A lot of people are replacing their Wi-Fi routers these days. Factors like 4K video streaming, online gaming, remote working and video conferences, growing collections of connected smart devices, and the support for Wi-Fi 6 in current hardware like smartphones and laptops give plenty of reasons to upgrade. But, do you need to upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 for a better experience? For some households, the answer is no. You can save money and enjoy faster, more reliable Wi-Fi compared to your current setup with an 802.11ac router. The ASUS RT-AC67P AC1900 Dual Band Gigabit Wi-Fi 5 Router is a perfect example.
This is an 802.11ac router
Wi-Fi has gone through a naming convention change over the past several years, and that has caused some confusion. The latest and greatest is Wi-Fi 6, which was originally called 802.11ax. Actually, Wi-Fi 6E is coming soon, but that’s another story. What used to be known as 802.11ac (the mainstream Wi-Fi standard just a few years ago) is now known as Wi-Fi 5. It might also be referred to as 5th generation Wi-Fi.
Complicating the situation, smartphone manufacturers and cellular carriers have been adopting 5G cellular. 5G has gotten a lot of attention due to the massive speed increases it offers.
However, there is potential for confusion between Wi-Fi 5/5th generation Wi-Fi and 5G.
The ASUS RT-AC67P is a Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) router.
Why you don’t necessarily need Wi-Fi 6 at this point
Wi-Fi 6 has been in making waves over the past two years. To learn why, check out this explainer on its many advantages. Now that it’s mainstream, there is a huge selection of Wi-Fi 6 routers to choose from. We’ve probably reviewed a dozen or so on the blog at this point. They’re impressive, sure, but there are also homes where Wi-Fi 6 isn’t exactly a must-have. Especially when you can upgrade to a new 802.11ac router like the ASUS RT-AC67P for considerably less.
If your home isn’t packed with devices clamouring for a Wi-Fi connection, your devices aren’t equipped with Wi-Fi 6, or your ISP internet plan isn’t an extreme high speed version, then an 802.11ac router can serve your needs very well. It will still offer a huge upgrade over an older 802.11n router and a new model like the ASUS RT-AC67P is also going to give you a performance boost over an early generation 802.11ac router.
How do I know? I have tested many Wi-Fi 6 routers and they are great. However, my house is still running on an 802.11ac router. On top of a considerable collection of connected tech, I have three teenagers here and my wife is working from home and frequently using Zoom video sessions. My next router will be Wi-Fi 6, but the current system (combined with a 500 Mbps internet plan) works just fine. No spooling on 4K video streams, no Zoom glitches, no video game lag.
Setup and management of ASUS RT-AC67P
Back to the ASUS RT-AC67P. No-one likes setting up a Wi-Fi router. Setup is probably the number one reason why people skip upgrading. ASUS does a good job of making the job straightforward, with a mobile app (you can also go old school with a web browser) and even a QR code on the back of the router that automatically connects your smartphone. The app walks you through it nicely.
However, during my setup, there was a firmware update. That installed successfully, but the router refused to connect to the internet after. I eventually ended up doing a factory reset and repeating the process, after which everything worked just fine. It was probably a glitch, but it did make the setup a little more time-consuming than expected.
That ASUS mobile app offers a wide range of network management features, including parental controls. I’m a fan of its home screen, which shows key information at a glance, including real-time network traffic levels and the number of devices connected.
It’s worth noting this router uses a vertical form factor. This gives it a much smaller footprint than many routers, and it’s still quite stable thanks to the built-in stand. It’s a pretty basic black plastic with some textures for visual interest, and a series of small blue LED lights on the front that show network status at a glance.
ASUS RT-AC67P key specs:
|
Performance of ASUS RT-AC67P
This is a new 802.11ac router, so it features tech that wasn’t available in earlier models. The RT-AC67P offers MU-MIMO support that connects up to three devices simultaneously, each at its maximum connection speed. ASUS’ AiRadar beamforming ensures your connected device remains connected as you move around.
During testing, the ASUS RT-AC67P delivered perfectly acceptable performance. Doing a network speed test with my iPad, I often hit 400 Mbps. That’s close to the maximum speed of my ISP. More impressive, I took a walk out to the back yard and ran a Netflix speed test out there (roughly 75 feet and a brick wall from the router). I still hit a speed of 49 Mbps. Given that Netflix recommends a 25 Mbps connection for 4K streaming, I could have watched 4K video out there without a hitch.
Not bad at all.
Gigabit LAN ports
Sometimes you want a wired connection. This means you always get the maximum available speed, without worrying about interference or other wireless issues. Entry level routers often cheap out on ports, but the ASUS RT-AC67P is equipped with four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports. You can directly connect up to four PCs, video streamers, or game consoles to maximize their internet connection speeds.
There is also a USB Type-A port, so you can plug in a printer or hard drive to share on the network.
Should you choose the ASUS RT-AC67P router or go with a Wi-Fi 6 router instead?
You’re shopping for a new Wi-Fi router. Should you go with a Wi-Fi 6 model? At this point, that probably makes sense for most people. If nothing else, you are future-proofing yourself. ASUS has plenty of models to choose from, and Best Buy carries a huge selection of Wi-Fi 6 routers from all the top networking brands.
However, if you want a Wi-Fi upgrade on limited budget, or your needs simply won’t take advantage of all the benefits Wi-Fi 6 offers, then there’s nothing wrong with picking a current generation 802.11ac (or Wi-Fi 5) router. And the ASUS RT-AC67P AC1900 dual-band gigabit Wi-Fi 5 router is a pretty solid choice.
This router will be great for my home because most of us work from home and have to view private information at times (like emails). Knowing that there is advanced security including firewall, guest network, and VPN, makes me feel safe.
I need greater coverage so this router would be great.
I could use the extra Gigabit LAN ports.
This would be great for our home to improve coverage over the crappy one from our ISP
My in-home Steam-box streaming would benefit from this! Pick me!
I think this router will be great for my home because of the huge coverage at 1500 square feet.
Need the performance improvements provided by a new router
I live on a farm that uses all kinds of internet/wifi based technology so this router would make almost every aspect of my life better!
shaw router is TERRIBLE. only includes 2 ports. the Asus offers 4. I don’t think we’d need wifi 6, so the asus is a good fit. Finally, i would definitely use the usb port on the ASUS RT-AC67P router for my home server. Only connecting to 3 devices won’t be an issue in our home. ASUS RT-AC67P router would make a good entry level addition to our home network: bypasses shaw, added home networking control: (kids!) thru Asus software, more ports and it’s cheap.
I believe this router will help my wifi have a stronger signal to reach my room.
Because our current router is complete garbage and we receive no reception upstairs.
This router will be great for my home because I need better wifi coverage in my house.
This router looks like it will improve the range over my current router!
I believe the router would help increase wifi coverage.
Would increase internet speed in upstairs office
I think it would help improve wifi coverage in my home.
This would be the perfect device to let us stream Netflix 4K movies, do gaming smoothly and do Zoom video meetings at the same at every corner of our place!
We hope to improve the internet speed at the other side of our home.
I think this will be great for full coverage of WiFi for the house. Working in the basement I find our connection not too great
The route would be perfect for gaming consoles.
A new router will help extend wifi on the basement suite where my parents stream TV show on their TV box.
This router would be great for my place because we don’t have a lot of space and the form factor of this router is perfect!
It would for sure improve my wifi. Thanks
This router would be great replacement for my 5+ year old router and would greatly improve my wifi connections
We use multiple devices at the same time at home, so having MU-MIMO support to allow for simultaneous maximum connection speed is a great fit for us!
I could use the router as an alternative in my house. I hope I win.
This router would go great with my old existing Asus router to improve my wifi 🙂
My house is decently big and getting coverage in most parts of my home is hard. I’ve bought a wifi extender which didn’t help too much and I believe a router this good would definitely do the job. I have many devices connected to my current router and it would make it so much easier to use all devices at once.
I hope this will optimize the coverage in my home, I have bad signal in some rooms.
With so many devices, and more being added, this would be a great router to have.
This will be great for my game consoles and streaming devices connected at my home theatre.
This router will help with the Google nest camera and floodlight I got. The ISP wifi node is struggling with the number of devices connected (processing power) and not a speed issue.
This router will be great for my home because the internet is always cutting out so a new router would hopefully solve that problem.
This would be a great enhancement to my house as I have no router currently!
This would be a great addition as my current router is often finicky and needs rebooting
Thank you for the interesting read, would greatly help with gaming as I’m currently sporting the junker my ISP gave to me, and I currently cannot work 🙁
The gigabit LAN ports would be a game changer for me as I am working from home
my current router is over 10 years old, anything would be an upgrade
upgrade my computer, faster router would allow better streaming
I think this router would be an upgrade from my current router and improve the internet speed.
This would be a great addition to our home as we have so many devices and could use a proper router to replace our generic one.
This router would be a great upgrade to my current ISP`s one, which does not have a good range to cover the whole house.
I need another router to add an extra AP and the ISP router is really slow!
I haven’t purchased a router in well over a decade. I was of the old adage, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.. however, not adapting to change probably kept me in the 20th century. I believe this new router will enable me to travel into the future, or as you would call it – the present.
I think this router will be great for my home because it would be an upgrade over my current 802.11n router.
Will be great to give cover indoors but also outdoor as part of my backyard are currently not covered.
Three adjustable external antennas with coverage up to 1,500 square feet (139 square metres) would be perfect for my house, we have devices all over and this would give us such a boost
I have a little concrete wall that My netgear doesn’t work well with. Adding second amazing router would fix our connectivity issues.
Interesting read, and we probably would be just fine sticking with a 802.11ac router.
Nice !! Great review
Comments are closed.