Review has two parts - one about the router itself, the other about hooking up this router directly to Verizon FioS instead of using their router.
I used to have a DLink router about 3 years ago but stopped using it when I signed on the AT&T Uverse where I was "required" to use their supplied router. The UVerse router was a piece of j**k, limited to 100 Mpbs and wireless G with poor signal strength. It worked okay but provided limited to no control on traffic, parental controls, limiting children's computers to certain times of the day, etc.
The RT-AC68U is a beautiful beast compared to those earlier routers, blazing fast, strong signals, and a ton of advanced features that would meet the needs of most home and small business users. Earlier I would get some gibberish names of connected clients, like BRN564332 and especially with PCs, laptops, phones, tablets, rokus connected, I couldn't tell easily which was which - the Asus shows the mac id and if you click on it, it shows the manufacturer of that device and then allows you to name it to enable easy identification later. The network map shows you connected clients, wired and wireless, as well as the strength of the wireless connection. Setting up QoS is easy and highly configurable. Parental controls are simple and very powerful - I can limit the time of the day, by week and weekend, that the kid's Roku can connect to the internet and use the Network Services filter to disable gaming ports by time of day, by week and weekend. (yeah, you need to identify the ports that gaming uses but you can look it up on the internet by game name or the logs in the router show it as well).
Have not used the VPN features. Tried the USB download master but I prefer the download and cloud features on my Synology DS213j NAS. The LED lights, even when on, are fairly non-intrusive. The unit looks solidly built. This is my second Asus product, the first being a Windows 8 ultranote book and they appear to be making quality high performance products.
Some helpful hints on connecting to Verizon FioS with this router without buying or renting their router. Note this will work only for internet only services - if you subscribe to their TV services, you MUST use their router (but can set up the Asus behind or in front of their router using DMZ feature). When you are ordering FioS online, select "will buy my own Verizon router" and complete the order. Verizon's network terminal, called a ONT, (usually outside the house) has two Ethernet ports, one coax and the other Ethernet. By default, only the coax is activated as they usually run coax to their routers. The Asus router (and most retail routers) do not have a coax port. You must ask Verizon to activate the Ethernet port on the ONT (over the phone with the technical support, initial customer support will insist that you have to have a Verizon router, that is not true) and run (either yourself, if you chose self-install, or have the Verizon install person do it) Ethernet cable from the ONT to your Asus router. Ensure you have Cat5e or Cat 6 cable - they can support Gigabit Ethernet. Ensure you have the same cat cables from the router to your hard wired PCs - I used an older cable and could not get more than 10 Mbps for a whole frustrating week - till I simply switched to cat6 cable and boom!- I was up to 1 Gbps.
ASUS RT-AX55 AX1800 Dual Band WiFi 6 Gigabit Router, 802.11ax, Lifetime internet security, Parental Control, Mesh WiFi suppor
4.4 | 13,914 ratings
Price: 92.37
Last update: 01-11-2025
About this item
Maximum Range : 3000 Sq Ft.Processor : 1.5GHz quad-core processor.
Next-Gen WiFi Standard - Supporting the latest WiFi standard 802.11AX (WiFi 6) and 80MHz bandwidth for better capacity and efficiency.
Ultra-fast WiFi Speed - RT-AX55 supports 80MHz bandwidth and 1024-QAM for dramatically faster wireless connections. With a total networking speed of about 1800Mbps — 574 Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1201 Mbps on the 5GHz band.
Increase Capacity and Efficiency - Supporting not only MU-MIMO but also OFDMA technique to efficiently allocate channels, communicate with multiple devices simultaneously.
Commercial-grade Security Anywhere – Protect your home network with AiProtection Classic, powered by Trend Micro. And when away from home, ASUS Instant Guard gives you a one-click secure VPN.
Next-Gen WiFi Standard - Supporting the latest WiFi standard 802.11AX (WiFi 6) and 80MHz bandwidth for better capacity and efficiency.
Ultra-fast WiFi Speed - RT-AX55 supports 80MHz bandwidth and 1024-QAM for dramatically faster wireless connections. With a total networking speed of about 1800Mbps — 574 Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1201 Mbps on the 5GHz band.
Increase Capacity and Efficiency - Supporting not only MU-MIMO but also OFDMA technique to efficiently allocate channels, communicate with multiple devices simultaneously.
Commercial-grade Security Anywhere – Protect your home network with AiProtection Classic, powered by Trend Micro. And when away from home, ASUS Instant Guard gives you a one-click secure VPN.
Product information
| Product Dimensions | 9.06 x 5.28 x 2.2 inches |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 13.1 ounces |
| ASIN | B08J6CFM39 |
| Item model number | RT-AX55(Black) |
| Customer Reviews |
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars
13,890 ratings
4.4 out of 5 stars |
| Best Sellers Rank | #8,038 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics) #62 in Computer Routers |
| Date First Available | September 16, 2020 |
| Manufacturer | ASUS |
| Country of Origin | Vietnam |
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