RT-AX1800S Dual Band WiFi 6 Extendable Router, Subscription-Free Network Security, Parental Control, Built-in VPN, AiMesh Compatible, Gaming & Streaming, Smart Home

Granted, I just got this router in so I can't speak too much on the reliability yet. However, I will say the looks of it is really nice. It's smaller than my prior router (which I will get into in a bit) and the aesthetics is rather nice. Looks like a futuristic device. Setup was easy especially through the ASUS app. I didn't try logging in with a device plugged in until after it was set up, but again, super easy set up that even a beginner/novice can do. Devices connect wirelessly without a problem and I can't wait to test it out throughout the house. What attracted this particular ASUS router to me was the very fact that it said "subscription free." This was attractive because my prior router (which I don't think I'd be allowed to name) stopped working after accidentally unplugging it. I couldn't access it to re-setup my wireless network even after rebooting it and later, trying to reset to factory settings. I called their (the prior router manufacturer) support number for help and they wouldn't even bother unless they charged me $180 - $250 for something they called a "firewall security renewal." This wasn't their "bit defender"/anti-virus thing they have separately. No, they were wanting to charge me for something ridiculous before they would help me. At that point, I just said "Forget it. I'm not paying that! And I'm never buying any of your routers again if that's the kind of business/scheme you're running." They didn't seem to care. I came upon this ASUS router on Amazon. Again, the "subscription free" part was very attractive to say the least. The GUI was by far more pleasing in aesthetics to look at than the other one, and so far I'm happy overall with this new router. It seems to work better and faster than my prior router (which is old, I know) so that should be a given. If you're looking for a hassle free router with hassle free set up? This might be your go-to.

I have an existing ASUS 8800 router and wanted to extend the WIFI range, plus allowing for a few hard wired ethernet cables. This fit the bill perfectly. Using ASUS AIMesh, I was able to simply turn the AX-1800S on, place it near my ASUS 8800 router, search for AIMesh devices and add it in. It connects seamlessly and uses all my settings. 10 minute setup.

You can verify everything written here is true with a quick google search. Talking to you, Amazon. While ASUS does source some production to China, ASUS is a Taiwanese company and the sticker on the router states “Made in Vietnam”. I’m inclined to believe that. The product origin on this page states “China” but I doubt, and hope, that’s not true. You may not think it matters, but it does more than you might know. Most consumers only care about speed and affordability when it comes to routers, but it should be security at the top of the list. All your data flows through your router, including personal and financial data. Security flaws in your network can also affect neighboring networks around you. If you buy a cheap router based on speed capability alone with security flaws built in, either intentionally or not, you’re basically paying to be hacked, or for your neighbors to be, or possibly unknowingly being a conduit for attacks on your entire country. It has happened in the past, it’s still happening, and will continue to happen. Most routers today are produced in China. Even companies based in the US produce there and it’s very hard to find one that’s not made there. The problem with routers made in China is that ultimately, businesses there are controlled by the CCP government, not the business owner. This allows their government to implement whatever they want in their exported tech and products. It’s why some of their tech companies like Huawei have been banned in numerous countries. Routers made in China from brands like Wavlink which are sold in big retail stores across the US have been found to contain hidden back doors and intentional security holes and vulnerabilities to malware like Mirai. Basically open doors for hackers. Some of these back doors have been used in the past to launch cyber attacks (Mirai botnet) on the US which caused major network outages, as well as in other countries. From a cybersecurity perspective, these look a lot like “trial runs” to me. But speculation and paranoia aside, why take the chance on inviting that kind of tech into your home? It wasn’t an isolated, one time event when these back doors were discovered, and it was with various routers and companies out of China. Again, all this is verifiable with the slightest amount of research using credible sources. I have tried some routers made in China. I could tell they had horrible security just by using the app, or during setup. One was capable of remote access, yet the option to turn it on or off was non existent. It didn’t even ask during set up and the option was nowhere in the app. Remote access should always be turned off, unless you need to access your router from outside your home, which is rarely needed for the average user. If it’s on, it’s just an unnecessary access point open for hackers to attempt access. It might have been possible to check by connecting directly to it using the Web UI, but instead I just returned it and went on the hunt for non-Chinese routers. It took a lot of research since there aren’t many, but finally landed on this one. I am much, much happier with this ASUS router and it seems very security focused! There are numerous security options available in the app, and also asks you about remote access during set up. It has AI Protection by Trend Micro built in (included free of charge) which constantly monitors your network for viruses and intrusions and even blocks harmful websites. You can also monitor all connections and traffic through the app. There are even additional apps you can download for more functionalities. As for speed, WiFi 6 is awesome. This thing is lightning fast to my previous ISP provided router and much more stable. If you’re not familiar with WiFi 6, it’s not really a speed booster. It provides a more stable connection though, even in very signal-congested areas such as apartments or offices where there’s numerous routers and networks overlapping and causing interference. This more stable connection will often times yield higher speeds. Your PC and various hardware must be WiFi 6 capable to utilize it, but there are cheap and affordable USB adapters available to enable it on your PC if it’s not already capable. Aside from that, the 5GHz signal is stable and fast, even without WiFi 6. 2.4GHz is not bad at all either. There are options in the app to monitor what’s connected at all times and you can even limit bandwidth to certain devices, or ban them from connecting completely if you want to streamline your connections. There are a lot more features to this router, which are easily accessed from the app which appears extremely robust compared to the anemic apps I used with the Chinese routers. Those seemed like toys compared to this. I haven’t tried Ai Mesh, but it is yet another useful capability of this router. Completely happy with this router based on speed, stability, capabilities, and most of all, security!

Relatively easy setup. However, I had to trade in my modem/router combo for a simple modem with my ISP to ensure that the kids couldn't connect to the old router and bypass the new parental controls. I didnt see any decrease in internet speeds. Parental controls and time management seems to work well. It's nice to be able to see and name every device that connects to your network, and to set different permissions for different devices. For example, you can set one child's bedtime for 8:00 p.m. and another child's for midnight, and their internet will cut off at whatever time you set. You can also set parental controls per device. The app seems to work well, though I wish it were a bit more granular. You can block pornographic websites on general, but the internet is so vast, I'm sure kids could find a way around it with proxy sites and things like that. I wish I could monitor the individual websites my kids have visited, and create my own blacklist/whitelist of websites, but I don't believe this router has that functionality.

I've only used it for few days, but it's been stable and I've experienced no issues with this so far. It's good as a basic value router. It's got many features, but I'm only using 5G wireless, 5G guest wireless, and LAN port access. It's connected to an old cable modem and it's been working fine w/o any disconnections so far and I hope it stays that way for 3 months at least. Of course I'd hope that it works stable for many years, but I do really need it working without any problem for 3 months as I will not be near by it to checkout the issue if anything pops up.

This router has a firmware bug that Azus refuses to fix for iterations now where the router sees too many connections and drops signal. It has caused me a headacke for weeks until I nailed the firmware bug and had to disable Wifi 6 in the mean time. Do not get buy this or you will struggle with multiple devices connected. It's junk. rc_service: httpd 953:notify_rc reboot ← you pressed reboot ... Dec 8 22:05:40 kernel: ap_link_up(...), wdev(0) ← 2.4 GHz came up on channel 11 Dec 8 22:05:42 kernel: New Sta:80:48:2c:53:be:dd ← first phone connected to 2.4 GHz Dec 8 22:05:44 kernel: New Sta:2c:aa:8e:31:ba:35 ← second device connected ... Dec 8 22:06:03 kernel: Del Sta:2c:aa:8e:31:ba:35 ← suddenly disconnects Dec 8 22:06:03 kernel: Del Sta:96:a6:7e:04:4c:3d ← more disconnects ... Dec 8 12:22:10 kernel: ra0: ===> main_virtual_if_close ← 2.4 GHz is being shut down again Dec 8 12:22:10 kernel: wifi_sys_linkdown(), wdev idx = 0 Dec 8 12:22:10 kernel: wifi_sys_close, wdev idx = 0 Reboot triggered 2.4 GHz starts normally → devices see the SSID and connect ~40 seconds later the router actively shuts the 2.4 GHz radio down again (wifi_sys_close on wdev 0 = 2.4 GHz) After boot, the router starts both radios, sees a lot of 2.4 GHz legacy clients trying to connect, panics about “band steering failure” or “AX incompatibility”, and kills the entire 2.4 GHz radio a few seconds later. That’s why we see the SSID for 10-60 seconds and then it disappears forever until the next reboot. That is not a hardware or driver crash. It is the firmware deciding to disable the 2.4 GHz radio right after boot.The real culprit (100 % confirmed on this exact model/firmware)This is a known bug in ASUSWRT 386_69155 (and several earlier 386 builds) on all MT7915-based routers (RT-AX1800S, RT-AX55, RT-AX56U, etc.) when both of these conditions are true: Smart Connect is enabled (single SSID for 2.4 + 5 GHz) **802.11ax / Wi-Fi 6 mode is enabled on 2.4 GHz Disabled both kind of work around the problem but now I dont have wifi 6 mode. It's junk and ASUS needs to get their **** together.

easy setup, works great, strong signal strength

I bought two of these from Amazon Warehouse and they arrived as ASUS refurbished units with V1.0 hardware. I quickly learned, DO NOT follow any of the instructions if you want to set up AiMesh, and DO NOT use the app as it isn't set up (at this time) for AiMesh out of the box. Sooo...what I found worked easiest/best/quickest was to connect the WAN port of the AX1800S to the LAN port of my main router (an AX-3000) and then log into my AX-3000. Right on the main screen it acknowledged the new AX1800S and was simply click to configure it for AiMesh use (your router's software may be different, so you might have to click the AiMesh tab to start the process). Once it was set up, I disconnected the first AX1800S and then set up the 2nd one the exact same way (just to be sure there wasn't any configuration corruption between the two new units). I set them up for Ethernet backhaul as I have Ethernet wired throughout my home, and the WiFi is broadcasting the same SSID and password (none of this <network-EXT> crap). I made the guest network available on the AiMesh nodes. After I had put everything physically in place and powered them up again, I went back to the AX-3000 screen to Administration and checked for firmware updates. Both AX1800S had a new firmware release showing, so I manually updated each individually (sorry, the picture is after I had updated the firmware, but shows you where to look). For whatever reason, it took about 12 hours for the network to fully stabilize after it was installed, but it's been smooth sailing since then. My coverage is much, much better throughout the house and outdoors to my Ring cameras that would frequently not have Live views because of weak signal. My main router is downstairs with the new AX1800S units each close to the far ends of my upper level. Aside from coverage, I wanted to have all of my Ring, Dots, Enphase equipment, smart plugs, etc. on their own network, isolated from my personal network, to help isolate their access to my everyday internet use and reduce the possibilities of a hack into my personal network from these devices (which, aside from Ring, really aren't updated very often for security). Will it actually help? I don't know, but I feel better about it! Oh, also a super-cool feature is that as an AiMesh node ALSO acts as a physical network switch (hub), so you can use those 4 Ethernet ports for anything you want hardwired to your network. Anyway, super-happy and very easy setup if you just plug stuff in and go straight to your main ASUS router!

Purchased nearly 3 years ago. Excellent router. No issues.

Tengo un poco de conocimiento de como configurar mi red casera. Ha sido muy fácil y tiene muchas opciones para optimizar como el QoS, firewall, seguridad de la red, etc. Funciona perfecto y si tienes algo de conocimientos, puede ser una excelente herramienta para configurar tu home lab

Bonjour, Je tiens à dire en premier lieu que le produit est d'excellente facture et permet de s'adapter à une multitude de configuration, sauf à la mienne et à tout ceux qui veulent se connecter via se routeur au réseau Mesh NordVpn ( a ne pas confondre avec le système Mesh de Asus qui lui est fonctionnel) . Si vous voulez utiliser seulement la protection NordVpn derrière ce routeur cela fonctionne sans problème après l'avoir paramétrée. La protection NordVpn activé sur ce routeur ne permet pas d'intégrer ce routeur au réseau Mesh NordVpn lié à votre compte ... Donc ce routeur reste invisible dans le réseau Mesh NordVpn de votre compte et reste donc inaccessible pour un accès distant. Pour finir, certain PC portable comme Mon HP EliteBook 840 ne peuvent pas se connecter au nouveau Wifi de ce routeur !!! De ce fait, Retour à l'expéditeur... NB: en cas de refus de publication AMAZON, merci de préciser CLAIREMENT le motif... Cdlt

Works well!

Una maravilla sobre todo porque el modem de izzi era muy inestable la conexion, tenemos 1000 MB y con este router trabaja bastante bien la conexion tanto cableada como inalambrica