Wireless Network Performance

First, let's take a look at the apartment we used in our testing and how it is set up. You can see that the router is placed in the living room. Also, please note the rooms that are farther from the router.

In all our measurements we have compared ASUS RT-AC56U to its predecessor ASUS RT-N56U, its more expensive brother ASUS RT-AC68U and Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 (the second most expensive router from Linksys). Our testing was done using a very fast 1 Gigabit Internet connection.

We measured the strength of the wireless signal across the apartment, using inSSIDer. Below you can see how the signal strength evolves from room to room.

We were a bit surprised to see that the signal strength for the 2.4 GHz wireless network was not better than that of of its predecessor - ASUS RT-56U. ASUS RT-AC56U managed to outperform only Linksys EA6900.

Then we measured the signal strength for the 5GHz wireless network. Here the situation was better as ASUS RT-AC56U managed to beat its predecessor in some rooms.

At this point we started fiddling with the Tx power adjustment setting and we increased the power to the maximum - 200mW. After doing this we noticed a 10% increase in signal strength. However, we were not worried as we knew that the signal strength is not a real indicator of how fast the wireless connection actually is.

We measured how fast the download speed was using SpeedTest. ASUS RT-AC56U managed to beat its predecessor in all the rooms of our apartment. In some rooms it was the fastest router we tested so far.

In terms of upload speed, the same trend was noticed - ASUS RT-AC56U provides a good speed increase over its predecessor.

Then, we measured the speed provided by the 5GHz wireless network. As you might expect, the download speeds were much better than when using the 2.4 GHz frequency. ASUS RT-AC56U was generally faster than its predecessor in all the rooms except the one where the router was placed. In the rooms that were further away from the router, it managed to provide download speeds similar to that of more expensive routers.

When using the 5GHz wireless network, the upload speed is not a strength of the ASUS RT-AC56U. It got outperformed by its predecessor almost in every every room.

ASUS RT-AC56U provides faster downloads and a better coverage for the wireless network than its predecessor - ASUS RT-N56U. However, the upload speed on the 5GHz wireless network is slower than what we have expected.

Wired Network Performance

In order to test the quality of the wired Ethernet connection, we have used a desktop PC, equipped with an eight-core processor, 8GB of RAM and a very fast ADATA SX900 SSD drive, as well as an old laptop with a quad-core processor and an SSD drive from RunCore.

First, we measured the download and upload speeds using SpeedTest. ASUS RT-AC56U performed very well and offered the best download speed we have achieved in this test - 780.87 Mbps.

In terms of upload speed, ASUS RT-AC56U was again the top performer, offering a maximum speed of 110.92 Mbps.

Then, we used LAN Speed Test Lite to measure the download and upload speeds when transferring a 350 MB file to and from two computers connected to the network via Ethernet cables.

Again, ASUS RT-AC56U delivered a stellar performance, proving to be the faster router in our testing.

The same is true regarding the upload speed over the network.

As a final test, we transferred an 883 MB file across the network, between the same two computers.

When downloading the file from another computer, ASUS RT-AC56U delivered transfers of 888 Mbps.

When uploading that file to another computer, ASUS RT-AC56U delivered transfers at 848 Mbps - 6% less than the top performing routers.

In terms of wired Ethernet connections, ASUS RT-AC56U delivers great results. In some of our tests, it managed to be the fastest router we have tested thus far. When it was slower than other routers, it was slower by a small margin.

Extra Features

One of the things that we appreciate about ASUS routers is that the firmware is the same on all their recent models. This means that you get access to the same great features, even if you have purchased a more affordable model like ASUS RT-AC56U. The difference between models is generally made by their hardware configuration and how much performance they deliver.

ASUS RT-AC56U boasts some great features like:

• Dual WAN - very useful for both small businesses and professionals that require always-on Internet connections. You can also use a dual WAN to improve the quality of your Internet connection and get the best possible performance. Gamers might also love this.

  

• VPN server - you can set the router to work as a VPN server and you can also use it to turn your network-connected devices into VPN-enabled clients via OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP protocols without additional VPN software required.

  

• ASUS AiCloud - with the help of this app, you can access the folders shared in your home network from your Android or iOS smartphone, from anywhere on the Internet. The only downside is that this app doesn't have a Windows Phone version.
• Guest network - you can set up a guest wireless network that provides Internet access for your guests but restricts access to your network devices.
• Parental Controls - these are basic controls that allow you to set when a network device can access the Internet and when it cannot. The router doesn't ban network access, only Internet access.
• You have also access to applications that allow you to work with USB devices like printers, external hard drives or 3G/4G modems.

  

ASUS offers lots of features on this router and other manufacturers tend to offer less at the same price point.

Verdict

ASUS RT-AC56U is a worthy successor to the best selling ASUS RT-N56U. Even though it is not faster than its predecessor in all scenarios (e.g. the upload speed on the 5GHz wireless network), it manages to deliver better coverage for the wireless network, better download speeds, more features, and faster wired connections. Overall, it is a good deal for users who want a reasonably priced router that offers support for the latest networking standards, good speed, modern features and lots of customization options.