ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router, DD-WRT Open Source support, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, IEEE 802.3/3u/3ab

Pros: Extremely stable. Have never had to reset it. Easy and intuitive configuration. No issues. Have owned various different types of routers, Cisco, Dlink, Belkin. Hands down this is the best.

Cons: Nothing.

Pros: all pros

Cons: no cons

Pros: I was up and running within minutes after I plugged the RT-R66U and ran the basic setup. This was so easy my 5 year old nephew could do it!

Cons: The only con I can think of is that the Ipv6 setting aren't all the intuitive. It took me some research to get the settings to what my ISP would accept. As much my ISP's fault as well as Asus's for not spending more time with the interface.

Pros: This unit has worked with zero issues for six months in my current infrastructure (gigabit network with D-Link green switch, Motorola Surfboard modem, small local ISP)

Strong wireless signal all over the house, even on the third floor (the router is in the basement).

We use our wireless Roku box constantly and it has never had any connectivity or speed issues.

IPV6 support!

Cons: Can run pretty hot. Since it's in a cool basement, that's not an issue. Don't know what would happen to the unit if ambient got really warm, say over 85 degrees F. I checked the thermal ambient limits and it says that it's up in the high 90s, but I would really worry about that environment.

This unit was not stable on a Comcast network with several Comcast-supplied routers. Never could identify the problem and of course, Comcast was of no help. This unit was actually installed at a customer's site and I had to replace it with a DIR-655 and refund them - they were quite upset. So, now it's in my home/office.

Several firmware releases were reported as buggy or actually bricking the unit.

Some of the configuration screens were flaky but I find this to be the case with nearly all routers.

The power connector is really fragile. Make sure that it's not stressed and unplug and re-plug gently.

Other Thoughts: After reading about firmware issues I decided not to chance updating the firmware so I left it at 3.0.0.4.220.

Pros: Great range on 2.4Ghz band, decent on 5 Ghz, nice UI, good feature set, detachable antennas, and looks pretty nice too.

Cons: Android configuration app is rather useless, uhh... i guess that's it.

Other Thoughts: My last brand name router was an old Belkin G router that was fine in its day and had decent range and speed. For the last couple years I've been solely using the Actiontec FiOS router.

Recently had the FiOS router upgraded to their gigabit/wireless N router with hopes that the range would not suck as bad as the original. And then the range sucked as bad as the original. It couldn't reach the corners of my tiny 1,200 square foot house. The Asus not only does that, but gets me pretty good coverage in the back yard to boot.

I measured -65dbm in the worst signal area in my house on 2.4Ghz. The FiOS router could sometimes muster in the -90s when it would connect at all. Even got -82dbm on 5Ghz in the same location. Not bad!

No crashes, restarts, etc, etc. Can't recommend highly enough, especially if you are after superior range & speed. And who isn't?

Pros: I am a retired Network Administrator. This Asus is a reliable router so far, A super upgrade to the WRT54G, anyone that's been on the internet for the last 20 years knows the WRT54G was the standard home router. PS3 streams perfect through it, Our Iphones and Ipads perfect connections, my Roku perfect through the 5.7 N channel band! 6 Guest networks, I recommend this to any home and small business user!!!

Cons: The power connection is very small, hope it holds up, I did place it in a closet on a shelf!

Pros: has a lot of features yet to explore

Cons: I bought a version of this to replace an old linksys router. Since I got netflix and smart tv I've had a lot of problems with dropped connections and resetting the router at least once or twice a week. The setup is very easy except twice I had to reboot the router and then lost all of my settings; not sure why. Unlike other people the firmware seemed to be up to date. Unfortunately, the performance isn't anywhere near what I expected. Getting to the netflix menus and starting something is only marginally faster. Haven't had to reboot the router yet but still have hiccups. What's really annoying is streaming video content. I plugged in an external drive and at first my bluray player saw everything fine but when I swapped drives it still remembered all of the folders from the first. Not sure this is a problem with smarttv or not but a couple of days later I plugged in the drive again and this time it didn't find any folders. Tried tweaking with the settings. Have the power set to 80 and tried both bands. On my laptop the range goes from about 80 to 140mps but I sure don't see the effect streaming off the web. I haven't bothered to benchmark anything. It is faster but perceptibly 2-3 times faster, no way and with just one connection, not at all what I was expecting for the price. I don't do a lot of ul/dl so I skipped the Qos settings.

The biggest problem I have is with newegg. First they put the refurb on sale and then a week later they sell the same units new for only a few dollars more. I buy a lot of stuff from newegg and it's very convenient but I'm getting tired of their practices.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

I am sorry you aren't seeing the expected performance from your RT-N66u. Please run speed tests on devices near your smart tv to test the speeds in the area that you should be getting. Are you streaming from multiple devices or are you trying everything from your TV? Whenever you unplug a drive from the router please make sure you unmount it from within the router's GUI.

Please contact me at cl-jeremy@asus.com if you are still having problems so that I may try to help you in any way that I can.

Regards,
Jeremy
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: Great Performance
Easy Set up

Cons: Price.
Price decreased more than $25 the following day.

Pros: Up and running in just a couple minutes, fast, dependable (TBD). See other thoughts

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: It never ceases to amaze me how electronics these days don't last, not to mention the technology behind them seems to move backwards at times. My point being, a common theme between routers I’ve found is for the first 6 months to a year they all work great, than the slow wireless intermittent connection of death begins to creep in. I just trash canned a (perfectly good, other than wireless problem, just over 1-1/2 year old) Netgear WNDR4500 (blood boiling). Then you have a few backwards built AC models using USB 2.0 instead of 3.0, why?
I know, I know I’m supposed to be leaving feedback on the ASUS RT-N66U, but I am so frustrated with router builders these days. Can anyone make a router that lasts past the next generation and/or produce a product with all the latest and greatest features and last for more than 1 year? I’ll pay top dollar for it I DON’T CARE, just make it.
As for the RT-N66U, I researched countless websites and reviews and found the ASUS RT-N66U being one of the best, though buying this model meant taking a step backwards compared my newly junked WNDR4500 however, the alternative would mean buying one of the new AC models and from the reviews I’ve read they are just about as unpredictable as anything else, not to mention most lack USB 3.0 support. In addition very few devices can take advantage of the new technology anyway and the prices would scare away all but enthusiasts like myself. What’s the use of having the latest and greatest if they don’t work properly or last?
Back to the RT-N66U, My home/small business network consists of the following: 1x RT-N66U, 2x range extenders, 1x 16TB file server, 1x 3TB network drive via the router usb, Pogoplug with 3TB drive, 5x destops, 7x laptops, 6x cells, 2x pads, and a ton of home theater and home security devices I won’t mention. 70% of the network utilization is wireless. 30% of that runs on the 5G portion. Believe it or not, most of this runs 24/7. Side note: I just recently acquired the Galaxy S4, connected it to the Wi-Fi 5G and ran a Megapath speed test with download speeds of 33MBs from 20’ away, nice!
Long story short the RT-N66U handled anything I threw at it with no signs of slowing or exhibiting any distress. At this point I am very pleased and would recommend it to anybody who’s either in my position or looking to upgrade an older router. From $149-$169 on the average the RT-N660 it’s a no brainer. Though a bit older in technology and lacks some bells a whistles compared to its modern brethren it’s proven itself to be a contender.

I’ll keep you posted.

Pros: Awesome coverage, 3 guest accounts for both the 2.4 and 5ghz frequencies. The set up is easy and the interface is very user friendly. This unit is serious networking for the home user or small business.

Cons: Not one complaint.