The ASUS RT-N13U is an all-in-one wireless-N router. With direct support from ASUS and its engineering team, the router is now fully compatible with Unifi's high speed internet and IPTV service.

Router Specifications

Model : ASUS RT-N13U H/W REV B1

CPU : Ralink RT3052F @ 384MHz

RAM/FLASH : 64MB / 8MB

Take note that the B1 revision of this router has 64MB of RAM whereas the previous H/W rev only has 32MB of RAM. Some notable features of this router include a USB based print server, ASUS download master (for BitTorrent) as well as a customizable FTP server for USB 2.0 external hard drive sharing over the network.

Router Configuration

To configure the router to work with Unifi, you will only require the latest Unifi firmware from ASUS -- RT-N13U.RB_8.22.2.3.trx (Aug 23, 2011). Once you have downloaded the firmware file, follow the instructions below to flash your ASUS router. Be sure that you have your Unifi PPPoE username/password details on hand as you will need to input it into the new router to connect to the service.

1. Connect your computer to LAN port 3 (yellow colour) on the ASUS RT-N13. The RT-N13 should be in Router Mode (please flip the little switch underneath the router and select Router mode).

2. Your computer should automatically be assigned an IP address in the 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0 range by default. If it isn't, do this manually via your operating system network configuration (set it to something like 192.168.1.5 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0).

3. Open up your web browser and head over to http://192.168.1.1.

4. You will either be greeted by the auto configuration wizard or by a HTTP password prompt. The default username/password combination for this router is admin/admin and you should navigate to the Main Menu.

Factory Reset Procedure (optional)

5. Before reflashing the router, it is recommended that you perform a factory reset on the router. This will restore the original settings for the router and prevent any potential conflicts/errors from cropping up once you install the new Unifi firmware.

6. To perform a factory reset, simply head over to Advanced Setting > Administration > Restore/Save/Upload Settings and press the Restore button under Factory Default.

Re-flashing the router (continued)

7. To begin flashing the router, simply head over to Advanced Setting > Administration > Firmware Upgrade. Select the Browse button and navigate to the ASUS firmware file that you downloaded at the start of this guide (.trx).

8. Select the Upload button and the flashing process should begin. Take a 3 mintue break and the router will restart and handle the reflash by itself.

9. If the reflash is sucessful, you should be back at the Main Menu and you should see the updated firmware version at the top.

Configuring the router

10. Once you're running on the Unifi firmware, you can then input your Unifi username and password to connect to the service. Ensure that the WAN port of the RT-N13U (blue colour) is connected to your VDSL/fiber optic BTU on the same port as your previous router.

11. Navigate to Advanced Setting > WAN. The default connection settings for Unifi VIP5/10/20 users should be :

WAN Connection Type : PPPoE

WAN DNS Setting : 8.8.8.8 & 8.8.4.4 (Google DNS is recommended due to the website blocks on the standard ISP DNS servers)

User Name & Password : Your Unifi username (with the @unifi) and password

Special Requirement from ISP : Unifi Home/Business (depending on your account -- @unifi = Home; @unifibiz = business)

Conclusion

In 2010, there were barely any all-in-one solutions for Unifi around and many users were forced to utilize various hacks to get a non TM router to function properly with the service. With the help of people such as klseet as well as many other users on the Lowyat Broadband forum, we're starting to see better support for Unifi with stock routers that you can buy from your local computer store. While this router is loaded with tons of features to cater to the needs of power users, one of the features that stood out was this :

Rather than forcing users to perform a firmware update, ASUS has has included a manual configuration for VLAN ID + PRIORITY on their firmware. This means that the ASUS RT-N13U (and the RT-N56U) will be compatible with most if not all modern FTTH networks in Malaysia (Maxis FTTH, etc.). The inbuilt MAC spoofing and PPPd options field also means that it would be entirely possible to fully emulate an ISP stock router without them being able to lock you out. So if you're looking for an all-in-one solution to replace your Unifi router -- take a look at the ASUS lineup (RT-N13U& RT-N56U).

A big thank you to klseet, Kenneth from ASUS as well as the entire ASUS router engineering team for getting this to work (and fixing every security vulnerability + bug within 2-3 days of it being reported) !

Photos

Here are some photos of the ASUS RT-N13U :