We love it when we get to test premium networking devices like the fastest wireless routers in the world or the latest and the greatest in the world of repeaters and range extender s. Today, we will review for you the latest top-tier range extender from ASUS: RP-AC68U. It's an impressive device that's inspired by the Republic of Gamers lineup of devices from ASUS. The specs are definitely worthy of a premium device and we could hardly wait to get our hands on it and evaluate it. After more than a week of daily use, here's what we have to say about ASUS RP-AC68U:
Unboxing the ASUS RP-AC68U Wireless AC1900 repeater
The ASUS RP-AC68U repeater comes in an elegant black box. On the front you can see a picture of the device together with its most important features.
On the back you will find a comparison with other similar devices from ASUS's portfolio. From that comparison it is obvious that we are dealing with the high-end device in its new lineup of range extenders. When you open the box, inside you will find the repeater itself, a network cable, the power adapter, the Quick start guide, the warranty and other leaflets.
As you can see, the device is quite massive and it definitely looks interesting. But more about that in the next section of this review.
Hardware specifications and design
First, let's talk about size and looks. As you can see ASUS RP-AC68U is quite large, as it has a size of 7 x 4.17 x 4.17 inches or 178 x 106 x 106 mm in Length x Width x Height. It also weighs 1.91 pounds or 870 grams. The design of this range extender is inspired by the Republic of Gamers brand. The lighting system definitely looks interesting and it will attract looks. If you don't enjoy it, you can always turn it off with a simple tap on the ASUS logo.
One reason why this range extender is so large, is because it includes very powerful hardware that can compete even with that of some modern routers. ASUS RP-AC68U includes 3-transmit, 4-receive (3x4) internal antennas, a Realtek RTL8198C dual-core processor running at 620 MHz, 256 MB of RAM memory and 128 MB of storage space. It can deliver a maximum theoretical bandwidth of 1300 Mbps on the 5GHz frequency band and up to 600 Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, for a combined total of up to 1900 Mbps. Other features that make this repeater stand out are the 5 Ethernet Gigabit ports that are available on the back and the USB 3.0 port for connecting external devices to the repeater.
On the back side you will also find the WPS button, the LEDs indicating the status of the wireless connections, the Power button and the Power port. The Reset button is on the bottom of the device.
ASUS RP-AC68U offers support for all the modern wireless networking standards, including 802.11ac and 802.11n. If you would like to learn more about the official specifications of this device, go to this page: ASUS RP-AC68U Specifications.
Setting up and using the ASUS RP-AC68U repeater
You can get started with using the ASUS RP-AC68U repeater in one of two ways:
- By using the WPS button on your router and the repeater so that they get connected to one another. While this method is quick and easy, we don't recommend it because it is best that you configure in detail how the connection to the router is performed and how the repeater broadcasts the wireless signal.
- By connecting a laptop or tablet to the wireless network that is broadcast by the repeater and then manually configuring the device in a web browser.
We chose the second method and the initial setup meant that we had to select the wireless networks that we wanted the repeater to extend. Once we entered the connection details, we were able to use the repeater.
Don't stop here. Load the IP address of the range extender into your browser and log in with the default username and password: admin/admin. Once you do that, you are asked to change the default username and password for administering the device (a good security precaution).
Once that is out of the way, you can start configuring how the ASUS RP-AC68U repeater works. The user interface is the same as on all modern ASUS networking devices, meaning that is is well organized and easy to use. Also, the help documentation is well done and easily available.
One aspect that surprised us is the fact that ASUS RP-AC68U doesn't allow you to configure much about how it broadcasts the wireless signal. For example, you cannot set the channel, the encryption type or the standard used for each frequency. In our view, this is a downside when compared to what ASUS has offered in the past on similar devices.
Luckily, the multilingual support is still superlative, as is always the case with ASUS networking product: as you can see below, the user interface is available in 23 languages and you can easily switch between them.
Once we were done configuring the ASUS RP-AC68U range extender, we moved on to connecting our devices to it and testing how well it works. We did not encounter connectivity or stability issues. We were able to join or create a Homegroup in Windows, share files on the network, stream video and so on.
If you would like to learn how fast the wireless networks that are broadcast by ASUS RP-AC68U are , its extra features and our final verdict, go to the next page of this review.
Wireless network performance
First, let's take a look at the apartment that was used in our testing and how it is set up (the apartment has 753 square feet or 70 square meters). You can see that the router is placed in the living room. Our router is ASUS RT-AC88U.
With most wireless routers, the signal strength is not that great in rooms like the kitchen. That's why we placed the range extender in the lobby, close to the kitchen and close enough to the router so that it receives good signal from it. During our testing we used a very fast internet connection capable of downloads of 1 Gbps and of uploads up to 200 Mbps.
We used a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 for all our measurements and several software tools. To get a better perspective on the performance offered by the ASUS RP-AC68U, we compared it with TP-LINK RE450 (an AC1750 range extender) and ASUS RP-AC56 (the former high-end range extender from ASUS, from its previous generation of devices).
We started by evaluating the 2.4 GHz wireless network and measured the signal strength offered, using a tool named inSSIDer. As you can see below, the signal strength that was delivered by ASUS RP-AC68U was good but not as good as the one delivered by TP-LINK RE450.
Next, we measured the speed of the internet connection that is offered by ASUS RP-AC68U, on the 2.4 GHz wireless frequency, using SpeedTest. In the download test, its performance was uneven. In two rooms, ASUS RP-AC68U managed to be the fastest range extender. However, in other rooms it was beaten by its predecessor ASUS RP-AC56, which offered steadier performance across the whole apartment.
When it comes to the upload speed, ASUS RP-AC68U was the uncontested speed king on SpeedTest.
For our last measurement on the 2.4 GHz wireless frequency, we used LAN Speed Test Lite to measure the wireless download and upload speeds when transferring a 350MB file through the network. The results were worse than those measured with SpeedTest, which is something that we did not expect.
Results got better though, when measuring the upload speed with LAN Speed Test Lite. Here, in some rooms, ASUS RP-AC68U was the fastest repeater.
In our measurements, the performance offered by ASUS RP-AC68U on the 2.4 GHz wireless frequency was fast in some tests and rather inconsistent in others. This device may benefit from some firmware updates that will improve the steadiness of its performance on this frequency. On the plus side, its upload speed is better than its download speed.
Next, we analyzed the performance offered by the 5GHz wireless network. First, we looked at the signal strength. ASUS RP-AC68U managed to be the best option in most rooms.
Next, we measured the speed of the internet connection that is offered by ASUS RP-AC68U on the 5 GHz frequency, with SpeedTest. When evaluating the download speed, ASUS RP-AC68U was easily the fastest range extender that we have tested so far.
The same was true when measuring the upload speed with SpeedTest: ASUS RP-AC68U was the uncontested performance leader.
Lastly, we used LAN Speed Test Lite to measure the wireless download and upload speeds when transferring a 350MB file through the network. ASUS RP-AC68U confirmed one more time that it is able to deliver very fast downloads on the 5 GHz wireless network.
The uploads that were measure with LAN Speed Test Lite were fast too.
ASUS RP-AC68U is a beast when it comes to the speed of the 5 GHz wireless network that it broadcasts.
Wired network performance
ASUS RP-AC68U offers five Ethernet ports so that you can connect up to five devices to it, using network cables. In order to test the quality of the wired Ethernet connection, we used a desktop PC, equipped with an Intel Core i5 4460 processor, running at 3.20GHz, 16GB of RAM and a very fast Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSD and a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 with an Intel Core i5-4300U processor, running at 1.9 GHz, 8 GB of RAM and a fast 256 GB SSD drive from Samsung. We connected the Surface Pro 3 to the ASUS RP-AC68U and the desktop PC to the router.
First, we measured the download and upload speeds on the internet, using SpeedTest. The results were impressive: 329.98 Mbps for the download speed and 206.03 Mbps for the upload speed.
Then, we used LAN Speed Test Lite to measure the wireless download and upload speeds when transferring a 350MB file through the network. Our results were very similar and just as impressive.
ASUS RP-AC68U surprised us by offering very fast wired network connections through its five Gigabit ports.
Extra features
As always with ASUS networking devices, this one too offers several extra features that you might find useful:
- Multiple operation modes - ASUS RP-AC68U can function as a repeater, an access point, media bridge or express way for one wireless frequency (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz).
- USB applications for working with external hard drives and network printers. You can set the ASUS RP-AC68U to download torrents for you on an external hard drive, share that drive with the network or the AiCloud online storage service, and share a printer with the network.
- Troubleshooting tools - command line tools that you can use to troubleshoot problems with your repeater or its network connection.
Pros and cons
The ASUS RP-AC68U repeater is an impressive device that has quite a few strong points:
- Impressive performance on the 5 GHz wireless network
- Impressive performance on the 5 Ethernet ports that are available
- It has a USB 3.0 port for connecting external devices
- Great multilingual support for the administration user interface
- Easy to use and set up
There are also a few downsides to consider:
- It has some issues with the steadiness of its performance on the 2.4 GHz wireless network which can be fixed through a firmware update
- Some people will find it quite large
Verdict
The ASUS RP-AC68U range extender is a premium device which aims to offer the ultimate performance in an attractive package. This device manages to impress with its looks, its size and its performance on the 5 GHz wireless network and on the five Ethernet ports that it has to offer. Also, the fact that it has a USB 3.0 port available is something rather unique in the world of range extenders. Its only weakness is the instability of its performance on the 2.4 GHz wireless network. If you have the budget for it and you want to extend a fast wireless network which needs to deal with many devices, ASUS RP-AC68U is a great choice, that you should definitely take into consideration.
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