Asus is certainly not new to the world of home connectivity and many of you will have already had the opportunity to try some of its excellent products in the gaming line.
What we will talk about today is a new generation modem techsupportreviews router from Asus with full support for WiFi 6 technology , the Asus DSL-AX82U, which allows you to have access to new technologies for connectivity along with the main features of Asus at a price currently. around 270 Euros online.
Packaging and equipment
A captivating and finely crafted packaging lets us guess
that we are not dealing with the usual modem . Inside, the situation is
decidedly more traditional. Pressed cardboard housing that divides the box into
sections and contents individually wrapped. In plain sight we find our modem
router with antennas already installed , unlike other solutions. Also supplied
are the canonical RJ11 and RJ45 cables, as well as a splitter filter and a
power supply with some interchangeable international adapters.
Design
If it is true that the eyes also wants its part, certainly
the AX82U points straight in this direction, with an extremely aggressive look
that vaguely reminds us of the legendary American stealth fighter. AURA Sync
RGB lighting support results in a beautiful, fully customizable front, with
different lighting effects and color combinations. Also present are the status
LEDs and, hidden in the groove on the back, a multifunction button to manage
light effects, WiFi transmission and access via WPS.
Four antennas supplied, not removable but directional
laterally and in depth, for excellent signal stability, and all the I / O ports
on the back.
In particular, there is a DSL input in RJ11 format, a WAN
port, four Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 BaseT ports and a USB 3.2 input . The VoIP
output for the home phone is missing, but it is possible to interface it with
an external ATA adapter via one of the RJ45 outputs.
Main features
The strength of this modem is undoubtedly the presence of
support for WiFi 6 802.11ax . We had the opportunity to test its performance in
a home system equipped with smartphones, PCs and consoles compatible with the
new standard and the performance was excellent.
Under the body, however, there is much more. With a
three-core chipset, 512 MB of RAM and support up to 5400 Mbps in fact, it is
practically impossible to face any kind of bottleneck. Finally, there are more
possibilities for connection. We can choose between the classic DSL port for
use with the home line, the USB port on the back for mobile data connection via
SIM or the WAN port to connect it in cascade on a traditional modem.
The user interface is pleasant and easy to use, although the
translation is not complete in every section. Also present is the AIMesh
technology for the use of multiple Asus routers, which allows intuitive setup
in a few moments.
On the security front, it is possible to take advantage of
up to the last available WPA3 protocol and a lifetime license for the integrated
AIProtection Pro software is also included, especially useful in combination
with IoT devices without the possibility of anti-virus protection. In this
regard, there is also the integration for the management of the modem router
through Alexa skills .
For the setup and management of the network, in addition to
the dedicated interface, it is also possible to download the app for mobile
devices, available on both Android and iOS.
First ignition and home use
The experience of configuration and first use of this modem
can be summed up in one word: immediate . The wizard is extremely clear and
simple. Just select from a drop-down menu the configuration suggested by your
operator for the type of network in use and in a few seconds you will have a
stable and functioning connection.
The AX82U performed well in navigation, multi-device gaming
and even high-resolution streaming . We tried the broadcast on multiple
services, including Disney +, Netflix, NowTV, Twitch, Prime Video and YouTube,
even on multiple devices, in FullHD, 1440p and 4K without any kind of jamming.
Regarding the VoIP functionality, if you have a fixed
telephone with an unsupported RJ11 connection, there are two possible
solutions. The configuration of an ATA adapter is undoubtedly the most solid but
it is also complex and expensive, especially for users who have never had to
deal with this type of solution. Another option is to set it as a cascade
router on the home modem, if the latter is instead equipped with this
functionality.
Set up under a primary modem in a few moments, even in this
mode it has definitely improved the stability of the connection, but it is good
to remember that in this way we will also lose some integrated featuresand we
will also have to interface with the main modem to make changes to our network.
In this regard, there is the very convenient AiCloud 2.0
utility that allows us, by inserting a USB key as storage, to use the modem as
a real cloud archive, as long as you have an internet connection. However, this
feature cannot be used outside the home if the router is connected via WAN.
The coverage, thanks to the four directional antennas, was
always excellent, even on the upper or lower floors, losing communication only
outside the housing unit. No problem in managing devices both on the 2.4 GHz
operating frequency network, which supports up to 574 Mbps, and on the 5 GHz
one, with a theoretical maximum supported speed of 4808 Mbps.
Gaming and optimizations
Under WiFi6, the guided configuration alone, exploiting only
the manager's parameters, DNS included, allowed us to cut over 5 points on the
Ping , going from the 26-28 of the original modem to the stable 20-21 of this,
without any additional optimization.
In particularly hostile conditions it is possible to benefit
from a series of utilities present on this device. The first parameter that we
can try is the Adaptive QoS which, through an extremely understandable UI,
allows an easy and fast configuration even for the most profane. To tell the
truth, we found this feature particularly aggressive if set on the gaming
preset , penalizing devices engaged in other types of activities far too much.
In the Game section it is possible to manage the priorities
of the devices thanks to the Gear Accelerator , in addition to the Mobile Game
mode which, through the companion app on Android and iOS, allows us to optimize
gaming sessions on smartphones. The tool to open the NAT is also easy to use,
in whose dedicated area it is also possible to choose pre-assigned profiles for
the type of game.