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The Asus RT-AX57 ($119.99) is an affordably priced dual-band router that harnesses Wi-Fi 6 technology to deliver strong throughput in medium-size homes and offices. It comes with basic parental controls and network security tools that help protect your network and clients, and it performed well in testing. It doesn’t offer multi-gig WAN/LAN or USB connectivity (for these features, consider the more expensive Editors’ Choice-winning Synology WRX560), but for basic, unfussy home use, it’s a perfectly passable Wi-Fi 6 solution.Design: A Classic Black RouterThe RT-AX57 is designed to be placed on a flat surface, but it also has two screw holes on the bottom if you prefer to mount it on a wall. Its black enclosure holds four non-removable antennas, and measures 2.2 by 9 by 5.2 inches (HWD). The slightly curved top is textured and sports two thin gold stripes and a gold Asus Wi-Fi 6 badge. Five LED activity indicators shine on the front of the router, for power, the 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio bands, LAN, and WAN.
(Credit: Asus)
All of the RT-AX57’s I/O ports are located around back. They include a 1GbE WAN port, four 1GbE LAN ports, and a power jack. The router’s reset and WPS buttons are also located back here, but you won’t find any multi-gig Ethernet ports or USB ports.The RT-AX57 uses a 1.7GHz quad-core CPU, 128MB of flash memory, and 256MB of DDR4 RAM. It’s a dual-band AX3000 router, which means that it can hit theoretical transmission rates of up to 574Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and up to 2,402Mbps on the 5GHz band, for a total of approximately 3,000Mbps. It supports all Wi-Fi 6 technologies, including 1024 QAM, WPA3 encryption, beamforming, MU-MIMO data streaming, 160MHz channels, and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA).
The RT-AX57 comes with a lifetime subscription to the Trend Micro-powered AiProtection Classic plan, which offers basic parental controls and network security tools that perform security scans, as well as block infected devices and malicious websites. You can manage the router from your phone via the Asus Router mobile app for iOS and Android devices, but if you want to configure advanced settings for VPNs, port forwarding, and the like, you’ll have to use the web-based management console.
(Credit: Asus)
That said, the mobile app offers all of the customization options most owners will need. It is the same one the Asus RT-AXE7800 router that we reviewed last year uses. It opens to a Home screen with the router name, IP address, and network SSIDs at the top. In the center is a circle that displays real-time traffic stats, the network name, CPU and RAM usage, and the number of connected clients. Tap the arrows on either side of the circle to scroll through each information screen.Tap the Devices button at the bottom of the screen to see which clients are connected and which band or wired port they are using. You can also limit bandwidth for each device; assign it to a family profile; and enable Safe Browsing to block malicious websites, advertising, and adult content. The Insights button opens a screen where you can update the firmware, configure a mesh network, enable AiProtection network security, and share your Wi-Fi credentials with other users.
(Credit: Asus)
The Family button lets you create profiles for family members and assign age-based access schedules for each family member. Finally, to access router settings, tap the Settings button. Here you can configure Wi-Fi and LAN settings, run diagnostics, set up parental controls, schedule router reboots, back up your router settings, and switch the RT-AX57 between router and access point modes.Asus RT-AX57 Performance: Strong, Speedy SignalsPreparing the RT-AX57 for first use was easy. I plugged in the router and connected it to my modem and to my desktop PC. I downloaded the mobile app, tapped Setup, and selected “Asus WiFi Router” from the list. I scanned the QR code on the bottom of the router using my phone’s camera, allowed my phone to join the router’s network, and tapped Get Started when the router was identified. Next, I separated the radio bands, gave each band a name and password, and created a local login account. I waited around one minute for the router to save my settings and optimize the network, then waited another couple of minutes for it to update the firmware, after which I was ready for testing. The RT-AX57 delivered solid scores on our throughput performance tests. Its score of 140Mbps on the 2.4GHz close proximity test was faster than the Synology WRX560 (134Mbps), the TP-Link Archer AX5400 Pro (132Mbps), and the Asus ROG Strix GS-AX5400 (128Mbps). Its score of 61Mbps on the 30-foot test beat the AX5400 Pro (45Mbps) and the GS-AX5400 (44Mbps), but was a tad slower than the WRX560 (62Mbps).
On the 5GHz close proximity test, the RT-AX57 delivered 929Mbps, while the AX5400 Pro scored 877Mbps and the GS-AX5400 scored 846Mbps. The WRX560 led with a score of 931Mbps. On the 30-foot test, the RT-AX57 came in last with a score of 363Mbps. The WRX560 took top honors with 576Mbps, the AX5400 Pro scored 445Mbps, and the GS-AX5400 scored 424Mbps.We test wireless signal strength using an Ekahau Sidekick Wi-Fi diagnostic device paired with Ekahau’s Survey mobile app. This combo generates heat maps that show 2.4GHz and 5GHz signal strength throughout our test home. (Note: Ekahau is owned by PCMag’s parent company, Ziff Davis.) The colors on the maps represent signal strength—dark green for the strongest signal, yellow for a weaker one, and gray indicating a very weak signal or no detectable coverage. The circle on the map represents the location of the router.As the maps indicate, the RT-AX57 did a great job of providing a strong 2.4GHz throughout the home, but 5GHz signals became a bit weaker in the far corners.
2.4GHz Wi-Fi heat map for the Asus RT-AX57 (Credit: Ekahau)
5GHz Wi-Fi heat map for the Asus RT-AX57 (Credit: Ekahau)
The Asus RT-AX57 is a compelling choice for an affordable Wi-Fi 6 router. It turned in solid scores on our throughput and signal strength tests, and it comes with a lifetime subscription to Trend Micro’s parental control and network security tools. Frequently on sale for less than $100, it’s a solid value, but you’ll have to do without high-speed Ethernet and USB connectivity. If multi-gig networking and USB are a must, consider spending a bit more for the Synology WRX560. It also offers parental control and network security software, and it delivers better all-around performance, too.
Cons
Lacks multi-gig WAN/LAN
Lacks USB ports
The Bottom Line
The Asus RT-AX57 offers solid Wi-Fi 6 performance and network protection software at a reasonable price, but its lack of multi-gig ports will steer power users away from this router.
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