Asus WiFi 7 and WiFi 6E routers

[Apparatus]

BQ16 is in the Asus Singapore security update support.

https://www.asus.com/sg/support/FAQ/1051375

For TP-LINK routers security update support can be found below

https://www.tp-link.com/sg/support/faq/3182/

 

[jess_sy]

Asus Singapore Wifi 7 products list target to be avaliable in Q1 2024.

AVAILABILITY & PRICING

The following products will be available in Singapore on these dates:​

Model​	Availability​	Pricing​
ZenWiFi BQ16 (1PK)​	Q1’24​	To be confirmed​
ZenWiFi BQ16 (2PK)​	Q1’24​	To be confirmed​
ROG Rapture GT-BE98​	Q1’24​	To be confirmed​

https://www.asus.com/sg/news/fxtjyk6wkb5ayjr8/​

 

[Apparatus]

Asus Singapore Wifi 7 products list target to be avaliable in Q1 2024.

AVAILABILITY & PRICING

The following products will be available in Singapore on these dates:​

Model​	Availability​	Pricing​
ZenWiFi BQ16 (1PK)​	Q1’24​	To be confirmed​
ZenWiFi BQ16 (2PK)​	Q1’24​	To be confirmed​
ROG Rapture GT-BE98​	Q1’24​	To be confirmed​

https://www.asus.com/sg/news/fxtjyk6wkb5ayjr8/​

The ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro looks like not coming ah

 

[xiaofan]

The ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro looks like not coming ah

My guess is that there may well be a technical reason for that since Singapore only approved a smaller portion of the 6GHz spectrum for the usage of WiFi. BQ16 Pro supports two 6GHz bands which may likely be out of the frequency limit (this may not be correct, to be confirmed).

BQ16 supports two 5GHz bands and one 6GHz band. I think BQ16 is more suitable for Singapore market.

 

[kappak]

Asus wifi 7 wr havent listed at CSA label page yet.
https://www.csa.gov.sg/our-programm...ersecurity-labelling-scheme-(cls)product-list

 

[Apparatus]

My guess is that there may well be a technical reason for that since Singapore only approved a smaller portion of the 6GHz spectrum for the usage of WiFi. BQ16 Pro supports two 6GHz bands which may likely be out of the frequency limit (to be confirmed).

BQ16 supports two 5GHz bands and one 6GHz band. I think BQ16 is more suitable for Singapore market.

TP-LINK Deco BE95 also supports 2x 6GHz bands and it's avaialble here. You mean it's not suitable for use here?

 

[TanRich]

TP-LINK Deco BE95 also supports 2x 6GHz bands and it's avaialble here. You mean it's not suitable for use here?

You can still use the router here. But since only a portion of the 6Ghz band was approved by IMDA for unlicensed wireless use (Wifi 6E/7), you will not be able to access the full range of 320Mhz channels across the whole 6Ghz spectrum that the BE95's 2 X 6Ghz radios can potentially provide. So like all other routers with 2 X 6Ghz radios, it will be under-utilised in Sg.

So far only US and Canada released the full 6Ghz bandwidth for Wifi 6E/7 use. The rest of the world still considering whether to follow suit or save the remaining parts for future 5G/6G mobile networks use. PRC even went the opposite way and reserved the entire 6Ghz band for 5G/6G mobile networks.

https://www.wi-fi.org/countries-enabling-wi-fi-in-6-ghz-wi-fi-6e

 

[xiaofan]

You can still use the router here. But since only a portion of the 6Ghz band was approved by IMDA for unlicensed wireless use (Wifi 6E/7), you will not be able to access the full range of 320Mhz channels across the whole 6Ghz spectrum that the BE95's 2 X 6Ghz radios can potentially provide. So like all other routers with 2 X 6Ghz radios, it will be under-utilised in Sg.

So far only US and Canada released the full 6Ghz bandwidth for Wifi 6E/7 use. The rest of the world still considering whether to follow suit or save the remaining parts for future 5G/6G mobile networks use. PRC even went the opposite way and reserved the entire 6Ghz band for 5G/6G mobile networks.

https://www.wi-fi.org/countries-enabling-wi-fi-in-6-ghz-wi-fi-6e

Good point.

If using 320MHz channel width in Singapore, then it is only possible to use either CH31 or CH63 (center freq) on the 6GHz band. Then there is overlapping. I am not sure if this will even work on the WiFi 7 routers. So in the end, it may well be only one of the 6GHz band will be able to use 320MHz channel width and the other 6GHz band will be only use 160MHz channel width (CH31/CH79 or CH63/CH15).

For US and CA, then both 6GHz bands can use 320MHz channel width --> eg: CH31/CH95 or CH31/CH159)

Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels

BTW, there is still a chance for China to offer a portion of 6GHz for WiFi usage.
https://www.srrc.org.cn/article31554.aspx
6425-7125MHz --> IMT usage (5G/6G)
5925-6425MHz --> not yet allocated

 

[Wockets]

In layman's term, does it mean if one bought a quad band router with Dual 6ghz band to use in SG, the 2nd 6Ghz band would be bottleneck to Wifi 6 Speed / 5 GHz band?

 

[xiaofan]

In layman's term, does it mean if one bought a quad band router with Dual 6ghz band to use in SG, the 2nd 6Ghz band would be bottleneck to Wifi 6 Speed / 5 GHz band?

Something like that.

But then it may work better for 160MHz channel width for the 6GHz band as the interference may be less compared to 5GHz band.

The other thing is that MLO support may help as well -- you may be able to combine 6G/6G1 or 5G/6G2 if the router FW and client device support the feature.

 

[Apparatus]

Something like that.

But then it may work better for 160MHz channel width for the 6GHz band as the interference may be less compared to 5GHz band.

The other thing is that MLO support may help as well -- you may be able to combine 6G/6G1 or 5G/6G2 if the router FW and client device support the feature.

Is MLO working now here with ASUS and TP-L iNK routers?

 

[xiaofan]

Is MLO working now here with ASUS and TP-LiNK routers?

Asus WiFi 7 routers do not seem to be available in Singapore yet.

For TP-Link WiFi 7 routers for local Singapore market, MLO should be supported.

Eg: Deco BE85 website
https://www.tp-link.com/sg/home-networking/deco/deco-be85/

 

[Apparatus]

Asus WiFi 7 routers do not seem to be available in Singapore yet.

For TP-Link WiFi 7 routers for local Singapore market, MLO should be supported.

Eg: Deco BE85 website
https://www.tp-link.com/sg/home-networking/deco/deco-be85/

There's one guy on the 10Gbps thread using the Deco BE85. He said he can enable/disble the MLO

This MLO now supports only 2.4/5/6 GHz tri bands. Wonder whether later will it support the quad bands of 2.4/5/6-1/6-2?

 

[xiaofan]

There's one guy on the 10Gbps thread using the Deco BE85. He said he can enable/disble the MLO
This MLO now supports only 2.4/5/6 GHz tri bands. Wonder whether later will it support the quad bands of 2.4/5/6-1/6-2?

I believe it will.

Asus GT-BE98 Pro should also support MLO for 2.4G/5G1/5G2/6G.

 

[kappak]

I believe it will.

Asus GT-BE98 Pro should also support MLO for 2.4G/5G1/5G2/6G.

With the price tag sgd1K+++.
Pair with 10Gbps plan still ok.
Anything below not worth or u r power user+rog fans.

 

[xiaofan]

With the price tag sgd1K+++.
Pair with 10Gbps plan still ok.
Anything below not worth or u r power user+rog fans.

Please refer my first post here. On the other hand, just like what you mentioned, if a person is willing to spend the money on a high cost WiFi 7 router like GT-BE98 Pro for 10Gbps plan, that is still their choice and nothing wrong about it.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/wifi-7-routers.6905228/#post-147625615

Note: as of now in Jan 2024 I do not recommend buying any local version of WiFi 7 routers due to high cost and lack of compatible WiFi 7 clients.

Exceptions -- China version of WiFi 7 routers (no 6GHz band support, no 320MHz channel bandwidth support, but with MLO support).

 

[TanRich]

Is MLO working now here with ASUS and TP-L iNK routers?

Wifi 7 specs were only just approved for the certification process last week.
https://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/tec...i-alliance-announces-wifi-certified-7-program

So it'll take a while for them to update the firmware to enable MLO.

From the Wifi Alliance's database, it seems that routers using the BCM4916 Quad-Core CPU have been officially certified for the new Wifi 7 standard.

That means the Asus Wifi 7 routers are all certified as far as I know, and maybe one of the NetGear standalone ones as well.

Sorry to add on, the TP Link BE85 and Archer BE800 have also been certified according to the latest list.

https://www.wi-fi.org/product-finder-results?sort_by=certified&sort_order=desc&certifications=1652

 

[xiaofan]

From the Wifi Alliance's database, it seems that routers using the BCM4916 Quad-Core CPU have been officially certified for the new Wifi 7 standard.

That means the Asus Wifi 7 routers are all certified as far as I know, and maybe one of the NetGear standalone ones as well.

Sorry to add on, the TP Link BE85 and Archer BE800 have also been certified according to the latest list.

https://www.wi-fi.org/product-finder-results?sort_by=certified&sort_order=desc&certifications=1652

Hmm, that only mean the chip is certified, not the router using the chip.

https://www.wi-fi.org/product-finder-results?sort_by=default&sort_order=desc&categories=4&subcategories=24&keywords=Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7

TP-Link got two wireless router certified. Asus got none as of now. Rucus got one. Zyxel got one.

Certification ID: WFA128780
Date of Last Certification: Dec 26, 2023
Brand: TP-Link Corporation Limited
Category: Access Point for Home or Small Office (Wireless Router)
Product Name: BE22000 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 7 System
Model Number: Deco BE85
Total Variants: 1

Certification ID: WFA128978
Date of Last Certification: Dec 25, 2023
Brand: TP-Link Corporation Limited
Category: Access Point for Home or Small Office (Wireless Router)
Product Name: BE19000 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 Router
Model Number: Archer BE800
Total Variants: 1

 

[TanRich]

Hmm, that only mean the chip is certified, not the router using the chip.

https://www.wi-fi.org/product-finder-results?sort_by=default&sort_order=desc&categories=4&subcategories=24&keywords=Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7

TP-Link got two wireless router certified. Asus got none as of now. Rucus got one. Zyxel got one.

Certification ID: WFA128780
Date of Last Certification: Dec 26, 2023
Brand: TP-Link Corporation Limited
Category: Access Point for Home or Small Office (Wireless Router)
Product Name: BE22000 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 7 System
Model Number: Deco BE85
Total Variants: 1

Certification ID: WFA128978
Date of Last Certification: Dec 25, 2023
Brand: TP-Link Corporation Limited
Category: Access Point for Home or Small Office (Wireless Router)
Product Name: BE19000 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 Router
Model Number: Archer BE800
Total Variants: 1

Hmm I guess Qualcomm's been quite on the ball with regard to the certification process, both TP Link routers also use their quad core CPU.

 

[Apparatus]

Hmm, that only mean the chip is certified, not the router using the chip.

https://www.wi-fi.org/product-finder-results?sort_by=default&sort_order=desc&categories=4&subcategories=24&keywords=Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7

TP-Link got two wireless router certified. Asus got none as of now. Rucus got one. Zyxel got one.

Certification ID: WFA128780
Date of Last Certification: Dec 26, 2023
Brand: TP-Link Corporation Limited
Category: Access Point for Home or Small Office (Wireless Router)
Product Name: BE22000 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 7 System
Model Number: Deco BE85
Total Variants: 1

Certification ID: WFA128978
Date of Last Certification: Dec 25, 2023
Brand: TP-Link Corporation Limited
Category: Access Point for Home or Small Office (Wireless Router)
Product Name: BE19000 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 Router
Model Number: Archer BE800
Total Variants: 1

Huh? ASUS only certified on the BCM chip and not its routers?

Also, not seeing TP-LINK Deco BE95 listed there despite its release a year back