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?

 

[Jerky_san]

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?

I trust merlin more than ASUS to be honest. As long as Merlin supports the 16000 I'll be happy as I know they will at least try to keep everything patched and stuff. It's one of the only reasons I went asus routers. Merlin's customizations just make it so much nicer and honestly better in basically everyway for me. If they stop supporting it though I'll move to the next best thing I can find and that will preferably be merlin supported again.

 

[sthornington]

I trust merlin more than ASUS to be honest. As long as Merlin supports the 16000 I'll be happy as I know they will at least try to keep everything patched and stuff. It's one of the only reasons I went asus routers. Merlin's customizations just make it so much nicer and honestly better in basically everyway for me. If they stop supporting it though I'll move to the next best thing I can find and that will preferably be merlin supported again.

Same, I’m on my second merlin router and so far it’s been the best experience with home routers, happy to keep upgrading through them!

 

[Jerky_san]

Same, I’m on my second merlin router and so far it’s been the best experience with home routers, happy to keep upgrading through them!

I've always said asus should back a truck load of money up to their house and work with merlin to improve their router firmware further. If merlin was stock that'd be just amazing.

 

[Tech9]

I trust merlin more than ASUS to be honest.

I understand the expectations, but this is the reality:

"Also, the code has become so large and complex, with significant portions of it no longer being open source, that from now on, I will be devoting less time trying to fix bugs in Asus' own code, focusing on my own code instead. The reality is, a single hobbyist does not have the time or resources to debug code developed by an entire team of fulltime engineers who have access to the entire source code rather than just portions of it, and who are far more familiar with the code which they wrote."

Packet State for 2022

2022 is almost over. This year hasn't really been easier than the last few ones. On top of a pandemic that refuses to go away, we've also seen a very small man decide to have visions of grandeur by invading his neighbour, having a destabilizing effect on the rest of the planet (on top of the...

www.snbforums.com

This was in 2022 before Asuswrt 5.0 base. Now RMerlin supports 386, 388 and 102 code bases. Which one you want to see "fixed" first?

 

[Tech9]

I’m on my second merlin router

If you want to continue further with Asuswrt-Merlin firmware better look at RT-BE86U or better.

"What about the AX Pro models? - No news. Moving them to 3006 is still a low priority."

New models to be introduced with 3006.102.2

Since updated 3006 GPLs are constantly being delayed, I decided to go ahead and release 3006.102.2 based on the existing GPLs. For the RT-BE88U and RT-BE86U this means they will both be released based on different GPLs from the rest (3006.102.33921 for the RT-BE88U, and 3006.102.36216 for the...

www.snbforums.com

 

[JarleH]

Best Asus for Merlin, performance pr $ I would guess that is the RT-BE88U. If you go to the new 98 models, the price doubles, or more.

 

[Mutzli]

Best Asus for Merlin, performance pr $ I would guess that is the RT-BE88U. If you go to the new 98 models, the price doubles, or more.

Except it's missing the 6GHz band.

 

[Tech9]

Except it's missing the 6GHz band.

This band is missing behind a wall or two on all models. If the goal is continuing further with Asuswrt-Merlin firmware - RT-BE86U and RT-BE88U are the new starting point models. Both come with the usual new product beta testing membership, stock Asuswrt or Asuswrt-Merlin.

"The Wifi 7 models are more in need of updates because of the numerous bugs that currently exist."

New models to be introduced with 3006.102.2

Since updated 3006 GPLs are constantly being delayed, I decided to go ahead and release 3006.102.2 based on the existing GPLs. For the RT-BE88U and RT-BE86U this means they will both be released based on different GPLs from the rest (3006.102.33921 for the RT-BE88U, and 3006.102.36216 for the...

www.snbforums.com

 

[kuchkovsky]

Except it's missing the 6GHz band.

Still, it has the best wired configuration (the bunch of high-speed ports and the SFP+ port are worth it). If you need extra speeds, nothing beats the good old Ethernet cable. Wireless speeds are around 1.7-1.8 Gbps, so it should be fine as long as you don't live in an overcrowded area where the 6 GHz band is the only option. As a bonus, it doesn't look like a spider

 

[Tech9]

Wireless speeds are around 1.7-1.8 Gbps

This may happen only to 160MHz capable client, clear DFS channels, quiet Wi-Fi environment and in short range. Not guaranteed. Most people with common 2-stream 80MHz capable AX clients can get up to about 800Mbps on 5GHz band, new BE client can get close to Gigabit, in theory, eventually.

 

[kuchkovsky]

This may happen only to 160MHz capable client, clear DFS channels, quiet Wi-Fi environment and in short range. Not guaranteed. Most people with common 2-stream 80MHz capable AX clients can get up to about 800Mbps on 5GHz band, new BE client can get close to Gigabit, in theory, eventually.

Yes, it really depends. In my case, the DFS channels and UNII-3 are clear. The speed drop over a longer distance isn't significant, I still get around 1.2 Gbps.

What’s interesting, Apple enabled 160 MHz bandwidth support for the iPhone 15 Pro on 5 GHz AX when they released the iPhone 16. Previously, only 80 MHz was available.

 

[Tech9]

It doesn't really matter for phones/tablets. The same user experience, a bit faster app updates.

 

[kuchkovsky]

It doesn't really matter for phones/tablets. The same user experience, a bit faster app updates.

That’s true, but the same change applies to M3 Pro/Max MacBooks as well. In any case, it’s a totally unexpected improvement. Usually, companies push you to buy the newest device by any means, so backporting a new feature is kind of the opposite.

 

[Tech9]

Sometimes router upgrade is necessary, sometimes it's just the need to get a new toy. @sthornington is okay with the existing RT-AX88U for perhaps few more years. It's still supported by both Asuswrt and Asuswrt-Merlin and can do 500-800Mbps over Wi-Fi to common 2-stream AC/AX client. Upgrading to RT-BE88U won't improve much the user experience. I would keep using RT-AX88U and upgrade when needed or when it enters EoL state.