The RT-AX86U also supports highly robust WPA3 encryption and DFS channels - which can help avoid interference from your neighbors’ 5GHz networks. It also has two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (read: USB 3.0) for connecting external storage that you can then access using any device within your home network. The RT-AX86U has almost all the features a router at this price should have: guest networking on 2.4GHz and 5GHz schedule-based parental controls for websites and applications quality-of-service rules (QoS) a built-in traffic analyzing tool for games and apps and an OpenVPN server so you can safely connect to your home network from outside.
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It also prompts you to download the latest version of the router’s firmware, which is an important security feature.
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Its browser-based configuration portal prompts you to pick an SSID and password for your Wi-Fi network, and asks whether to use the same SSID for both networks. You can leave its three antennas pointed straight up or tilt them slightly either way, the RT-AX86U’s design saves a lot of space and the vertical orientation makes it even easier to reach the router’s rear ports. Unlike most of the Wi-Fi 6 routers we tested, which eat up shelf space with their large rectangular designs, the RT-AX86U can stand vertically. (2.4GHz is still useful for older devices, and many Wi-Fi smart home devices use 2.4GHz exclusively.) Devices that need lots of bandwidth, like computers, phones and streaming boxes, should use 5GHz whenever possible. The RT-AX86U’s performance on the 2.4GHz network was occasionally slow, but that band can be cluttered with interference from neighboring Wi-Fi networks. It gave the lowest game latency, the fastest file transfer time, the highest average download and upload speed on the wireless benchmark and the best speeds and lowest lag on our Cloudflare internet tests. When we moved the routers to a two-story townhouse and slammed them with a workload that mimics the needs of a bandwidth-hungry home - a 4K Ultra HD Netflix stream, a 4K HDR Apple TV+ stream, a 16.6GB wireless file transfer, a bandwidth test between two WiFi 6 smartphones and a World of Warcraft session all at the same time - the RT-AX86U won without question. And it was 11% faster than the TP-Link Archer AX6000 at close range. In our long-range testing at a 2,000-square-foot house, the RT-AX86U beat the combined average of its competition by 47%–138% on the 5GHz band.
We found two great picks: one best suited for a midsize house packed with gadgets, and a less expensive one that still has great range and speed for apartments and smaller homes. We tested seven highly rated routers in a 2,000 square-foot, single-story home and a 1,100 square-foot, two-story townhouse, evaluating their range, single- and multi-device speeds, features and ease of use.
While larger homes or those with complex layouts, or plaster or concrete walls, are better served by mesh WiFi router networks, a single router is all you need in many homes. If your router is old, underpowered or malfunctioning, you’ll feel it: You’ll struggle to get a good connection in some parts of your house, your video conference will start to flake out if someone’s watching Netflix in the other room, and you may find yourself unable to take advantage of your expensive high-speed internet plan, wasting your money and causing unnecessary frustration. Your CNN account Log in to your CNN accountĪ wireless router is the cornerstone of your home network.
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