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Setup WiFi on the Asus RT-AC86U

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Setup Router Staff
(Last Updated: ) | Reading Time: 4 minutes

The Asus RT-AC86U router is considered a wireless router because it offers WiFi connectivity. WiFi, or simply wireless, allows you to connect various devices to your router, such as wireless printers, smart televisions, and WiFi enabled smartphones.

Use a VPN Instead

Have you considered using a VPN instead of forwarding a port? For most users, a VPN is a much simpler and more secure choice than forwarding a port.

We use and recommend NordVPN because not only is it the fastest VPN, it includes a new feature called Meshnet that makes forwarding a port no longer necessary for most applications. With NordVPN Meshnet, you can connect to your devices from anywhere in the world, completely secure, over a highly encrypted VPN tunnel.

When shopping for a VPN, make sure that they meet the following criteria:

  • Your VPN provider should have a no-logs policy. This means that they do not keep any logs of any kind.
  • Make sure that your VPN provider has lots of exit nodes all around the world.
  • Check that your VPN will not affect your speed.
  • Verify that your VPN provider uses WireGuard as the underlying protocol.
  • Many people prefer a VPN provider that is not based in the United States.

This is the list of requirements that we used when we were shopping around for a VPN provider. There are lots of free, shady VPN providers out there that we looked at and dismissed.

Based in Panama, using diskless servers, and with over 6,100 servers in 61 countries, we can safely say that NordVPN satisfies all of these requirements.

NordVPN is the fastest VPN!

Once you've set up your NordVPN account on multiple computers and enabled Meshnet, you can seamlessly access all of your devices as if they were on the same network. You don't even have to log in to your router. It's very simple.

Every time you click on one of our affiliate links, such as NordVPN, we get a little kickback for introducing you to the service. Think of us as your VPN wingman.

Other Asus RT-AC86U Guides

This is the wifi guide for the Asus RT-AC86U 3.0.0.4.382_16466. We also have the following guides for the same router:

WiFi Terms

Before we get started there is a little bit of background info that you should be familiar with.

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You might notice that most of our site doesn't have ads on it. This is because we use partnerships with companies like NordVPN to keep the site running. Thank you for supporting us by using our referral links.

Wireless Name

Your wireless network needs to have a name to uniquely identify it from other wireless networks. If you are not sure what this means we have a guide explaining what a wireless name is that you can read for more information.

Wireless Password

An important part of securing your wireless network is choosing a strong password.

Wireless Channel

Picking a WiFi channel is not always a simple task. Be sure to read about WiFi channels before making the choice.

Encryption

You should almost definitely pick WPA2 for your networks encryption. If you are unsure, be sure to read our WEP vs WPA guide first.

Login To The Asus RT-AC86U

To get started configuring the Asus RT-AC86U WiFi settings you need to login to your router. If you are already logged in you can skip this step.

To login to the Asus RT-AC86U, follow our Asus RT-AC86U Login Guide.

Find the WiFi Settings on the Asus RT-AC86U

If you followed our login guide above then you should see this screen.

router setup
This is the setup page from your Asus RT-AC86U router.

To get to the network security pages, click the Wireless option just under the Advanced Settings heading.

Change the WiFi Settings on the Asus RT-AC86U

wifi wireless
This is the wifi setup page from your Asus RT-AC86U router.

You are now on the Wireless-General page. There are four settings we will be covering in this guide:

  • Network Name (SSID): This is the name you give your network so you can recognize it later. You can be as creative as you want, we recommend avoiding personal information including router info. Learn more on our Change your Wireless Name
  • Authentication Method: There are several different options available to you, we recommend WPA2-Personal. Find out why on our WEP vs. WPA page.
  • WPA Encryption: The best option here is AES.
  • WPA Pre-Shared Key: This is the WiFi password. Create a strong password for your network. Use a minimum of 10 characters with a mix of lower and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Learn more in our Creating a Strong Password guide.

When you are finished click the Apply button at the bottom of the page.

Possible Problems when Changing your WiFi Settings

After making these changes to your router you will almost definitely have to reconnect any previously connected devices. This is usually done at the device itself and not at your computer.

Other Asus RT-AC86U Info

Don't forget about our other Asus RT-AC86U info that you might be interested in.

This is the wifi guide for the Asus RT-AC86U 3.0.0.4.382_16466. We also have the following guides for the same router: