Convert ASUS RT-AC86U to ROG Rapture GT-AC2900 Flash/Hack ASUS RT-AC86U vs ROG Rapture GT-AC2900 Flash/Hack OK, so I have been looking at the specs of both the RT-AC86U and the ROG Rapture GT-AC2900 As far as I can...

[UK Sentinel]

Welcome, the changing of the firmware from RT-AC86U  to GT-AC2900 will probable still work but will not help you with releasing extra wifi channles.

Is there a particular reason why are you looking to use extra wifi channels as these channels are regulated and in theory illegal to change.

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[hdjack]

Hi, thank you for your prompt reply.

It is not illegal for me, because I am not in the UK.

I did not realize why the unit had way worse coverage than my old AC68U until recently when I found out that the UK had the lowest TX power and limited channels – that is why. I am not in the UK – I ordered the unit from there not knowing about those restrictions. I am ok with the overall performance of the unit and I do not want to buy a new one because of something that can be changed. If you can help with that you can send me an email or private message.

Thank you again.

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[UK Sentinel]

As you probable already know, WiFi power output is locked down and power level information is stored in bootloader and not able to be modified on newer ASUS routers.

Sorry, not going to encourage you in this area but if you are keen to explore further, maybe consider alternative firmware’s such as DD-WRT or look into high-gain antennas etc.

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[hdjack]

Yes, I know. I know for a fact that it can be changed too, just that information is not shared.

DD-WRT does not support this model as it has some hardware acceleration for WIFI encryption as far as I saw.

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[UK Sentinel]

ASUS did use to have a feature called “Tx power adjustment” which allowed the adjustment of Wireless Transmission power, but that was removed sometime ago

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[hdjack]

Asus used to be a solid vendor for routers. I guess it is time to switch to other brands. There are issues that they do not address for years like SMB performance over wifi in LAN. Their USB storage performance is also very poor.

Instead of fixing things they keep introducing more issues.

Thank you for your prompt replies. I guess I have to throw this unit in the trash and get something that works like Netgear. Probably even TP-Link is better than Asus nowadays.

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[Sildur –]

Can confirm this still works. I used the recovery flash mode to flash both the GT-AC2900 stock and merlinwrt firmware on my AC86U. It now has access to 160mhz and everything just works, I turned off the custom RGB stuff though since that’s not a thing on this model. Just don’t factory reset after flashing, it breaks it a bit and you might want to flash it again in recovery mode. I’m using it as a media bridge with my AX86U and can now finally utilize the 160mhz bandwidth. Recovery mode: https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1000814/

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• This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by Sildur -.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by Sildur -.

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[UK Sentinel]

. Sildur – Said:

Can confirm this still works. I used the recovery flash mode to flash both the GT-AC2900 stock and merlinwrt firmware on my AC86U. It now has access to 160mhz and everything just works, I turned off the custom RGB stuff though since that’s not a thing on this model. Just don’t factory reset after flashing, it breaks it a bit and you might want to flash it again in recovery mode. I’m using it as a media bridge with my AX86U and can now finally utilize the 160mhz bandwidth. Recovery mode: https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1000814/

Great news

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