Looking for WiFi 6/6e/7 router with multi-gig LAN ports

[kyrilsindermann]

Hey all, first time posting here.

I'm currently using my ISP's gateway because it was a pain to put it into PPPoE passthrough mode. However I'm switching ISP in the near future where they'll have a separate ONT modem unit so I thought this was a good opportunity to get a new router. At the moment I only have an old ASUS RT-AC66U B1.

I found a tutorial on this forum about how to set up PPPoE login on the new ISP and my understanding is that I need something that can set up VLANs. There are other ISPs serving my area that offer 1.5Gbps and 3Gbps intenet plans so I'd like a 2.5G+ WAN port. My internal LAN is set up for 2.5G so I need at least one 2.5G LAN port. I suppose I could link aggregate 1G ports, but I don't believe my unmanaged 2.5G switch supports link aggregation. My new internet service will be 1Gbps/750Mbps, and I live in an apartment. With my current ISP's provided WiFi 6e router, I have no issues with coverage. I don't have any WiFi 7 devices at the moment, but I may be getting a new phone in the new year which would presumably have WiFi 7.

Don't have a hard budget, but I'd like to spend less than C$350.

In short, my requirements are:
- VLANs
- 2.5G or faster WAN port
- One or more 2.5G LAN port (though I suppose I could get a managed 2.5G switch for link aggregation, but at that point I might as well buy a more expensive router)
- Capable of gigabit internet, preferably capable of up to 3Gbps fibre internet
- Only 2 users so probably 2-5 devices in use at any time
- WiFi 7 would be nice, but I think WiFi 6/6e is totally adequate for my needs

Here are a few options I found:
ASUS RT-AX88U Pro - C$279.98
Dual-band WiFi 6 AX6000
1x 2.5G WAN port
1x 2.5G LAN port

TP-Link BE9300 Archer BE550 - C$284.97
Tri-band WiFi 7 BE9300
1x 2.5G WAN port
4x 2.5G LAN ports (!!!)
Reviews seem to indicate this has middling performance across the board, but it is one of the cheapest Tri-band WiFi 7 routers I could find. Would probably have worse WiFi 6/5 performance than the RT-AX88U Pro.

GL-inet Flint 2 - C$168.29
Dual-band WiFi 6 AX6000
1x 2.5G WAN port
1x 2.5G WAN/LAN port
I had never heard of this company before but they seem to focus on using their routers as VPN clients which I would not be interested in. Seems to be good value for a WiFi 6 router with dual 2.5G ports though.

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Pro - C$399.99
Tri-band WiFi 6 AX11000
1x 10G WAN/LAN port
1x 2.5G WAN/LAN port

ASUS RT-BE96U - C$629.99
Tri-band WiFi 7 BE19000
1x 10G WAN/LAN port
1x 10G LAN port
This is way more money than I want to spend though.

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 EVA Edition - $299.98
Dual-band WiFi 6 AX6000
1x 2.5G WAN/LAN port
1x 2.5G LAN port
Cool Neon Genesis Evangelion design

The TP-Link Archer BE550 is attractive with the huge number of 2.5G ports and WiFi 7, but speeds are a downer. I would like a WiFi 6e router, but there don't seem to be a whole lot of WiFi 6e products with dual 2.5G ports on the market. The GL-inet Flint 2 is so much cheaper than all the others that I'm leaning towards that one, but I don't know anything about the company. I think I would rather pay an extra $110-130 for the RT-AX88U Pro or the ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 EVA edition.

Are there any other options I should check out? Should I really go for a WiFi 7 router instead?

 

[Tech9]

ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 EVA edition

You REALLY want this thing??

 

[Tech9]

GL.iNet GL-MT6000 Flint 2
I had never heard of this company before but they seem to focus on using their routers as VPN clients

This one is excellent for OpenWrt in case you are interested in open-source firmware. The stock firmware is OpenWrt based with quite nice custom UI on top, vanilla OpenWrt image is available. In my opinion - best price/performance and the support may be longer than everything else on your list.

 

[alba666]

I got an Asus BE92 about 10 days ago. WAN port is 10G, 4 LAN ports are 2.5G. WiFi 7 gives you MLO if you have WiFi 7 clients.

 

[kyrilsindermann]

I got an Asus BE92 about 10 days ago. WAN port is 10G, 4 LAN ports are 2.5G. WiFi 7 gives you MLO if you have WiFi 7 clients.

I can't seem to find the BE92 on the Canadian market.

 

[Tech9]

BestBuy Canada:

 

[kyrilsindermann]

BestBuy Canada:

View attachment 62685

Nice find, don't know how I missed that. Seems to perform identically to the RT-AX88U Pro while being a bit cheaper, so I think this GT-AX6000 and the GL-inet Flint 2 are my best options.

How long does ASUS support devices for? I see my old RT-AC66U B1 is EOL, but the most recent update was just a few days ago.

My concern with the GL-inet is that I've seen a number of reports of Flint 2 users having troubles with PPPoE (though some of those reports are nearly a year old). Frankly I want my router to just work out of the box without too much tinkering, but I can appreciate the extended lifespan that OpenWRT support will give the device.

 

[Listedguru2]

Nice find, don't know how I missed that. Seems to perform identically to the RT-AX88U Pro while being a bit cheaper, so I think this GT-AX6000 and the GL-inet Flint 2 are my best options.

How long does ASUS support devices for? I see my old RT-AC66U B1 is EOL, but the most recent update was just a few days ago.

My concern with the GL-inet is that I've seen a number of reports of Flint 2 users having troubles with PPPoE (though some of those reports are nearly a year old). Frankly I want my router to just work out of the box without too much tinkering, but I can appreciate the extended lifespan that OpenWRT support will give the device.

I'm in the market for a router too and I have the same (3) routers on my short list as you do. I can get each of them for about the same price as I have gift cards that I could use on both the Asus GT-AX6000 and the Asus RT-AX88U Pro that would bring those down to roughly the same price the Flint 2 sells for. Honestly I'm not sure what the best option for me is at this point. I know I want something I can rely on for the next (5) years or so that's hopefully going to be rock solid stable.

 

[kyrilsindermann]

I'm in the market for a router too and I have the same (3) routers on my short list as you do. I can get each of them for about the same price as I have gift cards that I could use on both the Asus GT-AX6000 and the Asus RT-AX88U Pro that would bring those down to roughly the same price the Flint 2 sells for. Honestly I'm not sure what the best option for me is at this point. I know I want something I can rely on for the next (5) years or so that's hopefully going to be rock solid stable.

I think you'd be fine with the ASUS products for 5 years. Based on some cursory research, they seem to support routers for about 10 years (RT-AC68U launched in 2014; reached EOL earlier this year). All else being equal, the GT-AX6000 has an extra USB2 port over the RT-AX88U Pro so I'd lean towards the former.

One major benefit I've found for the Flint 2 is they have an integrated Adguard Home instance so you can very easily set up an adblocking DNS server.

 

[Listedguru2]

I think you'd be fine with the ASUS products for 5 years. Based on some cursory research, they seem to support routers for about 10 years (RT-AC68U launched in 2014; reached EOL earlier this year). All else being equal, the GT-AX6000 has an extra USB2 port over the RT-AX88U Pro so I'd lean towards the former.

One major benefit I've found for the Flint 2 is they have an integrated Adguard Home instance so you can very easily set up an adblocking DNS server.

Thanks for the reply. Honestly I don't think any of these three would be a bad choice for me. That is a good point you bring up about the Flint 2 having an integrated Adguard for adblocking. I'm not sure if this is something you can do on Asus so more for me to research. Not sure I would really need to extra USB2 port on the GT-AX6000 but I guess it can't hurt either. Currently it looks like the GT-AX6000 is $10 cheaper for me than the 88 Pro.

 

[kyrilsindermann]

I'm not sure if this is something you can do on Asus so more for me to research.

It seems to be possible on the ASUS with the custom Merlin firmware, and there's an installation script floating around these forums to easily install it. So it's just a bit more work and fiddling around.

 

[Tech9]

they seem to support routers for about 10 years

RT-AC68U was a special case and the extra long support served special purpose. Way newer and more capable models were EoL-ed before it. For newer models available today count on 4-6 years support after release date with few years of Asuswrt beta testing included in this period. With TP-Link you may get 2-3 years of support, if lucky and with popular model. OpenWrt supported router may go as long as OpenWrt development goes.

 

[sfx2000]

In short, my requirements are:
- VLANs
- 2.5G or faster WAN port
- One or more 2.5G LAN port (though I suppose I could get a managed 2.5G switch for link aggregation, but at that point I might as well buy a more expensive router)
- Capable of gigabit internet, preferably capable of up to 3Gbps fibre internet
- Only 2 users so probably 2-5 devices in use at any time
- WiFi 7 would be nice, but I think WiFi 6/6e is totally adequate for my needs

MT6000 meets all the reqs outside of WiFi7...

There's the Asus AX6000 device on the same chipset...

[OpenWrt Wiki] ASUS TUF-AX6000

openwrt.org

 

[Tech9]

- Only 2 users so probably 2-5 devices in use at any time

What type of Internet use and what doesn't fit in Gigabit?

 

[kyrilsindermann]

I ended up getting the GT-AX6000 from Best Buy. Got a $350 gift card from Best Buy after signing up to a new wireless plan using them + a new phone, so I got the router for free basically.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Listedguru2]

I ended up getting the GT-AX6000 from Best Buy. Got a $350 gift card from Best Buy after signing up to a new wireless plan using them + a new phone, so I got the router for free basically.

Thanks for all the help!

Sounds like a great deal. Hopefully you can post your thoughts after you've had it up and running for a few days.