ASUS ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router

• 1 x Gigabit WAN port
• 802.11AC(1300Mbps over 5G) + 802.11N(450Mbps over 2.4G)
• IPv6 support
• VPN Server Support
• 2 x USB2.0 support got Printer sharing or HDD sharing

Before having the great Asus RT-AC66U I was dealing with a Cisco E4200 v2 (Stay away from these routers). The Cisco E4200 v2 was a terrible product, it had an intermittent internet and slow speeds (I spent more than 1 hour with Cisco support trying configurations) then I gave Cisco another chance, I bought a Bran new Cisco EA4500, same problem impossible to get it to work properly. I did a lot of research and it looks like many many people are having these problems with Cisco and there is no fix. The 2 Cisco high end routers that I have tryed were really bad, dropping a poor signal on both 2.4 and 5.0 and really slow slow. Then I got the Netgear AC 1750 (R6000) It worked really well, but I didn't like that in the configuration you could not choose N or AC modes only, instead it says Up to 450 Mbps, Up to 1300 and like that so it enables all Wifi types and you can not use it as N only, apart from that it was so Bulky even the charger was large as the ones found in laptops.

I Just received the Asus RT-AC66U and it works great, excellent range and speed link (260Mb 10 meters -33 ftaway from the router, some walls in the middle) The Set up has easy options for novice and advanced tools for expert and it look really good. The router has the better construction quality that I have seen, the plastic, the terminals and everything looks really good quality (The Netgear looked so cheap from the outside, and the Cisco was just ok)Even the box was better quality and better printed that the Cisco and Netgear ones, also the manual. The router's look is great, like a jewelry box.

Pros:

Great Range and Speed

Great configuration interface

Good construction quality

Detachable antennas (you can upgrade to a larger antenna for extra coverage)

Compact compared to other AC Routers

dd-wrt Firmware likely to be available for this router some time soon

Cons:

It warms up more than others, but I think it's normal.

I would recommend this router to anyone, Great product overall.

Buy ASUS ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router Now

Update (10/1/12):

I downgraded the firmware back to 164. Since I upgraded the firmware to 220, I have already rebooted the router about 4~5x, the internet connection suddenly stops. I don't know if it's just me, but I feel that the router is a bit warmer when I touch it using firmware 220. I don't have any temperature measuring device so I can't confirm that it's really warmer (I did not adjust the transmit power setting, fyi).

Update (9/12/12):

I updated the firmware to version 3.0.0.4.220, and the 2 previous problems I stated is still existing.. I don't mind it that much but I still hope Asus fixes it soon. Workaround for 1.) I connect my PC to 2.4Ghz. 2.) I use Splashtop from my iPhone to connect to my home PC from office.

AiCloud looks promising, supposedly you could view/play your media files from your iphone/ipad and android devices within and outside your network. But I'm stuck with the loading page, after I put my login user and password. My iphone can't login. Can anyone confirm if the aicloud works?

Update (8/30/12):

So far have encountered 2 problems with the latest firmware (3.0.0.4.164)

1. I'm using Nero Media Home 4 in my PC to share my media to my wireless TV, Bluray and PS3. When my PC is connected to 5Ghz, the tv, bluray and ps3 cannot connect to Nero. When I connect to 2.4Ghz, they can see Nero and play the media. This works fine with N66U.

2. I have setup port forwarding for Remote Desktop Connection, so I can connect to my home PC from my office. It's not working. This again, is working fine with N66U.

QOS is also a known problem, but I'm not using it for now. I believe it's just a firmware issue since both are working with N66U. I hope it gets fixed with the next firmware release.

Original Review:

I bought this to share my media files, from an external hard drive, to my 3d tv and wireless bluray in bedroom. So far I'm not disappointed. I also have N66U to compare with, I've read from other reviewers that this router gets hot, when I touch the top part, it is warm but not hot, which is the same with my N66U.

This is suppose to have a greater coverage compare to N66, but to my experience, the coverage is the same, which is already awesome.

Initial setup was very straightforward, easy, fast and CD-less. Below are the actual steps after opening the box:

1. Connect LAN cable from modem, LAN cable going to PC, and power cable

2. Open web browser. Router setup page automatically shows up. Click Next

3. Type the User login and Password that you want. Click Next

4. Type the SSID and key for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz (or you can click the checkbox: Copy 2.4Ghz settings to 5Ghz settings). Click Apply.

After that, your wireless device should now be able to connect to your new router. I even used the same SSID and password from my previous router, and my devices connected automatically after the setup.

These are my devices that connects to this router:

3 laptops

2 Iphones

Ipad

wireless tv

wireless bluray

PS3

wireless printer

No problem with connections, no disconnects, iphones when outside the apartment are still connected.

PROS

Media Bridge mode. Applicable using 2 AC66U. This feature is not available to N66U

Dual band, 450Mbps+1300Mbps. I can't comment with the AC speeds, I don't have wireless AC clients for now.

HTTPS authentication when accessing admin page. If your using this for office/business use, this is plus.

AiCloud. Coming soon, the app is not yet available from the appstore/googleplay as of this review. (This is now available as of firmware version 3.0.0.4.220)

2 USB ports. Supports external hard drives, printers or 3g/4g modems

3TB external harddrive works (Manual says only up to 2TB is supported). Tested using Seagate expansion 3TB STBV3000100. My TVs won't even accept 3TB harddrives when connected directly to its usb ports.

DHCP Manual IP assignment (if you need static private IP on your device)

DLNA. Streams HD vids, pics and 3D vids to my LG tv and my LG bluray player, no lags, no disconnects. And this is even using wireless connection and not wired.

Awesome range. Before, I was using a cheap netgear, single band 2.4Ghz, included from my ISP. From the farthest point in my apartment, I get 2 bars of signal in windows 7 wireless network connection settings. With AC66U, I get full 5 bars using 2.4Ghz, and 4 bars on the 5Ghz band.

3 Large external antennas

Download Master (if your into P2P downloading/uploading)

Option to vertically stand the router, or wall mount

User friendly setup

Impressive performance particularly on 5Ghz band

Stylish looks and superb quality

Ability to install 3rd party firmwares

CONS

Steep price (but worth it!)

Lack of USB 3.0 (not a big deal, since I don't get usb 2.0 speeds for file transfer using FTP or Samba, which I already know before purchasing this)

Manual is a bit helpful, but this router has tons of features and the manual only mentions the basic functionalities.

If you got the money, and want a great performing router and stylish as well, I Highly Recommend Asus RT-AC66U. If you're about to buy N66U, just add $20~30 to your budget, and get this router, you won't regret.

Read Best Reviews of ASUS ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router Here

I've been following routers for about a year and determined this model would help future proof some wireless stuff we purchase next year. It's also one of, if not the strongest available. I was a little intimidated buying this one because of all it's features and not one of the traditional router brand. I thought setup would be a hassle. Boy was I wrong on all counts. This thing is wonderfully thought out...in all areas. It blows away Cisco's new "cloud for dummies", tricking some into online router accounts, so they can track your data usage.

Before setup I found 3 excellent HD Youtube videos (ASUS RT-N66U Setup...Wired...Wireless). They're made by a down to earth Asus employee who does a great job covering the setup wizard and various features. Getting it up is a breeze, very simple, takes a couple minutes for both wired and wireless. Before install you might want to check into the following:

1) Download the latest firmware from the ASUS website. The routers FW version listed at top of GUI, nice! (Router access is 192.168.1.1)

2) Decide if you want a different (SSID) name for the 2.4GHz and the 5GHZ channel and figure out what the names will be.

3) I used an online "WPA Key Generator" so the keys were ready before setup. I created a different one for each channel.

4) Visit smallnetbuilder.com forum for the AC66U. Read the couple threads on how they're getting strongest signals, best channels, frequency's, etc. Many passionate owners will help with timely support and tips.

5) Test your internet speeds and pingtest.net before and after you install this new router.

The routers GUI is incredibly easy to understand and has tremendous amount of information and features. They use plenty of icons, images, grids, laymens terms, and "?" that provide simple explanations when hovering over. The ability to configure "port forwarding" was so simple I spent more time looking for complex steps, then the actual time to config.

THE BOX Folks this is an impressive looking piece of hardware. It uses very dark/deep blue LED's just below the top surface. This dark blue lighting matches that same blue on our high end components. The small ASUS name in the back right corner is gold plated, a nice touch. The criss-cross grid pattern is done extremely well. The unit itself is solid, a very heavy device for it's size, which is nice for a change. I'm a fan of external antenna's and these look good, fully adjustable. They screw on so you could add extension cables to relocate them.

Surprisingly there is a small power button on the back no more plug/unplug. There's also a WPS button on the back or AC66U. I discovered it's purpose on my Android phone, a WPS note next to router network name. This feature eliminates the need to enter long WAP keys. Hitting the WPS button in a timely fashion automates and finishes connection to router. I had no ideas this tech was in routers.

The feature called "Download Master" performs downloads for your PC. With a storage device attached I no longer need to leave my PC running while waiting for a download to finish. There's many other features you can add or simply turn on. It's the shizznit of routers for sure. I'm in the GUI every couple hours checking features, usage, etc. It's a great application for sure.

Since ASUS is making firmware changes frequently, listening to their customers, I was not worried about those minor glitches when first released this device. I was confident they would get it right and work things out. My unit is Hardware version A2, so they are updating hardware too. Stop your searching and reading get this router you will be happy.

Want ASUS ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router Discount?

I got this router last week and my experiences are mixed so far. Fist the positive: the router is very fast and has the range no other router I tried had. With Asus EA-N66 access point as a client RT-AC66U is capable of reaching two stories straight down on very good speed. Other routers I tried were unable to achieve that. The router's web site is very informative and well designed.

Now the negative: If you have a device on your network such as server, storage or media streamer which provides remote access, this router is not for you. Remote access uses UPnP for port forwarding and this feature is not working with RT-AC66U. When I first received the router both my homeserver and NAS box reported UPnP setup as successful, but remote access wasn't working. Disabling the GRO option in the LAN's Switch control section did not help either. ALL devices I am aware of which provide remote access require forwarding of the ports 80 and/or 443. My internet search revealed that RT-AC66U firmware does not allow UPnP to forward ports below 1024. There is a way to bypass this restriction which involves enabling the telenet access to the router and issuing couple of the commands, but I am not sure that this hack is for everyone. After I managed to enable remote access I tried to enable the AirCloud (which is one of the main selling points of this router). That immediately broke remote access since AirCloud uses port 443. Enabling the firewall had the same effect.

ASUS technical support wasn't very helpful. This is the response I received to my question about UPnP and port forwarding:

My name is Joe and it's my pleasure to help you with your problem.

1.It could use UPnP to allow remote access to the devices on the home network.

2.The AirCloud can't be used together with the remote access.

I am not sure why Asus made a decision to quietly take over low range ports for AirCloud without explicitly documenting it. If AirCloud needs a port Asus should have provide a mechanism to reassign it.

I will keep the router for now because of it excellent speed, but if Asus will not provide a UpNP/AirCloud compatibility soon I will have to switch to another one.

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I was a long-time Linksys customer until I finally got sick and tired of garbage firmware, unexplained WAN slowdowns, and having to periodically reboot the router to recover proper performance (for a while). I bought the ASUS RT-AC66U about a month or two ago, upgraded the firmware, and installed it. It has worked flawlessly ever since and I have not had to reboot or babysit it at all. I haven't used all the functionality yet (e.g. usb attached drive or printer), but everything else has been better than the Linksys alternative even the configuration interface, which is very intuitive and easy to use. I am very satisfied with my purchase!!!

Update: If you're a semi-techie and have performed router firmware updates in the past, you will appreciate this. For years, with the Linksys units I owned, I would have to re-enter all of my configuration settings after updating the firmware. It was a ROYAL PAIN! Whenever something went wrong, Linksys/Cisco would say "Use the reset button on your router, re-enter all of your settings manually and see if that fixes it...". Ridiculous. Anyway, I did my first live firmware upgrade today on the RT-AC66U after running problem-free for a month. I upgraded from the 164 version to 188. The upgrade took no more than 3 minutes and the unit RETAINED ALL OF MY PREVIOUS SETTINGS without issue. This, in and of itself, was worth the switch to ASUS. Easy, reliable, and non-aggravating...