[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Help with multi-device selection for home Wi-Fi network

I'd like to ask advice about how to design my WiFi network at home and suggestion waht devices to buy:
- It's a 3 story building with total 220sqm~2400sqft.
- Currently I use 4 mesh devices indoors (D-Link covr 1100), all connected with wired ethernet. It's two on the middle story plus one on the bottom and one on top story. Plus there are two two more same mesh devices that are outdoors and are connected to the rest wirelessly using mesh.
- The main issue is with dropping the connection on my iPhone. I did some research and it seems it's a known iPhones issue with some brands routers using 5GHz network. My D-links does not allow to name 2.4Ghz and 5GHz networks differently thus main reason for my project is to have this feature so I can tell iPhone to use only 2.4GHz in case it still have issues with 5Ghz.
- Another issue I am suspeciting is that my devices are too close to each other but due to existing wiring I probably won't change the placement of the devices. Also, removing some of them would create spots with too weak signal.
Thus I would like to turn off 2.4Ghz network on two devices and maybe turn off 5Ghz on one device.
- Probably I'd go with WiFi 6 or 6e as 7 might be too expensive and I don't even have a single reciever with WiFi 7 yet.
- I enclose NetSpot scan from few key places in my house:

Questions:
1) What devices do you recommend? I do not like D-Link but I've used Asus and it seemed good. I've heard also about Ubiquiti. But there are two many options and I would appreciate some advice.
I would prefer not to spend more than 600usd for all new devices.
2) Do I need mesh system for my setup? Or maybe it will be fine with: 1 regular router, 3 access points and 2 repeaters?
3) Any other tips or workarounds? The biggest issue is iPhone problem with 5Ghz network.

[Assistant]
Majdan said:
I would like to turn off 2.4Ghz network on two devices and maybe turn off 5Ghz on one device.

Consumer mesh sets won't allow you to do that. You need something like UniFi or Omada networks for this level of control. They offer individual per AP settings for SSID, VLAN, Tx Power, individual radio on/off, wireless mesh option. The budget is too low though for 4x AP system with the needed gateway, controller and PoE switch. You can mix and match consumer router with other routers in AP Mode or SMB APs, but you'll lose network segmentation options since not all the devices will have VLAN support.

To be clear I don't need POE. Currently I have separate power adapters for these devices with already existing switch that can stay I guess. It's a matter of 1 router/gateway with AP, plus 3 APS and 1-2 repeaters.
I've heard these should be the same brand if they will be transmitting the same SSID.

This mix and match may work for flat network design only. You need PoE for most SMB APs if you want the level of control you are after. About SSID - the same SSID can be used on different brand hardware, but the roaming may suffer. Switching to another AP is on the client side and if the client sees one of the APs as better option most of the time - it will stick to it.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Waste of time or not...potential of upgrading AX86U

Rando ask for the top guns in here...I still have the Asus AX86U humming a long. I have many devices and around 7 or so capable AX 160hz compatible clients. I run Gig at the house and connected on the 2.5 gig ports across modem and router... Weather I'm running 80hz or 160hz things are pretty good. IS there a newer Asus AX product that seperates it self in a stronger long distance signal and as stable in your opinion? WiFi 7 I don't feel means anything for me currently, unless there's something there that handles AX devices more effeciently. IF and when on an upgrade, I am staying with Asus.

Thoughts

[Assistant]
willyburz said:
stronger long distance signal

This is a wrong Wi-Fi planning. Your clients have much weaker radios. Read this:

So Long, Thanks For All The Help
It's why I went with the U7s instead. Working a treat for me by the way. Aren't they buggy though?
www.snbforums.com

Stay with Asus, but if you plan extending the range single "strong" router is not the solution.

I'm not trying to double distance or anything, I could add an access point obviously...Just an ask if there is enought change in newer hardware and processor/memory side, that may keep even more consistancy on the db and effeciency at the distances I'm already working well with, which would also help potentially bounce others in my area off my spectrum window. I'll even take into account the 5ghz radio handling 30 clients effeciently, if needed. Just spit balling.

1) it won't "bounce" anyone off the channels used by the wifi radio. It will just make it worse for you and your neighbors.
2) not unless you want to be a beta tester for ASUS and have a severe case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome.
3) transmit RF power is limited by regulations and baked into the hardware for each country. The client radios are usually weaker anyway, so they control even if they can "hear" the AP radio.
4) too much power indoors creates a lot of noise and reflections for any receiving radio - including the transmitting device. Less effective bandwidth usually.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Replace RT-AC86U with RTBE86U / AX86U Pro / AX88U Pro ?

Hi,

I have been trying to find the perfect router upgrade for my situation to replace the now EoL RT-AC86U router.

I took a look a a lot of ASUS routers and 3 of them are what I think good candidates:
- RT-BE86U (price: 290 euro)
- RT-AX86U Pro (price: 200 euro)
- RT-AX88U Pro (price: 250 euro)

I'm looking for a future proof router, able to handle good coverage through out my 2 floors home (brick walls, concrete floors/ceilings) (Like the AC86U does pretty well, which will be a mesh node on the second floor in the future).
As I've 1000/1000 Gbit internet (future 2.5/10GB?), models with 2.5/10Gb wan/lan are preferable. My local LAN/switches is not yet 2.5/10Gb ready (all cables are CAT.6)
The router is located in the open main living room, so all the spider-like fancy colorful ROG routers are a no-go. So I would like to stick to the form-factor of the AC86U or the AX88U Pro (if that one is the better option)
All camera's/PC/NAS are hardwired, only laptops/cellphones/tablets/TV are using wifi (LG TV supports wifi 5/6).
The firmware should be Merlin flash-able, as I run Merlin for many years now and I like it.
Gaming options are not a deal breaker
VLAN support is not a deal breaker.
Wifi 7 support no deal breaker.

Looking at the 3 above models the BE86U model is the one with the best specs for my possible future needs (2.5/10Gb ports) networking wise, but it has a 2.6Ghz quadcore processor but only 1GB RAM compared to the other 2 models.
Will this be performance wise a big difference (1GB RAM vs 2GB RAM) ?

The AX88U pro has 4x4 MIMO for the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, the other 2 models have 3x3 and 4x4 MIMO. Will this be performance wise make a big difference?
The clients at the moment are wifi 2.4 (IOT) / 5 and 6 (no wifi 7 clients at this moment, likely within 1 year some new cellphones will have that feature), I thinks clients can handle at most 2x2?

Are there other big advantages/differences between the 3 models performance/coverage wise?

[Assistant]
(Face palm)

dude where do you see 2GB ram on any of these routers?

jay2020 said:
(Face palm)

dude where do you see 2GB ram on any of these routers?
Ah, seems to have mixed those up with other routers I looked at, as I compared like 10 routers before these 3 where filtered out.
They are all 3 indeed 1GB RAM

Thanks for noticing! I edited my post.

What is the advantage of more RAM (2GB vs 1GB) in routers, as I would not run any extra packages at all.

1) Can you even come close to saturating a 1 Gbit ISP link now ? Otherwise the list looks like typical residential use.
2) Since most web servers limit individual clients to around 100 Mbit/s connection, unless you are running some special applications it would take more than what you list to get over 1 Gbit/s demand. IMO, a 100 Mbit ISP connection would handle 90 % of home users. Even VPN into work was limited to 100 Mbit bandwidth and nobody can type that fast .
3) If you have high traffic on your LAN, which is presumably 1 Gbit link rate today, i would plan for using an unmanaged (since no vlans) 10 Gbit switch in the future and just use the router for internet access.
4) Assuming you have done the research for which routers are Merlin supported, i would pick the least expensive for today. All of them have a limited lifetime, maybe up to 4-5 years from the date of introduction. Otherwise, it would be for bragging rights or Gear Acquisition Syndrome.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: GL.iNet Flint 2 - Installing Unbound and running AGH

I am looking to potentially stop using my Rapsberry Pi and install and run Unbound and AdGuard Home on a Flint 2 router (that I am yet to purchase) to replace an aging GT-AC2900.

I’m not too familiar with OpenWRT - how easy is it to install and configure Unbound on this router?

What is the performance like with Unbound and AGH running in the router directly compared to running on an RPi?

[Assistant]
I just flashed OpenWrt 23.05.5 on my MT6000 and started using it as my sole router (used to be an AP running stock behind an x86 router). I don’t run Unbound or AGH, but there is plenty of headroom to run both.

Installation would be as simple as (much like Entware):
Code:
opkg update
opkg install luci-app-unbound adguardhome
Unbound can be configured via GUI, but also an extensive README:
packages/net/unbound/files/README.md at master · openwrt/packages
Community maintained packages for OpenWrt. Documentation for submitting pull requests is in CONTRIBUTING.md - openwrt/packages
github.com

Alternatively, the stock GL-INET firmware contains AGH already if you don’t want to flash vanilla OpenWrt. It also allows installation of Unbound through its own repository.

Loving this router so much, I’ll be passing my AX88U Pro to my son. Don’t need it anymore.

dave14305 said:
I just flashed OpenWrt 23.05.5 on my MT6000 and started using it as my sole router (used to be an AP running stock behind an x86 router). I don’t run Unbound or AGH, but there is plenty of headroom to run both.

Installation would be as simple as (much like Entware):
Code:
Unbound can be configured via GUI, but also an extensive README:

Alternatively, the stock GL-INET firmware contains AGH already if you don’t want to flash vanilla OpenWrt. It also allows installation of Unbound through its own repository.

Loving this router so much, I’ll be passing my AX88U Pro to my son. Don’t need it anymore.
Click to expand...
I know this is a bit of an older thread but I was wondering if you still view the Flint 2 in a positive light? I see you had been using an AX88U Pro previously so any chance you comment comment on the pluses and minuses between the two? How is the range and speed between the two? Is there a reason you seem to favor the Flint 2?

Listedguru2 said:
I know this is a bit of an older thread but I was wondering if you still view the Flint 2 in a positive light? I see you had been using an AX88U Pro previously so any chance you comment comment on the pluses and minuses between the two? How is the range and speed between the two? Is there a reason you seem to favor the Flint 2?

Firmware still needs work. In some use cases you have to revert to a much older firmware because of the 5Ghz band issue/s in some cases.
They can't make up their mind with firmware, if they want to stay with Openwrt 21 or make permanent transition to Openwrt 24. One has closed source drivers that are better and other has open source drivers which aren't great. At least that's my understanding, since there is no clear picture provided where they are headed.

Over all, it's a great router for the price and has a ton of potential, but firmware needs a lot of work. But which brand now days doesn't have firmware issues, unless you spend bigger money on lets say Unifi/Ubiquity.

From what I can tell the company is made up of skeleton crew who are working on too many products at the same time, thus delaying firmware development. But, they are trying and are active on the forums doing what they can to help people. They do listen to people, implement changes, updates and suggestions in to newer firmwares and betas, which a great thing in my book...but you have to be patient.

One thing that I highly dislike about the router, is how it looks. It just rubs me the wrong way for some reason. Perhaps because it looks cheap? The two side front grills remind me of air vents on a BMW or a Mercedes.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Looking for opinions re. Ubiquiti or something else

So this might be TLDR but some background is required. Jan 2024 i purchased a 2 pack of Asus Zenwifi XT8 AX6600 HW version 2 based on online reviews to replace my TP-Link Archer. Had the expected trouble with the Asus and tried solutions after i found this site. Nothing worked. Since gnuton is not available for the v2 hardware i decided to abandon the Asus. I purchased 2 Ubiquiti Unifi Express UX units. One to serve as router/WAP and one as just a WAP. They work well, but i think my use case is maxing out the Express. Both my wife and i work from home, we are going to be home schooling my son, and i have smart home devices deployed using Home Assistant. All together about 67 devices right now. This will grow over time and i will have to extend my network with another WAP in the next year (outbuilding workshop). I have two kids, both teens, so at various times we could have as many as 4 streams going (YT, Roku, Xbox, Meta Oculus, etc). I have a 500Mbps fiber WAN from Frontier. May consider upgrading to 1GB in the future.
You can consider my use case as equivalent to SMB with residential uses added on. I work as an IT infrastructure engineer so i am pretty knowledgeable about networking and like to 'tinker'.

At times the Unifi Express router gets dog slow. My Inet bandwidth doesnt appear saturated, but the memory and CPU on the Express look pretty maxed. So i think i am exceeding the UX router's capabilities. Thus my question:

I am trying to decide between a Unifi Dream Router UDR (ebay used since it is never in stock), Cloud Gateway Ultra or Max, or a Unifi Dream Machine Pro UDM-Pro. I dont really want to spend alot more money unless i think i will get something that will last a few years. Do you think the Dream Router UDR or Cloud Gateways will be sufficient or will i max that out in the not too distant future? I am iffy on the Cloud Gateway's as they have the same form factor as the Express UX.

I am sort of willing to look at another vendor system but i certainly dont want to spend $1-2000 on an Orbi system and i dont trust Eero or Google Wifi from a privacy standpoint. TP-Link is now out due to the government warning.
My requirements are, in priority order: Maximum reliability, sufficient capacity to allow for growth over the next 3-5 years, desired IPS, minimum chance of obsolescence in the near future (I know ;-)
I may have answered my own question but it would be good to get some validation from people who may have experience with the Ubiquiti hardware. I am tired of being burned by purchasing something based on online reviews and then finding out it has issues or doesnt live up to the specs. Thanks ahead of time for any advice.

[Assistant]
67 devices and you will add even more?? Do you honestly need that many in the first place?

razzle said:
At times the Unifi Express router gets dog slow.

Because it is slow and designed for up to 5x UniFi devices including Express itself. I have 2x UniFi Express units on my network used for fancy wireless bridges (clients) to 2x wired PCs each. Express is not good for larger/expandable network. Look for Cloud Gateway Ultra or Max instead, they are 3-in-1 devices with Gateway, Controller and Switch. Support up to 30x UniFi devices with hundreds of clients. See my signature.

razzle said:
All together about 67 devices right now. This will grow over time...

Get out of the consumer market. UniFi or Omada as lower cost options for home application.

KGB7 said:
67 devices and you will add even more?? Do you honestly need that many in the first place?
Well, when you get into the smart home stuff and you use Wifi instead of zigbee the number of devices goes up pretty quick. Granted, most of the smart home stuff is not high bandwidth. In fact most of that is internal only. No Inet access. But between two Rokus, two Meta Oculus, my work VPN (including voice/video meetings and tons of RDP), Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC Gaming, Music Streaming. The cumulative effect can get up there. Especially for the Wifi. My kids love to stream music while they are gaming. Two kids home doing their thing, my wife watching Roku in the living room and me at work things can get pretty congested. Work PC is hardline, and I hardline what i can of the kids devices. I also prioritize my work traffic over everything else. Modern life and all.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Looking for a new AI mesh node to pair with my new GT-BE98 Pro base

House is 2700sq-ft across two floors. Wood frame. Detached garage with a nest cam. About 30 devices. Occasionally up to 3 streams going at once with meetings and video.

I just upgraded my old trusty GT-AX11000 with a. GT-BE98 Pro yesterday. I was nervous about the upgrade given all of the issues I've been hearing about. The GT-AX11000 was paired with a AI Mesh connected RT-AX86U. I was getting reliable 250Mb / 30mb throughout the house on a 500/40 service. If I sat very close to the router I could get 400/35-40.

With just the BE98 Pro I'm seeing near 600/45 in standard config. It was a little flaky yesterday, dropping my phone frequently and I was seeing frequent outages with my Nest Cams. I changed one thing -- turning off Wifi7 Mode -- and gave it some time and it seems far more stable today.

I also experimented with adding the RT-AX86U to the mix as the upstairs AI Mesh node because my daughter's room (farthest and upstairs) was only getting 60/20. That upgraded her to 250/30. So, cool. But, the RT-AX started taking over many of the connections and I was feeling like I wasn't getting the most of what I was paying for with the new 98 Pro. So, my question is: what would be a great modern AI Mesh node to pair with the 98 Pro? My goal is full speeds throughout the house.

Note: we have very few wifi6 devices in the house. Basically my iPhone 16 and my spare Android phone. Everything else seems to be wifi5 or downleveling to 2.4. I can only do wireless backhaul. The main reason I disconnected the AI Mesh node last night was because I couldn't figure out how (which radio) it was doing the mesh backhaul and I was suspecting it was using the already heavily used wifi5 band.

I need something "small footprint" like the AX86 U.

That got me looking at:
AX86U Pro or
RT-BE86U. This one seems to be the best match. Wifi6E and 7. I'm guessing it's going to use Wifi6 for backhaul?

I was surprised that the new 98 Pro only has one wifi5 radio and two wifi6. This is a bit of a bummer as the previous base router I had had 2 wifi5 and given wifi5 is 95% of my devices... It feels like I may have jumped the gun a bit

Any advice appreciated! Thanks!

[Assistant]
Well, if the AX86U works, use it! I find that when I have an AX86U as an AiMesh node with an AX86U Pro router many of my clients end up on the AX86U. I have Ethernet backhaul so it does not bother me that the AX86U in the basement grabs clients. No one complains.
Might be good to get the node on Ethernet backhaul if possible. The GT-AX11000 should also be a good mesh node as long as you have spent the money for it.
Experience has shown the best AiMesh node is one with the same technology as the router. AC with AC, AX with AX and BE with BE. Other combos work but... And, it is a good idea to not mess with the WIFI settings.

Edit: Maybe you really do not need that $600 + WIFI 7 router. A lot of money to spend with little performance increase...

Oh you're right that I don't "need" the new router

I'm going to take a closer look to see if I could get ethernet up through the floor to the 2nd level.

But, in the meantime I am looking for any insight into how the BE98 Pro handles wireless backhaul and any insight into whether different types of wireless Ai Mesh nodes might be best optimized for the BE98. Example: would a wifi7 capable node (like the BE86U) above be best ignoring cost? Would the backhaul take advantage of the 6ghz channels that are currently pretty vacant?

Thanks!

As long as all of your devices support the 6 GHz channel, you can use a spare 6 GHz channel as a wireless backhaul. However, it is recommended to connect the two routers with an Ethernet cable for a wired backhaul.

However, it’s best to use routers that support the same protocol type; absolutely avoid mixing different ones.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Router replacement frequency? And a recommendation request

I just discovered that my Netgear R7800 router is now considered End-of-Service--I think I purchased it around 2016--so it will no longer be receiving firmware updates. I presume this means that I should replace it, at the very least for security reasons. While the router continues to serve my family's needs quite well, and has performed very reliably, I have been wanting to get a mesh router anyway to improve connectivity in more remote areas of the house.

I have two questions, one general, and one specific.

1) What do most people do regarding router end-of-life, especially those of us who don't require the latest and greatest? Do knowledgeable people replace their entire Wi-Fi household infrastructure every 3-to-5 years? Do the major manufacturers differ as to how long they support their routers with firmware updates? Do many people simply rely on open source firmware to extend their router's lives?

2) Regarding my specific needs, presuming I replace the R7800, I'm looking for a mesh router for a ~2100 sq. ft. house. (Unfortunately, the internet enters the house at one upper corner, and some of the required use is at the opposite lower corner of the house...so I think I may need two satellites to get good, full coverage.) The needs are very typical/pedestrian--occasional streaming, remote work, etc. We probably have at most 12 devices and never more than 1 or 2 simultaneous video streams ever running. I don't need cutting edge technology, but I would like something that will comfortably last more than three years (with the requisite support). My biggest concerns are security, parental controls, and reliability. I'd prefer not to have to pay a "toll" (subscription) to get the best use out of it, but would be willing to do so, if, say, the parental controls are truly superior to alternatives.

Does anyone have a recommendation, either manufacturer or specific model? I have followed the industry a little, but I haven't been in the market for a new router in eight years. Are there new features I should be sure to focus on?

Any suggestions, or referrals to good web resources, are much appreciated.

Thanks.

[Assistant]
If you want to hold off on purchasing another router the R7800 is still supported by Voxel's firmware. You can check out this thread.

Voxel - Custom firmware build for R7800 v. 1.0.2.112SF
Continuation of . . . https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-r7800-v-1-0-2-110sf.91319/ https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-r7800-v-1-0-2-111sf.92058/ New version of my custom firmware build: 1.0.2.112SF. Changes (vs 1.0.2.111SF): 1. Toolchain: Go...
www.snbforums.com

Wow...fascinating. Thanks for the tip, Analog-1! Apparently, I'm not the only one who appreciates the R7800. It looks like Voxel has added a lot of features that I don't understand/need. But it also looks like he's committed to fixing known vulnerabilities, which I am very interested in and appreciate.

Thanks again.

ScruffyLG said:
Apparently, I'm not the only one who appreciates the R7800.

No. It has OpenWrt support as well. One of the best AC-class routers.

[OpenWrt Wiki] NETGEAR R7800 (Nighthawk X4S AC2600)
openwrt.org


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Need advice GT-AXE16000 vs GT-AXE11000 vs GT-BE98

Hey Guys,

I need advice on buying a new Merlin-compatible router. The coverage area is about 140 m2, and we will probably need to get a repeater for the second floor. The later one is 180 eur more and I wonder if this makes sense.

Does it make sense to pay for tri-band vs dual-band?

I currently have a GT-AX6000 with Marlin, but it's dual-band, so I need to keep it in another apartment.

[Assistant]
GT-AXE11000 is an old model from 2020, locked on 3004 firmware.
GT-AXE16000 is newer, but stuck on 3004 firmware, issues upstream perhaps.
GT-BE98 seems like the better option if you want 6GHz band, but may not worth it (see below).

In Europe all of the above will be limited to 100mW on 2.4GHz radio, 200mW on 5GHz radio lower channels non-DFS. A new router with 6GHz band may not improve your coverage, if this is what you expect. It will be similar to what you have from your GT-AX6000. I wouldn't replace it.

Tech9 said:
GT-AXE11000 is an old model from 2020, locked on 3004 firmware.
GT-AXE16000 is newer, but stuck on 3004 firmware, firmware issues upstream perhaps.
GT-BE98 seems like the better option if you want 6GHz band, but may not worth it (see below).

In Europe all of the above will be limited to 100mW on 2.4GHz radio, 200mW on 5GHz radio lower channels non-DFS. A new router with 6GHz band may not improve your coverage, if this is what you expect. It will be similar to what you have from your GT-AX6000. I wouldn't replace it.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your fast response. Planning to use Merlin anyway.

I need to buy a router anyway. Cos GT-AX6000 needs to stay at another apartment, and I'm shopping around to see if there is a good tri-band alternative for it in case I need to install a repeater.

routewhat said:
Planning to use Merlin anyway.

GT-BE98 is supported by GNUton's official Asuswrt-Merlin fork, but the development is slower:

GitHub - gnuton/asuswrt-merlin.ng: Extends the support of Merlin firmware to more ASUS routers
Extends the support of Merlin firmware to more ASUS routers - gnuton/asuswrt-merlin.ng
github.com

Anything AX/AXE stuck on 3004 firmware branch for Asuswrt-Merlin, so make the right choices:

Home | Asuswrt-Merlin
www.asuswrt-merlin.net

routewhat said:
I'm shopping around to see if there is a good tri-band alternative

Single model and with slower development fork support at the moment. It's a lot of money invested in hope things will get better over time.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: GT-BE98 PRO Stable Yet?

With the most current firmware December release is this model stable enough yet to consider for purchase. Or is it going to be a daily fight?

[Assistant]
The latest Merlin alpha 2 firmware for the GT-BE98 PRO isn't perfect but isn't bad. GPL still seems to need some work and refining.

Only issue I am actually still struggling with is the 6GHz on my AiMesh nodes. In short my GT-AXE11000 node still doesn't appear to broadcast 6GHz for some reason. I even tried resetting and repairing it on the latest alpha; no difference.
(if you don't have 6GHz on an AiMesh node I doubt this would be a factor for you)

Also the IoT profile has some quirks. The default IoT network can be "flaky", and drop some devices with no obvious reason.
If that happens for a device; I usually configure the device to use a different SSID which seems to be a valid workaround for now.

Seems to be a lot of current reviews talking about random and excessive clients / IOT devices? Is that the current state of this model?

It is still in beta. Roll your dice if you have G.A.S.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: looking to upgrade router, must be able to use asuswrt merlin, suggestions?

Hi,

Not been here in quite sometime so not totally upto date with everything, i currently run RT-AC86U with merlin firmware, looking to upgrade due to EOL and to just future proof, i've done loads of searching and reading on the forums but hope to get some clear feedback.

I'm in UK and looking at the asus wifi 7 routers, on the asus uk site i don't see any of the asus wifi 7 routers are supported by merlin firmware except for the us versions. Am i missing something or are there asus wifi 7 routerrs in uk compatible with merlin firmware? i assume it's to do with 6GHz band and regulations still be debated in uk i believe although could be wrong.

On merlins site i see these are the currently supported wifi 7 routers GT-BE98 PRO, RT-BE86U, RT-BE88U, RT-BE96U.

I don't see any of these models on asus uk site or available in uk except for RT-BE88U which is available from amazon uk, oddly if you search RT-BE88U in google there is a page on asus uk website for that model but if you go direct to asus uk select wifi 7 routers RT-BE88U doesn't show nor on it's uk store, not sure why. I notice the RT-BE88U has wifi 7 but does not support the 6GHz band. But can be used with asuswrt merlin firmware. From what i can tell if a uk user wants an asus wifi 7 router that supports merlin our only option is RT-BE88U?

Looking to upgrade and future proof but merlin firmware is essential for me, i was considering RT-AX86U Pro or RT-AX88U Pro both are on the latest 3006 codebase on asus original firmware but not merlin currently still on 3004, i did search and read threads so kind of know why this is the case for now at least. But in all honesty i rather buy a wifi 7 router at this stage as the AX models been out for approx 3 years now, i am aware of the bugs and issues with the latest wifi 7 routers seeing they are relatively new to the market.

looking for suggestions, feedback.

Thank you.

[Assistant]
GT-BE98 (non-Pro) is supported by GNUton's official Asuswrt-Merlin fork:

GitHub - gnuton/asuswrt-merlin.ng: Extends the support of Merlin firmware to more ASUS routers
Extends the support of Merlin firmware to more ASUS routers - gnuton/asuswrt-merlin.ng
github.com

Tech9 said:
GT-BE98 (non-Pro) is supported by GNUton's official Asuswrt-Merlin fork:

GitHub - gnuton/asuswrt-merlin.ng: Extends the support of Merlin firmware to more ASUS routers
Extends the support of Merlin firmware to more ASUS routers - gnuton/asuswrt-merlin.ng
github.com
Click to expand...
Hi,

Yeah i did notice but it's got a hefty price tag tbf for a consumer router, also gnuton didn't do any updates for months until november 26th currently alpha. Rather stick to merlin, i know gnuton is a fork of merlins but merlin is regulary updating in this regard no offense to gnuton of course, i know they do it for free in their own time etc.

rite now unless i am missing the obvious it's either GT-BE98 (non pro, uk model) supported by gnuton (fork of merlins firmware) but costs a bomb lol or RT-BE88U which can be bought in uk and merlin supports that model but no 6GHz band, i don't believe there is any other asus wifi 7 router in uk that is supported by merlin.

Seems such a mess this time around lol, dunno what to do rite now, could just get RT-BE88U at least it using 3006 firmware is wifi 7 but no 6ghz band which kinda sucks but not seeing any choice other than what i mentioned.

Merlin i've used for years, i use openvpn server and 3 clients, kill switch, i also use other scripts amtm, diversion, skynet and few others, vlans is something i wanted for years, 3006 support vlan and guest network pro i believe.

I could get AX86U Pro or AX88U Pro but feel it's not worth it at this stage in their life cycle even though they do have 3006 firmware from asus official but 3004 on merlin and at this moment in time that is not going to changet based on searching and reading the forums trying to play catchup.

anyone else in uk in similar dilemma at the moment? be interested to hear other peoples feedback etc.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: New ASUS Router Question?

I am wondering if anyone can recommend the best reasonably priced ASUS Merlin compatible router that will be supported for years to come. I bought one a few years ago and it is already no longer supported, so I am looking for something that in a few years will not be the same situation.

Thanks.

[Assistant]
Current lower priced model for Asuswrt-Merlin longer support chance is RT-BE86U. It's a new model device, will be supported by Asus for years and has Asuswrt-Merlin on 3006 firmware base available now.

Home | Asuswrt-Merlin
www.asuswrt-merlin.net

At best, you can count on about 2 years out of any current tech before standards and baselines change. Sometimes you get lucky and a device will run for many years, but there are never any guarantees.

Some countries require minimum support period and Asus posted official compliance notices. In the UK this period is 4 years as an example. Asus firmware is global, this compliance notice in theory means "minimum 4 years". In reality may be longer, but also in reality "still supported" doesn't guarantee firmware updates. Asus have still supported models with 1-2 years gaps between firmware releases. Asus also updated models on EoL list after critical security issue was discovered. General advice for longer and better support - get newer and popular model.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Looking for a Reliable and Secure Router

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to upgrade from my TP-Link Archer C6 v2 to a more capable router. My main priorities are:
Reliability: I use a VR headset and need a stable, low-latency connection.
Security & Long-Term Support: I plan to use the router as a VPN server and prefer a device with up-to-date software to do that.

Here’s a bit more about my setup:
Alongside VR, I stream games and videos locally and plan to set up a basic NAS.
I’d also like the ability to wake devices (including the NAS) remotely (it seems there are a couple of ways to do that on Asus routers)
My apartment is 56 m², so range isn’t an issue.
I have ~10 wireless devices connected and a 300 Mbps internet connection.

My network doesn’t seem very congested, so I’m unsure if the 6 GHz band is worth it for me, but you be the judge.

5ghz

Routers I'm Considering:
Asus GT-AX6000 – $150 (used), supports Asuswrt-Merlin firmware.
Asus TUF-AX6000 – $150 (new), supports OpenWRT.
Asus RT-AXE7800 – $180 (new), offers Wi-Fi 6E (6 GHz band) but currently lacks third-party firmware support.

Do you think one of these would be a good fit, or is there another model I should consider?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions

[Assistant]
RT-AX86U Pro or RT-AX88U Pro. Most recommended routers on this forum.

bbunge said:
RT-AX86U Pro or RT-AX88U Pro. Most recommended routers on this forum.

MT6000 running OpenWRT - software freedom

PinkTrousers said:
I'm looking to upgrade from my TP-Link Archer C6 v2 to a more capable router. My main priorities are:
Reliability: I use a VR headset and need a stable, low-latency connection.
Security & Long-Term Support: I plan to use the router as a VPN server and prefer a device with up-to-date software to do that.

Here’s a bit more about my setup:
Click to expand...

Once you pull your TP-Link device after replacing it with an MT6000

OpenWRT does support this one - so you can explore things there...

[OpenWrt Wiki] TP-Link Archer C6 v2
openwrt.org


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Mesh network router (but not Asus) for over 100 devices

Here is my current setup:
GT-AX11000 Main Router (bridged with my ISP router)
5 RT-AX92U nodes
Aimesh System with Smart Connect on
All devices have the latest firmware.

I have over 100 devices on my network. Here is an idea of some of my devices:
5 Ring Floodlights Pro (on 2.4 GHz)
16 TP-Link Smart Switches (on 2.4 GHz)
3 TP-Link Smart Plugs (on 2.4 GHz)
6 Sinopé Smart Thermostats (on 2.4 GHz)
6 Globe Smart bulbs (on 2.4 GHz)
16 Govee devices like LED strips, and other kind of light devices (on 2.4 GHz)
16 cameras (Reolink E1 Pro) (on 5 GHz)
4 iPhones (on 5 GHz)
2 iPads (on 5 GHz)
2 Apple TV (on LAN)
5 laptops (2 on LAN and 3 on 5 GHz)
4 Smart TVs (2 on LAN and 2 on 5 GHz)
4 nVidia Shield Pro (on LAN)
1 Google Home and 1 Google Home Mini (on 5 GHz)
2 Nest smoke detectors (on 2.4 GHz)
2 NAS hard drives (on LAN)
1 smart washer/dryer (on 2.4 GHz)
1 Oculus Quest 2 (on 5 GHz)
etc.

Please don't make any suggestions to fix my connection problems with the 2.4GHz band because I have read many topics on the forum and found that I am far from being the only one having problems with the 2.4GHz band. The symptoms are as follows: No problem with all my devices connected on the 5GHz band. My devices on the 2.4GHz band connect and disconnect frequently, making it impossible to control them via my applications on my phone, such as Kasa, Google Home, Globe Suite, Govee, etc.

I have tried most of the solutions proposed on the forum but nothing has yet solved my problem. Thus, I have decided to give up with Asus by turning to another brand more efficient in terms of the 2.4GHz band.

What I am looking for as an answer is rather advice to get a similar system (mesh network) from another brand than Asus, because I have a large residence with a huge lot, a backyard of over 300 feet and an in-ground pool on it. This is why I need nodes to extend the signal reception as much as possible and I want to have a single network name (SSID).

I would like to get your advice on buying an excellent router with a Mesh network system, which would do the job and manage the 2.4GHz band much better than Asus does.

[Assistant]
CyberDynamite said:
Thus, I have decided to give up with Asus by turning to another brand

For business class solutions like lower cost UniFi or Omada you need Ethernet infrastructure. They will allow fine tuning of the network per AP for power, channel, VLAN, etc. with spread around devices to multiple radios with higher aggregate throughput. None of them offers wireless uplinks with dedicated radios like home mesh systems though. Common issue with home mesh systems is use of the same channels network wide. Same channels means shared bandwidth and increased noise levels. The more nodes, satellites, pods, etc. you have the worse it gets.

How close are the neighbors ?
Your indoor may well be suffering from too much RF signal and overlap.
Outdoor should be straightforward.
Were your IOT clients set with static addresses ?
Were your mesh APs restricted to one static channel ?
The most reliable system is likely to be SMB hardware with wired ethernet backhaul.
Ubiquiti should be reasonable choice for a product line.

I think such an extensive site, with so much high value and demanding equipment, would probably benefit from getting in a networking professional in. Personal opinion is that you might get away with a properly spec'ed Ubiquity setup, but otherwise you'll be unsatisfied with consumer grade equipment!
*Not being a snob, I use consumer grade equipment!


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Upgrading from wifi 5 to wifi 6 and looking for suggestions

I am looking to upgrade from my aging and EOL Netgear Nighthawk AC2100 router to something in the wifi 6 realm. I would possibly be interested in a wifi 7 device if the price was right. Anyway on my shortlist I the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX 6000 which seems to get high marks all around. I've also read good things about the GLi net Flint 2 (MT 6000) which can be had on Amazon for a great price currently (in the US). One other other one that caught my eye in the Asus RT-Be92U which is a Tri-Bank wifi 7 router. I like the fact that all of these have (2) 2.5 ports for a bit of future proofing. On something like the GT-AX6000 should I be worried that it will be EOL quicker that the others I mentioned as it's been out over (2) years already?

My current Netgear Nighthawk AC2100 has enough range for my enviroment it's just time for an upgrade and honestly I would think any of the above routers would be a major? step up from it? I'm also open to other suggestions for a router as well and I'm not really attached to any one brand. I just want something that's going to be reliable and hopefully last at least (5) years.

[Assistant]
OP here. Just tossing another contender into the mix: Asus RX-AX88U Pro. I think it's very similar to the GT-AX-6000 but not sure if it might be supported longer?

Really it's impossible to give useful recommendations with so little information. For starters:
What's the speed of your internet connection? Do you foresee upgrading it anytime soon?
How many wifi clients do you have? How many are wifi 6, 6E, or 7 capable? Do you foresee those answers changing significantly anytime soon?
What's your wifi environment like, that is what sort of competition do you face for airtime? Are you out in the boonies with no near neighbors, or at the opposite extreme do you live in a high-rise with a bunch of tech-savvy wifi-loving neighbors just a few meters away?
What's your wifi environment like part 2: what country do you live in?
You said the AC2100 covers your living space adequately, but now is the time to be absolutely sure about that. Have you checked signal strength and performance in every corner where you might want wifi service?
What I'm mainly trying to probe for is whether you'll really be happy with only one AP or whether it's time for more than one, and also whether you should be considering wifi 6E not just 6 so that you can move into the relatively-virgin 6GHz spectrum. (I would not recommend buying wifi 7 gear just yet: too new, too expensive, too many bugs and interoperability issues. If you were doing fine with wifi 5 then you don't need wifi 7 yet. But 6E could be worth the money if you face a lot of competition for 5GHz airtime and are willing to upgrade to 6E-ready clients.)

Take a looking at Glinet GL-MT6000. Its currently on sale for $122. 6 lan ports, two of them are 2.5Gbps. Arm8 CPU, 4x4 MIMO on both bands, great support by Glinet and by Openwrt community. Bought mine two weeks ago and I won't be buying another router for many years.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Looking for a Mesh or "wifi backhaul" solution for home

I'm in an old rented house that I can't tamper with the walls in. It's not very large, but the network feed from Verizon comes in at one corner of the house and my office is the diagonal opposite side through a couple of walls and I don't get full wifi bars but can't run ethernet to either.

Current network configuration is a small homelab of various mini PCs including an OPNSense router PC, connected currently to an Asus AX86S in Access Point mode that serves wifi to the various devices in the house.
Incoming internet is around 300 Mbps up and down.
There are like 20 wifi devices in the house, with about half only using 2.4Ghz

My office includes multiple PCs including one devoted to gaming, plus I'm often moving big files from my PCs to the homelab servers so I want a fast LAN speed.

I was considering adding another Asus router to my office as a sort of bridge maybe in AIMesh mode that I could connect 2 or 3 PCs to for a faster connection to the homelab and internet. But I'm also open to switching to things like Omada devices on each end.

I'm trying to standardize on 2.5G ethernet for the home lab connections and in my office so am looking at some of the new Wifi 7 setups as an option since they often have multi-gig uplinks. (Mildly regretting that I didn't get the AX86U instead for its 2.5G jack, but that was years ago, and I can find other ways to repurpose the 86S if needed)

What is the wisdom here for the fast LAN bandwidth that I want across my house in the absence of ethernet? Open to spending 200-350 USD per device at each end as needed.

[Assistant]
tuerta said:
diagonal opposite side through a couple of walls and I don't get full wifi bars

If 5GHz wireless has issues reaching this location - doesn't sound very friendly to 6GHz wireless link. Your only chance is high-powered devices with dedicated radios on both sides of the link and this limits your choices to the consumer market mesh systems with currently attached to Wi-Fi 7 products beta testing period. Not guaranteed to work as advertised at the moment of purchase.

tuerta said:
I'm in an old rented house that I can't tamper with the walls in. It's not very large, but the network feed from Verizon comes in at one corner of the house and my office is the diagonal opposite side through a couple of walls and I don't get full wifi bars but can't run ethernet to either.

Sounds like you need a second wired AP at the other end of the house. Is there RG-59/RG6 coax cable in place that can be used with MoCA2.5 adapters? Can you sneak a coax cable around the outside of the house and poke it through the walls, terminate, and good to go?

OE

Is Verizon's drop FIOS, Coax, or LTE ?
If you have coax, yes, MOCA might be an option depending on above.
Crawl space/basements open up possibilities.
Talk with the owner about possibilities after you explain the situation. Maybe get lucky or offer to pay for the upgrade if they don't object.
Sometimes a different ISP will be willing to terminate at a different point on the house. Maybe Verizon would as well if you show them a quote and are willing to cancel them.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Looking for Access Point That I can Put on Closets

Hi,
Currently I have Aruba AP22 that I put on tv closet below the TV, now I know that to get the best from the access point it's prefer to put it on wall or ceiling (opposite direction) which currently I don't have this option.
So I'm looking for some access point that not need monthly/yearly payment for license or something like that that I can put on the closet in "regular" position.
Image attached.

[Assistant]
i have my WAP571 in the living room actually in the wooden cabinet with a stone top below the TV together with a 5 port POE powered Netgear switch for both the TV and the AP as i like my TV to have a wired connection for streaming and i like things to be crisp, no wires etc. Never bothered me and works perfectly fine.

ChaoscripT said:
Hi,
Currently I have Aruba AP22 that I put on tv closet below the TV, now I know that to get the best from the access point it's prefer to put it on wall or ceiling (opposite direction) which currently I don't have this option.
So I'm looking for some access point that not need monthly/yearly payment for license or something like that that I can put on the closet in "regular" position.
Image attached.
Click to expand...
A zillion options including wifi routers that you can put on a table top. Obstructions of the wifi signal is an obstruction and mounting it to a wall or a ceiling doesn't always solve it either.

Digilog said:
A zillion options including wifi routers that you can put on a table top. Obstructions of the wifi signal is an obstruction and mounting it to a wall or a ceiling doesn't always solve it either.

Don't interested in routers as I already have one.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Looking for Wifi7 6Ghz option for specific VR use case..

I've got a Meta Quest 3 that is Wifi 6E capable. My existing wireless network equipment is fine for our needs but is older Wifi5/6 (not 6E) and is semi-crowded with devices (all Sophos based with wired 10Gb throughout the house, haven't had any issues). I don't need or want any routing or firewall capabilities and would prefer something that is an access point, or at least can be put in access point mode. I use VLANs to separate our guest/kids network from other house hold traffic but that is not a requirement for this VR use case, although bonus points if it can support that. I am specifically looking for the best relatively inexpensive option with the following in mind:

1. Provide good range - obviously limited to the room in which the Quest 3 is being used (not expecting 1 AP to provide Wifi7 beyond the room it is in), but being able to get full strength signal 20 feet away versus 10 ft would be nice (it's a decent size dedicated VR room)
2. While the Quest is Wifi 6E limited but 6Ghz capable, I'd prefer a Wifi 7 device with 6Ghz support just in case a Quest 4 (or other similar device) comes out in the next year or two, hoping that it will also benefit from this configuration
3. The PC (dedicated for VR) has 2.5Gb NIC and I would prefer to connect it directly to the access point on a 2.5Gb (or higher) LAN port
4. I have no intention of running 2.5Ghz or 5Ghz wireless for the VR use case - this device should support 6Ghz and excel at it

I purchased the Tp-Link BE9300 and Asus RT-BE92U and have been testing both over the last few weeks, one unit at a time. The Quest 3 connects to either AP/router at 2501Mbit send/receive (max for Quest 3 I believe) but I've experienced a few random wifi signal drops from both devices during long gaming sessions with the kids. Each are configured in access point only mode, using the 2.5Gb port for the PC, and they are dedicated for the single Quest 3 headset. I only have a single network advertised using the 6Ghz radio exclusively, which I kept the options default except for limiting the spectrum to 160Mhz (disabled 320Mhz). There are no other wireless networks configured on the Quest 3 so it's not like the Quest is moving to some other network causing the drop. I believe both wireless devices, at least for the 6Ghz radio might have a bit buggy firmware which leads to the instability. I could be wrong - it could be something in my configuration or house, but I've read quite a bit of guidance on this forum and also various Quest related forums specifically around Wireless. I'm a former CCNA that now works in different tech fields, but much less experience with wireless. Obviously doesn't eliminate the possibility of a user error, but I am not a complete idiot or newbie when it comes to networking. I'm probably averaging about 1 wireless drop/glitch a day, with heavy playing spread across the family (i.e., 6-7 hours a day of use across several family members).

So here is my question - is there a better option than either of these 2 Wifi products? Without costing 2x more than the Quest 3 itself? Has anyone else built a dedicated wireless setup for VR and if so, what did you go with? End-to-end delivery of each frame to the Quest 3 is somewhere around 35-45ms, so a couple of milliseconds improvement on the wireless side won't make a huge difference, but would be nice.. Especially keen on latency consistency. Are there any Wifi 7 6Ghz options that support custom firmware like Merlin that folks might recommend? Would that be a potentially more viable path to have a device with a better wireless software stack that is potentially less glitchy or higher performing?

Any help from experts on here is much appreciated - thanks!!

[Assistant] I think reality is that all WiFi 7 gear on the market today is of just-out-of-beta quality. If you insist on "future proofing" then this is what you're going to get. I'd return 'em and get a 6E AP instead. Buy WiFi 7 when things have stabilized and you have some actual clients.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Asus RT-AX88U Pro or BE92U (or other)?

Hi all, I'm looking for some help in choosing a new router specifically from the ASUS range.

I am looking for something that will operate in isolation (not having to use multiple routers and mesh networking).

The main aim of the new router is better reach and speed of the WiFi signal around the house. I work from home on the second floor of the house (ground, first, second) and at the moment I get a weak signal in my office and the speed peaks out at 40mbit on 2.4ghz and 70mbit on 5ghz.

Secondly I need strong parental controls to manage what and when devices can access the internet etc.

Thirdly something that is future proof, that should last me over the next 5+ years.

I'd rather not spend at the top end of my budget if I don't need to and I'm currently choosing between the Asus RT-AX88u Pro or the RT-BE92u both which are actually at the top end of my budget. There's not much difference between them in price but I'm speculating why Asus state the AX88u Pro is marketed as suitable for "very large homes" (because it supports 4x4 streams for both 2.4g and 5g??) and whether that might be the better choice over the WiFi 7 and triband capable BE92u but only suitable for "larger homes"?

I guess the Rt-AX86u pro could also be a good option but I noted that the spec for the 88u pro stated higher speeds for WiFi 5 devices.

Background...
I'm in the UK and I currently have 150mbit FTTP with Sky broadband and use Sky's own router. Sky usually only allows their own router to be connected but I've found out that Asus routers generally work with Sky because they support the specific setting that sky requires I.e.DHCP option 61. It's seems not many other router brands support this. Consequently I've narrowed my search to only Asus routers though I do know that apparently some Netgear routers may also work.

Our home is a terraced house, 1800 sq ft over 3 floors (ground, first and second floor). My working from home office is on the top floor. The house is a modern UK construction with more hollow plasterboard walls and very few concrete walls. Due to the layout of the house, the Fibre terminates by our front door and this is where the router is located, centre but front of the house. Unfortunately there was no better option to get the Telco engineer to locate the termination point without having fibre
cable being visibly and carefully laid around the house. It's hard to now retrospectively find a central location to locate a router and lay a cabled backhaul though this would have been my preference.

Devices wise, we mainly have 2.4ghz or 5ghz devices that are mostly WiFi 5 compatible. Maybe a phone or two and a laptop that support WiFi6 but not 6E let alone WiFi7. We have a number of smart devices around the house... Wireless printers, Smart TV, wireless soundbar, smart speakers/assistant, thermostat, plugs. bulbs etc etc. so we need a router that can manage all those.

We are a household of three including an 8 year old child. We currently don't do any gaming and don't have a console but may get one in the next couple of years but don't see ourselves as hardcore gamers. I work from home and need reliable and fast access to Teams video calls and office 365 incl OneDrive and Teams files. The 150mbit connection feels more than sufficient for our needs for now but as prices come down over the years and needs increase, we could move to a much faster connection e.g. 500mbps, 1gbps.

TIA for your help!

[Assistant]
RazzMatazz00 said:
Hi all, I'm looking for some help in choosing a new router specifically from the ASUS range.

I am looking for something that will operate in isolation (not having to use multiple routers and mesh networking).

The main aim of the new router is better reach and speed of the WiFi signal around the house. I work from home on the second floor of the house (ground, first, second) and at the moment I get a weak signal in my office and the speed peaks out at 40mbit on 2.4ghz and 70mbit on 5ghz.
Click to expand...

I feel like you're setting yourself up for failure with this framing of your requirements. The dirty secret of wifi range is that it's largely determined by your client devices not your router. If I'm reading wikipedia correctly, under UK regulations your router is allowed to have transmit power up to 200mW (23dBm). But phones, laptops, etc typically only transmit 15-30mW (12-15dBm). It does no good for the clients to hear the router's signal if the router can't hear the clients, so it's mostly the clients' Tx power that determines how far away things will work well.

So in the context of what you're doing, I fear that just replacing one router with another isn't going to get you much. The real fix for your poor-wifi-upstairs problem is going to be another AP (router) placed closer to those clients. It would be best if you can run an ethernet cable to that AP, but if you can't then you'll have to settle for mesh. (Unless ... is the house wired for cable TV by any chance? If you can repurpose cable-TV coax for MoCA, that's a very decent second choice.)

Given your other comments about the speeds of your client devices and ISP connection, you're not going to get value-for-money out of a top-of-the-line router anyway. Buy something cheaper that you can afford two of, and make sure it's models that are optimized for meshing.

tgl said:
Given your other comments about the speeds of your client devices and ISP connection, you're not going to get value-for-money out of a top-of-the-line router anyway. Buy something cheaper that you can afford two of, and make sure it's models that are optimized for meshing.
To be concrete ... I don't know what prices you're looking at in the UK, but in the US I see these prices on Amazon:
RT-AX88U Pro $260
RT-BE92U $300
XT8 2-pack: $263
XT9 2-pack: $263
I feel a bit queasy recommending the XT8s, because I had a not very impressive experience with them two years ago. But Asus has had two years to fix the firmware, and I don't think they're selling the v1 hardware anymore either. So probably those'd be fine. I have no experience with the XT9s; maybe someone else here can comment on them. In any case, if you want Asus gear I think you'll be best off with two or more units of one of the Zenwifi models, rather than a single top-of-the-line model. You need coverage, not top drag race speed.

@tgl many many thanks for your time and the detailed and honest response. I'm glad I gave all the context as I feel it have you better context to give a better answer.

Would the more superior beamforming on the routers I've mentioned really not help my situation? As you said, for the router to better hear the relatively quiet client devices upstairs?

Also thinking about the point you raised, I get the full 30mbit upstream speed around the house, it's just the downstream speeds that drop off pretty quickly. Surely low broadcast power client devices would more impact the upstream speeds rather than the downstream speeds?

Just FYI the prices in the UK for the different models as follows:
88u Pro -£246
92u - £260
X8 pair - £330
X9 pair -£380

I need to check whether the X8/9 will give the parental controls I need.

Alternatively can I get a lower end main router and pair with a single X8/9 unit to create the mesh. Though I think a single X8/9 unit seems like it's quite expensive :-O (~£200?).


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Service after the sale!

As one knows, service after the sale is important with any purchase that involves a warranty. I have been around the block with Asus, Netgear and now TP-Link. With Netgear it's a horror show past the 1st 90 days, Asus customer service is now at a low point and they don't even try to provide customer satisfaction and support.
For the 1st time I have had to use tp-link support for a hardware related issue. It was seamless, a very positive experience and an RMA issued within 2 days. Keep this in mind on your next purchase and who you give your $$$ to. If you have to fight for warranty service, F$&kem.

[Assistant]
If I was TP-Link and the US government was considering banning the sale of TP-Link products in the US market, I would start a social media PR campaign online to bolster public opinion of TP-Link.

Service before the sale is marketing!

OE

Interesting thing about PR: TikTok started having TV ads here in Canada, as of a few weeks ago.

And their PR army is dropping the F-bomb in the same breath... very not classy, TP-Link.

OE


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Need WiFi 6 router with native support for modifying it's DNS server config

This is sort of a double (or triple) post but greatly simplified,

I need a router with WiFi 6 support that has the ability to add CNAME records to its DNS server. I assume (based completely on wishful thinking) that a router natively running OpenWrt or DD-WRT has a way for users to configure its DNS server. Am I dreaming? I know that the Merlin firmware for ASUS routers has this support - I'm using it right now - but I would rather be using a router running native firmware. I'm using my ASUS router (RT-AX86U) and the Merlin firmware on;y because of the support for DNS server customization. Otherwise, bit the router and firmware are overkill for my needs.

The recent more extensive posting is here.

[Assistant]
Keep your AX86U and flash the Asus firmware. Get a Raspberry Pi (Pi 3b+ works well) and set up Pi-Hole. It has the ability to use CNAME. You can also use an old PC running Linux of some sort. Then set the Asus router to use the Pi-Hole (LAN-DHCP Server-DNS Server 1). Less than a $50 investment.

Adding another device to my configuration isn't part of my simplification scheme. And I don't speak Linux. Setting up a separate DNS server on a Raspberry Pi is probably more than I want to handle right now (regardless of how straightforward it may seen to you).

I do have a couple NAS devices - one Synology & one QNAP - that can run a DNS server so I guess I could look into that ... although I would have to give it a static IP address.

A bonehead question: I'm currently pointing my ASUS router's DNS setting to 1.1.1.1 and 9.9.9.9. Are those used round-robin or is 9.9.9.9 a backup? If I have an external DNS server living on 192.168.50.2 (pointing to 1.1.1.1 and 9.9.9.9) and had my router pointing to 192.169.50.2 and 9.9.9.9 would the router use 192.168.50.2 whenever it was available or would half the unchached requests go to 9999?

A bonehead question #2: Are IPv4 and IPv6 completely separate in the AX86U, or would me external DNS server have implement both IPv4 and IPv6 DNS support? (I know the two functions are specified separately in Merlin, but I don't know about the ASUS native support.)

Patrick9876 said:
Adding another device to my configuration isn't part of my simplification scheme. And I don't speak Linux. Setting up a separate DNS server on a Raspberry Pi is probably more than I want to handle right now (regardless of how straightforward it may seen to you).

I do have a couple NAS devices - one Synology & one QNAP - that can run a DNS server so I guess I could look into that ... although I would have to give it a static IP address.

A bonehead question: I'm currently pointing my ASUS router's DNS setting to 1.1.1.1 and 9.9.9.9. Are those used round-robin or is 9.9.9.9 a backup? If I have an external DNS server living on 192.168.50.2 (pointing to 1.1.1.1 and 9.9.9.9) and had my router pointing to 192.169.50.2 and 9.9.9.9 would the router use 192.168.50.2 whenever it was available or would half the unchached requests go to 9999?

A bonehead question #2: Are IPv4 and IPv6 completely separate in the AX86U, or would me external DNS server have implement both IPv4 and IPv6 DNS support? (I know the two functions are specified separately in Merlin, but I don't know about the ASUS native support.)
Click to expand...
Not good to mix DNS upstream resolvers. 1.1.1.1 is Cloudflare and not filtered. 9.9.9.9 is Quad9 and is filtered.
Better to use 1.1.1.2 and 1.0.0.2 Cloudflare Security or 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112 which is Quad9

Neither setup is roundrobin unless you have DoT set up with Stubby or use the Asus built in DoT.

Setting up a Raspberry Pi is easy. And so is Pi-Hole. Plenty of how to's on the web.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Need help with building mesh system

Hi. I got 1Gbps fiber and I'm trying to build home network from scratch because I currently have ASUS TUF-AX5400 as the main router connecting via PPPoE and an TP-Link Archer C6 v2 (abandoned by TP-Link) as AP on second floor and with that 4 different wifi networks and I want to do a single mesh 5ghz network at home with good coverage + two separate 2.4ghz SSIDs for my Roborock vacuum cleaners on both floors.

Concept posted above with already owned ASUS router in mind if it didnt load for somebody:
Code:
https://imgur.com/a/JjpADdA
And heres my previous little concept with TP-Link:

At first I wanted to buy four TP-Link Archer AX53 routers (the second revision because it supports ethernet backhaul since then), but the more I read about it I don't think it will work as planned.

I don't know if it will simultaneously work with ethernet backhaul between the two units and the third one via wifi backhaul + from what I read the one on second floor would have to be hooked up as a router and not an Access Point because EasyMesh won't work on AP mode. Well but if I hook it up as a second router I guess it will collide with the first unit on first floor and it will cause "double NAT" or something like that?
ASUS on the other hand is supossed to work within its AiMesh while on AP mode.

I looked at TP-Link Deco X50 4pcs as well - in theory this thing could probably meet almost all my requirements but im not sure. I don't know if one of these dummies is capable of serving as the main router or if I still need to have some kind of additional modem beforehand. My next gripe with it is that each piece has only 3 ports so if one is used for ethernet backhaul then I am left with only two ports and on second floor I want to connect 3 devices via ethernet.

TP-Link could not have messed up more with these Mesh systems.... OneMesh, EasyMesh, Deco and Omada. And together they of course don't want to cooperate as one mesh environment + TP-Link loves to make a lot of revisions of one model and abandon completely the older one as it happened with mine.

Maybe i shouldnt get rid of my ASUS TUF AX5400 and build network with AiMesh from ASUS in mind? ASUS would give me use for my existing router + a lot more customization than TP-Link but from I read here and there ASUS handles roaming within Mesh worse than other brands.

My knowledge on networking is limited and I'm completely lost at this point.

Im from Europe (Poland) and TP-Link dominates the market here, any ASUS is easy to get too but maybe I should buy some other kit from another company? Something that would be available from any EU Amazon if i need to buy outside my country.

The budget is not rigid but I would prefer to stay below 500€ for everything

Thats a lot of read so thank you in advance for your help and I'm more than willing to paypal some beer money to the person who gets me through this mess.

[Assistant]
tiddlywink said:
1. Asus router #1 as router
2. Asus router #2 as wired node
3. ASUS TUF AX5400 as wired node

Thank you very much for your reply!
My TUF AX5400 is nearing its warranty period, I think I will get rid of it, either sell it or RMA it.

Currently im thinking about buying:
#1 AX88U Pro as main router on first floor.
#2 AX88U Pro on second floor as wired AiMesh node.
#3 RT-AX52 as wireless AiMesh node on first floor
#4 Second RT-AX52 as wireless AiMesh node on first floor
#5 Third RT-AX52 as wireless AiMesh node just outside the house for garden coverage.

I dont think i wanna splurge on WIFI 7 routers, i dont even have a single device capable of utilizing it + from what i can read firmware of these routers still have some teething issues, not sure if thats still true tho.
Single BE88u goes for whopping ~374€ in my country.

AX88U Pro goes for ~257€, while one of the newest and cheapest ASUS routers RT-AX52 goes for 47€.
Single AX88U Pro should be enough for coverage of whole second floor, walls are thinner there.
But on the first floor AX88U Pro definitely wont be enough so im thinking about adding RT-AX52 at the center as AiMesh wireless node, second RT-AX52 also in that mode at the most distant corner of the house from the #1 AX88U Pro and lastly third RT-AX52 just outside the house also as wireless AiMesh node.

Im thinking about ordering all these 5 devices on monday. I can always return all of them within 14 days if this wont work.

What do you think?

What are the building dimensions and what are the 1) interior wall construction and 2) exterior wall construction ?
If you have windows facing the garage/back area, many times you can get adequate wifi coverage through the window.

These consumer units are designed to blast out RF, so having 4 covering 2 floors may be too much and can make it worse, particularly for the 2.4 GHz band. 5GHz will penetrate 1 gypsum sheet wall, won't do well going through 2 walls.

If you are turning off 2.4 GHz on two of the units, ok, can work, particularly if using ethernet backhaul. You may have to turn off the 5GHz radios on the two units devoted to 2.4 GHz service, however. Depends on wall/obstacle layout and construction and where all 4 units are placed.

fknz said:
Currently im thinking about buying

This is an expensive dead-end experiment. Go full UniFi or Omada and forget about disposable consumer hardware with perpetual beta firmware. AiMesh with so many nodes - disaster.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: AP recommendation - replace AC68U in AP mode dropping "guest" network

Currently running a Asus AC68U in AP mode (merlin latest) connected via ethernet to RPi 4 running openWRT. I did so as an experiment and to learn - been running this configuration for sometime but have started to have issues with the 68U dropping activity on one of the channels - specifically the guest channel (I realize that this is just a separate channel and not isolated)
Not sure if this is an issue with the router in AP mode, onset of hardware issues or firmware conflict (openwrt - Asus)

With the understanding its best to have proper hardware for the application I thought I'd look at a dedicated AP to replace the AC68U.
As i'm new to all this - what should I look for and any particular recommendations? my wifi needs revolve around wifi 5 & 6 devices - up to 10 devices (phones, laptops, ipad, firesticks, TV) - I do not have PoE but I could replace my current switch but this would be an added cost obviously. with the AC68U i get coverage (small home - 1000 sq ft) RPi is in the utility room with the the AC68U centrally located.

[Assistant]
I use a nwa210ax with a poe injector. On the lan I can hit 1.7gbps with the right parts and configuration. Just ordered Wi-Fi 7 to play with though. The ax though is fairly cheap at about $130.

i don't believe that Asus uses a separate radio for "guest" SSIDs. You should be seeing the same issue for devices on that radio (2.4 GHZ or 5GHz or both). If not, maybe an issue with the RF environment - interference, reduced signal, etc. or the client device. Many times the plug in power transformer wears out and starts to not supply correct amount of current. These can be replaced. Other times the radio starts to fail.

So use a POE++ injector or whatever is specified by the AP ( it does matter that you have enough power) . TPLink Omada are reasonable as well. CISCO 150AX APs are solid as well. A POE++ injector should be around 30-40 $. No need to replace your switch unless you just want to. IF you do, make sure the port power and the total available power exceed what is required by the AP.

degrub said:
Many times the plug in power transformer wears out and starts to not supply correct amount of current. These can be replaced. Other times the radio starts to fail.

That was my thought as well...

Considering the age of the AC68U, might consider replacement...


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Asus AX-GT6000 vs TP-Link EAP 670

Hello,

I've been browsing your great forum for some time now and I really appreciate seeing the relevant advice given on different subjects.
You can tell that people have experience with products, which is increasingly rare on the Internet.

Details :

Me, the user: computer enthusiast, developer by profession. I'm precise and demanding about what I want, without losing too much money.

My house: modern house (2020) - 150m², 1 ground floor + 1 upper floor with concrete in between.
I have cat 5e ethernet ports in every room.
+- 20 wifi clients and +- 5 wired clients.
Outside, I have a 3x Netatmo Presence camera. Good device, but disastrous wifi reception.
To give an example, a TP Link RE650 at 3-4m outdoors with no objects in between, the camera is only at 3 bars out of 4 at wifi level.

My internet :
download = 100mbps
upload = 40mbps

A bit more context:
I'm well aware that my internet is weak, so the product's performance will be used mainly
for transfers between my synology (10gbs) and pc clients (2.5gbs)
I appreciate Asus products for their quality and a little less for their firmware, but thank you Merlin for the good job.
Thanks to this forum, I've already been able to decide on the GT-AX6000, which I've been using for over a year now, and it's a real winner.
I recently tested some deco xe75s, good range but not enough performance compared to the asus.
I'm currently testing the eap 670 (with omada controller under docker) and I'm impressed by the product's speed.
I know I'll need 1 device per floor to be very comfortable.
I've already had 2 AX-92U, nice performance for the size of the product but totally unreliable (client disconnection) even with the Gnuton firmware.

My problem/need:

- have as few devices as possible (stop repeater for these cameras)
- have performance of at least 70MBytes - 80MBytes everywhere
- That it costs me as little as possible.

Solutions:

A) add a GT-AX6000 upstairs and put it in aimesh with the one downstairs.
But I'm afraid / not confident of stability.
Do you have experience aimesh with 2x Asus GT-AX6000?
The format makes it complicated to hide in a room.
And I'm stuck for outdoor solutions (even if I don't necessarily need them).
In terms of cost, I can find this device second-hand for 150€.

B) add an EAP 670 upstairs and put it in onemesh + an EAP225 (for the cameras) outside also in onemesh
In terms of cost, I'm looking at a minimum of 150€ + 80€ = 230€ (and I haven't counted the 150€ for the 1st).

Conclusions :
Solution B seems to me to be the most upgradeable, but also the most expensive.
Whereas solution A is affordable for me, but if the stability isn't there, I've made a bad choice and I'll have to change it anyway.

So I'm coming to you to take your advice and see what you think

Thank in advance

[Assistant]
The AP solution should provide better coverage. I just picked up an eap783 and wbe660s to play with. However, my nwa210ax has been good for the past couple of years.

drousch said:
- That it costs me as little as possible.

Another GT-AX6000 router in AiMesh then and it is what it is. You basically excluded all better options with this requirement.

Thank you for your answers

Tech Junky said:
The AP solution should provide better coverage. I just picked up an eap783 and wbe660s to play with. However, my nwa210ax has been good for the past couple of years.
Personally with the EAP 670 the coverage is a little bit less good.

Tech9 said:
Another GT-AX6000 router in AiMesh then and it is what it is. You basically excluded all better options with this requirement.
Do you think I'm eliminating good solutions because of price?
The question would be, is AIMesh really reliable?


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Looking for WiFi 6/6e/7 router with multi-gig LAN ports

Hey all, first time posting here.

I'm currently using my ISP's gateway because it was a pain to put it into PPPoE passthrough mode. However I'm switching ISP in the near future where they'll have a separate ONT modem unit so I thought this was a good opportunity to get a new router. At the moment I only have an old ASUS RT-AC66U B1.

I found a tutorial on this forum about how to set up PPPoE login on the new ISP and my understanding is that I need something that can set up VLANs. There are other ISPs serving my area that offer 1.5Gbps and 3Gbps intenet plans so I'd like a 2.5G+ WAN port. My internal LAN is set up for 2.5G so I need at least one 2.5G LAN port. I suppose I could link aggregate 1G ports, but I don't believe my unmanaged 2.5G switch supports link aggregation. My new internet service will be 1Gbps/750Mbps, and I live in an apartment. With my current ISP's provided WiFi 6e router, I have no issues with coverage. I don't have any WiFi 7 devices at the moment, but I may be getting a new phone in the new year which would presumably have WiFi 7.

Don't have a hard budget, but I'd like to spend less than C$350.

In short, my requirements are:
- VLANs
- 2.5G or faster WAN port
- One or more 2.5G LAN port (though I suppose I could get a managed 2.5G switch for link aggregation, but at that point I might as well buy a more expensive router)
- Capable of gigabit internet, preferably capable of up to 3Gbps fibre internet
- Only 2 users so probably 2-5 devices in use at any time
- WiFi 7 would be nice, but I think WiFi 6/6e is totally adequate for my needs

Here are a few options I found:
ASUS RT-AX88U Pro - C$279.98
Dual-band WiFi 6 AX6000
1x 2.5G WAN port
1x 2.5G LAN port

TP-Link BE9300 Archer BE550 - C$284.97
Tri-band WiFi 7 BE9300
1x 2.5G WAN port
4x 2.5G LAN ports (!!!)
Reviews seem to indicate this has middling performance across the board, but it is one of the cheapest Tri-band WiFi 7 routers I could find. Would probably have worse WiFi 6/5 performance than the RT-AX88U Pro.

GL-inet Flint 2 - C$168.29
Dual-band WiFi 6 AX6000
1x 2.5G WAN port
1x 2.5G WAN/LAN port
I had never heard of this company before but they seem to focus on using their routers as VPN clients which I would not be interested in. Seems to be good value for a WiFi 6 router with dual 2.5G ports though.

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Pro - C$399.99
Tri-band WiFi 6 AX11000
1x 10G WAN/LAN port
1x 2.5G WAN/LAN port

ASUS RT-BE96U - C$629.99
Tri-band WiFi 7 BE19000
1x 10G WAN/LAN port
1x 10G LAN port
This is way more money than I want to spend though.

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 EVA Edition - $299.98
Dual-band WiFi 6 AX6000
1x 2.5G WAN/LAN port
1x 2.5G LAN port
Cool Neon Genesis Evangelion design

The TP-Link Archer BE550 is attractive with the huge number of 2.5G ports and WiFi 7, but speeds are a downer. I would like a WiFi 6e router, but there don't seem to be a whole lot of WiFi 6e products with dual 2.5G ports on the market. The GL-inet Flint 2 is so much cheaper than all the others that I'm leaning towards that one, but I don't know anything about the company. I think I would rather pay an extra $110-130 for the RT-AX88U Pro or the ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 EVA edition.

Are there any other options I should check out? Should I really go for a WiFi 7 router instead?

[Assistant]
kyrilsindermann said:
ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 EVA edition

You REALLY want this thing??

kyrilsindermann said:
GL.iNet GL-MT6000 Flint 2
I had never heard of this company before but they seem to focus on using their routers as VPN clients

This one is excellent for OpenWrt in case you are interested in open-source firmware. The stock firmware is OpenWrt based with quite nice custom UI on top, vanilla OpenWrt image is available. In my opinion - best price/performance and the support may be longer than everything else on your list.

I got an Asus BE92 about 10 days ago. WAN port is 10G, 4 LAN ports are 2.5G. WiFi 7 gives you MLO if you have WiFi 7 clients.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Maintenance free, reliable and hopefully cheap router with WLAN?

My mom would need a new router (with RJ-45 WAN socket) that also has basic WLAN.

So nothing fancy is needed.
(But as her condition is getting weaker we have now installed some smart machines to her - so can remotely monitor some things... ex. latest new fridge/freezer - so don't leave door open)
Just now noticed, her current router to be very outdated... So am thinking to get a newer one...

But as can't visit her on regular basis even - it needs to be quite maintenance free... But still I would like it to be reliable and safe...
So got any recommendations on affordable models I could look for?

[Assistant]
There is a similar question on the first page of this sub forum.

Best wireless router for reliablity
I need a new wireless router for my mom, and reliability is a priority since I'm hours away. The only other requirements are at least Wifi 6 and 4 LAN ports. Ideas?
www.snbforums.com

If you can't visit her on a regular basis - ISP provided Gateway.

Years ago, i installed a pair of AC68U (one upstairs, one down, ethernet backhaul over powerline) behind the ISP router(wireless off) to provide wireless connectivity for a set of Amazon Echo Show 8s so that i could video talk and check up on aging parents anywhere in the house. Stock firmware. So far no real issues although the Amazon occasional advert or triggering of Alexa have led to some confusion due to dementia. The built in mic and speaker is an advantage although there are probably consumer security cameras with same now.

i agree with above, if the ISP gateway is enough, then that should be the least complicated and most reliable. And ISP can service for you if the folks there can handle the intrusion.

Something to consider is something like the Google Nest WiFi mesh kits if needs are basic as Google updates the firmware on a regular basis, they're pretty much plug and play, and you can manage them remotely thru the Google Home App.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: BE88U vs BE86U: is the 88U worth the little but extra money?

Hi,

As I see it, the 88U has more 2.4 GHz throughput and 2 GB RAM instead of 1. I’m just not sure if I will notice that..

The wifi capacity seems plenty high on both models.. and what will more RAM even do on a router? (Planning to use Merlin). Is it worth it paying 40 euros more for the 88 in your opinion?

Sorry if the English is bad,

Thanks!

[Assistant]
There's a few BE88U reviews kicking about and not as many for the BE86U.

Think the BE88U has issues but these could be fixed via updates.

Is the 86 newer? Since there aren’t reviews?

Thanks for the video I’ll check it out

I was in the same dilemma as you. Ended up getting the BE86U on Black Friday as it was much cheaper here and I didn't need the extra LAN ports.
Read this good article where the author touch on this topic:

https://dongknows.com/asus-rt-be86u-be6800-wi-fi-7-router-review/


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: 2.4 GHz WiFi - Asus router for 50+ simultaneously connected devices

Hi guys, As the title says, I am looking for an Asus router for 50+ simultaneously connected devices on 2.4 GHz WiFi network.
Can you suggest a quality and affordable (~250 €) solution?
Now I am using Asus RT-AC3200, which is limited to 25 simultaneously connected devices on 2.4 GHz WIFI.
Any advice is welcome.

[Assistant]
Look for business class High Density (HD) access point instead.

@Tech9: What do you think about this: TP-Link EAP620 HD
I think it will meet my needs.?

I don't know what place you are going to be using it at, what coverage area is expected and will it be enough for your devices. It is a high density AP with theoretical number of clients >1000, but the real number depends on what the clients are doing. 2.4GHz band is mostly limited to 20MHz channel width. This means all your 2-stream clients will share up to about 90Mbps throughput. Clients like IoT with 1-stream radio will share about 50Mbps. The best strategy is using multiple radios (APs) on low power and on different Wi-Fi channels. Especially if client number expansion is expected.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Routers with 1) configurable QoS with hw acceleration at 1Gbps and 2) multiple vlans?

Hi I’m upgrading from an ASUS GT-AX11000 Pro. I have two requirements: 1) it needs to allow multiple VLANs or guest WiFi networks and 2) it needs to have adaptive QoS at speeds of 800Mbps with hardware acceleration. Any suggestions?

I don’t care about WiFi capabilities much.

(I’ve tried Merlin WRT on my current Asus but it disables hw accel + QoS at > ~300Mbps. Also I have guest network WiFi issues with bandwidth limiting QoS.)

[Assistant]
ssm1234 said:
I don’t care about WiFi capabilities much.
Then get a separate x86 machine to do the routing and firewalling and run pfSense, OPNsense, FreeBSD or Linux on it. No ASUS WiFi router is going to measure up in terms of those speeds and advanced VLAN capabilities.

Interesting. Would you suggest any forums or howtos on the x86 approach?

Initially, I would suggest installing OPNsense or OpenWrt on an x86 box.

Home Network Guy produces some good videos for OPNsense.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: 6ghz reinforced concrete wall penetration

I'm deciding between the GT-BE98 and RT-BE88U routers.

Currently, my 5GHz Wi-Fi signal strength is around -65 to -60 dBm. How well would a 6GHz Wi-Fi signal perform when trying to penetrate reinforced concrete walls—the kind that requires a rotary hammer drill to make a hole?

[Assistant]
worse. you would need openings with line of sight.

chris13 said:
I'm deciding between the GT-BE98 and RT-BE88U routers.

Currently, my 5GHz Wi-Fi signal strength is around -65 to -60 dBm. How well would a 6GHz Wi-Fi signal perform when trying to penetrate reinforced concrete walls—the kind that requires a rotary hammer drill to make a hole?

As frequency increases, wavelength decreases... AI is your friend on this one:

"Shorter wavelengths travel less distance because they have a higher frequency, which means they are more easily absorbed or scattered by obstacles in their path, leading to a quicker loss of energy and a shorter travel range compared to longer wavelengths with lower frequencies that can penetrate further through mediums like air or water."

WiFi-7/6GHz is not going to solve our concrete/masonry problem and only makes our clear air problem worse.

OE

Here's some actual data for you, taken from WiFi Explorer on a MacBook, reading signal strength from UniFi U6 Enterprise APs:

closest AP (same room, maybe 12ft away):
5GHz: -40 dBm
6GHz: -34 dBm

next closest AP (perhaps 30ft, two drywall-on-steel-studs walls to penetrate):
5GHz: -79 dBm
6GHz: -74 dBm

furthest AP (perhaps 60ft, 3 walls and a concrete elevator shaft to penetrate):
5GHz: -88 dBm
6GHz: -93 dBm

(The numbers bounce around a few dB, but these are pretty representative.)
The APs are all set on 12 dBm Tx power for 5GHz and 18 dBm Tx power for 6GHz, so that accounts for higher 6GHz readings from the closer APs. I do get a just-usable connection to the middle AP from where I'm sitting, but the furthest one is not usable from here in either band.

tl;dr: 6GHz doesn't go through elevator shafts worth a darn, but then again 5GHz isn't good at it either. If you're getting 60-65 in 5GHz now, I don't think 6GHz is going to work well for you. You'd need to install another, closer AP.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Asus AX56U upgrade to AX86U or AX88U worth it?

I am considering upgrading my current Asus AX56U to either the AX86U or AX88U, but I'm not sure if this is really worth doing.

I've had the AX56U for a few years now and it's been great. I even have a second one in my garage purely as an AP. I find sometimes it slows down and takes a while for pages to load etc. I have a few things tunning on the router like AdGuard, so maybe it isn't quite powerful enough. I've also moved the router to the other side of a brick wall which has impacted the WiFI signal strength, so something with better range is also a bonus.

I changed to a GL.iNET MT-6000 OpenWRT router, but I'm really struggling to get IPTV to work, and I'm not a massive fan of the OpenWRT 'Luci' GUI. I wish I could get Merlin on this router and I'd be more than happy to keep it!

Is there another router I should consider that I am overlooking? I just want it to run my IPTV multicast service from my ISP, AdGuard, and a few guest networks. Nothing too fancy. I think I'm maybe asking a little bit too much of the AX56U. Appreciate any suggestions. Thank you!

[Assistant]
Sorry just to add further to this, what do the 'Pro' variants add? Are they worth the additional premium? Thanks

Pro gives you a newer platform = longer time before EoL, and it gives you VLAN configuration. Hardware specs can be found online. (FW 3.0.0.6 has network templates to help config new networks; don't know if 3.0.0.4 has the same.)

poolbeetse7en said:
Sorry just to add further to this, what do the 'Pro' variants add?

Non-Pro versions are still supported, but discontinued. There is no new units anymore, only old stock, returned or used. RT-AX86U is 2020 model, RT-AX88U is 2018 model. They will reach End-of-Life first. Get the newer RT-AX86U Pro or RT-AX88U Pro instead with 3006 (Asuswrt 5.0) support.