ASUS Wireless-AC2900 RT-AC86U Gaming Router Review

Pricing, Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Pricing

At the time of writing, ASUS’ AC2900 WiFi Dual-band Gigabit Wireless Router (RT-AC86U) costs $197.39 and £149.99 on Amazon.

Conclusion

I could keep could this page very and just say: It is an awesome router, go out and get one. But, don’t worry. I do have more to say than that. ASUS’ RT-AC86U is a classic router from its design. A stand-up router with three antennas on top. While that’s true, it still gets the ASUS touch with the colours and design. It’s simple, but at the same time, it lets you know that there’s some performance under the hood.

Connections and Switches

The wired connection setup is classic with a 4+1 setup. Four Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 LAN ports and one WAN port. The three external antennas are classic too. They use standard connectors, making them easy to upgrade in the event that you want that. On top of the external, the RT-AC86U has an internal antenna too.

The router has a lot of buttons, at least when compared with most routers. And I like that. Physical control is nice. There are power and Wi-Fi on/off buttons, a WPS button, and also one which turns the LEDs off. The latter can be useful to remove the distraction of flickering and blinking LEDs.

There are two more connection options which are the USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports. They can be used for storage drives, printers, or cellular modems.

Good Performance and Coverage

Thanks to the QAM technology, bandwidth steering technologies, and generally good setup, the RT-AC86U performs very well. It will easily cover large homes while delivering a good experience for any connected device. MU-MIMO makes sure all wireless devices are served without bottlenecks while the QoS makes sure that the right systems get package priority. A job well done!

User Interface

The user interface is a familiar one, at least to anyone who had the pleasure to use an ASUS networking product before. It is easy to use and packed with features. From gaming oriented QoS and VPN, over normal VPN and control, to online connections, file, and printer sharing. It has it all.

Pros

• WTFast and Adaptive QoS for better online-gaming
• AC2900 with quad-stream and MU-MIMO technology
• Impressive feature set
• Good performance
• USB 3.0 and physical buttons for WiFi and LEDs

Cons

• none

“If you want a great router that doesn’t break your budget, get the ASUS RT-AC86U. It performs great, is built around modern technologies, and comes with a good feature set for under £150.”

We would like to thank ASUS for sending us this unit.