Move from RT-AC88U to what?

[Polly]

Apologies if this post is inappropriate here - I looked at forum rules but I might have missed something. If so please move/delete this thread.

My time with my somewhat-loyal RT-AC88U is coming to a close, and having run Merlin on this and previous routers for many years, I'd like to buy a replacement. I have a MacBook Pro arriving and it would be nice ideally to run this and future devices at faster speeds, and continue with a supported Merlin release. I'm trying to decide what model to buy and would really value practical experience-led advice.

The most obvious choice seems to be the RT-BE88U. I need the larger number of ports ideally (BE88U +) and would benefit from more/faster ones. Alternatives would be the RT-BE92U (I don't want to spend more than roughly this unless I get a big upgrade at a higher price bracket) or fall back to an RT-AX88U if the BE models have some serious instability issues or other problems. I note the BE92U supports 6GHz which the BE88U doesn't, but I'm never in the same room as my router, and although I get 5GHz fine through my thick Victorian stone wall with my current setup, I doubt 6GHz would reach. Or am I wrong?

I notice also that the BE92U is 2x2 while the BE88U is 4x4 - better range? Ideally I'd like to get better range than my current setup but with mysterious blackspots in my house I'm facing facts that I'm likely to still need an AiMesh addon for a blackspot, so I'd like the new router to work nicely with an old RT-AC86U (or my current router) albeit accepting much lower speeds for clients there, especially as I have to operate AiMesh via wifi for now.

I don't honestly understand why ASUS would market a faster but dual-band Wifi 7 router with 4x4 and a slightly cheaper slower tri-band Wifi7 with 2x2, but oh well. If anyone has any insights or general advice in my situation, very appreciated!

 

[Tech9]

The most obvious choice seems to be the RT-BE88U.

Best direct replacement model for your RT-AC88U is RT-BE88U. The firmware is not perfect, you have to be patient.

I'd like the new router to work nicely with an old RT-AC86U

It will work as AiMesh node, but with limited compatibility. The new Guest Network Pro features won't be available.

 

[degrub]

Don't let the number of faster ports limit your choices. That is easily overcome by using an independent switch of whatever link rate you want for local LAN traffic. If you think you will want to segregate traffic with VLANs, then look for a managed or semi-managed switch. Some non-managed switches will strip VLAN tags but many will pass them through. There are recommendations both in the ASUS and LAN/switches subforums.

 

[Polly]

Best direct replacement model for your RT-AC88U is RT-BE88U. The firmware is not perfect, you have to be patient.

It will work as AiMesh node, but with limited compatibility. The new Guest Network Pro features won't be available.

Thanks for this - good to know I'm on the right track. This prompted me to look up what Guest Network Pro actually is and made me want it! However it's just a desirable. If I needed it in due course, would I be able to if I bought (say) an RT-BE86U?

 

[Polly]

Don't let the number of faster ports limit your choices. That is easily overcome by using an independent switch of whatever link rate you want for local LAN traffic. If you think you will want to segregate traffic with VLANs, then look for a managed or semi-managed switch. Some non-managed switches will strip VLAN tags but many will pass them through. There are recommendations both in the ASUS and LAN/switches subforums.

Thanks, useful. I have a couple of cheap and cheerful Netgear unmanaged switches but if these don't passthru I can buy managed when I want to use VLANs.

 

[degrub]

Thanks for this - good to know I'm on the right track. This prompted me to look up what Guest Network Pro actually is and made me want it! However it's just a desirable. If I needed it in due course, would I be able to if I bought (say) an RT-BE86U?

If it is not a listed feature now, don't count on it at all. Remember, ASUS is first and foremost in the business of marketing and selling new hardware. There really is no such thing as "future proof". And the first few years, at least, are beta testing on consumers.

 

[JoeHz]

GNP will eventually work quite well I think. Just the new features GNP offer end with at router or mesh node that is running 3006. Older Asus models will limit you by the number of networks they can share, and (if you see my experience in a recent thread) will also try, but silently fail to extend wifi networks configured with VLAN identifiers (a client will be able to connect to the mesh node running earlier than 3006 without any difficulty, but will be able to see no other clients in such a configuration -- I was able to resolve this by removing the 3004 node from the problem).

I pointedly did not purchase a BE capable upgrade due to the price differential, and in retrospect, I believe I chose very well by waiting for the paint to dry. For the moment, my 3004 node is happily extending a "boring" guest network, but I am keeping it oblivious of anything that would need GNP support. If this is okay for you, knock yourself out.

 

[Tech9]

If I needed it in due course, would I be able to if I bought (say) an RT-BE86U?

Yes, Asus routers running 3006 firmware work with Guest Network Pro. Models with custom VLAN control can propagate Guest Network Pro to LAN port as well. RT-BE86U runs 3006 firmware and has custom VLAN support. You have to set some investment threshold in home routers though because SMB hardware may come close and offer better LAN/WLAN segmentation feature set. BE-class dual-band APs with native VLAN support start from $100 (Omada EAP723 as an example).

 

[Polly]

This is all really useful, thanks for your thoughts. So if using my old AC86U proved problematic or too slow as an AiMesh node and I wanted to buy a small Wifi 7 device instead for my BE88U, would a BE58U suffice as a fully functional AiMesh node for just one or two clients? Might it run GNP in due course if I found I could use it?

 

[Tech9]

BE58U

Guest Network Pro will propagate to this model as Node, but there will be no Node VLAN to LAN port control since it doesn't have user VLAN options. Asus made it quite challenging task to mix and match different models if all the Router features need to be preserved. Unfortunately, most customers realize this only after purchase. Official AiMesh advertisement page is misleading. There is no full compatibility between all AiMesh Compatible devices, there is no seamless roaming and there is no signs of AI.

 

[Polly]

I'll be the first to admit I've never touched Guest Network Pro - first I heard about it is this thread - but I'd ideally like to set up a single isolated network for third party IoT devices, both wired and wireless. So apologies if this is a misunderstanding - are you saying this would work when connected to the BE88U but not when wired into the BE58U? Would a different model for node offer better compatibiity?