Need advice GT-AXE16000 vs GT-AXE11000 vs GT-BE98

[routewhat]

Hey Guys,

I need advice on buying a new Merlin-compatible router. The coverage area is about 140 m2, and we will probably need to get a repeater for the second floor. The later one is 180 eur more and I wonder if this makes sense.

Does it make sense to pay for tri-band vs dual-band?

I currently have a GT-AX6000 with Marlin, but it's dual-band, so I need to keep it in another apartment.

 

[Tech9]

GT-AXE11000 is an old model from 2020, locked on 3004 firmware.
GT-AXE16000 is newer, but stuck on 3004 firmware, issues upstream perhaps.
GT-BE98 seems like the better option if you want 6GHz band, but may not worth it (see below).

In Europe all of the above will be limited to 100mW on 2.4GHz radio, 200mW on 5GHz radio lower channels non-DFS. A new router with 6GHz band may not improve your coverage, if this is what you expect. It will be similar to what you have from your GT-AX6000. I wouldn't replace it.

 

[routewhat]

GT-AXE11000 is an old model from 2020, locked on 3004 firmware.
GT-AXE16000 is newer, but stuck on 3004 firmware, firmware issues upstream perhaps.
GT-BE98 seems like the better option if you want 6GHz band, but may not worth it (see below).

In Europe all of the above will be limited to 100mW on 2.4GHz radio, 200mW on 5GHz radio lower channels non-DFS. A new router with 6GHz band may not improve your coverage, if this is what you expect. It will be similar to what you have from your GT-AX6000. I wouldn't replace it.

Thank you for your fast response. Planning to use Merlin anyway.

I need to buy a router anyway. Cos GT-AX6000 needs to stay at another apartment, and I'm shopping around to see if there is a good tri-band alternative for it in case I need to install a repeater.

 

[Tech9]

Planning to use Merlin anyway.

GT-BE98 is supported by GNUton's official Asuswrt-Merlin fork, but the development is slower:

GitHub - gnuton/asuswrt-merlin.ng: Extends the support of Merlin firmware to more ASUS routers

Extends the support of Merlin firmware to more ASUS routers - gnuton/asuswrt-merlin.ng

github.com

Anything AX/AXE stuck on 3004 firmware branch for Asuswrt-Merlin, so make the right choices:

Home | Asuswrt-Merlin

www.asuswrt-merlin.net

I'm shopping around to see if there is a good tri-band alternative

Single model and with slower development fork support at the moment. It's a lot of money invested in hope things will get better over time.

 

[routewhat]

GT-BE98 is supported by GNUton's official Asuswrt-Merlin fork, but the development is slower:

GitHub - gnuton/asuswrt-merlin.ng: Extends the support of Merlin firmware to more ASUS routers

Extends the support of Merlin firmware to more ASUS routers - gnuton/asuswrt-merlin.ng

github.com

Anything AX/AXE stuck on 3004 firmware branch for Asuswrt-Merlin, so make the right choices:

Home | Asuswrt-Merlin

www.asuswrt-merlin.net

Single model and with slower development fork support at the moment. It's a lot of money invested in hope things will get better over time.

What would you call a Best Buy Merlin-supported router now?

 

[Tech9]

What would you call a Best Buy Merlin-supported router now?

In Europe and with 6GHz band support - none.

If you want guaranteed and on-time 3006 firmware base Asuswrt-Merlin support going further - you need a new BE-class router. Asuswrt-Merlin main developer supports only 4x BE-class models at the moment - 3x are dual-band and 1x is not available in Europe.