ASUS RT-N66U – 900Mbps Dual Band Wireless N Router, Gigabit LAN/WAN, 2x USB, Print FTP UPnP VPN Server, IPv6, 8x SSID, Wireless 3D HD content streaming, 3 Year Warranty
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This review is from: ASUS RT-N66U – 900Mbps Dual Band Wireless N Router, Gigabit LAN/WAN, 2x USB, Print FTP UPnP VPN Server, IPv6, 8x SSID, Wireless 3D HD content streaming, 3 Year Warranty (Accessory)
I got this router to replace my Linksys E4200 V2. That particular router was fine but I couldn’t get a wifi signal on my iPhone in the main bedroom upstairs. It would randomly disconnect. I had a similar problem with an Apple Airport Extreme. The only router that I actually could get signal in that room was from a Netgear WNDR3700. The signal was however low and sometimes web pages would fail to load. After reading a few reviews I decided to splash out on this Asus flagship router. I have had it running for two weeks now. It came with the latest firmware already installed so must be a new batch. Performance wise I have had zero issues. Where other routers were struggling with signal, this one is giving me full bars on my iPhone! I have had no lag or disconnects at all. I have not had to reboot the router either. This is really a set and forget device, exactly how a router should be. If I have to find fault with it I would say it runs warmer to the touch then all my previous routers. Secondly when you go into the web GUI to make adjustments things aren’t as polished as they should be. I am on the latest firmware but if I click on firmware update it always claims there is new firmware available when in reality there isn’t. In sure Asus will fix it in an update soon though. If you want a router purely for range I doubt you will find anything better than this. For that reason alone in going to rate this 5 out of 5. I would say range and stability are the two most important things for me when considering a router and this delivers outstanding performance on both counts. Closing this review I highly recommend this Asus. I have had no lockups, I have had no need to reboot the router. It has simply been 100% stable. If Asus fix the setup GUI it would be perfect.
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This review is from: ASUS RT-N66U – 900Mbps Dual Band Wireless N Router, Gigabit LAN/WAN, 2x USB, Print FTP UPnP VPN Server, IPv6, 8x SSID, Wireless 3D HD content streaming, 3 Year Warranty (Accessory)
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The stock TalkTalk wireless router that I currently use has always been mediocre at best. Its main letdown is its wireless coverage which is very poor to the point where only devices downstairs (where the router is located) can see the wireless network, anything upstairs has no wireless coverage at all.
So with the Asus RT-N66U I had very high hopes that this could give me both the performance and coverage boost I was looking for. Needless to say I wasn’t disappointed, this router simply blew away my bog standard TalkTalk router in every department.
The 3 huge antennas are both adjustable and detachable, allowing maximum flexibility to fine tune wireless performance, giving 3 MIMO streams with a theoretical wireless speed of up to 900Mbps. I had no way of accurately measuring the exact throughput speed I was getting, instead I put it through scenarios that my previous router used to struggle with (or simply not do!).
So I positioned my laptop as far away from the Asus RT-N66U as possible, the upstairs bedroom, which was the furthest distance away within the house, plus this introduced obstacles such as walls and ceilings. With my previous router I got no wireless signal whatsoever from this location, so I was immediately encouraged to see a full strength signal from the RT-N66U.
I then started copying large (5Gb+) MKV files to my media server which was on the same wireless network, something my previous router couldn’t do due to lack of coverage. Copying speeds were nothing short of phenomenal, 5Gb files were copied in a few minutes as if on a hardwired Ethernet network. In fact I repeated these tests a few times to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, and every time the file copies were blistering fast.
I then tried watching a 1080P HD streamed movie wirelessly and was amazed at the smoothness of the playback, and even on fast moving action scenes the movies played back beautifully smooth, on a par with any Cat5e network.
Given that this router is also packed with features such as a VPN server (not just the VPN passthrough that many routers have), 2 USB ports for hosting HD storage or for use as a print server, USB 3G dongle support and support for up to 6 wireless networks, this router provides every feature a home user could ever want.
This is without doubt the fastest wireless router I’ve ever used, absolutely fantastic performance and, coupled with a superb set of built-in features, makes the Asus RT-N66U a must buy.
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This review is from: ASUS RT-N66U – 900Mbps Dual Band Wireless N Router, Gigabit LAN/WAN, 2x USB, Print FTP UPnP VPN Server, IPv6, 8x SSID, Wireless 3D HD content streaming, 3 Year Warranty (Accessory)
I’ve just signed up for BT Infinity after 5 years of being with ‘Be’, my favourite ISP by far, however, no fibre planned for at least a year. So before I get connected and rather than using the standard BT Home Hub 3 which apparently is a decent bit of kit, I thought I’d upgrade my trusty Netgear DG834GT (tweaked to perfection) to a decent Router. I decided I would stay with what I knew and after reading some great reviews I went for the Netgear N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router. It was simple to set up and easy to get online but I wasn’t impressed with the size, build quality or the range of the wireless so I looked around again. I almost went for the RT-N56U but thought ‘what the hell’, may as well go for the flagship and ended up with the RT-N66U.
First thing I noticed was how much smaller and heavier the RT-N66U was when compared to the Netgear, it’s solid and just looks so beautiful , I have it sitting on my bedside drawers near the wall so the antennas can be folded down the back. Again very simple to set up and get online, a matter of minutes from unpacking to surfing. The GUI is simple and intuitive takes no time at all to set up the wireless networks. I just think the guest networks are great, you can even time restrict any network so if you have kids they can only browse while your up and about to supervise them. Can’t wait to try it on BT Infinity, at the moment I’m just running it off my DG834GT set as a modem on a ADSL+2 line at 18Mbps
The range is fantastic the 5G has much more penetrative power than the WNDR4500 so now even my neighbour can share on her own dedicated network. I live in a 200 year old house and the external walls are 3′ thick, even with that I can now sit at the other end of my garden 40 feet away.
I have tried the TomatoUSB firmware and find it a little over fussy for my liking, I think once they have a very stable version I may go back but for the moment I’ll stick with the official firmware.
In the words of Janus Johansen (another reviewer of the RT-N66U), ” I’m super impressed “, and so glad I decided to buy this equipment.
Update Sept 16th 2012:
With BT Infinity now installed it did take a little while to get the RT-N66U to sync with BT’s server, mainly I think because of the order I power cycled the units. I tried rebooting the modem first and then the RT-N66U but it wouldn’t sync. Eventually having defaulted the settings on the RT-N66U, rebooting both modem and router at the same time, using the set up wizard, it synced up. Obviously the range doesn’t change neither does the RT-N66U control the UL/DL Speed but I am synced at 75Mb Down and 17Mb Up
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Amazing Range!!!!!,
I got this router to replace my Linksys E4200 V2. That particular router was fine but I couldn’t get a wifi signal on my iPhone in the main bedroom upstairs. It would randomly disconnect. I had a similar problem with an Apple Airport Extreme. The only router that I actually could get signal in that room was from a Netgear WNDR3700. The signal was however low and sometimes web pages would fail to load.
After reading a few reviews I decided to splash out on this Asus flagship router.
I have had it running for two weeks now. It came with the latest firmware already installed so must be a new batch. Performance wise I have had zero issues. Where other routers were struggling with signal, this one is giving me full bars on my iPhone! I have had no lag or disconnects at all. I have not had to reboot the router either. This is really a set and forget device, exactly how a router should be.
If I have to find fault with it I would say it runs warmer to the touch then all my previous routers. Secondly when you go into the web GUI to make adjustments things aren’t as polished as they should be. I am on the latest firmware but if I click on firmware update it always claims there is new firmware available when in reality there isn’t. In sure Asus will fix it in an update soon though.
If you want a router purely for range I doubt you will find anything better than this. For that reason alone in going to rate this 5 out of 5. I would say range and stability are the two most important things for me when considering a router and this delivers outstanding performance on both counts.
Closing this review I highly recommend this Asus. I have had no lockups, I have had no need to reboot the router. It has simply been 100% stable. If Asus fix the setup GUI it would be perfect.
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|Blistering performance and loads of features make this a top notch router,
The stock TalkTalk wireless router that I currently use has always been mediocre at best. Its main letdown is its wireless coverage which is very poor to the point where only devices downstairs (where the router is located) can see the wireless network, anything upstairs has no wireless coverage at all.
So with the Asus RT-N66U I had very high hopes that this could give me both the performance and coverage boost I was looking for. Needless to say I wasn’t disappointed, this router simply blew away my bog standard TalkTalk router in every department.
The 3 huge antennas are both adjustable and detachable, allowing maximum flexibility to fine tune wireless performance, giving 3 MIMO streams with a theoretical wireless speed of up to 900Mbps. I had no way of accurately measuring the exact throughput speed I was getting, instead I put it through scenarios that my previous router used to struggle with (or simply not do!).
So I positioned my laptop as far away from the Asus RT-N66U as possible, the upstairs bedroom, which was the furthest distance away within the house, plus this introduced obstacles such as walls and ceilings. With my previous router I got no wireless signal whatsoever from this location, so I was immediately encouraged to see a full strength signal from the RT-N66U.
I then started copying large (5Gb+) MKV files to my media server which was on the same wireless network, something my previous router couldn’t do due to lack of coverage. Copying speeds were nothing short of phenomenal, 5Gb files were copied in a few minutes as if on a hardwired Ethernet network. In fact I repeated these tests a few times to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, and every time the file copies were blistering fast.
I then tried watching a 1080P HD streamed movie wirelessly and was amazed at the smoothness of the playback, and even on fast moving action scenes the movies played back beautifully smooth, on a par with any Cat5e network.
Given that this router is also packed with features such as a VPN server (not just the VPN passthrough that many routers have), 2 USB ports for hosting HD storage or for use as a print server, USB 3G dongle support and support for up to 6 wireless networks, this router provides every feature a home user could ever want.
This is without doubt the fastest wireless router I’ve ever used, absolutely fantastic performance and, coupled with a superb set of built-in features, makes the Asus RT-N66U a must buy.
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|A thing of Beauty,
I’ve just signed up for BT Infinity after 5 years of being with ‘Be’, my favourite ISP by far, however, no fibre planned for at least a year. So before I get connected and rather than using the standard BT Home Hub 3 which apparently is a decent bit of kit, I thought I’d upgrade my trusty Netgear DG834GT (tweaked to perfection) to a decent Router. I decided I would stay with what I knew and after reading some great reviews I went for the Netgear N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router. It was simple to set up and easy to get online but I wasn’t impressed with the size, build quality or the range of the wireless so I looked around again. I almost went for the RT-N56U but thought ‘what the hell’, may as well go for the flagship and ended up with the RT-N66U.
First thing I noticed was how much smaller and heavier the RT-N66U was when compared to the Netgear, it’s solid and just looks so beautiful , I have it sitting on my bedside drawers near the wall so the antennas can be folded down the back. Again very simple to set up and get online, a matter of minutes from unpacking to surfing. The GUI is simple and intuitive takes no time at all to set up the wireless networks. I just think the guest networks are great, you can even time restrict any network so if you have kids they can only browse while your up and about to supervise them. Can’t wait to try it on BT Infinity, at the moment I’m just running it off my DG834GT set as a modem on a ADSL+2 line at 18Mbps
The range is fantastic the 5G has much more penetrative power than the WNDR4500 so now even my neighbour can share on her own dedicated network. I live in a 200 year old house and the external walls are 3′ thick, even with that I can now sit at the other end of my garden 40 feet away.
I have tried the TomatoUSB firmware and find it a little over fussy for my liking, I think once they have a very stable version I may go back but for the moment I’ll stick with the official firmware.
In the words of Janus Johansen (another reviewer of the RT-N66U), ” I’m super impressed “, and so glad I decided to buy this equipment.
Update Sept 16th 2012:
With BT Infinity now installed it did take a little while to get the RT-N66U to sync with BT’s server, mainly I think because of the order I power cycled the units. I tried rebooting the modem first and then the RT-N66U but it wouldn’t sync. Eventually having defaulted the settings on the RT-N66U, rebooting both modem and router at the same time, using the set up wizard, it synced up. Obviously the range doesn’t change neither does the RT-N66U control the UL/DL Speed but I am synced at 75Mb Down and 17Mb Up
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