I have the N66U myself and i don't really regret the outlay as coverage is now superb in our house over the VM SHub. Sadly my S3 is the only 5GHz device in the house, but havering ultra speeds upstairs and still having ‘fast’ speeds downstairs on 2.4GHz feel like a revelation.
The heat is definitely an issue though. I can't say i like the thought of it running warm all the time and expecting 2+ years out of it.
There is no way to turn off the 5GHz chip, for example, to possibly reduce the heat. There are a few other options that you can flick on/off in the config too which is says may reduce router load but all of these are performance based (naturally) so i feel a bit cheated that you should have to turn off “network hardware acceleration” to cool it down - among other things (firewall and so on).
The USB ports not being 3.0 is pretty naff too, tbh given the price of the router. Furthermore, me and a few others around the web have had lots of issues trying to get portable USB HDDs to function properly.
I can agree on the button layout too - it's very poor. The power cable also leaves a lot to be desired where build quality and flimsy feel is concerned.
Lastly, my biggest gripe is the blue LEDs which can not be turned off. I have a Razer Nostromo and U2711 on my desk and the N66U's LEDs are far brighter! I came across a custom firmware which does turn them off but i'm nto sure which base firmware it's built on so didn't want to risk losing out on any fixes Asus may have done (they're been quite active with updates IMO -possibly good and bad, i guess).
Did Asus not learn from their Hasbro law suit that they should perhaps avoid trying to gain popularity of their devices using references to popular films?
Terbinator
I have the N66U myself and i don't really regret the outlay as coverage is now superb in our house over the VM SHub. Sadly my S3 is the only 5GHz device in the house, but havering ultra speeds upstairs and still having ‘fast’ speeds downstairs on 2.4GHz feel like a revelation.
The heat is definitely an issue though. I can't say i like the thought of it running warm all the time and expecting 2+ years out of it.
The USB ports not being 3.0 is pretty naff too, tbh given the price of the router. Furthermore, me and a few others around the web have had lots of issues trying to get portable USB HDDs to function properly.
Lastly, my biggest gripe is the blue LEDs which can not be turned off. I have a Razer Nostromo and U2711 on my desk and the N66U's LEDs are far brighter! I came across a custom firmware which does turn them off but i'm nto sure which base firmware it's built on so didn't want to risk losing out on any fixes Asus may have done (they're been quite active with updates IMO -possibly good and bad, i guess).
I had coverage “issues” (and stability ones too) with the VM SuperHub, so I had to choose between the older RT-56U router and a (more expensive) Cisco E4200. Unfortunately I believed all those stories about the ‘56U being a bit flaky and bought the E4200. It’s an okay router, but for something from a company that makes only comms gear, it's amazing the lack of control - e.g. can't switch channels!
The E4200 also has problems with USB HDD's - I put on a single port 1TB drive and ran into problems with connections suddenly dropping off. :( I also admit to being a little concerned about that reported heat level of the 66U - the 4200 does run quite cool.
As to the bright lights issue, here's a tip - white foam-backed double-sided tape from Maplins. I had terrible problems with the SuperHub's lights being far too bright (as bright as a proper night light!) until I put a strip of this tape over them. You can still see the lights, but the tape diffuses them nicely - and if it's still too bright then a second strip of tape will take it down even further.
Good review - if this Cisco continues to annoy me then I might consider the Asus as a replacement - although I'd really like to see an “improved” model with those USB3.0 ports and better cooling.
That last picture, by the way, with the antennas extended and on the stand reminds me of a Transformer toy for some reason. ;)
crossy
I had coverage “issues” (and stability ones too) with the VM SuperHub, so I had to choose between the older RT-56U router and a (more expensive) Cisco E4200. Unfortunately I believed all those stories about the ‘56U being a bit flaky and bought the E4200. It’s an okay router, but for something from a company that makes only comms gear, it's amazing the lack of control - e.g. can't switch channels!
Originally i was looking at the 56U but then i thought the 66 must be better as it has it's antennae out! :P But seriously, for all my gripes i can't fault the actual performance of the thing.
crossy
The E4200 also has problems with USB HDD's - I put on a single port 1TB drive and ran into problems with connections suddenly dropping off. :( I also admit to being a little concerned about that reported heat level of the 66U - the 4200 does run quite cool.
Well i made the foolish mistake of copying some holiday photos onto the HDD i had plugged in to it for it only for it to drop out on me and not want to show up again for about a week. Safe to say the GF wasn't best pleased. :D The heat is definitely my biggest gripe/annoyance though, i just don't understand why it's so hot. I'm the only one in the house using the router at all and it's certainly warm even though it isn't obstructed in anyway.
crossy
As to the bright lights issue, here's a tip - white foam-backed double-sided tape from Maplins. I had terrible problems with the SuperHub's lights being far too bright (as bright as a proper night light!) until I put a strip of this tape over them. You can still see the lights, but the tape diffuses them nicely - and if it's still too bright then a second strip of tape will take it down even further.
I just throw a sock on top of it! :p
Terbinator
crossy
I had coverage “issues” (and stability ones too) with the VM SuperHub, so I had to choose between the older RT-56U router and a (more expensive) Cisco E4200. Unfortunately I believed all those stories about the ‘56U being a bit flaky and bought the E4200. It’s an okay router, but for something from a company that makes only comms gear, it's amazing the lack of control - e.g. can't switch channels!
Originally i was looking at the 56U but then i thought the 66 must be better as it has it's antennae out! :P But seriously, for all my gripes i can't fault the actual performance of the thing.
crossy
The E4200 also has problems with USB HDD's - I put on a single port 1TB drive and ran into problems with connections suddenly dropping off. :( I also admit to being a little concerned about that reported heat level of the 66U - the 4200 does run quite cool.
Well i made the foolish mistake of copying some holiday photos onto the HDD i had plugged in to it for it only for it to drop out on me and not want to show up again for about a week. Safe to say the GF wasn't best pleased. :D The heat is definitely my biggest gripe/annoyance though, i just don't understand why it's so hot. I'm the only one in the house using the router at all and it's certainly warm even though it isn't obstructed in anyway.
crossy
As to the bright lights issue, here's a tip - white foam-backed double-sided tape from Maplins. I had terrible problems with the SuperHub's lights being far too bright (as bright as a proper night light!) until I put a strip of this tape over them. You can still see the lights, but the tape diffuses them nicely - and if it's still too bright then a second strip of tape will take it down even further.
I just throw a sock on top of it! :p
I have the ADSL router version of this, N55 iirc. And ive got a bit of paper tapped onto it, spoils the look but also doesn't turn my bed room into some sort of light show.
I`ve been looking at getting one of these to replace the Superhub.
Does anyone have any experience of the wireless with big thick walls?
The Superhub just about makes it to the back of the house which is a bit annoying as thats where the toilet is :(
kopite
I`ve been looking at getting one of these to replace the Superhub.
Does anyone have any experience of the wireless with big thick walls?
The Superhub just about makes it to the back of the house which is a bit annoying as thats where the toilet is :(
Seems you're in a very similar situation to me, in which case the N66U is miles better than the SHub.
Our throne is in the opposite side of the house, downstairs in an outhouse sort of thing, relative to the router but i can still get 2/3 out of 4 bars on 5GHz with my S3 or full signal on 2.4GHz.
We've also got a metal flu (not sure of the material) for our woodburner running through the centre of the build.
kopite
I`ve been looking at getting one of these to replace the Superhub. Does anyone have any experience of the wireless with big thick walls?
Haven't good thick walls here (mid terrace - so it's normal brick/timber/plasterboard construction) but the StupidHub seems to be pretty widely thought of (check VM's own forums) as being a bit weedy - sort of a Pee Wee Herman of the wireless router world. Can't speak for the Asus either, even a pessimistic “finger in the air” estimate shows my Cisco to have at least 2x signal strength at distance.
Heck, I got one of those Devolo PLE wireless routers (abou the size of a large power brick and plugs into the wall - giving three ethernet ports and 802.11n wireless) and even
that outpaces the SH easily. I did a test a while ago with SH on the top floor, Devolo on the bottom floor - same distance from the back wall. Walked down the garden and at 5m my Asus Transformer claimed that the SH was at 1-2 bars, the Devolo at 4-5.
Maybe it's just me, but I also didn't find the SH's had an awful lot in the way of configuration options - that said, that did get better with later firmware releases. In which case buying a separate router is probably justified for an “enthusiast” user - less so for the folks who just want an “install and forget” solution.
kopite
The Superhub just about makes it to the back of the house which is a bit annoying as thats where the toilet is :(
Too much information! :o
seen a few video's about these - mostly positive feedback
the included software looks very user friendly
Hi, This router, when running “Merlin's” software, (from the smallnetbuilders site) is excellent. While near to the stock, it improves in numerous ways, including isolating the radios and allowing the LED's to be turned off.
Check out N750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router, much cheaper and has the same specs.
I've got the 56U and it's fantastic - performance is great, and the new V3 firmware is quite nice too - few more config options for the wireless have sorted out some long range comms issues
I'd seriously consider the 66 as it would be nice to make sure the antennas are pointed in roughly the right direction - I wonder if they're compatible with any of the wall mounted paddle-type antennas?
Am not sure if this is known alot but there is a custom firmware based on the offical Asus firmware from a guy call Merlin
Homepage
http://www.lostrealm.ca/tower/node/80Support forums at
http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/forumdisplay.php?f=42One of the things hes tweaked is the abillity to turn off the LEDS on the router - a lot of what this guy does ends up in the offical firmware.
You can also turn off the 5ghz radio - thats both in the offical firmware and the custom one
Been happy since i got my RT-N66u; one of the best buys even if it was £120 - if it lasts 3-5 yrs like my last router then that to me is money well spent
Agree with Apex - Avoid the latest official 3.0.0.4.260 firmware as it has some issues with buggy wifi.
i'm using the latest Merlin and it works a bloomin' treat. Merlin has introduced some excellent custom firmware options (better monitoring abilities and stability!) and for those of us that are true geeks even custom scripts etc.!
even Asus are learning from him, and that's one thing I like about this router, Asus are open with the firmware and are taking onboard suggestions from pro's like Merlin. ;)
Wireless speeds are unbeatable from this router I believe at the moment, it even bests the AC-66U which costs a heck of allot more!
Yeah the wireless speed issue /buggyness is known about which is why merlin has put the older wireless driver into his firmware till such time that broadcom fix the faulty wireless driver.
Personally this review is very light on details, if you are after a more indepth one i would look at the review on smallnetbuilder - but am gussing theres only so much you can write about a router when it's not your normal review fodder.
Just curious but are the merlin firmwares better than the dd-wrt stuff?
That is upto you to decide really the Merlin version fixes certain bugs that the offical f/w has and tweaks/adds a few other things to make a more polished fw in my opinion [also a lot of what he fixes ends up in the office f/w for asus )
FYI
About
-----
Asuswrt is the firmware developped by Asus for their newer routers. They are
also porting it to some of their older models, like the RT-56U and RT-N16.
While originally based on Tomato-RT, Asus has disabled some of the
original Tomato features, and added others.
Asuswrt-merlin is a customized version, which I am developping.
The goal is to do some bugfixes and minor enhancements to Asus's firmware,
without targeting at full-blown advanced featuresets such as provided by
excellent projects like Tomato or DD-WRT. Some of the features
that had been disabled by Asus have also been re-enabled.
This aims to be a more restrained alternative for those who prefer to stay
closer to the original firmware, with limited risks of seeing new
features bring in new stability issues. I value stability over
performance, and performance over features.
does this support fibre optic?
ie the BT infinity stuff then yes it will because they provide you with a modem that has a ethernet port on it :)
crossy
although I'd really like to see an “improved” model with those USB3.0 ports and better cooling.
Agreed. That's what I'm holding out for now. I'd also like an additional ethernet port if I'm paying £100+ too - I don't ‘really’ need it at the moment, but it would be room for expansion ;)
I'm hoping when the new wireless AC standard comes out the prices of this/ similar routers goes down to more wife friendly territory!
Apex
ie the BT infinity stuff then yes it will because they provide you with a modem that has a ethernet port on it :)
No…not that simple i already own a asus router which i cannot use has it only has 4 ethernet outputs…so i guess this is the same, it needs a ethernet input if im correct but i cannt seem to get a confirm on this o_O
razer121
No…not that simple i already own a asus router which i cannot use has it only has 4 ethernet outputs…so i guess this is the same, it needs a ethernet input if im correct but i cannt seem to get a confirm on this o_O
The N66U has an ethernet WAN port. Connect the ethernet port on the VDSL modem to the WAN port on the N66U. Job done.
Just a word of warning to people streaming movies through windows media center on Xbox 360 slim may face slow or non-functional streaming with rt-n66u. This has been a known issue at Asus for about a year now.
I find that you also get a few problems with the wifi connections but if you use Asus n53 usb it`s just perfect.
I have recently acquired a N66U to upgrade my wifi coverage. I have struggled to make it sit alongside an existing Netgear LAN network. Support from Asus has been poor to non existence. The results it that I now have two networks that don’t talk to each other. Whilst the ASUS unit is powerful it appears to have some serious compatibility issues. Asus don’t seem to want to know, and so I will have to chuck the box and revert back to my old Netgear Wi-Fi. Conclusion the Wi-Fi router was a waste of money.
dmilne
The results it that I now have two networks that don’t talk to each other.
It might be worth creating a thread
here. I'm sure someone will be able to resolve the issues you are having.
When you first setup the Asus router, I assume you disabled the WiFi and DHCP server on the Netgear router?
dmilne
Whilst the ASUS unit is powerful it appears to have some serious compatibility issues.
Have you
updated the firmware?
dmilne
… so I will have to chuck the box and revert back to my old Netgear Wi-Fi….
Do you want someone to take it off you? :)
Mozbius
Just a word of warning to people streaming movies through windows media center on Xbox 360 slim may face slow or non-functional streaming with rt-n66u. This has been a known issue at Asus for about a year now.
Carn't say i have had this issue but then i am using the Merlin firmware
shamus21
I find that you also get a few problems with the wifi connections but if you use Asus n53 usb it`s just perfect.
Again no issues with the WiFi here
dmilne
I have recently acquired a N66U to upgrade my wifi coverage. I have struggled to make it sit alongside an existing Netgear LAN network. Support from Asus has been poor to non existence. The results it that I now have two networks that don’t talk to each other. Whilst the ASUS unit is powerful it appears to have some serious compatibility issues. Asus don’t seem to want to know, and so I will have to chuck the box and revert back to my old Netgear Wi-Fi. Conclusion the Wi-Fi router was a waste of money.
I don't see any evidence to support the above - why would you get a 2nd ‘router’ to provide better wireless - the question to ask is did you set the Asus router to acess mode and didn't leave it in router mode; you really havn't provided much information for others to help you with. It's only a waste because you got the wrong bit of kit for what you are trying to do.
razer121
No…not that simple i already own a asus router which i cannot use has it only has 4 ethernet outputs…so i guess this is the same, it needs a ethernet input if im correct but i cannt seem to get a confirm on this o_O
The review and few others mention the fact that the WAN port is a ethernet port.
I've bought ASUS RT-N66U yesterday and its great!
The LEDS is too bright and difficult to sleep at night… any ideas how to dim it down?
Ice_Black
The LEDs is too bright and difficult to sleep at night… any ideas how to dim it down?
Install the
asuswrt-merlin firmware. There's an option to turn them off under
Tools »
Other Settings.
Alternatively, just put some black tape over the LEDs. :)
Ice_Black
I've bought ASUS RT-N66U yesterday and its great!
The LEDS is too bright and difficult to sleep at night… any ideas how to dim it down?
As an engineer, I'd suggest cutting a small square of black gaffer tape and placing it carefully over the LED ;)
If you get the alignment right, then it might look to be part of the case ;)
Ice_Black
I've bought ASUS RT-N66U yesterday and its great! The LEDS is too bright and difficult to sleep at night… any ideas how to dim it down?
I had the same problem with the lights on my Virgin StupidHub, sorry “SuperHub” ;), and originally I tried black duct tape. The downside of that was that it meant that it was really difficult to see the lights at all - which made deciding when the hub had lost signal a bit difficult.
So I removed the duct tape and tried some (white) double sided foam tape that I got from Maplins (for attaching a cable tidy to the side of my case). That worked to an extent, but the person sharing the room with the SH said it was still “a little too bright” so I ended up putting on a second layer. Big plus over the duct tape is that the foam tape diffuses the light, so at least you can still see if the hub is connected to the network without having to remove the tape.