Connecting to the Internets

Asus RT-BE88U review

Wi-Fi 7 router priced at $599.

CHOICE Expert Rating

73%
What is the CHOICE Expert Rating?
Good points

Good Points

  •   Very good close range performance to a single client
  •   You don't need an online account to set it up
  •   Very good parental controls included (URL blocking, scheduling, age-based profiles)
  •   Mobile backup via USB
  •   Handled multi-client streams without interruption
Bad points

Bad Points

  •   Older 2.4GHz test device (LIFX LED bulb) could not be installed on the band-steered network; had to separate the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks and then re-enable band-steering for it to be installed on the main network, but it includes an IoT network by default to get around this issue
  •   Large and imposing design that may not be suitable for a living area
  •   Band-steering did not select the fastest available band in our difficult range test

Type

Type
Wi-Fi 7
Tri-band router (6Ghz)
Maximum NBN download speed (Mbps)
2000

Recommended products

Recommended
Recommended

Test results

CHOICE Expert rating
73%
Performance score
73%
Ease of use score
69%
Parental controls score
80%
Single client score
84%
Multi client score
76%
Obstructed range score
57%

Sustainability

Shop Ethical rating
C
Annual power consumption (kWh(
131
Warranty (years)
3
Claimed firmware update period
4 years; ends 31 December 2028
Country of origin
Vietnam

Related products

Availability
Tested model

Cost

Price
$599.00
Annual Running Cost
$52.53

Specifications

Antennas
External
Gigabit LAN ports
4
2.5 gigabit Ethernet ports
3
5 gigabit Ethernet ports
0
10 gigabit Ethernet ports
1
USB-2 ports
0
USB-3 ports
1
USB-C ports
0
WAN speed (Gbps)
10
Maximum channel width (MHz)
160
Power cable length (cm)
178
Power button or switch
1
Setup software
App
Weight (g)
1080
Dimensions (HxWxD)
190 x 220 x 395
Website
asus.com/au

Features

Wi-Fi bands
2.4/5
Maximum claimed speeds (Gbps)
1.3/5.7
Free parental controls
Parental controls type
Categorical filtering can be applied from the app
Mesh network support
Mesh network compatability
AiMesh
4/5G backup
VoIP
DLNA
MU-MIMO
Multi link operation (MLO)
Band steering
Guest networks
WPS
Turn LED lights on/off
Wall mountable
USB drive sharing
Web interface available
Default encryption
WPA2/WPA3
VPN
VPN type
Server and client, via app
Orientation
Flat
Scheduling
Offline and online schedules

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