Question 1

how many ports are there on the unit? I want to be able to hardwire my existing desktops and use the wi-fi for laptops

Accepted Answer

There are 4 LAN ports plus a port for a cable modem.

Question 2

Is the stand removable so it can lie flat? One of the images almost looks like it is.

Accepted Answer

Yes , there is  a removable plastic stand.  it's actually more stable (won't fall over) lying flat when all the wires are plugged in.  It's also very thin and sleek compared to other routers I've had.

Question 3

I'm looking for a Dual Band Router to go with my Arris Modem that Time Warner gave me. I will be using My Laptop, Mobile Devices and NVIDIA GameStream Via Wi-Fi & My PC, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4 Via Ethernet. My Arris Modem is Single Band and has bad Wireless Range; I need a better Router. Is this a good Router for me?

Accepted Answer

honestly I would go for something that has Gigabit Ethernet. This particular modem supports AC wireless; however, things such as streaming will not be as good, and I doubt the wireless devices that you have support wireless AC. I would go for something that has external antennas or just more, in general, as these internal ones do not provide enough range unless your device's wireless card is great (like the one in my macbook pro). When you're right next to this router, it works fine minus some extra latency since the WAN Ethernet port is not gigabit. But if you're looking for more range and throughout, look for something with better hardware.

Question 4

Can this unit be mounted flat on a wall with screws?

Accepted Answer

It can not be mounted on a wall easily.  It comes with a triangular  stand.  If you are handy and creative, then you can figure out a way.
The are no provisions for the base to be mounded on a wall or any where else.

Question 5

how many  range meter?

Accepted Answer

The range in meters appears to be about 25 (through walls and everything).  I could be farther, as I had to put a password on it to keep  all the neighbors from getting on my internet connection.

It has also been my experience that its resting place was too close to my work area.  At max power, I believe I can feel the electromagnetic radiation.  I suggest keeping it at least two meters from where you sit to do your work or you may suddenly feel fatigued or your eyes could become overly tired much sooner than you would expect.  These symptoms went away for me once I moved it.

Question 6

Can this access point be used as a  wireless client, e.g. connect to another access point? Thanks

Accepted Answer

It works, but the IP addressing settings are tricky to configure/discover. I finally gave up on using it that way.

Question 7

So maybe someone can clarify this for me.  I was looking at this router, hovering over the add to cart button.  I looked at the specs just to make sure it was the one for me and noticed that this does not have 1gb LAN connections?  Is this for real?  I have a $10 LAN switch that has 1gb connections.  This has to be a typo or something.  Can anyone who owns this router confirm this?

Accepted Answer

No it doesn't have any 1Gbps Lan or Wan connections. The reason is with the price point they kept this item to, and the fact that NAT is occuring on the hardware and not by software, along with all SSL encryption occuring again on hardware and not by software, they had to cut some things out. This router is very solid, I have had complaints here at all. I have full IPS and firewall running on this router, along with PPTP VPN connections on multiple computers connecting to this router from the internet, and the FTP server function and I am still having Zero throtling of my internet speeds. For the AC connections, I am getting at least 420Mbps actually speed from the 5Ghz AC antena, and while I am getting that speed I am also getting full 150 Mbps 5Ghz N and 150 Mbps 2.4Ghz at the same time.

If the USB 2.0 speed, and the lac of Gigabit LAN and WAN connections is a deal breaker, I would recommend looking at the upgraded models, the Asus RT-AC56U, isn't too much more, and any of the models that named similarly but have a R instead of a U means it is refurbished, so an Asus RT-AC56R would be even closer to the price point of this router, but will give you more. If you are looking to save up for a while, I will recommend you save up for the Asus RT-AC68U as it has a dual core processor with all the hardware based NAT and encryption as well.

I hope this helps you and anyone else looking at this router or any of the Asus Routers.

Question 8

Does this have a phone jack?

Accepted Answer

No, it only has ports for cat 5 Ethernet cables. One for input and 4 lan connections out +1 USB port.

Question 9

Is this router capable of being on repeater mode?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is. I haven't tried it myself, but the below is under Wireless -> WDS on the router's webpage:

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Bridge (or named WDS - Wireless Distribution System) function allows your RT-AC52U to connect to an access point wirelessly. WDS may also be considered a repeater mode. But with this method, the devices connected to the access point will only be able to use half of the access point's original wireless speed.
Note:The function only support [Open System/NONE, Open System/WEP] security authentication method.
To enable WDS to extend the wireless signal, please follow these steps:
Select [WDS Only] or [Hybrid] mode and add MAC address of APs in Remote AP List.
Ensure that this wireless router and the AP you want to connect to use the same channel.
Key in the remote AP mac in the remote AP list and open the remote AP's WDS management interface, key in the this router's MAC address.
4. To get the best performance, please go to Advanced Settings > Wireless > General and assign the same channel bandwidth, control channel, and extension channel to every router in the network.

Question 10

Dies this model have wireless repeat ability?

Accepted Answer

I'm not sure what you are asking for.  Are you asking if this device can act as a WLAN repeater, i.e., without any wired connection to a network?  If so, I don't know, I haven't looked into it.

Questions & Answers