Asus RT-AX88U Pro review: A powerful gaming router that can handle almost anything else

Asus has a strong reputation for manufacturing computer components, portable computers, monitors, and more. But they’ve also been hard at work building out its networking side, and it’s been impossible to ignore with Wi-Fi 6 routers like the Asus RT-AX88U Pro. While this router’s dual-band AX6000 connection may not seem like much, especially with tri-band and quad-band Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 routers entering the market, it makes a lot of sense for many home users.

Getting one of the fastest quad-band routers won’t be a problem if you don’t mind wasting money, but with current average internet speeds and device compatibility, an AX6000 router like the RT-AX88U Pro with 2.5Gbps Ethernet (2.5GbE) makes a lot more sense. You get support for internet speeds greater than 1Gbps, which is making its way to a handful of ISPs, and full wireless speeds in all but the most congested of locations for most devices. And with its recent software updates, Asus has even become an easy recommendation for novices.

 

 

ASUS RT-AX88U Pro

Powerful gaming router

$270 $300 Save $30

The RT-AX88U Pro is one of the best all-around Wi-Fi 6 routers that still supports multi-gig speeds. You’ll get a fast 5GHz band that supports fast Wi-Fi 6 connections of up to 2,402Mbps with 4×4 MIMO and a QoS to keep usability high even with multiple connections.

Brand

ASUS

Wi-Fi Bands

2.4GHz, 5GHz

Ethernet Ports

4x 1Gbps, 2x 2.5Gbps

USB Ports

USB 3.0

MU-MIMO

4×4

Mesh Network Compatible

AiMesh

Supported standards

Wi-Fi 6

Speeds

Dual-band AX6000

Security

WPA-3

Chipset/memory

2.0GHz quad-core, 1GB RAM

App requirements

ASUS Router or web browser

Pros

• Fast multi-gig wired and wireless performance
• Stable and powerful software features
• Solid gaming features with easy NAT profiles
• Cheaper than ROG with all of the features (except RGB)

Cons

• AiMesh setup can be finicky between models
• A bit pricey for AX6000

Asus RT-AX88U Pro: Price and availability

The Asus RT-AX88U Pro has a suggested retail price of $300 but can often be found on sale for a bit less. This router is available at a wide range of retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, and Walmart. To set it up with an app, you’ll need an Android or iOS device, but you can also use the web UI with just about any device with a web browser.

An online account is not required to use the router but may be required for some features. Enabling AiProtection Pro features such as parental controls, ad-blocking, and intrusion detection will require some data sharing, but none of these are required to use the router.

We primarily tested the router on firmware version 3.0.0.6.102_21414_136 with some usage on the previous version. The latest software version, labeled ASUSWRT 5.0, added some new features, like multiple guest network types.

Design and hardware

Plenty of power for multi-gig speeds

The design of the Asus RT-AX88U Pro is basically the same as the RT-AX88U, with a fairly standard router design and four antennas on the back and sides. Also on the back are the four gigabit Ethernet ports, a 2.5GbE LAN port, a 2.5GbE WAN port, and a USB 3.0 port. The antennas have a bronze accent at the base that matches the internal cooler color seen through the mesh on top. This gives the router an understated yet immediately recognizable appearance. It also feels well-made, with sturdy plastics for the outside casing and antennas that feel solid. The hinges on some cheaper antennas can be a bit loose, but all six still feel tight and high-quality.

You can also wall-mount this router relatively easily with two mounting points on the bottom, although you’ll need to remove the small soft plastic plugs first. The router generally stayed plenty cool throughout testing, despite the upgraded SoC (quad-core 2.0GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM) and ambient temperatures exceeding 80 degrees Fahrenheit. You should have plenty of ventilation in any orientation.

If you’ve been shopping for AX6000 routers, you’ve likely also seen the ROG Rapture GT-AX6000, an excellent gaming router with nearly identical specifications. It costs $30 more at MSRP than the RT-AX88U Pro, although it might be worth it if you want RGB and don’t need to mount it on a wall. When it comes to features, the two routers are nearly the same on paper, and performance is also right in line with what you’d expect. This isn’t unusual for Asus, which has three brands — Asus, ROG Strix, and ROG Rapture — which often feature identical products, at least internally.

Setup and software

Use the app or a web browser for settings

Eero and AmpliFi have made easy setup part of their identities, but setting up an Asus router is just as easy as long as you stay out of the more advanced settings. The Asus router app will find your router using Bluetooth or the default Wi-Fi signal and then prompt you for some basic information like your Wi-Fi name and password. You’ll also be able to set your admin name and password here. (Just make your admin credentials something memorable because you’ll need them to change your settings.)

I find the Asus setup is easy enough to stand toe-to-toe with any other brand, though setting up a mesh can take longer. Still, even when I was taking my time and having to install a firmware update, I was up and running in under 20 minutes.

Something that strikes me about using ASUSWRT in a web browser is how it encourages me to explore options. So much modern software has been whittled down to fit the least technological user, with simplified settings and barren apps that are so afraid of overwhelming the user that they kneecap the functionality. While the ASUS Router app is there for novices and quick settings, typing “asusrouter.com” into your web browser opens up a whole new world.

Starting with the categories on the left of the page, you have access to most of the app’s features. But you can also dig deeper with advanced settings for each category that let you adjust everything from wireless power levels to Smart Connect threshold — that is, settings you can safely ignore until you need them. This is in addition to most of the settings you’ll find in the app. It can look like a lot of technobabble at first, but for tech-savvy individuals and those willing to learn, it can be a great jumping-off point with solid online resources available.

It’s rare that software makes me want to dive deeper, and as a nerd at heart, it feels right. At some point, an analyst will likely come in with documents and surveys telling ASUSWRT developers to be more like Eero or Google Wifi, and I just hope the developers are allowed to ignore them.

Software features

Most Wi-Fi routers you can buy today will let you create a guest network, but Asus takes it a step further with multiple options. You can create a traditional guest network, for example, which can be good for people visiting your home. But you can also create an IoT network to keep your smart home tech separate or even a guest network for a business that shows a splash screen. You can also set up a Kid’s Network that allows you to monitor and set internet speeds, intranet access, and even whether it works on your entire mesh network.

You can also create a VPN guest network that goes further than a regular one and routes all guest connections through a service of your choice. Whether you just want an easy way to route multiple devices through a VPN or just want an extra layer of security between visiting devices and your local network, Asus’s guest network makes it easy.

Speaking of VPNs, ASUSWRT supports both VPN Client and Server modes. VPN Server allows you to use your router as a VPN server, so you can connect to your home network from another network. This is helpful for those that need to use features on their home network or just want an extra layer of security from a remote connection. This is made even easier with Asus Instant Guard, which can configure your settings with the Asus Router app.

VPN Client, on the other hand, allows you to use a VPN service on your router. You can use a feature called VPN Fusion to assign specific devices to a VPN server or to skip the VPN altogether. You can add up to 16 different VPNs to your router, though only two can be active at once. This feature is helped by the more powerful CPU fitted to the RT-AX88U Pro compared to the standard RT-AX88U, as routing connections through multiple VPNs simultaneously can be quite strenuous. I tested multiple OpenVPN connections at once across two VPN servers and the default connection, and the router had no issues keeping data flowing. I even had plenty of speeds for HD video streaming. There is a Surfshark ad in the app with a streamlined setup, but just about any VPN will work with support for L2TP, PPTP, OpenVPN, and WireGuard.

Besides excluding them from your VPN connection, you can also prioritize your gaming devices using a built-in Quality of Service (QoS). For example, streaming video doesn’t need ultra-fast ping times, so putting a gaming connection in front of it will cause no noticeable degradation to the streaming experience while improving online gameplay. You can set a system-wide QoS on the router or specify prioritized devices from the device list.

If you’re a competitive gamer, you probably feel some negative emotions when you hear about NAT, which is how your router decides which traffic should go where by translating the external IP address into an internal one. Asus’s OpenNAT feature allows you to specify devices and games to create a custom rule to let your gaming devices through. This can help with some matchmaking services and features like voice chat.

One of Asus’s headlining features is AiProtection Pro, which includes some extra security features and can block known malicious sites, unauthorized intrusion, and infected devices. It also includes a fairly robust set of parental controls that allows you to create a profile for each person in the house. This is common in mid to high-end routers these days, but Asus stands apart by making AiProtection Pro completely free.

Finally, I can’t ignore AiMesh, which allows you to use multiple Asus routers together in a mesh. Unlike a mesh kit from a company like Eero, you’ll need to configure your additional routers individually, and in my experience, Asus’s solution can be a bit finicky to set up, especially with different models on different firmware versions. That being said, once it’s set up, it’s reliable, and the ability to set up a preferred backhaul or uplink AP makes Asus’s solution more powerful than a lot of its peers.

Wireless performance

Plenty for most families, but not breaking any records

Starting with wired performance, the router had no trouble getting full gigabit internet speeds, with internal speed test results meeting my expectations at around 900Mbps down and 950Mbps up. This establishes a maximum figure for my wireless tests, but there’s more to the story. Using this port with a 2.5GbE adapter on my MacBook Pro, I was able to achieve over 1.8Gbps in a few quick iPerf3 tests with a Zenfone 8 in the same room as the router. This shows that both the internal switch for Wi-Fi and the wired port are capable of multi-gigabit speeds if you need them.

It’s worth noting that the router in its default configuration was using an 80MHz band at 5GHz. I manually switched this to 160MHz for my testing.

For wireless testing, I used the Speedtest app from Ookla to see how close a range of devices can get to my theoretical max. I used three phones: a Zenfone 8 with up to a 2,402Mbps connection thanks to 160MHz Wi-Fi 6 support, a Galaxy S20+ with up to 1,201Mbps and an 80MHz Wi-Fi 6 connection, and an LG G8 with up to 867Mbps from 80MHz Wi-Fi 5. All devices performed within my expectations for the hardware with plenty of speeds for just about anything most people do online. Coverage was also strong, with my phone and laptop receiving Wi-Fi outside my brick house in places that the previously tested AmpliFi Alien simply didn’t reach.

Speed test results (download/upload)

The main takeaway here is that speeds are consistent across the three locations. I also tried some stress tests running multiple speed tests at once, and received usable speeds throughout all of them.

I’m not much of a competitive gamer these days, but I had good experience in a few online games. Trying out BattleBit Remastered, I had decent results with several 127 vs. 127 rounds working reasonably well. While one game had some lag issues, the entire chat window was full of similar complaints, so I can’t blame the router for that.

Overall, I’ve been happy using this router for the past couple of weeks with no major issues in everyday usage. Accessing the Asus Router app was reliable, and changing settings was quick. Even when experimenting with features, the interface was responsive and didn’t crash. In fact, the online downtime I had with this router was the result of a thunderstorm taking out my fiber for a few hours.

Should you buy the Asus RT-AX88U Pro?

You should buy the Asus RT-AX88U Pro if:

• You want to be ready for multi-gig internet speeds
• You’re a competitive gamer that needs consistent pings
• You want profile-based parental controls for free
• You may want to expand coverage with AiMesh

You shouldn’t buy the Asus RT-AX88U Pro if:

• You don’t need multi-gig speeds in the near future
• You have a small home with only a few devices
• You want RGB lighting

The truth is, most people don’t need a router this powerful in their home. If you only have a couple of people using it, an AX3000 or even an AX1800 router could be all you need. It’s also worth remembering that you’ll only ever get as much speed as your ISP provides, so if you only pay for 200Mbps, that’s all you’re ever going to get.

That being said, it can be nice to have all of these features at your fingertips if you need them. VPN Fusion makes it easy to get connected to a VPN with specific devices, which can be amazing for streaming video. Plus, ASUSWRT 5.0 brought with it some nice updates, like the Guest Network Pro with VPN and business guest networks. And while it doesn’t have RGB lighting, it has solid gaming features like the Mobile Game Mode and QoS.

The Asus RT-AX88U is simply one of the most performant dual-band gaming routers you’ll find. I’m struggling to come up with any significant downsides. Even when I was stressing the router with multiple VPN connections and unrealistic loads, the RT-AX88U Pro continued to feel responsive with consistent pings and speed. If you want a router with the raw power and software for gaming without the RGB-infused light show, the Asus RT-AX88U Pro is a really strong pick.

 

 

ASUS RT-AX88U Pro

Powerful gaming monitor

$270 $300 Save $30

The RT-AX88U Pro is one of the best all-around Wi-Fi 6 routers that still supports multi-gig speeds. You’ll get a fast 5GHz band that supports fast Wi-Fi 6 connections of up to 2,402Mbps with 4×4 MIMO and a QoS to keep usability high even with multiple connections.