Asus RT-BE92U or RT-AX86U PRO

[geralds34]

My AX-86S(dated 2021) has started to randomly reboot every 3-4 days, which is the main router in the house. I also have an RT-AC86U(2018) which is used as an AP, and it is still working fine.

Don't see much hope to figure out whats going on AX-86S, its been rebooting on the last two releases of Merlin, and figure it just age etc.

The RT-AX86U Pro is in short supply here in Canada, but some stores still have the odd stock for $210.
The RT-BE92U is readily available for $320.

I do have 3 Gbps up/dn service, but if it was 1/1 Gbps or even 150/150 Mbps it would make no difference, as the VPN connections to work are throttled.

Is the AX86U Pro still considered the better, more seasoned router?

$ wise, these two units work out the same to me, as the closest AX86U Pro to me is an hour away in next town.

Only two of us in the house, heaviest useage is when downloading linux ISO releases, which is 10GB every couple of weeks.
Like to have a device that we last as long as the AC86U has!

 

[Ripshod]

IMHO stay away from the RT-BE92U. Amongst other things it has a weak 2x2:2 5Ghz band - okay if you have only one 2x2 device, but add others and it will struggle.
Only buy a wifi 7 router if you have, or will soon have, devices that can take advantage of it. Asus' Pro range are popular, but in my opinion (based on specs, uptake and price) the best of the bunch is the RT-AX86U Pro.
* Other brands are available

 

[Spartan]

My AX-86S(dated 2021) has started to randomly reboot every 3-4 days, which is the main router in the house. I also have an RT-AC86U(2018) which is used as an AP, and it is still working fine.

Don't see much hope to figure out whats going on AX-86S, its been rebooting on the last two releases of Merlin, and figure it just age etc.

The RT-AX86U Pro is in short supply here in Canada, but some stores still have the odd stock for $210.
The RT-BE92U is readily available for $320.

I do have 3 Gbps up/dn service, but if it was 1/1 Gbps or even 150/150 Mbps it would make no difference, as the VPN connections to work are throttled.

Is the AX86U Pro still considered the better, more seasoned router?

$ wise, these two units work out the same to me, as the closest AX86U Pro to me is an hour away in next town.

Only two of us in the house, heaviest useage is when downloading linux ISO releases, which is 10GB every couple of weeks.
Like to have a device that we last as long as the AC86U has!

My previous setup was the RT-AX86U Pro as the main router and GT-AX6000 as the node.

I wanted to try WiFi 7 and did a lot of research, the BE88U and BE86U didn't make sense to me as they lack the 6GHz band so I wouldn't be getting the most out of the WiFi 7. Then there is the GT-BE98 which is triple the price of the BE92U.

I was scared though as I saw many reviews stating that it overheats but since I was out of choices, I figured I'd give it a shot and return it if I have any issues.

To my surprise, it has been perfect, I bought two BE92U routers and connected them in a wired backhaul AiMesh and haven't had one disconnection since day one. I enabled MLO and now my devices switch between the 2.4, 5GHz and 6GHz band seamlessly and I'm getting insane speeds on wireless.

what really boggles my mind is how the cheaper BE92U has the 6GHz band yet the BE88U and BE86U which are double the price don't.

 

[geralds34]

IMHO stay away from the RT-BE92U. Amongst other things it has a weak 2x2:2 5Ghz band - okay if you have only one 2x2 device, but add others and it will struggle.
Only buy a wifi 7 router if you have, or will soon have, devices that can take advantage of it. Asus' Pro range are popular, but in my opinion (based on specs, uptake and price) the best of the bunch is the RT-AX86U Pro.
* Other brands are available

Suggestions, in the sub $250 CDN range? As I have fibre now, I fiddle less with my netowrk gear now, would like to set it and forget it, just patch when new patch is released.

 

[Ripshod]

I have my own experience and a unique setup with, @Spartan pointed out, no 6GHz band. That's no loss to me right now.
RT-AX86U Pro is the goto right now, best balance of features vs price. But your setup/environment will be totally different to mine. Have a look on the manufacturers' sites and see exactly what's on offer and what you can make good use of.

 

[degrub]

Swap out the power wall wart if you can. See if it feels hot, cold, or warm before you unplug it. Just an idea.

 

[Tech9]

Suggestions, in the sub $250 CDN range?

What about free... using what you already have? Swap your routers, make RT-AX86U main with RT-AX86S node. The latter is not very good for Asuswrt-Merlin since it has only 512MB RAM with under 100MB available after boot. RT-AX86U has 2x RAM, 1024MB. Reset to factory defaults, configure manually and I'm sure they'll work well enough for you for years. You may not need to buy a new router at all.

 

[geralds34]

What about free... using what you already have? Swap your routers, make RT-AX86U main with RT-AX86S node. The latter is not very good for Asuswrt-Merlin since it has only 512MB RAM with under 100MB available after boot. RT-AX86U has 2x RAM, 1024MB. Reset to factory defaults, configure manually and I'm sure they'll work well enough for you for years. You may not need to buy a new router at all.

The Main is the AX86S with an AC86U used as an AP. The AC86U by most accounts, should have burned up years ago....

 

[Tech9]

Ah, okay... in this case reset and reconfigure your RT-AX86S and if you prefer Asuswrt-Merlin on it go light with scripts. This router runs low on RAM and if it gets to the the point swap file is needed - it's dead. Or try stock Asuswrt on both routers until you find a suitable for your budget and needs replacement.

 

[RMerlin]

Check if the AC adapters of your two routers are similar, and if so try swapping them. Router instability has occasionally been caused by a faulty AC adapter. Replacing it would be cheaper than a new router.