Problems and Security of TM-AC1900 ROUTER (rebranded ASUS)

First of, all it's not a complete rebrand. The back of the router is a Asus ac86U. not a ac68U. The tmo version also has a different power supply than the ac68U; it also is the ac86U one.

The original firmware is stacked with features. The VPN options are excellent. It will repeat another Asus router in Media mode, basically, it does mesh. albeit in another way. It does not have Trend Micro protection and so it does not report anywhere.

Honestly, the tmo version has less security issues than other routers. I have an original one and it still works, and has the best track record in terms of security of any router I currently possess. That is, it beats 4 other currently updated routers in a track record. Asus will actually reset the router if you try to upgrade a modded router. That is, If you try to update the router to be more secure after the 'rebrand', it will reset back to the tmo version. Also There is no telnet or SSH access anymore, and you need to be in physical possession of the device, time, and tools to get it to turn into the AC68U.

Use a unique admin account name, a good SSID and 20 plus character passwords if you are that concerned. This router is a tank.

I have one of these I got from T-MOBILE back in 2014 or 2015. It updated to Firmware ver .3199 2 or 3 years ago years ago and that was it. It still works just fine, and I'm using it at my second home in AZ. I never tried to flash it with ASUS firmware though. Not sure about security, but there's nothing vulnerable behind it…just phones and streaming video, so I'm not concerned. 

I wish I had better news on this, but we like being transparent on this with you. I do appreciate you coming here to post your question so thanks for using this as a resources.

Thanks tmo_mike_c. I really appreciate all your follow up. You are exemplifying customer support.

I'm still really disappointed that good hardware requires user to trash it ... hurts environment and our pocketbooks. I hope if tmo decides to do this rebranding thing again with a company like asus that they arrange the support agreement to favor us lowly customers 😥

but thanks again for all your follow up.

I don't image this'll be getting updates and I don't see a way for us to push any OTA update. I'm reaching out to my internal team to see if there's more help we can offer.

I have done a full reset/reconfigure 2 times. I have also restarted it many times after reconfiguring it.

If you are really interested you can dig through the firmware fixes Asus has provided for their version of this router. A few of these could be fixes. But i can't apply these updates since this router is t-mobile branded and prevents that 😥

It would be awesome if you could escalate this to some security entities or higher ups in tmo... maybe they could help us lowly t-mobile branded routers users.

It is a good router... and imo shouldn't be trashed. Just needs some help. 😊

Security is my top concern. This networking issue is an annoyance.

¡Gracias!

Have you tried resetting the router and setting it back up again?

You could convert it, but that isn't as easy once you get passed a certain update.  Asus is not going to support a cheaper product when theirs, which is priced higher, still sells. 

I understand what you are saying but Asus is still supporting their router. It is the same exact hardware and was sold during roughly the same timeframe.

Fixes for security vulnerabilities should be supported for an extended period of time as well.