Custom PC - UK (2020-01)

T

heAsusRT-AX88Uis themost

traditional-lookingofalltheroutersin

thisgrouptest,butit doesn’tgiveup

anythingintermsoffeaturestoitsmoreexotic-

lookingrivals.Infact,it’sjustaboutthemost

feature-richrouterofthelot(otherthanthe

pricierAsusAX6100meshsystem).It offers

moreUSBfunctionsthananyotherrouterthis

month,includingtheabilitytoplugina USB

modemsothatyoucanevenuseyourphoneas

yourinternetsource.Plusit offersAlexaand

IFTTsupportforeasierhomeautomation.

Style-wise,theRT-AX88Uis traditional

bothintermsofitsflat,wideshapeandfour

detachableantennae,aswellasitsfairly

aggressive,angularlines.Toanextent,allthe

routersinthisLabstestsharethesamedark

andmoodydesignlanguage,buttheAX88Uis

themostextremeproponent.Youatleastgeta

fewflashesofgoldpainttolivenuptheexterior.

Theunititselfis verywide,withitswidth

measuringa whopping390mmwiththe

aerialsattached.Addintheplentiful188mm

depthand187mmheightandyou’llneeda

sizeablespacetohousethisrouter.

Forthatgirth,though,youdogetplentyof

physicalfeatures.A rankofeightEthernet

portsrunsalongtheback,wherethey’rejoined

bytheWANport,a USB3 port,thepower

socket,andthebuttonsforWPS,resetand

power.Aroundthefrontyougettwofurther

buttonsforturningofftheWi-Fiandthe

indicatorLEDs,anda secondUSBportbehind

a flap.It’sanoddarrangementofbuttons,

consigningthefarmoreusefulWPSbuttonto

theback,whilehavingenormousdedicated

buttonsonthefrontforfeaturesthatmost

peopleareunlikelytoeveruse.

Likewise,whilewe’regladtoseea second

USB3 portis availableonthisdevice,havingit

hiddenbehinda frontflapisn’tallthatuseful.

Youwouldseldomwanttoonly

temporarilypluga USBdeviceintoa

router,comparedwiththenumberof

devicesyoumightwanttoattachmore

permanently,suchasUSBstorage,

aprinter or a USB modem.

This router also supports the AiMesh

system that powers the AX6100, so you

can configure the RT-AX88U to work

with other Asus routers to form a mesh

network. As with the AX6100, the

AX88U’smenusystemisn’tquiteasslickas

theother routers on test, and can feel a little

overstocked with features. Moreover, this router

also suffers from the same problem as the

AX6100 with setting up USB storage sharing. It

probably works if you’re prepared to faff with it,

but it wouldn’t play ball for us.

Inside, there’s the same 64-bit, 1.8GHz,

quad-core CPU that we suspect powers all

these routers: the Broadcom BCM4908. This,

along with the hefty external aerial system,

enabled the AX88U to deliver the fastest

speeds in our shortest-range tests. It also did

well in the longer-range tests on the 2.4GHz

band. However, using the 5GHz band (which

has a shorter range than 2.4GHz), we simply

couldn’t record a result for the longer tests. The

connection either wasn’t available or the test

failed part way through due to the weak signal.

Conclusion

The Asus RT-AX88U is a highly capable Wi-Fi 6

router, with a tonne of features and some

impressive short-range peak performance

figures. However, its interface isn’t the easiest to

use and it failed our longer-range tests on its

5GHz band. You can get a better-performing

router elsewhere for this money.

ASUS RT-AX88U

/£30 0 inc VAT

SUPPLIER amazon.co.uk

VERDICT

Loads of features, and solid short-range

performance, but disappointing 5GHz range

puts a dent in this router’s appeal.

DESIGN

14 / 20

PERFORMANCE

18 / 30

FEATURES

16 / 20

VALUE

22 / 30

OVERALLSCORE

70 %

SPEC

Weight

987g

Dimensions (mm)

390 x 188 x 187 (W x D x H) (with antennae)

Ethernet

8 x LAN + 1 WAN 1000Mbps, use two ports for

WAN link aggregation

Wi-Fi

802.11ax dual band (AX6000)

USB ports

2 x USB 3

Processor

1.8GHz quad-core Broadcom BCM4908

Extras

Removable antennae, USB modem support