Questions about ASUS RT-AC68U and T-Mobile TM-AC1900 Routers

[RealBlackStuff]

Some of my newer laptops have 802.11ac wifi cards, so my current 802.11n router (ASUS RT-N66U Black Knight) needed an upgrade.

Initially I went for the TP-Link Archer C7 AC1750 router.
For wifi and wired connections it was great, but I couldn't get a printer (hooked up to one of the router's USB-ports) working for the life of me!
So it had to go.
The Forum (over 80 views) apparently had no interest, so I put it on eBay, where it sold within hours!

Instead I bought a (NIB) T-Mobile TM-AC1900 router, which is basically a re-branded ASUS RT-AC68U (a.k.a. RT-AC68R, they are identical!).
Following the instructions from http://www.bayareatechpros.com/ac1900-to-ac68u/ I converted T-Mobile back to ASUS.
Took me all of ~10 minutes, following their instructions exactly.
So now I have a fully-fledged ASUS ac-router.
With some black tape the additional and unwanted T-Mobile Personal Cellspot markings are now invisible.

Question:
- on the old RT-N66U router I had Shibby's TomatoUSB installed, and was very happy with that.
- on the new RT-AC68U there are many options: Asus, Merlin, DD-WRT, Tomato.
Does anybody have this same ASUS RT-AC68U/R router, and if so, what firmware would you recommend, and why?

Based on various advises I settled for Asuswrt-Merlin: https://asuswrt.lostrealm.ca/

[Weogo]

Hi RBS,

A little late to the party...

I have five of the AC68 routers, including one of the t-mobile 1900s.
There are a couple minor variations, but nothing major.
I do live audio production and use these to connect to digital mixers, DSPs, etc.

They work. Zero issues.
Range outdoors has been over 200'.
One is in a white case, which is great for outdoor shows, as it stays cooler.

Am running Merlin's firmware as it is quite stable.
He's focused on reliability, important for me.

Thanks and good health, Weogo

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