Asus RT-BE86U features - thinking to buy it

[thisisme]

Hello ,

I have been using two Asus Ax86u pro one as main router and one as media bridge and I can not complain plus I have Asus RP Ax58 as wifi mesh connected to the main router , I get like about 400 to 500 and sometimes a bit more on the second router that is set to bridge mode , lately I noticed that my modem provider happens to have 2.5 gb port and the speed can go up to 2 gb and maybe more so I plugged the only port of Asus that is 2.5 gb directly to the modem , unfortunately having only one 2.5 gb port means not able to benefit from it specially that I have Nas that has two ports of 2.5 gb and plus a mini pc that I got 2.5 gb USB Ethernet adapter, in the other hand I have an option to use Asus as and in Access point mode since I have Topton N150 with four ports of 2.5 and it does run Opnsense but for the moment I would like to try Asus RT BE86U if someone could share their experience with it , I would like to see if this nee router can replace mine and to avoid any future issue with the 2.5 ports and plus for the speed and also for the limitations if VPN profiles if I can use more than two VPN profiles at once .


Looking forward for some useful and informative replies .

Thanks y'all

 

[bbunge]

If you do not need WIFI 7, stick with the AX86U Pro's. Also, if your Ethernet cable is not CAT 5e or better and tested you may not gain anything over a solid 1 GB cable structure except to waste your money.

 

[podkaracz1996]

If I were you I would look around for Ubiquiti dream router 7 instead of asus from what ive heard its much better in every aspect other than raw wifi performance than asus counter parts. Asus is a smelly buggy fart and whenever you open it to the internet it gets compromised from what we could hear recently, I am not sure how Ubuiquity looks in that regard but some people said its safe to open it to the web.

 

[Jeje2]

Agree with @bbunge - if you don't have a neeed for Wifi 7 -- no need to uppgrade.
I had the AX86U and it's warranty was about to end and on BF local reseller had a real good bargain - so I updated to BE86U 1½ years ago. Still no need for Wifi 7... And might have been better of with upgrading to AX86U Pro instead.

 

[iFrogMac]

Hello ,

I have been using two Asus Ax86u pro one as main router and one as media bridge and I can not complain plus I have Asus RP Ax58 as wifi mesh connected to the main router , I get like about 400 to 500 and sometimes a bit more on the second router that is set to bridge mode , lately I noticed that my modem provider happens to have 2.5 gb port and the speed can go up to 2 gb and maybe more so I plugged the only port of Asus that is 2.5 gb directly to the modem , unfortunately having only one 2.5 gb port means not able to benefit from it specially that I have Nas that has two ports of 2.5 gb and plus a mini pc that I got 2.5 gb USB Ethernet adapter, in the other hand I have an option to use Asus as and in Access point mode since I have Topton N150 with four ports of 2.5 and it does run Opnsense but for the moment I would like to try Asus RT BE86U if someone could share their experience with it , I would like to see if this nee router can replace mine and to avoid any future issue with the 2.5 ports and plus for the speed and also for the limitations if VPN profiles if I can use more than two VPN profiles at once .


Looking forward for some useful and informative replies .

Thanks y'all

Since this router is only a dual band router, I would agree with the others here on if you don't need WiFi 7 don't upgrade to it. The only exception I would add here is, if it was a Tri-Band router, and you had any WiFi 6E compatible devices. You could still get it to use the 6Ghz band for those devices, and be WiFi 7 ready. If that's something that applies to you, You need to look for a Tri-Band router. If you don't have any WiFi 6E devices stick with the routers you have unless you get into a situation where you also need faster than 1Gbps Ethernet.

 

[Smedley]

To offer a different opinion... The BE class (WiFi 7) routers will likely have a longer support horizon than the prior AX class (WiFi 6) devices. If you can get a BE device for about the same price as the older AX router, why not? You may not have WiFi 7 compatible devices now, but over the next few years you may upgrade your phones, laptops, desktops, and/or other devices. As for the 6 GHz band, depending on your home layout and router positioning, it may not even be viable, given its shorter reach, especially through walls and floors.

 

[thisisme]

Hey guys thanks a lot for the reply , so far useful but any info about the VPN profile limitation since I run some VPN profiles.

 

[thisisme]

If you do not need WIFI 7, stick with the AX86U Pro's. Also, if your Ethernet cable is not CAT 5e or better and tested you may not gain anything over a solid 1 GB cable structure except to waste your money.

Hello again , I just wanted to add My internet does indeed pass 1 gb I did test it and it reaches to 2 gb and seems like Asus Ax86u pro is the bottleneck with having only 1 port of 2.5 gb

 

[thisisme]

If I were you I would look around for Ubiquiti dream router 7 instead of asus from what ive heard its much better in every aspect other than raw wifi performance than asus counter parts. Asus is a smelly buggy fart and whenever you open it to the internet it gets compromised from what we could hear recently, I am not sure how Ubuiquity looks in that regard but some people said its safe to open it to the web.

Hello again ,

Trust me if I start going with Ubiquity I won't stop untill I have a full house full of their devices specially that they cover almost or everything so to speak from Nas to Router ...I am sticking to Asus for the moment but since my internet speed passes 2 gb I am like trying to understand if it is the moment or not to go with Asus Be86u and specially that the price is only 200 euro .

 

[thisisme]

To offer a different opinion... The BE class (WiFi 7) routers will likely have a longer support horizon than the prior AX class (WiFi 6) devices. If you can get a BE device for about the same price as the older AX router, why not? You may not have WiFi 7 compatible devices now, but over the next few years you may upgrade your phones, laptops, desktops, and/or other devices. As for the 6 GHz band, depending on your home layout and router positioning, it may not even be viable, given its shorter reach, especially through walls and floors.

Hello ,

Yes I agree with you and for the moment I found Asus Be86u for 200 euro and also found Brume 3 ( 3 ports of 2.5 gb ports ) to be added for 70 Euro .

 

[degrub]

You won't notice any significant user internet experience by doing the upgrade you are contemplating. The only change might be speed test results which do not reflect real world user experiences with servers around the internet.

 

[thisisme]

You won't notice any significant user internet experience by doing the upgrade you are contemplating. The only change might be speed test results which do not reflect real world user experiences with servers around the internet.

Hello ,

Thanks for the reply but for Asus Be 86u do you think 200 euro is a good deal specially that my main router Asus Ax86u pro still expensive and in the range of 250 to 330 Euro

 

[degrub]

No. i would not touch any wifi7 gear.

 

[Tech9]

do you think 200 euro is a good deal

Only if you spend the €200 towards something better than AiMesh. Stop chasing the ISP speed and investing in speed test. This specific RT-BE86U has broken features since release (like many ASUS BE-class routers), the dual-band Wi-Fi performance is similar to AX and user experience €200 later will be about the same.

 

[podkaracz1996]

Yea Unifi seems weaker than Asus in terms of security idk why people call it enterprise grade. Its vulnerability reached maximum severity score of 10 last weeks. Total compromise of the device without effort.

CVE-2026-22557​

 

[thisisme]

Important update :

I had a chance to use Asus Be86u and the only thing I did notice is the speed that comes from the ISP modem that did pass 2000 Mbps close to 2500 Mbps while in Asus Ax86u pro were stuck in 1900 Mbps , otherwise the features are the same , for my case I will return the Asus Be86u since I also got a great deal with Brume 3 for getting for an excellent price so I am using it as upfront / shield router , but if I had devices or more devices that do support 2.5 gb I would've kept it , so anybody willing to buy Asus Be86u I highly recommend it .
Only in my case : i am returning it for budget and compatibility reasons .

Important info for everybody before I forget:

Asus Be86u is also limited to support only two VPN profiles active at the same in VPN fusion the same as Asus Ax86u pro and with the last update now it is possible to use access token for Notdvpn so you can directly use wireguard config on the Router and ditch OpenVPN config of NordVpn .


Greetings for y'all

 

[uwish]

my primary reason for the upgrade was my LAN went from 1 Gig to 2.5 Gig. That was the primary driver for me, and just a note. I have CAT 5E cables and as long as they are under ~35 feet I can get >5G in LAN transfer speeds. There is an entire channel on youtube that goes over CAT 5 5E 6 6A 7 and 8 and they all can get 10 Gbps under 50 feet (minus the 5, 5E is the min).

 

[Tech9]

Total compromise of the device without effort.

Total misunderstanding what this CVE is about and inability to read or understand the information provided. This potential issue (because the attacker needs access to the network already and specific set of skills) was fixed two Network application updates ago.