Bought my ASUS RT-AC68U back in July 2014, still using it today running Merlin firmware. It has over 20 devices connected to it at any one time running my fully smart home. Possibly the best tech purchase I have ever made, there are not too many things that will last nearly 6 years, still operate perfectly, and have not been superseded by more advanced technology.
6 years & still going strong! One of the best tech purchases I've ever made. This router still trades blows with top level ac routers coming out today. Kudos to ASUS & the community for the excellent ongoing support on this hardware. 👌🏽
I bought mine mid-2014 and paid a mint for it but wanted to future proof my network. Here I am 9 years later still using it. I of course use custom merlin firmware, which I started using in 2021 and it brought an entirely new life to it. I consistently have 20 devices connected an no issues. I can actually say it's a better router today than it was in 2014, for many reasons.
I'm using this router for more than three years. I'm using OpenVPN server daily. It's so simple and good working! I have it connected to my ISP modem/router. It kicks ass! :) Thank you for your videos, they helped me to configure my router trough all these years. After 3 years i deicided i'll use DDNS for remote control. And it's working like a charm! :)
The Asus RT-AC68 is a great example of how consumer electronic devices should be designed and manufactured in an ideal world. Released in mid-2014, it remains an excellent value for money router that would serve the needs of an average sized home in 2020 (though admittedly, it is now starting to show its age). On some level, it is unbelievable that it is still on the market 6 years on for ~£120; and I bought mine in 2014 for £100! 6yrs is a looooooong time in the consumer electronics industry and for a device to still remain relevant with strong sales says a lot. This is all down to its excellent design, build quality and high performance components - a standout package that raised the bar for wireless networking choices in 2014. Combine that with Asus continuing to release firmware updates regularly and adding truly useful features along the way (like AiMesh), one can understand why choosing this router is a no-brainer. It probably also led to Asus gaining a strong, loyal fan-base when it comes to wi-fi routers - me being one obviously. Due to the great user experience with the RT-AC86U, I have subsequently purchased a RT-86U and most recently, the ZenWiFi XT8 mesh package. Asus deserves its success when it comes to wireless networking devices. No other rival manufacturer provides such exceptional long term support. Long may their approach and success continue.
@@DustyinBFE It was during a two week sale period when Asus dropped the prices on all their routers, encouraging as many people to upgrade their old routers as possible. It was indeed a great deal.
I've been in love, yes I said love, with this router since installing it in early 2014. It covers my 3300 SF home and even outside to the front driveway. There are a few spots of weak coverage down in my workshop, which is three floors below the location of the router. I'm expecting delivery of a second AC68U tomorrow so I can create a AiMesh network. This device is one of those items that the manufacturer went way overboard making a solid dependable unit that hit all the right points, something extremely rare in today's marketplace. And thanks for your videos on AiMesh, looks to an easy and worthwhile upgrade.
Wow you said it all. I 100% agree with you! Thank you so much for sharing your experience using this awesome device! I hope the manufacturers listen to us and try to make great devices like this in the future! Thanks again and good luck with your Aimesh System :-)
I bought my parents one 4 years ago. One year ago one the WAN port failed (I think due to lightning nearby) so I used failover to switch it to another port. About 2 weeks ago, it finally packed-up completely. The 2.4ghz light went out and it broadcasts wirelessly on 5g and 2.4g but will not actually allow anything to connect. It still works through the cable but what good is that. Considering it offered the failover and carried on for another year on half it's guts, I can't really complain.
I would try Asuswrt-Merlin firmware before retiring the router to see if that's going to fix any of those issues, in my case it did fix my 2.4GHz issue which was not being broadcast anymore.
I have this same router and it’s been running strong for 3 years so far. Absolutely love it. Using the Merlin firmware has made it that much better too.
Awesome! I'm glad to hear you had a similar experience with this wireless router. At some point I used the Merlin firmware too which was really good :-)
Behfor I’m hoping that I can figure out how to add my WiFi hotspot to this router since it’s my only form of internet in my area as of right now. I’m pretty sure I have it figured out and hoping to be operational tonight!
I'm glad to hear that you had ac68u 4 years! I had my for 3 years and still going strong with no problem at all! I'm now with bt router link to ac68u like a mesh and it work brilliant. It pick up 5g wifi all round my house with no dead end wifi! Keep up good work
Thank you so much ! It's really great to hear that others have similar experience with this wireless router :-) It is really a strong an reliable device! Hope to see more devices like this in the future! Thanks again!
Its been my main router since 2013. Never had a problem until today, it’s a tank! Recently got the Ac86U that was a nice upgrade but I still use the 68U as a AiMesh node and know I got full 5ghz signal throughout the whole house.
I just purchased not one, but two RT-AC1900P, which are this same router, but with a higher frequency CPU. Love it!!! I'll be setting up AiMesh tonight!
I have the RT-1750 B1 and RT-AC66U B1. They are both the same unit with the RT-AC66U having wall mounting holes on the case. I assumed the RT-AC68U was the same as the other two, but based on your video it has the following changes: - it stands upright and not flat. - it has a WIFI on/off button (which can be handy) - it has a "LED OFF" button to turn off all of the LEDs. (A feature I wish my cable modem had.) - faster CPU ?? In a follow-up video, you should talk about the buttons on the unit. Some units only have power and WPS button, while others have additional buttons which I feel slip under the radar for most people but are still handy.
I bought two of this router (actually its older iteration RT-AC1900P) about a year ago when I switched from Spectrum to Verizon Fios gigabit. Luckily, I got this for cheap and I struck gold when I found out ASUS rolled out AiMesh feature to this already old router, I get (almost) a full gigabit internet speed and get a automatically managed mesh network in my home although I did run an ethernet wire for backhaul, which technically makes it an access point but I don't have to tweak the settings every now and then and devices handoff seamlessly. I am very impressed by the level of support ASUS gave this product throughout its lifetime after reading numerous reviews that were already 4+ years old when I bought the routers. ASUS still surprises me to this day with new features every time there is a firmware update. Best purchase ever.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I'm very glad to hear that you like your Asus wireless routers as well!! Awesome 😀 PS that Ethernet backhaul is a smart move 👍👍
I bought this router to install VPN after listening to your video. My Linksys had crapped out after only two months. This Asus is great! Not only to get my American shows now, but I get good connectivity back in my isolated office which wasn't happening with my Linksys. Asus customer service was pretty good too.
I bought ASUS RT-AC55U back in June of 2015 and it still runs like a champ and receive updates regularly, one update came like few days ago, you can not beat the support Asus provides to its routers. It is a two story house but somehow the signal strength is adequate and I watch 4K videos of Amazon Video and Netflix and the my kids do online games. I thought today of upgrading to RT-AC68U but I never had any problems with my routers in terms of speed or stability or reliability so I decided to save myself USD125 and leave the upgrade for another time...
I've had a similar great experience with an earlier model RT-N66R which I'm still using and only recently got briefly stumped after a stock asus firmware upgrade to 3.0.0.4.382_50702. My openvpn wouldn't initialize and after playing with settings found that simply changing rsa encryption from default 1024 bit to 2048 bit that it initialized in a minute and still works like a champ. AC wifi would be a nice upgrade but with double 450 N, I get plenty of bandwidth for my 4k tv, phone and pad. I find the features, quality, value and stability are uncommonly remarkable. Going on five years soon.
Awesome! Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It's good to know other people had similar positive experience with Asus routers :-) Thanks again!
I've got this router from T-Mobile and it being working strong for many years. Just recently I was getting weaker signal and transmission rate was sluggest while standing in my backyard or even in the kitchen and was about to purchase a newer router but decided to try something before the upgrade. By changing the 2.4ghz channel to only N mode and 5ghz to AC only as the result is WOW..... the signal now is up by 2 bars on my phone and the transmission rate are now blazing fast so I have no need to upgrade and saved $300.
Nice. I currently own an RT-AC87U because I got it for cheap. If it wasn't for that, I'd be using my 68U. Gave the RT-AC68U to my father, to replace his bad Netgear N router.
Best router i had...7 years and going strong as ever and the best thing about it is that unlike most other manufacturers out there, who stop supporting their devices in few years to push you into buying a newer model, Asus keeps updating it's firmware even after 8 years...
Honestly, we are simply days away from 2020 and I've been happily using the xDSL version of this (DSL-AC68U) in Australia now for 5-6 years and it has been fantastic during my transition from ADSL2+ to fiber to the distribution point. The features and functionality have always gonr above and beyond what I expected from it, and my only gripe with it, the one thing I think it would've benefit from over all these years is either the second usb port like it's router only brethren, or active cooling inside the chassis. In any case, I plan on putting a laptop cooler under mine and my external hard drive at some point
@@DustyinBFE i had no idea there was a custom merlin for the xDSL version, but now that you've mentioned it i very well might have to 👍 I must say I've been slack over the last 3 years and 9 months, I still haven't set up that damn cooler lol
I have three of these routers, one on each floor of my house. Two are set up with AI Mesh and connected to the third one, which assigns IP adresses, via ethernet. I hope that when I get ready to replace them, Asus is still making products as great as the RT-AC68U.
The first thing you will notice about this router is its *weight*. It's very heavy for a consumer router and the Netgear equivalent feels flimsy by comparison. (and it is.) So I broke into mine, basically taking it completely apart, to check it out. There is a 158mm x 60mm aluminum heatsink covering both the RAM and the processor! But even with that removed, the heft of this unit is still substantial. The only thing slightly-questionable are the blue thermal pads between the RAM/processor chips and their light aluminum covers and the covers and the heatsink. These are 2mm thick and I would have preferred a tighter fit and actual thermal compound, so I have some 2mm-thick copper shims on order with which to replace the thermal pads. And there is a 4-pin, clearly-labeled serial header, in plain sight (once you get inside) in the event that you soft-brick it in the process of a firmware upgrade. The VCC pin delivers 3vDC, and so might be used to power a small fan (e.g., a laptop CPU fan) inside the case; there's about 10mm clearance between the heatsink and the inside of the case, enough for a thin fan. Getting in to the case is a bit of a chore, but there's a vg video on doing just that. The T-Mobile TM-AC1900 ("Personal Cellspot") is a rebranded RT-AC68U (it even says "RT-AC68U" on the mainboard) and can often be had for $30 or less. Recent versions of its firmware make it difficult to install a 3rd-party replacement such as DD-WRT, so you have to trick it into downgrading to a previous firmware version before the upgrade. This is tedious and not recommended for the beginner, but again, there are clear instructions and even videos for this. I'm currently running the Asus-Merlin firmware and its sweet.
I agree with Behfor. It is a great long lasting product. You can still buy it new!. I bought the ASUS DSL-AC68R in Feb 2015 to use with ADSL2+. Still use it 5 years later. Current FW version is 384_81140, with DSL FW ver 1.0.4.9. I liked the comprehensive feature set it had, compared to the different brands we used at work and friends used at home. It had an easy to navigate GUI, with good help menus. Easy to set up in a Primary/Secondary WAN mode. Currently pending the install of FTTC NBN internet in Australia, I use a TP-Link TL-MR3020 portable router in the 3G/4G mode, with a data SIM USB dongle taped to the window, connected to the Ethernet Port 4 on the ASUS as a backup Secondary WAN, with the ADSL as the Primary WAN. I use both failover and failback. My speeds on the ADSL on a good day with no "line noise” is 12/0.75 Mbps and on the secondary WAN is 35/10Mbps. Great for my working at home situation! It’s great to have a backup, that is seamless. As long as the 4G data plan isn’t swallowed up$. Never experienced the heating effects others seem to have. Mine is always cool to touch. Have successfully used the Adaptive QOS to limit BW to certain PC’s when guests shared the internet access over months. Has a good spectrum graph of the ADSL SNR and the carrier bits per carrier. Not so important now in this NBN world! The LAN DHCP server allows assigning up to 64 static IP’s. The Wireless MAC Filter is great to harden the network. Has a good Trend Micro AIProtection as a first line of defence against internet threats. The traffic analyser is great. The Network Map, Client Tx/Rx rates and access times are also good to monitor clients. I work in the space industry and will prefer quality over price. All in all a well made product. As mentioned you can still buy it new.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with RT-AC66U. I haven't used it but I heard it's is a solid router too. As you said it looks like all Asus routers are good :-)
If it wasn't for the ASUS routers (several ac rt 51 working as satellites and ac rt 66u's, ac rt 68's, ac rt 87's, ac rt 88u's) I would have given up on the internet for student houses. They provide a superb network with unknown stability! Using them for many years now.
Greetings! Great videos! Very concise and informative. I was watching your videos on setting up a Zosi NVR and, lo and behold, I see that you have a lot of networking videos. I kind of expected this. What I did NOT expect to see was that you are using the exact same router that I am! Mine is just an updated model but, it is still the same. That was a very nice surprise! I will be watching more of your videos as I have numerous routers, switches and DVRs/NVRs. I just wanted to say thank you for your very helpful and well made videos. Cheers!
Oops! Mine is actually a very similar RT-AC86U. Still I like these. I am using my older routers as additional access points. One is a Netgear Nighthawk AC7000 and the other is a D-Link DIR 850L. Unfortunately, they are not AiMesh compatible. But, still useful for extending the range of my WAN network.
Hi, thanks so much for your message and also watching my videos. I'm really glad you liked them and even happier to know these videos can be useful! The AC86U is indeed a very good router and as you said is similar to the AC68U but just better :-) Thanks again!
I'm quite satisfied with this router. Although I thought the 5GHz signal would be a bit stronger on the second floor. Nevertheless, the signal is very stable and so is the wifi connection. I guess that's all what counts.
5Ghz is faster but with short distance from router. 2.4 Ghz is good for further distance but slower. On 2nd floor 5 ghz won't work unless u are closer to the stairs or something.
I know this review is 3 years old and I don't have anywhere near the need you have but I'm going to replace my Netgear N750 (8 years?) with either the Asus RT-AX56U or the ASUS RT-AC68U. I don't need the wifi 6, and I've read many of negative reports on the 2.4 MHz band performance on the 56U. The 56U is listed with quad core processor and simultaneously 2 dedicated upload and download per band. The 68U doesn't mention this, can it do this? This is probably a very important feature for me. Anyone? Your reviews are great, thanks. At this time the 2 routers I mentioned are about $120 in 2021.
Hi, that depends on for how long you're planning to keep the new router. The AC68U is a great device but since it's an old device I don't know for how much longer Asus will provide firmware updates for this router. Maybe that's something you wanna consider. The AC68U is 3x3 for both frequencies. Thanks 👍
I own the Asus 4G-AC68U and in most ways they are the same. My router has two 4G antennas and 2 WiFi antennas plus only one USB 3.0 port. It takes ages to boot and connect to 4G but otherwise it is excellent and very similar to the RT-AC68U. There is only one downside and that's with DDNS. With 4G, I can't use DDNS because mobile providers keep their public IP address behind a NAT. They issue a secondary IP address. I have not found a way to get around this, even with a VPN. 🤷🏼♂️
agreed, this router has been around 3-4 years and still being the best one. Tháts why Asus still does firmware maintenance and update for this router! It's just hitting right in the border not too expensive and not too cheap . I wont' bother to go another router unless íts reliable like this and four core CPU!
It's a very good device I've been using it for over 3 years with Merlin firmware which allows me to install quite a few usefully plugins. Only thing not so good is the cpu temperature is too high, maybe flaw in the design of ventilation. In summer my device cpu temp can reach 98 degree Celsius. Anyway it seems that doesn't impact the service of the device.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I have noticed that the CPU temperature is high sometimes but as you mentioned too I haven't seen any impact on the performance! Thanks again!
I love my Asus Router I have had linksys ,Netgear and always have had issue with them and the length of their firmware support are very short ,I think this is only router company they continue providing new firmware no mater how old the Asus router is
I used to have a dlink router. In the many years that I had it, Dlink never provided a firmware update. Also, it didn't support Tomato, OpenWRT or DD-WRT. I sold it and now I just use my ISP's router/modem which I rent on a monthly basis.
Is this router still relevant in 2020. Also im gonna add a removable pendrive on to this ( that i will remove and plug in daily ) , and use it as a little samba/ftp server. My question is will i have to always repeatedly add ( whenever i remove and plug back in ) the samba/server settings for the drive and access rights or does the router remember these settings ? Thanks you so much
This router is plagued by constant disconnects/drop outs in bridge mode. Seems to be a common problem based on all the discussion threads. I'm half tempted to just dump these routers and get TP-Link AC1750s instead, but I'll wrestle with them a bit longer. I've got high gain antennas on order maybe that'll help. It's a pity because they are good routers based on specs, but this disconnect problem is a real stinker. FWIW I'm on firmware 3.0.0.4.384_20648. Unfortunately I cannot upgrade the FW because Asus created a trap that reverts the FW to T-Mobile (routers were bought as refurbs) on any upgrade attempt. Paradoxically my previous routers were Asus RT-N56U which were rock solid in bridge mode. I've tried all the suggestions in the discussion threads short of flashing different FW and using better antennas. Hopefully the latter will do the trick. Sorry, although I like the feature set I can't agree with the OP's assessment because of this disconnect problem. A problem which many others are experiencing as well.
Great video! I have the following question... Would you still buy this router in 2021 or something else? I'm on the market for a solution that will work in my 4000sqf, 2-story house.
Thanks, I wouldn't buy this today as my main router especially for a 2story 4000sqr house. You may want to check out the following video series to have a better idea of what is in market based on your budget and which ones are probably better: m.ruclips.net/p/PLzCWb3z_t2bKUcdTkr8TxMWhuCFvGqvWY
Good Stuff, thanks. Couple of questions on the 68u. I have using the router for 4 plus years. Its superb, but some issues 1. After heavy data thruput about 20Gb a. Wifi speeds begin to fall, especially intra network b. Parially unresponsive-dns, mobile appp Soft reboots dont fix the issue. Power off reboots restore full capability Any fix or tips, as it is almost a daily occurrence. Nightly automatic reboot is on
Just upgraded my 4 y.o. RAC56U/R. Needed higher bandwidth, so went with the RT-AC86U getting special price on Amazon. Only a few days so far, but setup was a breeze, and I am now getting 960Mbps CAT6 wired download vs 500 Mbps with the 56U. Much stronger wireless signal for as well for my other devices. I had MERLIN firmware on my 56U, but not sure about my new one. Have some concerns about the "Shelf life" of Merlin firmware Do want to set up Open VPN server, and await your tutorial on that.
Hey @behfor what modem would you recommend for the rt ac68u? Cheaper the better ideally. Alternatively is it possible to use my EE smart hub as a modem?
i agree with you , unfortunately mine was not enough for the wife and 6 kids all stuck together, so i got me a new one, and i've been trying over and over to setup the repeater mode with zero success, it connects, but i get nothing... i tried with two other routers and it works, just not with the RT=AC68....
I got one on eBay. It was the ac68p version and it had a problem with the WPS button. I had to remove the WPS button. When connected to Putty the serial pinouts were saying that the WPS button was malfunctioning. Works now. Perfect.
I basically tried to upgrade the firmware from the router interface and it download the firmware to 100% and when it's rebooted it still the samefirmware and then I downloaded the firmware manually and uploaded it but still unsuccessful I've reset the router as well but I just saw FAQ to manually reset itby pressing the WPS button and doing some other stuff so I'm going to try that today because I know it does have its own proprietary factory reset button which I tried & did firmware update but same result
I recently purchased a RT-AC86U. Awesome router! But, I have a question. The wall thickness may to interfere in the router signal? My router is at living room and my bedroom is beside living room. I lost a little signal strength at my bedroom. The walls are wide.
Definitely the wall thickness can affect the range the router can cover! Also the type of the material matters, for example metal objects can reduce the range as well. But also it is possible the channel you are using is busy in your area so maybe if you change the channel to a less crowded one it might help! Thanks!
You seem to be an expert at this. Can you help me with my issue? For some reason, my speed only maxes out at 300mbp. I'm using RT-ax88u primary and RT-ax58 (two) with mesh setup. Tell me what happened to my speed?
As long as your modem is compatible with your internet service provider, it should work fine with this router, so that's something you should check with your ISP.
Hey solid review thanks. I noticed you are open to answering questions here so I had one for you, first off --I am not a novice, so you don't need to dumb it down too much :) but I am fairly inexperienced with Fiber Optic internet, so consequently I am wondering how I connect this to the Fiber box we just had installed, it is supposed to be 75D/75U and the ethernet is testing pretty close to that, but this is a fairly large house (no neighbors though, and only 1 floor/no basement) and pretty much EVERYTHING else will be WiFi connected (including 3 PS4's, 2 Roku's and 2 smart TV's). My question is pretty much just where do I plug this in??? I just received this exact router today. Thanks Behfor! I can post more info if needed too thanks again!
Hi, thanks for your comment! What sort of port do you have on your fiber box? Is it an Ethernet port? Usually they install an ONT box (Optical Network Terminal) which gives you an Ethernet port, if it that's the case then you can connect it to the WAN port (the blue one) on the wireless router using an Ethernet cable.
ok yea i will try that.....ill have to look, the tech guy acted like i could Replace the unit they supplied us and not get charged the rental fee, but it has the little fiber cable going right into it, so I'm not sure how i could do that with this Asus Router....
I didn't know they would charge for the ONT box! So basically with the Asus Router the Fiber optic has to somehow gets converted to the Ethernet first, unfortunately you cannot directly connect it to the router.
Awesome review! I was thinking about getting a RT-AC87U but people told me it's really overkill cause my internet provider only gives me about 50mbps download and 2mbps upload, i live with 4 people (including me) and we have about 9 devices so you can imagine how bad my internet is on my PS4 while everyone is home. But anyways they told me that i should look at the AC68U and it's pretty much the same i think maby a little bit less better than the AC87U. Do you think this will fix my ping-spikes while gaming and is it really overkill if i bought the AC87U?
Thanks! From my experience with AC68U I can say that it can pretty much handle 9 devices with no problem. You can also configure Quality Of Service (QOS) to prioritize gaming over other data to make sure your PS4 is getting the best possible speed.The AC87U might have a little bit more advanced wireless technology (which is good) but unlike AC68U it lacks AiMesh System that I think is a very useful feature to have. With AiMesh and if in the future you add another AiMesh wireless router to your network (RT-AC86U for example) you can still make use of your AC68U and create a whole home WiFi system. Generally I would suggest to buy one that supports AiMesh (if you think it's a useful feature for you of course) because it might come handy at some point in the future. Hope this was helpful. Thanks.
Behfor Thank you for responding i just bought the AC68U for about €139 euros and i will get it tomorrow so i'm looking forward to it! Your video really helped out a lot cause i was thinking this router was outdated but after seeing this and you saying it's still an amazing router i've came to a conclusion. Much appreciated
Behfor Hey i'm kinda stuck right now, i setup the router and now i'm logged in but the internet status says Disconnected... I'm on the wireless router mode now, also what mode would you recommend best, could you help me out?
Is it connected to your modem? What is your Internet connection type (Static IP, Auto IP etc)? You need to make sure you WAN settings are correct (based on your internet connection type of course) The wireless router is the default and main mode for this device which it would work as a wireless router that you connect to your modem so it can provide wireless and wired internet access to the clients.
Mine is still running strong since 2013. Upgraded modem and gigabit internet recently. Getting 350-400 mbps around my house. Is there a way to increase that speed?
I Updated my Ac86u and after updating my 5g band disappear randomly when there is no device connected to it. Is there any solution or my router is ruined and useless now?
I have the RT-AC68P it has worked great since 09-2015 it is starting to slow down a bit when streaming - I would like to buy a new one and try the AiMesh feature. Would you recommend any other Asus model as good as this one that works with AiMesh?
I would recommend to watch this 3-video series as it has useful information and hopefully help you decide better. The videos were made about 2 years ago but they still have useful information: ruclips.net/p/PLzCWb3z_t2bKUcdTkr8TxMWhuCFvGqvWY
I have the ASUS RT-AC68U Wireless Router, which is connected and works great. Bought a second one the same, and trying to hookup as a AI Mesh Node to extend range. But having problems, any help would be appreciated.
I have the Asus AC68U and i was wondering does it have SmartConnect - Automatically connects each device on your network to the Wi-Fi band where it can connect at its maximum possible speed This feature is available in dlink modem. I just find the modem not giving me fast enough speeds to devices
The AC68U doesn't have the Smart Connect feature! As far as I know this feature is only available in Tri-Band Asus Wireless Routers, the AC68U is a Dual-Band wireless Router! Thanks!
I have the 66u and while it has probably been the longest lasting wireless router I have ever owned, over the past year it seems it just occasionally stops working as a wirelsss device. Any devices connected over ethernet work but I cant access the web interface and you cant connect wireless devices even though the ssids are broadcasting. considering flashing ddwrt. I cant consistently get it to work when it happens. Because a single power cycle doesn't seem to fix the problem. FWIW I'm using it as an AP because we have pfsense on a dedicated pc.
Would this router be good for a 71m2 (800ft) apartment where basically every wall is concrete? I have 100/100 and in my living room that is 2 concrete walls and a fireplace from my router i get like 5mbps right now with a technicolor tg799vac that came included with my internet
I actually could not find any DSL-AC58U on the Asus website, there is a RT-AC58U though which is a router and does not have a DSL modem. Do you by any chance mean DSL-AC56U or maybe RT-AC58U?
Ok then :) the AC68U is a more powerful and faster device compared to AC52U (1900 Mbps vs 750 Mbps). I have never owned an AC52U but from what I see on the Asus website I can guess that this is a device that would work perfectly if you don't have too many devices in your network and you don't need very fast wireless connection for multiple devices, If you have many devices that they require fast and reliable wireless connection (4k streaming and gaming for example) the AC68U would be a better choice. Of course budget is always an important factor as well. I personally rather pay more and get a device that is a bit more powerful than what I need today just to allow future growth, but that's just me :-) I hope this was helpful.
I have two RT-AC88U routers 1 set to main router the other set to Aimesh. The Aimesh router gose offline after several hours and no tevices will connect to it . Any recommendation to remedy this problem ?
I used to have this problem but after some firmware upgrades it got almost fixed (very rarely happened after the firmware upgrade) so I would say make sure the latest firmware is installed. Having said that though, I should add that I haven't been using the AiMesh system recently so I'm not sure how the situation is now. Thanks!
You're right! I apologize ! It's weird I had tried it before and don't remember ever seeing such a notification, however, I just tried it again and as you said it gave me a notification that aiprotection can't be enabled with load-balancing! Sorry!
@@Behfor nu prublem mate.. it brings me to the next question then.. is AiMesh feature running on load balance mode? Suppose the node has AiProtection feature, will it run?
Hi Berfor, Nice video i have just bought a asus rt-53 wireless router with the intention of using it to access a vpn service like nordvpn.I would like to know if i have to setup the router a router, access point or a bridge to make this work? I currently have a fibre internet connection. Any notes or guide would be gratefully appreciated Thanks
Hello my dear friend, i need your help. I have Asus RT-N66U router with Merlin firmware installed on it. My issue is it gets too much hot with temperature of 60℃. Is it fine or i should purchase a new Asus router ? There's no performance issue with router. But at this temperature i am worried it might damage my 2TB USB hard drive, connected to router. Will it ? Waiting for your reply.
Hi, the temperature can depend on many things such as the design of the router, the firmware, the room temperature, good or bad air flow, the load on the router and ... Unfortunately I never had that router so I cannot give you my experience with that router. What I can tell you though is 60C is a little bit high but it is not that critical either, so as I said the router might have been designed to handle that temperature but I wouldn't know that. You might be able to find that out but searching to see if others get the same temperature on their N66U router or not, or even better ask Asus itself! Thanks!
Can i disconnect the built in receiver anntena and connect a 4g lte outdoor antenna for boosting the input signal gain ? did you try it? Can you rcommend for ASUS 4G LTE router (with one or dual sim card slot) ?
I have watched many videos. I guess a little confused about hooking up the second one. If my understanding is correct. I need to disconnect the first one hooked to the pc, and plug the cables to the one I want to use as the AI mesh Node. Used the reset button, and make sure firmware is updated. Then go to admin tab, and check the Node button? The go back to first hook up cable and the wireless search for the second one ? Am I missing something?
If they both have the latest firmware installed, then you can just factory reset the new one which is meant to be the AiMesh node (NOT the old wireless router) by pressing and holding the reset button for 15 seconds as it is powered on, and after a couple of minutes in the old router (which I assume is in the Router mode) search for the AiMesh nodes. It should be able to find the AiMesh node and connect it to the AiMesh system.
hi, Does the repeater mode support direct LAN access from this router to PC for internet connection? Can you select a specific network or band (2.4/5 GHz) during setting up as repeater?
Hi, great question! Yeah in the repeater mode the LAN ports also provide network/ Internet access to the LAN devices. When you setup the repeater you can choose whether to connect the repeater to a 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz network. For example when I used the repeater mode, I used the 2.4 GHz network only for the connection between the wireless router and 5 GHz network was used for other devices (wireless clients) to connect.
I haven't tested the RT-AC58U model so unfortunately I can only guess its performance based on its specification! So from what I can see on ASUS website, it looks like it is a bit slower than RT-AC68U and also It does not support AiMesh and Repeater modes! So basically I think it should still be a good wireless router for a large house with not too many wireless devices. But as I said it is only a guess!
I know! lol It's honestly been a very good device for me :-) What's your current Wireless Router?
6 лет назад+1
I just use the stock FASTGATE modem that came with my ISP contract, it has fiber and ADSL, good as a modem, great antennas, it has 8 of them, but it's not as good as that ASUS, I also have a lot of TP-LINK routers, not very good, also I use FRITZ!WLAN Repeater 450E to repeat the signal for my bedroom smart TV, here in Italy that ASUS will cost me around 120-150€ which is kinda a lot, but one day, one day it'll be mine. Great videos man, keep going, I found your channel from that video guide on dd-wrt configuration, very good job, i'd like to see more from you.
Thanks, it has bandwidth limiter in the QoS which can be used for wired and wireless clients. QoS is explained in this video: ruclips.net/video/JGupFosEcVA/видео.html Thanks
@ Dave Parducho : Whilst still a very good Wi-fi router, the AC68U is starting to show its age in 2020. Today, I’d suggest looking at an AX56U for similar price, but has Wi-fi 6 and better performance. Alternatively, an AC66U_B1 that has the exact same hardware, but in a different casing and a cheaper price (make sure its a B1; the standard AC66U is a lower level product). No idea why the AC66U_B1 is sold cheaper when it’s the same internally as an AC68U. But hey, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!
It depends what you want to do! The Internet connection is only one of the services a wireless router can provide. Overall this is a great choice for normal home network but I would take a look at some newer routers as well! Such as: ruclips.net/p/PLzCWb3z_t2bKUcdTkr8TxMWhuCFvGqvWY Thanks.
i heard that there a prob with the 2.4hz not working did they fix that in 2020 i rallywant to get a asus router like this one but i need to know if the 2.4hz is ok
They have different firmware. I was able to flash the T-Mobile version and convert it into AC68U, but it was not easy and it keeps getting harder and harder since ASUS doesn't want people doing that. Just google it you'll fine the most current information regarding that.
@@Behfor bro here in Colombia they are selling the Asus rt ac68u t mobile and they said they flashed it, do you recommend to buy it? Will i have problems in the future tu updatr de firmware? Or after i flashed the router i am not gokng to have problems?
Hi .does this Asus router have ADSL connection please ? Because in my country internet comes with phone wire so would this work for me ? Thanks in advance
![[HOWTO] Set Up OpenVPN Server on ASUS Wireless Router [RT-AC68U]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KXdhhuBcpgU/mqdefault.jpg)
![[HOWTO] Set Up OpenVPN Server on ASUS Wireless Router [RT-AC68U]](/img/tr.png)
![Testing my Asus AiMesh System [Speed Test, Roaming & more]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qusVMXQC9zU/mqdefault.jpg)
![AiMesh vs. Repeater vs. Access Point [ASUS RT-AC68U Operation Modes]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ic0bgo_ueQ0/mqdefault.jpg)
Bought my ASUS RT-AC68U back in July 2014, still using it today running Merlin firmware. It has over 20 devices connected to it at any one time running my fully smart home. Possibly the best tech purchase I have ever made, there are not too many things that will last nearly 6 years, still operate perfectly, and have not been superseded by more advanced technology.
Awesome! I'm glad you too had a great experience with this Asus Router! Thanks for sharing your experience :-)
6 years & still going strong! One of the best tech purchases I've ever made. This router still trades blows with top level ac routers coming out today. Kudos to ASUS & the community for the excellent ongoing support on this hardware. 👌🏽
I bought mine mid-2014 and paid a mint for it but wanted to future proof my network. Here I am 9 years later still using it. I of course use custom merlin firmware, which I started using in 2021 and it brought an entirely new life to it. I consistently have 20 devices connected an no issues. I can actually say it's a better router today than it was in 2014, for many reasons.
Wow, great, thanks for sharing
I'm using this router for more than three years. I'm using OpenVPN server daily. It's so simple and good working! I have it connected to my ISP modem/router. It kicks ass! :)
Thank you for your videos, they helped me to configure my router trough all these years. After 3 years i deicided i'll use DDNS for remote control. And it's working like a charm! :)
The Asus RT-AC68 is a great example of how consumer electronic devices should be designed and manufactured in an ideal world. Released in mid-2014, it remains an excellent value for money router that would serve the needs of an average sized home in 2020 (though admittedly, it is now starting to show its age). On some level, it is unbelievable that it is still on the market 6 years on for ~£120; and I bought mine in 2014 for £100! 6yrs is a looooooong time in the consumer electronics industry and for a device to still remain relevant with strong sales says a lot.
This is all down to its excellent design, build quality and high performance components - a standout package that raised the bar for wireless networking choices in 2014. Combine that with Asus continuing to release firmware updates regularly and adding truly useful features along the way (like AiMesh), one can understand why choosing this router is a no-brainer.
It probably also led to Asus gaining a strong, loyal fan-base when it comes to wi-fi routers - me being one obviously. Due to the great user experience with the RT-AC86U, I have subsequently purchased a RT-86U and most recently, the ZenWiFi XT8 mesh package. Asus deserves its success when it comes to wireless networking devices. No other rival manufacturer provides such exceptional long term support. Long may their approach and success continue.
How did you buy yours for 100 in 2014 when it wasn't even a year old and was still going for 200+ for several years after?
@@DustyinBFE It was during a two week sale period when Asus dropped the prices on all their routers, encouraging as many people to upgrade their old routers as possible. It was indeed a great deal.
I've been in love, yes I said love, with this router since installing it in early 2014. It covers my 3300 SF home and even outside to the front driveway. There are a few spots of weak coverage down in my workshop, which is three floors below the location of the router. I'm expecting delivery of a second AC68U tomorrow so I can create a AiMesh network. This device is one of those items that the manufacturer went way overboard making a solid dependable unit that hit all the right points, something extremely rare in today's marketplace. And thanks for your videos on AiMesh, looks to an easy and worthwhile upgrade.
Wow you said it all. I 100% agree with you! Thank you so much for sharing your experience using this awesome device!
I hope the manufacturers listen to us and try to make great devices like this in the future! Thanks again and good luck with your Aimesh System :-)
How is the AiMesh working for you? I've been interested in doing that too.
I bought my parents one 4 years ago. One year ago one the WAN port failed (I think due to lightning nearby) so I used failover to switch it to another port. About 2 weeks ago, it finally packed-up completely. The 2.4ghz light went out and it broadcasts wirelessly on 5g and 2.4g but will not actually allow anything to connect. It still works through the cable but what good is that. Considering it offered the failover and carried on for another year on half it's guts, I can't really complain.
I would try Asuswrt-Merlin firmware before retiring the router to see if that's going to fix any of those issues, in my case it did fix my 2.4GHz issue which was not being broadcast anymore.
I have this same router and it’s been running strong for 3 years so far. Absolutely love it. Using the Merlin firmware has made it that much better too.
Awesome! I'm glad to hear you had a similar experience with this wireless router. At some point I used the Merlin firmware too which was really good :-)
Behfor I’m hoping that I can figure out how to add my WiFi hotspot to this router since it’s my only form of internet in my area as of right now. I’m pretty sure I have it figured out and hoping to be operational tonight!
I'm glad to hear that you had ac68u 4 years! I had my for 3 years and still going strong with no problem at all! I'm now with bt router link to ac68u like a mesh and it work brilliant. It pick up 5g wifi all round my house with no dead end wifi!
Keep up good work
Thank you so much ! It's really great to hear that others have similar experience with this wireless router :-) It is really a strong an reliable device! Hope to see more devices like this in the future! Thanks again!
Its been my main router since 2013. Never had a problem until today, it’s a tank! Recently got the Ac86U that was a nice upgrade but I still use the 68U as a AiMesh node and know I got full 5ghz signal throughout the whole house.
I just purchased not one, but two RT-AC1900P, which are this same router, but with a higher frequency CPU. Love it!!! I'll be setting up AiMesh tonight!
Awesome !! I'm glad you like your new routers and good luck with setting up AiMesh :-) Thanks!
I have the RT-1750 B1 and RT-AC66U B1. They are both the same unit with the RT-AC66U having wall mounting holes on the case. I assumed the RT-AC68U was the same as the other two, but based on your video it has the following changes:
- it stands upright and not flat.
- it has a WIFI on/off button (which can be handy)
- it has a "LED OFF" button to turn off all of the LEDs. (A feature I wish my cable modem had.)
- faster CPU ??
In a follow-up video, you should talk about the buttons on the unit. Some units only have power and WPS button, while others have additional buttons which I feel slip under the radar for most people but are still handy.
I bought two of this router (actually its older iteration RT-AC1900P) about a year ago when I switched from Spectrum to Verizon Fios gigabit. Luckily, I got this for cheap and I struck gold when I found out ASUS rolled out AiMesh feature to this already old router, I get (almost) a full gigabit internet speed and get a automatically managed mesh network in my home although I did run an ethernet wire for backhaul, which technically makes it an access point but I don't have to tweak the settings every now and then and devices handoff seamlessly. I am very impressed by the level of support ASUS gave this product throughout its lifetime after reading numerous reviews that were already 4+ years old when I bought the routers. ASUS still surprises me to this day with new features every time there is a firmware update. Best purchase ever.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I'm very glad to hear that you like your Asus wireless routers as well!! Awesome 😀 PS that Ethernet backhaul is a smart move 👍👍
I bought this router to install VPN after listening to your video. My Linksys had crapped out after only two months. This Asus is great! Not only to get my American shows now, but I get good connectivity back in my isolated office which wasn't happening with my Linksys. Asus customer service was pretty good too.
That's awesome! Thanks for sharing your experience and I'm glad you are happy with your Asus router :-)
I'm still enjoying my ASUS RT-AC68R as well. I'm running Asuswrt-Merlin firmware on it with no issues. Awesome wireless router!
Glad to hear you've had the same experience with you Asus wireless router :-)
I bought ASUS RT-AC55U back in June of 2015 and it still runs like a champ and receive updates regularly, one update came like few days ago, you can not beat the support Asus provides to its routers. It is a two story house but somehow the signal strength is adequate and I watch 4K videos of Amazon Video and Netflix and the my kids do online games. I thought today of upgrading to RT-AC68U but I never had any problems with my routers in terms of speed or stability or reliability so I decided to save myself USD125 and leave the upgrade for another time...
I've had a similar great experience with an earlier model RT-N66R which I'm still using and only recently got briefly stumped after a stock asus firmware upgrade to 3.0.0.4.382_50702. My openvpn wouldn't initialize and after playing with settings found that simply changing rsa encryption from default 1024 bit to 2048 bit that it initialized in a minute and still works like a champ. AC wifi would be a nice upgrade but with double 450 N, I get plenty of bandwidth for my 4k tv, phone and pad. I find the features, quality, value and stability are uncommonly remarkable. Going on five years soon.
Awesome! Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It's good to know other people had similar positive experience with Asus routers :-) Thanks again!
I've got this router from T-Mobile and it being working strong for many years. Just recently I was getting weaker signal and transmission rate was sluggest while standing in my backyard or even in the kitchen and was about to purchase a newer router but decided to try something before the upgrade. By changing the 2.4ghz channel to only N mode and 5ghz to AC only as the result is WOW..... the signal now is up by 2 bars on my phone and the transmission rate are now blazing fast so I have no need to upgrade and saved $300.
I endorse the views of Behfor. I am also using this Router for the last few years and still very happy and fully satisfied.
Thanks Shabbir! Good to know you had the same positive experience :-)
Nice. I currently own an RT-AC87U because I got it for cheap. If it wasn't for that, I'd be using my 68U. Gave the RT-AC68U to my father, to replace his bad Netgear N router.
Best router i had...7 years and going strong as ever and the best thing about it is that unlike most other manufacturers out there, who stop supporting their devices in few years to push you into buying a newer model, Asus keeps updating it's firmware even after 8 years...
Use the custom merlin firmware. It adds onto ASUS's so much!
Honestly, we are simply days away from 2020 and I've been happily using the xDSL version of this (DSL-AC68U) in Australia now for 5-6 years and it has been fantastic during my transition from ADSL2+ to fiber to the distribution point.
The features and functionality have always gonr above and beyond what I expected from it, and my only gripe with it, the one thing I think it would've benefit from over all these years is either the second usb port like it's router only brethren, or active cooling inside the chassis. In any case, I plan on putting a laptop cooler under mine and my external hard drive at some point
You should install the custom merlin firmware. It turns it into even more of a powerhouse.
@@DustyinBFE i had no idea there was a custom merlin for the xDSL version, but now that you've mentioned it i very well might have to 👍
I must say I've been slack over the last 3 years and 9 months, I still haven't set up that damn cooler lol
I have three of these routers, one on each floor of my house. Two are set up with AI Mesh and connected to the third one, which assigns IP adresses, via ethernet. I hope that when I get ready to replace them, Asus is still making products as great as the RT-AC68U.
The first thing you will notice about this router is its *weight*. It's very heavy for a consumer router and the Netgear equivalent feels flimsy by comparison. (and it is.)
So I broke into mine, basically taking it completely apart, to check it out. There is a 158mm x 60mm aluminum heatsink covering both the RAM and the processor! But even with that removed, the heft of this unit is still substantial.
The only thing slightly-questionable are the blue thermal pads between the RAM/processor chips and their light aluminum covers and the covers and the heatsink. These are 2mm thick and I would have preferred a tighter fit and actual thermal compound, so I have some 2mm-thick copper shims on order with which to replace the thermal pads.
And there is a 4-pin, clearly-labeled serial header, in plain sight (once you get inside) in the event that you soft-brick it in the process of a firmware upgrade. The VCC pin delivers 3vDC, and so might be used to power a small fan (e.g., a laptop CPU fan) inside the case; there's about 10mm clearance between the heatsink and the inside of the case, enough for a thin fan.
Getting in to the case is a bit of a chore, but there's a vg video on doing just that.
The T-Mobile TM-AC1900 ("Personal Cellspot") is a rebranded RT-AC68U (it even says "RT-AC68U" on the mainboard) and can often be had for $30 or less. Recent versions of its firmware make it difficult to install a 3rd-party replacement such as DD-WRT, so you have to trick it into downgrading to a previous firmware version before the upgrade. This is tedious and not recommended for the beginner, but again, there are clear instructions and even videos for this. I'm currently running the Asus-Merlin firmware and its sweet.
I agree with Behfor. It is a great long lasting product. You can still buy it new!. I bought the ASUS DSL-AC68R in Feb 2015 to use with ADSL2+. Still use it 5 years later. Current FW version is 384_81140, with DSL FW ver 1.0.4.9. I liked the comprehensive feature set it had, compared to the different brands we used at work and friends used at home. It had an easy to navigate GUI, with good help menus. Easy to set up in a Primary/Secondary WAN mode. Currently pending the install of FTTC NBN internet in Australia, I use a TP-Link TL-MR3020 portable router in the 3G/4G mode, with a data SIM USB dongle taped to the window, connected to the Ethernet Port 4 on the ASUS as a backup Secondary WAN, with the ADSL as the Primary WAN. I use both failover and failback. My speeds on the ADSL on a good day with no "line noise” is 12/0.75 Mbps and on the secondary WAN is 35/10Mbps. Great for my working at home situation! It’s great to have a backup, that is seamless. As long as the 4G data plan isn’t swallowed up$. Never experienced the heating effects others seem to have. Mine is always cool to touch. Have successfully used the Adaptive QOS to limit BW to certain PC’s when guests shared the internet access over months. Has a good spectrum graph of the ADSL SNR and the carrier bits per carrier. Not so important now in this NBN world!
The LAN DHCP server allows assigning up to 64 static IP’s.
The Wireless MAC Filter is great to harden the network. Has a good Trend Micro AIProtection as a first line of defence against internet threats.
The traffic analyser is great. The Network Map, Client Tx/Rx rates and access times are also good to monitor clients. I work in the space industry and will prefer quality over price. All in all a well made product. As mentioned you can still buy it new.
i use rt-ac66u. Im very happy with it. Asus makes de best routers.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with RT-AC66U. I haven't used it but I heard it's is a solid router too. As you said it looks like all Asus routers are good :-)
I own 1 of this. It's great as you said and it's still in use
If it wasn't for the ASUS routers (several ac rt 51 working as satellites and ac rt 66u's, ac rt 68's, ac rt 87's, ac rt 88u's) I would have given up on the internet for student houses. They provide a superb network with unknown stability! Using them for many years now.
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing your experience! It's good to hear other people had the same experience :-)
Greetings! Great videos! Very concise and informative. I was watching your videos on setting up a Zosi NVR and, lo and behold, I see that you have a lot of networking videos. I kind of expected this. What I did NOT expect to see was that you are using the exact same router that I am! Mine is just an updated model but, it is still the same. That was a very nice surprise! I will be watching more of your videos as I have numerous routers, switches and DVRs/NVRs. I just wanted to say thank you for your very helpful and well made videos. Cheers!
Oops! Mine is actually a very similar RT-AC86U. Still I like these. I am using my older routers as additional access points. One is a Netgear Nighthawk AC7000 and the other is a D-Link DIR 850L. Unfortunately, they are not AiMesh compatible. But, still useful for extending the range of my WAN network.
Hi, thanks so much for your message and also watching my videos. I'm really glad you liked them and even happier to know these videos can be useful! The AC86U is indeed a very good router and as you said is similar to the AC68U but just better :-) Thanks again!
I'm quite satisfied with this router. Although I thought the 5GHz signal would be a bit stronger on the second floor. Nevertheless, the signal is very stable and so is the wifi connection. I guess that's all what counts.
5Ghz is faster but with short distance from router. 2.4 Ghz is good for further distance but slower. On 2nd floor 5 ghz won't work unless u are closer to the stairs or something.
I know this review is 3 years old and I don't have anywhere near the need you have but I'm going to replace my Netgear N750 (8 years?) with either the Asus RT-AX56U or the ASUS RT-AC68U. I don't need the wifi 6, and I've read many of negative reports on the 2.4 MHz band performance on the 56U. The 56U is listed with quad core processor and simultaneously 2 dedicated upload and download per band. The 68U doesn't mention this, can it do this? This is probably a very important feature for me. Anyone? Your reviews are great, thanks.
At this time the 2 routers I mentioned are about $120 in 2021.
Hi, that depends on for how long you're planning to keep the new router. The AC68U is a great device but since it's an old device I don't know for how much longer Asus will provide firmware updates for this router. Maybe that's something you wanna consider. The AC68U is 3x3 for both frequencies. Thanks 👍
Great information ‘ I have 2 and didn’t know how much it can really do . . Thank you
You're very welcome! I'm glad this video was helpful for you :-)
I own the Asus 4G-AC68U and in most ways they are the same. My router has two 4G antennas and 2 WiFi antennas plus only one USB 3.0 port. It takes ages to boot and connect to 4G but otherwise it is excellent and very similar to the RT-AC68U. There is only one downside and that's with DDNS. With 4G, I can't use DDNS because mobile providers keep their public IP address behind a NAT. They issue a secondary IP address. I have not found a way to get around this, even with a VPN. 🤷🏼♂️
agreed, this router has been around 3-4 years and still being the best one. Tháts why Asus still does firmware maintenance and update for this router! It's just hitting right in the border not too expensive and not too cheap . I wont' bother to go another router unless íts reliable like this and four core CPU!
It's a very good device I've been using it for over 3 years with Merlin firmware which allows me to install quite a few usefully plugins. Only thing not so good is the cpu temperature is too high, maybe flaw in the design of ventilation. In summer my device cpu temp can reach 98 degree Celsius. Anyway it seems that doesn't impact the service of the device.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I have noticed that the CPU temperature is high sometimes but as you mentioned too I haven't seen any impact on the performance! Thanks again!
I have RT-AC66U running strong since 2012
I have RT-n65U 10 years and today he die.
I also have had positive experiences with this router installing them at home and at my wife’s business location
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your experience with RT-AC68U! It's good to know that other people also had positive experience with this device :-)
I love my Asus Router I have had linksys ,Netgear and always have had issue with them and the length of their firmware support are very short ,I think this is only router company they continue providing new firmware no mater how old the Asus router is
I used to have a dlink router. In the many years that I had it, Dlink never provided a firmware update. Also, it didn't support Tomato, OpenWRT or DD-WRT. I sold it and now I just use my ISP's router/modem which I rent on a monthly basis.
Thanks for a really great review!
You're very welcome ! Thanks for watching :-)
Love this router to no end
Same here :-)
this router was made since 4 years ago, is there any newer model? thanks
My experience is the same, best router even owned. Solid hardware, features and worth every penny.
Is this router still relevant in 2020. Also im gonna add a removable pendrive on to this ( that i will remove and plug in daily ) , and use it as a little samba/ftp server. My question is will i have to always repeatedly add ( whenever i remove and plug back in ) the samba/server settings for the drive and access rights or does the router remember these settings ? Thanks you so much
This router is plagued by constant disconnects/drop outs in bridge mode. Seems to be a common problem based on all the discussion threads. I'm half tempted to just dump these routers and get TP-Link AC1750s instead, but I'll wrestle with them a bit longer. I've got high gain antennas on order maybe that'll help. It's a pity because they are good routers based on specs, but this disconnect problem is a real stinker. FWIW I'm on firmware 3.0.0.4.384_20648. Unfortunately I cannot upgrade the FW because Asus created a trap that reverts the FW to T-Mobile (routers were bought as refurbs) on any upgrade attempt. Paradoxically my previous routers were Asus RT-N56U which were rock solid in bridge mode. I've tried all the suggestions in the discussion threads short of flashing different FW and using better antennas. Hopefully the latter will do the trick. Sorry, although I like the feature set I can't agree with the OP's assessment because of this disconnect problem. A problem which many others are experiencing as well.
Great video! I have the following question... Would you still buy this router in 2021 or something else? I'm on the market for a solution that will work in my 4000sqf, 2-story house.
Thanks, I wouldn't buy this today as my main router especially for a 2story 4000sqr house. You may want to check out the following video series to have a better idea of what is in market based on your budget and which ones are probably better:
m.ruclips.net/p/PLzCWb3z_t2bKUcdTkr8TxMWhuCFvGqvWY
Good Stuff, thanks.
Couple of questions on the 68u.
I have using the router for 4 plus years. Its superb, but some issues
1. After heavy data thruput about 20Gb
a. Wifi speeds begin to fall, especially intra network
b. Parially unresponsive-dns, mobile appp
Soft reboots dont fix the issue.
Power off reboots restore full capability
Any fix or tips, as it is almost a daily occurrence.
Nightly automatic reboot is on
Thanks, have you tried the Asuswrt-Merlin firmware? That actually fixed some of my problems. I would give that a try.
Just upgraded my 4 y.o. RAC56U/R. Needed higher bandwidth, so went with the RT-AC86U getting special price on Amazon. Only a few days so far, but setup was a breeze, and I am now getting 960Mbps CAT6 wired download vs 500 Mbps with the 56U. Much stronger wireless signal for as well for my other devices. I had MERLIN firmware on my 56U, but not sure about my new one. Have some concerns about the "Shelf life" of Merlin firmware
Do want to set up Open VPN server, and await your tutorial on that.
Hey @behfor what modem would you recommend for the rt ac68u?
Cheaper the better ideally.
Alternatively is it possible to use my EE smart hub as a modem?
i agree with you , unfortunately mine was not enough for the wife and 6 kids all stuck together, so i got me a new one, and i've been trying over and over to setup the repeater mode with zero success, it connects, but i get nothing... i tried with two other routers and it works, just not with the RT=AC68....
I wish you explain how to transfer iptv signal via wireless routers
I just bought one at the goodwill for 7.00 hopefully it works
If it does, that's one heck of a bargain 👍👍
I got one on eBay. It was the ac68p version and it had a problem with the WPS button. I had to remove the WPS button. When connected to Putty the serial pinouts were saying that the WPS button was malfunctioning. Works now. Perfect.
I'm having a weird problem with it where I can't update the firmware even if I try to do it manually and upload it
@@BreakSoFresh What are the steps you are taking and where are you getting stuck?
I basically tried to upgrade the firmware from the router interface and it download the firmware to 100% and when it's rebooted it still the samefirmware and then I downloaded the firmware manually and uploaded it but still unsuccessful I've reset the router as well but I just saw FAQ to manually reset itby pressing the WPS button and doing some other stuff so I'm going to try that today because I know it does have its own proprietary factory reset button which I tried & did firmware update but same result
Great video. What are your wireless professional settings that you use?
I recently purchased a RT-AC86U. Awesome router! But, I have a question. The wall thickness may to interfere in the router signal? My router is at living room and my bedroom is beside living room. I lost a little signal strength at my bedroom. The walls are wide.
Definitely the wall thickness can affect the range the router can cover! Also the type of the material matters, for example metal objects can reduce the range as well. But also it is possible the channel you are using is busy in your area so maybe if you change the channel to a less crowded one it might help! Thanks!
Behfor perfect! Thank you for your answer. I will try do this.
I found an as good as new RT-AC87U for 20bucks. And i'm impressed.
RT-AC87U is a far better choice since it has MU-MIMO, which these older routers don't have.
So 87 is better than 68?
MY ONLY problem is they run on fire. Had to add a fan on the back, open the plastic case up. Now cpu runs at 126 degrees. before that was 170 and up
You seem to be an expert at this. Can you help me with my issue? For some reason, my speed only maxes out at 300mbp. I'm using RT-ax88u primary and RT-ax58 (two) with mesh setup. Tell me what happened to my speed?
Thank you for your helpful video. Can you tell me if it will work with my Android phone using the phone's 4g USB tethering option ?
I will by RT-AC68U. Will you please tell which MODEM your using and any other MODEMS suitable for this Router.....
As long as your modem is compatible with your internet service provider, it should work fine with this router, so that's something you should check with your ISP.
Hey solid review thanks. I noticed you are open to answering questions here so I had one for you, first off --I am not a novice, so you don't need to dumb it down too much :) but I am fairly inexperienced with Fiber Optic internet, so consequently I am wondering how I connect this to the Fiber box we just had installed, it is supposed to be 75D/75U and the ethernet is testing pretty close to that, but this is a fairly large house (no neighbors though, and only 1 floor/no basement) and pretty much EVERYTHING else will be WiFi connected (including 3 PS4's, 2 Roku's and 2 smart TV's). My question is pretty much just where do I plug this in??? I just received this exact router today. Thanks Behfor! I can post more info if needed too thanks again!
Hi, thanks for your comment! What sort of port do you have on your fiber box? Is it an Ethernet port? Usually they install an ONT box (Optical Network Terminal) which gives you an Ethernet port, if it that's the case then you can connect it to the WAN port (the blue one) on the wireless router using an Ethernet cable.
ok yea i will try that.....ill have to look, the tech guy acted like i could Replace the unit they supplied us and not get charged the rental fee, but it has the little fiber cable going right into it, so I'm not sure how i could do that with this Asus Router....
I didn't know they would charge for the ONT box! So basically with the Asus Router the Fiber optic has to somehow gets converted to the Ethernet first, unfortunately you cannot directly connect it to the router.
Do you need the same router to turn one of the routers into a wireless bridge or can you have two different ones?
Awesome review! I was thinking about getting a RT-AC87U but people told me it's really overkill cause my internet provider only gives me about 50mbps download and 2mbps upload, i live with 4 people (including me) and we have about 9 devices so you can imagine how bad my internet is on my PS4 while everyone is home. But anyways they told me that i should look at the AC68U and it's pretty much the same i think maby a little bit less better than the AC87U. Do you think this will fix my ping-spikes while gaming and is it really overkill if i bought the AC87U?
Thanks! From my experience with AC68U I can say that it can pretty much handle 9 devices with no problem. You can also configure Quality Of Service (QOS) to prioritize gaming over other data to make sure your PS4 is getting the best possible speed.The AC87U might have a little bit more advanced wireless technology (which is good) but unlike AC68U it lacks AiMesh System that I think is a very useful feature to have. With AiMesh and if in the future you add another AiMesh wireless router to your network (RT-AC86U for example) you can still make use of your AC68U and create a whole home WiFi system. Generally I would suggest to buy one that supports AiMesh (if you think it's a useful feature for you of course) because it might come handy at some point in the future. Hope this was helpful. Thanks.
Behfor Thank you for responding i just bought the AC68U for about €139 euros and i will get it tomorrow so i'm looking forward to it! Your video really helped out a lot cause i was thinking this router was outdated but after seeing this and you saying it's still an amazing router i've came to a conclusion. Much appreciated
You're very welcome! I'm glad this was helpful and hope you enjoy your new wireless router :)
Behfor Hey i'm kinda stuck right now, i setup the router and now i'm logged in but the internet status says Disconnected... I'm on the wireless router mode now, also what mode would you recommend best, could you help me out?
Is it connected to your modem? What is your Internet connection type (Static IP, Auto IP etc)? You need to make sure you WAN settings are correct (based on your internet connection type of course) The wireless router is the default and main mode for this device which it would work as a wireless router that you connect to your modem so it can provide wireless and wired internet access to the clients.
Mine is still running strong since 2013. Upgraded modem and gigabit internet recently. Getting 350-400 mbps around my house. Is there a way to increase that speed?
Haha nice video, I'm still using my RT-AC68P I bought in 13.
Cool :-) I'm glad you liked this video and also has a similar experience with your Asus router! Thanks!
Same! I am preparing to expand my network to my detached garage and will end up getting another ac68p or the ac68u
Do you still recommend to buy this router today? Does it have MU-MIMO?
yeah it have mu -mimo
I Updated my Ac86u and after updating my 5g band disappear randomly when there is no device connected to it. Is there any solution or my router is ruined and useless now?
I have the RT-AC68P it has worked great since 09-2015 it is starting to slow down a bit when streaming - I would like to buy a new one and try the AiMesh feature. Would you recommend any other Asus model as good as this one that works with AiMesh?
I would recommend to watch this 3-video series as it has useful information and hopefully help you decide better. The videos were made about 2 years ago but they still have useful information: ruclips.net/p/PLzCWb3z_t2bKUcdTkr8TxMWhuCFvGqvWY
Can you explain Airadar and how it works. Is it better than or the same as Aimesh?
I have the ASUS RT-AC68U Wireless Router, which is connected and works great. Bought a second one the same, and trying to hookup as a AI Mesh Node to extend range. But having problems, any help would be appreciated.
Have you by any chance watched my AiMesh Video? ruclips.net/video/jPuuxkHTXMo/видео.html
I have the Asus AC68U and i was wondering does it have SmartConnect - Automatically connects each device on your network to the Wi-Fi band where it can connect at its maximum possible speed
This feature is available in dlink modem.
I just find the modem not giving me fast enough speeds to devices
The AC68U doesn't have the Smart Connect feature! As far as I know this feature is only available in Tri-Band Asus Wireless Routers, the AC68U is a Dual-Band wireless Router! Thanks!
I have the 66u and while it has probably been the longest lasting wireless router I have ever owned, over the past year it seems it just occasionally stops working as a wirelsss device. Any devices connected over ethernet work but I cant access the web interface and you cant connect wireless devices even though the ssids are broadcasting. considering flashing ddwrt. I cant consistently get it to work when it happens. Because a single power cycle doesn't seem to fix the problem. FWIW I'm using it as an AP because we have pfsense on a dedicated pc.
Would this router be good for a 71m2 (800ft) apartment where basically every wall is concrete? I have 100/100 and in my living room that is 2 concrete walls and a fireplace from my router i get like 5mbps right now with a technicolor tg799vac that came included with my internet
I'm torn between the DSL-AC68U and the DSL-AC58U. Given the price difference, which one would you recommend?
I actually could not find any DSL-AC58U on the Asus website, there is a RT-AC58U though which is a router and does not have a DSL modem. Do you by any chance mean DSL-AC56U or maybe RT-AC58U?
Apologies, it's been a long day :) - I meant to say the DSL-AC52U, the one with AC support and 4 antenna.
Ok then :) the AC68U is a more powerful and faster device compared to AC52U (1900 Mbps vs 750 Mbps). I have never owned an AC52U but from what I see on the Asus website I can guess that this is a device that would work perfectly if you don't have too many devices in your network and you don't need very fast wireless connection for multiple devices, If you have many devices that they require fast and reliable wireless connection (4k streaming and gaming for example) the AC68U would be a better choice. Of course budget is always an important factor as well. I personally rather pay more and get a device that is a bit more powerful than what I need today just to allow future growth, but that's just me :-) I hope this was helpful.
Great advice. Thanks for replying. **LIKE**
Would you say the Asus AC1900 Dual Band Gigabit WiFi Router(RT-AC1900P) is comparable to this? It's $159 right now.
Could you make a video explaining how VPN will work to connect to your router from another location and how to setup using ASUS GUI? :)
Funny you mentioned it! It's actually on my list :-) Thanks
...birds of a feather flock together... :)
They sure do! :-)
I have two RT-AC88U routers 1 set to main router the other set to Aimesh. The Aimesh router gose offline after several hours and no tevices will connect to it . Any recommendation to remedy this problem ?
I used to have this problem but after some firmware upgrades it got almost fixed (very rarely happened after the firmware upgrade) so I would say make sure the latest firmware is installed. Having said that though, I should add that I haven't been using the AiMesh system recently so I'm not sure how the situation is now. Thanks!
I have a 200/20 internet connection and a 2,200 square foot house that is one level. Would this be a good router for me?
Hi
Great review, can i ask with which new router dith you replace it with?
Thanks
Hi, thanks for the question. I'm still using the AC68U router but I just added a second one so I can use the AiMesh feature as well! Thanks!
hi, nice vid! ^^ is it possible to have both dual-WAN (load balancing) and Ai-Protection running simultaneously?
Hi, thanks! Yes I don't see any reason why not.
@@Behfor awesome! am running AC66 and there's a notification that Ai protection needs to be disabled when i select load balance feature
You're right! I apologize ! It's weird I had tried it before and don't remember ever seeing such a notification, however, I just tried it again and as you said it gave me a notification that aiprotection can't be enabled with load-balancing! Sorry!
@@Behfor nu prublem mate.. it brings me to the next question then.. is AiMesh feature running on load balance mode? Suppose the node has AiProtection feature, will it run?
Hi
Berfor,
Nice video
i have just bought a asus rt-53 wireless router with the intention of using it to access a vpn service like nordvpn.I would like to know if i have to setup the router a router, access point or a bridge to make this work?
I currently have a fibre internet connection.
Any notes or guide would be gratefully appreciated
Thanks
Hi and thanks, as far as I remember the VPN client feature would be only available in the router mode. Cheers.
Hello my dear friend, i need your help. I have Asus RT-N66U router with Merlin firmware installed on it. My issue is it gets too much hot with temperature of 60℃. Is it fine or i should purchase a new Asus router ? There's no performance issue with router. But at this temperature i am worried it might damage my 2TB USB hard drive, connected to router. Will it ? Waiting for your reply.
Hi, the temperature can depend on many things such as the design of the router, the firmware, the room temperature, good or bad air flow, the load on the router and ... Unfortunately I never had that router so I cannot give you my experience with that router. What I can tell you though is 60C is a little bit high but it is not that critical either, so as I said the router might have been designed to handle that temperature but I wouldn't know that. You might be able to find that out but searching to see if others get the same temperature on their N66U router or not, or even better ask Asus itself! Thanks!
@@Behfor thanks dear..I like your attitude to reply each and every user. Thanks bro for quick reply and your valuable suggestions
mine only gets 70mbps and my hard wire get 600. help me fix it?
Can i disconnect the built in receiver anntena and connect a 4g lte outdoor antenna for boosting the input signal gain ? did you try it? Can you rcommend for ASUS 4G LTE router (with one or dual sim card slot) ?
I have watched many videos. I guess a little confused about hooking up the second one. If my understanding is correct. I need to disconnect the first one hooked to the pc, and plug the cables to the one I want to use as the AI mesh Node. Used the reset button, and make sure firmware is updated. Then go to admin tab, and check the Node button? The go back to first hook up cable and the wireless search for the second one ? Am I missing something?
If they both have the latest firmware installed, then you can just factory reset the new one which is meant to be the AiMesh node (NOT the old wireless router) by pressing and holding the reset button for 15 seconds as it is powered on, and after a couple of minutes in the old router (which I assume is in the Router mode) search for the AiMesh nodes. It should be able to find the AiMesh node and connect it to the AiMesh system.
Do you still use this router??
Yesss, now it has Asuswrt-Merlin firmware though. I still love it and still the best wireless router I've ever had 👍
hi, Does the repeater mode support direct LAN access from this router to PC for internet connection? Can you select a specific network or band (2.4/5 GHz) during setting up as repeater?
Hi, great question! Yeah in the repeater mode the LAN ports also provide network/ Internet access to the LAN devices. When you setup the repeater you can choose whether to connect the repeater to a 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz network. For example when I used the repeater mode, I used the 2.4 GHz network only for the connection between the wireless router and 5 GHz network was used for other devices (wireless clients) to connect.
Great! Thanks for clearing it up and thumbs up for the nice review, hope you upload more networking related videos and reviews. Cheers!
Thanks :-)
What you think about ASUS RT-AC58U. I dont have enough budget to buy AC68U.
I haven't tested the RT-AC58U model so unfortunately I can only guess its performance based on its specification! So from what I can see on ASUS website, it looks like it is a bit slower than RT-AC68U and also It does not support AiMesh and Repeater modes! So basically I think it should still be a good wireless router for a large house with not too many wireless devices. But as I said it is only a guess!
Thanks for taking your time. My house is not that large. So i think i should buy this. Thanks again.
You're very welcome :-)
now I want one of these!
I know! lol It's honestly been a very good device for me :-) What's your current Wireless Router?
I just use the stock FASTGATE modem that came with my ISP contract, it has fiber and ADSL, good as a modem, great antennas, it has 8 of them, but it's not as good as that ASUS, I also have a lot of TP-LINK routers, not very good, also I use FRITZ!WLAN Repeater 450E to repeat the signal for my bedroom smart TV, here in Italy that ASUS will cost me around 120-150€ which is kinda a lot, but one day, one day it'll be mine.
Great videos man, keep going, I found your channel from that video guide on dd-wrt configuration, very good job, i'd like to see more from you.
Constantin, thank you so much for the support and all those information! Please stay tuned for more videos!
Do you know if you can connect non-media devices (femto cell for example) to this router when it is in "Media Bridge" mode. Thanks.
What is the backgroud music? very nice
Can we bypass the 30 mbps cap when using Huawei 3g/4g dongle ?my iphone makes 150 with same sim card so its not network issue
Great video! Planning to buy one now but wanted to know if this router has bandwidth control for wireless? Thanks
Thanks, it has bandwidth limiter in the QoS which can be used for wired and wireless clients. QoS is explained in this video: ruclips.net/video/JGupFosEcVA/видео.html
Thanks
Behfor thank u so much! I have watched the video and I would definitely buy one now! Appreciate the help! + 1 subscriber from me :)
@ Dave Parducho : Whilst still a very good Wi-fi router, the AC68U is starting to show its age in 2020. Today, I’d suggest looking at an AX56U for similar price, but has Wi-fi 6 and better performance. Alternatively, an AC66U_B1 that has the exact same hardware, but in a different casing and a cheaper price (make sure its a B1; the standard AC66U is a lower level product). No idea why the AC66U_B1 is sold cheaper when it’s the same internally as an AC68U. But hey, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!
Do you any changes in setting ( wireless part of this router as a access point ) that would increase the speed on 2.4ghz
is this router overkill if my isp only provides 18mbps? 😅 at&t is trash where i live...
It depends what you want to do! The Internet connection is only one of the services a wireless router can provide. Overall this is a great choice for normal home network but I would take a look at some newer routers as well! Such as:
ruclips.net/p/PLzCWb3z_t2bKUcdTkr8TxMWhuCFvGqvWY
Thanks.
Hello can you tell me about Bandwidth control dose it work ? Dose it have advanced QOS ? Please help
Please watch this video
ruclips.net/video/JGupFosEcVA/видео.html
Does it still works? If i set network limiter for everyone will it work like 1mbps for all user's
i heard that there a prob with the 2.4hz not working did they fix that in 2020 i rallywant to get a asus router like this one but i need to know if the 2.4hz is ok
Mine cannot update to latest firmware. After it complete update in the update menu, it still the same old firmware. Any ideas?help
How do setup?with asus app?and is a modem needed?
Anyone know what is the difference between Asus rt ac68u and the Asus rt ac68u (t-mobile model)?
They have different firmware. I was able to flash the T-Mobile version and convert it into AC68U, but it was not easy and it keeps getting harder and harder since ASUS doesn't want people doing that. Just google it you'll fine the most current information regarding that.
@@Behfor bro here in Colombia they are selling the Asus rt ac68u t mobile and they said they flashed it, do you recommend to buy it? Will i have problems in the future tu updatr de firmware? Or after i flashed the router i am not gokng to have problems?
Hi .does this Asus router have ADSL connection please ? Because in my country internet comes with phone wire so would this work for me ? Thanks in advance
Thank you very much for the info!!!
You're very welcome! Thanks for watching 😀👍