Asus RT-AX86U Vs TP-Link Archer AXE75 Router

Lancerx on 30/10/2022 - 06:47
Last edited 30/10/2022 - 10:26 by 1 other user

Hi all,

I am thinking of upgrading from AC68U, where the wifi signal seems to be unstable recently (6 years now).

Am deciding between Asus RT-AX86u and TP-LINK AXE75.

I guess the general consensus is that Asus is the better brand, but TP-link is so much cheaper and seems to be pretty capable too.

Mainly using for movie streaming, PLEX Chromecast streaming, and occasional gaming. Also, need a fairly strong wifi signal too due to Eufycam being a little far away.

Which should I go for? Does TP-Link provide value for money?

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  geekcohen on 30/10/2022 - 07:47

  I would suggest getting a new router and maybe a mesh wireless system to provide better coverage rather than relying on the router. From those two you provided, I think the Asus will be better.

  I had an issue with my Ring Door Bell being borderline for my WiFi and it was affecting its performance. So I put a WiFi AP closer to the doorbell, problem solved. Thats just my personal experience.

  Personally, I've got a router (with out WiFi) and then have APs throughout the house (front + rear) to have good WiFi Coverage.

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  [Deactivated] on 30/10/2022 - 08:17

  +2

  I'm gonna copy-paste a reply comment I made on deal from a couple of weeks back because it seems relevant enough here:

  I gotta 100% agree here. I've bought several TP Link routers in the past, and they are absolutely terrible, even the expensive models. DOA right out the box, dying just outside of warranty, lack of firmware updates, poor customisation due to limited settings, etc, etc.

  My worst experience however was a fancier AX model I bought (can't remember which exactly, but it was ~$250 from EB Games maybe 18 months ago), which I was getting 100-200ms latency over LAN with, so I decided to return. The real kicker though was when I was packing it all back into the box, the mains-side of the included power brick zapped the shit out of me (minutes after unplugging it mind you). And that's not an exaggeration. I've touched an electric fence before. It was nearly as bad as that.

  ASUS on the other hand, have been awesome. Years of firmware updates, their settings page is easy to navigate, with no shortage of options, plus Merlin support on some models if you're into that. My first model was the RT-N66U (10 years old now), which I replaced recently with the RT-AX53U (the RT-N66U was still working fine, it was just old).

  Credit where credit is due though: TP Link's cheapie ethernet switches are flawless. Never had an issue with those. Just avoid their routers.

  Link to that deal if you want to read other people's praises and criticisms of TP Link.

  • 

    nfr on 30/10/2022 - 13:46

    +1

    the mains-side of the included power brick zapped the shit out of me (minutes after unplugging it mind you)

    I'm an electricity dummy. What would cause that?

    • 

      TooSerious2 on 30/10/2022 - 17:50

      +1

      I don't think you can be an electricity. And it's not nice to call Ratchet "dummy".

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 31/10/2022 - 08:45

      +1

      I don't know for sure. It could be poor design (maybe even illegal design, if it was not to Australian specs), but to be honest, it was most likely just a faulty power brick.

      Regardless, it was the straw that broke the camel's back when it came to my overall opinion of TP Link's routers, so I felt it was worth mentioning.

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  7ekn00 on 30/10/2022 - 08:26

  +3

  Get an 86U and mesh with your 68U, works perfectly here ;)

  Or cheaper, get another 68U and mesh with existing 68U!

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  thatonethere on 30/10/2022 - 09:17

  Check that the antenna are plugged in tightly. With those screw one ones sometimes people (kids) fiddle with them and slowly unscrew them so they don't function properly.

  As others have noted - if it's more of a coverage issue - mesh another Asus AP.

  Or look at the log and see if the router is rebooting occasionally - sometimes the power pack start to die after 3-4 years.

  • 

    Lancerx on 30/10/2022 - 11:30

    Did check what you mentioned, and funny thing is only the 2.4ghz is affected.

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  toliman on 30/10/2022 - 12:01

  +1

  I will iterate and say, TP-Link and Netgear share a “raw” engineering product with the bare minimum software to get out the door. This is a “feature”.

  For the job in mind, you can use both.

  But you’ll want Mesh, because none of the devices mentioned are Wifi 6 and good streaming requires uninterrupted channels with only a handful of devices on the same channel.

  That said, Plex clients are going to be subject to buffering because the player doesn’t buffer or read ahead more than a few seconds unless you use Kodi or other players, so it can’t really be fixed with faster networks. It’s a software problem. Read ahead requires more RAM, or faster transcoding. So YMMV.

  Mesh is the better option for streaming, because you can only get reliable streaming by having less devices on the channel. With Mesh, each AP/repeater uses different channels so you have less interference between devices. It’s not attempting to manage or time-divide and share access.

  Games, you can’t beat cabled performance. There isn’t a debate, because WiFi can’t guarantee latency or reliability. It’s best effort.

  Once you start adding 10-20 devices, and it’s fairly easy if you have IoT/Smart home plugs and lights, then you get performance/ slowdowns and lag/dropouts, and weaker signal range. Add to this, you also have next door’s WiFi to consider, or any other radio signal interference like garage door remote controls, Bluetooth etc. that use 2.4GHz. So again, more APs, more 2.4GHz devices, less problems, better range and coverage.

  Mostly because WiFi works like shouting. In a crowded room, with everyone talking you have a limited range to discern. If you can shout from the living room and be clearly heard in every room, inside and outside, you are a good candidate for a single wifi router.

  Mesh is the best answer for range.

  AX or WiFi 6 has the advantage of better “device sharing”, and 6E has the advantage of 6GHz bands, but it won’t improve range, just separation and “steering”, moving devices to different channels and spectrum so there’s a clear signal and better quality when possible.

  Sure, if you had 6E devices, it would be cool. But they aren’t cheap ($10) yet.

  If you did want a single device, aim for a AC or AX 2.4GHz 2x2 radio, 4x4 for 5GHz.

  This is probably labelled as AX4800 or some ridiculous number, based on the MU-MIMO antenna (signals bounce/distort, the extra antennas ‘catch’ and help clear up the noise/signal by aligning the antennas in different directions)

  Anyway, once it’s on a shelf somewhere, it’s not worth the expense to develop improvements or fix major problems unless you are taking money from subscriptions or service plans. Even then, it’s debatable.

  It’s only new companies that have the luxury of delivering customer service and updates, because most companies just give up. There is also a “cottage industry” of bored techs that deliver custom firmware for routers that updates the internal software for security and new features for ASUS, DLink and Netgear products.

  Things like QoS, VPN updates, security patches, WiFi channel scans for optimised channel noise and so on.

  Sometimes, you can be lucky and get a good product that isn’t too broken, and performs well.

  However, if you expect a product from DLink, TP-Link, Netgear, Huawei, Sagem, Netcomm, etc. to work, be prepared for disappointment.

  There’s not much you can do as a consumer to get a reliable product from a company that only has an obligation to get something onto shelves, until they launch the next generation of the product in a year or two.

  There are only a handful of companies that have decent software and after-sales support/updates, and I wouldn’t put ASUS in that category either.

  • 

    Lancerx on 30/10/2022 - 20:34

    Even the nighthawk range? So what companies are you talking about?

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  Switchblade88 on 30/10/2022 - 13:39

  For the prices being asked of these 'brand name' devices, it seems the better option is a commercial-grade product like Ubiquiti.

  Then you have a dedicated AP with better results, and not locked in to upgrading the router just because of wifi issues.

  • 

    Lancerx on 30/10/2022 - 17:43

    In what way is Ubiquiti better? I still need at least 3 LAN ports too

    • 

      Switchblade88 on 30/10/2022 - 23:01

      +1

      You'd keep your existing AC68U as-is, and disable it's inbuilt wifi, then just run a Cat5/6 cable to wherever the new AP is most centrally located and go from there. You keep your LAN ports available as needed.

      Ubiquiti products are more common on commercial setups due to their much better wifi range & consistency, but without the price tags and licencing issues associated with big names like Cisco or Meraki.

      Latest deal was a Unifi U6-Pro for under $240. I haven't looked at direct comparisons to your existing options to verify range etc

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  sonicentropy on 30/10/2022 - 14:49

  I have used both i have a asus 68 at home and high end tplinks at work and Asus 100% better firmware and reliability some of the tplinks need to be reset daily. Total trash.

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  itos on 31/10/2022 - 10:08

  Hi, I want to upgrade my parents house' wifi, can someone recommend me a simple and affordable setup? I am not sure on where to start. Thank you!

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  casho on 31/10/2022 - 13:20

  Asus all the way!

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  Lancerx on 01/11/2022 - 10:46

  Guess it's settled, Asus it is. Now I just have to wait for black Friday sale to get one (finger crossed)