and the wifi/AP part on your Asus and problem solved 😉
What is it?
@@IvanDoroshenko7 Text from Wkipedia “pfSense is an open source firewall/router computer software distribution based on FreeBSD. It is installed on a physical computer or a virtual machine to make a dedicated firewall/router for a network. It can be configured and upgraded through a web-based interface, and requires no knowledge of the underlying FreeBSD system to manage”
This seems like the only reasonable upgrade. Because if this guy is legit and not just shilling he will realize any of these consumer routers will not be enough for what he wants. I tried out the ac86u and ax58 to upgrade my ac66u and not only are the newer routers so unstable, they don't handle more devices like the marketing claims. All they have is better 5ghz wifi but are actually a downgrade in everything else including reliability and stability. AImesh is also a joke even with wired backhaul. Doesn't help the dhcp server and is totally unstable. They only now finally allowed guest networks to work with it as of a week or two ago and its a buggy mess.
Pfsense and a wap for sure. Its the only option. I plan on doing exactly this with a uac lr ap eventually. I have an old i5 pc for pfesense and raspberry pi for a unifi controller. Its crazy how these consumer routers are failing by the waist side since the avg household is going to have 50 iot devices in their homes soon. So many horror stories with the ax88u and ax86u. I would avoid them.
50 euros they are good routers or for 100 euros
Sounds like a bad, buggy firmware version, like Asus is notorious for. Most users should try and roll back to previous version and save their money. Do use the official FW and not Merlin if you are running Aimesh, tho. Merlin will have benefits only if you are using it as main router. And yes, you can mix Merlin on main and AsusWRT (official) on nodes, including repeaters and bridge mode.
Now is time to tplink mesh
Goos luck!
i think he bought a ASUS RT-AX86U?
Hehe witty as always 👍
Just disconnect all the hard drives from the router, problem solved.