ASUS has been in the market for a long time to understand and cater to consumers. This has made it one of the major players in the industry. With RT-AX88U, it reaffirms its competency in offering powerful hardware & features.
Featured as a successor to RT-AC88U, it brings Wi-Fi 6 and several other upgrades to future-proof your home network. It overhauled the entire hardware unit, by doubling up on memory and processor.
Plus, gaming features are the icing on the cake. So, let us see how the device performs!
ASUS RT-AX88U AX6000 Specs
| Wireless Standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) |
| Aggregated Speed | AX6000 (6000 Mbps) |
| Frequency Band | Dual-Band |
| 2.4GHz Speed | 1148 Mbps |
| 5GHz Speed | 4804 Mbps |
| WiFi Range | Up to 3,000 Sq Ft |
| Maximum Device Capacity | 30+ |
| Ports | 8 x Gig LAN + 1 x Gig WAN + 2 USB 3.1 |
| Suitable Internet Plan | 1 Gbps |
| App Support | Yes |
| QoS Prioritization | Yes |
| MU-MIMO | Yes |
| OFDMA | Yes |
| Security Standard | WPA3 |
| Processor | 1.8GHz Quad-Core Broadcom BCM49408 |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| NAND Storage | 256 MB |
| Dimensions | 11.8 x 7.4 x 2.4 inches |
| Weight | 2.1 Pounds |
| Release Date | Oct 2018 |
ASUS RT-AX88U Review [year]
Before I begin with a detailed review of the ASUS RT-AX88U, let me tell you how I tested it:
I paired the Netgear CM1000, a DOCSIS 3.1 modem, on the Xfinity gigabit plan and used this ASUS Wi-Fi 6 router for two weeks. During this period, I performed several activities, closely observed the device in several parameters, and finally here to put my honest views.
Wireless Speeds & Suitability
ASUS AX6000 dual-band Wi-Fi 6 router comes with a total capacity of 6 Gbps. The individual band speeds are distributed as:
| 2.4 GHz: 1148 Mbps | 5 GHz: 4804 Mbps |
With an Xfinity Gigabit plan, on the 5 GHz frequency, the download speed reached 897 Mbps and the upload speed clocked 39.5 Mbps, within the 15 feet distance of router placement.
A couple of rooms away, approximately 70 ft away from the router, the downloads were raking up 580 Mbps, where the uploads dropped to 29 Mbps. And as you'd expect from a heavy-weight router, the speeds on 2.4 GHz frequency were also impressive.
In the 15 ft area, the router recorded downloads at 789 Mbps and uploads at 32 Mbps. At the farthest point, outside the house in the front yard, the downloads were hitting 105 Mbps and uploads 14 Mbps.
The gaming acceleration and VPN make it one of the favorite candidates for households with gamers. It eased through multiplayer gaming and streaming sessions with no lags.
WiFi Coverage & Devices Capacity
The four huge beamforming antennas claim the router to cover homes as large as 3,000 Sq Ft. My test lab, measuring over 2,500 Sq Ft was under the full blanket coverage of the router, standing true to the official RT-AX88U range.
The combination of 160 MHz channels, OFDMA, and MU-MIMO is a game changer. Even with over 30 devices hogging down the internet, there were hardly any noticeable drops in the performance with 2 smart TVs, work station, smart home appliances, and a plethora of mobile gadgets sharing the internet.
Design & Wired Connectivity
ASUS distributes the ventilation across the front, rear, and underneath the sleek-looking router. An angled design in a black firm plastic chassis weighs 2.1 lbs and measures 11.8 x 7.4 x 2.4 inches.
That's going to gobble up some space on your table. You'll find all the ports lined up on the rear, with an exception of USB 3.1 on the front.
With 8 gigabit Ethernet ports, you'll not run out of wired connectivity options for the priority gadgets. The LAN aggregation will allow you to combine multiple connections.
The Ethernet ports are tightly packed, so the bigger hands should play it a little soft. My workstation raked downloads soaring above 970 Mbps, with uploads maxing out at 42 Mbps.
Security Features
One area where ASUS excels from its competitors. Apart from offering WPA3 encryption standards, a comprehensive time-based access schedule, and parental controls, RT-AX88U comes with commercial-grade AiProtection.
A two-way intrusion protection system, malicious content blocking protects you from the vulnerabilities of the internet. Periodic vulnerability assessments and quarantine keep the infected device from affecting the other devices connected to the network. All the extra features come to you at no additional cost.
ASUS RT-AX88U Setup
You can either choose to use the web-based installation or the ASUS router mobile app. The interface is similar and helps you breeze through the process with a structured approach.
The device was up and running in less than 15 minutes. Be wary of changing settings too often, where applying the changes took its sweet time.
Enable remote management in the web portal, and you'll be in charge of the internet connection, even when you are away from home.
Hardware & Other Features
ASUS relies on a Quad-Core processor clocking at 1.8GHz on a Broadcom chipset to dictate the terms, which it does with ease. The 1GB RAM and 256MB storage play a critical role in keeping the network stable during tedious data-intense tasks like twitch streaming, online gaming, and 4K streaming.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 has been available for a few years now. It got released to the market in Oct 2018.
For gaming enthusiasts, RT-AX88U can be an appealing device. But the multi-gigabit WAN port and 8 external antennas make Archer AX6000 a slightly better choice.
The selection of Ethernet ports, gaming acceleration, commercial-grade security, and LAN aggregation makes its absolute bang for the buck.
RT-AX88U is a Wi-Fi 6 router. It will require an active internet subscription and modem or ONT terminal to operate.
The ASUS AX6000 dual-band Wi-Fi 6 router can easily handle over 30 devices in a household and support data-intensive activities with ease.
The RT-AX88U can support high speeds of 1148 Mbps on the 2.4GHz and 4804 Mbps on the 5GHz.
No, not yet. It is still available. It is one of the best Wi-Fi 6 routers available in the market.
Conclusion
That's it for my ASUS AX6000 review. You get all the goodness of the latest wireless standards, along with ease of setup and comprehensive customization of the Asus interface. While it is a great stand-alone router for futureproofing your home, its AiMesh support makes it easier to upgrade in case of upgrades.
The right device for smart homes, duplex houses, gamers, and streamers.
