I bought a Netgear XR500 last november for the very impressive looking DumaOS... to find a buggy, completely not fleshed out (event he VPN function advertised wasn’t implemented until a late December firmware update), insanely unstable (crashed at least once a week every week, i had to resort to using my 4yr old Netgear R7000 that was perfectly reliable) router with the company that makes DumaOS having an incredibly apathetic, “we’ll fix it when we fix it” and “No ETA’s on fixes, we make updates, Netgear releases them. Ask them” tone on all forums, i gave up on hoping it would be fleshed out at any point soon. So i got rid of it for the AX88u and flashed Merlin on it.
I was looking for a traffic analyzing, enterprise-functionality router with the XR500 with every nerd knob possible (like Tomato firmware offers), and got a dumbed down buggy experience with barely even basic configuration options. The AC88u was the exact opposite. From a conditional VPN to IPS/traffic analysis/web logging/firewal/features you normally need to outfit a network with separate dedicated devices for, this handles it all with absurd speed and responsiveness in the interface. Everything i thought might be a gimmick (like trendmicro’s ‘aiprotection’) is the real deal and you could not ask for more to secure a home network unless you did go with those dedicated devices. It’s super stable (i changed core router settings that have to restart services in AsusWRT, while transferring 150GB worth of data from a client to an SSD connected to it to test network/USB speeds, and downloading a giant BFV patch on my gaming PC while on a work skype call and never even got a blip of cut-out or noise on my call. The web interface locked up because i made one kinda dumb change while doing this but the call never did!), inSANELY fast across the board (from using it as an OpenVPN client to enabling all the COU-taxing security features to topping out its resources by reading and writing to a USB-connected SSD), i can’t even convey how great this is.
I wanted to see my clients’ connection rates, which interfaces they were connected to, and very importantly their life bandwidth and traffic- and within a couple clicks i can do this as if i’m navigating a Cisco ASA firewall. Just function after function, it’s all available, and it all works.
I also got this for increased theoretical AC speeds and eventual AX speeds, along with wanting the fastest chipset available (my R7000 nighthawk was extremely modular, but its dual-core 1ghz CPU definitely struggled to pass VPN traffic at full bandwidth. My XR500 bricked itself after about 5 minutes of use whenever i even tried to configure the VPN. The AX88U has zero issues with that speed or stability there). So far i haven’t been able to bottleneck the CPU with anything yet without the ethernet Gb bandwidth limitation topping out first. Maybe when AX clients come into play and i set up an aggregated 2Gb link the router could start chugging in some cases, but i have no idea and really doubt it would cause a sweat at this point.
Lordy, even gaming-wise i’ve been casually checking my ping in Battlefield V and Anthem, i’m getting response times i’ve never seen anywhere i’ve lived with any hardware i’ve had before (7-12ms pings, better than 95% of everyone on any server i’m put in).
I even use this to manually reserve IP addresses for my non-configurable IoT devices so I know where everything is on the network. The XR500 would wipe its memory every few days, destroying the work i did there. This is super stable, leases every IP to every device i tell it on-call and never has an issue. It’s just too freaking good. My R7000 was the king of the mid 20-teens. The AX88u is the successor.
In summary this thing is an utter beast. If you’re looking to go with a ‘gaming’ router, i was looking between this and the GT-AX11000 when i decided to get rid of the XR500. I chose this because they have the same horsepower, same specs, and the gimmicky 3rd band of 5Ghz the 11000 has id just that... a gimmick unless you have 300 devices in your home. I run about 50 clients in an apartment with plenty of neighbor networks and never have a problem with congestion or needing more bandwidth, especially for gaming, that this extra band ‘gives’ you. Also, the main reason i chose this is because the gaming ROG firmware on thr GT-AX11000 actually IS gimmicky. Read reviews on the GT-AC5300 and you’ll see a lack of Asus updates, constant bugs, broken features (recently an update actually stopped that 3rd 5ghz band from even broadcasting), and poorly implemented gaming functions unique to the router that just don’t work most of the time. I have a friend that runs an AiMesh with an AC88u and GT-AC5300 since Christmas and it has given nothing but issues. The worst part is, NO 3rd party firmware support with the ROG firmware. So if Asus doesn’t fix a bug, you’re out of luck. The AX88u is supported by Merlin which is the snappiest, slickest firmware out there for Asus routers. That’s the key, the firmware- and the AX88u has the one you want with no big compromises to the AX11000.
Last thing, AX11000 has the 2.5GbE port. Neat, but with the 8x 1GbE ports on the AX88u you have plenty of available ports to run link aggregation on, say, a separate switch with 2.5/5/10GbE support in the future for a 2Gb pipe into any of the direct router clients, while you can put any insanely fast clients on the switch directly later when those speeds start being adopted. It’s all a win-win with this router and any future scenarios you can think of.
10/10 best router of 2019, true Netgear Nighthawk R7000 successor.
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ASUS RT-AX88U Pro (AX6000) Dual Band WiFi 6 Extendable Gaming Router, Dual 2.5G Ports, Rangeboost Plus, Port Forwarding, Subscription-Free Network Security, Instant Guard, VPN, AiMesh Compatible (Renewed) $209.00 & FREE Shipping
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This Item  ASUS RT-AX88U PRO AX6000 Dual Band WiFi 6 Router, WPA3, Parental Control, Adaptive QoS, Port Forwarding, WAN aggregation, lifetime internet security and AiMesh support, Dual 2.5G Port |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | -11% $239.52 List: $269.99 | -27% $87.59 List: $119.99 | -28% $129.99 List: $179.99 | $681.99 | -20% $199.99 List: $249.99 | $129.99 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 | Get it as soon as Saturday, May 11 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| User interface | ||||||
| WiFi signal | ||||||
| Tech Support | ||||||
| Sold By | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
| connectivity tech | Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB | Wi-Fi, Ethernet | Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB | Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB | Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB | Wi-Fi |
| number of ports | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| data transfer rate | 6000 megabits per second | 3000 megabits per second | 5400 megabits per second | 19000 megabits per second | 5700 megabits per second | 1 gigabits per second |
| wireless standard | 802 11 AX, 802 11 AC, 802 11 G, 802 11 G, 802 11 A | 802 11 AX, 802 11 AC, 802 11 G, 802 11 G, 802 11 A | 802 11 AX, 802 11 AC, 802 11 G, 802 11 G, 802 11 A | 802 11 BE, 802 11 AX, 802 11 AC, 802 11 G, 802 11 G | 802 11 AX, 802 11 AC, 802 11 N, 802 11 G, 802 11 A | 802 11 AX, 802 11 AC, 802 11 N, 802 11 A, 802 11 B |
| frequency band class | dual band | dual band | dual band | tri band | dual band | dual band |
| lan port bandwidth | 2.5 Gigabit | Gigabit | Gigabit | 10 Gigabit | 2.5 Gigabit | Gigabit Ethernet |
| RAM size | 1 GB | 256 MB | 512 MB | 2 GB | 1 GB | 512 MB |
| security protocol | WPA3-Personal, WPA2-Enterprise, WPS | WPA3-Personal, WPA2-Enterprise, WPS | WPA3-Personal, WPA2-Enterprise, WPS | WPA3-Personal, WPA2-Enterprise, WPS | WPA3-Personal, WPA2-Enterprise, WPS | WPA/WPA2/WPA3-Personal, WPA/WPA2-Enterprise, WPS support, VPN, WPS |
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WORTH IT? ASUS AX6000 WiFi 6 Gaming Router (RT-AX88U)
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✅ Eric's Family Reviews ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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Excellent Value and Operation
This ASUS router replaced an older router that was one of the first to offer Wi-Fi 6.Recently my internet provider (Xfinity) bumped my service to 800Mbps — plenty of speed for my needs — and as my older router was no longer offering any firmware updates, I decided to replace it and upgrade to a 6E router, that my new MacBook Air could take advantage of.Initially, I was looking at a two-part MESH setup, but to get the most out of it, you really need an ethernet cable from the satellite unit as the “backhaul” to the main unit. Again, good research pretty much told me that in my 1800 sq.ft. house, that a MESH setup was just overkill.Setting up the ASUS router was fairly easy. The included “Quick Start Guide” is good, although I had a brief issue in connecting to the router’s login page. Once that was resolved, the setup was straightforward. There is a lot of customization that can be done through either the web interface or via the ASUS Router app for your Android or iPhone. Also, when I logged in for the initial setup, it updated the firmware to the most recent version which was just two months old. ASUS seems to have a reputation for providing updates on a regular basis to keep your equipment up-to-date.My initial testing of the throughput and signal strength has been excellent. In doing my research, I understood that the new 6Ghz band that tri-band routers offer is handicapped by a lower transmitting power, and the physics of walls. So, I wasn’t expecting much, but was very surprised when the throughput speeds on my MacBook, using the 6Ghz band, were a good deal better than the 5Ghz readings from my old router — about 20% better. In fact, the 5Ghz numbers on the ASUS is way better than my old router. Of course, the ASUS has a good deal more bandwidth than my old one.The ASUS is located in the same spot as my old router, on the second floor of a two-story home, pretty much in the center of the house.So, far, it’s all thumbs up for this router. I can easily recommend this router, especially if it meets your needs.Do your research, and find the router that meets your needs — and maybe just a bit more. A great place for research on all networking things is the website for Dong Knows Tech. There is very comprehensive review for the ASUS router there.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2024
Style: WiFi 6 | AX6000 | Dual 2.5G PortsVerified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
Alain Mijangos
Resuelve mis problemas
Reviewed in Mexico on January 3, 2024Style: WiFi 6E | AXE7800Verified Purchase
Salvador Monroy
Totalmente recomendable
Reviewed in Mexico on March 1, 2023Style: WiFi 6 | AX6000Verified Purchase
Salvador Monroy
Reviewed in Mexico on March 1, 2023
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Amazon Customer
Good product
Reviewed in India on November 4, 2019Style: WiFi 6 | AX6000Verified Purchase
Plitz
A very good Wifi 6E router
Reviewed in Singapore on October 5, 2023Style: WiFi 6E | AXE7800Verified Purchase
Plitz
Reviewed in Singapore on October 5, 2023
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Julio Vidal
Una de las mejores inversiones que he hecho.
Reviewed in Mexico on January 18, 2023Style: WiFi 6 | AX6000Verified Purchase
