Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I got my shiny new RT-N66U today from Amazon. I do networking for a living and figured even though I'd seen reports of the shipping factory firmware being broken in English mode, it would be no problem. WHAT A PAIN!!!!!!!!!!! Come on Asus!!!! The short and sweet version of how to get your router up and running with 3.0.0.3.72: *Download 3.0.0.3.90 firmware from [...] *Extract RT-N66U_3.0.0.3_90.trx to somewhere on your computer *Log in to 192.168.1.1 (User:admin Pass:admin) *Complete the initial setup wizard using any info you want. Just GET THROUGH IT. It will display a broken page at the end. *Enter 192.168.1.1 in your web browser *Click on "Administration" on the left *Click on "Firmware Upgrade" on the top tab *Switch the language box in the top-right-hand corner from "English" to something else. I used French. *Upload RT-N66U_3.0.0.3_90.trx ***WAIT FOR IT TO FINISH*** *When it's complete, choose "English" again from the language drop-down. *Go back to 192.168.1.1 and complete your initial router configuration. The good news is that after I got 3.0.0.3.90 on the router all seems to be running smoothly. I was replacing an ASUS RT-N56U and I have found so far: *SIGNIFICANTLY better range on both 2.4 and 5ghz bands (Maybe 3-6db increase at an 80ft distance) I'm hoping that when I get a wireless adapter that supports 450Mbps that I'll be able to see the huge difference. I like the way it physically looks (Like some type of network Samurai device) and I love that I can swap out the antennas as I see fit. It looks pretty bad-ass actually. It's been running smooth for a day now. The specs on this thing are awesome. I just can't believe that Asus would let it ship out with severely broken English firmware. Oh well that's what I get for buying a product the day it's released lol. The bottom line is that if you're into this kind of technology, the initial configuration pain shouldn't be a huge deterrent to you. Third-party Broadcom firmware support will be abundant for this router soon. There are already a few releases out there for you to try like TomatoUSB. The 2.4ghz range increase was noticeable for me. 5ghz was also increased, but still has a smaller range footprint than the 2.4ghz band. If you are not comfortable with this kind of work, maybe wait a few months for Asus to ship some units out with the firmware upgraded for you. I would have given this router 5 stars if it wasn't for the shipping firmware bug. Asus, you get 4 stars for making me work. Update to come in a few weeks of operation. Update 1/19/12: Just using the built-in wifi radio on my Samsung Galaxy S2, I was able to use my router nearly a block away from my house on 2.4ghz. The router is near a window and this was almost line-of-sight. I plan on playing with the DLNA features in the next day or two. I'll post how that goes. So far so good! Love it! Update 1/23/12: I've been busy the last few days but I wanted to check in and say that this router has been running 100% rock solid and the wifi range increase has been DRAMATIC for me. I love the looks and function of this unit and plan on recommending it to any friend who asks. Pick one up, you'll love it.