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The ASUS RT-N66U Gigabit Router Dual-band Wireless –N900 is an impressive machine that builds on the award winning older model, RT-N56U, with increased WI-FI speed for both 5 GHZ and the 2.4 GHZ transmission by 50 % up to 900 Mbps which is ideal for bandwidth hungry entertainment such as HD Video Streaming and online multiplayer gaming. It also makes it quicker when accessing USB Hard drive file sharing and connected printer sharing.
ASUS RT-N66U Gigabit Router Dual-band Wireless –N900 Features
Designed for Class-Leading Speed and Range – ASUS designed this router with the latest networking technology that helps delivers fast wired and wireless connectivity. If you need to add a little range or place your antenna in a better location, the antennas are removable so you can buy an adapter and run them somewhere else.
Dual-Band Connectivity for Lag-Free Entertainment – With the ASUS RT-N66U Gigabit Router Dual-band Wireless-N900 runs both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz up to 450 Mbps for both bands that gives you a total speed up to 900 Mbps connectivity. This gives you the speed and stability that you need to do almost anything on your network. You can browse the internet and download files on the 2.4 GHz band and at the same time, stream HD content and other bandwidth hogging applications on the 5 Hz band without issue.
Optimized and Reliable Wireless Coverage via Ai Radar – The RT-N66U uses high-powered amplification and beam forming by using ASUS Ai Radar to intelligently strengthen connections to wireless devices.
Easy Setup Through Your Tablet, Smartphone, or PC – Setup is simple, just power up and connect your router to your modem. Then open up your browser on your tablet or computer and you will be taken to the setup page. Now you can configure your network with easy to find settings.
Powerful functions, easiest management – The ASUSWRT Dashboard US does it all. Its will setup your network, monitor it, and control the network applications. It will even let you manage all clients and settings on a single graphical interface and provides you with 1-click updates.
Optimize Your Network for You – If you spend a lot or like to stream a lot movies, then you are in luck. The RT-N66 has a Quality of Services (QoS), which will let you prioritized which tasks gets how much bandwidth and limited less important tasks. There’s even a traffic monitor that allows you to check your web usage all built into the graphical interface.
Two Multi-Functional Built-in USB ports – The ASUS RT-N66U Gigabit Router Dual-band Wireless-N900 comes with two USB ports. You can hook up network printers, USB hard drives, USB jump drives, and other network devices that have USB connectivity.
Powerful Online Multitasking up to 300,000 Data Sessions – The RT-N66U has 20 times the networking capacity than most routers can do. Own a small business, with this router you won’t see lag.
Dedicated WI-FI For Your Visitors – Do you have a lot visitors that need access to your network or just have family over needing the internet? If you do, then you can use ASUS Guest Network to setup three separate guest networks that you can setup with its own usage limits and passwords. As a guest, they won’t have access to your primary network or other connected devices.
VPN Server Enabled – Use the dashboard to setup a VPN server to browse the web and access data with MPPE encryption.
Flexible Installation with Versatile Design – The RT-N66U can be placed on your desk or shelf. But if you need a wall or ceiling mount, you can do that to. Put it almost anywhere you want to get it out of your way. Just make sure to place it in a location that all the rooms in the house or building has access.
Graphic Image Source: ASUS Product Page.
ASUS RT-N66U Gigabit Router Dual-band Wireless-N900 Review
I have used the ASUS RT-N66U Gigabit Router Dual-band Wireless-N900 for just over a year and I have been disappointed with it. But before I go into detail let me explain my setup first.
The Details
I currently have an HP desktop computer wired into one of the Cat 5 ports with an Exede Satellite Modem Connected to Internet port. I have a SanDisk CZ48 128 USB 3.0 Flash Memory Drive and a Seagate 5TB Backup Plus plugged into the two USB ports and an HP Wireless Printer connected wirelessly. Plus Several smartphones, tablets, and notebooks connected wirelessly. 
Exede, like other Satellite internet services, still limit your bandwidth use even though they are over priced for the limited services and slower speed compared to traditional wired internet services (out in the country you are limited and they choose to charge more for limited services.) Because of those issues, we use services Like PlayOn and NightShift to download TV shows and movies (legally) during our free hours. Those downloaded items are stored on our USB connected devices and streamed to our wirelessly connected Blue Ray player.
My Thoughts
Our router shouldn’t be straining that much. What I found is that our router does a good job at file storage and streaming to our devices from those devices. Also keep in mind that not only do you need a good router for this but your USB devices and your players need to be good ones to. We originally had some cheap USB drives connected and had all sorts of issues. Once we added good, reliable, fast devices the issues went away.
The Pros…
Overall I like the router, its features, size, and its modern sleek design. The dashboard setup and configuration is one of the easiest routers I have had to configure over the years. It even has features I am not familiar with and really do not need. But its good know they are their if I ever need them.
One of the most useful features on the router is the dual USB ports. Between the over-sized media drive/backup system and USB flash drive for NightShift, I use these ports almost daily. I can setup auto backs for each of our computers and devices and send them over the WI-FI and just check to see if the backup were successful.
The Cons…
It tends to drop connection several times a week. Sometimes it goes weeks without a drop at others it drops several times a day. It normally comes back a few minutes later. If it doesn’t, I have to power down the modem and router for a few minutes and reboot. After about 20 minutes or so it comes back online.
I’ve noticed that when the router is working hard, it heats up. Its hot to the touch and almost hot enough to burn your skin if you leave your hand on the hot spot to long. During this overheating I found that some of the disconnects happened.
After some research, I found others were having these issues. Some users claimed that adding a fan resolved this issue and others installed an aftermarket operating system over the factory operating system to stop the disconnects. Then others needed both to resolve issues.
So I tried adding a small desk fan, pointing at the hot spot on the router, and put the router on a metal surface. Although I still get disconnects, they seem to happen only once or twice a month and the overheating was fixed. Now it’s just warm and it doesn’t really effect the routers functionality.
More Pictures
Final Thoughts
This router works for the our household needs but with headaches. For me the overheating should never be an issue. ASUS should have resolved this issue before releasing this model. A little heat is normal, but the amount of heat this router can create is dangerous. It can damage the equipment, could cause a fire under the right conditions and it helps add extra heat in an already warm room.
If you do buy this router or already have one, I would suggest adding a fan ASAP to cool it off. Even if yours doesn’t heat up, adding a little tabletop fan will help the router perform better. Also make sure you are running the latest firmware version.
If you want more customization and little more stable router OS then you might want to look into DD-WRT OS. I’ve used this one to upgrade the old Linksys routers and they worked great. DD-WRT’s ASUS router version is also recommended on many router forums.
Do to its issues and the headaches it gives me I can’t recommend the ASUS RT-N66U Gigabit Router Dual-band Wireless –N900 . I will continue to use this one until it dies or until this one becomes less reliable.
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