Review is for the DSL-AC88U.
I wanted an all-in-one replacement solution for EE's BrightBox2 modem/router. Not that their router is bad (it's not) but EE occasionally push unannounced firmware updates to the box, and the last time this happened it bricked the modem completely on the same day that O2's mobile data network went down. We were stuck in a prehistoric world completely lacking internet access.
Although I promptly received a free replacement from EE, I decided that a 3rd party modem/router combo would probably suit me better in the long term, and this Asus DSL-AC88U seemed to fit the bill. Here's what I've noticed over the last week or so (as quickly as possible):
* Before swapping your current modem/router out - find your ISP login details (not the admin login for your current router). You can usually find this on initial "welcome to your ISP" emails/documentation, in the router itself, from the ISP directly, or sometimes from Google!
* Complete the initial setup using a browser window on a PC, not from your phone. Phones generally see the setup window (on a router without internet access) as a public WiFi login, and will force close the window before completing the entire setup procedure.
* If you make it through the setup with internet access, congrats! The first thing you should do is navigate to the firmware update section, update the firmware automatically (if available) and then factory reset the router to avoid any software/configuration issues. Once this is done run through the ISP/initial setup again.
* Set a new router login/password immediately, as well as 5GHZ and 2.4GHz SSIDs and passwords.
* For the sake of stability and compatibility with some streaming/android devices I'd recommend changing the Network Key Rotation Interval to 604800, and the DCHP lease time to 604800, then setting the router to automatically reboot at a convenient weekly time (4am on a Sunday or something). This will somewhat reduce security on your network (as a new key is usually generated every hour by default rather than weekly) but does improve stability - if you're on a home network with a decent SSID password then it's a risk worth taking in my opinion.
* Being able to see all the connected devices from the router's homepage, see the connection type/strength, and rename the devices (along with an appropriate icon) is a fantastic bonus on a home network.
* WiFi strength is about as good as can be expected, it sits in the middle of a 3 bedroom, 2 story house (on the ground floor) and both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks cover the entirety of the house (with the 2.4GHz network spanning the back garden as well).
Put simply, it's a good modem/router combo. It does require some networking knowledge to get the best out of it (and using some sort of channel scanning tool like InSSIDer to find/set the least cluttered 2.4GHz or 5GHz channels is also advised with any router, although "auto" should still work fine) but once it's set up it seems stable and has a decent signal range.
There are more advanced options like the built in firewall, malicious website blocker, device logging tools, inbuilt DLNA server via attached USB storage, Guest Network setup (with no access to your intranet devices etc) and more - but if all you're after is a stable modem/router combo for DSL/Fibre then you can do far worse than this.
| Wireless Type | 802.11n, 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g |
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