ASUS RT-AX3000 Dual Band WiFi Router

Pros: Faster than my replaced RT-AC68P/U units Same, known, configuration interface. Cons: Can’t get the USB port on AiMesh NODE to operate…..yet. Might have to dive under the hood. Overall Review: I would recommend these units. I bought two, to upgrade my existing RT-AC68U/P units. I changed the overall network from Router->Extender to AiMesh Router->3 AiMesh Nodes network by repurposing the older devices. Works as anticipated. As a bonus, they’re all supported by Merlin. Happy camper so far.

Pros: – affordable latest ultra-fast WiFi 6 router with more than enough specs for a typical home wireless network. – More options for configurations compared to other similar mid-range WiFi 6 routers. – Adequate WiFi signal strength for a small-size home/condo/apartment. – Able to handle multiple WiFi 6 capable devices at once. – Can also configure the router via a cell phone app. – Can set up an extended range WiFi network through an AiMesh with other Asus routers. Cons: – Maximum WiFi 6 bandwidth (5GHz channel) is lower than the higher-spec‘d Asus RT-AX88U, though the bandwidth is more than enough for a typical home network. – No LAN aggregation Overall Review: Recommend for anyone wanting to set up a home network with the latest WiFi 6 wireless network standard. The specs of this router is more than enough. If wanting more gaming oriented features, might want to consider the more expensive AX11000 router.

Pros: – Fast Speeds – Increased 5ghz range over AC router – Triple core cpu, and plenty of memory – Very stable running Asus Merlin Overall Review: Bought this to replace my AC1900 which was running out of NVRAM due to my custom configs and ended up needing rebooted every week or so. I have had this router for 6 months and have had to reboot it twice, it has been very soiid, I could not be happier with my purchase. Router has ASUS Merlin firmware installed. I put a good bit more stress on my routers then the average person with VPN server, static dhcp leases, and other custom scripts/ configs in JFFS folder, and have about 25 wired devices and 15-20 wifi devices connected (not including any guest devices). Also bought an AX200 wifi card for laptop and can get real world speeds faster than 1 gbps on file transfers. WiFi range has increased about 20% as well. My 5Ghz AC devices see almost no drop in performance at the farther corners of the house (while before the 2.4 band would be faster in the far corners due to signal drop off). I can not speak to AI Mesh performance/functionality. If you can centrally locate your router then this model will support a 2100-2400 sqft home with ease.

Pros: Uses newest generation of wifi Haven’t had any connection issues others have mentioned…. Yet. Upgraded from a RT-AC1900P, which has served me well for years. Compared, the RT-AX3000 has: – better signal strength overall – WAY better 5GHz strength (can get a strong, stable 5 GHz signal through 3 floors vs. a weak signal with the 1900P) – wireless seems a bit snappier. Likely due to the AX3000’s better CPU and memory. – offers the ability to easily flash an alternative firmware on set-up. Cons: cons that are no big deal: – no stand to set router upright. – included ethernet cable is cat5e – ASUS partnered with Trend Micro with these routers. There are some features you can not use without agreeing to share your information with Trend Micro. This appears questionable and intrusive sometimes not making much sense (you have to accept the agreement to use QoS for example). But I don’t think this is a big deal based on what the data collection disclosure says and what I’ve read elsewhere. This does indeed seem to be for security reasons and not a Facebook like ‘collect all the personal data they can to sell’ agreement. potential con: – AC power plug. ASUS (like other wireless router manufacturers) has used plague capacitors in their power plugs in the past. FYI, if you have a router that works well and suddenly starts dropping connection, signal degradation, randomly resetting, or routinely malfunctions in general, there’s a very high chance the power plug had a capacitor inside it go bad. Problem is I won’t know if that’s the case for 1-2 years. I’ve experienced this issue with an older ASUS router I used to use; replacing the AC plug fixed it. con that IS a big deal: – ASUSWRT-Merlin, the main reason I bought this thing Overall Review: I bought this over the past summer since it kept going on sale. I’ve been using an RT-AC1900P for years. That wireless router worked very well for me. I only set up the AX3000 a few days ago and I wasn’t expecting it to impress me, but it has. I would give the AX3000 5 eggs if it weren’t for 1 thing: if you’re the ASUS customer rep reading this review, this is what you need to know. For me, the main selling point for this product was the fact its set up to allow the owner to flash another firmware right out of the box. There’s some weirdo out there who makes firmware specifically for ASUS wireless routers. Its called ASUSWRT-MERLIN. The last time this firmware was updated was back in August and the project has since been on hiatus. The only detail I know about it is ASUS suddenly stopped sharing source code the project needs to continue. I’m not sure if this is limited to ASUS or if its industry wide, but this is a shame since I like using ASUSWRT-MERLIN and, as I understand it, ASUSWRT-MERLIN provided features and bugfixes that ASUS used in their own official firmware updates. I will change this review (if I can) and bump it up to 5 eggs once the ASUSWRT-MERLIN project resumes. And, yes, this is a big deal to me when it comes to buying ASUS routers.