The Asus RT-AC86U beat fancier, extra expensive competitors in the gaming router category. Speeds were fast and consistent, lag was nice and low, features were deep and the price wasn’t too much. We liked it so much that it didn’t just search a place at the top of our list of greatest gaming routers: it was at the top of our list of best Wi-Fi routers Asus followed that one up with a latest model. As the addition of “X” in the model number suggests, it supports 802.11ax, better known as Wi-Fi 6.
This means that in addition to the existing gaming-centric features such as device prioritization and open NAT port forwarding, it supports latest Wi-Fi 6 features like 1024-QAM and OFDMA that make your home network faster and extra efficient. The RT-AX86U easily outperformed all of them and felt quite like a high-end access point as we have used it. In our lab, it recorded impressive top speeds, reaching local transfer rates on the 5 GHz band as high as 1.8 Gbps at wireless distances up to 37.5 feet.
In our case, it maintained low latency better than any router we have ever tested, which is exactly what you were looking for if you’re a gamer, and great even if you’re not. In sum, this router ticks all the boxes. It’s fast, full-featured, and simple to use, and even without Wi-Fi 6E it feels future-proof enough with a WAN port that supports incoming speeds as high as 2.5 Gbps.
Design
The Asus RT-AX86U is the successor to the popular Asus RT-AC86U gaming router, introducing it to the world of high-performance Wi-Fi 6. While it retains the angular, folded origami design of its predecessor, it is a far cry from the more conventional Linksys Max-Stream MR8300 as well as the black and red color scheme, with the AX version lacking the two bands. It measures 9.0 x 6.7 x 3.1 inches, although the height increases by 6 inches after the three antennas are screwed in. It has no inserts for wall mounting, but looks good on a shelf or desk.
The RT-AX86U is designed for vertical placement and has vents on the front and top so it stays cool even with high data throughput. The maximum temperature was 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The use of three external antennas is complemented by an internal patch antenna. This is a refreshing change from routers with four to eight antennas, which can look like the Netgear Nighthawk XR1000 and TP-Link Archer AX6000.
The RT-AX86U’s antennas can be angled and rotated to receive the strongest signal. Inside, the RT-AX86U uses Broadcom’s BCM4908 and BCM43684 chipsets, along with 1GB of RAM and 256MB of flash memory for its firmware and settings. The router is powered by a 1.8 GHz quad-core processor. Its dual-band 802.11AX design enables the creation of 2.4- and 5-GHz networks that take advantage of ultra-wide 160-MHz data channels, MU-MIMO and beamforming to include as much data as possible in communications. Overall, the RT-AX86U achieves 861 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 4.8 Gbps on the 5 GHz band, equivalent to an AX5700 rating.
Setup
When installing the RT-AX86U router, you can choose between the Asus web browser interface or the Asus router apps for phones and tablets. There is software for iPhone and iPad as well as for inexpensive Android tablets and phones. We used an iPad Pro and the iOS app to get the RT-AX86U up and running, which took 8 minutes and 30 seconds. The process started with plugging everything in and connecting our iPad to the router’s Wi-Fi network.
Then we selected the type of our Asus device, and the software took a while to find the router and detect the Internet connection. When entering the name and password for our new network, we could have separated the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz LANs, but we opted to combine them under one name, and then created an account with Asus. It took a minute for the router to install these settings and show us a printable summary page. Finally, the RT-AX86U performed a firmware update to the latest software. The connection was established right at the first attempt.
Performance
Most of the features of the Asus RT-AX86U are identical to those of the RT-AX82U. So expect the same OFDMA support that is mandatory for any WiFi 6 router, as it splits the channel bandwidth into smaller orthogonal resource units, allowing smaller packets to be transmitted more efficiently with lower latency.
There’s also MU-MIMO, which seems to get a lot more attention in the new standard than it did in WiFi 5. This technology ensures that multiple client devices are served simultaneously without having to compete for bandwidth. However, you have to have compatible clients, which were quite rare for a while, but in recent years we have seen more and more devices supporting MU-MIMO.
BeamForming is also supported, along with 1024QAM and channel bandwidth of 160 MHz which again is a nice feature, but only if you have compatible clients. And a lot of people haven’t fully adopted the WiFi 5 standard yet, so AX client devices are out of reach for most for at least a few years.
Internal Hardware
If you want to open the Asus RT-AX86U, you will need to remove the two screws under the large label on the back of the router, but be aware that you will need to break a small warranty seal to remove one of the two screws. This is probably the strangest case we have ever had to open, as the stand is made up of two pieces that are connected together, and note that you’ll also need to remove some screws from the bottom section.
After taking a look at the board, the first thing we noticed was the fourth antenna, an RFPCA3026-01 Rev01 from Walsin, so yes, similar to the RT-AC86U, there is an internal antenna. On the board we were able to identify 256MB of flash memory from Macronix and then we removed three screws to turn the board to the other side where there is a large heatsink.
Configuration
The Asus RT-AX86U has a selling price of $249.99, but we could easily find it discounted for a little less. However, even at a reduced cost, this hardware is more at the bottom of the mid-range router market and beyond the budget territory of a router. The RT-AX86U is one of the most affordable gaming routers available, although Asus’ own RT-AX82U typically sells for around $20 less, while offering similar features except for the lack of a USB port and the inclusion of RGB lighting.
Asus has created a lower-end gaming router, featuring things like solid 5GHz throughput, adaptive QoS that can be prioritized for gaming and works in our tests, and Trend Micro’s network security with a subscription. included, all in a compact package. Those who want more features, including RGB effects, advanced gaming features like Games Radar or WTFast, or more Ethernet ports will find the RT-AX86U lacking.
Final Words
We hope you understand and enjoy this review list. The Asus RT-AX86U offers excellent Wi-Fi 6 performance, with plenty of features that will appeal to hardcore gamers. However, it’s versatile enough to appeal to other users as well, offering good range and signal strength, as well as an impressive set of security features and parental controls. It may not tick all the boxes for the best gaming router, but the Asus RT-AX86U is a very capable device that comes close to the magic 1Gbps mark.
Equal parts gaming router and one for general home use, the RT-AX86U not only brings multi-Gig inputs and port aggregation to the gaming party, but its ability to boost phone and tablet gaming is a big plus. While it can certainly give your game a boost, the Asus RT-AX86U can protect the family’s computers and network with innovative defenses against malware and hackers.
