Asus RT-AX56U Review
Dual Band WiFi 6 router supporting MU-MIMO and OFDMA technology, with AiProtection Pro network security by Trend Micro, compatible with AiMesh WiFi system.
The ASUS RT-AX56U is the company’s most recent Wi-Fi 6 router. With a 1.5GHz quad-core Broadcom BCM6755 CPU and a total memory capacity of up to 512 MiB, the AX56U is an entry-level router with a limited set of features.
In addition, the NitroQAM (1024-QAM) technology in this AX1800 class wireless router allows it to send data at up to 574Mbps over 2.4GHz and 1201Mbps over 5GHz in the future, increasing the data delivery rate by up to 25 percent over both bands.
According to ASUS, the AX56U was created to accommodate large homes and is equipped with the company’s AiMesh feature, which aids in the expansion of wireless coverage by revoking your old ASUS router (in the event that the router supports this feature) and allowing them to be paired with one another.
The AX56U, on the other hand, has a more contemporary and updated design from ASUS. This enclosure design, as opposed to the previous casing enclosure design, is my personal favorite.
It has a more luxurious appearance when compared to the container that was previously utilized for their earlier Wi-Fi 5 routers. There are a few obvious ventilation holes present on the side of the enclosure, which allows for greater heat dissipation from the router’s component and the rest of the enclosure.
Design
The designers at Asus have done an excellent job of cramming Wi-Fi 6 performance and capabilities into this small and portable router.
The four black antennas that protrude from the rear of the device seem like they’re serious about their work, and the angle of each antenna can be changed to ensure that you have decent all-around coverage with your wi-fi signal, which is important.
Despite this, the router is just 224mm broad, and its low-profile design allows it to be stored conveniently on any suitable shelf.
It’s important to know that the RT-AX58U does not come with a modem, which means you’ll need to connect it to your current broadband modem or router in order to have access to the Internet.
There’s a dedicated Gigabit Ethernet port for connecting to the Internet, as well as four other Ethernet ports for connecting to devices that require a wired connection. There’s also a USB 3.1 connector for sharing USB storage devices with other computers on your network.
Performance
The process of getting started is quite easy, and Asus manages to satisfy the needs of both total novices and more experienced users. The documentation that comes with the RT-AX58U demonstrates how to connect everything and describes the two configuration choices that are available.
If you’re familiar with networking technologies, you may connect the router directly to a Mac or PC via an Ethernet connection, and then adjust the network settings through a web browser interface if you’re not.
The Asus Router app for iOS and Android smartphones, on the other hand, is likely to be preferred by the vast majority of users. As a bonus, it provides you with the choice of building a single network that incorporates both the 2.4GHz and the 5.0GHz bands or creating two distinct networks with different passwords, which is a great start.
There are several more helpful capabilities included in the software, such as the ability to create a temporary guest network and employ QoS – the quality of service – to prioritize specific types of online services, such as streaming video or gaming, that require exceptional performance.
Asus also has a competitive advantage over some of its router competitors in that it has excellent parental controls, including the ability to establish timetables for Internet access as well as filters for filtering pornographic content and other inappropriate information.
And, of course, the RT-Wi-Fi AX58U’s 6 technology ensures that your home wi-fi network operates at peak performance. When utilized in the same room as our current 802.11ac router, the RT-AX58U was able to extract a little amount of additional speed from our Internet connection, raising Wi-Fi rates from 55Mbps to 59Mbps on our test network.
The true test in our building, however, is in the back office, where our Wi-Fi signal is so inconsistent that we typically rely on a wired Ethernet connection for our office PCs, which is a major drawback.
In contrast, the RT-AX58U handled the situation gracefully, maintaining a consistent and dependable speed of 58Mbps even when in that office setting. Download rates from Steam were also great, averaging slightly more than 7MB/s across all of our testing sites in our building.
Specifications
Model Name
- RT-AX56U
Network Standard
- IEEE 802.11a
- IEEE 802.11b
- IEEE 802.11g
- WiFi 4 (802.11n)
- WiFi 5 (802.11ac)
- WiFi 6 (802.11ax)
- IPv4
- IPv6
AX technology
- Yes
Data Rate
- 802.11a : up to 54 Mbps
- 802.11b : up to 11 Mbps
- 802.11g : up to 54 Mbps
- 802.11n : up to 433 Mbps
- WiFi 5 (802.11ac) : up to 867 Mbps
- 802.11ax (2.4GHz) : up to 574 Mbps
- 802.11ax (5GHz) : up to 1201 Mbps
Antenna
- External antenna x 2
Transmit/Receive
- 2.4 GHz 2 x 2
- 5 GHz 2 x 2
Processor
- 1.5GHz quad-core processor
Memory
- 256 MB Flash
- 512 MB RAM
Boosts speed
- OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access)
- Beamforming: standard-based and universal
- 1024-QAM high data rate
- 20/40/80 MHz bandwidth
Operating Frequency
- 2.4G Hz / 5 GHz
Ports
- RJ45 for Gigabits BaseT for WAN x 1, RJ45 for Gigabits BaseT for LAN x 4
- USB 2.0 x 1
- USB 3.1 Gen 1 x 1
Button
- WPS Button, Reset Button, Power Switch
LED Indicator
- Power x 1
- 2.4G x 1
- 5G x 1
- LAN x 4
- WAN x 1
Power Supply
- AC Input : 110V~240V(50~60Hz)
- DC Output : 12 V with max. 2 A current
Package content
- RT-AX56U
- RJ45 x1
- Adapter x1
- QSG x1
- Warranty Card x1
Product Weight (g)
- 456 g
AiMesh
AiMesh : Yes
Primary AiMesh router : Yes
AiMesh node : Yes
Router APP
- ASUS Router APP : Yes
Game
- Game Boost/acceleration : No
- WTFast : No
Alexa
- Support Alexa skil : Yes
IFTTT
- Support IFTTT : Yes
AiProtection
- AiProtection : AiProtection Pro
- Router Security Assessment : Yes
- Malicious site blocking : Yes
- Two-Way IPS : Yes
- Infected Device Prevention and Blocking ; Yes
Parental Control
- Parental Control : Yes
- Parental Control Customized Internet schedule : Yes
Traffic Control
- Adaptive QoS : Yes
- Bandwidth Monitor : Yes
- Bandwidth limiter : Yes
- Maximum Bandwidth limiter rule : 32
- Traditional QoS : Yes
- Maximum Traditional QoS rule : 32
- Traffic Monitor : Yes
- Real-time traffic monitor : Yes
- Wired Traffic Monitor : Yes
- Wireless Traffic Monitor : Yes
- Traffic Analyzer : Yes
- Traffic analysis period : Daily, Weekly, Monthly
- Website history : Yes
Wireless
- IPv6 : Yes
- MU-MIMO : Yes
- Wi-Fi Encryption : Open system, WPA/WPA2/WPA3-Personal, WPA/WPA2-Enterprise
- UTF-8 SSID : Yes
- Guest Network : Yes
- Maximum Guest Network rule : 2.4GHz x3, 5GHz x3
- Guest Network Encryption : Open system, WPA/WPA2-Personal
- WPS : Yes
- Wi-Fi MAC address filter : Yes
- Maximum MAC filters : 64
- Wireless scheduler : Yes
- Airtime fairness : Yes
- RADIUS Server : Yes
- Universal beamforming : Yes
- Explicit beamforming : Yes
- IGMP snooping : Yes
WAN
- Internet connection Type : PPPoE, PPTP, L2TP, Automatic IP, Static IP
- Dual WAN : Yes
- WAN Aggregation : No
- 3G/4G LTE dongle : Yes
- Android tethering : Yes
- Port forwarding : Yes
- Maximum port forwarding rule : 64
- Port triggering : Yes
- Maximum port triggering rule : 32
- DMZ : Yes
- DDNS : Yes
- NAT Passthrough : PPTP, L2TP, IPSec, RTSP, H.323, SIP Passthrough,PPPoE relay
LAN
- DHCP Server : Yes
- IPTV : Yes
- LAN Link Aggregation : No
- Manually assign IP address : Yes
- Maximum manually assign IP address rule : 64
VPN
- VPN Client L2PT : Yes
- VPN Client OVPN : Yes
- VPN Client PPTP : Yes
- VPN Server IPSec : Yes
- VPN Server OVPN : Yes
- VPN Server PPTP : Yes
USB application
- File System : HFS+, NTFS, vFAT, ext2, ext3, ext4
- 3G/4G LTE dongle : Yes
- HDD hibernation : Yes
- Safely Remove disk : Yes
- AiCloud : Yes
- Download master : Yes
- AiDisk : Yes
- Media Server : Yes
- Time Machine : Yes
- Samba Server : Yes
- FTP Server : Yes
- Shared Folder privileges : Yes
Conclusion
It is important to note that, despite being an entry-level model, the Asus RT-AX56U is a very capable WiFi 6 router and maybe the best way to get a taste of the new WiFi technology, not only because the price tag is less expensive than its more powerful siblings, but also because it works well with both AC and AX clients.
Indeed, while connecting customers with an ASUS PCE-AC88 WiFi adapter, I have not encountered the same stability difficulties that I did with the Asus RT-AX58U, and the wireless performance has been great for the most part, as well. As a result, should you get a good-enough 802.11ac router now and upgrade later when WiFi 6 becomes more widely available, or is the RT-AX56U in a position to need an equipment upgrade at the appropriate time?
Yes, now is a good time to give WiFi 6 a try, especially if you’ve been waiting for an upgrade for a long. The price is reasonable, the speed is adequate, and the software is fast and packed with features.
You can also check out our best wifi router list here
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