ASUS RT-N12 (N300) WiFi Router Review

No products found.

The Asus RT-N12 (3-in-1 Wireless Router) is an N300 Wi-Fi router. It is one of the best routers that come with a wide range of features including stylish design, reliable connectivity, high-speed wireless performance, powerful hardware, and easy installation.

The Asus RT-N12 is also an affordable router that offers a magnificent speed of up to 300 Mbps. This router is suitable for small homes and offices. The interesting thing about this router is the MIMO technology and two 2T2R streams.

It has powerful antennas, which are removable. The antennas provide excellent Wi-Fi coverage. The device is specifically designed for online gaming, HD video streaming, and VoIP calls. The Asus RT-N12 is not a new router. However, its Wi-Fi performance makes it one of the most popular routers for home users.

The company claims that the Asus RT-N12 is the best router with awesome wireless connectivity. To verify the claim of the manufacturer, we tested the router’s networking performance, analyzed the hardware specs, and went through the setup guide. Here is what we found with this router. Read on!

Specifications

Size: 3.10 x 7.70 x 11.10 inches

Antennas: 2 detachable 5 dBi antennas

Wi-Fi Spec: 5 GHz 802.11b

Ports: 1x USB 2.0

Peak Performance: 300 Mbps

Range: 510 sqft.

Unbox Video

Networking

The Asus RT-N12 is a Wi-Fi router with excellent long-range coverage. It has a built-in signal amplifier, which makes it work outstandingly in both small and large homes. It is a dual-band Wi-Fi router. We tested the device on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radio bands.

On average, at 5 GHz band, we measure a maximum speed of 164 Mbps. At 15 feet, the speed was 113 Mbps. Likewise, at 30 feet, the speed of the router we measured was 72 Mbps.

We also tested the speed of the device on the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band. The router speeded up to 64 Mbps at 5 feet and 27 Mbps at 15 feet. The speeds at 30 feet were 8 Mbps.

Likewise, we tested the device for upload and download speeds on the 2.4 GHz band. The speed for download was 8 Mbps and for upload, it was 11 Mbps. When it comes to buying a high-end wireless router, this might not be the best. However, the speeds we measured were good and that’s why we think this router is good for home users.

We think that at close and midrange, the router works effectively. We could analyze from the speed of the router at 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz that they are both good for streaming HD videos and playing online games. The download and upload speeds are also adequate for large files. However, sometimes, at long distances such as 30 feet or 40 feet, the speed will go down significantly.

Design

The Asus N-12 (N300) has a stylish design. The body of the router is slim and sleek. It is made of stainless steel material, which gives it an excellent and smooth finish. It has 2 removable dipole antennas. These are detachable 5dBi antennas. It has one 1/100 WAN port. The dimensions of the router are 3.10 x 7.70 x 11.10 inches. Its weight is 0.61 pounds.

On the front of the router, you will see an array of LED lights, which are responsible for power, Wi-Fi, internet, WAN, and LAN. The front of the router has a patterned design, which gives it the appearance of dark grey or black finish.

On the backside of the router, there is a reset button, which you can press and hold for 5 seconds to restore the router to its factory default settings. There is also a power button, which you can use to turn ON or OFF the router.

You will also see DCIN where you can insert the AC adapter into the port to connect the router to the power source. Next, there are 4 LAN ports where you can connect Ethernet cables to establish the LAN connection.

Then, there is a WAN port where you connect the Ethernet cable to the port for establishing the WAN connection. Also, you will find the WPS button, which you can hold for more than 4 seconds to establish a wireless connection with any WPS-enabled device.

Hardware

The hardware specs of the Asus N12 (N300) is simple to understand. The device is powered by the powerful Broadcom BCM4716 CPU with a clock speed of 300 MHz. The processor is supported by 32 MB of RAM and 4 MB of A1 Flash ROM. It also has 8 MB of B1 and C1 Flash storage memory. The wireless standard protocol of the Asus N12 is 802.11 b/g/n. It has 2x2:2 MIMO support.

Installation

First, you need to download the appropriate firmware and update the router’s hardware with it. Next, connect your PC via the Ethernet cable to the router LAN port. Remember to disable other networks and wireless adapters. Also, don’t forget to disconnect other cables.

If you have any issues, you can try a different browser and clear your cache. Set your computer to the static IP, for example, 192.168.1.10. Next, you need to unplug the power connector from the router’s back. Next, you need to put your router in the recovery mode.

After you have the upgrade, the interface will ask you to reboot the router. Wait for 50 seconds and then unplug the power. Next, plug back the router after 10 seconds. You need to access the DD-WRT at 192.168.1.1 after you have plug back the router in 10 seconds

The next step is to set the username and password for the network. The configuration of the router is the next step. You can also set the properties of the network adapter to TCP/IP and DHCP IP/DNS. Overall, the installation procedure is simple.

You can follow the aforementioned steps to properly install the router. If you don’t know how to configure the router, you can follow the guidelines given in the instruction manual. This way, you would be able to install and set up the router easily.

Also See: Best Cheap Router

What We Liked

• Easy firmware upgrade
• MIMO technology
• Easy setup
• Good range
• Affordable price

What We didn’t Like

• Slower 2.4 GHz speed
• Complicated UI

No products found.