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2ASUS RT-AC88U

ASUS RT-AC88U

 VerifiedMPN: RT-AC88U
2ASUS RT-AC88U
3.8

19 reviews

Positive vs Negative
69%15%16%
Number of Connected Devices ?17.8 devices
Build Quality
3.3
Value for Money
3.2
Ease of Setup
4.5
Reliability
3.3
Wi-Fi Range
4.0
19 reviews
Michael
MichaelSA6 posts
 
Build Quality
Value for Money
Functionality

Faulty WiFi, unusable – Easy to set up and use, with decent range for 2.4Ghz and good WiFi speed. But after a few months the WiFi began to suffer errors where it would be "connected" but without internet. Wired devices on the same router would continue to work fine. Power cycling the router would see it working fine again for a couple of days. This irregular operation… Read more

behavior worsened over time and eventually meant that I had problems even trying to use connected devices through Google Home like Spotify connect. After much frustration, I replaced the Asus with a decent Netgear RAX200 and it's been flawless. On the basis of this experience, I could not recommend this device to anyone.

Ric C.
Ric C.QLD3 posts
  Verified
Build Quality
Value for Money
Wi-Fi Range

Good when it runs – I “upgraded”from a 68U to the 88U. The 88U struggled on 2.4. not good if you have plugged in to a safety switch and an electrical storm comes thru as that was the end of them both. Works well otherwise. Better with mesh. Returning back to HN again inside a year for replacement. 68U backup still works Show details

David2
David22 posts
 

Performance, Excellence,Mesh – Connectivity is superb, we avoided the fiasco that is the NBN and went with Optus 4G Dropouts are very, very rare. Management ranges from simple to complex, I have 2 mesh repeaters and wanted to flood the house with signal. Show details

David
David8 posts
 

Tried 2, both are broken – After deciding that my old trusty Netgear router was struggling with all my devices, I thought I'd upgrade to the Asus ac88u. Got the router and it was great for about 15 minutes. I tried all the settings and factory reset it a few times but after 2 days it completely failed. I got a replacement and it seems to last about 20 minutes before dropping out. This is officially the worst product I have ever purchased. Show details

brocky
brockyQLD6 posts
 

Works well – I recently purchased the ASUS RT-AC88U Dual Band AC3100 Gigabit Router I have found this product to be perfect for my needs it offers gigabit wired networking and fantastic other features like being able to have a hard drive connected to be able to do mac back up It also is grate for gaming and has a feature to speed up the connection for gaming… Read more

networks it is fairly easy to set up and if you do run into problems there are plenty of YouTube videos from asus and others that will walk you through the setup highly recommend this product

steven
stevenQLD36 posts
  Verified

Great upgrade from RT68U (update added 29APR2020) – Only had a few weeks now but big improvement over my previous network setup. I was running two RT68U, one as a repeater. I am still using one 68U as a repeater but the 88U is my main router. I run 9 security cameras and many other wifi and hard wired devices. When I added my last two cameras I started having trouble with my cameras, tried a lot of… Read more

things to the point reduced resolution on some of the cameras. Decided to upgrade main router and it is like night and day now. All my cameras are working great now, my signal strength has improved and my wifi speeds are maxing out to my paid speeds from my NBN service any part of the house now. I have been using Asus routers now for several years and am comfortable with the interface of the mobile app and browser page. The router offers way more features than I use also I am using Merlin firmware. I have been using Merlin for awhile now so even with the new router I decided to continue to use it. Not saying the Asus firmware is not any good , but Merlin is very popular with geeks everywhere so I just continue to use it. My only negative is I think they are overpriced considering this router was released several years ago, Asus currently has a promotion for routers at the moment but this unit is not in the promotion, the 86U is which is a newer router, but the main reason I did not buy one of those is the fact it only had 4 ports on the unit as well I not justify spending the money on the new AX style of routers especially when I do not see myself having any devices with AX wifi for a few years . I love the flexibility of having 8 ports on the back, the size of the unit does not bother me and so far so good.

I figured I should add an update here, has nearly been a year and the 88U is still going good. I have been running merlin 3rd party software and have noticed over the last few months some issues with my router/repeater 68U losing connection and also my IP security cameras were having connection issues. I thought that my old 68U router was failing but first I rolled back both routers to Asus firmware and now I am running the AIMESH system that Asus offers. I have now added another of my old 68U routers into my shed and easily added it to the AIMESH system. It has simplified my network and all my cameras are stable now and the Asus app works very well and easy to use.

Never again wow
Never again wowWA6 posts
  Verified

No issues – How satisfied are you with the connectivity of the modem/router to your devices? very good. How often do you get dropouts that are fixed by resetting the modem / router (ie. the ISP is not at fault)? None that ive noticed. How difficult is it to set up and manage this modem / router? pretty easy if you have a bit of background knowledge i use the ISP modem as a bridge.  Show details

Glen B
Glen B17 posts
  Verified

Rock solid – Ton of features and great range. I haven't had a single drop out or Reboot needed since switching from a Dlink taipan. It also just smashes the d'link in feature set and range. The extra LAN ports is also great for homes with a fair bit of Ethernet wiring. Not the prettiest thing but I don't care as long as it works. That said, their customer support pages are terrible so I hope I don't have to use them.  Show details

Newbs
Newbs10 posts
 

Reliable High Performance Router – This router performs very reliably and has no trouble at all downloading at 50mbps on NBN, or streaming or file sharing between the 7 other devices on my network. I installed the Merlin custom firmware for some extra features, but it really has everything most users would need with the stock firmware, including the VPN client functionality which… Read more

is so convenient. The speed and range are excellent on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. I really don't think you can go wrong with this router.

Octavia
Octavia4 posts
 

Solid Router – I've had a great experience with the AC68U I had high hopes for the AC3200. I've read a few things about sketchy setup issues and dropped connections so was a little nervous. Anyway, I followed the directions to first set it up and immediately download the latest firmware. First note is that I did the quick setup and that worked great. It prompted… Read more

for the firmware upgrade and I did it. After doing it, I reset configuration back to factory default using the Web GUI. This ensures settings with the latest firmware are addressed in the config file. I've had stable connection and I've seen a performance improvement over the AC68U. For a single router system I highly recommended it.

Addy
AddyWA6 posts
  Verified

Good router with great range – This router is awesome. No connection drops and a great range. Bonus is that it has a futuristic love it or hate it design, and I absolutely love it. Sad thing is that it does not have an inbuilt modem, wherein I still have to use Optus’ Junkbox to connect with NBN. Beside this, the product is highly recommended  Show details

Stevo
Stevo6 posts
  Verified

Amazing router – Power at ur fingertips. Great modem router Pros -Speed -Consistent and reliable -Great wifi -frequent update Cons -Can't use ddwrt or other custom firmware on this device because it's adsl modem -App doesn't work -sometimes admin doesn't load on my phone well Got it from Harvey Norman Melbourne city for about $409 after amex deal and cash back from asus  Show details

BrokenRouter
BrokenRouter
 

3yr warranty, you may need it – 3 stars as it was a great unit while it worked, but... 1st RT-AC88U lasted ~6 months before dropping the 5Gwifi band permanently. Factory reset and rescue mode was unsuccessful. Returned to reseller. 2nd RT-AC88U lasted 4 hours before dropping the 2.4Gwifi band permanently. Factory reset and rescue mode was unsuccessful. Returned to reseller. We have swapped to a RT-AC68U which looks to be a more reliable unit, only time will tell.  Show details

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ausishman
ausishmanVIC7 posts
 

A fantastic router – I have been using the router for a while and I can not fault it. The Wi-Fi range is great yet no outstanding. I installed Merlin on it and it runs with no complaints. The software comes with a bunuch of very useful features (not only for geeks). If I had to purchase it again I would not think twice.  Show details

Bruce
BruceVIC17 posts
  Verified

Perfomance, looks & features, but not actual function or operation! – This is as stated a outstanding router with lots of features, however it still cannot stay connected to my WiFi attached Xerox 625dw office printer no matter how it is configured! I have rung and put in a please fix asap with Asus lady stating, "you will get a confirm email contact and progress", um, when? Never arrived! In contrast my previous… Read more

router had no issues with this same printer with its same WiFi settings. This also applies to a WiFi connected product called Voyager Air 2 which will not stay connected either. Also 88U has a few other things that just dont work and DO NOT use the Asus android app, espically child time programming, it just wipes any settings done via the normal GUI, gone, and to make matters worse, dosent store any changes made using the app either!!!! Using a android tablet, browser, one CANNOT move items in QoS customize as example.

It is very sad that such a pricey, the best product of Asus is let down by its very basic of operation! I still can't print! Asus keep adding wonderfull NEW features like Asus mesh while missing the ones that still DONT WORK! And still keeps saying in log 'WAN reconnecting, WAN restored' over and over, um from what on NBN FTTP? How long is it going to take Mr. Asus to get this all fixed?

wusyc
wusycVIC25 posts
 

Good solid high performance router – I am using this router on my 100/40 NBN connection. It's wifi coverage and performance is great. It also has a lot of security features that most family needs. For more demanding user, there is also custom firmware available which makes the router even more flexible. I only give 4 starts because the router seems to slow down the connection over a number of days. I am hoping that the latest firmware fixes this.  Show details

DC
DC14 posts
  Verified

Poor customer support and unreliable connectivity issues spoil – Potentially very good router spoilt by poor ASUS technical support and unreliable connectivity issues. Needed regular (couple of times a day) reboot prior to connecting to its printer server and other devices e.g. Chromecast, for these devices to be recognised and operate correctly. Replacement with a new A6 hardware revision and latest firmware… Read more

failed to fix the issues. After replacing with a TP Link router, the regular reboots were no longer needed.

Raz
Raz2 posts
  Verified

Excellent router for those that need good wireless coverage – I bought this router a couple of months ago, when I moved into a new house with FTTP available. The unit has been rock solid during this time, with the only restarts being for firmware upgrades. The current router uptime is 33 days. Initially I was using the router via wireless, to my PC with an ASUS PCE-AC88 wireless card. Connection speed on… Read more

the 5Ghz band was a solid 1300Mb/s, with the PC located 12M from the router, through 3 walls. Wireless throughput was measured at 96/35 3ms on my FTTP 100/40 connection.

I have run some CAT6 cable from the NBN NTD and moved the router to my office. The only real difference that I notice from the wireless connection is that latency has reduced by about 1ms.

Wireless coverage is very good on both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands, covering our largish corner block (inside and outside) completely. We have a variety of devices connected, iPhones, iPads, Samsung smart TV etc. and everything connects fine and stays connected.

Overall, this is a very nice unit, much better than the Billion 7800VDPX I upgraded from.

Pri
PriNSW48 posts
  Verified

Excellent Router – Over the years I have many modem/ routers issued by ISP. Some were subpar, some average some brands were excellent. Asus was one of the router brands that has performed well. This year I decided to get my own. I chose Asus RT-AC88Uproduct due to my previous exposure. It has the robust web admin configuration page. Featured heavy customisations,… Read more

2.4 GHz & 5 GHz radio isolations to keep it interfering with wifi devices, guest network creations. Ability to monitor devices remotely, assign static IP's, LAN assignments, ports management & security updates are few I find it very valuable. This modem is not a cheap. It's priced around $380. There are 8 LAN ports which are more than enough for the devices I use. I have done speed tests over a week which turned out to be excellent. Compared to the direct connection to my NBN modem, this router consistently outperformed in speed test site Oakla website. My house is a medium size single story house. The wifi signal reaches to outside to my ring IP camera's fitted on top far corner of the garage. My router is located about 75 metres away indoors & the signal is robust. I had to have a WIFI extension with my prior router to get the signal this far.

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