Asus RT-BE58 Go Review on STH

[sfx2000]

Review here....

ASUS RT-BE58 Go Portable WiFi 7 Router Review

We take the ASUS RT-BE58 Go portable WiFi 7 router for a spin and see how this tiny gateway performs under high-end loads

www.servethehome.com

 

[maxbraketorque]

I just bought one to use as an AP at my in-law's house. I'll be installing it in about a week.

 

[opq]

First impressions playing around, for me the biggest missing feature with this BE58 Go that its competitors have, is spoofing/custom WAN MAC address options. Both GL.inet and TP-Link have easy options (especially when setting up WISP mode) to set a randomized / rotating WAN MAC address. It would be great if ASUS would add something similar. It can't be that hard to do this.

Speaking of using this router, it seems like the firmware is pretty buggy at the moment (even after updating from the 3.0.0.6.102.38969 firmware my unit shipped with to the "initial release" of 38978. A few of the very innocent looking settings (like setting a WAN MAC address, and changing the WLAN 2.4/5GHz bands/frequencies) causes clients to only connect at 2.4GHz, even if you change the settings back. I have to restore from a backup config or factory reset. I just spent 2 hours wondering why after changing some settings that my clients could only connect to the travel router via 2.4GHz.

 

[RMerlin]

spoofing/custom WAN MAC address options.

You can already enter your own WAN MAC address (typically you might want to use your laptop's MAC if it's used for authentication).

 

[opq]

You can already enter your own WAN MAC address (typically you might want to use your laptop's MAC if it's used for authentication).

View attachment 69581

Yes. But others have this as part of the WISP set up flow, so you wouldn’t have to remember to do this separate from selecting a new AP.

Also at least for me, if I change that option on the BE58 Go, all of its clients will stop connecting to 5GHz to the travel router, only to 2.4GHz. This is the issue I mentioned in the second part of my post above. I think it’s a bug because even if I remove the MAC address there, the issue persists. I have to restore from a backup config or factory reset.

 

[RMerlin]

But others have this as part of the WISP set up flow, so you wouldn’t have to remember to do this separate from selecting a new AP.

It makes sense for a Quick Internet Setup to only ask you for the most common settings, otherwise it will stop being QUICK, and it will also confuse new users. Having to use a custom MAC is an unusual requirement only needed by a minority, therefore it makes more sense to be configured separately, just like other advanced features such as TTL spoofing.

 

[win465]

Hey Merlin, do you think this would be a good router to add as a mesh system with my existing BE88U? I need a bit more range and was wondering if it would be worth it.

 

[opq]

MAC Address - GL.iNet Router Docs 4

Documentation for GL.iNet Router Productions

docs.gl-inet.com

Just for everyone’s reference. Here is what it looks like for what is arguably the most popular travel router lineup. You get to choose Factory Default, Cloned, or Custom with a Random. While not a huge deal, definitely a welcome user experience.

 

[RMerlin]

Hey Merlin, do you think this would be a good router to add as a mesh system with my existing BE88U? I need a bit more range and was wondering if it would be worth it.

If wired, probably beacuse it's inexpensive. If using a wireless backhaul however probably not, due to the limited number of streams on that device (and your speed would end up being cut roughly in half for clients connecting to that node). But then, if you just need for your phone to be able to get emails from your backyard, the speed would be fine for that.