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

[xiaofan]

New Xiaomi BE3600 Pro mesh (one-pack or two-pack): some people may like the form factor because of the internal antenna design.

It is a bit better than the Xiaomi BE3600, since it has 512MB RAM. I do not recommend using Xiaomi BE3600 as the main router because it has only 256MB RAM. CPU should be the same Qualcomm IPQ5312 (ARM Cortex-A53 Quad Core @ 1.1 GHz with 1x NPU @ 1.0GHz). Single 2.5G port and dual 1G ports.

One good use case is to use this as a mesh node with Xiaomi BE7000 or Xiaomi BE6500.

Price is reasonable at RMB 349 for one-pack (with Bluetooth gateway). Two-pack is at RMB 649 (with smart hub gateway).

News:
https://www.acwifi.net/29074.html
https://wiki.smzdm.com/p/0yr5m33/

 

[ferdddy]

Hello experts!

Planning to sign up with MyRepublic's 3Gbps plan for my upcoming 4-room BTO. Was recommended to get a Wifi 6E / 7 router to make full use of the 3Gbps.

The current plan is to get a router + mesh (see attached floorplan and location of mesh - connected via ethernet lan).



Currently shortlisted the following set up (From Taobao, ASUS)
- ASUS TUF BE6500 (Main router in DB Box)
- XD4 Pro (Inside bedroom)

Questions:

1. Anyone bought routers from taobao before? Does it work well with local ISP?
2. Will the current set up be sufficient make full use of the Myrepublic's 3GBPs?
3. How is the coverage for the set up?

Thank you in advance!

 

[gundamkitten]

Hello experts!

Planning to sign up with MyRepublic's 3Gbps plan for my upcoming 4-room BTO. Was recommended to get a Wifi 6E / 7 router to make full use of the 3Gbps.

The current plan is to get a router + mesh (see attached floorplan and location of mesh - connected via ethernet lan).


Currently shortlisted the following set up (From Taobao, ASUS)
- ASUS TUF BE6500 (Main router in DB Box)
- XD4 Pro (Inside bedroom)

Questions:

1. Anyone bought routers from taobao before? Does it work well with local ISP?
2. Will the current set up be sufficient make full use of the Myrepublic's 3GBPs?
3. How is the coverage for the set up?

Thank you in advance!

Asus XD4 models feature only 1Gbps WAN/LAN, so that is going to bottleneck your 3Gbps down to 1Gbps. It's not whether the wifi standard is 6E or 7.

Why not get two TUF BE6500 and use "wired backhaul" connecting 2.5Gbps LAN out of the unit in the DB Box to the WAN 2.5Gbps input of the unit wherever you intended the mesh to be located.

 

[ferdddy]

Hello experts!

Planning to sign up with MyRepublic's 3Gbps plan for my upcoming 4-room BTO. Was recommended to get a Wifi 6E / 7 router to make full use of the 3Gbps.

The current plan is to get a router + mesh (see attached floorplan and location of mesh - connected via ethernet lan).



Currently shortlisted the following set up (From Taobao, ASUS)
- ASUS TUF BE6500 (Main router in DB Box)
- XD4 Pro (Inside bedroom)

Questions:

1. Anyone bought routers from taobao before? Does it work well with local ISP?
2. Will the current set up be sufficient make full use of the Myrepublic's 3GBPs?
3. How is the coverage for the set up?

Thank you in advance!

Also want to add that I plan to set up a smart home (AQARA) system throughout my house. So not sure about the bands that is required!

 

[ferdddy]

Asus XD4 models feature only 1Gbps WAN/LAN, so that is going to bottleneck your 3Gbps down to 1Gbps. It's not whether the wifi standard is 6E or 7.

Why not get two TUF BE6500 and use "wired backhaul" connecting 2.5Gbps LAN out of the unit in the DB Box to the WAN 2.5Gbps input of the unit wherever you intended the mesh to be located.

Getting 2 x TUF BE6500 is quite costly, and the node is mainly to extend wifi coverage to the master bedroom only. Any other alternatives?

 

[xiaofan]

Hello experts!

Planning to sign up with MyRepublic's 3Gbps plan for my upcoming 4-room BTO. Was recommended to get a Wifi 6E / 7 router to make full use of the 3Gbps.

The current plan is to get a router + mesh (see attached floorplan and location of mesh - connected via ethernet lan).



Currently shortlisted the following set up (From Taobao, ASUS)
- ASUS TUF BE6500 (Main router in DB Box)
- XD4 Pro (Inside bedroom)

Questions:

1. Anyone bought routers from taobao before? Does it work well with local ISP?
2. Will the current set up be sufficient make full use of the Myrepublic's 3GBPs?
3. How is the coverage for the set up?

Thank you in advance!

1. Asus China version routers work well with local ISPs.
2. TUF-BE6500 has quad 2.5G ports, it is okay for MR 3Gbps plan.
3. I also do not like XD4 Pro as the mesh node even if you choose it because of the form factor. I will probably recommend TUF-BE3600 or even another TUF-BE6500 as the mesh node.
4. As long as your DB box does not block WiFi badly, the coverage should be ok. Placement is important.

https://www.asus.com.cn/store/gallery-476.html

TUF-BE6500 --> RMB 799
TUF-BE3600 --> RMB 499

 

[xiaofan]

Getting 2 x TUF BE6500 is quite costly, and the node is mainly to extend wifi coverage to the master bedroom only. Any other alternatives?

TUF-BE6500 + TUF-BE3600 then.

 

[ferdddy]

TUF-BE6500 + TUF-BE3600 then.

Great! Thank you! Just to check, if I am not moving to my place yet (only in 2025), and would like to test the set up in my current house.

As I live in a maisonette (router on 2nd level, no ethernet port on 1st level), can the BE3600 work wirelessly via Aimesh just to test the routers out?

 

[xiaofan]

Great! Thank you! Just to check, if I am not moving to my place yet (only in 2025), and would like to test the set up in my current house.

As I live in a maisonette (router on 2nd level, no ethernet port on 1st level), can the BE3600 work wirelessly via Aimesh just to test the routers out?

Yes, the result using wireless backhaul will of course not as good as using Ethernet Backhaul.

You can temporarily using a long Ethernet cable to test Ethernet backhaul as well.

 

[ferdddy]

Yes, the result using wireless backhaul will of course not as good as using Ethernet Backhaul.

You can temporarily using a long Ethernet cable to test Ethernet backhaul as well.

How do you find the coverage for the BE6500 thus far? In your opinion.

 

[xiaofan]

How do you find the coverage for the BE6500 thus far? In your opinion.

Not as good as ZTE BE7200 Pro+ (which is also cheaper), but of course Asus FW features are better.

Not as good as my Asus RT-AX86U either.

But take note this may not be a fair comparison. I am using the default China region settings for wireless and not Australia settings. AU region settings may be better but it will exceed local regulation in terms of TX power. China region setting has pretty low TX power. The FW has not been updated to include other regions like Asia region.

For my Asus RT-AX86U, I use Asia region settings and not China region settings.

On the other hand, I beleieve even with Asia region settings in the future, it can not beat ZTE BE7200 Pro+.

 

[ferdddy]

Not as good as ZTE BE7200 Pro+ (which is also cheaper), but of course Asus FW features are better.

Not as good as my Asus RT-AX86U either.

But take note this may not be a fair comparison. I am using the default China region settings for wireless and not Australia settings. AU region settings may be better but it will exceed local regulation in terms of TX power. China region setting has pretty low TX power. The FW has not been updated to include other regions like Asia region.

For my Asus RT-AX86U, I use Asia region settings and not China region settings.

On the other hand, I beleieve even with Asia region settings in the future, it can not beat ZTE BE7200 Pro+.

Ahh, you mean when setting up the ASUS BE6500, I can only choose between china / aussie settings?

 

[xiaofan]

Ahh, you mean when setting up the ASUS BE6500, I can only choose between china / aussie settings?

Yes, that is true as of now.

As of now I can see there are FW issues to be sorted out. I have also encountered another issue that the 2.5G WAN port sometimes can only negotiate at 1Gbps speed with my mini PC based OpenWRT virtual router (Intel I226-V based 2.5G network adapter). Not a big issue for me as I use it behind a 2.5G switch.

That is why I actually recommend Asus TX-AX6000 (China version of TUF-AX6000) as a more mature option to some users previously.

I do beleieve future FW updates will sort out the issue, now that there is also a global version of TUF-BE6500 (at much higher price at S$329 as listed by Asus Singapore, probably it will be available soon).
https://sg.store.asus.com/tuf-gaming-be6500.html

 

[ferdddy]

Yes, that is true as of now.

As of now I can see there are FW issues to be sorted out. I have also encountered another issue that the 2.5G WAN port sometimes can only negotiate at 1Gbps speed with my mini PC based OpenWRT virtual router (Intel I226-V based 2.5G network adapter). Not a big issue for me as I use it behind a 2.5G switch.

That is why I actually recommend Asus TX-AX6000 (China version of TUF-AX6000) as a more mature option to some users previously.

I do beleieve future FW updates will sort out the issue, now that there is also a global version of TUF-BE6500 (at much higher price at S$329 as listed by Asus Singapore, probably it will be available soon).
https://sg.store.asus.com/tuf-gaming-be6500.html

What is the difference between RT-58U and BE3600? They seem to be the same router, but different names?

 

[xiaofan]

What is the difference between RT-58U and BE3600? They seem to be the same router, but different names?

I believe they will be quite similar with some hidden extra FW features for the TUF-BE3600. The HW components used may also be slighlty improved (not sure).

Last time: RT-AX58U v1 and TUF-AX3000 v1 are mostly the same with TUF-AX3000v1 got extra FW features related to gaming. But China version of TUF-AX3600 is actually more advanced and can enable 4T4R to make it similar to RT-AX82U (AX5400) except dual WAN and LAN Aggregeation.

No idea whether this will happen again or not.

Reference: Asus TUF-AX3000 Assassin mode
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/asus-tuf-ax3000-assassin-mode.6422415/

 

[lulu92]

Can I check if China router is sensitive goods? Was looking to buy ASUS BE6500

Tried to buy on Taobao through this link https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=788508180940&spm=a210c.1.0.0.283c1debkIzUpO

But my forwarder checked with her point of contact and told me the router IMDA
controlled goods,must make sure the frequency spectrum is approved by
imda ,otherwise might have a lot issue like shipment detain.

First time hear, my forwarder is oops.sg. Not sure if anyone faced anything like this or should I just use another forwarder.

 

[xiaofan]

Can I check if China router is sensitive goods? Was looking to buy ASUS BE6500

Tried to buy on Taobao through this link https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=788508180940&spm=a210c.1.0.0.283c1debkIzUpO

But my forwarder checked with her point of contact and told me the router IMDA
controlled goods,must make sure the frequency spectrum is approved by
imda ,otherwise might have a lot issue like shipment detain.

First time hear, my forwarder is oops.sg. Not sure if anyone faced anything like this or should I just use another forwarder.

No comment on the senstive goods question.

But I would not go with a forwarder with such a name...

Basically if you do not want to take any risks, do not buy China wireless routers, as there is no warranty and return can be a pain.

 

[RayRay0]

Correct. TP-Link EB810v has the best HW spec among the three: EB810v, HB810 and Archer BE805.

It is a pity that this model is locked to Starhub.

I think you can use it as AP and in that case probably no need to worry too much about lack of security updates.

Would you recommend this Starhub 5Gbps ONT $55.39 that comes with EB810v over the Starhub 5Gbps ONT $29.55 plan and figure out which router and mesh to buy?

If yes, does this fits into the DB box?

Should I get another mesh, and which is preferred?

Since this is locked to Starhub does that mean this router is deem useless for future sign ups with other ISPs?

If one day I decide not to use the EB810v anymore, can I replace it with other router and mesh?

 

[xiaofan]

Would you recommend this Starhub 5Gbps ONT $55.39 that comes with EB810v over the Starhub 5Gbps ONT $29.55 plan and figure out which router and mesh to buy?

If yes, does this fits into the DB box?

Should I get another mesh, and which is preferred?

Since this is locked to Starhub does that mean this router is deem useless for future sign ups with other ISPs?

If one day I decide not to use the EB810v anymore, can I replace it with other router and mesh?

1. It all depends on your budget. You have a difficult floor plan and you will need most likely three nodes to cover the full flat. Starhub recommends using EB810v to mesh with EB810v (TP-Link EasyMesh). Technically you can use other EasyMesh compatible TP-Link router like TP-Link Archer BE230 as the mesh node but there may be some issues because of FW limitation of the EB810v.

2. Higher budget --> get better mesh solution than EB810v. There are quite some FW issues with the EB810v now and the bug fix is slow since it is a Service Provider model (FW updates locked to Starhub network).
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/tp-link-eb810v-quick-overview.7014586/page-33

They are not cheap though. You may have to boost your budget to S$2000, especially since you seem to want to be future proof.

I have already answered your question here.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/m1-2-5gbps.7054162/page-13#post-154068785

3. The FW updates of EB810v is locked to Starhub network and not recommended to use it with other ISPs.

4. Whether the EB810v can fit in your DB box will depend on your DB box size.
https://www.tp-link.com/sg/service-provider/wifi-router/eb810v/#specifications

Dimensions ( W x D x H ): 96 × 10.3 × 3.8 in (96 × 262.5 × 302 mm)

5. All in all, decide your budget first before exploring too many options.

 

[RayRay0]

1. It all depends on your budget. You have a difficult floor plan and you will need most likely three nodes to cover the full flat. Starhub recommends using EB810v to mesh with EB810v (TP-Link EasyMesh). Technically you can use other EasyMesh compatible TP-Link router like TP-Link Archer BE230 as the mesh node but there may be some issues because of FW limitation of the EB810v.

2. Higher budget --> get better mesh solution than EB810v. There are quite some FW issues with the EB810v now and the bug fix is slow since it is a Service Provider model (FW updates locked to Starhub network).
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/tp-link-eb810v-quick-overview.7014586/page-33

They are not cheap though. You may have to boost your budget to S$2000, especially since you seem to want to be future proof.

I have already answered your question here.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/m1-2-5gbps.7054162/page-13#post-154068785

3. The FW updates of EB810v is locked to Starhub network and not recommended to use it with other ISPs.

4. Whether the EB810v can fit in your DB box will depend on your DB box size.
https://www.tp-link.com/sg/service-provider/wifi-router/eb810v/#specifications

Dimensions ( W x D x H ): 96 × 10.3 × 3.8 in (96 × 262.5 × 302 mm)

5. All in all, decide your budget first before exploring too many options.

Well said on the 5th point haha. Singtel has been my only ISP and always been using their router and mesh. After recent issues with gaming and the eligibility of plan renewal/termination next month I decided to look at other ISPs.