ASUS - RT-AX88U PRO

That’s the one I have, but I’m not up on networking so I’m sure I’m using very little of its capabilities.

Get an Asus RT-AX88U Pro router. It will meet and exceed all of your requirements.

2nd this. Have one running my home. Everything works all the time, plus 2.5gb ports for future speed upgrades.

No issues. I use some ax1800s for wired mesh points but the 88 is my main router still.

You're going to have a hard time finding multiple multi-gig output devices as many people do not have multiple multi-gig clients to utilize those speeds. 98% of home equipment is still gigabit or less on the Ethernet port. I'd recommend looking for a device with 1 multi-gig output LAN and then purchase a multi-gig switch with it. For example, I have the Asus AX-88u Pro with 1 2.5g WAN and 1 2.5g LAN. I have a 2.5g 5 port switch off the LAN to feed my access points.

You're going to have a hard time finding multiple multi-gig output devices as many people do not have multiple multi-gig clients to utilize those speeds. 98% of home equipment is still gigabit or less on the Ethernet port. I'd recommend looking for a device with 1 multi-gig output LAN and then purchase a multi-gig switch with it. For example, I have the Asus AX-88u Pro with 1 2.5g WAN and 1 2.5g LAN. I have a 2.5g 5 port switch off the LAN to feed my access points.

Good router, but for a few dollars more you can get the AX88U Pro. That one replaced 2 Aimesh routers in my condo.

Asus RT-AX88U is the best router I’ve owned and I just keep linking them together in an air mesh for complete home coverage as we moved in different homes over the years.

Asus aimesh with RT-AX88U pro as a main router, combined with two satellites works fine for me

ASUS RT-AX88U PROASUS RT-AX88U PRO is about $219 on sale right now. Check amazon. [https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-RT-AX88U-Extendable-Rangeboost-Subscription-Free/dp/B0BTTY7QFH/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=3KNJNFMJJCAR5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1\_iAT0vzbt23Ab0d7Y-YfeRFfEs7x8\_L\_QgejDrABaHhbqUmcCHTNdENtLPdgfb1Z1CWrR923Orttk5SWX-MGGy3YnC4CBKVCE0sCqvVeCJDYphQnsj73a8fm5JAH4GT\_sqXISgsftjACzGHal5TQPa1o-w-jzclQ6TGG3Q\_SPnnhaS7dePX03hwK606hYruE2H9Zw-D2lLQAN2fLBueeyU6w0U\_kSqlu10DQMBZV9s.PfbtjZGjbdJ4uA7Xehqg8Yzr0tpSA50aJ6eO\_SjfJo0&dib\_tag=se&keywords=ASUS+RT-AX88U+PRO&qid=1725450128&sprefix=asus+rt-ax88u+pro%2Caps%2C136&sr=8-1](https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-RT-AX88U-Extendable-Rangeboost-Subscription-Free/dp/B0BTTY7QFH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3KNJNFMJJCAR5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1_iAT0vzbt23Ab0d7Y-YfeRFfEs7x8_L_QgejDrABaHhbqUmcCHTNdENtLPdgfb1Z1CWrR923Orttk5SWX-MGGy3YnC4CBKVCE0sCqvVeCJDYphQnsj73a8fm5JAH4GT_sqXISgsftjACzGHal5TQPa1o-w-jzclQ6TGG3Q_SPnnhaS7dePX03hwK606hYruE2H9Zw-D2lLQAN2fLBueeyU6w0U_kSqlu10DQMBZV9s.PfbtjZGjbdJ4uA7Xehqg8Yzr0tpSA50aJ6eO_SjfJo0&dib_tag=se&keywords=ASUS+RT-AX88U+PRO&qid=1725450128&sprefix=asus+rt-ax88u+pro%2Caps%2C136&sr=8-1) This has a 2.5G wan, and 2.5G lan, and 4x 1G lan ports as well. Its a fantastic router for that price.

The AX-88U Pro is a very good router, I have one and it easily covers an almost 4000 sq ft home. I would go with that over a mediocre WiFi 7 router.

Your Asus should be setup as WDS bridge, since you are not WiFi signal out of reach on the other end of house, WDS bridge is to use the router's WiFi to get the signal from source and then allow the ethernet network behind to join as the same network. If you run in repeater mode you are generating another WiFi signal in short distance which might interfere original signal if channel setting not correct. By using WDS bridge, your Asus AX88U Pro can connect using all 4 antennae to form a much faster wireless backhaul without interfering others (it's operating as client) [https://www.asus.com/support/faq/109839/](https://www.asus.com/support/faq/109839/)

I dont think so at all, RT-AX88U Pro is a beast compared to this, it has 4x4 2.4 and 5 GHz which is superior to this router. it boils down to whether you really need WiFI-7 and the 6ghz freq . i will be waiting for couple more years before upgrading from RT-AX88U Pro.

# ASUS RT-AX88U does pretty much everything you could want it to do for cheap

# ASUS RT-AX88U does pretty much everything you could want it to do for cheap

I went to help a family friend set up their wifi mesh, brought 3 RT AX88s, they could not be linked. It seems that some old houses have used it for structural purposes and it really blocks the signals

I like ASUS for consumer needs like yours. They have gaming features, but they're gimmicks. Look at the Asus RT-BE88U for a larger router, or the RT-BE86U for a bit smaller. These are the wifi 7 models which you may not need ot want. You can find the Wifi 6 models as RT-AX88U and RT-AX86U respectively on Amazon. They have some other models as well. I wouldn't pay a premium for any TUF or ROG branded "gaming" routers, the others do the same thing.

I’ve not paid any attention to the fork of the firmware you’re using, so I may be talking from left field, but my rt-ax88u pro running the Merlin firmware has the capability of 3-4 guest networks *per band* of wifi; for you, I would make one for your cameras, and another for everything else “smart” on 2.4ghz within the mesh. If you’re running with wifi at its highest level according to the slider on the wireless setups page, turn it down on both the router and the node and see how things go. Live with these changes for a number of days to see if it’s making your connection more reliable, and then decide if you need to engage QoS.

As others have said, use their modem and buy a router. I like Asus. I run the RT-AX88U Pro. I have gig service. You could go with a less expensive model on a lower speed tier.

Give the Asus RT-AX86U Pro or RT-AX88U Pro a look. I am in US but both I checked Amazon UK and verified both are available with Prime Day savings. I currently have the AX86U and have 55+ client devices with much of the same things you have: Nest Devices - 9 Philips Hue Synology NAS Desktop PCs - 5 Laptop PCs - 5 Several Smart TVs, Rokus, gaming consoles, etc. You get the idea. I have a large home so I have additional APs but I disabled those just to see if the Asus could run everything and it could. Just this morning, I ordered an AX88U Pro. I am upgrading because it has a pair of 2.5G ports for WAN and LAN whereas the RT-AX86U only has one 2.5G port which can be either WAN or LAN. I have gigabit internet (speed tests upwards of 1100Mbts). My modem has a 2.5G port and all of my network switches are 2.5G. I have one family member who works from home 100% and I work from home 40%, so I need reliability and stability. Asus has never let me down. Best of luck to you.

Their modem and my own Asus RT-AX88U Pro router.

Their modem and my own Asus RT-AX88U Pro router.

I'm running an Asus RT-AX88U Pro with Merlin firmware and two Pi-holes. DNS Director in the Merlin firmware is awesome.

I have the 88u and the 88u pro. Thought I needed 8 ports but I've been lazy and could also use a switch if need more ports. Going to gift the 88u and keep the pro I guess, but weird thing when i enable dual Wan on the 88u it freaks out flashes like it's booting but never does. Needs to have reset and then dual wan is not enabled (which it seems it does not wish to work)

I have the 88u and the 88u pro. Thought I needed 8 ports but I've been lazy and could also use a switch if need more ports. Going to gift the 88u and keep the pro I guess, but weird thing when i enable dual Wan on the 88u it freaks out flashes like it's booting but never does. Needs to have reset and then dual wan is not enabled (which it seems it does not wish to work)

The RT-AX88U Pro has the more superior antenna setup for the 2.4 and 5.0 bands compared to the RT-BE92U. Unless you’re experiencing problems with the router or if you really wanted to upgrade to WiFi 7, you should stay with your current router, because the processing power is still beastly, which is something I wouldn’t say for the BE92U. And that is coming from a guy with two BE92U in AiMesh setup.

Currently using one. Has the same coverage of an Asus 88U Pro in my opinion. I have a UDR7 installed upstairs on one end of my home and have complete coverage upstairs and downstairs. It replaced two U6 Mesh. I had a UCG Max and two U6 Mesh and replaced them with one UDR7. And as a test, fired up the Asus I had and it’s the same coverage, for me that is. When I had the Asus running and switched to UniFi, one U6 Mesh wasn’t enough, so I had to have two of them to get the same coverage as the Asus. Now with the UDR7, I don’t need anything else. My home is roughly 2800 square feet and one UDR7 is providing complete coverage.

I had Asus + Merlin for years and many models, including the famous AX88U (loved Asus so much). Until recently that I moved to a bigger home with a lot more devices (~100 at peak), Asus lost its magic, and a lot of connection issues. I ended up completely rebuild my home with all Unifi

You should look at the Xfinity list of approved modems for your area. I'm using the Netgear CM2000 that I got used on eBay with Xfinity. It was on the list, works great, and has given me no trouble. I'm currently on the 300/20Mbps speed tier with Xfinity, but the CM2000 is pretty versatile. Does DOCSYS 3.1, and goes up to 2.33gigabits according to Xfinity. As far as routers go, I've had good results with Asus for some time now. Couple of nice Asus routers are the RT-AX88U Pro and the RT-BE96U routers. Personally, I have the RT-BE96U that works well with wifi-7 and MLO. I also have the GT-AX6000 which is the gaming version of the RT-AX88U Pro, same chip sets. Both of these provide great wireless, each one covers our whole house (2-story, 2000sq.ft.). The RT-BE96U provides slightly better wireless, but both are really good. No need for mesh for wireless here...used to have a mesh, but was able to replace that with a single router when I got the GT-AX6000. One of the things that I appreciate about Asus, in addition to the quality of their hardware, is that they support their products with new firmware for several years. They don't just put out a couple of bug fix firmware releases and then stop supporting their products, like some other manufacturers do :-).

Asus GT-AX6000 or RT-AX88U Pro. I have a 2000 sq. ft. home, and don't need a mesh with the GT-AX6000. The RT-AX88U Pro is the same hardware, but may be better on the spousal acceptance factor :-). At any rate, I get great coverage in my house with this single router. And it has some really good monitoring tools, QoS, and a system log. You also have the choice of third-party firmware (RMerlin) if you're looking for that. Won't use up your entire budget, though, only running around $260 on Amazon.

The RT-AX88U Pro is a solid router. It will give you good service as a wifi-6 router. I wouldn't worry about the tri-band models unless you have a LOT of clients or are going to use a wireless AiMesh. With a wireless AiMesh, tri-band routers are the best way to go, but I wouldn't recommend using a mesh unless you need it. If you do go mesh, don't use dual-band routers unless you have wired backhaul. If you do have wired backhaul, you can use dual-band routers. But again, I wouldn't use a mesh unless I had to. I have a GT-AX6000, which is very similar hardware to the RT-AX88U Pro, but it has that Asus gaming router look to it. The RT-AX88U Pro doesn't look like a space ship, like the gaming routers do :-). If the RT-AX88U Pro had come out before the GT-AX6000, I'd have the AX88U. The GT-AX6000 works really well, despite it's looks, whole house wireless coverage and it has been totally reliable. Highly recommended Asus models.

I have an rt-ax88u. Was in service all by itself in an approximately 2000 sq ft single level house on a quarter acre lot. Block house with frame and drywall interior. Had wifi throughout and into the yard. It did get very weak out by the road, but it stayed connected. Solid machine, and it still works fine, though it has been relegated to dumb switch duty.

Good Evening all, We currently have a BT Smart Hub 2, and are facing some dropping connections and occasional unreliability. I'm looking for a replacement WiFi Router that I can grab while prime day is on. Budget about £300 Some requirements or things that may help recommendations. Ide like it to have - parental controls - VPN (we use windscribe) - Qos (told it would be beneficial) We have about 35 devices connected. Philips Hue - Bridge - 12 Lights Google Nest - 5 devices Ring Alarm system - 5 Cameras - 7 Alarm devices 2 - Tvs 4 computer/Laptops 3 mobile phones 1 Xbox FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS - IPTV - Online gaming/streaming - Home business NAS We have a business run from home, kids watch streaming services and we do general social media etc. We have BT 900mb Internet. Any help would be massively appreciated. I thought ide found a good replacement TP Link BE550 but the redit reviews have put me off. Cheers

Thank you for taking the time for this absolutely comprehensive and thought out reply. I was indeed looking at the RT AX88U Pro and also the TP Link BE550 but I think the AC88U has won me over now thanks to your comments.

Yeah that also put me off the BE550, I went and got the RT AX88U Pro and it's been fantastic!

I have the same setup and it works perfectly. I even have some VPN spilt tunneling as well.

Was looking to see if anyone else got this upgrade, I upgraded from my old SB8200 and bought a Netgear CM3000 back in mid-June for the better upload speeds that were now available in my area with the Gigabit Extra. Literally just yesterday I just happened to check my bill because I upgraded to unlimited data in mid-July, and I just noticed this update, so I had NO IDEA that this happened. Sadly, with my Asus rt-ax88u router whilst using WAN aggregation, there is a significantly lower speed even when connected to my PC's Wi-Fi at 2.4gbps (PC is literally 3 feet away from router). I can hardly hit 1,200mbps down this way, so I direct connected the modem to my PC's 2.5gbps LAN, and now I am getting consistent 2000+Mbps down speeds. So my weak link is my router, which sucks because I really don't want to spend the money for a better one. I'm almost wondering if WAN aggregation combined with a PCIe dual 1Gbps LAN card with LAN aggregation support could get me much closer and would be far cheaper.

I have an Asus RT-AX88U and it's been good. I especially like that it has 8 ethernet ports on it since I prefer to use wired over wireless.

I have an RT-AX88U Pro, any reason why I should go upgrade away from this right now?

Everyone has their favorite brand, mine is Asus. Try looking for a used WiFi 6 one from Amazon resale from someone that may have upgraded to a WiFi 7, or look on FB or Ebay. I got a nice used one from Amazon that you can hardly tell was used. It was more than your price range, but I can also resell it for more $. For reference it was a RT-AX88u pro. You could go for a 86 which is little cheaper, but won't get both 2.5G ports which can get you 1140 vs 940 on the Gig plan, up to you if it's worth it.

Hey! With a $500 budget, you’ve got some awesome choices. For solid coverage (up to or beyond 5000 sq ft) and gigabit speeds, I’d go with a TP-Link Deco XE75 Pro mesh system Wi-Fi 6E, super reliable, and great range even into the garage.. If you prefer a single powerful router, the ASUS RT-AX88U or AX86U Pro are both solid picks. Fast, stable, and feature-packed. ASUS usually has better software than Netgear, in my experience.

Just went with an ASUS AX-88U Pro and I highly recommend it. It’ll easily handle the speeds you’re wanting and I found my signal to be much stronger.

What's your use case? Bit more info on your network and what you want to achieve. I have had my last 2 routers from Asus and been very happy with them. 1st was a tri-band and it got to everywhere my terrible TP-Link could not. Home is brick walled so i wanted something strong and the Asus worked well. 2 routers is 7 years. I upgraded late last year for wifi 6, the AX6000 i got is dual band and it's almost as far reaching as my previous one, nothing hasn't worked yet at least. The routers have good features for gaming/2.5gb ports for home networking etc. and i'm yet to have any issues with several things using bot 2.4 and 5ghz. Only issue that has recently popped up is same bad firmware updates, so just always have a config backup as i've had to use mine once or twice. In 3 months i've had 2 bad firmware updates. The first prevented iOS devices connecting to wifi, Asus patched it within 2 days though, i rolled back while i waited. The 2nd was this week, my config + new firmware were just not compatible, i thought the firmware bricked my router, but a factory reset showed it was fine, then as soon as i uploaded by config it would not work again. So I bit the bullet and set up the router again manually and took a new config backup. So far so good. But it's only been 3 days. This was firmware version 3.0.0.4.388\_33411 for anyone else reading this.

hi, got the Asus AX6000,really great performance and not so expensive.

I have this same router and it has been an absolute nightmare. It is constantly changing device IP addresses and assigning them incorrectly, causing repeated IP conflicts and kicking devices off of the network. I have tried every single config you can imagine, same issue so I have to RMA this device. Third one in a year. SMH

I bought one and but its slower than my Asus ax6000 😢

I have the Asus AX6000 as well and will second that it's a great router. Good choice! (spoken as though I'm not biased)

Asus ax 6000 had the most powerful range I found way back when. It is limited by the fcc (what ever determines radio broadcasting power) for routers. Like others are saying, putting down fiber or a cable 100ft would not be too bad. Ubiquiti has a long range outdoor extender but is very expensive. Starlink could be another option if you don’t want spectrum.

Just recently ordered this. 4x4 router with usb port at a reasonable price and cheaper than the 4 year old RT-AX86u pro

No problems so far. Everything works.

"Definitely, I don't consider myself an expert or anything even close when it comes to home networks. But this seems to be a hell of a good router for me. I recently upgraded from a Google Nest Mesh Wi-Fi non-pro version, which was a mess. It kept disconnecting all the time, and my speeds were cut down to around 120 Mbps down and 80 Mbps up from my 500/500 from my ISP(Frontier). Even though it had awesome range, it was super unreliable with the connection. One day it was good, the other you needed to restart the entire network. That's when I recently decided to upgrade routers for the first time. My choices were the TP-Link AX3000 Pro or ASUS AX6000. Since I had a 60-day return with Best Buy, I decided to try them both. First with the TP-Link AX3000 Pro, since it was the cheaper one, I was utterly disappointed by its performance, even with reviews being really positive. Not good range, and I was also facing the same inconsistent connect and disconnect issues. Then second, the ASUS AX6000. My jaw dropped with the performance of this little beast. Getting super high speeds and awesome range. Also, my ping improved from around the 30s to sub 10s. A massive plus also (which is my first time ever knowing about this) was that I could plug my 2TB hard drive into it and have content shared across all the devices on my network. It required no setup whatsoever; just plug in and done."

I've had zero problems with M1 for many years. Only went down once, and that was for scheduled maintenance in the middle of the night. Also, it's not just your internet plan that could be the cause of any issues. If your router isn't good enough, or is in a terrible position, or is overheating, or the bomb shelter is between your laptop and the router, you are gonna have issues no matter what plan you have. I have a standard 1Gbps plan but an Asus gaming router with ethernet cables going to the 3 heaviest users in the home – PS5, living TV and bedroom TV. I also set up a second router using Asus AImesh to provide wifi signal to one of the further corners of the house.

I've been using AiMesh since the beginning, and it was rocky at first, but now I'm currently quite happy with it. One solid main router and two APs outside. What unifi did you get to replace your setup and do you think it was worth the cost?

Asus AiMesh - Yea TP-Link Deco - Yes TP-Link Easy Mesh - Not sure

I use Asus routers in my Ai mesh network and it gives me complete control over everything and I've loved it. I use that coupled with family link from Google and I feel like I've done my job as a parent blocking as much bullshit as I can for my kids.  But don't worry, their friends who's parents don't care about a single thing they consume will come along and ruin your hard work. Or your kids will be kids and find loop holes, which they always do. But you still tried. 

Asus AiMesh can be configured without an app and uses local credentials for management.

I went from DD-WRT for years to ASUS AiMesh and have been on Unifi equipment for a good four years now. I never have any issues with roaming (3600+ home) and I can fine tune whenever necessary (rare). I love the Unifi and don't plan on moving away any time soon. If you want peace of mind, I definitely also recommend Unifi.

As has been said, plug in everything you can. For a basic option, the Asus routers with AiMesh are a pretty simple solution. Start with one on the second floor centrally located and see if you need more. Use inSSIDer to see how your signal strength is as what kind of interference you have and set settings accordingly. If you’re not reaching all corners, add another compatible Asus and put them on floors 1 and 3 (both wired connection to WAN jack)

Avoid tp-link and any other CCP networking equipment. Don't intentionally put stuff with backdoors in them just to save a few bucks. Unifi is great but it's expensive and you really should use it wired. If you're just looking for plug and play mesh Asus has good offerings. Their AI mesh system works well