ASUS - RT-BE86U

Short answer: Get the ASUS RT-BE86U. It’s the better buy over the BE82U because it adds a 10 GbE port (nice future-proofing for fast WAN/LAN) while both are dual-band Wi-Fi 7 (no 6 GHz). Reviews also show the BE86U’s 5 GHz performance and software are excellent. If you’d rather have 6 GHz (great for newer phones/laptops) and don’t need 10 GbE, consider the TP-Link Archer BE550, which is frequently around $199 and tested well for budget Wi-Fi 7. Go BE86U if you want ASUS features and a 10 GbE port for only \~$20 more. Go BE550 if you want 6 GHz at \~$200 and can live without 10 GbE. Why I’m recommending these BE86U vs BE82U: Both are dual-band Wi-Fi 7; BE86U adds a 10 GbE port (BE82U has five 2.5 GbE only). If prices are close, BE86U wins. TP-Link BE550: True tri-band with 6 GHz around $199–$229 and strong test results—great budget “next-gen” pick. TP-Link GE650: Tri-band Wi-Fi 7 gaming router that’s been seen at $250; good if you prioritize gaming features. If you want, tell me your internet speed and house layout—I'll tailor settings (channel width, MLO on/off, WAN/LAN hookup) for whichever you choose.

I am an Asus fanboy, and I've had their products for years. The BE92U was a dud right out of the box for me. Even with the latest firmware, and trying Merlin too, I suffered from random reboots. If a router can't stay booted for longer than a few hours, something is seriously wrong. I may have a bad example though. I'd recommend the BE86U instead, yeah it doesn't have 6ghz, but it has better reviews and great 4x4 5 ghz performance.

I’ve had good luck with ASUS. The app is user friendly with easy access to parental controls. I have a few of them. As I upgraded my main router I just switch the old to wired mesh nodes. What ever you get a dual band , 2.4 and 5ghz, is usually enough. There aren’t a lot of devices that use the 6ghz band. WiFi 6 is the minimum I’d get as there aren’t a lot of WiFi 7 devices either, but it would give a little future proofing. Without knowing a budget, a RT-BE86U has been a solid router for me

I’ve had good luck with ASUS routers. My only thought is if you keep them for long periods which it looks like you do, why not a BE86U? It’s 220, or if you live near a Best Buy they have trade in your old gear for 15% off. Not available on every router tho. But it is on the BE92U, so it would be 187ish

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.

The AX86U was the best router I ever had before I started using more purpose built routers with separate APs. But Newegg is ripping you off for $295 for a 6 year old router. If you're going to spend that much, get the newer BE86U which is just the more modern version of that one, or look for a better deal. Usually the AX86U is in the $170 range which IMO is worth the premium over the AX3000 version.

I think the RT-BE86U acts as the "upgrade" but it does not have 6ghz

I'm using the 1800s as a node and my main router is the RT-BE86U. I can say that the 1800s is holding up super well as a node. I recommend the ASUS.

Gaming routers are marketing. If you're going to spend $400 to $500 on a router get an Asus, BE86U or BE88U are the cream of the crop right now, but you could probably spend half that and have perfectly good performance and coverage and have some left over to buy a second less expensive one to use as a mesh node. Of course If I was looking to invest that kind of money I'd get a dedicated router and separate access points from Ubiquiti or possibly the TP Link Omada line, but that setup isn't for everyone.

They replaced it with BE86U, which I think locked up once but for the most part over the last few months have been rock stable.

Pros and Cons from what I seen: BE92U: 2.0GHz quad-core processor None detachable antennas WIFI 6E band BE86U: 2.6GHz quad-core processor Detachable antennas No WIFI 6E band So better CPU and detachable antennas is what sold me on the BE86U over the BE92U. The only other big difference is WiFi 6e, it gives you a lot of bandwidth (but not a lot of distance) so if you have WifI 6e devices, you might want to look at BE92U with the understanding that it is a crap shoot if you will get a router that will just work for you).

Flint, ASUS 86U is notorious for overheating

Have an 86U in production as AP only since it came out. Haven't had any downtime because of temps

Ive used ASUS for over a decade and I love them. Never an issue. The 86U was rock solid for me. I upgraded to the 88Pro and I used the 86U as an AI Mesh setup in my house to cover more ground. I have a GLiNet portable router for hotel use and that also rock solid for me. I love that little device. That being said, the Flint is my next router I would want to look at but I’ll probably end up staying with ASUS

This is awful advice. You need to take into consideration what the needs are. For example I have 29 devices paired with smart home automation and a 1.5gbps connection. If I use an AXE5400 then I am speed capped over wifi to only get a max of about 850mbps download speeds instead of the full 1.5gbps due to the AXE5400 only having gigibit ethernet ports (Routers with 2.5gbps ports are rare and expensive). The Wifi 6 performance on the AXE5400 is also dreadful. I am getting an AXE75 to see if it's any better because I am so disappointed with the AXE5400. You are probably the sort of person that would have said in the 90s "28 Megs of memory is plenty enough!". My Asus 86u router is also slower over 5g wifi than the crappy AXE5400.

500mbs is more than enough for couple of people. Even for doing 4k streaming is fine. Don't really see any benefits of 1gig unless you are downloading/uploading tons of data. 2gb is just overkill and definitely not required. Look at review website dongknows to narrow down the choice of routers based on your requirement. Everyone is different so hard recommend, still some are good. Few router recommendations 1. Unifi UDR7. Great all-in-one router with lots of features. 2. Asus with wifi 7 and support for merlin firmware. Check above website for reviews. 3. If you want more control and would like to go DIY route, Any N100 mini pc with dual nic running opnsense/pfsense on it. Maybe directly or virtualized. Add an AP like unifi or omada or something else.

Was doing research on deco mesh systems and one thing i noticed is that there’s a lot of complaints about hardware revisions and firmware. I was interested in the ability to select preferred connection between decos and device preferred connection. That way i could set the mesh topology as i wanted while steering non mobile devices to specific decos where signals are strong from multiple decos to the correct one. Simple right? Nope. The updated firmware for this feature only applied to specific versions of hw. So a v1 xe75 got it but not a v2 at the time. Then an xe200 didnt have it at all and it some older popular models never got it at all. It just seemed like a mess and the model i ordered didnt have it but amazon lost the pkg so i got an asus instead that feature is just naturally in their firmware… Their wifi7 models all support it but it’s like they just stop supporting previous popular hardware and move on so quickly

If the internal walls in your apartment are concrete and you don't have line of sight to the router it can be hard to get reliable wifi in multiple rooms even in a small apartment. The issue is made worse by the fact that there are a lot of competing signals in most places in Hong Kong. WiFi 7 does deal with these issues better than previous technology, but is expensive. I use as Asus WiFi 7 router and it is a distinct improvement on the one that it replaced. With a 2.5G connection I am seeing download speeds in a 700sq ft apartment of 500mbps at worst and about 1100mbps as best.

If the internal walls in your apartment are concrete and you don't have line of sight to the router it can be hard to get reliable wifi in multiple rooms even in a small apartment. The issue is made worse by the fact that there are a lot of competing signals in most places in Hong Kong. WiFi 7 does deal with these issues better than previous technology, but is expensive. I use as Asus WiFi 7 router and it is a distinct improvement on the one that it replaced. With a 2.5G connection I am seeing download speeds in a 700sq ft apartment of 500mbps at worst and about 1100mbps as best.

Asus zenwifi is worth considering. Just got 2 nodes of the 6E one from 2023 for $200 @ microcenter. After some issues with a new fully updated asus wifi7 router constantly rebooting & some similar claims across a few of their wifi7 devices i fear they've got a bug. The 6E has been running fantastic for ~4days now