Use the coupon code PTECHSALE for 20% off. Original 20% Off Selected eBay sellers deal post
The ASUS RT-AC68U is a Wired and Wireless Router that enables you to create your own network with its 1300 Mbps wireless speed. Supporting the Wireless AC connectivity and wired throughput via 4-port Gigabit LAN interface, the router allows seamless functioning of applications that use multiple bandwidths.
What about the 86U model?
Unfortunately it seems HN has an exclusive, and prices are blasphemous. Though you can get it as grey import thru Ebay or Amazon USA. Definitely a worthy replacement for the venerable 68u.
Be aware the US versions are often rebadged T-Mobile. They are cheap but a while ago some firmware versions would detect for them and prevent them from being flashed to Merlin like the normal AC-68U. Some one did figure out how to prevent that detection but you'd have to dig
@BlueSkyAPI: Absolutely - was referring to the 86u model (successor to the 68u) which is cheaper off Ebay or Amazon.
@BlueSkyAPI: Cheers. Am also using the T-Mobile variant of the 68u model. Flashed it to ASUSWRT/Merlin, and it runs superbly.
DSL- models have modems, not RT- models
Cheers
Yes it is, you hook it up to the back of your modem and turn off the modems WiFi.
I purchased one recently as the qos and parental controls were far superior to that which came with my nbn providers router. This modem is just plugged into the nbn providers router which has dmz enabled.
I can't recommend it enough.
I bought mine couple of years ago - works well with NBN HFC and FTTP.
How is FTTN different? You sure it won't work?
THis is Router version and you need Modem for FTTN.
Yes, modem is provided by your provider - same for all NBN flavours.
Then you just plugin ASUS RT-AC68U router to your NBN modem.
Why wouldn't it work with FTTN then?
Yes, modem is provided by your provider - same for all NBN flavours.
No it’s not. Some providers can give you a Modem/Router with either a contract or for a fee.
This is completely different to the NTD that you are given from NBN if you’re on FTTP/C/HFC/FW/Satellite.
For anything apart from FTTN/B, you only need a router with a WAN.
I see, you purchased this and thought it had a built-in modem. Did you blamed the product for not being clear about it?
It is a great router, but wow, the price hasnt dropped over 3/4 years, I paid about $180 for mine then..
End of this year 802.11ax will get ratified. The price of this might drop then.
I'm running one of these, an RP-AC68U and a DSL-AC68U and it's a fantastic setup.
Anyone with this router should definitely update to Merlin FW. Highly recommended.
Yup, second that. Merlin is great, makes whole experience so much better, especially for the VPN connections.
I run the exact same setup!
Besides VPN (which I don't need) what are the main benefits of the Merlin FW? I've been pretty happy with the stock FW
Or if you have two ASUS products look into AiMesh, works great!
What's this like for VLANs? I'm looking for a router that will let me manage communications between (1) my main network/Synology NAS, (2) surveillance cameras (recording to the NAS) and (3) a RasPi with various cheap IOT devices that I don't trust not to phone home or provide an easy entry for a hacker wanting to get to (1) or (2).
Would Merlin on one of these do the job, or do I need to look at something like the Unifi setups?
For VLANs best to go with a ubiquiti or mikrotik. Merlin/ASUS does not explicitly have exposed UI for configuring VLANs although you can do it but it does require messing with text config files and trawling through forums and lots of experimentation. This part is not well documented partly because various ASUS models have diff inner workings. It can be done as I did figure it out at the end. However eventually went and got a ubiquiti/mikrotik and wish I have gone with that in the first place. Would have saved so much time. Great fun though.
By default the ASUS firmware and Merlin are positioned as consumer grade in terms of software, even though the hardware is definitely capable to run VLANs. So it requires quite a bit of effort to configure the VLANs, DHCP for multiple subnets and the routing tables.
If you want to run VLANs definitely worth investing in the right gear that supports this natively - especially for the software.
Btw it's crazy how many connections the devices phone home. The cameras and smart speaker pretty much is doo g this constantly
Thanks Smiley. Hacking the Asus sounds fun, but I'll learn from your experience and jump straight to the unifi/mikrotik options. I appreciate your advice.
Great! Makes me happy to know someone else has saved himself/herself from the frustrations and ridiculous amount of time spent. Ubiquiti is more mainstream than Mikrotik so there are more tutorials/forum support to bring yourself up to speed. So definitely keep that in consideration.
Thanks for the explanation!
Can you suggest any similar spec and pricing for ubiquity model?
I know it may not be super relevant but I just replaced the Modem/router version of the 68U. Whilst the UI is fantastic it kept losing throughput. The 2.4 band was also weaker. This was after 1.5 years. Replaced with a cheaper modem (and separate router) and all is better. Shame as I think it's got the makings of a good product.
Can we still get the T-Mobile version from Amazon and have it shipped over using forwader?
These often come up used on gumtree & Facebook marketplace.
I have purchased a dsl-AC68R with full retail packaging for $40, and a dsl-AC68U for $30 with no packaging.
When was this? Must've been some naive sellers.
I have two, both purchased used this year, one at $30 and another at $40, most bargains I get come from Facebook now, not gumtree.
There has been another on my Facebook marketplace at $80, has been for weeks, it still has the original price label of $398 on it! Some people do not mind spending.
Anyway, one person said they were upgrading, the other person was moving, and out of their tiny unit I must mention.
I think it’s part consumerism and no due diligence with a quick eBay price check.
I also believe a factor is some people don’t realise some technology has a longer useful life than the early days of tech, where you computer really was outdated after a year, it’s not the case anymore.
I just purchased an aspire V17 nitro for $100, i7 4720, factory 16gb ram, factory 1tb hdd, just needed a fresh windows install.
And a sff Lenovo tower for $200 over a year ago, i7 4770, 8gb ram, 256gb ssd, 1tb hdd, it was for sale for over a month before I purchased, no idea how it didn’t sell.
I can’t explain it, because people also want $250+ for old computers that would struggle to run minesweeper.
Some great bargains. Guess Facebook marketplace is more useful than I thought. If you can, would you be able to send me a link via PM to that router listing on FB Marketplace? Been eyeing one ever since your initial comment.
@TheOneWhoKnocks: Marketplace is great as buyer.
Link sent.
I just dragged my search location around the capital city’s looking for routers, I did get a bargain :)
All those Facebook prices are negotiable though, as many people are only selling to surrounding suburbs and not Aus wide like an eBay sale.
Is it a good WiFi Router? I need one with stronger WiFi signal to cover upstairs.
Do you have a current router that struggles or doesn’t make it at all?
My AC68U goes through 4x walls/25m no problems, no slow spots like the original Telstra nbn router.
Much better than many cheap bundled modem routers.
It’s (not?) worth noting that these higher powered routers do cost more to run.
http://www.tpcdb.com/list.php?type=11&query=ASUS
At 11W this router could cost up to twice to operate compared to a run of the mill unit.
11W at 27C/kWh is $26AUD per year if run 24/7.
****PLEASE NOTE: THIS PRODUCT IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH 'FTTN' NBN CONNECTIONS****
Please note: This model does not have a built-in modem