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Advice on purchasing the AXE16000

EmperorJ
Level 8

‎01-03-2024 02:33 PM - edited ‎01-03-2024 02:42 PM

Hi 

I just upgraded my internet to 4gbps speed from the ISP. It comes into my house via a fiber cable and a Nokia ONT XS-010X-Q connects with the ISP. This device has a 10GE output port. The ISP also gave a router, but it drops the WiFi quite often and only support up to WiFi 6, so I want to upgrade it. 

I have been reading a lot of articles and reviews on the AXE16000, but for me it’s still not 100% clear what I could expect from the WiFi 6E speeds on WiFi 6E enabled devices.

It seems I can setup a 10GE port on the AXE16000 as a WAN port and connect the Nokia ONT to that port for the best results.

Does anyone have any experience or stats they can share? Thanks!

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jzchen
Level 16

‎01-03-2024 06:13 PM

I only know of one person that has tested the GT-AXE16000 with very high speed (10 Gig) Fiber service, and here’s his review:

https://dongknows.com/asus-gt-axe16000-rog-rapture-gaming-router-review/

I would also consider one of the WiFi 7 routers that are available on the market as well…

EmperorJ
Level 8
In response to jzchen

‎01-04-2024 12:20 PM

Thanks! Checked out WiFi 7 and this seems indeed very promising, will go for that since it’s in the same price range and better to future proof. Unfortunately the Asus BE96U is not available in my area at the moment, but the TP BE800 actually look quite cool as well. Quad band routers seem a bit overkill in retrospect such as the Asus BE98 or TP BE900.

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jzchen
Level 16
In response to jzchen

‎01-05-2024 07:01 AM

(What I started typing was lost as I went to another tab to check on a spec…. Sigh).  Every manufacturer has pros and cons with their products.  You really have to carefully think of the options to make the best decision for your specific situation…

Without knowing more details I would have to make inferences based on what you’ve said:

WiFi 7 makes sense to you.  “Unfortunately” probably means the price of the RT-BE96U is not a concern.  You question the need for a quad band router, possibly able to run an Ethernet backhaul.

What you didn’t mention was if anyone games in the household, or if that is a priority?  There are gaming focused routers such as the GT-BE98 or GT-BE98 Pro (from ASUS).  Since you mentioned a couple of TP-Link models there is an elusive Archer GE800.

*Towards the highest end of the spectrum do watch out as the Archer BE900 you mentioned does not seem to support WiFi 7 MLO.  I suspect this may be due to hardware limitation/maxed out # of I/O.

If I missed anything that I do know about (and forgot) just let me know…

EmperorJ
Level 8
In response to jzchen

‎01-05-2024 03:09 PM

Thanks again on your insights. Yes, I play games and should be prioritized when applicable, also multiple people working from home, 4K streaming and IoT devices.

Are you sure though that the BE800/BE900 will not support MLO? I read in some other sources that it will:

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jzchen
Level 16
In response to EmperorJ

‎01-05-2024 03:46 PM - edited ‎01-05-2024 04:25 PM

I actually don’t game, and my only son rarely does, so I’m afraid I have very little awareness beyond the manufacturer stating it is a “Gaming Router”.  Most QoS threads shed a negative light on how it works, or actually makes things worse, as well….

I am on the TP-Link Community and someone complained that their BE900 does not support MLO.  If you go to the BE900 product pages it does not show MLO anywhere, but the BE800 pages do.  (Sorry if I was confusing about that).  I was very interested in the Deco BE95, which does list MLO,  MLO SSID is a separate setup, (I took a peek at the instructions,) so I take it as a separate I/O channel.  If you look at the BE900 it has an extra 1 Gig Ethernet port.  Why they put that, vs add MLO, I’m not sure, but it does seem loaded to the max with I/Os, which is why I suspect it doesn’t support it.

I do have a GT-BE98 Pro, BUT I received it for free.  Otherwise a friend of mine and I were possibly going to split a 2 pack of the BE95, when 10 Gig Fiber finally becomes available at his home.  Regarding getting one now vs later, they are not much more expensive than a WiFi 6E product, but I can assure you that WiFi 7 OFDMA/802.11ax MU-MIMO works, at least with our only 6E product, my son’s MacBook Pro (6E).  I have recently set up the AXE11000 with Frontier Fiber, and had to turn it off for his MacBook to connect to 6 GHz there.

Since you have super fast service I do not hesitate to recommend a WiFi 7 product, just be wary of the specs listed.  (I am happy to look over any to see if I catch anything like the missing MLO on the BE900)…

EDIT-  The BE800 is BE19000 plus MLO, the BE900 is BE24400, 1 extra USB 2.0, and the extra 1 Gig port that I remembered from earlier research.  So maybe maximum total throughput has to be considered when selecting what “ports” to include, (of which MLO may be one)…

EmperorJ
Level 8
In response to jzchen

‎01-06-2024 10:47 AM

Hi again,

I did some more research and on paper the TP BE800 seems really fine, but also saw some posts on Reddit and the TP forum that users where reporting issues and returning the device, the most worrying I found is that it sometimes just dropped the whole WiFi, which is one of the issues I want to fix with my ISP router right now. Not sure if this is caused by the device hardware not good enough or if it can be fixed by firmware updates. The CPU seems to be 2.2Ghz quad core and there is 1Gb RAM and 256mb memory.

Also started to read more about the Asus BE98 and it seems like a really good device. The CPU is faster (2.6Ghz) and there is more RAM (2Gb) and the same 256mb memory. I especially liked this review: Guru 3D Review of Asus BE98. 

The reviewer is also from the same country as me, must say that helps as well to know it is possible to get the speed here.

Also found a reliable site which is mentioned as official retailer on the Asus website where to purchase the BE98 for a good price: Azerty.nl - BE98 . It has some delivery time but that’s ok. The other vendor is CoolBlue but they don’t have it in stock so I can’t order it at all.

Did you experience any issues with the router crashing/restarting and losing WiFi on all devices? How is the range and speed for you?

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jzchen
Level 16
In response to EmperorJ

‎01-06-2024 11:38 AM - edited ‎01-06-2024 07:55 PM

Yes I am happy to share my experience with the “brother” of the BE98, the BE98 Pro.  I’m not sure if you are aware, but the US governing body of airwave traffic (FCC) released both lower and upper spectrum of 6 GHz band, but the EU CE has only released the lower half.  This is why ASUS chose to release the BE98 there:  2.4, 5-1, 5-2, and 6 (low), yet release BE98 Pro here in the USA:  2.4, 5, 6-1, and 6-2.  We can’t purchase the BE98 here.  I am guessing they are having limited supply issue and thus diverting the two models as appropriate.

Unfortunately adopting new tech does include some bugs, of which I experienced one this morning, no internet access.  My phone was connected to WiFi but I couldn’t come to this forum.  I am happier now, my AXE16000 which used to be primary router is now the upstairs node.  Memory use was up at 96% constantly, but now with the improved performance consumes 81% of the GT-BE98 Pro memory.  I have 5 nodes: AXE16000, RT-AX86U, RT-AC68U, RP-AX58, and RP-AX56.  (This is my parents home where we spend most our time).  (Our house) now has the AXE11000.

There is a thread on here about the GT-BE98 and three channel node broadcasting unsecured 5 GHz-2 channel.  Did you see it?  It appears to be a problem.  I wasn’t clear on what router the ISP gave you?  Will you be adding nodes?  If adding nodes WiFi, Ethernet, or mixed?  This is important to know because each manufacturer has different mesh, and although attempt is made to unify as "EasyMesh" from WiFi alliance, companies are reluctant to adopt it, for example ASUS.

I am biased in a sense as I did not have to pay for the GT-BE98 Pro, ASUS sent me one, I assume for ranking up here on this forum in a quick manner.  We did pay for the rest that I have listed.  Also a Lyra Voice which was defective and returned/reimbursed.  But no restrictions on what I can or cannot say about it was made when it was shipped to me, so I feel free to be completely honest…

I can not say much about range, because the BE98 Pro is centrally located in the house, then the nodes are at the edges of the house.  So whatever weakness it may have is concealed by the nodes' broadcasting signal.

The direct competitor of the ASUS GT-BE98 is the TP-Link BE900.  They match very close WiFi wise, both: 2.4, 5-1, 5-2, 6.  It may be prudent to try to compare those two, vs the BE800, which matches up better with the RT-BE96U (EDIT- TP-Link has updated their US website with the GE800, so I guess you should compare the 3).  One thing I like about the TP-Link is their adoption of WiFi EasyMesh, which is supposed to work with any other manufacturer's EasyMesh routers.

Thank you for sharing that review website.  I haven’t read through the full review yet, but I am very impressed they even cover cost of electricity, very thorough!

Here's a review of the BE900 I mention.  In the first paragraph he has a link to the BE800 review.  You can check his opinion.  He lives north of me in the same state of California here in the United States:

TP-Link Archer BE900: You'd Better Wait | Dong Knows Tech

EmperorJ
Level 8
In response to jzchen

‎01-07-2024 08:18 AM

I am planning to buy 1 decent ‘consumer’ router that will do the trick for my 100m2 appartment. This I will connect directly to the 10GE port of the Nokia ONT, so no switch in between. Not sure which article you are referring to on this forum for the BE98, do you maybe have the link?

I am getting more and more excited for WiFi 7, really curious what will be presented at CES2024. I will definitely check that out first as well, I hope to be upgrading in the upcoming months somewhere to WiFi 7, reading into it has me convinced it is worth it over 6E. I think I rather have an officially WiFi 7 certified router though. What do you think?

The WiFi Alliance will make an announcement at CES2024: https://twitter.com/WiFiAlliance/status/1743391695813705739 

TP-Link will also show its WiFi 7 product line-up: CES 2024丨TP-Link to Showcase Next-Generation Wi-Fi 7 Solutions.

Of course, the Asus ROG event will also have my attention: CES 2024 ROG Launch Event - Transcendence

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jzchen
Level 16
In response to EmperorJ

‎01-07-2024 08:54 AM

Thanks for sharing more details about your home/apartment, as it helps me understand your needs better.

This is the thread that was posted on this forum:

https://rog-forum.asus.com/t5/gaming-routers/gt-be98-aimesh-issue/td-p/985048

But it only applies if you are planning on purchasing 2 or more.  (It is a mesh specific problem/issue).

Regarding waiting:  I agree if you can be patient and wait then more options will be available when you do decide.  In particular I would be watching your CE to see if they release the upper half of the 6 GHz band for use.  Then companies can sell their dual 6 GHz channel models there in the EU.  Since you mentioned your “apartment” I would not be surprised if you can see your neighbor’s WiFi?  I’m going to assume that 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz is impacted because of proximity unless you correct me?

For 5 GHz there is UNII-4, but that is just one extra segment of 5 GHz, for WiFi 7, when the CE releases the upper half there will be massive bandwidth.  Also, when you do make your decision verify the availability of MLO, and preamble puncturing.  If you purchase now you will miss out on the unreleased upper 6 GHz half, and not guaranteed you will get MLO as the example I gave prior depending on model…

I’m definitely excited about CES.  I was in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, and wish I can go back to attend.  Alas I do not have any credentials to allow me entrance…

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