ASUS - AC2600 Dual-Band Wi-Fi Router - Blue/white

I was looking for a router to use as a wireless bridge that would not be too conspicuous for the living room, this one somewhat fit the bill...the setup for wireless bridge is too easy, I was looking forward for an elaborate setup, but cannot complain it is working very well as I intended it too.. I experimented with it first as access point and from what I have seen it is excellent as one.. if only I do not have a better AP router I would be using it but for now it is a wireless bridge for my ethernet connected A/V setup, it is a mesh Ai too.. so if you have other Asus router you can add it a another mesh wifi and it has good security and is VPN ready..

I love the Blue Cave. Setup was a breeze. Internet connection is super fast. WiFi is fast and reliable. Great user interface when logging into the modem. Tons of options. Very happy with my purchase!

Not only does this router look awesome it performs superb, better then I had anticipated.

We have three computers hardwired and one on wi-fi with no lag in the internet.

I was already using an ASUS router, not too old, with the sci-fi, bug-like antenna protruding in every direction. Recently moved that from an upstairs office to in our living room for better overall coverage. Mistake. Wife commented on the ugly bug at least weekly. We also still had deadspots. So I read a few reviews on the Blue Cave and thought it could hang out in the living room in full view without too much comment from the one I wish to please most. Setup was incredibly easy, I simply powered my old router down and created the networks using my old router's network names and passwords so I didn't have to change every device in the house. Considering my old router was only 2 years old, I didn't expect the Blue Cave to be significantly better than the Asus RT-AC3100. It is. It has better coverage throughout our home. I did add the RT-AC3100 as an AiMesh device about a month after getting the Blue Cave, simply to extend the range out into a detached garage. I literally have the routers at opposite ends of the house. PROS: Not alien-bug ugly. Looks cool with the blue circular glow. Is a damned fine router. Great coverage. Easy to setup, beautiful interface to use with the app. AiMesh capable. CONS: You cannot create a dedicated 2.4Ghz network except as a Guest Network. AIMesh does not extend the Guest Network. Your non-main AiMesh device, in my case the RT-AC3100, can not be firmware updated via the Asus App. You have to download the firmware update to a usb drive and manually install it. That is quite painful and I will probably just turn off my Blue Cave, make the RT-AC3100 the main, update the firmware, and then put things back. I have 31 devices online right now (have had as many as 42)- easy to see in the app. Many of them are home automation and while the Blue Cave is dual-band, I have found it easiest when bringing any new IoT devices online to have a dedicated 2.4Ghz network. They always connect on the 2.4Ghz. The dual-band where the Blue Cave tries to decide which (5Ghz or 2.5Ghz) is right for the device causes enough grief that all my home automation and even older devices are on the Guest Network. I like the Blue Cave so much, when I went to visit my brother who just moved into a new home in a rural setting outside of Cleveland I bought him one, too. We were outside at his fire pit and I was trying to follow my non-Cleveland football team on my tablet. His older router had no range. So off to Best Buy and another Blue Cave in the basket. The setup for his Blue Cave router was also extremely easy, the range was significantly improved, the speed within the house doubled. Now I did have to walk a non-techy through switching to the Guest network if he wanted better coverage on his phone or tablet outside at the fire pit or in his detached garage. I had to explain 5Ghz is faster and use that when he is in the house but it has less range, and the Guest network on 2.4Ghz will reach much further outside. I also made it easy to tech support him because I can pull up the exact same app for my Blue Cave and walk him through any issues he might need to fix. The Blue Cave has needed a few reboots, but fires right back up every time. I have also done 3 firmware updates with zero issues. Great product. Cool Look. Fantastic coverage. Awesome App.

ASUS had my attention with the looks and packaging of the Blue Cave, it is cool and aesthetically pleasing. Was jazzed before I even got the box open. But more importantly to me was the aspect of having a Hardened Router at the head of my network parade. This is my first ASUS router and I am impressed with the depth of the Front-Line Protection they have built into this box. Teaming up with TrendMicro was an exceptionally smart move on ASUS’s part, TrendMicro being a solid leader in Consumer and Enterprise Network protection. Having access to TrendMicro’s Black or White Lists is a Big Thumbs-up with the Blue Cave. Have not had access to Black Lists on a consumer router previously, last time I used Black lists was back in my Enterprise IT years. They are very helpful in avoiding pitfalls on the Internet, TrendMicro maintains a current Black List of Web-Sites found to be malicious and blocks access. In today’s environment this is particularly notable. Kudos. The Blue Cave is quite easy to get up and running, but I suggest if you pick one of these gems up to take some time and dig into the router’s settings, they are extensive for a consumer router. The options and settings are wide-ranging, a few that caught my eye are a highly customizable Traffic Manager (QoS) and a excellent Traffic Analyzer which tracks client and app usage graphically (love it). The Firewall is highly tunable and where you will find the Black List option. Wireless is unexpectedly stronger than I expected with the built-in antennas. Three rooms away from the Blue Cave my Signal Quality is running between 585 Mbps and up to 720 Mbps which surprisingly is the same rate that I am pulling off a larger router with Eight Large External Antennas from the same room! The Blue Cave is also pushing more Max Data Rate than my larger 802.11ac router at 346.7 vs 288.9 on the 2.4 GHz band and matching it on the 5 GHz band at 1733.3. Lot of juice in a small box. After running the Blue Cave for a couple weeks, it has blocked quite a few Web-Sites that two of my software systems did not catch. That is a warm and fuzzy feeling, in-depth protection for the network and my family. My network has enough routers, bridges and switches to light up a small city and the Blue Cave has earned a place at the head of my system with its brilliant set of technologies and capabilities. Managed large enterprise networks formerly and I am excited to find many of the technologies we employed in our networks, firewalls and routers in the Blue Cave. The cost for the Blue Cave makes it a remarkably good choice for anyone wanting to secure their home network. On top of that it is a good-looking piece of equipment with strong Wi-Fi and networking features. Big Thumbs Up.

Artwork or appliance, the new ASUS Blue-Cave WiFi high speed router no longer needs to be hidden from view. Besides being straight forward and easy to set up, the ASUS AC router comes with built in and free update-able AI security protection (provided by TREND.) Take a moment and check out the web software setup tools also available for free with ths router. Parental controls help protect the family (children) from unsafe websites as well as monitoring who (what device) is online and setting time limits to those who do. Allow children access only during certain times of the day as an example. The unit has a RJ45 connector for hooking up to your modem and additional high speed ports. WPS for easy linking of new devices. Recessed reset button for returning unit to original factory settings. I set up and then factory reset to see how simple the function worked. No problems. Wireless router mode - for most users Access point mode - for extending your existing router and SSID if needed Media bridge mode - Connect two (2) routers with the capability of sharing the network resources Use the router as an additional access point on an existing network Connect the router to a modem/router from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) Disable the router functionalities to work with third party devices I can now justify upgrading to a 32-up 16 down 1.6GB MODEM and my IPS's 175-mips high speed service.

I was comparing the Blue Cave with the Netgear AC1750 on 7/22/2018 and ultimately, purchased the AC1750 due to it being $80 cheaper/on sale & since it was comparative to the Blue Cave in regards to performance - I thought "save the money"! Took it home & immediately tested my internet speed and it was strong (both were super easy to setup). But, since my router has to be next to my TV due to where the internet coax cable comes out of the wall.... it's really visible. The AC1750, with its buggy antennae's was hideous on top of my subwoofer. So naturally, after it bothering my wife and I for two days, I went back to B.Buy to return the Netgear & picked-up the ASUS Blue Cave. It matches, if not exceeds the performance of the AC1750 & is gorgeous anywhere out in the open. The user dashboard and app are super cool too! I tip my hat to ASUS for thinking outside of the box & bucking the antennae trend.... well done.