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

[joshwong11]

RT-AX86U is not so good for wireless backhaul as it is a dual band router. But if the mesh node can have good connection to the main node, maybe it can still be used -- you just have to lower the expectation.

You may have to post the floor plan and put details of the ONT, LAN port locations if any, intended placement location of the two nodes (RT-AX86U and the other router).

What is your budget?

The cheapest and good triband Asus WiFi 7 mesh solution may be Asus ZenWiFi BT10 dumped by M1 users (at about S$900 for two nodes). I think it is better than Asus RT-BE92U (S$399 for one unit listed price from Asus Singapore).

thanks for the recommendations! definitely will consider. actually i came across this solution to convert the coaxial outlets into ethernet. not sure if mine is suitable. anyone here has any idea?

 

[hereiam7788]

what is the cheapest but good tri-band wifi 7 mesh can buy now?

 

[hereiam7788]

Wow ZyXEL, really nostalgic

bolehland ISP is giving out this brand also... for free wifi mesh...

 

[xiaofan]

i thought can get from china instead? it is much cheaper

China does not approve 6GHz for WiFi usage, so models like ZenWiFi BQ16, ZenWiFi BT10 and RT-BE92U are not available from China. The cost effective Asus China WiFi 7 routers are only dual band.

Dual band routers are not so good for wireless backhaul.

Asus China WiFi 7 router offering. Only the expensive ROG 八爪鱼 7 (ROG GT-BE96, not available in Singapore) is triband (dual 5GHz band, no 6GHz band).
https://www.asus.com.cn/store/gallery-476.html

https://www.asus.com.cn/store/gallery-493.html

 

[xiaofan]

what is the cheapest but good tri-band wifi 7 mesh can buy now?

Good or not may depend on your use case. As of now, if you want cheap, then go for ISP bundled WiFi 7 router with 6GHz band.

Probably nothing can beat the value of TP-Link HB710 at S$192. Some Starhub shops are reported to sell HB710 at S$192 without checking if the user is a Starhub customer or not. YMMV.

Cheapest if you are with Starhub --> TP-Link HB710 at S$192 (dual 10G ports, triband BE18000); EB810v at S$360 (dual 10G ports, three 2.5G ports, triband BE22000). Both are TP-Link service provider models with slower bug fix and a bit less features than TP-Link consumer models.

Amazon eero Max 7 --> VQ bundle, or Simba at S$399 (dual 10G ports, dual 2.5G ports, triband BE20800)

Archer BE805 --> M1/MR bundle (dual 10G ports, quad 1G ports, triband BE19000)

Asus ZenWiFi BT10 --> M1 bundle (dual 10G ports, one 1G port, triband BE18000)

If you do not go with ISP bundle, go for Carousell and search for above models.

 

[hereiam7788]

Good or not may depend on your use case. As of now, if you want cheap, then go for ISP bundled WiFi 7 router with 6GHz band.

Probably nothing can beat the value of TP-Link HB710 at S$192. Some Starhub shops are reported to sell HB710 at S$192 without checking if the user is a Starhub customer or not. YMMV.

Cheapest if you are with Starhub --> TP-Link HB710 at S$192 (dual 10G ports, triband BE18000); EB810v at S$360 (dual 10G ports, three 2.5G ports, triband BE22000). Both are TP-Link service provider models with slower bug fix and a bit less features than TP-Link consumer models.

Amazon eero Max 7 --> VQ bundle, or Simba at S$399 (dual 10G ports, dual 2.5G ports, triband BE20800)

Archer BE805 --> M1/MR bundle (dual 10G ports, quad 1G ports, triband BE19000)

Asus ZenWiFi BT10 --> M1 bundle (dual 10G ports, one 1G port, triband BE18000)

If you do not go with ISP bundle, go for Carousell and search for above models.

ok thanks for sharing.

besides, may i check your comments on the performance of HB710 in terms of performance and coverage?

for a 882 sq ft 2 bedroom 2 bathroom while the fibre point is at the living room. will one node be sufficient to cover the entire unit?

 

[xiaofan]

ok thanks for sharing.

besides, may i check your comments on the performance of HB710 in terms of performance and coverage?

for a 882 sq ft 2 bedroom 2 bathroom while the fibre point is at the living room. will one node be sufficient to cover the entire unit?

My testing results with HB710 lead to the following conclusion:
Good close range perforamnce and so-so coverage (not as good as RT-AX86U, which is expected). It is of course well worth the S$192.

As for your flat, hard to say about the coverage. It all depends on the floor plan, placement, wall construction and your expectations. Thick walls are very good at blocking WiFi.

You can refer to the testing results in the following thread (Page 7 and Page 8).
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/wifi-7-device-speedtest-and-wifi-7-adapters.7048233/

 

[cutiepie23]

China does not approve 6GHz for WiFi usage, so models like ZenWiFi BQ16, ZenWiFi BT10 and RT-BE92U are not available from China. The cost effective Asus China WiFi 7 routers are only dual band.

Dual band routers are not so good for wireless backhaul.

Asus China WiFi 7 router offering. Only the expensive ROG 八爪鱼 7 (ROG GT-BE96, not available in Singapore) is triband (dual 5GHz band, no 6GHz band).
https://www.asus.com.cn/store/gallery-476.html

https://www.asus.com.cn/store/gallery-493.html

but for local set also does not have 3 bands,
I was looking at Wifi 6, then was looking at wifi 7 and the cost of having the wifi7 is almost the same as wifi6, then why not.

my objective is simple, extend to the dead spot and also to transfer my miotv to another room with the router.

so was thinking, using ai mesh, i should be able to transfer the miotv to another room with it connected within the mesh.

if the china, asus is able to meet that requirement, i am ok to purchase it as it is so much cheaper and it is like almost the same as sg one. i only worry it is limited to china network and it is not possible to be connected to SG network like Singtel 1... then i am screwed.

 

[xiaofan]

but for local set also does not have 3 bands,

No idea what you mean that "local set also does not have 3 bands". Those models I mentioned like Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 (quad band) and ZenWiFi BT10 (triband) are local models and have 6GHz band. 6GHz bands (lower 6GHz-1 bands) have been approved by IMDA for WiFi usage.

In any case, that reply was not addressed to you, but rather to another user.

if i am currently using ax86u, should i buy a new wifi 7 asus router for aimesh or just get another asus wifi 6 router to improve coverage and speed? most likely have to go with wireless backhaul

RT-AX86U is not so good for wireless backhaul as it is a dual band router. But if the mesh node can have good connection to the main node, maybe it can still be used -- you just have to lower the expectation.

You may have to post the floor plan and put details of the ONT, LAN port locations if any, intended placement location of the two nodes (RT-AX86U and the other router).

What is your budget?

The cheapest and good triband Asus WiFi 7 mesh solution may be Asus ZenWiFi BT10 dumped by M1 users (at about S$900 for two nodes). I think it is better than Asus RT-BE92U (S$399 for one unit listed price from Asus Singapore).

 

[xiaofan]

I was looking at Wifi 6, then was looking at wifi 7 and the cost of having the wifi7 is almost the same as wifi6, then why not.

my objective is simple, extend to the dead spot and also to transfer my miotv to another room with the router.

so was thinking, using ai mesh, i should be able to transfer the miotv to another room with it connected within the mesh.

if the china, asus is able to meet that requirement, i am ok to purchase it as it is so much cheaper and it is like almost the same as sg one. i only worry it is limited to china network and it is not possible to be connected to SG network like Singtel 1... then i am screwed.

Asus China models and Singapore models will have the same HW and FW, if the two models are the same. So Singtel VLAN is supported.

But you need to be careful how you connect Singtel TV box.

Singtel ONT --> Main Asus China model like TUF-BE6500 with Singtel VLAN profile
Main Asus router specific LAN port (VLAN ID 20, Priority 4) --> Singtel TV Box
Main Asus router other LAN ports (VLAN ID 10, Priority 0) --> secondary Asus router (AImesh mesh node)

If you are thinking of connecting the Singtel TV box to the mesh node, I tend to believe it will not work. You can always try at your own risk.

 

[xiaofan]

Good or not may depend on your use case. As of now, if you want cheap, then go for ISP bundled WiFi 7 router with 6GHz band.

Probably nothing can beat the value of TP-Link HB710 at S$192. Some Starhub shops are reported to sell HB710 at S$192 without checking if the user is a Starhub customer or not. YMMV.

Cheapest if you are with Starhub --> TP-Link HB710 at S$192 (dual 10G ports, triband BE18000); EB810v at S$360 (dual 10G ports, three 2.5G ports, triband BE22000). Both are TP-Link service provider models with slower bug fix and a bit less features than TP-Link consumer models.

Amazon eero Max 7 --> VQ bundle, or Simba at S$399 (dual 10G ports, dual 2.5G ports, triband BE20800)

Archer BE805 --> M1/MR bundle (dual 10G ports, quad 1G ports, triband BE19000)

Asus ZenWiFi BT10 --> M1 bundle (dual 10G ports, one 1G port, triband BE18000)

If you do not go with ISP bundle, go for Carousell and search for above models.

I am not good at finding lobangs. Anyway, the following reference price is from a quick check of Carousell BNIB units listing price. I tend to believe the final transaction price will be a bit lower.

Asus ZenWiFi BT10 --> two units at about S$860 to S$888. I tend to think the price will soon drop to S$800 for two units and S$400 for one unit. It may go down further in year 2025. Asus Singapore list price is high at S$699 for single unit and S$1299 for two units.

TP-Link Archer BE805 --> S$440 to S$450. I tend to think the real price will be at about S$400.

TP-Link EB810v (TP-Link Service Provider Model for Starhub) --> S$330 to S$360. Starhub is selling it at S$360 to 5Gbps/10Gbps plan users.

TP-Link HB810 (TP-Link Service Provider Model for Singtel) --> S$400 to S$410. Singtel is selling it at S$16.80 x 24 = S$403.2 to Singtel users (free week day installation). Singtel claims that the usual price is at S$799.
https://www.singtel.com/personal/products-services/broadband/eform/wifi7

TP-Link HB710 (TP-Link Service Provider Model for Starhub/MR) --> S$192 to S$240. Starhub is selling it at S$192 to 5Gbps/10Gbps plan users.

Amazon eero Max 7 --> very few listings, around S$499 listed.

 

[cutiepie23]

Asus China models and Singapore models will have the same HW and FW, if the two models are the same. So Singtel VLAN is supported.

But you need to be careful how you connect Singtel TV box.

Singtel ONT --> Main Asus China model like TUF-BE6500 with Singtel VLAN profile
Main Asus router specific LAN port (VLAN ID 20, Priority 4) --> Singtel TV Box
Main Asus router other LAN ports (VLAN ID 10, Priority 0) --> secondary Asus router (AImesh mesh node)

If you are thinking of connecting the Singtel TV box to the mesh node, I tend to believe it will not work. You can always try at your own risk.

thanks a lot, i think i will check with Singtel how to get this done before i hoot the router, but i think they will give me kuku answer....

yap, I am thinking using the mesh node as the one connecting to Singtel TV Box.

but if i use TP Link with mesh, is it possible to connect the secondary to Singtel TV Box?

 

[xiaofan]

thanks a lot, i think i will check with Singtel how to get this done before i hoot the router, but i think they will give me kuku answer....

yap, I am thinking using the mesh node as the one connecting to Singtel TV Box.

but if i use TP Link with mesh, is it possible to connect the secondary to Singtel TV Box?

Same. I believe that is the difficult part.

I do not know of any 3rd party mesh solution which will works with the following configuration.
Singtel ONT --> 3rd party router with VLAN profile --> 3rd party mesh node --> Singtel TV box

I think SIngtel issued router will work (need to confirm with Singtel).
Singtel ONT --> Singtel Router with built-in VLAN profile --> Corresponding Singtel Mesh Extender --> Singtel TV box

As per the report, Singtel no longer offers recontract of legacy ONT based plans. For all new recontract, ONR will be used.

For Singtel ONR, then there are a few 3rd party mesh solution which will work (very limited).
Singtel ONR --> Netgear Orbi in AP mode --> Netgear Orbi mesh node --> Singtel TV box
Singtel ONR --> Linksys E9450 in AP mode --> Linksys E9450 mesh node --> Singtel TV box
Singtel ONR --> Singtel mesh --> Singtel mesh --> Singtel TV Box

 

[prince_fan]

This is just a switch and not a router. What is the connection do you have in mind?

ONT --> unmanaged switch --> router ===> this will not work.

Ugreen/Xiaomi are not the popular brands here even though they have the offering. But they should be fine as well (only unmanaged switch).

More popular China brands are Hasivo and XikeStor.

I am using two Hasivo switches in my current setup.

More info about 10G capable router and switches:
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...-port-switch-and-vq-xgs-pon-onu-stick.7047645
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...and-switch-rj45-version-no-sfp-ports.7072646/

You can also refer to the connection scheme here.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...ns-for-3gbps-5gbps-6gbps-10gbps-plan.7073159/

haha interesting, despite the wasting one port on the switch, i wonder will it work? ie ONT>switch>router, just using the switch as a bridge, not serving much purpose, will the connection actually work?

 

[xiaofan]

haha interesting, despite the wasting one port on the switch, i wonder will it work? ie ONT>switch>router, just using the switch as a bridge, not serving much purpose, will the connection actually work?

No. If you just use one port of the unmanaged switch, it might work, but that is not what you want, right? You want to use the switch so that you can have functional LAN ports in the rooms (so at least two devices connected to the unmanaged switch).

It is possible to use a managed switch before the router but not a unmanaged switch. Even for managed switch, the usual purpose is to separate the WAN port and LAN port, and often you need two managed switch to move the main router to a central location, yet keep the room LAN ports to be functional. This is a more advanced network configuration and not so common.

ONT -- 1st managed switch in the DB box -- single Ethernet Cable carrying VLAN for WAN and LAN port (trunk) -- living room LAN port -- 2nd managed switch -- main router in the living room

In the end it is probably easier to put a router in the DB box.

 

[prince_fan]

No. If you just use one port of the unmanaged switch, it might work, but that is not what you want, right? You want to use the switch so that you can have functional LAN ports in the rooms (so at least two devices connected to the unmanaged switch).

It is possible to use a managed switch before the router but not a unmanaged switch. Even for managed switch, the usual purpose is to separate the WAN port and LAN port, and often you need two managed switch to move the main router to a central location, yet keep the room LAN ports to be functional. This is a more advanced network configuration and not so common.

ONT -- 1st managed switch in the DB box -- single Ethernet Cable carrying VLAN for WAN and LAN port (trunk) -- living room LAN port -- 2nd managed switch -- main router in the living room

In the end it is probably easier to put a router in the DB box.

right gotcha, i was thinking if the simple set up would work, just treating the switch literally as a piece of wire complete waste of resources but the connection would still go live if just ont>switch>router.

 

[phayze]

Does the TP link HB710 have build in vpn server?

 

[xiaofan]

Does the TP link HB710 have build in vpn server?

Yes, with IPsec and OpenVPN server/client support, but no Wireguard VPN server/client support. Same for EB810v and HB810. TP-Link Service Provider models do not support Wireguard VPN server/client as of now.
https://www.tp-link.com/sg/service-provider/wifi-router/hb710/#specifications
https://www.tp-link.com/sg/service-provider/wifi-router/eb810v/#specifications
https://www.tp-link.com/sg/service-provider/wifi-router/hb810/#specifications

VPN	PPTP, OpenVPN, IPSec

 

[xiaofan]

Wireguard VPN Server/Client Speed Comparison for WiFi 7 routers.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/wifi-7-routers-with-high-vpn-server-speed.7087782/

My own test results:
Asus TUF-BE6500 wireguard server speed is roughly about 550-600Mbps download, 730-830Mbps upload. Qualcomm IPQ5322 CPU.
Asus RT-AX86U wireguard server speed is roughly about 440-540 Mbps download, 610-690 Mbps upload. Broadcom BCM4908 CPU.

Data collected from the following Youtube Channel in German: not so sure if it is Wireguard VPN server or Client. I tend to guess the performance is for Wireguard VPN Client.
https://www.youtube.com/@CLPTutorials/videos

The author mentions that Asus Wireguard VPN implementation only uses two core of the CPU and not 4-core.

Asus ROG GT-BE19000 -- 889 Mbps download, 748 Mbps upload (BCM 4916 CPU)
Asus ROG GT-BE98 -- 1058 Mbps download, 735 Mbps upload (BCM 4916 CPU)
Asus RT-BE88U -- 1134 Mbps download, 677 Mbps upload (BCM 4916 CPU)
Asus RT-BE92U -- 752 Mbps download, 503 Mbps upload (BCM6755/6754 CPU)
TP-Link Archer GE800 -- 2113 Mbps download, 1057 Mbps upload (IPQ9574 CPU)
TP-Link Archer BE800 -- 2114 Mbps download, 1979 Mbps upload (IPQ9574 CPU)
TP-Link Archer BE550 -- 1682 Mbps download, 1232 Mbps upload (IPQ9554 CPU)
TP-Link Archer BE230 -- 865 Mbps download, 814 Mbps upload (BCM6755/6754 CPU)

 

[Yongkit]

Yes, with IPsec and OpenVPN server/client support, but no Wireguard VPN server/client support. Same for EB810v and HB810. TP-Link Service Provider models do not support Wireguard VPN server/client as of now.
https://www.tp-link.com/sg/service-provider/wifi-router/hb710/#specifications
https://www.tp-link.com/sg/service-provider/wifi-router/eb810v/#specifications
https://www.tp-link.com/sg/service-provider/wifi-router/hb810/#specifications

VPN	PPTP, OpenVPN, IPSec

seems asus have better VPN support than tp-link