Hello All, thanks for all the feedback.
I ended up choosing a single unit of the BT10 for my needs, which I could consider reasonably typical - especially for two factors:
(1) I wanted to use the 6 GHz band in a crowded 5 GHz-band neigborhood. Despite all the inputs, I can't use wired backhaul because it will be very expensive work required by a contractor to install Ethernet or MoCa at the locations I need the placements - in the location I'm at - such contractors are very, very expensive. So I had to fall back on being fully wireless for all my home network needs. Furthermore, in a mid-split upgraded cable network in the wires, I figured that MoCa has risks because of frequency overlap with Xfinity/Comcast's cable internet frequencies, I've read.
The only wired backhaul that would have worked logistically was Power over Ethernet, but that's not effective for gigabit-speed backhauls.
(2) I didn't need the twin 6 GHz bands, which would really need to have reasonable penetration across the wooden walls of my home - and my latest Apple Macs don't support the higher 6 GHz bands anyway. So that removed any opportunity/gains from getting the BE98Pro or the BQ16 Pro at higher price points.
That said, tri-band is really the sweet-spot for adopting Wifi 7 - so I abandoned the BE88 option, which lacks the 6 GHz band.
(3) I also really would like to continue using Merlin - and given that Merlin is now supporting BE96u - I'm really hoping that
@RMerlin or
@GNUton adopts the Asus BT10 in their stables. Its being sold as 1, 2 or 3 units - available across North America, Asia, UK/EU - by my checks. Its also Broadcom-based, has 2 GB RAM, 256 MB Flash and satisfies most of the conditions for adoption listed by Merlin. Frankly, Merlin has been THE reason I have stuck to Asus, so I'm really hoping Merlin adopts it.
(4) Finally, the
wireless modules in the FW has finally been stablized by the Nov 6 2024 update by Asus - making the BT10 actually very usable. I can certify that after running it for 3-4 days at home - its been quite stable without dropouts or other issues across all of the 3 bands. It is also an aesthetic design that can actually NOT be an spidery eyesore when positioned in the living room, unlike the BE98s and BE96 (The gamers might be fine having those in the basement, but those external designs are a veritable eyesore in any living room)
Having run it for the 3-4 days now, I'm getting 1.9 Gbps to 2.4 Gbps in the 6 GHz band when not across walls with 160 MHz channels, and a very usable 400 Mbps in the farthest corners of my home, through 2-3 wooden walls - all wireless. This is still without AFC for the BT10, which Asus will apparently enable in early 2025, per DongKnows review linked above. Furthermore, the 5 GHz band is providing additional support when used with AiMesh with Ax58u - offering a ~2 Gbps fallback link with 160 MHz channels, if the 6 GHz is too weak. With same names for the 6 GHz and 5 GHz band SSIDs, my Apple gear autoswitches between the 6 GHz and 5 GHz as needed. And I have an upgrade pathway with AsusWRT 5 and Wifi 7.
So, a happy camper, and really hoping for Merlin or Gnuton's adoption - Asus' VPN Fusion is quite poorly implemented relative to VPN Director, aside from Merlin's very efficient codebase overall, of course. Will be happy to donate for the cause, as I have in the past.
