New router: AX or BE if long time support (maintenance, FW updates, etc.) wanted?

[Jeje2]

How do you see it: in buying a new router, AX or BE generation router if long time support (firmwares etc.) wanted?

As we (wife and I) mainly work from home, with sensitive material (using company VPN's of course on our work-laptops) - a working, reliable, supported router is a must for us.
We have currently no direct need for Wifi7 nor wifi6E, but planning to add a new device and build a iMesh setup (RT-AX86U in use already) to better cover all house. Besides normal devices, we now have 30+ IoT devices in use and some have occasional signal problems.... Cellar being the worst area. So planning to get a new main-router and setting up a iMesh in our home with our "old" RT-AX86U in cellar.

Primarily now thinking AX86U Pro vs BE86U (or 88-models of these)

 

[degrub]

AiMesh works the most reliably if identical hardware and firmware revisions are used for all nodes.
Wired backhaul instead of wired is usually most reliable, highest bandwidth. Wireless backhaul has best chance if using dedicated, additional radio.

If you need to isolate IOT devices from the rest of your lan/wireless equipment, then verify that your router, APs, AiMesh devices all support VLANs. Some IOT devices may have issues with using Guest wireless network if i remember correctly.

If you have or can install either CAT5e or CAT6 ethernet cabling, that will be the highest bandwidth, most reliable setup for AiMesh, APs , and connection to your laptops. Existing RG59 or RG6 coax cabling can be used to provide the same backbone using MOCA modems unless your ISP is using DocCIS 3.1 modems. If DocCIS3.1, then more difficult to do.

 

[Jeje2]

Well my original question still holds... Length of support I was asking for... and still am...

Got in another forum an interesting pointer that in UK vendors must tell how long they support devices at launch of product... and Asus has therefore a page for this

[Networking Product] Duration of Security Update Support (only for UK) | Official Support | ASUS Global

Worth noticing that this is just the minimum promise of support - it can be longer than this as well.
(And have to say that not seeing the RT-AX86U at all on this list is also worth noticing.)

And just for record: The IoT devices & wireless measurements I have attached to the guest network and they all work just fine - except that in cellar there are occasionally complaints about week signal. But I do get good signals from rest of premises, even our yard.

 

[degrub]

Unless declared or regulated, like in the UK, no way to tell. Consumer gear is generally 1 year warranty. Beyond that, up to the whim of the manufacturer regarding updates. AND they do not publish that unless required by regulation. So maybe you get 5 years in UK, but the US only 3 as a hypothetical example.

 

[Tech9]

So maybe you get 5 years in UK, but the US only 3 as a hypothetical example.

Asus firmware is global release, not localized or region specific. Minimum required 4 years support in the UK means minimum 4 years global support or longer. If Asus decides to support specific model for 6 years - UK users are not excluded. This is support though, not guaranteed updates. For the duration of this support period some models may get 20 firmware updates, others may get 2. Popular models usually get more attention, with exceptions.