Latest (Oct 2024) "best" recommended router for Merlin?

[sthornington]

Hi folks! Very typical question -- as of October 2024, what is the "best" Asus router supported by AsusWrt Merlin? I have an AX-RT88U but since I upgraded to gigabit FiOS, I've been finding the wifi speeds could be better. I used to really like the CAKE congestion control when I had 300Mbps even though it was borderline with that CPU, but otherwise I have been very happy with the combo and just want to upgrade to the "latest best thing" that might give me better performance, especially for my Macbook Pro which seems pretty fussy about 5GHz networks.

Thanks,

Simon.

 

[mynumero31]

Depend on your needs and budget, see supported models in https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/about.

 

[Tech9]

I upgraded to gigabit FiOS, I've been finding the wifi speeds could be better.

For eventually better Wi-Fi speeds you have to upgrade both router AND clients. For eventually longer firmware support - BE model and good luck with the new Asuswrt running on it. The latest and greatest on paper - GT-BE98 Pro.

 

[bennor]

If you haven't done so already, scan back through this subforum pages for Oct to see several past posts asking about choosing a router. For example...

Crystal ball - aka which router is likely gonna make it for a while

Apologies for bit of a clickbaity headline. I was looking into new models for myself, also friend asked me for a recommendation so I was trying to figure out if the one I have (AX88U Pro) is still a valid recommendation and it got me through all sorts of rabbit holes and spreadsheeting 😂 But...

www.snbforums.com

It will also depend if you want Asus-Merlin 3006.102.x support right now or not. See the subforum topics on the Asus-Merlin 3006.102.x firmware to see the few routers that currently are supported and the issues some are seeing with that firmware.

 

[Jerky_san]

I personally only wanted a router that merlin supported and that can do the throughput. I bought a mesh for the access points and "upgrade" that separately. I run the AXE16000 but I got it as a warranty exchange for my 89x that had a bug that asus refused to resolve.

 

[Tech9]

I run the AXE16000 but I got it as a warranty exchange for my 89x that had a bug that asus refused to resolve

Now Asus is resolving for quite some time a bug with this model and it stuck to 3004.388 firmware while much cheaper models were already upgraded to 3006.102 and have few Pro firmware releases already. Some say - third time's the charm. Want to try your luck with GT-BE98U Pro?