GT-BE98 WIFI 7

[Itsjustmd15]

Has the Merlin firmware always been the best firmware for Asus routers? I'm buying an Asus router for the first time. I have an ASUS modem but not a router. And I just ordered BE98. I see people talking about the Merlin firmware. I assume it will also be available soon for BE98 router. But just to understand, what benefits is it bringing to the routers?

Most people on here swear by it, and I myself have had a good experience with it. It's not known whether it will be coming or not. We'll have to wait and see.

 

[kaanaslan]

Most people on here swear by it, and I myself have had a good experience with it. It's not known whether it will be coming or not. We'll have to wait and see.

Where is it coming from : )

 

[Itsjustmd15]

Where is it coming from : )

Merlin. Several things have to line up though, and he only does it for routers he owns, I believe. He also doesn't like to be asked if it's coming for a specific model or not if I remember correctly. So we'll just have to wait and see.

 

[kaanaslan]

Merlin. Several things have to line up though, and he only does it for routers he owns, I believe. He also doesn't like to be asked if it's coming for a specific model or not if I remember correctly. So we'll just have to wait and see.

Oh is this Merlin the person who sometimes also give answers in the forum? I think I remember. I had asked a few questions about WIFI 7 routers and his comments were very helpful. I didn't know he was writing the firmware of Merlin I'm sure he's going to get a BE98

 

[RMerlin]

I don't have anything to announce at this time regarding potential support for the GT-BE98U.

 

[Plak]

Setup my 2nd BE98 Pro in a wired aimesh configuration. Annoying thing it did after enabling ethernet backhaul was changing the 5 ghz wifi password so I had to go enter it manually and reboot some clients for it to connect. After that it's working REALLY well! I am really pleased with this setup. Can't wait to see the firmware update arrive as there are definitely some bugs with the web ui that I'll send some feedback to asus. I am also surprised both routers keep a nice balance on which devices connect to nearest router. Going to let it settle and add some other remaining clients but so far this is awesome.

 

[AndyD]

Do you use smart connect ?
If so has any client connected to the 5Ghz radio of your node ?
I have 2 BE98's in a wired aimesh configuration, those have 2 5Ghz Radios

 

[Plak]

I do not use smart connect. But yes I do have clients on the 5 ghz channel on the node that are connected working with no issues.

 

[AndyD]

No clients can connect on the 5Ghz Radios of my node BE98.
I guess its an issue with Aimesh on this firmware version...
2.4 and 6Ghz have no issues.

 

[Plak]

Without a doubt there is definitely some weird aimesh issues. Like I have the channel selected for 5 ghz but it is still showing auto channel selection. I know its working great but its just not showing it on the webui. Tried clearing cache of my browser too.

Curious, did you by any chance change any settings for the 5 ghz channel in the professional tab like the wireless mode? I always try to leave things on default. I was surprised how quickly clients nearby connected to the node that I have downstairs after I get it setup.

 

[AndyD]

No, I left things at default for now as messing with something that isn't properly working atm would probably bring more issues.
What was weird though was, that upon enabling ethernet backhaul mode, I was asked to verify the wireless SSIDs and passwords,
The only ones that showed were the 2.4Ghz band and a single 5ghz band using the the _dwb on the SSID which is usually what Aimesh uses.
Some really odd thing happening with Aimesh...

 

[Plak]

Yes I actually sent feedback to asus about that. When you enable ethernet backhaul only 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz band show up, no 6 ghz. AND what it does is overwrite the wifi password for 5 ghz! I had to go back and re-enter it. It would take the 2.4 ghz password use it on the 5 ghz so no clients would connect to the 5 ghz band. Double check maybe make sure your 5 ghz password wasn't changed?

 

[AndyD]

Using Smart Connect, so only 1 password is used and you cant change passwords for individual bands.

 

[Plak]

Oh yea that's right almost forgot. Guess we'll see when the firmware updates come. Probably will be soon anyway once people start buying this more. It's been out of stock at newegg constantly.

 

[aublumberg]

FYI ... Asus has now made available the full user manual for the BE98 Pro here https://rog.asus.com/networking/rog-rapture-gt-be98-pro/helpdesk_manual/. Not available yet for the BE98 but should be very similar apart from the number of 6Ghz bands.

 

[L&LD]

Don't see that GUI mockup.

Or, are you just pointing to the manuals?

 

[aublumberg]

Yup, manual (post corrected). 'Menus' inside the manual.

 

[madhatter01]

Got mine Friday. Gui is fluid for once. In the past Asus routers just always seemed a little laggy. I love all the new Guest wifi and VLan stuff.

Only bug is the connected devices list does not update frequently.

 

[OneFingeredFist]

Got mine Friday. Gui is fluid for once. In the past Asus routers just always seemed a little laggy. I love all the new Guest wifi and VLan stuff.

Only bug is the connected devices list does not update frequently.

do you see better range with the 2 or 5 ghz bands

 

[codyrocco]

Using an Intel BE200 card, I'm obtaining only 108/2882 Mbps D/U speed in 6GHz band; in 5GHz is 2882/2882 Mbps.
Also, I understand this router will have a later MLO implementation, should I hope for doubling the speed?
Then, it's a nightmare working with older ESP8266 IoT devices; finally I disabled every bit of technology older than WiFi4 in 2.4GHz band.