WiFi 7 routers (including WiFi 7 routers without 6GHz band support)

[tsammyc]

Just wondering if we are able to use another brand’s router to mesh via Ethernet backhaul?

currently have an Asus BE6500 as main router. Thinking if I could just use the TP link WiFi 7 that I received for free with Myrepublic sign up as Ethernet backhaul just to boost WiFi signal in MBR.

Is it possible?

Interested if you would try the TP Link as the main router to see whether MR BE230 router has further range than the Asus BE6500

 

[rAcEr]

I will say Asus ZenWiFi BT10 is a much better mesh soluton than Asus RT-BE92U, no matter using Ethernet backhaul or wireless backahul. You can try to negotate to get the price down to S$800 now that more sets are available.

Asus ZenWiFi BT10 --> dual 10G ports plus one 1G port. 2GB RAM, higher WiFi spec (triband BE18000)
Asus RT-BE92U --> single 10G port, quad 2.5G ports, 1GB RAM, lower WiFi spec (triband BE9700)

The main good thing about RT-BE92U is the quad 2.5G ports.

It depends on your use case. How many mesh units u need and whether u are subscribed to a plan that is higher than 3 gbps and whether u are using ONT or ONR. Bear in mind the official retail price for bt10 is much higher than be-92u so cannot compare as well.

If your house is big and u need more than two mesh units for coverage the bt10 will not work well due to limited ports.

 

[xiaofan]

It depends on your use case. How many mesh units u need and whether u are subscribed to a plan that is higher than 3 gbps and whether u are using ONT or ONR. Bear in mind the official retail price for bt10 is much higher than be-92u so cannot compare as well.

If your house is big and u need more than two mesh units for coverage the bt10 will not work well due to limited ports.

You can always add a cheap 10G/2.5G switch if you need more ports.

That is why it does not make sense to buy RT-BE92U at S$399 when Asus ZenWiFi BT10 is at similar price (or just slightly higher) from Carousell. In the future, the price of ZenWiFi BT10 may fall below S$400 even for single unit. They are kind of two different class of product and cannot really compare.

This is one interesting thing here in Singapore. Once the router is available with an ISP, the price drops a lot below the retail price. Then it makes sense to go with the higher end models at similar or even lower pricing.

Examples before --> Asus RT-AX3000P (basically same as RT-AX57) was available from M1 for free so the price is below RT-AX53U and RT-AX57. So it does not make sense to buy the RT-AX53U and RT-AX57.

Asus ROG GT-AX6000 was available as a PWP option or free with M1 2Gbps bundle, so the price was the same or below Asus RT-AX86U Pro. Then it did not make sense to buy RT-AX86U Pro.

 

[ov2rey]

https://einfoldtech.com/2025/01/asus-rt-be86u-mid-range-wifi-7-router/

Another review from local

 

[Jurong640]

M1 6gbps recontracting customers now get TP-Link Archer BE805 for free at $32.90/mth. Quite a good deal. How's the router actually, looks good from the review

 

[jian1986]

Hi Shifus

Recently I got an asus BE6500 from taobao to replace my very old d-link dir865. I'm using starhub 1gbps plan. Just 1 router no mesh.

I am experiencing issues like wifi will disconnect and reconnect. Not sure is it due to MLO and smart connect setting.

Anyone have success keeping MLO and smart connect on?

 

[xiaofan]

Hi Shifus

Recently I got an asus BE6500 from taobao to replace my very old d-link dir865. I'm using starhub 1gbps plan. Just 1 router no mesh.

I am experiencing issues like wifi will disconnect and reconnect. Not sure is it due to MLO and smart connect setting.

Anyone have success keeping MLO and smart connect on?

No issues on my side --> MLO ON and Smart Connect ON. But I do not use any legacy 2.4GHz only device with my Asus TUF-BE6500 router.

I have a few 2.4Ghz legacy devices which are only connected to my Asus RT-AX86U router.

You may want to disable MLO if you have legacy devices. Or use the IoT SSID for the legacy devices.

 

[xiaofan]

My testing of TP-Link Archer BE805 in the following thread (Page 7/8/9).
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...d-deco-wifi-6e-7-mesh-solution.6953682/page-7

I actually have a TP-Link China dual band WiFi 7 router (no 6GHz band, BE6500, quad 2.5G ports) as well which is not really used (only for occassional testing). So I just set it up as a wireless bridge to see how it works with Archer BE805 as the main wireless router. The connection is using 5GHz band.

The distance between the two rotuers is about 3.5m.

Wired client of TL-7DR65560 2.5G LAN port --> Acer Swift 3 2021 model, Ugreen USB 3 to 2.5G NIC.

PS C:\work\speedtest\ookla-speedtest-1.2.0-win64> .\speedtest.exe -s 13623

   Speedtest by Ookla

      Server: Singtel - Singapore (id: 13623)
         ISP: Singtel Fibre
Idle Latency:     4.22 ms   (jitter: 0.21ms, low: 4.02ms, high: 4.51ms)
    Download:  2346.55 Mbps (data used: 4.1 GB)
                 20.08 ms   (jitter: 7.64ms, low: 5.51ms, high: 270.13ms)
      Upload:  1832.58 Mbps (data used: 3.2 GB)
                 19.16 ms   (jitter: 7.70ms, low: 4.90ms, high: 271.81ms)
 Packet Loss:     0.0%
  Result URL: https://www.speedtest.net/result/c/aaadeabd-fd38-47bc-898d-cdc1c05df035

 

[xiaofan]

Xiaomi BE5000 (https://www.mi.com/xiaomi-routers/be-5000/specs ) in wireless bridge mode, using Asus TUF-BE6500 as the up-link. The distance between the two routers is about 4.5m.

Wired client of Xiaomi BE5000 2.5G LAN port --> Acer Swift 3 2021 model, Ugreen USB 3 to 2.5G NIC.

PS C:\work\speedtest\ookla-speedtest-1.2.0-win64> .\speedtest.exe -s 13623

   Speedtest by Ookla

      Server: Singtel - Singapore (id: 13623)
         ISP: Singtel Fibre
Idle Latency:     4.29 ms   (jitter: 1.05ms, low: 3.94ms, high: 5.10ms)
    Download:  1956.61 Mbps (data used: 2.6 GB)
                 14.66 ms   (jitter: 11.49ms, low: 3.44ms, high: 268.63ms)
      Upload:  1785.23 Mbps (data used: 938.5 MB)
                 17.25 ms   (jitter: 8.11ms, low: 5.11ms, high: 33.29ms)
 Packet Loss:     0.0%
  Result URL: https://www.speedtest.net/result/c/3628848d-41a5-4d9d-8940-1d9e9f2b2357

The price of Xiaomi BE3600 (one 2.5G LAN port) and Xiaomi BE5000 (one 2.5G port) are low enough so you can actually use them in wireless bridged mode as a network adapter for your desktop/laptop/etc. They may perform much better than a USB to WiFi 6/6E/7 adapter.

Wireless client speed of Xiaomi BE5000 will be lower since the main 5GHz band is also used for wireless backhaul. Using the same Acer laptop for testing (Intel AX201 WIFi 6 adapter), just beside the XIaomi BE5000, using the MLO SSID (basically the 5GHz SSID in this case).

PS C:\work\speedtest\ookla-speedtest-1.2.0-win64> .\speedtest.exe -s 13623

   Speedtest by Ookla

      Server: Singtel - Singapore (id: 13623)
         ISP: Singtel Fibre
Idle Latency:     3.97 ms   (jitter: 0.17ms, low: 3.81ms, high: 4.14ms)
    Download:   743.25 Mbps (data used: 453.2 MB)
                 24.30 ms   (jitter: 7.28ms, low: 8.90ms, high: 49.97ms)
      Upload:   768.00 Mbps (data used: 865.6 MB)
                 44.36 ms   (jitter: 13.49ms, low: 6.33ms, high: 118.67ms)
 Packet Loss:     0.0%
  Result URL: https://www.speedtest.net/result/c/9b470d10-9eaa-4e52-8250-94765782b231

 

[xiaofan]

WiFi Router CPU Performance Comparison --> only for references.
https://mao.fan/socpk.html

Top high and mid-end CPU

Qualcomm --> it has many CPUs offering.

Broadcom --> used to be the leader but now behid Qualcomm (Asus mainly uses Broadcom chipsets)

MediaTek --> getting better but still behind Qualcomm.

Full list

 

[tsammyc]

The price of Xiaomi BE3600 (one 2.5G LAN port) and Xiaomi BE5000 (one 2.5G port) are low enough so you can actually use them in wireless bridged mode as a network adapter for your desktop/laptop/etc. They may perform much better than a USB to WiFi 6/6E/7 adapter.

This is a great idea. I did something similar by using my HB710 as a wireless mesh node and plugging Mac into it. If running well, your 805 and 710, should get at least 2888mbs physical link, possibly up to 5Gbps, when TP-Link gets the 6Ghz 320Mhz backhaul running properly

 

[xiaofan]

This is a great idea. I did something similar by using my HB710 as a wireless mesh node and plugging Mac into it. If running well, your 805 and 710, should get at least 2888mbs physical link, possibly up to 5Gbps, when TP-Link gets the 6Ghz 320Mhz backhaul running properly

Unfortunately I cannot get 6Ghz backhaul to work, as of now, only 5GHz wireless backhaul, even with the latest FW download from TP-Link Community Forum. No MLO backhaul as well.

BTW, both Archer BE805 and HB710 support 4x4 WiFi 7 on the 5GHz and 6GHz, so technically the connection speed can be pretty high. (Devices can only be up to 2x2).
4x4 160MHz channel bandwidth on the 5GHz band --> up to 5764 Mbps link speed
4x4 320MHz channel bandwidth on the 6GHz band --> up to 11528 Mbps link speed

My test results here.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...d-deco-wifi-6e-7-mesh-solution.6953682/page-9

In the above thread you can see that Asus ZenWiFi BT10 MLO backhaul is working and a reviewer can get 5Gbps speed from the second mesh node.

The main Archer BE805 says the link speed betwen Archer BE805 and HB710 is 3843 Mbps which is not bad for about 3.5 meters distance between Archer BE805 and HB710. But the real speed of the HB710 LAN client seems to get lower speed.

Speed is not bad when tested with an Acer Swift 3 early 2021 model laptop with XikeStor USB4/TB4 10G adpater connected to the HB710 10G LAN port, but quite a bit lower than the above-mentioned link speed.

PS C:\work\speedtest\ookla-speedtest-1.2.0-win64> .\speedtest.exe -s 13623

   Speedtest by Ookla

      Server: Singtel - Singapore (id: 13623)
         ISP: Singtel Fibre
Idle Latency:     3.49 ms   (jitter: 0.59ms, low: 3.40ms, high: 5.54ms)
    Download:  2276.95 Mbps (data used: 3.5 GB)
                 14.61 ms   (jitter: 5.63ms, low: 3.59ms, high: 29.68ms)
      Upload:  1927.17 Mbps (data used: 2.2 GB)
                 14.58 ms   (jitter: 6.55ms, low: 3.38ms, high: 41.16ms)
 Packet Loss:     0.0%
  Result URL: https://www.speedtest.net/result/c/2c56c479-31be-4476-b9d2-26db9698704c

 

[tmster]

My main Asus router in an Aimesh setup finally gave up this morning and won't come on. So now i am deciding which wifi 7 router to get and basically considering 2 options. I can either purchase a new Asus RT-BE92U for $320 online or get the TP-link EB810v directly from starhub at $360. Going with the latter option means that i will have to completely abandon the Aimesh and get another TP-link router if the EB810v isn't powerful enough cover the whole house. I am only getting about 5-8mpbs at the furthest end of the house if i don't turn on the Aimesh node.

So i wish to find out if EB810v is actually a great deal better than the Asus, and enough to warrant doing away with the Aimesh. Or should i just stick with Asus and Aimesh. Would appreciate some inputs thanks.

 

[xiaofan]

My main Asus router in an Aimesh setup finally gave up this morning and won't come on. So now i am deciding which wifi 7 router to get and basically considering 2 options. I can either purchase a new Asus RT-BE92U for $320 online or get the TP-link EB810v directly from starhub at $360. Going with the latter option means that i will have to completely abandon the Aimesh and get another TP-link router if the EB810v isn't powerful enough cover the whole house. I am only getting about 5-8mpbs at the furthest end of the house if i don't turn on the Aimesh node.

So i wish to find out if EB810v is actually a great deal better than the Asus, and enough to warrant doing away with the Aimesh. Or should i just stick with Asus and Aimesh. Would appreciate some inputs thanks.

Are you using wireless backhaul or Ethernet backhaul?

If you are with Stathub, you can explore HB710 at S$192 from Starhub, two units at S$384.

 

[tmster]

Are you using wireless backhaul or Ethernet backhaul?

If you are with Stathub, you can explore HB710 at S$192 from Starhub, two units at S$384.

Using ethernet backhaul now. Trying to find out if EB810v is worth it or should i just get the RT-BE92U. I only need to buy one Asus as the other Aimesh router is still working fine.

 

[xiaofan]

Using ethernet backhaul now. Trying to find out if EB810v is worth it or should i just get the RT-BE92U. I only need to buy one Asus as the other Aimesh router is still working fine.

In that case RT-BE92U is probably a better option since you want to use AImesh.

But you may also look at Asus ZenWiFi BT10 which has much better spec than RT-BE92U (dual 10G ports, 2GB RAM, triband BE18000). The price is now at about S$400 but I expect it to drop soon to S$360 now that more and more M1 users are dumping it.

 

[tmster]

In that case RT-BE92U is probably a better option since you want to use AImesh.

But you may also look at Asus ZenWiFi BT10 which has much better spec than RT-BE92U (dual 10G ports, 2GB RAM, triband BE18000). The price is now at about S$400 but I expect it to drop soon to S$360 now that more and more M1 users are dumping it.

I'm trying to get something around the the $300 range. Just googled this BT10, seems like most of the deals are for the 2 pks for $800, so over budget but thanks for suggesting. My usage is fairly basic, do you see anything not to like with the RT-BE92U in general?

 

[xiaofan]

I'm trying to get something around the the $300 range. Just googled this BT10, seems like most of the deals are for the 2 pks for $800, so over budget but thanks for suggesting. My usage is fairly basic, do you see anything not to like with the RT-BE92U in general?

I don't like the price performance ratio of RT-BE92U because the price of Asus ZenWiFi BT10 in Singapore (Asus list price is at S$1299 for two-pack, real price at about S$800 or lower, expected to become lower soon).

Just my personal opinion that RT-BE92U is not worth buying at S$320 (Asus list price is at S$399) if you can get ZenWiFi BT10 at S$400 or lower.

RT-BE92U is rated at BE9700, 2*2 on both 5GHz and 6GHz band, 1GB RAM, single 10G port and quad 2.5G ports, BCM6764L CPU

RT-BE92U is rated at BE18000, 4*4 on both 5GHz and 6GHz band, 2GB RAM, dual 10G ports and one 1G port, BCM6765 CPU

Main advantage of RT-BE92U is that it has more LAN ports.

If you think the price is right for you, just go ahead with the RT-BE92U.

 

[Jurong640]

Wi-Fi 7 Face-Off: Galaxy S25 Ultra vs OnePlus 13 vs iPhone 16 Pro Max​

 

[tmster]

I don't like the price performance ratio of RT-BE92U because the price of Asus ZenWiFi BT10 in Singapore (Asus list price is at S$1299 for two-pack, real price at about S$800 or lower, expected to become lower soon).

Just my personal opinion that RT-BE92U is not worth buying at S$320 (Asus list price is at S$399) if you can get ZenWiFi BT10 at S$400 or lower.

RT-BE92U is rated at BE9700, 2*2 on both 5GHz and 6GHz band, 1GB RAM, single 10G port and quad 2.5G ports, BCM6764L CPU

RT-BE92U is rated at BE18000, 4*4 on both 5GHz and 6GHz band, 2GB RAM, dual 10G ports and one 1G port, BCM6765 CPU

Main advantage of RT-BE92U is that it has more LAN ports.

If you think the price is right for you, just go ahead with the RT-BE92U.

Thanks for the detailed summary. You are right on the prices, there are a number of BT10s selling on carousel at around $800 for the 2 pk, so definitely a good deal. Problem is i already have one Asus and needed just one replacement, so i decided to just get the BE92U at $305.

Hope this new BE92U is better than my old retired TUF AX5400.