Earlier this year, we took a look at Netgear’s Nighthawk M7, which is a 5G mobile hotspot with Wi-Fi 7 connectivity. Today, I’m looking at another 5G mobile hotspot, this time from Travlfi. The formula is similar: combine a 5G cellular modem, a small display, and a battery, and put it all together in a compact enclosure.

The Travlfi JourneyGo 5G is lightweight and is low on added frills. The hotspot has 5G connectivity (with 4G LTE fallback), offers 24 hours of battery life, and can connect up to 16 devices simultaneously at a broadcast range of 75 to 100 feet. Its basic functionality is why it has a relatively low price of $299, compared to $499 for the Nighthawk M7.

Design of the Travlfi JourneyGo 5G

The JourneyGo 5G is quite thin and light, much more so than the Nighthawk M7. The former is just 0.49 inches thick and weighs 0.36 pounds compared to 0.67 inches and 0.57 pounds for the latter. With that said, the Travlfi JourneyGo 5G doesn’t feel as well put together as the Nighthawk M7 – it lacks the rigid, thick plastic and feels almost like the cheap casing that you’d find on a no-name smartphone battery bank.

With that said, the JourneyGo 5G manages to cram in a much larger internal battery (5,000 mAh versus 3,850 mAh) despite its thinner and lighter dimensions.

The JourneyGo 5G is controlled using the small 2.4-inch color touchscreen. You can tap and swipe to access various menus and settings. The included quick start guide for the hotspot says that you can download the Travlfi app for Android or iOS to configure the device, but as of this writing, the app is not available to download (at least from the iOS App Store).

The JourneyGo 5G has a nanoSIM for cellular connectivity located at the top of the unit. A power button is found on the right side, while a USB-C port is at the bottom (a USB-C to USB-C charging cable is included in the box).

Travlfi JourneyGo 5G Specifications

Travlfi JourneyGo 5G Software and Controls

As I mentioned, controlling and configuring the JourneyGo 5G is done solely through the small touch screen (at least until the smartphone app becomes available). Interesting with such a small screen is rather cumbersome, but manageable. The main screen shows your current cellular signal strength, 5G or 4G connectivity, the number of connected devices, and battery status in the top menu bar. The amount of data you have available during your billing cycle is front and center, while your time and current location (country) appear at the bottom of the screen. If you swipe from right to left, you’ll find an expanded look at your remaining data allowance along with the date/time when your plan renews.

Below the data allowance windows, you’ll find Wi-Fi Info, where you’ll see your current Wi-Fi SSD and password. Next, you’ll see TowerSync, which allows the device to scan for a stronger signal from a nearby tower.

Finally, there’s the Menu windows, which give access to a wider range of settings. Wi-Fi Settings let you choose between the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Surprisingly, you can’t enable both at the same time. You’ll also find a list of currently connected devices and the ability to switch from an eSIM to a physical nanoSIM (our review unit leveraged the eSIM). There are also more mundane settings, such as language, device information, time format, time zone, and screen brightness.

Despite the use of an eSIM, the JourneyGo 5G lacks an eSIM Marketplace, which is the true “killer app” for the Nighthawk M7. It remains to be seen if that type of functionality will arrive with the unreleased Travlfi smartphone app.

Our review unit came with the 100GB data plan, which costs $89 per month. However, if your mobile hotspot needs aren’t as data hungry, the 2GB plan costs $19 per month. Travlfi also offers an unlimited plan for $129/month, although it’s currently running a promotion that drops it to $99/month.

Travlfi JourneyGo 5G Performance

The JourneyGo 5G uses a MediaTek MT8791 SoC that incorporates two Arm Cortex-A78 cores, six Arm Cortex-A55 cores, an integrated 5G NR sub-6 GHz modem (4G CAT 18), and dual-band Wi-Fi 6. Our review unit is using its eSIM rather than the physical SIM onboard, which is connecting to T-Mobile’s wireless network.

Travlfi claims that the JourneyGo 5G offers typical download speeds of 25 to 150 Mbps with a peak of 180 Mbps using a 5G cellular connection. When connecting to a 4G network, typical download speeds range from 15 to 40 Mbps with peaks reaching 60 Mbps.

However, with a steady 5G connection and connected via the Wi-Fi 6 hotspot, I saw average download speeds of 57 Mbps and average upload speeds of 16 Mbps from my home office on the second floor. Moving outside to my backyard, average download and upload speeds increased to 67 Mbps and 20 Mbps, respectively. For comparison, the Nighthawk M7 averaged nearly 3x the download speeds and over 2x the upload speeds.

The JourneyGo 5G is supposed to support USB tethering directly to a device, but I couldn’t get it to work on a Mac or a Windows device. When plugging the hotspot into a computer using the included USB-C cable, the JourneyGo 5G would confirm that USB tethering was enabled and that a device was connected. However, neither the Mac nor the Windows device would recognize an active internet connection via USB.

It remains to be seen whether the forthcoming Travlfi smartphone app will address the tethering woes, although we can only go off what’s available right now. In addition, it’s frustrating that you can’t change the Wi-Fi SSID or password from the default provided by Travlfi. Again, this is something that could be easily addressed with an app, given the tiny display, which makes input challenging.

Bottom Line

When it comes to pricing, the Travlfi JourneyGo 5G definitely gets your attention at $299. That seems like an absolute steal compared to the Netgear Nighthawk M7's $499 price. And the fact that Travlfi was able to squeeze 20 hours of runtime out of this tiny device is quite amazing.

However, things quickly fall apart from there. All interactions must be performed with the small 2.4-inch touch screen; you cannot change the Wi-Fi SSID or password, and you can’t enable the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands simultaneously. In addition, the promised smartphone app (mentioned in the user manual) is not available for download on iOS or Android. And from a functional standpoint, the USB tether mode didn’t even work. The final blow is that, despite a 5G connection, download speeds were roughly a third of what we saw with the Nighthawk M7.

In its current state, the JourneyGo 5G might be an impulse buy at $299, but it’s not a wise buy.

Now that Wi-Fi 7 has been on the market for a few years and has matured, Wi-Fi 8 is the next logical step in the quest to advance wireless connectivity. TP-Link teased its upcoming Archer 8 Wi-Fi 8 router last week, and now Asus has pulled the wraps off its upcoming ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro gaming router.

At first glance, the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro doesn’t look too far removed from the ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro Wi-Fi 7 router. They seemingly share the exact exterior design, right down to the eight antennas, front LED panel, buttons, exposed heatsink, and clear ROG panel. However, Asus is using an unnamed Wi-Fi 8 chipset inside.

Asus hasn’t provided any concrete performance figures we can compare to its existing Wi-Fi 7 routers, but it does offer some broad generalizations. It claims that the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro offers up to a 2x improvement in median throughput and 2x greater coverage for IoT devices. Asus also claims that it will provide lower latency via Multi-AP coordination and allow higher performance in crowded wireless environments. These are all enhancements afforded by the Wi-Fi 8 standard, rather than anything that Asus is doing on its own to improve performance.

That’s not to say that Asus has sprinkled its own magic on the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro. Asus has a collection of tools at its disposal that it lumps under the AI Game Boost feature. The ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro can automatically optimize and accelerate gaming traffic over the physical LAN ports and via Wi-Fi. There’s also adaptive QoS, which provides on-demand bandwidth allocation and network optimizations for specific online games using GTNet.

While all the major performance benefits come from the wireless side, the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro also has relatively beefy wired networking capabilities. The router includes four 2.5 GbE LAN ports (one of which can be used for WAN), a 1 GbE LAN port, a 10 GbE LAN/Gaming port, and a 10 GbE WAN port. The two 10 GbE ports can be aggregated to form a single 20 Gbps link. In addition, the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro has a single USB 2.0 port and one USB 3.0 port.

Although Asus hasn’t provided any further guidance, we expect the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro to launch in Q4 2026 or possibly Q1 2027.

Wi-Fi 8 is on the horizon, and the top wireless router manufacturers are already jockeying for position. TP-Link is the top seller of consumer wireless routers in the United States by a large margin, and it announced today the roadmap for its next-generation platform of Wi-Fi 8 (802.11bn) products.

According to the company, the first product to launch will be a standalone Archer 8 Wi-Fi 8 router in October 2026 (tentatively). That will be followed by the company's first Deco 8 mesh router during Q1 2027 and a Roam 8 travel router during Q2 2027. TP-Link hopes to round out its Wi-Fi 8 networking portfolio in Q2 2027 with a line of range extenders and client adapters (likely in both USB and PCIe versions).

Since the Archer 8 is the closest to release, TP-Link has provided some information and teaser images showing what to expect in terms of design. The Archer 8 family will feature a "minimalist architectural form," micro-ridge textures, and RGB lighting up front for some visual flair. Internally, the Archer 8 will benefit from AI assistance to improve network performance and reliability, improved thermal performance, and optimized antenna design.

As we've reported previously, Wi-Fi 8 isn't tasked with bringing another huge leap in theoretical speeds for wireless devices, as were promised with older Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 standards. Instead, Wi-Fi 8 focuses on improving real-world performance and range so that devices can more closely approach the theoretical speeds promised in earlier Wi-Fi iterations.

"For years, Wi-Fi innovation has been measured by peak theoretical speeds," explained Jeff Barney, President of TP-Link Systems Inc. "But what users actually care about is consistency. Archer 8 is designed to deliver exactly that: lower latency, better performance under interference, and more stable connectivity in real-world environments."

Compared to its Wi-Fi 7 products, TP-Link says its Wi-Fi 8 offerings will deliver up to a 33 percent uplift in real-world throughput via enhanced modulation and encoding, and another 15 percent increase in mesh performance under heavy load. The company also quotes a 30 percent improvement in signal performance and a 1-3 dB improvement in receive sensitivity across the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands.

With that said, while all of these improvements for the upcoming Archer 8, Deco 8, and Roam 8 products are welcome, there's still one big problem – TP-Link has yet to secure approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to sell new Wi-Fi products in the United States. TP-Link produces its routers destined for the U.S. market in other countries (such as Vietnam), which runs afoul of the FCC’s edict. The FCC considers these routers a national security risk and requires router manufacturers to apply for acceptance on the Covered List.

While competing manufacturers like Netgear and Amazon/Eero already secured conditional approval on the Covered List to sell future Wi-Fi products in the U.S., TP-Link has yet to receive the same status. The development is not exactly surprising, as TP-Link has been a frequent target of the U.S. government over its complex ties to China.

TP-Link offers a dizzying array of Wi-Fi 7 routers, ranging from entry-level to mid-range to high-end gaming routers, with mesh and travel options sprinkled in between. One of the newer entries from the company is the Archer BE770, a mainstream tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router with an imposing design and a wide range of ports.

While the Archer BE770 isn’t part of TP-Link’s Deco family of mesh routers, it does support the company's EasyMesh capabilities. EasyMesh allows you to link up compatible (and dissimilar) TP-Link networking devices to form a mesh network. TP-Link provides this functionality in a router priced just under $400.

Design of the TP-Link Archer BE770 Router

When the shipping box for our Archer BE770 arrived on my doorstep, I was taken aback by how large it was. This feeling continued when I opened it to reveal the router's retail box, which was equally large. Opening that box allowed me to lay eyes on the Archer BE770, which seems almost comically large compared to most other routers on the market. It’s not just the unit's height that’s imposing, but also its depth – it commands a large footprint on your desk or bookshelf, measuring 4.1 x 11.7 x 10.4 inches (W x D x H). It also looks like a mini desktop computer sitting on your desk.

That said, the Archer BE770's design is attractive, with an hourglass profile when viewed head-on. The fascia is finished in a shiny black plastic, with a narrow horizontal status LED mounted about halfway up; the TP-Link logo is printed near the bottom of the fascia. The sides of the router are finished in silver plastic, while the top is finished in matte black plastic with plenty of holes for ventilation.

All of the Archer BE770’s various ports are found on the back of the device. There you’ll find four GbE ports and two 10 GbE ports (one of which can be used for WAN). While I applaud the inclusion of the two 10 GbE ports, I’m disappointed that the other four LAN ports are limited to 1 Gbps. With a street price of $400, 2.5 GbE should be the norm here. (Or at least make two of the four ports 2.5 GbE.)

On the plus side, TP-Link provides two USB 3.0 ports for network storage, whereas most routers only offer one. Other items of note on the back include dedicated buttons for enabling Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) and turning off the front LED. There’s also a physical power button, a Wi-Fi disable button, and a pinhole button for resetting the router.

TP-Link Archer BE770 Router Specifications

Setting up the TP-Link Archer BE770 Router Software

The initial setup of the Archer BE770 can be completed using the TP-Link Tether smartphone app or a web browser to access the router’s GUI. My personal preference is to use a router’s smartphone app (when possible) for setup, as it’s usually fast and simple. That was definitely the case with the Archer BE770, as I used the Tether app to scan the QR code on the bottom of the router. Within seconds, the router was discovered and the configuration process began.

I was asked to create an administrator password to log in to the router, and then to provide an SSID for the 6 GHz band and a separate SSID for the combined 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

Towards the end of the setup process, a firmware update was available for the router, which I applied. The router then rebooted, and the network was fully operational in roughly 6 minutes from start to finish.

TP-Link Archer BE770 Router Software

After setting up the Archer BE770 on my smartphone, I switched to my desktop to check out the router's GUI. The Archer BE770 uses a no-frills desktop GUI with a turquoise, gray, and white color scheme. This is the default look for Archer routers, while the TP-Link’s gaming router uses the same interface with a black theme.

There are five tabs across the top of the GUI: Network Map, Internet, Wireless, HomeShield, and Advanced. Network Map displays pertinent information like your current connection type, internet IP address, and your router's uptime. You’ll also see an overview of the currently enabled SSIDs, CPU/memory loads, and a visual readout of active WAN/LAN ports.

The Internet tab shows your current internet connection type (Dynamic IP in my case) and allows you to clone a MAC address for the router. The Wireless tab provides settings for enabling or disabling Smart Connect. Enabling this feature combines the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands under a single SSID, while disabling it gives each band a unique SSID. You can also enable MLO, Guest, and IoT networks here. You can enable 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands with a Guest network, while the IoT network only supports the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

The HomeShield tab provides a limited set of features for free. Network Check scans your network to identify security risks and areas to improve overall performance. There is a limited set of parental controls you can implement per device, and QoS settings you can enable to limit download and upload bandwidth for individual devices. If you pay for the “Pro” tier of HomeShield, you can access IoT Protection, intrusion detection, a malicious content filter, DDoS protection, more powerful parental controls, and network usage statistics. TP-Link offers its Security+ for $35.99/year or its Total Security Package for $69.99/year (for the first year, $129.99 starting with the second year).

The Advanced tab is home to more granular controls for folks who like to really tinker with their network. Here, you find EasyMesh network setup, VPN integration, firmware updates, and the ability to back up and restore router settings (among many other features).

TP-Link Archer BE770 Router Performance

I tested the Archer BE770 with our venerable wireless client rig, which features an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter, and Windows 11 Home. Windows 11 has all the latest software updates installed, while the Herald-BE is running the latest drivers available from MSI’s support website. The server is a Windows 11 Home machine with a 10 GbE network card connected to the Archer BE770 router's 10 GbE LAN port.

As always, iPerf3 throughput tests are conducted at 6-foot and 25-foot distances, with and without network traffic. In the congested traffic tests, we include six additional wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube videos across 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz wireless bands.

Overall, the Archer BE770 performed quite well, especially on the 6 GHz and 5 GHz bands. When testing iPerf3 on the 6 GHz band with no additional traffic, the Archer BE770 Hit over 2,700 Mbps at close range (6 feet), putting it just behind the first-place Archer GE800 (a gaming-centric router). When the testing distance was pushed out to 25 feet, throughput fell to 1,813 Mbps. While this was significantly behind the Archer GE800's performance, it easily eclipses the Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000 (1,467 Mbps) and the Netgear Nighthawk RS600 (956 Mbps).

With congested traffic on the 6 GHz band, we saw similar results: the Archer BE770 nearly matched the Archer GE800 at close range (2,533 Mbps versus 2,566 Mbps) but fell short at 25 feet (1,520 Mbps versus 2,060 Mbps).

Moving to 5 GHz testing, the Archer BE770 again finished in second place, behind the Archer GE800; however, the gap was smaller at 25 feet.

After adding six additional clients to the network for congested tests, the Nighthawk RS600 shot to the top of the charts, reaching 1,610 Mbps at 6 feet, while the Archer BE770 was close behind at 1,520 Mbps. However, the Archer BE770 more than doubled the Nighthawk RS600's performance at 25 feet (991 Mbps versus 483 Mbps).

2.4 GHz performance without added traffic was the Archer BE770's strong suit, as we saw 84 Mbps at 6 feet and 73 Mbps at 25 feet. Both the Archer GE800 and Nighthawk RS600 vastly overperformed in these tests.

However, when additional traffic came online, the Archer BE770 posted more competitive numbers, hitting 82 Mbps at 6 feet and 58 Mbps at 25 feet. However, those numbers were no match for the Archer GE800, which delivered 166 Mbps and 100 Mbps, respectively.

Bottom Line

The TP-Link Archer BE770 is a good all-around tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router, offering strong performance on the 6 GHz and 5 GHz wireless bands that matter most to client devices like desktops, laptops, and smartphones. Its 2.4 GHz performance could be better, but the clients that connect on the band are likely either older or low-speed IoT devices that aren’t starving for insane network bandwidth.

However, I do have a bone to pick with the port layout. With a street price of $400, there’s no reason that we should be stuck with four GbE LAN ports instead of 2.5 GbE.

For equal money, you’d be better served going with TP-Link’s Archer BE800 (which gives you two 10 GbE ports and four 2.5 GbE ports).

The Federal Communications Commission announced on Friday, May 8, through its Office of Engineering and Technology (OET), that it was extending temporary waivers allowing certain foreign-produced drones, drone components, and consumer routers to continue receiving software and firmware updates in the United States.

In late 2025 and early 2026, the FCC added these categories of equipment to its “Covered List,” which effectively blocked already-authorized devices from receiving post-approval software and firmware modifications. The agency subsequently issued waivers permitting critical security and functionality updates to continue through January 1, 2027, for drones and drone components, and through March 1, 2027, for consumer routers.

Under the updated waiver, manufacturers of affected devices will now be allowed to continue issuing software and firmware updates until at least January 1, 2029, provided the devices had already been authorized for use in the U.S. before being added to the FCC’s “Covered List.” The extension also broadens the waiver to include certain Class II permissive changes involving software and firmware updates intended to mitigate consumer harm.

The decision follows growing concern that a strict enforcement of the restrictions could unintentionally leave millions of existing devices vulnerable to cybersecurity threats, compatibility issues, and operational failures. In practical terms, without the waiver, manufacturers of affected products could have been blocked from deploying even basic security patches and bug fixes once the devices were designated as covered equipment.

The FCC first added foreign-produced unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), UAS critical components, and certain communications equipment to the Covered List in late 2025 as part of broader national security efforts to reduce reliance on potentially risky foreign technology infrastructure. Routers produced in foreign countries were later added to the list in March 2026, except for models that had received conditional approval from the Department of War or the Department of Homeland Security.

The restrictions stem from revisions to FCC equipment authorization rules adopted in October 2025. Those revisions effectively prohibited “permissive changes” to covered equipment — a category that includes software and firmware modifications made after a device has already received certification. While the rules were designed to tighten oversight on high-risk equipment, they also created a difficult dilemma: preventing updates could inadvertently make already-deployed devices less secure over time.

In its notice, the FCC acknowledged that continued software support remains necessary to protect U.S. consumers. The waiver specifically allows updates that maintain device functionality, patch vulnerabilities, and preserve compatibility with changing operating systems and network environments.

The agency argued that the public interest would be better served by allowing these limited updates rather than freezing software support entirely. According to the FCC, the waiver provides regulators time to consider a more permanent framework while avoiding immediate cybersecurity risks to users currently operating affected devices.

Importantly, the waiver does not reverse the broader restrictions or remove the devices from the Covered List. Instead, it applies only to already-authorized products and to software- and firmware-related changes intended to maintain safe and secure operation. Manufacturers must still comply with other FCC requirements governing permissive changes and equipment certification.

The move highlights the increasingly complex balancing act regulators worldwide face as governments seek to secure communications infrastructure without inadvertently creating new cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

Amazon’s Eero is the latest router manufacturer to gain “Conditional Approval” from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to sell its routers in the United States. Netgear was the first to announce that it received the FCC’s blessing last week to bypass the router ban. Router manufacturers have been working around the clock to submit documentation to the FCC and provide assurances regarding the origin of components used in their products and where they're assembled to comply with an increased focus on national security.

In March, the FCC deemed that manufacturers selling routers produced in a foreign country be added to the "Covered List," as they "pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons.” Moving from the Covered List to Conditional Approval ensures that manufacturers of the best Wi-Fi routers can continue to sell in the United States for a set period.

"As part of this effort, router manufacturers were asked to submit information allowing the government to assess safety risks associated with their devices," the Eero team wrote in a blog post. "We’re pleased to share that the U.S. government has recognized eero as a trusted and secure provider of routers... We remain committed to delivering innovative, reliable products our customers can depend on."

For customers inquiring what this means for the Eero products that they currently own or wish to purchase in the near future, the Eero team continues, "Your experience remains the same. You can continue to use and buy eero products with the certainty that they meet rigorous standards."

According to FCC documentation, the Conditional Approval applies to Eero, Eero Pro, Eero Max, Eero PoE, Eero Outdoor, and Eero Signal. In other words, every product in the Eero/Leo family can be imported and sold without any further interference.

For the Eero products, the Conditional Approval is guaranteed from April 22, 2026, through October 31, 2027, covering the 18-month FCC exemption period. It also covers all previous and current Eero/Amazon Leo products, as well as certifications for new, unreleased products.

Although Eero did not go into any specific details on what documentation it submitted to the FCC, at least one requirement was to provide a “detailed, time-bound plan to establish or expand manufacturing in the United States" and a “description of committed and planned capital expenditures, financing, or other investments dedicated to U.S.-based manufacturing and assembly over the next 1-5 years, including expected timelines and milestones.” Given the substantial capital investment required to build factories in the United States and the need to support a higher-paid American workforce, this part of the plan submitted to the FCC will be the most interesting detail to learn as these discussions proceed.

While Netgear and Eero can breathe a sigh of relief (at least for the next 18 months), TP-Link is still waiting for its Conditional Approval. The company submitted its proposal earlier this week as it attempts to convince the U.S. government that it has divested itself of previously concerning Chinese ownership ties. According to its own internal statistics, TP-Link controls 20% of the U.S. consumer retail router market.

TP-Link, one of the more popular consumer networking brands in the U.S., is currently engaged in discussions with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in a bid to secure a conditional approval to continue introducing new models after the FCC’s blanket ban on imported routers, PCMag reports. According to documents the company filed with the agency, TP-Link argued that it is a U.S. company with a 20% share of the consumer retail market. Furthermore, it said that “TP-Links routers are very positively reviewed by technology reviewers” and that “TP-Link routers are safe and secure.” The company was previously owned by TP-Link Technologies Co., which was based in Shenzhen, China, but it has since separated from its parent in 2022, with the company saying that it’s now an independent entity based in the U.S.

The U.S. government initially wanted to ban TP-Link because of national security concerns, especially with the company’s close ties to China. However, the FCC instead settled for a blanket ban on all imported consumer routers, except for those that can secure a conditional approval. This exemption would allow router manufacturers to continue importing routers until a specific date, provided that they get the nod from either the Department of War or the Department of Homeland Security.

One of the prerequisites to getting approval is for the applicant to show “a detailed, time-bound plan to establish or expand manufacturing in the United States for the router for which the applicant is seeing Conditional Approval in order the that device to qualify for FCC authorization” and “a description of committed and planned capital expenditures, financing, or other investments dedicated to U.S.-based manufacturing and assembly over the next 1-5 years, including expected timelines and milestones.”

It is unclear whether TP-Link had these requirements on hand, especially as its assembly lines and supply chains are still based in China and Vietnam. Still, two other manufacturers have successfully secured conditional approvals — Adtran Inc., which is an Alabama-based telecommunications and fiber-networking company, and Netgear.

There have been questions about the latter’s approvals, especially because it did not publicly release any documents proving that it was bringing back manufacturing capabilities onshore. Despite that, Netgear said in its SEC disclosure, “So long as the conditional approval is maintained, NETGEAR can launch new consumer routers and update the software on existing consumer routers indefinitely.”

TP-Link has since divorced from its Chinese parent, with the process beginning in 2022 and completing in 2024. The company’s website says that it’s headquartered in Irvine, California, and that the U.S. headquarters owns and directs the “global TP-Link business.” It also said that the company is owned by Jeffrey Chao and his wife, who are both Irvine residents. There have also been reports that Chao is applying for fast-track residency under the million-dollar Trump Gold Card visa. Nevertheless, the company’s historical ties to China would likely mean that it would face close scrutiny from U.S. officials, especially regarding Chao’s citizenship.

Amazon’s Eero family has grown to include a diverse set of mesh routers and even a wireless outdoor satellite. Now, Amazon is adding a new member: the Eero Signal. It’s a 4G LTE device that provides backup internet for a compatible Eero mesh network. Like all Eero devices, the Signal is easy to set up. Ot is governed completely by the Eero smartphone app, and it does its job with minimal fuss.

At just $99, the Eero Signal is a relatively affordable failsafe if you live in an area with frequent internet outages.

Design of the Eero Signal

The best way to describe the Eero Signal is that it looks like a shrunken Eero Pro 7/Eero Max 7 satellite. It features the same overall shape, with a single status LED at the top of the front fascia, and Eero branding at the center.

The Eero Signal is made from the same materials as the larger Eero satellites. That means the front features shiny white plastic, while the back is white plastic with a slightly textured surface. The materials have a high-quality feel.

The Eero Signal includes a fixed “Y” shaped power cable. The cable exits from the back of the unit and forms one branch of the Y. The second brach ends in a USB-C connector that plugs into the back of an Eero satellite. The “trunk” of the Y ends in a USB-C receptacle, which accepts the USB-C connector from the wall plug. Once everything is connected, a single USB-C wall adapter powers both the Eero satellite and the Signal.

The device is relatively small, measuring 3.09 x 5.76 x 2.80 inches and weighing 0.65 pounds.

Eero Signal Specifications

Setting up and using the Eero app with the Eero Signal

Once the physical connections have been made, the Signal automatically appears in the Eero app. When you enter the Eero app, it will present you with two options to enable the Eero Signal cellular backup service:

• Eero Plus: You get 10GB of backup data per year for $99/year. Six months of service is included for free for new Eero Plus subscribers who opt for an annual plan.
• Eero Plus 100: You get 100GB of backup data per month. During the first year, you pay just $99/year for this tier, but during the second year, the price doubles to $199.99 year.

If you currently subscribe ot Eero Plus monthly, you are not eligible for cellular data backup service with an Eero Signal. If you live in an area that experiences frequent outages, the base Eero Plus plan, which provides 10GB of data per year, seems like a poor value. $199.99/year for 100GB of data per month seems like a far better value and would provide greater peace of mind.

Our Eero Signal review unit was provided with Eero Plus 100 service, giving us access to 100GB of backup data per month.

From the Eero app homepage, there are only two giveaways that an Eero Signal is connected to your mesh system. The first clue is that the main Eero gateway (in this case, an Eero Pro 7) shows green bars indicating the Eero Signal strength. The second clue is under Security & Privacy, where you’ll notice a green light next to Internet Backup.

If you click the Internet menu from the Eero app home page, it will display available connections. In our case, it confirmed my wired internet connection (T-Mobile Fiber) and that the cellular backup was ready. Clicking the Eero Internet Backup option opens a submenu that lets you turn the feature on or off.

Eero Signal Performance

The Eero Signal serves as an internet backup to your current home broadband connection, e.g., cable or fiber. And before the gears start turning in your head about using the Eero Signal with the Eero Plus 100 plan as your primary internet service, I've got some bad news. The Eero Signal cannot be used as your sole source of internet -- it requires that you have an existing ISP delivering service to your Eero mesh router. The Eero Signal serves only as a backup if your primary ISP goes offline.

I tested the Eero Signal’s primary function as a failover if your primary ISP goes offline. To do this, I removed the cable connecting the Eero Pro 7 to my fiber modem. It took about 20 seconds for the lights on the Eero Pro 7 and Eero Signal to change from white to blue, indicating that the latter was now working as an internet backup. I tested internet connectivity across multiple devices connected to the Eero mesh network, and all remained connected without issue.

However, you must remember that the Eero Signal is only a 4G LTE device, not 5G, unlike some popular home cellular internet plans from companies like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. With that in mind, don’t expect to see speeds that approach what those services can provide when operating in internet backup mode.

I saw SpeedTest download speeds of around 600 Mbps and upload speeds of 60 Mbps when I used T-Mobile 5G Home Internet as my ISP. With my current fiber connection, I achieve symmetrical speeds of around 2 Gbps. However, the Eero Signal could only muster a fraction of that, given its 4G LTE bandwidth limitations.

For comparison, I saw up to around 80 Mbps for downloads and 30 Mbps for uploads using the Eero Signal (the device connected to AT&T’s cellular network). Those are not breakneck speeds by any means, but remember that the Eero Signal is only meant as a backup internet service. So if you need to conduct a video call for work, download some essential files for a work project, or even watch some TV in the background, the Eero Signal should have no problem handling your workload.

Another thing to consider is cellular reception. I live outside of a major metropolitan area (Raleigh, NC), so I have solid uptime for my fiber connection and a strong cellular signal. For people who live in areas where their wired ISP might be unreliable, there’s a strong chance that cellular connectivity will be spotty as well. So while a device like the Eero Signal could work in that situation, your performance may vary greatly.

Bottom Line

The Eero Signal offers a lifeline to people living in areas with frequent internet outages. Of course, it is only compatible with Eero mesh routers, so you’ll already need to be bought into that ecosystem to take advantage of the functionality.

The device is easy to set up, doesn’t require user intervention to activate if your primary ISP goes down, and the upfront hardware cost is just $99. The $99 Eero Plus plan only gives you 10GB of backup data to use for an entire year, so that option doesn’t really seem cost-effective for the target audience of the Eero Signal. However, the $200/year Eero Plus 100 plan gives you 100GB of backup data per month, which seems like a much better option.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it will not certify every new consumer router not made domestically in late March, essentially banning the import of every new commercial and residential router model into the U.S. The agency made this move in response to the increasing threat of supply chain attacks, which “pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons.” However, it also said that affected brands can apply for a “Conditional Approval” from the Department of War or the Department of Homeland Security, with Netgear being the first manufacturer to receive this coveted exemption.

According to the FCC’s covered list, the following Netgear models can be imported in the U.S. until October 1, 2027:

• Nighthawk consumer mesh, mobile, and standalone routers (R, RAX, RAXE, RS, MK, MR, M, and MH series)
• Orbi consumer mesh, mobile, and standalone routers (RBK, RBE, RBR, RBRE, LBR, LBK, and CBK series)
• Cable gateways (CAX series)
• Cable modems (CM series)

Some of these are included in our list of the best Wi-Fi routers and best budget routers. Another company, Adtran Inc., also received conditional approval for its Service Delivery Gateway class router.

It’s unclear how Netgear secured this exemption, especially as the DoW or DHS requires “a detailed, time-bound plan to establish or expand manufacturing in the United States for the router for which the applicant is seeking Conditional Approval in order for that device to qualify for FCC authorization” and “a description of committed and planned capital expenditures, financing, or other investments dedicated to U.S.-based manufacturing and assembly over the next 1-5 years, including expected timelines and milestones.”

The Verge notes that when a publicly traded company like Netgear plans a major investment, like constructing a new production line and supply chain, it’s usually required to disclose these plans to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, the San Jose, California-based company, which produces routers in China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Mexico, among other countries, did not mention anything about onshoring its manufacturing operations in its filings, raising questions about what its plans are and how it secured the exemption. Furthermore, the company said in its SEC disclosure that “So long as the conditional approval is maintained, NETGEAR can launch new consumer routers and update the software on existing consumer routers indefinitely.” The FCC cited a "specific determination" from the Pentagon that Netgear's devices were not a risk to U.S. national security. "“We reviewed the FCC's public guidelines for conditional approval, submitted an application that followed those guidelines, and received approval on our application," a Netgear spokesperson told Tom's Hardware.

This does not mean that consumers should replace their existing routers with Netgear-branded ones immediately, especially as the FCC’s ban will only impact new models. While Netgear just happened to be the first company to obtain a conditional approval from the U.S. government, other manufacturers are confident that they can receive that as well. Asus and TP-Link have both released statements to that effect soon after the FCC released its directive, and it just might be a matter of time before they can continue releasing new models for consumers in the U.S., at least for now.

A team of researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo unveiled a hardened wireless receiver that can withstand prolonged exposure to radiation at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco, California, last February. According to the IEEE Spectrum, this chip was primarily designed to allow robots to work in contaminated areas for decommissioning nuclear reactors. Regular silicon-based semiconductors used for wireless communication are susceptible to interference from nuclear radiation, meaning robots are limited by the physical cable needed to control them.

This became apparent during the cleanup at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which suffered from a meltdown after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami knocked out the plant’s backup energy sources required for cooling it. The robots tasked to clean up the contaminated areas required LAN cables to communicate with their operators, leading to tangled wires and making the operation more complicated than it already is.

Now, you cannot just get a consumer-grade Wi-Fi chip, chuck it in lead shielding, and call it a day to address the issue. After all, while shielding will stop radioactive emissions from hitting your chip, it will also block radio frequency signals. And while you might think that an antenna connected via a cable might solve the problem, that’s still not possible, as the antenna itself would be susceptible to radiation. That’s why the researchers decided to build a hardened Wi-Fi chip receiver that can withstand the radiation found in nuclear cores.

To understand how robust the chip needs to be, a robot operating in the environment of a nuclear reactor is exposed to a radiation dose of 500,000 grays (Gy, a unit to measure radiation dosage) over six months — by comparison, electronics installed in spacecraft must only withstand 100 to 300 Gy over a span of three years. The researchers achieved this by reducing the number of transistors inside the chip, as the oxide layer inside these semiconductors is susceptible to gamma rays. They replaced these instead with elements that don’t have an oxide layer, like inductors.

As for the crucial transistors that cannot be replaced with other technologies, the team made their gates longer and wider to reduce radiation-induced degradation, as well as the use of N-type Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (NMOS) transistors, which are less susceptible to radiation damage.

According to their testing, exposing the hardened chip to a total of 800 kGy only resulted in a 1.5-dB gain reduction on the side of the receiver. This means that it could potentially operate for long periods in hostile radiation environments without suffering from significant performance loss. The team is also working on building a Wi-Fi transmitter that can work with massive doses of radiation, which is significantly harder because of the high levels of electrical current needed to emit a signal.

Last week, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took the drastic step of banning the future import of consumer-grade Wi-Fi routers manufactured overseas. The announcement rang alarm bells, as nearly all consumer routers available are produced outside the U.S., leaving a potentially vast vacuum for anyone who needs to replace their router in the coming months. We reached out to TP-Link, Asus, Netgear, and Linksys for comment to get the deeper story on the ins-and-outs of the new measures.

What’s the purpose of the FCC’s actions?

So, why is the FCC taking this step? There's no secret that President Donald Trump and his administration have made national security a top priority, and the president's 2025 National Security Strategy determined, “the United States must never be dependent on any outside power for core components—from raw materials to parts to finished products—necessary to the nation’s defense or economy. We must re-secure our own independent and reliable access to the goods we need to defend ourselves and preserve our way of life.”

Now, it's debatable whether a Netgear Orbi 970 mesh router sitting on your bookshelf at home poses a direct threat to national security or the economy at large, but it's clearly on this administration's mind. In last week's announcement, the FCC added that foreign-made routers “pose unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States or the safety and security of United States persons.”

“I welcome this Executive Branch national security determination, and I am pleased that the FCC has now added foreign-produced routers, which were found to pose an unacceptable national security risk, to the FCC’s Covered List,” added FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. “Following President Trump’s leadership, the FCC will continue to do our part in making sure that U.S. cyberspace, critical infrastructure, and supply chains are safe and secure.”

What are the immediate effects on consumer routers?

There are a few things to consider with this new directive, however. For starters, it doesn't affect routers that have already been imported into the U.S. and are currently available for sale (or those that have been sold and are currently in the hands of end-users). So, at least for the near-term, your average John or Jane Doe shouldn't notice any changes in availability when shopping for a wireless router from your favorite brick-and-mortar or online retailer.

However, things could change once the existing stock of routers depletes at various retailers, and even then, only if manufacturers haven’t secured a spot on the Conditional Approval list. If manufacturers aren’t able to secure Conditional Approval and consumer routers are banned from sale, we could see a shortage, which in turn would lead to price increases affecting all consumers. We've already seen what the AI craze has done to the supply of memory, which, in turn, has ushered in significant price hikes over the past year. There’s the potential for this type of scenario to play out in the router market if the U.S. becomes overly stringent with approvals.

These actions would also likely affect ISPs, which provide routers to customers when they sign up for new service. All in all, it’s a tricky situation for all involved.

What do Router manufacturers think of this move?

We reached out to several popular router manufacturers, including TP-Link, Asus, Netgear, and Linksys. Netgear and TP-Link provided statements to Tom’s Hardware on their respective positions. Asus posted a statement on its U.S. website. Not surprisingly, TP-Link, which has already been on shaky ground with the U.S. government in recent years for its ties to China, seemed almost upbeat about the announcement.

"This action from the FCC appears to affect virtually all new consumer-grade routers seeking authorization to be sold in the United States," wrote TP-Link in a statement to Tom's Hardware. "Because nearly every manufacturer in this sector produces hardware abroad or relies on a global supply chain, this new requirement will set a bar for the entire industry. Placing all manufacturers and their supply chains under the same scrutiny is a positive step in the direction of making the router industry more secure."

TP-Link has been singled out in the past by both the Biden and Trump administrations, and it has even established its headquarters in Irvine, California, where it employs several hundred people. However, with this new action from the FCC, TP-Link likely feels that it is no longer solely under the microscope, and all of its competitors will have to play by the same rules to curry favor with the U.S. government.

For its part, TP-Link adds that the majority of the routers sold in the U.S. are not produced in China, but instead in Vietnam. That still doesn't help TP-Link remove the U.S. government’s crosshairs, but the company adds that it "has already been planning to establish U.S.-based manufacturing to complement our existing company-owned facilities in Vietnam. TP-Link is well-positioned — in fact, possibly better positioned than any of its competitors — to succeed under the new guidelines and maintain its position as the leading U.S. vendor of secure network devices."

Netgear also issued a brief, optimistic statement: “We commend the Administration and the FCC for their action toward a safer digital future for Americans. Home routers and mesh systems are critical to national security and consumer protection, and today’s decision is a step forward. As a U.S.-founded and headquartered company with a legacy of American innovation, Netgear has long invested in security‑first design, transparent practices, and adherence to government regulations, and we will continue to do so.”

In addition, Asus struck an upbeat tone, writing, “Asus has proudly served U.S. customers since 1991, with a long-standing commitment to trusted innovation and strong product security. We are confident in the integrity of our supply chain and the security of our networking products. This FCC action has no impact on existing Asus router users, software updates, and customer support.”

FCC action may lead to security headaches for router users

I mentioned earlier that the ban doesn't affect routers already imported into the U.S. and that no masked individuals will show up at your door to take away your routers. However, the FCC has added another poison pill to the situation.

The FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology notes, “All routers authorized for use in the United States may continue to receive software and firmware updates that mitigate harm to U.S. consumers at least until March 1, 2027. These include all software and firmware updates to ensure the continued functionality of the devices, such as those that patch vulnerabilities and facilitate compatibility with different operating systems.”

In other words, if you currently own a router manufactured outside the United States and the company hasn't been added to the FCC "Conditional Approval" list, it would no longer be eligible for firmware updates within a year. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that discontinuing firmware updates would render a huge swath of routers unprotected, leaving them even more vulnerable to DDoS attacks and other serious security vulnerabilities. The very thing that the FCC wants to prevent could become even more problematic with the March 1, 2027, deadline.

What can router manufacturers do?

The administration is offering somewhat of a lifeline to router manufacturers in the form of a Conditional Approval from the FCC. Companies can submit an application, which will be subject to review by the Department of Defense or the Department of Homeland Security.

Companies are asked to submit a wealth of information, including corporate structure, beneficial owners, foreign government interests, the country of origin for all components used in a router's design, and the location of final assembly (among other requirements).

However, one of the biggest and most costly requirements is for companies to provide an "onshoring plan" to "establish or expand" manufacturing capacity in the U.S. for their routers. Companies must also provide "a description of existing U.S.-based manufacturing and assembly for the router including: percentage of components assembled in the United States and current U.S. headcount and facilities (locations, functions, etc.).”

If granted, Conditional Approvals are in place for a team of up to 18 months.

What does this mean for consumers going forward?

In the short term, we don’t expect that the router market will be affected too harshly if you’re looking to purchase from one of the major players (which have significant resources) in this arena. Given the statements from Asus, Netgear, and TP-Link, they all seem pretty confident that it is a welcome development and that they should continue to provide hardware to customers, likely through Conditional Approvals from the U.S. government. This would likely also extend to other big names like Linksys. All of these companies should also be able to grease the wheels to avoid a ban on software updates for their routers.

Where things could get more problematic is for smaller, foreign-based companies that offer budget networking devices and have little to no existing corporate or manufacturing operations in the U.S. We’re talking companies like Cudy, Reyee, and OKN (among others). It remains to be seen how these companies will be able to appease the FCC not only to secure permission to sell within the U.S., but also to provide firmware updates beyond March 1, 2027.

We've reviewed a couple of outdoor-oriented Wi-Fi 7 satellite over the past year, both of which were made by TP-Link. The Deco BE25-Outdoor is a dual-band satellite, while the Deco BE65-Outdoor is its tri-band sibling. We now have a third product to add to the mix: the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor.

The ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor is a dual-band Wi-Fi 7 satellite and, as its name suggests, is designed for outdoor use to blanket your yard with wireless coverage. The satellite is compatible with Asus wireless routers that support AiMesh. It also sells for around $140, making it a relatively affordable way to expand wireless coverage outside your home.

Design of the Asus ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor

The ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor has a simple tower design and is constructed of white plastic. There’s an Asus logo at the bottom front of the unit and a single status LED above. On the back of the unit, you'll find a power port and two 2.5 GbE ports that support Power over Ethernet (PoE).

Given that the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor is designed for outdoor use, Asus includes a plastic mounting bracket, four mounting screws, and four plastic screw anchors for mounting to drywall. The bracket also features three weather-resistant rubber plugs that can be used to close off ports you aren't using on the satellite. Also included is a single 2.5-foot power cable.

The ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor measures 7.9 × 4.2 × 4.2 inches and weighs 2.3 pounds.

Asus ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor Specifications

Setting up the Asus ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor

For my testing purposes, I used the included bracket to mount the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor to the same tree in my backyard that I used for TP-Link Deco BE65-Outdoor testing. The tree is located 25 feet from the main router, with one exterior wall separating the two. Since I already had an Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai review unit on my desk, and it supports AiMesh, it served as the main router for this review.

Given the temporary installation for this review unit, I used a 50-foot extension cord plugged into an exterior wall outlet. I then plugged the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor’s power plug into the extension cable.

Since the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai was already configured via the Asus Router app on my smartphone, adding the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor was a simple affair. From the app home screen, you tap the “+” button in the top-right corner. Then you tap on “Add AiMesh node.” Next, the app will attempt to locate the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor, which it did for me in about 30 seconds.

After the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor was found, the automatic configuration process took another 5 minutes or so to complete. Once finished, it showed that it was connecting to the main ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai router with a 5 GHz uplink.

I also performed separate tests using a 100-foot CAT6e cable, connecting the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai to the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor. When the two network devices are connected via a cable, the uplink automatically switches from wireless (5 GHz) to Ethernet.

Asus ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor Performance

There are two locations I use for our outdoor wireless satellite testing: my back porch and my fire pit, which is 20 feet farther away. I included baseline testing to measure performance when connected solely to the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai. I then performed tests with a laptop, wirelessly connecting to the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor using wired and wireless backhauls.

Wireless testing relied on an HP OmniBook X (Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite) laptop with a Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 Wi-Fi 6E wireless card. Our venerable iPerf3 server was connected to the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai via a 10 Gbps Ethernet connection. I will note that Asus claims that the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai offers 3,500 sq ft of wireless coverage, while the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor covers an additional 2,500 sq ft.

Baseline performance when connecting the OmniBook X to the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai was 222 Mbps on my porch and 124 Mbps at the fire pit on the 5 GHz band, using our iPerf3 throughput test. Switching over to the 2.4 GHz band, the numbers fell to 34 Mbps and 20 Mbps, respectively.

Interestingly, 5 GHz performance on the back porch was more than cut in half with the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor, compared to connecting natively to the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai. The only thing I can think of is that the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai was already providing a good enough signal. Plus, there’s added latency involved in maintaining the 5 GHz uplink between the router and satellite, which can impact client performance. On the positive side, performance was only slightly less (118 Mbps) at my fire pit. Also in the plus column, 2.4 GHz performance was higher across the board, with 39 Mbps on my back porch and 43 Mbps at the fire pit.

Unsurprisingly, I observed the best performance when connecting the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai and ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor via a CAT6e cable. Using this setup, 5 GHz performance on the porch jumped to 470 Mbps, while I saw 196 Mbps at the fire pit. Performance on the 2.4 GHz band also spiked to an average of 84 Mbps on the back porch.

Bottom Line

Asus’s networking portfolio is vast, and the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor is the latest solution to hit the Wi-Fi 7 market segment. Although your mileage may vary with setting it up as a satellite using a wireless uplink to an AiMesh router, wireless performance in my testing was subpar and, in some instances, slower than when connecting directly to the main router (an ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai).

However, customers with the wherewithal to install a wireless satellite in their yard and plan to run an Ethernet line using PoE will experience much higher throughput. The ZenWiFi BD5 has an MSRP of $179.99, but it’s currently selling for $139.99 at B&H Photo. With the caveat that you plan on using a wired backhaul, the ZenWiFi BD5 is a worthwhile investment for adding outdoor coverage to your AiMesh network.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which certifies every radio-emitting device (including routers) in the U.S., has announced “the addition of routers produced in a foreign country to the Covered List,” which is composed of equipment and services that “pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons.” While this is not technically a blanket ban on the sale of imported routers in the U.S., the FCC Public Notice (PDF) effectively has the same impact: The agency says it will not certify a foreign-made consumer router, making it illegal to sell or even import future new models into the country.

The agency said it’s doing this in response to a National Security Determination earlier this month, which says: “Recently, malicious state and non-state sponsored cyber attackers have increasingly leveraged the vulnerabilities in small and home office routers produced abroad to carry out direct attacks against American civilians in their homes. From disrupting network connectivity to enabling local networking espionage and intellectual property theft, foreign-produced routers present unacceptable risks to Americans.”

It also blamed foreign-made routers for the Volt, Flax, and Salt Typhoon cyberattacks that hit critical American infrastructure, adding that “routers in the United States must have trusted supply chains so we are not providing foreign actors with a built-in backdoor to American homes, businesses, critical infrastructure, and emergency services.”

While this might match the context of increasing instability in global geopolitics, it does not specifically address the weakness found in many consumer Wi-Fi routers. Although TP-Link was widely used in recent cyberattacks, cybersecurity experts told CNET that this was because of its ubiquity in the market, and that the exploited vulnerabilities were also present on routers made by American companies. In fact, the U.S. government itself said that the Salt Typhoon attacks often targeted Cisco hardware. Still, this did not deter the Department of Commerce from investigating TP-Link over its close ties to China.

This isn’t the first time that the FCC issued a directive that had a blanket effect on a specific type of device. In late December 2025, the agency made a similar move on foreign-made drones, effectively banning DJI and other imported brands from registering new models in the U.S. Many of the best Wi-Fi routers on sale in 2026 are from foreign companies like TP-Link. The FCC's new measure could, in theory, preclude future new products from these companies from coming to the States.

Nevertheless, this does not mean that foreign router manufacturers will forever be excluded from the U.S. market. The FCC says (PDF) that affected brands can apply for a “Conditional Approval” from the Department of War or the Department of Homeland Security to exempt them from the Covered List before they can build “trusted manufacturing capacity in the United States.” The move also does not affect any routers already on sale in the United States, or indeed any routers previously purchased, which will continue to work as normal.

Chinese tech giant Huawei has lined up a magical-looking Wi-Fi 7 router featuring the world’s first "metal mesh crystal antenna" (machine translation) on Japanese crowdfunding site GreenFunding. As well as the glowing crystal mountain at the center of the design, the router boasts a ‘shark fin’ heat exhaust system. It might be the nearest a home tech appliance has yet got to the gadget holy grail of combining sharks and laser beams.

The lighting of the router and the mesh nodes can be configured or automatically change according to the time of day. Touch controls on the devices allow quick visual adjustments. A partner app facilitates greater control.

You will have formed your own idea about the visual appeal of the new Huawei WiFi Mesh X3 Pro. Whatever your opinion of its glowing physical presence, it seems like a bold move for Huawei to promote a piece of tech that is usually hidden away into the limelight. Actually, moving the router out of a hidden corner, into a central ornamental statement piece, will probably be good for the Wi-Fi signal in your home.

Beneath the “sophisticated amber glow,” the 10-inch (250mm) tall WiFi Mesh X3 Pro packs in some attractive technology. For example, it supports technologies such as "MLO", "4K-QAM", and "Multi-RU" to stretch its Wi-Fi 7 capabilities. There are also two 2.5 Gbps Ethernet ports on the main unit. All this is driven by the custom Huawei Gigahome SoC.

To maintain the router’s throughput across its six high-performance antennas, the “Shark Fin Heat Exhaust System” comes into play. Huawei boasts it can prevent any thermal throttling affecting which could adversely affect long hours of online gaming or large data transfers.

Huawei has made a matching mesh node/satellite unit, which is included in some of the crowdfunder bundles. This is a truncated but complementary glowing design, again encouraging the owner not to deploy it in a hidden recess.

Seemingly a Japan exclusive for now, the crowdfunding is going very well – raising 8,600% over target – so perhaps Huawei will see fit to roll out the visually appealing WiFi Mesh X3 Pro in more markets. Then we'll be able to check whether it stands up to comparisons with the best Wi-Fi routers we've tested. Converting the (regular non-early bird) Japanese Yen price to USD would suggest a U.S. price of $170 for the main router alone. Not that bad for what Huawei claims is a piece of “art.”

It seems as though artificial intelligence is invading every facet of the tech space, and no product is safe. Witness the latest Wi-Fi 7 gaming router from Asus, which goes so far as to put AI in its name: the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai. We first heard about the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai over a year ago at CES 2025, but it’s just now making its way to the retail market at the same time that Asus is talking up its Wi-Fi 8 ambitions.

What sets the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai apart from other consumer routers is its onboard Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which has its own firmware that can be updated separately. Alongside the traditional CPU, the router also features a separate Microcontroller Unit (MCU). Asus can use any combination of these chips to improve performance, reduce power consumption, and power a suite of AI-infused features.

Beyond that, the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai is also a high-performance tri-band unit, which can hang with the best Wi-Fi routers. It features a plethora of LAN ports, USB connectivity, RGB lighting, and eight adjustable antennas. All of this goodness comes at a hefty price, though: it retails for a staggering $899. Read on to see if Asus's feet-first leap into the AI gravy train is worth the effort.

Design of the Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai

The ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai is an imposing beast of a wireless router. Its footprint is huge, dwarfing that of competitive gaming routers. It measures 13.8 x 13.8 x 8.69 inches (including the height of its antennas when fully upright).

A lot is going on with the design, with white dominating the main body and the eight antennas. There's a bit of contrasting black with vertical segments on each antenna, and a black inlay on top of the router, which sits beneath a clear plastic window. Further adding some pizazz to the design are a large vented area for cooling, a massive RGB ROG logo, and a row of status LEDs to keep you abreast of what's going on with the router at a glance. Just below the status LEDs are a WPS button and an additional button to turn off the LEDs.

The physical ports are scattered among two of the four vertical sides of the body. On the smaller side, there's the power port, an on/off button, and two USB-A ports. The longer side has all the network ports, and there are a lot of them. You'll find:

• 1 x 10 GbE for WAN/LAN
• 1 x 2.5 GbE for WAN/LAN
• 1 x 10 GbE for LAN
• 3 x 2.5 GbE for LAN
• 1 x 1 GbE for LAN

Whereas most routers offer one WAN port and four LAN ports, Asus goes above and beyond with the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai.

Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai Specifications

Setting up the Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai

The initial setup of the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai is made simply using the Asus Router smartphone app. After installing the app on your smartphone, you can scan the QR code on the bottom of the router to kick off the process. The setup program will prompt you to connect to the default/factory SSID, then start the configuration process. If you already have an Asus account and a previous Asus router that had its settings backed up to the cloud, you can transfer those settings to your new router and save quite a few steps.

If you don’t have a previous save file, you’ll go through the typical configuration options, such as setting an admin password, naming your SSIDs, creating a password for each SSID, and checking for firmware updates. A firmware update was available for our review unit, so I applied it right away before I began performance testing.

The setup process took less than 10 minutes (including the time it took to perform the firmware update).

After the initial setup was complete, I used the Router app to enable Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) on the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai, which increases power levels on the 6 GHz band. By switching from the default Low Power Indoor profile to the Standard Power Profile (depending on regional restrictions), AFC increases the range of the 6 GHz band, allowing you to, in theory, enjoy higher performance at distances comparable to those of the 5 GHz band. I enabled AFC on the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai for all 6 GHz tests.

ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai Software

Although the Asus Router app is easy to use and feature-packed, I opted to use the standard Web GUI for further interactions with the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai. This is the first router we’ve tested using ASUSWRT 6.0 (version 3.0.0.6.102_40425). The default page for the router is the Dashboard, and you’ll notice the white theme, which is a departure from the black we’re used to for other ROG networking products. The Dashboard provides a lot of information at a glance, including internet connection details, the number of connected devices per wireless band, occupied Ethernet ports, the traffic monitor, and CPU/RAM utilization. You also have quick access to RGB controls, allowing you to change the color and pattern of the effects.

As is typically the case with Asus routers, there is an extreme breadth of configuration options, including setting up an AiMesh network with an additional wireless router/access point, adaptive QoS (you can choose AI Balance, which is on by default, Gaming, Streaming, Work from Home, or Office). You can enable a VPN directly from the router, rather than relying on software installed on each client device. Supported services include PPTP, IPSec, OpenVPN, and WireGuard (you’ll need to log in with your own accounts). There’s also an extensive set of parental controls that can be enabled per device.

Asus is really playing up the “AI” aspect of the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai, but it needs to justify using the onboard NPU. To that end, the NPU powers Asus’ free AiProtection suite to protect all of your network devices. The primary vectors for protection include malicious site/infected device blocking and isolation, automatic ad blocking for your web browsers, tracker blocking, and a two-way intrusion protection system (IPS) for guarding against DDoS attacks.

Going even further, the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai can automatically detect gaming devices that connect to the network, prioritize their traffic, and give top billing to ROG motherboards, desktops, and laptops. You can also leverage the Game Boost feature with Adaptive QoS and use GTNet to optimize your network route when gaming online.

There’s even a dedicated section in the WebGUI for the NPU labeled AI Board. You can control container platforms using Portainer.io, which runs on the NPU. Asus also lets you optionally install the open-source Home Assistant for controlling all your smart home devices locally (instead of relying on cloud partners), and the Frigate network video recorder, which uses real-time AI object detection. The AdGuard Home Docker app, which can also be installed from the AI Board interface, gives you even more granular control for your ad-blocking rules.

Asus also has a Router Assistant that lets you ask questions about the router and its features. I asked, “What is MLO?” and it replied with the correct definition. You can also ask things like “How many devices are connected to the network?” All of your queries to the Router Assistant are processed locally.

The NPU firmware is separate from the router’s firmware and can be updated from the AI Board section in the WebGUI. Unlike our router, there were no available firmware updates for the NPU.

Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai Performance

We tested the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai with our venerable Wi-Fi client testing rig, featuring an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter, and Windows 11 Home. Our Windows 11 Home server has a 10 GbE network card connected to one of the 10 GbE ports on the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai.

Our iPerf3 throughput tests are conducted at six feet and 25 feet, with and without network traffic. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube videos across multiple wireless bands.

Generally speaking, the router's close-range performance on the 6 GHz and 5 GHz bands was excellent. Even more impressive is that with AFC enabled, the performance drop-off at long range and with congested traffic on the 6 GHz band was minimal.

Testing iPerf3 on the 6 GHz band at short range (6 feet), the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai cracked the 3 Gbps mark, putting it on even footing with the previous Asus flagship: the RT-BE96U.

Performance was well above what we saw recently with the ROG Strix GS-BE18000, which barely crested the 2 Gbps mark and was comfortably ahead of the TP-Link Archer GE800. Even at 25 feet, the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai still topped 2.1 Gbps, putting it ahead of the other assembled Asus routers, but well off the pace of the Archer GE800.

The ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai also performed well on the 5 GHz test, nearly equaling the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 at 6 feet, but coming out comfortably ahead at 25 feet (714 Mbps versus 497 Mbps). However, the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai was no match for the Archer GE800, which hit 1.8 Gbps at 6 feet and 1.3 Gbps at 25 feet.

The ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai performed in line with the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 at 6 feet, and vastly outperformed its sibling at 25 feet. However, both the RT-BE96U and the Archer GE800 delivered 50 Mbps+ higher performance at close range, and up to twice the performance at 25 feet.

With congested traffic, the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai generally performed on par or better than the other two Asus routers at close range, and surpassed them at long range across all bands. The Archer GE800 remained the stronger performer across the board (except in the 6 GHz band at close range).

I also tested the 2.5 GbE and 10 GbE LAN ports to see how wired traffic fares. Using iPerf3, speeds were consistently at 2.37 Gbps and 9.49 Mbps, respectively.

Bottom Line

The Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai is an interesting entry to the Wi-Fi 7 gaming router segment. The router definitely has impressive hardware specs, including multiple 10 GbE and 2.5 GbE ports. You’ll also find two USB-A ports and plenty of RGB lighting to spruce up your desk or bookshelf.

The biggest addition, however, is the AI functionality afforded by the NPU. You get dedicated hardware to support its onboard AI-powered software features (game acceleration, ad blocking, device protection, etc.). However, Asus’ routers without dedicated AI hardware also have the features; they just rely on the main CPU. The use of the NPU should technically free up hardware resources, ensuring your router’s CPU is unencumbered by AI requests. The NPU also powers the onboard Docker and Edge AI support. If you need greater expandability and control over your network without relying on cloud-based solutions, and don’t find the already versatile ASUSWRT 6.0 interface powerful enough, there’s not much else available on the consumer market to match the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai.

Overall performance was excellent, although it couldn’t quite touch the TP-Link Archer GE800 on the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands. But where the Archer GE800 might have the advantage with 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz traffic, Asus runs the tables on software. You get Asus’ full AiProtection suite, parental controls, and ad blocking at no additional cost—TP-Link forces you to pay monthly or yearly for that privilege.

Even so, the $899 price tag of the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai is hard to ignore as a significant barrier to entry. Unless the Docker support and onboard Router Assistant are must-haves for you, it’s hard to stomach the $500 price difference between the two (the Archer GE800 currently has a street price of $399). We understand that being on the bleeding edge can sometimes lead to a higher price of entry, but that $500 is better spent on one of the best gaming monitors or on securing some DDR5 in today’s climate.

I’ve reviewed traditional consumer-grade desktop-oriented Wi-Fi routers and even mobile Wi-Fi routers that can be powered by a USB battery bank. But a battery-powered cellular data mobile Wi-Fi hotspot? That’s new territory for us.

While most modern smartphones can serve as a mobile hotspot, many phone data plans limit the number of simultaneous connections and can reduce data speeds for tethering connections. In addition, using your smartphone as a hotspot is a quick way to drain its battery and cause it to heat up. That’s where Netgear’s Nighthawk M7 comes into play.

The Nighthawk M7 supports sub-6 GHz 5G and 4G LTE data speeds and provides dual-band Wi-Fi 7 hotspot coverage for up to 32 devices simultaneously. It also features a 3,850 mAh battery that can last up to 10 hours on a single charge.

However, that just scratches the surface of the Nighthawk M7's capabilities as a "world traveler" mobile hotspot.

Design of the Netgear Nighthawk M7

At first glance, the Nighthawk M7 looks like a USB power bank or a portable hard drive. The main body is matte black with a diamond-style pattern that wraps around the perimeter. The top of the device has a glass panel with "Nighthawk 5G" imprinted at the bottom and a 2.4-inch color LCD screen at the top. A single USB Type-C port is at the bottom of the unit, while a nano SIM slot and power button are on the right side. A single, pin-hole style reset button is on the left side of the Nighthawk M7.

The unit measures 5.71 x 3.29 x 0.67 inches and weighs 0.53 pounds (240 grams). It's well built and feels like it could withstand a drop or two, but I didn't have the guts to try that with a review unit on loan.

The Nighthawk M7 features an internal 3,850 mAh battery, which Netgear says delivers up to 10 hours of use on a single charge. That's more than enough to power through a typical work day or provide internet coverage for a family traveling abroad during their daily excursions.

You can also add Ethernet connectivity with an optional Netgear USB-C to Ethernet adapter (although, as you'll see in the performance section, I was able to enable this functionality with a cheap, off-the-shelf WAVLINK USB-C to 2.5 GbE adapter).

The 2.4-inch color screen at the top is only for displaying key status updates and is not a touchscreen. You'll see the current cellular network, signal strength, battery percentage, which SIM you're currently using, the number of connected devices, how much of your selected data plan you've used so far, and the status of the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz radios.

The lack of touch capabilities on the screen isn't a detriment for two reasons: 1) it's too small to be truly useful for touch navigation, and 2) you can control every aspect of the Nighthawk M5 using the Netgear app.

Netgear doesn't include a carrying case for the Nighthawk M7, but it does include a USB-C to USB-C cable.

Netgear Nighthawk M7 Specifications

Netgear Nighthawk M7 Software and eSIM Marketplace

The Nighthawk M7 is controlled entirely via the Netgear app (available on iOS or Android), which I installed on my iPhone Air. After installing the app, I scanned the QR code on the screen to set up the Nighthawk M7. The setup program automatically connected to the mobile hotspot and completed the usual onboarding procedures.

I was next asked to either create a new Netgear account or sign in to an existing one. Since I was a previous Netgear Orbi owner, I already had an account on file, so I signed in with my old, saved credentials. At this point, the home screen appeared, which provides quick access to the battery charge level, the Wi-Fi SSID, the number of connected devices, the option to offload cellular connectivity to a nearby Wi-Fi hotspot, and the ability to obtain an eSIM from the Netgear eSIM Marketplace.

That latter point is what sets the Nighthawk M7 apart from similar devices. Not only can you use a physical SIM, but you can also download eSIMs for use worldwide. Obtaining an eSIM is as simple with the Netgear eSIM Marketplace as it is grabbing one on your smartphone via apps like Airalo.

However, I first had to enable Wi-Fi offload to connect the Nighthawk M7 to my Wi-Fi network and obtain initial internet access. Then, you click the "Get a Netgear eSIM" button from the Netgear app home screen, which takes you to the Netgear eSIM Marketplace. From there, you can choose from specific geographic regions (Asia and Oceania, Canada, Caribbean Islands and Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, or the USA) or select individual countries. Since I planned to test only the Nighthawk M7 in the United States, I selected USA from the region tab.

There were options to purchase 3GB, 5GB, 10GB, or 20GB of data for $10, $14, $23, or $40, respectively. The 3GB option is only valid for 7 days (after installing and activating the eSIM), while the other three options are valid for 30 days. After selecting a data plan, you’re able to check out using Apple Pay (if you’re using an iPhone), or you can manually input your credit card information.

Once you purchase an eSIM, you can install it. The app then downloads the eSIM from the marketplace and saves it to the hotspot. You can either use it immediately or save it for later. If you choose to use it immediately, your 7- or 30-day countdown starts. In my case, the eSIM I installed was for the AT&T 5G/4G cellular network.

The process for setting up an eSIM for Europe (which covers 45 countries) and other regions is the same. I went through the steps of securing a European eSIM and was quoted prices of $11, $18, $33, and $44 for 3GB, 5GB, 10GB, and 20GB, respectively. Those prices are comparable to what’s available on Airalo, which lets you download global eSIMs to your smartphone. However, with Airalo, there may be limits on how many devices you can connect at once, depending on the carrier you select. You’re typically limited to tethering to one or two devices, versus up to 32 with the Nighthawk M7.

Netgear Nighthawk M7 Performance

The Nighthawk M7 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon SDX72 chipset supporting sub-6GHz 5G and 4G LTE cellular connectivity. On the hotspot connectivity side, you'll find dual-band Wi-Fi 7 support via the 5 GHz (2,900 Mbps) and 2.4 GHz (700 Mbps) wireless bands.

To test internet connectivity, I connected my MacBook Air to the Nighthawk M7 using the 5 GHz band. Using Speedtest, I saw average download speeds of 182 Mbps and average upload speeds of 45.5 Mbps (ten runs were performed: five at around 9:00 am and five at around 6:30 pm). The Nighthawk M7 was placed in the center of my home office, which is above a two-car garage, and is roughly the same footprint, to achieve those speeds. Size-wise, it would compare to a reasonably large hotel suite.

You can also connect the Nighthawk M7 directly to a device using a USB-C to USB-C cable. Again, using my MacBook Air, I connected the Nighthawk M7 directly via USB-C. Unsurprisingly, I saw even higher speeds using direct connect than Wi-Fi. Average download and upload speeds rose to 242 Mbps and 53.25 Mbps, respectively.

These download and upload speeds were consistent across multiple devices, including an iPhone Air (Wi-Fi 7), Mac Mini (Wi-Fi 6E), an HP OmniBook X (Wi-Fi 7), and multiple Windows desktop PCs with Wi-Fi 7 adapters.

In addition, the Nighthawk M7 supports sharing its cellular internet connection via its USB-C port with a USB-C to Ethernet adapter. Although Netgear would gladly prefer that you purchase one of its branded adapters, I used a WAVLINK USB-C to 2.5 GbE adapter that I always carry in my laptop bag. I plugged the adapter into the Nighthawk M7’s USB-C port and connected a CAT6e cable from the WAVLINK adapter to the WAN port on an Asus ROG Strix BE18000 tri-band Wi-Fi 7 gaming router. Everything worked as expected, and I was even able to use the Nighthawk M7 via the WAVLINK adapter connected to the GbE port on my Mac Mini without issue. I see no reason why a no-name, sub-$10 adapter wouldn’t also work with the mobile hotspot.

The Nighthawk M7 supports up to 32 devices simultaneously, making it a handy travel companion. Just imagine a family of four traveling to Italy for a week or more. Instead of each family member requiring one eSIM per device for data, you could purchase a single eSIM for the Nighthawk M7 and let each mobile device connect to it for internet access.

TheWi-Fi Offload feature can also be used to connect the Nighthawk M7 to a public Wi-Fi hotspot and securely share that connection with multiple devices.

Bottom Line

It’s hard to find fault with the Nighthawk M7. It’s relatively lightweight, configurable via a sleek smartphone app, and offers access to an easy-to-use eSIM marketplace for grabbing buckets of data nearly anywhere in the world. You can also use a physical nano SIM card if eSIM isn’t your thing. Not only does it work as a dual-band Wi-Fi 7 hotspot to share its 4G/5G cellular internet connection, but it can also connect directly to a device using a USB-C to USB-C cable or a USB-C to Ethernet adapter.

The only thing really working against the Nighthawk M7 is its price. The mobile hotspot retails for $499, which is a considerable amount of money. The closest competitor to the Nighthawk M7 is likely the TP-Link M8550, a 5G/4G LTE tri-band Wi-Fi 6E mobile hotspot. It also supports up to 32 devices and carries an MSRP of $499 (currently $429.99 on sale at Amazon). However, the M8550 critically lacks eSIM support and an analog to Netgear's excellent eSIM Marketplace.

For a purpose-built device that’s easy to set up and use, has enough battery capacity to last all day, and can provide connectivity for up to 32 devices, the Nighthawk M7 is money well spent. This is especially true if you travel frequently and need to connect multiple devices, as the cost savings can quickly add up.

It's long been said that the insane rise in DRAM pricing would eventually affect common household electronics, and those predictions are starting to come true, likely sooner than most people imagine or would like to admit. The latest casualty is the market for ISP-provided broadband routers, set-top boxes (STBs), and gateways, which could see prices for the memory they require rise sevenfold.

Counterpoint researchers state that this steep climb should last at least through June, and is likely to continue due to the ongoing supply crisis. Whereas memory used to account for about 3% of the average bill of materials (BOM) for producing one of these pieces of equipment, that percentage has now ballooned to 20%, and it will have an outsized influence on the equipment's final price.

While this likely won't have a direct impact on the monthly price of your internet connection, the usual "free installation" and similar deals, such as a free set-top box, may disappear over time. The graph below shows a significant difference in LPDDR4 pricing for mobile phones versus the standard DDR4 used in consumer-facing telco gear.

According to Counterpoint, routers could be affected the most, as the OEMs of these devices don't tend to have the kind of negotiation power and long-term supply contracts as the bigger industry players. DDR4 was already being phased out before the crisis hit, and supply constraints forced a surge in prices. The fact that the AI craze led to the addition of memory-hogging features in routers and STBs didn't help matters, as some equipment has as much RAM as a common PC.

The market researchers also note that this problem may even affect ISP fiber rollouts. It's not hard to imagine that the combined price of the equipment becomes a significant factor, especially when the time comes to pass the costs on to consumers, who may balk at paying for equipment that was often "free" for many years.

Even big telecom and phone gear manufacturers have started specifically calling out the problem in their quarterly earnings statements. In the statement for its Q4 2025 results, Nokia's CEO said that although "at a macro level across the company, [RAM pricing] is not a huge part", the firm intends to "secure the supply based on the commitments [it does have]" and that "[it expects ] to be passed through to pricing".

Meanwhile, MediaTek reportedly stated that it's got enough memory for its datacenter needs, but that for other segments it will "adjust its pricing to reflect the rising supply chain costs and allocate our supply across products based on the overall profitability". Likewise, Qualcomm's CEO said that, with data centers as priority #1, "industry-wide memory shortage and price increases are likely to define the overall scale of the handset industry through the fiscal year."

Wi-Fi 7 is currently the state-of-the-art wireless networking standard for consumers and businesses, following in the footsteps of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E. The Wi-Fi Alliance made grand promises about performance and reliability compared to earlier versions. Still, full support for some of Wi-Fi 7’s headline features is scarce to nonexistent in consumer wireless routers you’ll find from brick-and-mortar or online retailers.

We’ve tested some of the best Wi-Fi 7 routers in recent years, and the segment has exploded with options. You can now buy standard and gaming-focused routers, mesh routers, portable routers (which can be powered by battery packs), and even cellular Wi-Fi 7 hotspots. And with this wide range of devices come varying capabilities that may or may not adhere to standards set by the Wi-Fi Alliance.

But before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s take an overall look at the Wi-Fi 7 standard compared to its two immediate predecessors:

Confused yet? Well, it gets even more confusing. Wi-Fi 7 supports 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands. However, not all global regions have licensed airways for consumer use of the 6 GHz band. So, while you can use 6 GHz consumer wireless devices in the United States, other regions, like China, don’t license that band for Wi-Fi devices.

This disparity has led router manufacturers to develop dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers that support just the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. The benefit is that manufacturers can still use the Wi-Fi 7 branding to sell their latest networking gear, but it leaves customers even more confused. Consumers must look past the Wi-Fi 7 branding to ensure they’re purchasing a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router rather than a dual-band one. In addition, dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers don’t support the full 320 Hz maximum channel bandwidth and would technically only support MLO over two bands instead of three.

Multi-Link Operation

Multi-link Operation (MLO) has been billed as one of the key pillars of the Wi-Fi 7 experience, offering a reason to upgrade from Wi-Fi 6E to Wi-Fi 7. But first, a little background. With a traditional Wi-Fi router, a wireless client will connect to one band at a time. If you have a Wi-Fi 6E router that supports the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands, the wireless client will connect to one of those bands at a time.

However, MLO theoretically allows the router to bond two or more bands all within a single SSID. With properly-spec’d hardware, a client could connect to all three bands simultaneously and transmit/receive data as needed. The thing to remember here is that maximum throughput still cannot be greater than the fastest band available (6 GHz); instead, the wireless client can switch between bands while operating under the same SSID to account for the current wireless environment in real-time (i.e., traffic, radio interference, distance from the router, etc.).

There are two basic types of MLO that Wi-Fi 7 routers are capable of supporting:

Multi-Link Single Radio (MLSR/eMLSR): In this operating mode, a single link to a wireless band is possible, while the other bands remain in a lower power state until called upon. For example, the wireless client can dynamically hop between the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands to maximize throughput and reliability. Enhanced Multi-Link Single Radio (eMLSR) is similar but adds link monitoring/listening to enable more rapid band switching, as it listens to multiple links simultaneously (but can still transmit and receive data on only one active link).

Multi-Link Single Radio (MLMR): This operating mode aggregates data across the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands to improve throughput. This real-time monitoring can reduce latency and improve network reliability, especially in highly congested environments.

The purpose of MLO is to ensure that the Wi-Fi 7 client has the fastest possible connection to the router, given the current conditions. For example, connecting to the 6 GHz band on your router might give you great performance at close range but taper off dramatically the farther away you are, especially if there are walls between you. While the performance might drop, the signal is still strong enough to keep you connected to the 6 GHz SSID.

With MLO, the wireless client can automatically determine whether and when to switch to another band to maintain performance and signal strength. So, if you’re moving farther from the router and the 5 GHz band is a better fit for data throughput, your Wi-Fi 7 client will switch on the fly.

In real-world testing, I have found little to no benefit to enabling an MLO SSID on Wi-Fi 7 routers (which is why I also don’t run individual tests with MLO). At most, I’ve seen a 1-2 percent difference compared to not having MLO enabled. In most cases, the non-MLO SSID provides better performance.

Further complicating matters, most routers don’t even implement MLO properly in firmware, so compliance is spotty at best. Further complicating matters, you need to enable WPA3 authentication to set up an MLO network, and only Wi-Fi 7 devices are supported. That severely limits the usefulness of MLO if you don’t have many Wi-Fi 7 devices in your home (here’s a hint: most people have far more Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6 devices).

Automated Frequency Coordination

Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) is even harder to find on Wi-Fi 7 routers, as it enables a power-hungry, higher-performance operating mode for the 6 GHz radio. Although AFC was previously available with Wi-Fi 6E, it’s more prevalent (though still underutilized) with Wi-Fi 7 routers.

Think of AFC as a turbocharger for your router, boosting performance on the 6 GHz band. In the default Low Power Indoor (LPI) mode, the 6 GHz band can deliver higher performance than the 5 GHz band on Wi-Fi 7 routers, but at the expense of range. LPI is used to minimize local interference in the 6 GHz band. With AFC, the router is switched to Standard Power (SP), which improves signal strength and enables wireless connections beyond 50 feet.

However, you don’t automatically get free range to use AFC on your Wi-Fi 7 router. First, your country has to support the use of the 6 GHz band for consumer devices. And even if it does, there are still further local restrictions that could prevent you from using AFC.

Let’s take the Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000, for example. This gaming router supports AFC; however, you must use the Asus Router smartphone app to set up the features. That’s because the Asus Router app uses your smartphone’s location data to check local databases and ensure SP mode can be enabled.

With AFC, broadcasting power can be boosted, bringing the 6 GHz band's maximum range on par with that of the 5 GHz band. But to take advantage of AFC, both your Wi-Fi 7 router and Wi-Fi 7 client have to support the feature.

Wi-Fi 8 is on the horizon, and the confusion still stands

The first Wi-Fi 8 routers are expected to launch globally in late 2027, with companies like Asus having already showcased prototype devices. If you were hoping that some of the confusion surrounding tri-band, dual-band, MLO, and AFC would subside with Wi-Fi 8, we have some bad news. The bifurcation in the market between tri-band routers (which include the 6 GHz band) and dual-band Wi-Fi 8 will continue.

In addition, hardware support for MLO and AFC will remain with the router OEMs, so you will need to do your research before purchase if those technologies are important to you. Perhaps more importantly, Wi-Fi 8 won’t offer a huge generational leap in wireless performance compared to Wi-Fi 7. Each generation of Wi-Fi has placed a strong emphasis on performance to spur consumer upgrades, but we’d consider Wi-Fi 8 more of a “maintenance” release.

Full-spec Wi-Fi 8 hardware will still use three bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz), along with 4096 QAM and a maximum channel bandwidth of 320 MHz. In fact, the maximum data rate remains at 46 Gbps. Instead, Wi-Fi 8’s tentpole feature is Ultra High Reliability (UHR), to improve real-world data rates by 25 percent. At CES 2026, Asus was already showing a 10 percent improvement in mid-range throughput with prototype Wi-Fi 8 hardware.

The IEEE claims that the up to 25 percent increase in real-world speeds isn’t the only benefit; you should also notice reduced latency across your network. Several new technologies are tasked with achieving these goals.

Coordinated Spatial Reuse (Co-SR): Dynamically regulates signal strength between wireless clients and the access point in heavily congested network environments (dependent on the distance between client and access point). This feature alone could improve network efficiency by up to 25 percent.

Coordinated Beamforming (Co-BF): Allows access points to direct their wireless signals only to areas where active devices are present, helping reduce interference with other devices. Up to a 50 percent improvement in throughput was seen by MediaTek in early testing using Co-BF.

Dynamic Sub-Channel Operation (DSO): Allows devices to tap unused portions of the wideband spectrum (which is often underutilized by 6 GHz devices) to maximize utilization (especially in mixed device networks).

Enhanced Modulation Coding Scheme (MCS): Offers fine-grain coding rate adaptation when the signal-to-noise ratio is unstable. This results in smoother transitions, particularly in networks with high device utilization.

Extended Long Range: Provides a more stable wireless link for devices that typically sit at the edge of your router/access point's coverage range (think wireless security cameras, doorbells, outdoor lighting, garage door openers, etc.).

It remains to be seen whether all, or even some, of these features will be implemented across the full range of Wi-Fi 8 hardware that becomes available over the next several years. However, it looks like Wi-Fi 8 will help devices better realize the performance potential originally promised with Wi-Fi 7.

MSI is no stranger to Wi-Fi 7 routers, as we’ve previously looked at the company’s more entry-level-focused Roamii BE Lite mesh system. The company is back with the Roamii BE Pro. Whereas its similarly-named predecessor was a dual-band unit, this new offering includes the 6 GHz band, making it a full-featured tri-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh system.

The Roamii BE Pro features an attractive design, RGB lighting to spruce things up, a full complement of 2.5 GbE WAN/LAN ports, and USB 3.0 ports for network storage. Better yet, the Roamii BE Pro offers competitive performance at a price point that aligns with its tri-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh peers. In fact, it’s so good that it would be a worthy addition to our best Wi-Fi routers list.

Design of the MSI Roamii BE Pro Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router

The Roamii BE Pro shares a similar design language with the preceding Roamii BE Lite, meaning that it has a triangular base that shoots upwards into a large tower. Think of it as a massive Toblerone candy wrapper finished in white. It retains the ventilation holes at the top of the unit and the stylized “7” imprinted on one of the vertical sides.

Other distinguishing features include a vertically aligned LED near the base that indicates connection status and a downward-facing RGB array on two of the three sides of the base. The colorful patterns that it displays are user-configurable with the MSI Router 2.0 app.

All ports on the Roamii BE Pro are on the back of the unit. I’ll note here that both nodes included in the box are identical. Whichever unit you plug and connect to the internet first acts as the primary router, while the other acts as the satellite node. With that said, there’s a 2.5 GbE WAN port along with three 2.5 GbE LAN ports and a USB 3.0 port. You’ll also find a WPS/Sync button, a reset button, and the proprietary barrel-style power port on the back panel.

One appreciated addition to the package, as with the Roamii BE Lite, is a set of wall-mount brackets for both nodes. Other router OEMs force you to buy your own wall mounts at an additional charge, but MSI provides them for free, which is a nice touch.

MSI Roamii BE Pro Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router Specifications

Setting up the MSI Roamii BE Pro Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router

You can use the MSI Router 2.0 app for setting up its routers, including the Roamii BE Pro. Two identical wireless nodes are included in the box; The first one you set up becomes the primary router. Setting up the router started simply enough; I scanned the QR code on the back of the unit within the Router 2.0 app, and the setup program joined the open wireless network.

I created an admin username/password and chose an SSID/password for the Wi-Fi network. Finally, the setup program informed me that a firmware update was available, so I went ahead and applied it. The router rebooted and was accessible from within the Router 2.0 app.

However, the next step is where I encountered problems. According to MSI, setting up the second node is as simple as plugging it in near the router and letting the two nodes communicate for a few minutes to finish setup. I did this, but the second node never completed its link. The status LED on the second node would go through various light dances, then go solid green without ever confirming a connection (the status LED turns solid white when a connection is made).

I tried adding the second node from the Router 2.0 app several times to no avail, and even performed a factory reset on the node in failed attempts to bring it back to life. After about a half-hour of reboots, resets, and sheer frustration, I decided to try the manual pairing method. I pressed the WPS button on the back of the primary router, and then pushed the WPS button on the back of the second node. Within a few minutes, the status LED on the second node turned solid white, confirming that it had joined the mesh network and was visible in the Router 2.0 app. I then performed the firmware update on the node, which ended my frustrating experience setting up the mesh network.

MSI Roamii BE Pro Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router Software

Once I got past the setup headaches with the Roamii BE Pro, the Router 2.0 app was actually relatively easy to use and configure. The main dashboard provides internet status, connection status for both nodes, quick access to Wi-Fi settings, and quick controls for Guest, Child, and IoT networks. You’ll also see upload/download rates on the network, along with the number of connected devices.

There’s a wealth of wireless settings you can configure, including enabling multi-link operation (MLO) and fast roaming (802.11r). You can also configure the router to broadcast on all three bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz) for the main network, or you can choose not to enable certain bands.

You have this same flexibility when configuring the IoT, Child, and Guest networks. Personally, I’d limit the IoT network to 2.4 GHz traffic only, and configure the guest network for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz traffic.

MSI also offers a Security Center, which provides free security protection for connected devices. The security suite can automatically protect devices from ransomware, infected links, web threats, and network intrusions (among other threats). Devices are automatically scanned for vulnerabilities, and you can view a daily report of any actions taken for an individual device.

There’s also a comprehensive set of parental controls that can be applied per device. Again, MSI provides an easy-to-use interface that shows how many times it had to step in to block access to inappropriate sites (you can control this setting), or when a child has reached their daily allotment of internet access.

Finally, the Advanced Settings tab is where you’ll find a wealth of settings you can manage, from QoS tweaks to setting up a file service via the USB ports to controlling the RGB effects for the LEDs mounted near the bottom of each node. You’ll also find your typical management-related tasks, such as initiating a firmware update and setting a reboot schedule for the router.

MSI Roamii BE Pro Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router Performance

We use an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter, with Windows 11 Home installed. Our server used for testing was a Windows 11 Home machine with a 10 GbE network card connected to one of the 2.5 GbE ports on the Roamii BE Pro.

The iPerf3 tests are conducted at six feet and 25 feet, with and without traffic across the network. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube videos evenly across all bands.

Generally speaking, the Roamii BE Pro performed well on our tests, particularly on the 5 GHz band. On the 6 GHz iPerf3 test at short range (6 feet) with no additional traffic, the Roamii BE Pro achieved 1,580 Mbps, while the long-range performance clocked in at 1,047 Mbps. The TP-Link Deco BE63 had higher performance at short range (1,990 Mbps), but dropped to just 786 Mbps at long range.

Shifting gears to 5 GHz band testing, the Roamii BE Pro again showed that consistency is key. It topped the Deco BE63 at short range (1,323 Mbps versus 1,287 Mbps) and had a smaller performance falloff at long range (839 Mbps versus 523 Mbps). The Roamii BE Pro’s 5 GHz performance was also better than its dual-band sibling, the Roamii BE Lite, which came in at 934 Mbps and 541 Mbps, respectively.

The Roamii BE Pro again came out ahead of the similarly priced Deco BE63 on the 2.4 GHz band, albeit by a narrow margin. It was just 1 Mbps faster on average at short range, and 8 Mbps faster at long range. Interestingly, the Roamii BE Lite actually took top honors at both distances, delivering 122 Mbps and 69 Mbps, respectively.

The performance situation was very similar, with congested traffic, and the Roamii BE Pro came up short against the Deco BE63 in the 6 GHz iPerf3 short-range tests (1,474 Mbps versus 1,940 Mbps), but it flipped the script at long range (997 Mbps versus 724 Mbps). The Roamii BE Pro again ran the tables on the 5 GHz band, hitting 1,243 Mbps and 812 Mbps at short and long range, respectively. Finally, the 2.4 GHz tests showed that the Roamii BE Lite maintained a strong lead in both tests, with the Roamii BE Pro coming in second, just ahead of the Deco BE63.

Bottom Line

The MSI Roamii BE Pro is a strong entry in the tri-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh router market, offering strong hardware specs and connectivity (three 2.5 GbE ports, 2.5 GbE WAN, USB 3.0), RGB design flourishes, and included wall mounts (which only MSI seems willing to offer in this category). The MSI Router 2.0 app is well-featured and easy to use.

On the performance front, the Roamii BE Pro offered competitive performance on the 6 GHz band, particularly excelling at long range. Its 5 GHz performance bested all competitors, and its 2.4 GHz performance couldn’t beat the Roamii BE Lite, but it was still respectable.

My only real hangup with the router was the issues that I had setting up the satellite mesh node. They didn’t pair automatically out of the box, and the app proved useless for help. However, using the trusty WPS button cleared up the issue right away, even though I shouldn’t have had to use the button in the first place.

The Roamii BE Pro has an MSRP of $349 for a two-pack, but its current street price on Amazon is $299. For comparison, the TP-Link Deco BE63 has a current street price of $349. The routers are well-matched, with the Roamii BE Pro holding the advantage in long-range 6 GHz testing and running the tables in 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz testing. At this price point, the Roamii BE Pro is the mesh router to beat if you’re looking to spend around $300.

The Asus RT-BE58 Go is the second Wi-Fi 7 travel router that we’ve received for extended testing, coming hot on the heels of the TP-Link TL-WR3602BE, which is one of our picks among the best Wi-Fi routers. At first glance, you might even think the two routers are related, as they look pretty similar (one is black, the other white) and share a nearly identical feature set.

And more importantly, they both target the same market: consumers who need to share a Wi-Fi connection with multiple devices and/or people in a compact form factor. Asus can easily achieve this with a dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router that costs around $120 as of this writing.

Design of the Asus RT-BE58 Go Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router

The RT-BE58 Go has more than a passing resemblance to its closest competitor: the TP-Link WR3602BE. They share an identical footprint with a square base and a design that is basically a cube cut in half. They both also have two antennas that stow alongside the body, or extend upright like a pair of rabbit ears.

There’s also a programmable toggle switch on the device's side. By default, it doesn’t control anything (e.g., turning Wi-Fi on/off, turning the front LED on/off, or activating the VPN). However, you can use the Asus Router app to switch between operating modes.

The RT-BE58 Go has a single horizontal status LED on the front of the chassis and a programmable action button on the side (just like the WR3602BE). On the back, you’ll find a single 2.5 GbE WAN port, a GbE LAN port, and a USB 3.0 port (it can be used for networked storage or to support internet sharing via USB cellular modem or smartphone). There’s also a single USB-C port (with Power Delivery support) for powering the device. You can power the RT-BE58 Go using either the included USB-C wall adapter or via a USB-C portable battery pack.

Asus RT-BE58 Go Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router Specifications

Setting up the Asus RT-BE58 Go Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router

My preferred method for setting up the RT-BE58 Go is the Asus Router app, and it isn’t incredibly easy to navigate. You kick off the setup process by scanning the QR code at the bottom of the router, which lets the setup program automatically join the factory-assigned SSID with the default username and password.

Once connected, you can create a new username/password for the router and then rename the SSID if you choose. I renamed the SSID to Asus_Test and set the router's password to my own unique one. Once all of that administration work is out of the way, you can log in to the router’s interface and further tweak settings to your liking and check to see if any firmware updates are available.

Given its similar positioning, the RT-BE58 Go has the same feature set as the TL-WR3602BE. That means, you can use the router in the following modes:

• Via Public Wi-Fi — allows you to connect to a hotel Wi-Fi, or any public hotspot, and create your own private and secure network for devices
• Via an Ethernet Cable — the traditional method of connecting to a cable modem or fiber connection
• Via USB Tethering — share your smartphone’s internet connection via the USB-A port on the router
• Via a USB Modem — connect the router to a USB cellular modem

For all of our iPerf3 testing, I used the Ethernet cable method. However, I also used Public Wi-Fi mode to share my iPhone’s cellular connection (via the phone’s personal hotspot) with the RT-BE58 Go.

Software and Features of the Asus RT-BE58 Go Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router

Asus’s Router app is used across its broad portfolio of network products, ranging from gaming routers to mesh routers to portable routers like the RT-BE58 Go. The main “Home” page displays an image of your router, the primary Wi-Fi SSID, and the LAN IP address. To the right of this information, you’ll see an icon that looks like a speedometer; it provides quick access to QoS settings that you can change on the fly.

The large circle presents various status updates that you can scroll through, including real-time traffic, network name, CPU and RAM usage, and the number of connected wired/wireless clients. Below the circle are buttons for internet status, AiMesh status (if enabled), and Wi-Fi information.

In the Devices menu (via the bottom navigation bar), you’ll find a list of connected wired/wireless devices (and any devices that previously connected but are now disconnected). You can also access the AiMesh settings from here. The next tab is Insight, where you’ll find yet another mention of AiMesh, a link to register your router, and quick highlights of your router’s threat assessment.

The family tab lets you set parental controls for your children on a per-device basis. Finally, the Settings tab gives you access to all of the advanced settings available to the RT-BE58 Go. You can configure the USB port, enable AI Protection (a built-in security suite), run diagnostics on the router, perform firmware updates, backup or restore router settings, enable Google Assistant integration, and more.

Asus RT-BE58 Go Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router Performance

Our client rig for wireless tests consists of an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter, and Windows 11 Home. The system sits on a mobile cart that I can roll around the house. The server is a Windows 11 Home machine with a 10 GbE network card connected to the 2.5 GbE LAN on the RT-BE58 Go.

The iPerf3 wireless throughput tests are run at 6 feet and 25 feet, with and without network traffic. Tests are conducted separately on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube content across the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

The RT-BE58 Go is focused primarily on portability, so it’s not nearly as powerful as desktop-based dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers. Starting with our 5 GHz iPerf3 test at short range (6 feet), the RT-BE58 Go put up a good showing, hitting 865 Mbps compared to 753 Mbps for the TL-WR3602BE. Switching to our long-range test (25 feet), the Asus router dropped to 391 Mbps, compared to 300 Mbps for the TL-WR3602BE. Congested traffic at both ranges led to a 10 to 15 percent drop for the RT-BE58 Go. However, the Asus still consistently came out ahead of its TP-Link counterpart.

Things were more mixed on the 2.4 GHz band. With our short-range testing, the TL-WR3602BE came out ahead (97 Mbps versus 88 Mbps), but the RT-BE58 Go took a barely perceptible lead at long range (37 Mbps versus 36 Mbps). With congested traffic, the two routers were separated by 1 Mbps at short range and 3 Mbps at long range.

While I primarily used the RT-BE58 Go with a 2.5 GbE WAN port connected to my 2 Gbps fiber modem, I also tested it with my iPhone Air as a hotspot (via the USB-A port and Wi-Fi hotspot). I tested the router outside, connected to my Anker 737 USB-C Power Bank. In Wi-Fi hotspot mode, I achieved an Ookla SpeedTest result of 140 Mbps down and 40.25 Mbps up on an HP OmniBook Snapdragon X Elite laptop. For reference, my iPhone Air natively hit 924 Mbps down and 198 Mbps up using its cellular connection.

Bottom Line

The Asus RT-BE58 Go is a full-featured mobile router in a pint-sized package. It’s highly portable, can be powered with a USB-C power bank, and is configurable with a well-designed smartphone app. It allows you to provide internet to multiple devices via WAN, USB-A, or a Wi-Fi hotspot, and it offers various operating modes.

Performance-wise, the RT-BE58 Go outperforms the TP-Link TL-WR3602BE on the 5 GHz band and performs nearly identically on the 2.4 GHz band. Given the almost identical feature set and form factor between the two devices, choosing between them will largely come down to price. The TL-WR3602BE currently has a street price of $99, while the RT-BE58 Go goes for $119. Given the price differential, we’d probably still give the nod to the TP-Link, but you can’t go wrong with either choice.

Although I work on PCs every single day, I also use Macs for both work and play. My go-to work machine is a MacBook Air (M4), which I love because it’s powerful, lightweight, and the battery easily lasts through the workday when I’m away from a power outlet. I also use a Mac Mini (M4) at home as our Plex Media Server, which runs 24-7-365.

However, Macs (especially the MacBook Air) aren’t known for their abundance of versatile ports, so I use Thunderbolt 4 docks with both systems at my desk. With this setup, I can add a wealth of connectivity options to my Macs using Thunderbolt 4. In my case, I leverage the Ivanky FusionDock Max 1 and the Amazon Basics Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock. And while I use these docks with Macs, there are plenty of Intel-based Windows laptops with Thunderbolt 4 ports that can use compatible Thunderbolt 4 docks.

MacBook Air – Ivanky FusionDock Max 1

The FusionDock Max 1 is different from most Thunderbolt 4 docks on the market, as it uses dual Thunderbolt 4 cables to connect to a host system rather than a single one. The reason for this is that the FusionDock Max 1 uses two Thunderbolt 3 chips onboard, allowing it to offer a staggering number of ports.

However, this trick design limits compatibility. The FusionDock Max 1 is only compatible with Macs, as the spacing between the two-port USB-C-style connector on the cables that connect the dock to the Mac only works with Apple’s standard port spacing. Further limiting its compatibility is that the FusionDock Max 1 only works with Apple Silicon Macs. However, Apple Silicon Macs have been around since late 2020, and anyone looking for a Thunderbolt 4 dock for a Mac will be running a compatible system.

As I mentioned, the FusionDock Max 1 has plenty of ports. You'll find:

• 2x Upstream USB-C
• 4x Downstream USB-C (40 Gbps)
• 1x USB-C (10 Gbps, 30W PD)
• 1x USB-C (10 Gbps)
• 5x USB-A (10 Gbps)
• 2x HDMI 2.0
• 1x SD 4.0 (UHS-II)
• 1x microSD 4.0 (UHS-II)
• 1x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
• 1x Front Audio In/Out (3.5mm)
• 1x Rear Audio Out (3.5mm)
• 1x Optical Audio

The FusionDock Max 1 features a well-constructed aluminum chassis, which Ivanky calls a “floating cooling design.” What this essentially means is that there’s an air gap between the stand and the components unit of the dock, whether it's oriented vertically or horizontally, to aid in cooling. Personally, I prefer to mount my dock vertically to save space on my desk.

Using two cables (with conjoined USB-C connectors on the end that plugs into the Mac), my MacBook Air transforms from a paltry two USB-C ports to an absolute powerhouse on the connectivity front. What makes this setup so appealing to me is that once I set my MacBook Air down on its vertical desktop stand, I plug in the dual USB-C connectors, and that's it. My monitor springs to life. My Ethernet connection and speakers are activated, and power is supplied to charge my battery (96W charging supported).

My 49-inch Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 DQHD QD-OLED monitor is connected to the DisplayPort port on the back of the dock, running at its native 240 Hz refresh rate. The USB-B upstream for my monitor's onboard USB hub plugs into one of the rear USB-A (10 Gbps) ports, as does my 1080p Logitech webcam. The rear 3.5mm audio jack is used for my budget Logitech speakers.

Although I use the onboard Wi-Fi 6E on my MacBook Air when away from my desk, plugging the laptop into the dock automatically prioritizes the 2.5 GbE LAN port for network/internet connectivity. The LAN cable then connects to one of the 2.5 GbE ports on my TP-Link Deco BE63 Wi-Fi 7 mesh router, allowing me to leverage the full extent of my recently installed 2 Gbps fiber connection at home.

I also use the front ports, particularly the microSD 4.0 (UHS-II) slot, to transfer files to my 3D printer and photos/videos from my DJI Mavic Air 2 drone. I use the USB-C (10 Gbps, 30W PD) port for fast-charging my iPhone Air. One of the front-mounted USB-C (40 Gbps) ports serves as a home for my SSK 512GB USB-C thumb drive. The drive supports transfer speeds up to 550 Mbps, which the FusionDock Max 1 can easily accommodate.

When connected via the dock, the SSK thumb drive delivers up to 512 Mbps write speeds and 432 Mbps read speeds. Connecting directly to the Thunderbolt 4 port on my MacBook Air, the speeds were similar.

Although I only use my single 49-inch monitor at my desk (I don’t have room for anything else), the FusionDock Max 1 supports up to four monitors simultaneously: three 6K at 60Hz and one 4K at 60 Hz.

Thunderbolt docks, in general, aren’t cheap, and the Ivanky FusionDock Max 1 is no exception. It currently sells for $299 direct from Ivanky. However, I’m a cheapskate and bought my unit open-box for $177 on eBay.

Mac Mini – Amazon Basics Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock

The dock that I use with my Mac Mini isn’t nearly as ambitious, but it gets the job done. It has just 10 ports, compared to the 20 on the FusionDock Max 1, and a plain, jet-black design with cooling fins to help dissipate heat.

With this dock, you get:

• 2x Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps, 15W PD)
• 1x HDMI 2.1
• 3x USB-A (10Gbps)
• 1x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
• 1x SD 4.0 (UHS-II)
• 1x 3.5mm audio out

For charging your laptop, the Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock supports Power Delivery 3.0, with up to 96 watts being supplied with the upstream Thunderbolt 4 port. The dock only supports a maximum of two 4K monitors at 60 Hz, or it can support up to an 8K monitor at 30 Hz. Unlike the FusionDock Max 1, it supports Macs (including non-Apple Silicon) and Windows systems.

My connectivity needs with the Mac Mini aren’t as demanding, but I still make good use of the dock. I have just the single Thunderbolt 4 port plugged into the Mac Mini, allowing the dock to service a 4K USB-C monitor, a 4TB Seagate EasyStore USB-A HDD, and a 12TB Western Digital My Book USB-A HDD. My Mac Mini only has a Gigabit Ethernet port onboard, so I use the dock’s 2.5 GbE port to connect to my Deco BE63 to maximize my internet/network speeds. I occasionally use the front-mounted SD slot to transfer files/images to and from my Mac Mini, so it’s nice to have that functionality as well.

Transfer speeds with my SSK USB-C thumb drive were similar on the Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock to what I saw on the FusionDock Max 1.

SSK USB-C thumb drive connected to Amazon Basics Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock

SSK USB-C thumb drive connected natively to Mac Mini

Before I bought the Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock, I used a mess of adapters to connect all of my devices. I used two USB-C-to-USB-A adapters for the external hard drives and a USB-C-to-2.5 GbE adapter for networking. And if I wanted to access my SD card, I had another USB-C-to-SD/microSD reader plugged into the Mac Mini's front USB-C port. While it worked, it wasn’t exactly a streamlined setup.

What sparked me to go with a Thunderbolt 4 dock was a sale at Woot.com, an Amazon subsidiary. Back in September 2025, they were selling the dock, new in box, for $34.99 with free shipping. At that price, I absolutely couldn’t pass on the deal. I have no idea why Woot was selling the docks for that cheap, and I don’t want to know why – I simply placed my order and had the item in my hands a few days later.

Now, however, if you’re looking to buy the same dock, Amazon is selling it for $134.99 – a $100 difference. However, that’s still on the lower end of the price spectrum for a versatile Thunderbolt 4 Dock these days.

Other Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 5 Docks to Consider

The Ivanky FusionDock Max 1 and the Amazon Basics Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock aren't the only Thunderbolt 4 docks on the market. There are many others available in the $150 to $250 price range price range. Some additional options to include:

• UGREEN Thunderbolt 4 Dock – $169.99
• Plugable Thunderbolt 4 Dock – $199.95
• WAVLINK Thundebolt 4 Dock – $249.99
• Lenovo ThinkPad Universal Thunderbolt 4 Dock – $238.99
• Anker 778 Thunderbolt Docking Station – $229.99

And if you have any more demanding needs with multiple devices that crave bandwidth, there is a growing number of Thunderbolt 5 docks, albeit with even higher price tags:

• UGREEN Thunderbolt 5 Dock – $299.99
• Ivanky FusionDock Pro 3 Thunderbolt 5 Dock – $224.99
• Ivanky FusionDock Max 2 – $399.99
• Anker Prime Thunderbolt 5 Dock – $399.99
• Kensington SD50000T5 Thunderbolt 5 Dock – $209.99
• WAVLINK TB5 Thunderbolt 5 Dock – $299.99
• CalDigit E5 Thunderbolt 5 Dock – $249.99

The last gamer-centric, tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router we tested from Asus was the RT-BE96U, an arachnid-esque router with strong 6 GHz performance and a wealth of configuration options. We now have our hands on the ROG Strix GS-BE18000, another tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router with a gaming focus, but with a less animalistic look.

The router is stacked with features, offering seven 2.5 GbE LAN ports (plus one 2.5 GbE LAN port), a USB 3.0 port, configurable RGB lighting, and a relatively compact form factor. Asus offers all of this in a router with a street price of around $450, but the lack of a 10 GbE LAN port and performance that can’t quite match its peers means that it isn’t ranked among the best Wi-Fi routers. The lack of a 10 GbE LAN port and relatively subpar 2.4 GHz performance.

Design of the Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000

At first glance, the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 doesn’t even look much like a router — in fact, it appears more like an Asus small form factor PC than a router. It has a tall, book-style design with no external antennas (the router’s eight antennas are all internal). The front face of the router has a large RGB-illuminated ROG logo and four status LEDs in the lower-right corner (Wi-Fi, LAN, WAN, Power). You’ll also find a generous smattering of “Republic of Gamers” printed on the front of the router.

Where the real action happens, however, is on the back of the router, which is loaded with ports. It’s not often that we see eight Ethernet ports on the back of a gaming router, but that’s what you have assembled here. Asus provides one 2.5 GbE port for WAN, and seven 2.5 GbE LAN ports (two of which are designated as Gaming ports with automatic network prioritization). There’s also a USB 3.0 port that can be used for external storage or connecting a smartphone or USB cellular modem for Wi-Fi hotspot connectivity. One thing that you won’t find is a 10 GbE port, which is expected at this price point for a gaming router.

As for wireless connectivity, the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 is a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router with 2.4 GHz (2x2), 5 GHz (4x4), and 6 GHz (4x4) bands. The 2x2 2.4 GHz radio is a downgrade from the 4x4 arrangement on the RT-BE96U, resulting in a theoretical maximum of 688 Mbps rather than 1,376 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band.

Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000 Specifications

Setting up the Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000

The ROG Strix GS-BE18000 can be set up via the traditional web interface in a desktop browser or Asus’ excellent smartphone app. I opted for the latter, as it’s the quickest option. After plugging power into the router and connecting a cable to the WAN port, I tapped “Add a Network” in the smartphone app, then scanned the QR code on the bottom of the router.

After a couple of prompts from the setup program (naming SSIDs and setting passwords for each band, establishing an admin username and password, etc.), the installation process was complete. From start to finish, including rebooting and network optimization, the process took about five minutes.

When the setup process was complete, I was given the option to bind the router to my Asus account, which lets me manage it when I’m not on my home network. In other words, as long as you have a stable internet connection, you can use the Asus Router app to access and manage the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 from anywhere.

The ROG Strix GS-BE18000 also supports Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC), allowing for boosted power levels on the 6 GHz band. Instead of using the default Low Power Indoor profile, if your local region allows it, AFC can enable the Standard Power Profile, which increases the range of the 6 GHz band. I was able to use the Asus Router app to verify my location and enable AFC.

Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000 Software

The ROG Strix GS-BE18000 uses the AsusWRT 5.0 platform with a gaming-oriented focus. While the interface may appear familiar to people who have used previous Asus routers, the version used on the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 makes heavy use of black and shades of red. You'll also find the Republic of Gamers branding in the top right corner of every page.

The first page you'll see when visiting the desktop Web GUI is the Dashboard, which provides at-a-glance information such as the number of connected clients, internet connection status, wireless band status, network traffic, ping times, and quick controls for the RGB logo on the front of the router.

If you want to delve deeper into configuration settings, the left panel is where you control every aspect of the router. Since the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 is Asus AiMesh compatible, you can add compatible wireless nodes from the AiMesh menu. At the same time, AiProtection offers a comprehensive suite of free security tools from Trend Micro. You'll find features like malicious site blocking, intrusion prevention, and device isolation for infected network devices.

There are comprehensive parental controls that can be implemented on a per-MAC basis, Game Boost (prioritized network traffic, mobile gaming acceleration, Open NAT for port forwarding), Adaptive QoS, Amazon Alexa integration, and much more. Asus even goes above and beyond with how it allows you to utilize the USB port.

Not only can you use it for network storage, but you can set up a network printer server by connecting your USB printer directly to the port, add internet connectivity to your network via a USB cellular modem or smartphone, and even create a Time Machine backup server for Macs.

Like most modern routers, the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 also features an integrated Speed Test utility. Using a MacBook Air connected via the 6 GHz band, I witnessed 1,600 Mbps down and 1,300 Mbps up from my 2 Gbps fiber connection.

Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000 Performance

We tested the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 with our long-serving Wi-Fi client testing rig, which consists of an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, an AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter, and Windows 11 Home. As always, our testing server was a Windows 11 Home machine with a 10 GbE network card connected to one of the 2.5 GbE ports on the ROG Strix GS-BE18000.

Our iPerf3 throughput tests are conducted at six-foot and 25-foot distances, with and without network traffic. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube videos across multiple wireless bands.

I’ll preface the performance results by mentioning that the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 was running the latest public firmware (we do not test beta firmware on routers). With that said, overall performance was good, albeit a step or two behind the pricier RT-BE96U in 6 GHz and 2.4 GHz performance.

Testing iPerf3 on the 6 GHz band at short range (6 feet), the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 just barely squeaked past the 2 Gbps mark, although that was roughly a third less than the RT-BE96U (3,040 Mbps) and the TP-Link Archer GE800 (2,830). When moving out to our long-range test (25 feet), the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 lost about a quarter of its performance, falling to 1,467 Mbps compared to 1,980 Mbps for the RT-BE96U. The Archer GE800 barely gave up any ground at 25 feet, registering a still-impressive 2,730 Mbps.

The 5 GHz test was interesting, as we saw much higher performance with the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 than with the RT-BE96U. The former hit 1,273 Mbps at short range and 497 Mbps at long range. The latter was well off the pace at 720 Mbps and 565 Mbps, respectively. The Archer GE800, on the other hand, topped 1,800 Mbps at short range and nearly hit 1,400 Mbps at long range.

The ROG Strix GS-BE18000 vastly underperformed on the 2.4 GHz iPerf3 test, with 122 Mbps at short range and just 39 Mbps at long range. For comparison, the Archer GE800 managed 187 Mbps and 131 Mbps, respectively.

Our ROG Strix GS-BE18000 review unit showed minimal performance degradation with congested traffic. The gap between the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 and the more performance competition shrunk dramatically, with the router achieving 1,823 Mbps at short range and 1,400 Mbps at long range on the 6 GHz band. For comparison, the RT-BE96U put up numbers of 2,493 Mbps and 2,003 Mbps, respectively.

It again leapfrogged the RT-BE96U in the 5 GHz test, maintaining 1,200 Mbps at short range and 425 Mbps at long range. The RT-BE96U was well behind, at 388 Mbps and 208 Mbps, respectively. The overachieving Archer GE800 smoked both Asus routers, however, with 1,290 Mbps at short range and 1,005 Mbps at long range.

When switching to our final 2.4 GHz congest iPerf3 test, the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 continued to underperform with 96 Mbps at short range and 37 Mbps at long range.

When it comes to wireless testing, your mileage will definitely vary. The results I obtained in my home environment may not mirror those you see in your apartment, home, or office. Home construction, wall thickness, the choice of flooring materials, and even the number of walls between the router and clients can affect performance. However, the numbers presented should give you a ballpark estimate of how the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 should perform and are comparable to our previous tests, as our testing locations and methodology remain the same.

Bottom Line

On paper, the Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000 looks great. It’s a tri-band router offering a combined 18 Gbps of throughput across its 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands. It features a compact design, RGB effects to appeal to gamers, gaming-centric hardware and software features, excellent configurability, and a whopping seven 2.5 Gbps ports. If you’re a specs chaser, it’s hard not to be impressed.

When it comes to performance, the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 generally fared well. While its 6 GHz performance couldn’t quite catch the RT-BE96U, it crushed it on the 5 GHz band. The only places where the ROG Strix GS-BE18000's performance really fell flat compared to its peers were in long-range 2.4 GHz tests. This could be an issue if you have IoT devices, particularly exterior security cameras, that might be placed farther from your router.

But in the end, the TP-Link Archer GE800 outpaces the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 in performance across the board, and it also throws in a couple of 10 Gbps ports (which you won’t find on the ROG Strix GS-BE18000). Unless you need the additional 2.5 GbE ports that the Asus offers, the Archer GE800 is a more solid choice.

There’s a lot of activity in the lower end of the wireless router market, particularly in the sub-$100 price range. A wide variety of Wi-Fi 6 routers are available in this space from names you’re familiar with (Asus, TP-Link, Netgear, etc.) and some that might not ring any bells for you.

Further compounding matters is that Wi-Fi 7 has been around on the market long enough that prices for dual-band routers are dipping below $100.

With this price convergence in the marketplace, we decided to see how performance and pricing look for seven of the top budget Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 routers. We'll cover our contenders first, then get to our benchmarks to see which of these budget models offers the best bang for your buck. Spoiler alert: You might only need around $80 to buy the best price/performance ratio in this class.

Wi-Fi 6 versus Wi-Fi 7

The first Wi-Fi 6 devices started rolling out in 2019, while the first Wi-Fi 7 devices entered the market in late 2023. A lot of advancements have been made during that time in performance and security, including Wi-Fi 6E, which was a half-step between Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7, and added the 6 GHz band.

Where things get tricky with Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7, however, is regarding the number of wireless bands supported. No matter which Wi-Fi 6 router you purchase, you’re getting two bands: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. However, Wi-Fi 7 routers are available in dual-band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz) and tri-band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) configurations. Without the higher-performing 6 GHz band, OEMs can offer dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers at a much lower price point than their tri-band counterparts. However, in most cases, performance on these routers is more closely aligned with Wi-Fi 6 routers than with tri-band Wi-Fi 7 routers.

While performance may be similar, dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers offer additional advantages over their Wi-Fi 6 predecessors. They support double the maximum bandwidth per stream (2,400 Mbps versus 1,200 Mbps) and spatial streams (16 versus 8). Dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers also have a maximum channel bandwidth of 240 Hz compared to 160 Hz for Wi-Fi 6 and 320 Hz for tri-band Wi-Fi 7.

Other advancements include support for 4K QAM in Wi-Fi 7, versus 1,024 QAM in Wi-Fi 6. Finally, Wi-Fi 7 routers support multi-link operation (MLO), allowing wireless clients to connect and transmit data simultaneously across multiple bands (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz for dual-band Wi-Fi 7).

However, as you’ll see in our benchmark results, these added perks of Wi-Fi 7 don’t always translate into real-world performance benefits. So, we decided to gather a group of cheap Wi-Fi 6 routers and see how they perform in the real world, and if it’s worth saving a few bucks over a modern dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router.

Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 Router Specifications

The Frugal Bunch: Value-Priced Wi-Fi 6 Routers

Asus RX-AX1800S

The RX-AX1800S is a relatively large Wi-Fi 6 router constructed of high-quality materials, as we’d expect from Asus. The unit features four large, movable antennas. There are several blue LEDs up front, although their downward-facing placement makes it hard to tell at a glance what each one is for. With that said, the LEDs provide activity for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, LAN, internet status, and power.

The back panel features a GbE WAN port and four GbE LAN ports for your wired networking needs. In addition, there’s a physical power button, a pinhole reset button, and a dedicated Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button for connecting supported wireless networking devices to the network.

One of the biggest pluses of the RX-AX1800S is the use of the ASUSWRT dashboard UI, which offers a wealth of configuration options in an easy-to-use interface.

The street price for the RX-AX1800S is currently $69.99.

Netgear Nighthawk R6700AX

The Nighthawk R6700AX is another Wi-Fi 6 router from a well-known brand, in this case, Netgear. It's a relatively compact hunk of black plastic with a tower-style form-factor. The base has a slightly larger footprint than the main body, which helps keep it upright on a table, shelf, or desk. The front is home to four LEDs that indicate the status of things like power, internet connectivity, and Wi-Fi.

One thing to note is that the R6700AX is incredibly light. Even with the wider base, it will topple over with the slightest tug of a network or power cable.

Moving to the back of the router, there's not much going on, other than a GbE WAN and four GbE LAN ports. At this price point, Netgear didn't feel it necessary to include a USB 3.x port for storage or a WPS button. However, you will find a small pinhole reset button above the top-most LAN port.

The R6700AX currently retails for $69.99.

Reyee RG-E6

The Reyee RG-E6 is a Wi-Fi 6 gaming router, and you can tell its intended market by its eight antennas lining its perimeter. However, the antennas are not individually posable. Instead, there are two antennas per tuning fork-shaped appendage. And each tuning fork only moves a few inches inward.

Once you get past the looks, there are functional bits worth noting as well. There’s a single 2.5 GbE WAN port on the back, along with four 1 GbE ports. One of those four GbE ports is designated as a Game port. If you want to improve wired performance, the Game port can be aggregated with one of the remaining three GbE ports. However, you won’t find a USB port for adding storage to share across your network.

Other items of note include cutouts on the bottom for wall-mounting the router and a single pill-shaped button at the top front of the RG-E6. According to Reyee, this is the Mesh button, which, when pressed, is used for setting up two or more supported Reyee routers in a mesh network configuration.

The RG-E6 features a surprisingly well-designed web interface that is easy to navigate and has plenty of options to play around with. The main home screen you see when first entering the web interface shows a picture of the router in the right pane, along with current CPU utilization and the number of connected clients. The left side of the screen shows network ping status, the current upload/download rates, devices with priority access to network resources, the name of the device connected to the Game Port, and controls for the dedicated Game Wi-Fi network. You’ll also find navigational tabs: Clients, Internet, Wi-Fi, and More (which has advanced configuration settings).

One of the downsides of purchasing an older Wi-Fi 6 router reared its ugly head not long after we bought the RG-E6 from Amazon for testing. A couple of days after our purchase, Amazon said that it was no longer selling the item. I then went to Reyee’s website and could find no product listing page for the router. I contacted customer support to inquire about obtaining an updated firmware version, since the UI’s integrated firmware update function wasn’t pulling any new software. An employee informed me that the RG-E6 was no longer being produced and that I would have to contact Reyee’s customer service department each time I wanted to download a new firmware (which the rep provided in a .tar file).

Before the RG-E6 was unceremoniously booted from Amazon’s website, it sold for around $70.

Cudy WR1500

Cudy is a popular provider of low-cost networking gear, as we tested the company’s products for our desktop Wi-Fi adapters roundup. Cudy offers several Wi-Fi 6 routers at a low price point, including the WR1500. I’ve seen some cheap plastic in my days, but the house of the WR1500 takes the cake. The housing is made of very thin plastic, which contributes to the WR1500's featherweight nature.

The downside is that, with power and network cables attached, the WR1500 has a hard time staying planted on the desk due to its weight (or rather, lack of it). In addition, there’s only a single LED, and it’s at the back of the unit. It turns red if there’s a power issue, and blue if the unit is powered on. Also on the back are a single GbE WAN port, three GbE LAN ports, a reset button, and a WPS button. The WR1500 features four movable antennas and includes wall-mounting cutouts on the bottom.

Cudy provides a surprisingly comprehensive web interface for configuration and managing the router, although the design is rather spartan. You’ll find parental controls, diagnostic tools, and more advanced settings for fine-tuning wireless performance. There’s also a well-designed smartphone app, which I find easier to use than the web interface, that supports remote management when you're not on your home network, after you create a Cudy cloud account.

The Cudy WR1500 is the cheapest of the bunch here, with a street price of just under $35.

Cudy WR3000

The Cudy WR3000 looks nearly identical to the WR1500, but the plastic is thicker and higher quality. It also weighs significantly more, which prevents the tipping behavior noticed on the WR1500. It includes six status LEDs up front (unlike the WR1500) and still includes the moveable antenna.

You’ll find the same port layout on the back as found on the WR1500: one GbE WAN and three GbE LAN. There’s also the requisite reset button and a WPS button.

The Cudy WR3000 includes the same web interface and smartphone app as the aforementioned WR1500.

The current street price for the Cudy WR3000 is a low $49.

Dual-Band Wi-Fi 7 Routers for Under $100

TP-Link Archer BE3600

The TP-Link Archer BE3600 is a known quantity around here. It’s a well-rounded dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router with four movable antennas and a wall-mountable design. Unlike the Wi-Fi 6 routers assembled here, the Archer BE3600 features a 2.5 GbE WAN port. In addition, TP-Link gives you one 2.5 GbE LAN port and three GbE LAN ports. Another thing you’ll find here that isn’t available on the Wi-Fi 6 competition is a USB 3.0 port for adding networked storage (it even supports Time Machine backups for Macs).

TP-Link provides a well-designed web interface for configuring the Archer BE3600. It has five primary tabs at the top of the homepage for navigation: Network Map, Internet, Wireless, HomeShield, and Advanced. There’s also TP-Link’s Tether app if you’d prefer to set up or manage the router with a smartphone/tablet.

You can find the Archer BE3600 for as low as $86.99.

Cudy WR3600E

The WR3600E is a compact Wi-Fi 7 router that sits vertically and has a wide base to ensure that it doesn’t tip over. There are four fixed antennas protruding from the top of the body, and “Wi-Fi 7” is printed on the rightmost antenna. A full allotment of status LEDs is included on the front for power, 2.4 GHz wireless, 5 GHz wireless, and the three network ports.

While the Archer BE3600 gives you one 2.5 GbE WAN and one 2.5 GbE LAN port, all four of the ports on the back of the WR3600E are GbE (including the WAN). The WR3600E also lacks the USB 3.0 port of the Archer BE3600.

The WR3600E is priced at around $67 after a coupon on Amazon.

Performance

We ran all of the Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 routers through our usual wireless testing regimen. Our Wi-Fi client testing rig features an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter, and Windows 11 Home. Our server is a Windows 11 Home machine with a 10 GbE network card connected to the fastest LAN port on each router we test.

Our iPerf3 throughput tests are conducted at six-foot and 25-foot distances, with and without network traffic. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube videos across multiple wireless bands.

Among all routers, the Archer BE3600 had the best iPerf3 performance at close range (6 feet) without traffic. The router topped 1,100 Mbps, while the RG-E6 ranked second at 852 Mbps. The Cudy WR3600E came in third at 782 Mbps, while the RX-AX1800S wasn’t far behind at 777 Mbps.

When we moved the testing to 25 feet, the Archer BE3600 took a big tumble from its first-place perch, dropping to just 382 Mbps and falling to third place. The RG-E6 took top honors (582 Mbps), while the WR3600E came in a close second (564 Mbps).

The Archer BE3600 again flexed its muscle in the 2.4 GHz iPerf3 test without traffic at close range, nailing a heady 214 Mbps. The next closest competitor was the Nighthawk R6700AX at 135 Mbps. At 25 feet, the Archer BE3600 slipped into second place at 51 Mbps, while the Reyee RG-E6 just edged it out with 52 Mbps.

Not surprisingly, the rankings among the assembled Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 6 routers didn’t look much different with congested traffic in iPerf3. The Archer BE3600 again shot out to a commanding lead at close range (1,030 Mbps), but fell well back at long range (374 Mbps). The RG-E6 claimed second place at short range (848 Mbps) and first place at long range (566 Mbps).

On the 2.4 GHz band, the Archer BE3600 again took first place (205 Mbps) and second place at long range (45 Mbps).

Closing Thoughts

There’s no clear-cut winner in every single performance situation here, but there’s no question that the TP-Link Archer BE3600 is the fastest at close range on the 5 GHz band and mid-pack at long range. On the 2.4 GHz band, the Archer BE3600 is far and away the fastest at close range, and among the top performers at long range.

With a street price of less than $80, it’s hard to argue against the Archer BE3600, as you not only get a 2.5 GbE WAN, but TP-Link also gives you a 2.5 GbE LAN port, which you won’t find on the other routers.

If you’re looking for balanced performance at an even more affordable price, both the Cury WR3600E and Asus RX-AX1800S offer similar performance profiles despite the former being Wi-Fi 7 and the latter being Wi-Fi 6. But for my money, I’d lean toward the RX-AX1800S for its stellar ASUSWRT software suite, which is among the best in the business.

If all you simply want to provide wireless internet connectivity to a handful of devices for the least possible price and don’t care about blazing fast performance, the Cudy WR1500 is your best option here. Performance is near the back of the pack, but 668 Mbps at close range and 237 Mbps at long distance should be enough to satisfy most non-gamers or those who work from home. The router software is solid, Cudy provides a smartphone app, and remote management is supported. And with a street price of under $35, it ticks all the right boxes for the ultimate penny pincher.

What a difference a couple of years makes. When we reviewed the first Wi-Fi 7 routers in late 2023, devices were priced at $600 and higher. To help soften the blow of the sticker shock, many router makers, like Eero and Netgear, introduced the new wireless standard with premium mesh systems that boasted impressive performance and price tags that approached $2,000 for three-node systems.

However, prices have dropped dramatically on the best Wi-Fi routers since then, and you can secure a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router for around $150 or a dual-band for just under $100. Cudy is going even cheaper with its WR3600E, which has an MSRP of $79.99 and a street price of under $70. That would be an incredible price, if it had the performance and features to match its slightly more expensive dual-band Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 6 peers. As you read on, you’ll see that the WR3600E perhaps sacrifices a bit too much to reach its bargain basement cost.

Design of the Cudy WR3600E Wi-Fi 7 Router

The WR3600E is a surprisingly compact Wi-Fi 7 router. I was surprised at its weight and profile as soon as I lifted it from the attractive retail box. The WR3600E sits vertically and has a broad base to ensure that it doesn’t tip over. But the router's main body is incredibly thin, as are the four antennas mounted at the top. Unlike the antennas on TP-Link Archer BE3600, the ones on the WR3600E are fixed, so keep that in mind if you like to fine-tune transmission and reception. “Wi-Fi 7” is printed on the rightmost antenna.

The front of the router has a line of ventilation vents at the bottom, with Cudy branding centered just above. You'll find a row of LEDs near the top of the router, giving the current status for functions like power, 2.4 GHz wireless, 5 GHz wireless, and the three network ports. There are more ventilation vents at the very top of the router between the four antennas.

Moving to the back of the router, the WR3600E is surprisingly bare. There's a single gigabit WAN port and three gigabit LAN ports. The GbE WAN is something we typically see in older Wi-Fi 6 routers, whereas most modern Wi-Fi 7 routers (even dual-band models) have at least a 2.5 GbE WAN port. The only other items of note on the back are a pinhole reset button and a WPS button for quickly connecting supported networking gear, such as wireless printers and IoT devices.

Given its price point, Cudy wasn't inclined to include a USB 3.0 port, which is found on slightly more expensive standalone dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers and would allow you to connect external devices and storage.

Cudy WR3600 Wi-Fi 7 Router Specifications

Setting up the Cudy WR3600E Wi-Fi 7 Router

You can manage the Cudy WR3600E using the Cudy app or via a traditional web browser. I opted for the latter method, which was very simple and quick to complete. I kicked off the setup process for the WR3600E by selecting its SSID and entering the password printed on the back of the unit. I was then tasked with choosing to put the device in router or access mode.

Step 2 was to choose my time zone (which was already correctly entered) and select whether I wanted the router to auto-update (I chose yes). Step 3 automatically configured my WAN connection type, while Step 4 allowed me to choose custom SSIDs and passwords for the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. After completing Step 4, a summary page displayed the options I had selected, and the router rebooted to apply them. The whole process took about two minutes, from initial setup to the router rebooting and being fully operational.

Cudy WR3600E Wi-Fi 7 Router Software

I initially interacted with the WR3600E using just a web browser. I found the GUI to be unremarkable and quite spartan. The router's homepage is System Status (the first tab in the navigation menu at the top), which provides download/upload rates at the top and various vitals below. You'll find internet connection status, information on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks, router firmware information, and more. The next tab is Quick Setup, which goes through the same configuration steps as when you first set up the router.

The General Settings tab allows you to configure your WAN mode, wireless settings (including the ability to enable Smart Connect, which combines the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands into a single SSID), enable VPN, set up a captive portal, and upgrade the router's firmware.

The Parental Controls tab offers comprehensive controls for curating content, and you can create individual profiles for multiple children. Once you've added your child's device, you can pause the internet for 5 minutes to 120 minutes. You can also assign each device a specific "window" of time to use during the day. There's also a web filter that lets you blacklist or whitelist specific sites.

There is an Advanced Settings tab, which I found overwhelming, as the page is littered with dozens of blue circles of the same size. Each leads to a specific setting for the router, but I wish that Cudy used a more mainstream menu system rather than a smartphone home screen-style layout.

Clicking each circle opens a pop-up window that lets you change the associated setting. On the plus side, there's a plethora of settings to adjust, including guest network, QoS, port forwarding, MAC filtering, Wi-Fi schedule, settings backup/restore, and LED control (for the front panel).

The final tab is Diagnostic Tools, which provides helpful network tools such as ping, traceroute, nslookup, and a system log.

The Cudy app was easier to use with large tiles on the home page and a proper menu system for navigating advanced settings. Once I installed the app on my smartphone, I opted to use it for all subsequent interactions with the WR3600E. It even supports remote management when you're not on your home network after creating a Cudy cloud account.

Cudy WR3600E Wi-Fi 7 Router Performance

We tested the WR3600E using our venerable Wi-Fi client testing rig, consisting of an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter (Qualcomm NCM865), and Windows 11 Home. As always, our server used for testing was a Windows 11 Home machine with a 10 GbE network card connected to one of the GbE ports on the WR3600E router.

We should caution that when it comes to wireless testing, your mileage may vary. The results that I obtained in my home environment may not mirror those that you see in your apartment, home, or office setting. Home construction, wall thickness, the choice of materials in the flooring, and even the number of walls between the router and clients can affect performance. However, the numbers presented should give you a general ballpark estimate as to how the WR3600E should perform and are comparable to our previous tests, as our testing locations and methodology don’t change.

With that said, our iPerf3 throughput tests are conducted at six-foot and 25-foot distances, with and without network traffic. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube videos across multiple wireless bands.

Generally speaking, the WR3600E performed poorly compared to contemporary dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers that we’ve tested. The WR3600E has two things working against it: transmission power and maximum throughput. The lower transmission results in the WR3600E covering just 1,400 square feet, roughly half the area of the other assembled competitors. The maximum throughput on the 5 GHz channel is also half that of its competitors (2,882 Mbps versus 5,764 Mbps). Keep both of these shortfalls in mind when looking at the throughput results.

In our 5 GHz iPerf3 throughput test, the WR3600E pulled up the rear at short range (six feet), with 716 Mbps. However, the WR3600E managed to slip into second place (564 Mbps) at long range (25 feet), putting it behind only the Asus RT-BE86U(806 Mbps).

Switching over to the 2.4 GHz band, the RG-E6 came in last place at short range (82 Mbps), putting it behind the Archer BE400 (135 Mbps) and the Archer BE3600 (214 Mbps). At long range, however, the best the WR3600E could muster was 44 Mbps.

The rankings were similar with congested traffic; the WR3600E landed in last place at short range (716 Mbps) on the 5 GHz band. However, it managed to take first place at long range with a throughput of 540 Mbps. 2.4 GHz band congesting testing saw the WR3600E manage a last-place showing (63 Mbps) compared to the overachieving Archer BE3600 (205 Mbps) at short range. With distance testing stretched out to 25 feet, the WR3600E managed third place with 38 Mbps (although the rankings were relatively tight here).

Bottom Line

Cudy is targeting the very bottom of the Wi-Fi 7 market with the WR3600E, as you can tell from its MSRP of just $79.99. However, the street price is even lower, with an instant coupon on Amazon right now taking it to just $66.39. That’s a remarkably low price for a dual-band router, but it comes with a couple of caveats.

You only get a GbE WAN and just three GbE LAN ports, while most of the competition give you one 2.5 GbE WAN and four GbE LAN ports. There’s also no USB 3.0 port for connecting external storage to your network. In addition, transmission power is not the WR3600E’s strong point, as evidenced by its small coverage area and generally weak performance compared to the competition. On the plus side, you do get relatively comprehensive configuration options for the router and a smartphone app that supports remote management (when using a Cudy cloud account).

However, the TP-Link Archer BE3600 offers a better bang for your Wi-Fi 7 buck. You'll get 2.5 GbE WAN and an extra GbE port. It also provides a USB 3.0 port and faster overall performance, especially on the 2.4 GHz band. In addition, the price difference between the two isn't significant, as the BE3600 can be had for $81. We consider the extra $15 money well spent.

Today at CES, Broadcom is expanding the family with two new dual-band Wi-Fi 8 chips that combine 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radios into a single chip. The BCM6714 is the lower-end offering, with a 3x4 arrangement. That means it supports three spatial streams on the 2.4 GHz band and four on the 5 GHz band. The BCM6719 ups the ante by delivering four spatial streams across both bands.

And with that news, I can already see the collective eyerolls of the enthusiast community. When Wi-Fi 7 launched, the first devices to hit the market were more expensive tri-band solutions that supported the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands. Later, more affordable networking products arrived, supporting only the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. While this allowed manufacturers to hit a lower price point, it also created confusion in the marketplace – just because a router was labeled Wi-Fi 7 didn't mean it supported the full feature set. That confusion will live on for another generation.

These two new entry-level chips join the BCM6718, which Broadcom announced last year, one of its first Wi-Fi 8 (802.11bn) compliant chips aimed at the consumer/residential wireless market. It's a 4-stream tri-band Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz).

But that's not all; Broadcom also announced the BCM4918 Wi-Fi 8 APU, which is compatible with the BCM6714, BCM6719, and BCM6718. This system-on-chip is designed for high-performance computing and AI acceleration. Not only does it include an onboard neural engine for on-device AI/ML inference and acceleration, but it also features dedicated network engines to handle wireless and wired traffic, bypassing the CPU. It supports multi-gigabit Ethernet for powering your high-flying wired network. The chip also enabled Edge-AI processing and real-time network optimization.

Broadcom says it is already sampling the BCM6714 and BCM6719 to its "early access customers," pointing to general availability in consumer-grade networking products by the end of 2026, a similar timeline to MediaTek's. This seems doable, as we've already seen prototype Wi-Fi 8 hardware this week at CES, and Asus even told us that its first-generation Wi-Fi 8 products will launch later this year, with second-generation hardware coming in 2027.

Wi-Fi 8 is designed to improve reliability and lower latency rather than deliver a massive uplift in theoretical speeds (as had been the case with previous Wi-Fi iterations). Instead of obscene theoretical speeds that consumers likely won't see in the real world, the IEEE says that Wi-Fi 8 will deliver up to a 25 percent improvement in real-world speeds while reducing latency. Asus specifically highlighted improvements to mid-range throughput and showcased a 10 percent uplift in throughput over its fastest Wi-Fi 7 router with early prototypes.

At CES, Asus has announced the ROG NeoCore, its first Wi-Fi 8 router concept along with results from what it claims is the world’s first real-world Wi-Fi 8 throughput test. The concept device looks like a D20 di from Dungeons and Dragons, with an industrial design along with some ROG branding.

Aimed at enthusiasts and gamers seeking high-end networking performance, the final specifications are still under wraps. The company, however, has confirmed that it will be built on its AiMesh platform allowing multiple Asus routers to connect and work together as a mesh network. It will also come with the Asus Ai Network Engine, which aims to optimize throughput and latency by monitoring traffic and allocating bandwidth dynamically.

“WiFi 8 is not just about chasing peak speed—it’s about making every connection smarter and more reliable. It enables seamless collaboration between smart homes, AI assistants, and cloud services, delivering stable performance anytime, anywhere,” said Tenlong Deng, Corporate VP and General Manager of Wireless and Networking at Asus.

As for the results, there isn’t any change in the overall data speeds, however, Wi-Fi 8 will primarily boost throughput with up to 2x higher mid-range throughput, 2x wider IoT coverage, and up to 6x lower P99 latency via smarter multi-AP/multi-client operation. The company has not shared details about the testing environment or system configuration behind these results, though it is claimed that the performance comparisons were conducted against comparable Wi-Fi 7 setups.

Asus is positioning Wi-Fi 8 to solve four core connectivity challenges - signal degradation over distance, weak two-way communication for low-power devices, densely populated network scenarios, and bandwidth inefficiency. To address signal degradation, Wi-Fi 8 should offer more consistent speeds as you move further from the router, helping maintain stable connections whether the router is indoors or outdoors. It also improves two-way communication for low-power devices like smart lights and controllers, ensuring they are always connected.

In crowded environments such as apartment buildings, nearby routers can interfere with each other. Wi-Fi 8 is expected to use smarter spectrum coordination to reduce interference and maintain stable performance. Finally, Wi-Fi 8 improves how bandwidth is managed, using more efficient spectrum use and smarter scheduling to reduce congestion, lower latency, and improve overall speeds.

Even though the Wi-Fi 8 standard is not expected to be finalized until late in 2028, Asus plans to release its first line-up of Wi-Fi 8 home routers and mesh systems later this year.

TP-Link covers every corner of the consumer wireless router market, particularly in the Wi-Fi 7 realm. The company offers sub-$100 dual-band routers, compact travel routers, tri-band gaming routers, and even high-end quad-band mesh routers for the most discerning enthusiasts. Now, the company is branching out with a new dual-band gaming router: the Archer GE400.

This product slots in under the tri-band Archer GE550, GE650, and GE800. The Archer GE400 features a wealth of ports, along with a host of software features that cater to gamers looking to get that extra edge during fierce online competitions. While all of this sounds good on paper, we found that the Archer GE400 had spotty performance on our wireless tests, which made us question its value proposition against the cheaper Archer BE3600, which is one of the best Wi-Fi routers.

Design of the TP-Link Archer GE400 Gaming Router

For a wireless router, the Archer GE400 has a bold design with sharp lines and six movable antennas to improve wireless transmission. There are triangular banks of ventilation slats on the top of the router, and a mesh ventilation network on the bottom. However, the eye-catching feature of the Archer GE400 is a single, vertical LED strip mounted on the top of the router. It’s configurable using either the web GUI or TP-Link’s Tether smartphone app for its routers. You can turn off the LED strip altogether or choose from several lighting patterns.

TP-Link includes a USB 3.0 port on the side of the router for connecting storage devices, but the rest of the ports are on the back. Here (from left to right), you’ll find a button to turn off the LED strip, a reset button, a 2.5 GbE WAN port, a 2.5 GbE gaming port, three GbE LAN ports, the power port, and the on/off button.

There are two mounting points on the bottom of the router for attaching it to the wall.

TP-Link Archer GE400 Gaming Router Specifications

Setting up the TP-Link Archer GE400

The Archer GE400 can be initialized using either a web GUI (in a desktop browser) or the TP-Link Tether app. To speed things along, I opted to use the Tether app due to its ease of use. Once I opened the app, I tapped the “+” symbol in the top-right corner and chose to add a standard router. The setup program then asked me to scan the QR code on the bottom of the router with my smartphone’s camera. Next, my phone asked me to join the temporary wireless network to set up the Archer GE400.

From there, things were pretty simple: I was tasked with creating an admin password to log in to the router and choosing an SSID. By default, the Archer GE400 enabled Smart Connect, which combines the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands under a single SSID (I chose Archer_GE400). More on that later.

Finally, I was given the option to turn on automatic firmware updates for the router. The entire process took less than 5 minutes, with the required steps clearly outlined and explained for novices.

TP-Link Archer GE400 Gaming Router Software

Although I used the Tether app to set up the Archer GE400, I switched to the web GUI for the rest of my testing. The interface's overall aesthetic is pleasing, dominated by black and red. This is a stark departure from the white and blue design theme that you’ll find on non-gaming Deco and Archer routers from TP-Link.

There are six tabs across the top of the GUI: Network Map, Game Center, Internet, Wireless, HomeShield, and Advanced. Network Map outlines your current connection type, internet IP address, and current router uptime. You’ll also see an overview of the currently enabled SSIDs, CPU/memory loads, and a visual representation of which physical WAN/LAN ports are active. Finally, a Connect Clients feature shows you which devices are currently connected to the router and how they are connected (wired, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz).

The Game Center tab is what separates the Archer GE400 from TP-Link's other, more basic dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers like the Archer BE3600. The primary Game Panel shows you current network traffic, CPU/memory load, connected USB devices, and allows you to configure the RGB strip on the top of the router.

Delving deeper into the submenus, there are options for Game Application Boost (which lets you specify the total bandwidth you want to dedicate to gaming devices), Game Server Acceleration via WTFast, and traffic priority per LAN port. Other features include Game Port Forwarding, network traffic statistics for the games you play, and Game Detector, which shows you ping times in real-time for popular game servers.

The Internet tab is basic, as it only shows your current connection type and allows you to clone a MAC address for the router.

The Wireless tab lets you control all the available SSIDs on the Archer GE400. By default, the Archer GE400 enabled Smart Connect, which combines the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands into a single SSID and routes devices to the optimal band. I prefer to keep a separate SSID for each band, so I disabled Smart Connect and created two SSIDs: Archer_GE400 for the 2.4 GHz band and Archer_GE400_5G for the 5 GHz band. You can also create an MLO network, allowing you to simultaneously send and receive data on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Finally, TP-Link will enable you to create separate Guest and IoT networks — you can configure either to allow only 2.4 GHz traffic, only 5 GHz traffic, or both.

The HomeShield tab includes a Network Check function that scans your network for security issues. Parental Controls are also available which you can specify per device.

Finally, the Advanced tab is where you’ll find more granular control of features that gaming enthusiasts might want to tweak. Many of the functions from the previous five main tabs are also duplicated here, but you’ll also find other additions like SpeedTest, an option to create an EasyMesh network with another supported router, VPN integration, firmware updates, backup/restore of router settings, and a router reboot schedule (among many other features).

TP-Link Archer GE400 Gaming Router Performance

I tested the Archer GE400 using our tried and true, purpose-built testing client rig, which includes an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter (Qualcomm NCM865), and Windows 11 Home. Windows 11 has all the latest software updates installed, while the Herald-BE is running the latest drivers available from MSI’s support website. The server is a Windows 11 Home machine with a 10 GbE network card connected to the 2.5 GbE Game LAN port on the Archer GE400 router.

As always, benchmark results may vary widely depending on the layout of your home, apartment, or office. Home construction, wall thickness, the choice of materials in the flooring, and even the number of walls between the router and clients can affect performance. So, while the results that I present are consistent, given that the testing locations and methodology that I use in my home don’t change, they might not align with what you might see in your specific home or office environment.

Our iPerf3 throughput tests are conducted at six-foot and 25-foot distances, with and without traffic on the network. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube videos across multiple wireless bands.

One word sums up the performance I was able to extract from the Archer GE400: disappointing. When it comes to baseline wireless performance, the Archer GE400 should offer comparable performance to the dual-band Archer BE3600. However, our results showed the Archer GE400 lagging behind its cheaper sibling in nearly every metric.

The Archer GE400 brought up the rear of the pack in our 5GHz iPerf3 test with no additional network traffic. The router achieved 951 Mbps at close range (6 feet), which put it nearly 200 Mbps behind the Archer BE3600 and even further behind the Asus RT-BE86U (1,473 Mbps) and the RT-BE88U (1,256 Mbps). It wasn't much better at 25 feet, though the Archer GE400 managed 552 Mbps, compared to just 382 Mbps for the sub-$100 Archer BE3600.

Things looked slightly better for the Archer GE400 with the 2.4 GHz test, where it hit 135 Mbps at 6 feet, putting it in second place behind the Archer BE3600 (214 Mbps). However, when stretching out to 25 feet, the Archer GE400 lagged all competitors at 36 Mbps.

In our iPerf3 test, with congested traffic, the Archer GE400 secured third place with 882 Mbps at 6 feet and even came in first place (478 Mbps) at 25 feet. It was another mixed bag with congested traffic on the 2.4 GHz band -- the Archer GE400 snagged second place with 102 Mbps, while the Archer BE3600 led the field at 205 Mbps. However, the Archer GE400's fickleness reared its ugly head again at 25 feet, where it finished last with 31 Mbps.

Bottom Line

The TP-Link Archer GE400 features an angular design and RGB lighting meant to appeal to gamers, and includes a 2.5 GbE WAN and an additional dedicated 2.5 GbE gaming port. TP-Link also provides a comprehensive suite of gaming-related enhancements that can be configured via the Tether smartphone app or the web GUI.

However, those pluses clash with its real-world wireless performance, which was a mixed bag. Short-range performance on the 5 GHz band lagged its rivals, although the tables turned at longer distances. Conversely, the Archer GE400 showed relatively strong performance at short range on the 2.4 GHz band but faltered at long range.

The biggest knock against the Archer GE400, however, is pricing. The router has an MSRP of $219.99, but is currently available at Amazon for $169.99 after a $50 instant discount. For comparison, the Archer BE3600, which offers faster and more consistent wireless performance, is available for just $89.99. If you can look past the fancy RGB lighting and don’t need the gaming-specific tweaks, it’s hard to justify the $80 price differential.

There’s no better time than the present to upgrade your wireless network. especially with plenty of deals popping up during this year's Amazon Prime Day sales. Thankfully, there are plenty of deals on Wi-Fi routers from manufacturers like Asus, Linksys, Netgear, and TP-Link at retailers like Amazon, Newegg, and Best Buy. We have an exhaustive inventory of router reviews we’ve conducted over the years, along with our best Wi-Fi routers page, which covers stellar entries ranging from sub-$100 to well over $1,000. Below, you'll find the hottest deals from multiple retailers.

We constantly comb through the best deals across multiple retailers, selecting the best based on in-depth knowledge gained from our thorough reviews, extensive benchmarks, and comprehensive historical price analysis, and keep an updated list here. We're checking deals around the clock to find the best options and keep this page up to date.

Wi-Fi 7 has been around for a few years now, which means manufacturers have had enough time not only to expand their high-end portfolios but also to deliver compelling entry-level SKUs that appeal to bargain shoppers.

When selecting a new Wi-Fi router, you’ll first want to decide whether to go with Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 6E, or Wi-Fi 6. Most folks should opt for Wi-Fi 7, but if you’re on a budget, Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 6 options are available at even lower price points. Other things to consider are dual-band versus tri-band for Wi-Fi 7 routers, the number and speed of LAN ports, and whether you want to opt for a mesh system if you have larger square footage to cover.

Best Wi-Fi Router Deals: Quick Links

• Amazon: The best Wi-Fi router deals up to 50 percent off
• Best Buy: Wi-Fi routers up to $100 off

Hottest Wi-Fi Router Deals

Best Gaming Wi-Fi Router Deals

Best Mesh Wi-Fi Router Deals

Specs to Look For

Mesh or no Mesh: Mesh routers let you place one or more "satellites" around your home to boost far-end connectivity. However, mesh networking devices are more expensive. If you don't have a large home or connectivity issues, stick with a single router.

Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7: Although Wi-Fi 6 routers can easily be found for under $70, your best bet is a dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router for a few bucks more if you want something more futureproof. For the ultimate performance, look no further than tri-band Wi-Fi 7 routers.

Ports: At a minimum, you'll want at least four GbE ports, plus a 2.5 GbE WAN port. With priceier tri-band and quad-band Wi-Fi 7 segments, you'll find more standard 2.5 GbE, 5 GbE, and 10 GbE ports.

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Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

With Black Friday right around the corner, many people are likely on the lookout for deals to upgrade their wireless network. Wi-Fi 7 is the current standard for consumer routers, and luckily, there are plenty of discounts available for those who don't want to spend hundreds of dollars. One of them is the TP-Link Archer 3600, which is currently selling for $86.99 at Amazon, with a $5 instant coupon dropping the price to just $81.99.

The Archer BE3600 is one of our top picks for best Wi-Fi routers, and it's even cheaper today. The dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router offers surprisingly strong 2.4 GHz performance and class-competitive 5 GHz performance. Since this is a dual-band router, you don't get the higher-performing 6 GHz band, but that's to be expected at this sub-$90 price point (we saw over 1.1 Gbps on the 5 GHz band).

With that said, the router features one 2.5 GbE WAN port, one 2.5 GbE LAN port, and three 1 GbE LAN ports. There's also a single USB 3.0 port, making the port arrangement quite commendable for such a cheap router.

Amazon is also discounting the dual-band Asus RT-BE58U, which is down 35 percent to just $97.99 for Black Friday. You'll get 4K QAM and MLO support, which are part of the Wi-Fi 7 standard, even if you don't get the third 6 GHz band.

The port lineup is plentiful, with a 2.5 GbE WAN/LAN, 1 GbE WAN/LAN, and three 1 GbE LAN ports. There's also a USB-A port on the back that can be used to tether to a smartphone. With this functionality, you can use your smartphone's cellular connection to provide internet connectivity to your entire home if your home's broadband/fiber connection goes offline.

The final standalone dual-band router on our plate today is the Netgear Nighthawk RS90. The router usually carries an MSRP of $129.99, but just barely squeaks under the $100 mark today at $99.99 from Amazon. Like the other routers, the Nighthawk RS90 features a 2.5 GbE WAN port and four GbE ports for your wired clients.

The Nighthawk RS90 uses internal antennas (unlike the TP-Link and Asus offerings), giving it a more streamlined appearance. That said, Netgear says it provides coverage up to 2,000 square feet.

Although our coverage has so far focused on dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers, since they are the cheapest around, we've also included a tri-band router: the Netgear Nighthawk RS280S. It retails for $249.99, but is currently on sale for $170.97 at Amazon.

While the Nighthawk RS280S looks similar to the RS90, it includes the higher-performing 6 GHz band. With the 6 GHz band, all of your modern laptops, smartphones, and tablets will be able to take advantage of the faster network speeds. Netgear claims the Nighthawk RS280S covers up to 2,500 square feet and has upgraded ports compared to the Nighthawk RS90. You'll find a 2.5 GbE WAN, two 2.5 GbE LAN, and two 1 GbE LAN ports. There's also a single USB-A port for adding network storage.

If you're in the market for a new wireless router, there's no shortage of excellent options on the market. If you scroll through Amazon, you can't throw a stick without hitting a TP-Link router… or two… or three. The company's routers are value-priced and generally offer strong performance compared to peers. So naturally, there are excellent deals on a variety of TP-Link Wi-Fi 7 routers during the lead-up to Black Friday, including some we have already reviewed on this site. They include the Deco BE63 mesh router, on sale for as low as $269.99, and the Archer BE3600 Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router, available for just $89.99 after a coupon.

The Deco BE63 is a great mid-range, tri-brand Wi-Fi 7 mesh router that we reviewed earlier this year. I liked it so much that I bought a two-pack for my own house and connected the two wireless nodes via a CAT6e wired backhaul. The mesh system is capable of 574 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band, 4,324 Mbps on the 5 GHz band, and 5,188 Mbps on the 6 GHz band.

You can use Smart Connect, which uses a single SSID and selects the optimal band for your wireless client based on current conditions, or create a separate SSID for each band. There are also options to create MLO, Guest, and IoT networks, providing even more flexibility for your wireless network.

For wired operations, the Deco BE63 offers four 2.5 GbE ports and one USB 3.0 port per node.

During Amazon's current sale, you can grab a Deco BE63 two-pack for just $269.99 or a three-pack for $369.99.

If you pick up the Deco BE63 and want to extend coverage outdoors, you might also consider the Deco BE25 Outdoor, an IP65-rated satellite. You can connect the Deco BE25 Outdoor to your existing network with a wired backhaul or opt for the easy-to-set-up wireless backhaul. Depending on your network layout, you could experience some pretty significant wireless performance gains in your backyard or any outdoor area that needs additional coverage. And with a sale price of $119.99, it's an affordable solution for users with this very specific need.

Finally, TP-Link's newly released BE3600 Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router, which we recently reviewed. This is a dual-band travel router that can be powered via a portable power bank. It can connect to the internet via a traditional home modem, a cellular USB modem, or even your smartphone via USB.

It can also create its own private Wi-Fi network, which is great for use in a hotel room, or even on an airplane or cruise ship, where you're often charged a connection fee per device.

The BE3600 carries an MSRP of $139.99 but is currently available for $89.99 after a $10 coupon (10WIFI7TPL). On a side note, if you have an Amazon Prime Rewards Visa, you'll receive an additional 15 to 20 percent cash back on the total purchase price of the routers and satellites mentioned here.

If you're looking for more Black Friday savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard or CPU Deals pages.

The market for the best Wi-Fi routers is vast, with Wi-Fi 6 offerings hovering around $50 to high-powered Wi-Fi 7 mesh routers that can approach $2,000. One category that we haven't really touched on is the travel router market, which a few well-known manufacturers like Asus and TP-Link occupy. Here, we have a TL-WR3602BE review unit, which is TP-Link's dual-band Wi-Fi 7 entry into this market.

Despite its diminutive size, the TL-WR3602BE packs in a lot of functionality, including the ability to operate as a router, a hotspot, or an access point/range extender/client. And it does all of this with a street price of $119, which is on the lower end for a dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router (of any type).

Design of the TP-Link TL-WR3602BE Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router

As far as routers go, the TL-WR3602BE is incredibly compact, thanks in part to its role as a travel device. It measures just 5 x 3.7 x 4 inches, weighs half a pound, and has two antennas that can fold against its body when not in use.

You'll find two network ports on the back: a 2.5 Gbps WAN port and a 1 Gbps LAN port. In addition, there's a USB 3.0 port for storage or USB internet tethering, and a USB Type-C port for power. There's also an action button on the side that can be configured to turn the device's LED on/off, enable a VPN, or turn Wi-Fi on/off.

Given its minimal power needs (5V/3A), you can power the TL-WR3602BE via the USB-C port using a portable power bank (e.g., when camping outdoors). A 15-watt wall adapter with a USB-C cord is included in the box, a short CAT6e patch cable, and wall plug adapters for US, UK, and EU markets.

TP-Link TL-WR3602BE Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router Specifications

Setting up the TP-Link TL-WR3602BE Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router

The TL-WR3602BE can be configured via a desktop browser user interface or TP-Link’s Tether app. I’ve grown fond of TP-Link’s router app user interface, so I opted for the latter. Setting up the router was easy, with the first step (after downloading and installing Tether) being to scan the QR code on the bottom of the router. After completing this step, the setup program attempted to find the TL-WR3602BE, which it did successfully.

Once found, the setup program asks the user to set a device password and choose how they want to connect to the internet. The four choices are:

• Via an Existing Public Wi-Fi — allows you to connect to a hotel Wi-Fi, or any public hotspot, and create your own private and secure network for devices
• Via an Ethernet Cable — the traditional method of connecting to a cable modem or fiber connection
• Via USB Tethering — share your smartphone’s internet connection via the USB-A port on the router
• Via USB Modem — connect the router to a USB cellular modem

I chose to use the Ethernet cable method to perform my initial tests with the TL-WR3602BE. Once you select a connection method, you’ll need to create separate SSIDs and passwords for the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

After that step, the setup program applies the settings, and the TL-WR3602BE should be up and running.

Software and Features of the TP-Link TL-WR3602BE Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router

The TP-Link Tether app shares a design language with the Deco app, which is available for the company’s mesh routers. The default Network tab shows a large image of the router, connection statistics, how the router is connected to the internet, VPN status, internet connection status, and the number of clients connected to the router.

There’s also a Performance Mode with three settings: Boost, Balance, and Eco. Boost is on by default and offers maximum Wi-Fi coverage and performance at the expense of higher heat output. Eco ramps down transmission power, resulting in lower performance and a shorter wireless range. The benefit is that power usage and heat levels are also lower. Balance, of course, is a middle-ground setting between performance and efficiency. I left the TL-WR3602BE on Boost, since that’s the default setting.

The USB Drive tab gives settings and control options if you insert a thumb drive or an external HDD into the TL-WR3602BE. The Security tab provides a rundown of risks that may affect your router. However, if you want more advanced security features (such as protection for all your connected devices, comprehensive security reports, and protection against cyberattacks), you’ll need to subscribe to TP-Link’s Security+ service, which costs $4.99/month or $35/year. Total Protection costs $69.99/year and builds on the Security+ package with antivirus protection, unlimited VPN usage, password management, and ID monitoring.

The Family tab lets you create a child's profile for parental controls, and the More tab provides access to advanced settings (block list, QoS, guest network, MLO network, firmware updates, LED light control, operating modes, etc.).

I had no trouble with the router working in the Ethernet cable mode; it operated just like any other router that I tested. I also tried using USB Tethering mode on my iPhone Air. For this, I needed a USB-A to USB-C cable that supports data transfer. The only ones that I could find lying around only supported power delivery, so I had to settle for using a USB-C cable with a USB-C to USB-A adapter to connect my iPhone Air to the USB-A port on the back of the TL-WR3602BE.

Once connected, my iPhone Air asked me to verify if I trusted the TL-WR3602BE, which I confirmed. I then verified with the app that I wanted to use a smartphone to tether. Within a few seconds, the router applied the settings, and I had a green link in the Dynamic Island on my iPhone Air, indicating a solid connection.

I ran a Speedtest on my iPhone Air, connected to Visible Mobile’s 5G network, and got 724 Mbps down and 40.12 Mbps up. I then ran a Speedtest on an HP OmniBook X connected to the 5 GHz band on the TL-WR3602BE, which was directly connected to my iPhone Air. The result was a lackluster 11.75 Mbps down and 8.86 Mbps up, tested at a distance of six feet from the router. I chalk it up to being an issue with the USB-C cable, the adapter, or both.

As a backup, I tested the Existing Public Wi-Fi operating mode and connected the TL-WR3602BE to my iPhone Air as a wireless hotspot. I then reran the Speedtest and got 135.08 Mbps down and 38.55 Mbps up. However, the download result is a far cry from the 724 Mbps I saw directly on the phone.

I could see the Public Wi-Fi mode being the most popular with travelers, as it can be a real money saver. On airplanes and cruise ships, you’re often charged a fee per device to connect to the internet via a captive Wi-Fi portal. So if you have multiple devices of your own that you want to connect, or if you’re traveling with family, costs can start ballooning quickly. The TL-WR3602BE allows you to connect initially with just one device and have everyone else piggyback off that connection. According to TP-Link, you can connect up to 90 devices.

I don’t have a USB cellular modem to test that functionality. However, the TL-WR3602BE can also operate as an access point (to add wireless to a wired network), as a range extender, and as a wireless client (to add Wi-Fi to a wired network device). I had no issues using any of these additional operating modes.

One other item of note: I performed all iPhone Air/tethering testing outside, with the TL-WR3602BE connected to an Anker battery power bank via USB-C. According to the power bank, the TL-WR3602BE was pulling around 3.2 to 3.5 watts when tethered (wired or wirelessly) to the iPhone Air.

TP-Link TL-WR3602BE Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router Performance

As always, our client rig for wireless tests consists of an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter, and Windows 11 Home. The server is a Windows 11 Home machine with a 10 GbE network card connected to the 2.5 GbE LAN on the TL-WR3602BE.

The iPerf3 wireless throughput tests are run at 6 feet and 25 feet, with and without added network traffic. Tests are conducted separately on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube and 4K Disney+ content evenly across the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

Unlike other TP-Link routers, the TL-WR3602BE doesn’t use Smart Connect by default. Instead, you must specify unique SSIDs for the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

Given its small stature, two antennas, and focus on portability and efficiency, we weren’t expecting big numbers from the TL-WR3602BE. Our testing confirmed that the TL-WR3602BE was well behind more home-focused dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers that we’ve tested.

On the 5 GHz iPerf3 test, the TL-WR3602BE managed just 753 Mbps at six feet and 300 Mbps at 25 feet. For comparison, the Asus RT-BE86U nearly doubled the result at six feet and more than doubled it at 25 feet. The $99 Archer BE3600 fell in between the TL-WR3602BE and RT-BE86U in performance on both fronts.

The TL-WR3602BE was more competitive with the RT-BE86U on the 2.4 GHz band, where it hit 97 Mbps at six feet and 36 Mbps at 25 feet. For comparison, the RT-BE86U was dialed in at 109 Mbps and 47 Mbps, respectively.

With congested traffic on the 5 GHz band, the TL-WR3602BE and the RT-BE86U again trended closer together. The former achieved 566 Mbps at six feet and 273 Mbps at 25 feet, versus 606 Mbps and 302 Mbps, respectively, for the latter. The Archer BE3600 outpaced both, especially at six feet, where it topped 1,000 Mbps.

However, the TL-WR3602BE lagged behind the other two competitors in the 2.4 GHz congested test, achieving only 77 Mbps at 6 feet and 36 Mbps at 25 feet.

Bottom Line

Travel routers are a small niche in the broader networking segment. However, it does offer some benefits. If you have a smartphone plan that limits the number of devices that can tether per connection, a router like the TL-WR3602BE can get around the limitation. This could be helpful if you’re camping or need to set up a “mobile office” in the field with multiple wireless devices.

In addition, it allows you to log into a public Wi-Fi network and then provide a secure virtual network to all of your wireless devices through that single connection (this can save you money on airplanes or on cruise ships). It can work tethered to a USB cellular modem for internet connectivity. If you need even more versatility, it can operate as a range extender, a wireless client, or as an access point for a wired network. And to top things off, this little router can operate off a garden-variety USB-C portable battery.

Despite its versatility, there are some downsides. For starters, performance when tethered was a fraction of what my source connection (an iPhone Air) could achieve. In addition, wireless performance lagged standard dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers. It’s likely not a deal-breaker for people who would be using the router while traveling, but it’s something to keep in mind.

$119 is a solid price for a router with a relatively narrow focus, but we wish it were closer to $100, or even slightly below that mark. However, if you need a router that can easily slip into a travel bag and can be powered by a portable battery in a pinch, it’s worth adding to your shopping list.

After facing intense scrutiny from several agencies for more than a year, the U.S. government is considering banning TP-Link routers outright, courtesy of a proposal from the Department of Commerce, backed by the Justice Department, Department of Defense, Homeland Security, and more. According to the Washington Post, the White House is concerned about national security due to TP-Link's close ties to China, a claim the company fervently denies in its statement, reiterating it will continue business operations as usual. It's also prepared to legally challenge any unfair treatment if the government goes through with the ban.

Although some reports suggest that TP-Link controls upwards of 65% of the U.S. router market, the company affirms that its share of the "residential Wi-Fi router" market in North America is under 10%, according to Dell'Oro market research. The company offers networking gear at lower prices than its competitors, especially in budget segments — something it's already under investigation for by the Department of Justice. Moreover, the Department of Commerce had been looking into TP-Link since last year, when it first flagged the company for ties to China, a concern exacerbated by the Salt Tycoon attacks on telecom providers in December 2024. Three months from that, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said, "don't use this" while holding up a TP-Link router in front of Congress.

TP-Link has previously denied any links to China, refuting any allegations of national security, citing that it's a U.S.-based company. See, the actual, overarching TP-Link, known as TP-Link Technologies, is indeed headquartered in China, but in 2022, "TP-Link Systems" was spun off into its own, separate entity that operates out of the U.S. and has been manufacturing routers in Vietnam since 2018. The company's response to a potential ban today echoes that same sentiment, hoping for a positive outcome through coordination.

TP-Link's official statement to Tom's Hardware reads:

"No official action or confirmation has been made by any agency or the White House regarding these allegations. The article reported that Commerce may still decide not to issue the ban, or could reach an agreement with TP-Link for a different resolution of its concerns.

TP-Link Systems vigorously disputes any allegation that its products present national security risks to the United States. The company remains as committed as ever to supplying secure and high-quality products to the U.S. market. As we told the Washington Post, any concerns the government may have about TP-Link are fully resolvable by a common-sense mix of measures like onshoring development functions, investing in cybersecurity, and being transparent.

TP-Link will continue to work with the U.S. Department of Commerce to ensure we understand and can respond to any concerns the government has. We also reserve all our legal rights as a U.S. company to challenge any proposed adverse action that lacks a basis in fact or treats TP-Link unfairly. TP-Link fully expects to continue its business as usual with no interruption to its sales in the U.S. market."

The official process for the Department of Commerce's proposal consists of two 30-day-long phases. First, after initiating the ban (following approval from other government agencies), TP-Link would be given a month to respond. Then Commerce would have its own month to decide whether to continue with the ban, taking into account TP-Link's objections. This is likely the period when negotiations will take center stage, as the two parties work out all the details. That being said, the Department of Commerce has made it clear that nothing short of a ban would suffice in this case.

China-related national security concerns have picked up steam under the Trump administration, which entered a temporary tariff truce with Beijing last week — likely what's keeping the ban from taking effect immediately — but tensions continue to escalate. Despite being an American company, TP-Link Systems remains an alleged threat to the government, which claims that spying software can be installed on these routers by simply pushing a state-mandated update from China, which TP-Link Technologies (its parent) would need to comply with.

At this point, nothing has been set in motion, and we could very well see a deal being worked out between Washington and TP-Link; otherwise, this would become one of the most significant technological bans in the country's history, joining the ranks of Huawei, whose legacy infrastructure is still being phased out by network providers. A ban on TP-Link routers would shake up the market considerably, leaving a clear gap for value-oriented buyers who relied on the company's hardware. Many network providers worldwide already use TP-Link routers as their default.

Asus just released the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000AI, a gaming router with a built-in AI core and Docker Engine integration, enabling you to run apps and other workloads directly on the router. Asus also added the WiFi Insight feature, which scans your network for interference from multiple sources, making it easier for you to address the issue and ensure stability, even on the most congested airwaves. Of course, aside from all these features, you get high-speed wired and wireless internet with WiFi 7, two 10G, four 2.5G, and a 1G Ethernet port. Asus also added two USB ports for attaching external hard drives and other accessories. All these features come at a premium, though. The Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000AI is available on Newegg for $899.99, which can be out of range for most of us.

The ROG Rapture’s Docker Engine integration turns it from a router to an edge computing device, allowing you to manage your IoT devices directly from it and even run AI services using its 7.9 TOPS NPU. This would reduce your dependence on a separate server, streamlining your smart home system. Of course, we cannot forget about the router’s gaming chops — its AI game boost automatically detects gaming devices and uses adaptive QoE to ensure that games get the highest priority in your network. Asus claims that this reduces latency by up to 34%, giving you an advantage over your opponents who have slightly slower networks.

While wired connections are still preferred for the most hardcore gamers, this router has WiFi 7 connectivity, allowing you to stay competitive even if you’re on a wireless device. You get tri-band connectivity with 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz, so even the oldest of your devices would still work on the network. However, the 6GHz band uses 320MHz channels, doubling the data throughput from WiFi 6E, and 4096-QAM, which quadruples data density, especially if you have a strong signal with low interference. While actual speeds will vary depending on network and environmental conditions, they’d still be significantly higher than what you get with Wi-Fi 6.

This router also gets an improved guest experience with the Guest Network Pro, which lets you create five SSIDs for gaming, IoT, VPN, and a dedicated network for your visitors. This helps keep your networks separated for better security, so even if a device in your home gets compromised, attackers would not be able to access the rest of your network.

But if you need a new router for your home and want something a bit more affordable, be sure to check out our list of the best Wi-Fi routers to find an option worth your cash.

TP-Link was one of the first manufacturers to bring Wi-Fi 7 routers down to an affordable level with the Archer BE3600. The Archer BE3600 is regularly available for around $100 and provides dual-band Wi-Fi and multiple 2.5 GbE LAN ports. Now, TP-Link is looking to expand its reach in the dual-band space with the Archer GE400, its latest Wi-Fi 7 gaming router.

The Archer GE400 slots in beneath TP-Link's existing Wi-Fi 7 gaming routers: the Archer GE650 and Archer GE800. The new gaming router offers up to 6.5 Gbps of aggregate throughput across the 2.4 GHz (688 Mbps) and 5 GHz (5,765 Mbps) bands, while the Archer GE650 and G800 offer up to 11 Gbps and 19 Gbps across three bands.

TP-Link aims to provide broad wireless coverage for your home with six movable antennas, and you'll find support for Wi-Fi 7 features such as Multi-link Operation (MLO) and 4K-QAM. However, you don't get the high-performance (at shorter range) 6 GHz band that you'll find on TP-Link's higher-end gaming routers. The Archer GE400 also supports EasyMesh, which allows you to use supported routers in a mesh network within your home.

For wired connectivity, the back panel features a 2.5 GbE WAN port, a dedicated 2.5 GbE LAN "Gaming" port, and three 1 GbE LAN ports. There's also a single USB 3.0 port for adding storage to your network.

In addition to the prioritized 2.5 GbE LAN port for gaming, the Archer BE400 features customizable RGB lighting on its exterior. In addition, there’s a dedicated Game Panel that shows network status, router vitals, controls to accelerate network performance for gamers, and controls for RGB lighting.

TP-Link says the Archer GE400 will launch at $219.99, making it more than twice as expensive as the more mainstream Archer BE3600. However, the router is currently available from Amazon with a $50 discount using a code (50GE400) at checkout, bringing the price to $169.99. For comparison, the Archer GE650 carries an MSRP of $349.99 and is currently available for $239. The Archer GE800 is still far pricier, with a $399 street price against an MSRP of $599.

Earlier this summer, I purchased a TP-Link Deco BE25-Outdoor Wi-Fi 7 extender to expand coverage in my backyard. I found performance to be excellent, as I witnessed a more than 2x improvement in 5 GHz throughput and a nearly 5x improvement in 2.4 GHz throughput.

Since that time, TP-Link sent us a Deco BE65-Outdoor to review, which is a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 extender, rather than the dual-band Deco BE25-Outdoor. That added band and performance also means that the Deco BE65-Outdoor is more expensive, with an MSRP of $299.99 versus $149.99 for the BE25-Outdoor I had been using.

Design of the TP-Link Deco BE65-Outdoor

The Deco BE65-Outdoor is similar in design to the BE25-Outdoor: It’s a tall, white cylinder with a black base that unscrews to reveal the ports inside for connectivity and power. A rubber gasket prevents moisture and dirt from entering the chassis. With that said, TP-Link says that the Deco BE65-Outdoor is IP65 certified for dust and water resistance.

Inside the unit, you'll find two 2.5 GbE LAN ports that support Power over Ethernet (PoE), and a power port for the included 9-foot cable.

The Deco BE65-Outdoor measures 4.23 × 4.23 × 6.93 inches and weighs 3.48 pounds.

TP-Link Deco BE65-Outdoor Specifications

Setting up the TP-Link Deco BE65-Outdoor

The first step for setting up the Deco BE65-Outdoor was to find a suitable place to mount it outside. This time around, I opted to mount the unit in my backyard on a tree. The tree is roughly 25 feet away from the main router in my Deco BE63 Wi-Fi 7 mesh network. Only one exterior wall separates the primary router from where the Deco BE65-Outdoor was installed.

TP-Link includes a mounting template, four screws, and a plastic mounting bracket, which I installed on the tree at a height of about 6.5 feet. The Deco BE65-Outdoor then just slips securely onto the mounting bracket. Given that this was just a temporary setup for review purposes, I grabbed a 50-foot extension cord from the garage and plugged one end into an exterior wall outlet and the other end into the Deco BE65-Outdoor’s power cord.

TP-Link makes it incredibly simple to add a satellite to your existing network via the Deco app. In case you didn’t know, all of TP-Link’s Deco mesh routers are only configurable through the Deco app, and that remains the same with additional satellites like the Deco BE65-Outdoor and the Deco BE25-Outdoor.

Once I mounted and plugged in the Deco BE65-Outdoor, I went back inside the house and opened the Deco app. When the app opened, I immediately received a prompt saying that the Deco BE65-Outdoor had been found. I was then asked if I wanted to add the device to my existing Deco BE63 mesh network, to which I obliged.

Once the initial network optimization was completed, the Deco BE65-Outdoor opted to connect directly to the primary Deco BE63 router/node upstairs. Initially, the Deco BE65-Outdoor opted for a 5 GHz wireless backhaul to the mothership, rather than the 5 GHz/6 GHz MLO backhaul that the Deco BE63 satellite in my living room uses.

I found this odd, because the Deco BE65-Outdoor and my living room Deco BE63 satellite are both roughly 25 feet away from the main Deco BE63 router – and the living room node has additional walls and floors in its path. Even when I placed the Deco BE65-Outdoor within six feet of the main Deco BE63 node, it would still only connect using the 5 GHz band.

After some trial and error (and an assist from TP-Link), I discovered that the Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) mode, which is required for outdoor 6 GHz band usage, was not enabled. This was despite my clicking the option during the initial setup to enable AFC. I found the setting buried in that Advanced section of the 6 GHz band in the wireless settings. Attempting to turn it on continued to give me an error message, so I tried rebooting the router several times. On the third reboot, the AFC mode “stuck,” and I was then able to connect reliably on the 6 GHz band.

Finally, I performed a firmware update to get the unit up to par with the rest of my mesh network.

TP-Link Deco BE65-Outdoor Performance

I set up two locations for testing performance: my back porch and my fire pit, which is about 20 feet from my back porch. I decided to do baseline testing to measure performance when connected to my existing Deco BE63 network only. I then performed tests with my laptop, wirelessly connecting to only the Deco BE65-Outdoor node on the mesh network using the wireless backhaul.

I also decided to throw in a third scenario, connecting the Deco BE65-Outdoor to the Deco BE63 living room node using a wired backhaul. In this scenario, I connected a 75-foot CAT6e cable to a free 2.5 GbE port on the Deco BE63 and ran the cable all the way out my back door, across the back porch, and across the yard to the tree-mounted Deco BE65-Outdoor and plugged it into a free 2.5 GbE port. This is the best-case scenario for wireless performance. When an Ethernet backhaul is used, the Deco BE65-Outdoor automatically makes the necessary changes to integrate with the network. I then performed tests with the laptop connecting wirelessly to the Deco BE65-Outdoor node.

For my test system, I used an HP OmniBook X (Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite) laptop with a Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 Wi-Fi 6E wireless card. I then used my trusty iPerf3 server, which, in this instance, was connected via a 2.5 Gbps Ethernet connection to my Deco BE63 router.

With that said, the numbers speak for themselves regarding performance. The baseline numbers when connecting to the Deco BE63 network yielded 504 Mbps on the porch and a dismal 115 Mbps by the fire pit, using the 5 GHz band. Switching to the 2.4 GHz band, I saw 25 Mbps on the porch and just 6 Mbps at the fire pit.

Shifting to the Deco BE65-Outdoor (wireless backhaul), I saw maximum throughput of 479 Mbps while on the porch, and 343 Mbps at the fire pit (a 3x improvement) on the 5 GHz band. When using the wired backhaul, iPerf3 performance on the porch climbed to 760 Mbps and averaged 601 Mbps near the fire pit.

However, the highest performance was seen using the 6 GHz band, where the OmniBook X nearly hit 900 Mbps on my porch and 570 Mbps at the fire pit when using a wired backhaul.

There were even dramatic improvements on the 2.4 GHz band, reaching 64 Mbps on the porch and 44 Mbps at the fire pit with the wireless backhaul. With the wired backhaul enabled, those numbers climbed to 74 Mbps and 60 Mbps, respectively.

Bottom Line

The TP-Link Deco BE65-Outdoor is a premium wireless satellite that can be used with the company’s Deco mesh systems. Performance across the board on my back porch and in my back yard was dramatically faster when using the Deco BE65-Outdoor versus my “base” Deco BE63 mesh network. I saw upwards of a 10x improvement on the 2.4 GHz band and significant gains on the 5 GHz band. The option to use a wired backhaul further strengthens data throughput.

However, we must then address pricing. The Deco BE65-Outdoor costs $300, which is twice the price of the dual-band Deco BE25-Outdoor. If all you’re hoping to do is expand wireless coverage to your outdoor areas, the Deco BE25-Outdoor should be wholly sufficient for your needs. But if you want a “spare no expense” wireless node that is second to none in performance, the Deco BE65-Outdoor is hard to ignore.

Acer is a name you don’t often associate with wireless routers, but the company does have a small lineup. With the industry having largely transitioned to Wi-Fi 7, it’s natural that Acer would offer a router that supports the latest standard. The Predator Connect T7 definitely fits the bill.

It’s a tri-band gaming router that features RGB lighting and a sleek, white design. However, Predator Connect T7’s hardware doesn’t match its gaming aspirations or its lofty price tag.

Design of the Acer Predator Connect T7

Like many mesh routers on the market, the Predator Connect T7 has a tower-style design. It has a square base that measures 4.29 x 4.29 inches, and it’s 8.35 inches tall. The front of the router has a slim, vertical LED that illuminates blue when the router is online. The top of the router has ventilation slats and additional LEDs. These LEDs pulse blue when there’s internet connectivity, and red when there’s a problem with your connection.

The bottom of the router is unremarkable, save for a tiny switch that is used to power on/off the router and a pin-hole reset button (which will take the router back to the factory default mode). Moving to the back of the Predator Connect T7 is where the disappointment starts to settle in. The router features a single 2.5 Gbps WAN port, which is not auto-sensing; it is only usable for WAN purposes and cannot connect a capable wired device for LAN duties. Below the 2.5 Gbps WAN port are two 1 Gbps LAN ports, one of which is labeled as “Game.” Essentially, Acer prioritizes network traffic for games when using this port. There’s also a single USB-C port.

However, we must consider that the Predator Connect T7 carries an MSRP of $329 for a single node. If you need two to cover your home, you’re looking at $630 for a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh system that only has two 1 Gbps ports dedicated to LAN devices. That’s inexcusable at this price point. You’ll also see that the 1 Gbps limitation also comes into play later in our in-house iPerf3 performance testing.

One other thing to consider is that the Predator Connect T7 is marketed as a Wi-Fi 7 mesh router. However, Acer doesn’t currently sell the Predator Connect T7 in multi-pack configurations. Unlike almost every other router manufacturer, i.e., you can’t get a two- or three-pack with discounted pricing. Therefore, if you require a two-node system, you’ll need to pay $329 for each unit, without any discount.

Acer Predator Connect T7 Specifications

Setting up the Acer Predator Connect T7

The setup process for the Predator Connect T7 can be completed using the Acer Connect smartphone app (available for Android and iOS) or a desktop browser. I went through both workflows (with a factory reset in between) to get a sense of how they worked.

Using the smartphone app, I first needed to create an Acer account. Next, you tap the “+” button in the top right corner of the Acer Connect app, which brings you to a visual list of Acer’s wireless router family. I chose Predator Connect T7 and was asked if I wanted to set up the system as a standalone router or a mesh controller (for use in a mesh network). Since Acer provided me with two Predator Connect T7 review units, I opted to configure the first as a Mesh controller. After a few minutes, I was up and running. It was at this point that I performed a factory reset on the router and went through the setup process again using the desktop browser-based WebGUI.

Using this method, I connected to the router via our iPerf3 server, which was connected to one of the 1 Gbps LAN ports. I then logged into the router using the username and password printed on the bottom of the router. From here, the setup process was even quicker, as it automatically detected my internet connection and asked if I wanted to proceed directly to using the router. I obliged and was greeted with the router’s Dashboard. I then clicked on "System" from the left menu and chose "Mesh Controller" for the Operation Mode. The router then performed a reboot to confirm my selection.

My two Predator Connect T7 units came in individual retail boxes, not as a set. This means that they weren’t automatically paired with each other; I had to tackle this process on my own. Unfortunately, it’s not very straightforward. With most modern routers, you can easily add a new satellite to your existing network. Typically, you turn on the satellite and add it using a smartphone app or the router’s web GUI on a desktop browser.

However, with the second Predator Connect T7 node, I had to repeat the entire setup process. This time, I connected to the second node wirelessly using the SSID/password located on the bottom of the unit. I then fired up my web browser and logged in using the administrator username and password. I again had to click on System, but this time, I selected Mesh Agent, and the unit rebooted. Acer next requires that you simultaneously press the WPS button on both nodes for two seconds and then release to begin the pairing process. I overlooked this step at first, so I had to unplug the second Predator Connect T7 from my usual downstairs (living room) testing spot and plug it in next to the main router.

Once it booted, I pressed and released the WPS buttons. After about a minute, the two wireless nodes confirmed that they had paired, as the LEDs on top of both units were gently pulsing blue. I then unplugged the second node, took it back downstairs, and then plugged it back in at my usual testing spot.

It's a cumbersome process that Acer should work to improve – or at least provide customers with two- or three-packs that come pre-paired.

Acer Predator Connect T7 Software

The main Dashboard for the Predator Connect T7 provides a wealth of information. At the top, you'll find your current internet connection status, along with a link to obtain a SpeedTest result. You'll also see current traffic over the WAN. Directly below is a visual representation of your Mesh topology, along with the connection status between the two wireless nodes. According to the Dashboard, the secondary node has a Multi-Link Operation (MLO) connection to the main router with "Normal" signal strength.

At the bottom, you'll see the number of wireless devices connected, current router uptime, and which LAN/WAN ports are active. You can also view the Guest network status and which wireless bands are enabled. By default, the Predator Connect T7 has Band Steering enabled, meaning that the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands are all combined under a single SSID (in this case, T7_Mesh_hIrv), and clients will automatically connect to the optimum band to join. An MLO network is separately available (T7_Mesh_MLO).

Here's another peculiarity I encountered: I couldn’t find a setting in the WebGUI to turn off band steering. However, the setting is available using the smartphone app. When Band Steering is disabled, you can set the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands to each have its own SSID.

Going down the left menu bar, the next stop is Hybrid QoS, which automatically prioritizes data packets for devices equipped with Killer network cards. Even if you don't have a device that can take advantage of Killer prioritization, the Predator Connect T7 can still identify different classes of devices and deliver packets from high priority to low priority: Games, Streaming, Browsing, or Low.

You can choose to use this Hybrid QoS or Max Throughput (enabled by default)

Quick Setup allows you to configure the node in Router, Mesh Controller, or Mesh Agent mode. WAN provides typical settings, including firewall control, the ability to disable or enable UPnP, access to NAT passthrough (for example, if you have an ISP-supplied modem/router gateway), and port forwarding (among other settings). Wi-Fi allows you to set a specific SSID for each wireless band or rely on Band Steering to combine all bands under a single SSID. LAN settings provide the status of connected ports, while IPv6 offers multiple controls for IP assignments.

Home Network Security is a complimentary service offered to Predator Connect T7 users, powered by Trend Micro – you don’t have to pay a monthly or yearly subscription like some other routers. It gives you access to malicious site blocking, network attack blocking, and IoT security protection. They can all be turned on or off all at once, or you can enable only the features you want. There are also comprehensive Parental Controls within this menu.

While testing, I encountered some software issues. Settings configured with the WebGUI would sometimes not show up in the smartphone app. Or I’d sometimes make a change with the smartphone app, and it wouldn’t propagate to the router at all. Rebooting the router would resolve the issue, but I haven’t encountered this problem with the smartphone apps for other mesh routers.

Acer Predator Connect T7 Performance

To say that I was disappointed in the two 1 Gbps LAN ports, especially at this price point, is an understatement. We use the fastest LAN port on the wireless router to connect to our in-house iPerf3 server for wireless throughput tests. Given the 1 Gbps limitation, we observed speeds of no more than the high 900 Mbps range for the Predator Connect T7, even on the 6 GHz band. Even when attempting to run the iPerf3 tests on the test server, using each with a Wi-Fi 7 PCIe card connected via the 6 GHz band, I observed speeds of no more than 1.03 Gbps.

We use an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter, and Windows 11 Home (with all of the most recent Windows Updates applied) as our wireless client. The server is a Windows 11 machine with a 10 Gbps network card built into the motherboard, connected to the 1 Gbps LAN port on the Predator Connect T7.

All iPerf3 tests are conducted at distances of six feet and 25 feet, with and without network traffic. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube videos and 4K Disney+ content evenly across all bands.

Although the Predator Connect T7 was configured with Band Steering to allow each client to connect to the optimum band, I used the advanced setting in Windows 11 for the Wi-Fi 7 PCIe card to manually connect to the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands for each test.

Due to the limitation of 1 Gbps LAN ports, I saw a maximum of 944 Mbps in iPerf3 on the 6 GHz band. To put that in perspective, this was half the performance of the Netgear Orbi 870 and Asus ZenWiFi BT8. The TP-Link Deco BE68 was three times as fast. At long range (25 feet), the Predator Connect T7 closed the gap with the other contenders, although it still trailed the third-place ZenWiFi BT8 by over 160 Mbps.

Performance on the 5 GHz band was also subpar. Even though the other three competitors easily surpassed 1 Gbps, the Predator Connect T7 couldn't even achieve half that amount. Ideally, the router should have achieved maximum throughput from the 1 Gbps LAN port, as it did during the 6 GHz test.

2.4 GHz performance was more or less in line with the other routers, achieving 100 Mbps at 6 feet and 61 Mbps at 25 feet.

Performance with congested traffic mirrored that of the uncongested tests, with the Predator Connect T7 occupying a space at the rear of the pack in all the tests (except the 2.4 GHz congested tests).

Bottom Line

Although it’s billed as a gaming router, it’s hard to feel excited about Acer providing just two 1 Gbps LAN ports for devices. For $329 per node, I’d expect at least one 5 Gbps (or 10 Gbps) LAN port along with two 2.5 Gbps ports. 1 Gbps ports are likely a non-starter for a lot of enthusiasts, especially given that many enthusiast-class desktop motherboards are coming with 2.5 Gbps LAN ports at a minimum.

We also encountered software bugs, where settings wouldn’t sync between the app and the desktop WebGUI. The process for adding a satellite is more complex than that of competing mesh routers. Additionally, Acer doesn’t currently offer the Predator Connect T7 in discounted multi-pack sets. If you want a two-node system, you must pay the full $329 price twice. Even if we disregard the performance limitations, the pricing is a significant downer for the Predator Connect T7.

For $699, you can get a TP-Link Deco BE68 (3-pack) that would absolutely blow the doors off the Predator Connect T7 ($660 for two units), and you’d have even greater coverage. Better yet, the Deco BE68 includes 10 Gbps WAN/LAN port, a 1 Gbps WAN/LAN port, and a 2.5 Gbps LAN port per node. If you don’t need three nodes, a Deco BE65 Pro (2-pack) will cost you just $349.99, which is just $20 more than the cost of one Predator Connect T7. The Deco BE65 Pro will give you two 5 Gbps and one 2.5 Gbps auto-sensing LAN/WAN port(s).

No matter how you slice it, it’s hard to recommend the Predator Connect T7.

Netgear has a well-stacked lineup of Wi-Fi mesh routers, including the Orbi 770, 870, and 970. The Orbi 770 and 870 are tri-band products, while the Orbi 970 is the company’s sole quad-band Wi-Fi 7 router. I have long championed the performance that Netgear’s Orbi lineup offers, but have also lamented that there aren’t less-expensive models to cater to a broader audience.

Finally, Netgear has entered the entry-level Wi-Fi 7 mesh market with the Orbi 370, and as you might expect, given its positioning, it’s a dual-band (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz) model. Best of all, the Orbi 370 starts at just $249.99 for a two-pack and costs $349.99 for a three-pack. That pricing is largely in line with what we’ve seen from other entry-level dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers.

So, the price is right, but how do the features and performance of the Orbi 370 stack up to the competition? Read on to find out.

Design of the Netgear Orbi 370

When I first received the box containing the Orbi 370 review unit (3-pack), I initially thought someone had opened it and yanked a satellite or two out – it was that light. I was shocked to open the box and see that all three nodes were accounted for, along with their accompanying power bricks and a single CAT6 patch cable. I’m used to mesh satellites having an immense weight to them, but the Orbi 370 felt featherweight in comparison. The Orbi 370 router weighs 0.79 pounds, and each satellite also weighs 0.79 pounds. The TP-Link Deco BE5000 nodes each weigh 1.12 pounds.

The Orbi 370 shares a similar design language with other members of the Orbi family (essentially a tall white tower). Orbi branding is near the bottom front face of each node, with a status LED just above the base.

All of the ports and buttons for each node are located on the back spine. Here, you'll find a Sync button at the top, followed by a pinhole reset button, for taking the hardware back to factory default settings. Below that, the primary router features a 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port and a 2.5 Gbps WAN port. Finally, there's a port for the barrel-style power adapter. The two included satellites only include a single 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port. For reference, the Deco BE5000 includes two 2.5 Gbps ports on each node. The Orbi 370 supports wired backhaul between the router and satellites.

Netgear Orbi 370 Mesh Router Specifications

Setting up the Netgear Orbi 370

You can complete the initial setup of the Orbi 370 using the WebGUI via a desktop browser or the Netgear Orbi app on a smartphone. For this review, I opted for the desktop WebGUI, and pointed my browser to orbilogin.local. If, for some reason, that doesn't work, you can enter the default IP address for the router: 10.168.168.1. A welcome screen appeared and configured my internet connection automatically. After completing that step, the setup program asked me to create an admin password, along with two security questions.

I was next allowed to choose a wireless SSID and password (which I kept as the default for my testing purposes), after which the setup program checked to see if there was any updated firmware for the Orbi 370 (it didn’t find anything). Next, the two satellites were immediately detected, and the setup process was complete – it took roughly three minutes from starting the setup process until it finished and dropped me off at the router’s homepage.

Netgear Orbi 370 Software

If you’ve used any Netgear Orbi router in the past 6 or 7 years, there’s nothing new to see here. The WebGUI looks mostly the same as when the first-generation Orbi mesh router debuted. It’s a text-heavy interface that is short on color and sleek graphics. Compared to the AsusWRT 5.0 software platform found on Asus mesh routers, Netgear’s interface looks ancient. However, it gets the job done, even if some of the menus are a little confusing and redundant. If you prefer, you can also configure your Orbi network with the Orbi smartphone app.

The router homepage offers up five tiles that provide pertinent information at a glance: Internet, Wireless, Attached Devices, Guest Network, and Netgear Armor security. There are also two tabs on the left-hand side of the homepage labeled Basic and Advanced. Basic gives you duplicate access to the five previous tiles, plus the option to add an Orbi satellite.

The Advanced tab provides more granular control over detailed wireless settings, network access control, IoT networks, and more. You also have access to DNS settings, router backup settings, firmware updates, and more.

The Orbi 370 also comes with a 30-day trial of Netgear Armor. Netgear Amor supports up to 50 connected devices and includes virus/malware protection, 24/7 tech support, and an extended warranty. After the trial period, it costs $99/year. There’s also Netgear Armor Plus ($149/year), which adds unlimited VPN, an adblocker, and anti-tracking software.

Netgear Orbi 370 Performance

Our client rig for wireless tests uses an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter, and Windows 11 Home. The server is a Windows 11 Home machine with a 10 GbE network card connected to the 10 GbE port on the Orbi 370 router.

The iPerf3 wireless throughput tests are run at 6 feet and 25 feet, with and without traffic across the network. Tests are conducted separately on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube and 4K Disney+ content evenly across the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

By default, the Orbi 370 creates a combined 2.4 GHz/5 GHz network under a single SSID. However, you can specify the wireless network to operate only as 2.4 GHz or only 5 GHz. However, we’d imagine that most people will just leave it in the dual-band mode for broad compatibility (especially with IoT devices).

The Orbi 370 delivered the highest 5 GHz performance we’ve seen yet for an entry-level Wi-Fi 7 mesh router. The router averaged 1,390 Mbps in iPerf3, which was cut in half to just 694 Mbps at 25 feet. However, both of those figures were well above the TP-Link Deco BE5000 (1070 Mbps, 472 Mbps), the MSI Roamii BE Lite (934 Mbps, 541 Mbps), and the Amazon Eero 7 (1,097 Mbps).

Shifting gears to the 2.4 GHz band, the tables turned for the Orbi 370. Here, the router came in last place in the 6-foot and 25-foot tests. Granted, it only trailed the Deco BE5000 by 3 Mbps on average at 6 feet (99 Mbps versus 102 Mbps). The difference was much greater at 25 feet, where the Orbi 370 dropped to just 30 Mbps compared to 57 Mbps and 69 Mbps for the Eero 7 and Roamii BE Lite, respectively.

It was a similar story with congested traffic, with the Orbi 370 leading the field by a fair margin on the 5 GHz band – it delivered 1,200 Mbps, on average, compared to 886 Mbps for the next-closest Eero 7. Performance at 25-feet was also untouched, where it managed 551 Mbps versus 433 Mbps for the Roamii BE Lite and 189 Mbps for the Deco BE5000.

Finally, the Orbi 370 again found itself at the back of the pack with 2.4 GHz congested traffic, achieving 77 Mbps at 6 feet and a dismal 25 Mbps at 25 feet. For comparison, the Roamii BE Lite saw minimal performance drop-off, with 108 Mbps and 65 Mbps at 6 feet and 25 feet, respectively.

Bottom Line

I’ve been harping for a while that Netgear needs to introduce a cheaper Wi-Fi 7-based Orbi product. Well, the company has certainly delivered with the Orbi 370. You won’t find a tri-band product at this price point, but the Orbi 370 does offer the highest sustained 5 GHz throughput speeds that we’ve seen for an entry-level Wi-Fi 7 mesh router. However, that comes at the expense of 2.4 GHz band performance, which lags well behind the competition, especially at 25 feet. If the majority of your 2.4 GHz devices are IoT/smart home devices, this performance shortfall shouldn’t be too much of a hindrance.

Aside from the 2.4 GHz performance, it would have been nice to see two 2.5 Gbps LAN ports per satellite instead of one. However, that’s me being nitpicky with an entry-level product.

But taken as a whole, $349 for a router and two satellites is an excellent launching point for the Orbi 370. 5 GHz performance will be strong for your desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs. The only thing standing in its way is the TP-Link Deco BE5000 (also marketed as the Deco BE25). It has a retail price of $299 for a three-pack, but is currently on sale for $269, minus a $50 instant coupon at Amazon. The Orbi 370 is a good product, but in the price-sensitive entry-level segment, it’s hard to argue against a $219 Deco BE5000.

At this point, we’ve reviewed several members of TP-Link’s Deco family of Wi-Fi 7 mesh routers, ranging from dual-band to tri-band offerings. Recently, TP-Link decided to add a fresh SKU to the lineup, the Deco BE68, a tri-band system advertising a combined 14 Gbps of wireless throughput.

The Deco BE68 still isn’t the flagship of the range – that distinction goes to the quad-band Deco BE95 – but it does offer excellent overall performance. And the router and each satellite carry a 10 GbE port, which is a nice upgrade over the Deco BE63 and Deco BE65 Pro.

The Deco BE68 carries an MSRP of $699 for a three-pack, but is currently available for $499 compared to $399 for the Deco BE65 Pro. Is that extra $100 worth it for average home users? Let’s find out.

Design of the TP-Link Deco BE68 Mesh Router

If you've read our review of the Deco BE63 and Deco BE65 Pro, the design of the Deco BE68 doesn't break new ground. The router and each satellite are tall plastic cylinders finished in matte white. The top of each cylinder is slightly recessed to accommodate ventilation slots to cool off the internal circuitry.

TP-Link attempts to inject a little style into those cylinders with a ribbed "7" that is molded in the plastic, running from top to bottom. Each unit is 4.23 inches in diameter and 6.93 inches tall. The Deco family is only available in white, so keep that in mind if you're a stickler for how the units will look alongside your interior decor.

All the ports are located on the back, within a grey panel. At the top of the panel sits a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button for easily pairing compatible wireless devices. Below it is a 1 GbE port, a 2.5 GbE port, a 10 GbE port, one USB 3.0 port, and a connector for the barrel-style power adapter.

TP-Link Deco BE68 Mesh Router Specifications

Setting up the TP-Link Deco BE68 Mesh Router

If you want to set up and perform ongoing maintenance with the Deco BE68, you'll first need to download the TP-Link Deco app for Android or iOS. You'll also need to create a TP-Link ID for using the app if you don't have one already.

To begin the installation process, I plugged power into one of the nodes and connected the included patch cable to my modem (which then established it as the primary router). I placed my phone next to the router, after which the setup program found it. I then proceeded through the typical internet configuration options and was able to physically place and identify (via the app) the two satellites.

I then created several wireless networks for testing purposes. I made a 6 GHz network (Deco_BE68_6GHz), a combined 2.4 GHz/5 GHz network (Deco_BE68), an MLO network (Deco_BE68_MLO), and a 2.4 GHz IoT network (Deco_BE68_IoT). You can limit IoT devices to the 2.4 GHz band or give them access to both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

TP-Link also allows you to create two guest networks. There’s a 2.4 GHz/5 GHz guest network option, allowing devices to connect to 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, only 2.4 GHz, or only 5 GHz. The second guest network option gives access to the 6 GHz band.

TP-Link Deco BE68 Mesh Router Software

While companies like Asus and Netgear offer smartphone apps for convenience, it isn’t a requirement. Routers from those two companies can still be configured via a desktop browser, making configuration and accessibility for the wealth of settings easier. However, TP-Link forces you to use the Deco app.

With that said, the app isn’t bad. It’s among the cleanest and easiest-to-use router apps in the business. Controls are logically laid out, and the home screen provides a clear overview of the network topology, the number of connected devices, and current upload/download rates. There are also quick buttons on the home screen to test your internet speed (powered by SpeedTest) and configure basic Wi-Fi settings (SSIDs and passwords).

If you have TP-Link, Tapo, or Kasa-branded smart home devices connected to your network, they are listed at the bottom of the home page for quick access. For example, I have a dozen smart home products within the TP-Link ecosystem, and all showed up. I was able to turn on/off lights or even turn on my living room and bedroom fans right from the Deco app.

Tapping the More tab at the bottom of the home page gives you access to the whole gamut of settings available on the Deco BE68. You can enable and configure Guest and IoT networks, perform a “soft” WPS query without needing to press the button on the back of each unit, and block clients using Wi-Fi Access Control.

Operation Mode allows you to choose to use the Deco BE68 in router mode or as an access point. Router mode is the default, and should be used with a standalone cable or fiber modem. You can use Access Point Mode if you were provided with a router/modem combo from your ISP. It allows you to bridge the network connection so that you don’t run into an undesirable double-NAT situation.

However, be warned that turning on Access Point Mode disables some native functionality from TP-Link, like NAT, Parental Controls, QoS, Device Isolation, and Connection Alerts (i.e., push notifications to your phone when a new device connects to your network).

The Managers function allows you to give control of your network to a friend or family member, but they will each need to have a TP-Link ID to control the network. LED control allows you to turn on/off the LED at the bottom of the router and satellites, or have them set to operate on a daily schedule. Finally, the System tab is where you’ll find options to adjust the system time, perform a firmware update (or set it to update automatically), manually reboot the router, or reboot on a daily or weekly schedule.

The router and each of the satellites feature a USB 3.0 port, which can be used to connect storage devices. The Deco BE68 even supports using external storage as a Time Machine backup for Macs.

Overall, the Deco app provides a comprehensive set of controls for the Deco BE68, but it’d be nice if the option to use a desktop browser were available for those who prefer not to use smartphone apps for these tasks.

TP-Link Deco BE68 Mesh Router Performance

Our client PC for wireless tests uses an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter, and Windows 11 Home (with all the latest Windows Updates applied). The server is a Windows 11 machine with a 10 GbE network card connected to the 10 GbE port on the Deco BE68.

The iPerf3 tests are run at six feet and 25 feet, with and without traffic across the network. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube videos evenly across all bands.

By default, the Deco BE68 creates a 6 GHz network and a combined 2.4 GHz/5 GHz network. However, you can specify what band each client connects to by default. Since the router defaults to combining the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands under a single SSID, you can specify in the Deco app for a 5 GHz-capable client to always prefer 5 GHz over 2.4 GHz.

Overall performance of the Deco BE68 can be summed up with one word: exceptional. We have to remember that this is a system with a street price of around $500, but it performs more in line with something like the Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro, with a street price of over $1,000. On the 6 GHz band at 6 feet, the Deco BE68 delivered an exceptional 3,247 Mbps. The next-closest competitor was the Netgear Orbi 870 at 2,257 Mbps. Despite congested traffic, the Deco BE68 still managed an incredible 2,950 Mbps.

When stepping out to 25 feet, all the assembled routers experienced a significant drop in performance at 6 GHz (which is typically an Achilles' heel for this band, especially when obstacles like walls are in the way). Here, the Deco BE68 was no match for the Orbi 870, which achieved 1,011 Mbps. However, it did manage to snag second place with 877 Mbps. With congested traffic, the Deco BE68 (777 Mbps) again took second place behind the Orbi 870 (888 Mbps).

5 GHz performance at 6 feet and 25 feet came in at 1,487 Mbps and 640 Mbps, respectively, with no additional traffic. This puts the Deco BE68 in third place, but less than 150 Mbps separates first place and third place at both test distances. With congested traffic, the Deco BE68 slipped into second place at both 6 feet and 25 feet, delivering 1,213 Mbps and 425 Mbps, respectively.

The Deco BE68 was also competitive in 2.4 GHz performance, hitting 117 Mbps at 6 feet without extra traffic. While this put it in last place, it was just slightly behind the Orbi 870 (119 Mbps) and the Asus ZenWiFi BT8 (121 Mbps). The Deco BE65 Pro took top honors with 128 Mbps. Moving to 25 feet, the Deco BE68 took second place behind the ZenWiFi BT8, with 76 Mbps. With congested traffic, the Deco BE68 beat out all competitors at 6 feet (112 Mbps) and 25 feet (72 Mbps).

Bottom Line

At the start of this review, I pondered whether the Deco BE68’s street price was worth the added $100 over the Deco BE65 Pro. If you’re looking for a more “futureproof” router, I’d say the answer is a resounding yes. Its 6 GHz performance at close range surpasses 3,000 Mbps, and the Deco BE68 offered competitive performance across 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands. Compared to the Deco BE65 Pro, the Deco BE68 also gives you a 10 GbE port on the router and satellites, instead of 5 GbE.

Compared to the Orbi 870 and ZenWiFi BT8, the Deco BE68 is a slam dunk. The Orbi 870 three-pack has a street price of $1,100, while the ZenWiFi BT8 three-pack will set you back $799. Whatever small performance advantages either of these routers might have in a couple of benchmarks aren’t worth the $300 to $600 price premium.

The Deco BE68 offers premium performance at a mid-range price, making it a winning combination for enthusiasts and casual users who just want a network that works.

If you’re a Mac user, you’re probably familiar with Time Machine, which is Apple’s automated backup solution. Time Machine automatically backs up everyone on your system, including user accounts, system settings, apps, music, photos, emails, and documents. Depending on available resources and network speed, Time Machine usually creates a backup once an hour.

Typically, most users back up their Mac via an external storage device like a USB hard drive. The only drawback to this solution is that your Mac must be connected to external storage for a Time Machine backup to occur. If you have a desktop-based Mac, that’s not an issue. However, if you have a MacBook, chances are that you’re not always tethered to your desk, let alone an external storage device. So, in that case, a network-based Time Machine volume is an excellent wireless solution for keeping up-to-date backups of your system.

Several router manufacturers include built-in support for enabling Time Machine backups with their hardware, including Asus and TP-Link. In this guide, I’ll walk you through enabling a Time Machine backup volume with a TP-Link router, specifically, with a Deco BE63.

Initial external storage setup

The first thing that you’ll need before even getting to the router portion of setup is an external hard drive. Any hard drive will do, but Apple suggests that you use an external HDD that is twice the size of your Mac’s internal storage. In my case, I have a 14-inch MacBook Pro with a 512GB SSD, and I just so happened to have a 1TB Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive sitting in my desk drawer.

You’ll want to take whatever external HDD you have and plug it into your Mac. I use an Ivanky Fusion Dock Max 1 Thunderbolt 4 dock when I use my MacBook Pro at my desk, so I plugged the Seagate HDD into a free USB-A port.

Next, open Disk Utility, select your external HDD from the left pane, and then click Erase from the top menu. You’ll then want to name the volume (I chose Seagate) and choose what filesystem you want (I chose FAT32). After a few seconds, the format should be complete. Next, click Unmount to remove the HDD from your Mac safely.

Setting up the Time Machine backup with your TP-Link router

I have a TP-Link Deco BE63 Wi-Fi 7 mesh router that I use for my home network, and each node has a USB 3.0 (Type-A) port. I plugged the Seagate HDD into the USB 3.0 port on my main router, and it spun up, as expected.

My Deco BE63 is only configurable via the TP-Link Deco app, so I opened the app and tapped on the More tab at the bottom of the homepage. Next, tap Advanced, then USB Sharing. You should see the storage device listed. My Seagate HDD showed up with 931GB free to use. At the top of the page, tap Time Machine, then tap the enable button.

TP-Link will provide you with a default username and password that you’ll need for accessing the Time Machine volume on your Mac, or you can choose one of your liking. If you prefer, you can limit how much of your available storage Time Machine will consume. Since I don’t plan on using the storage for anything else, I left the default settings. Tap Save at the top of the page.

Accessing the Time Machine backup from your Mac

With all the background legwork complete, you should now be able to see and initiate a Time Machine with your Mac, as long as the Mac is connected to your home network (either via Wi-Fi or by a wired connection). Go to System Settings → General → Time Machine. Click the + button, and you should see your new Time Machine volume. In my case, it was named BackupTM on “BE63_BAA4.local.” Click Setup Disk, and macOS will mount the new Time Machine Volume. At this time, you’ll be asked to enter the username and password that were provided during the initial setup.

macOS will then mount the drive, and you can choose whether or not to protect your backups with a password. Once you proceed, macOS will perform your first Time Machine backup. You can also take the time to explore the Options button, where you’ll be able to specify if you want to back up while on battery power. Now you can enjoy the peace of mind of wireless backups from your MacBook as long as you’re on your home network.

If you have yet to hop on the Wi-Fi 7 bandwagon, now is a great time to start surveying the wealth of options currently available. The first round of Wi-Fi 7 routers was primarily reserved for premium flagship mesh products, with prices that could easily exceed the $1,000 threshold. Since that time, we've seen much cheaper options hit the market, including $100 dual-band offering from TP-Link, which ranks among the best Wi-Fi routers on the market.

TP-Link is once again emphasizing the value angle with its new Archer BE9700, a true tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router that offers compelling performance and a wealth of features. Best of all, it carries an affordable price tag of just $219.

Design of the TP-Link Archer BE9700

If you’re thinking that the design of the Archer BE9700 looks familiar, you’re not alone. Its design closely resembles the dual-band Archer BE3600 that I reviewed late last year. However, instead of just four movable antennas, the Archer BE9700 has six. The router is constructed entirely of plastic, which is primarily finished in flat black. However, the outer edges of the router are gloss black. It's a low-profile design, but it'll be hard to ignore the six large antennas sprouting from the back — mesh routers with their internal antenna designs tend to better blend into their environment.

The top of the router features a relatively small TP-Link logo finished in white, along with a row of status LEDs (Power, Wi-Fi, LAN, Internet, etc.). The top is also dotted with ventilation holes to keep the router cool during 24-7-365 operation. If you flip the router over, you'll notice even more ventilation holes and cutouts to mount the BE9700 on a wall.

However, the real action takes place at the back of the router, where you’ll find a plethora of ports. Unlike the Archer BE3600, which featured four 1 Gbps LAN ports, the Archer BE9700 upgrades all those ports to 2.5 Gbps speeds. Additionally, the WAN port receives a boost from 2.5 Gbps to 10 Gbps. Other items of note out back include a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button, a pinhole reset button, and an on/off button. Finally, there’s one USB 3.0 port located on the side of the BE9700. I would prefer for the USB port to be at the rear of the unit, but it’s already pretty crowded there.

TP-Link Archer BE9700 Wi-Fi 7 Router Specifications

Setting up the TP-Link Archer BE9700

Although it’s easy to configure the BE9700 using TP-Link’s excellent Deco app, I decided to use the traditional desktop browser method for setup. The process was simple enough, as I connected to the 6 GHz SSID using the password on the bottom of the device. Once connected to the router, I typed http://tplinkwifi.net into the browser address bar to get started.

I needed to enter my time zone and select which WAN port I wanted to use for the internet. Since my internet connection tops out at around 700 Mbps, I opted to connect to the 2.5 Gbps WAN port. I clicked through settings for connection type (Auto Detect, Dynamic IP), and was presented with the wireless Smart Connect feature, which was enabled by default.

With Smart Connect, the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands are combined under a single SSID, in this case, TP-Link_7DAD. The 6 GHz gets its own SSID, TP-Link_7DAD_6G. However, I chose to simplify wireless testing by disabling Smart Connect and assigning each band a unique SSID: TP-Link_7DAD (2.4 GHz), TP-Link_7DAD_5G (5 GHz), and TP-Link_7DAD_6G (6 GHz).

The setup program then performed an internet speed connection test and allowed me to enable Auto Update for firmware and set a schedule for those updates. The last step was to log in with (or create) a TP-Link ID, but I skipped this step. The whole process took around five minutes from start to finish.

TP-Link Archer BE9700 Software

The desktop browser interface on the BE9700 is largely identical to the one on the BE3600 that I reviewed last year. As a result, you'll find the same five navigation tabs at the top of the page: Network Map, Internet, Wireless, HomeShield, and Advanced.

Network Map gives you a quick rundown of internet connection status, connected clients, and router uptime (among other things). Internet allows you to choose whether you want to designate the 10 Gbps or 2.5 Gbps WAN port for your ISP, specify your connection type, and configure a MAC address for your router.

Wireless is where you can turn Smart Connect on or off, as well as change the SSID and password for each of the three network bands. You can also enable Multi-Link Operation (MLO), IoT, and guest networks from this tab. HomeShield scans your network for vulnerabilities and offers a limited set of parental controls, and you can also set up a VPN server. You can also enable EasyMesh support to use the BE9700 as a wireless node in a mesh network with other supported routers

Finally, another notable feature is support for Time Machine backups using the USB 3.0 port. Once the Time Machine feature is enabled, you can connect a USB hard drive to the USB 3.0 port, which is then seen by macOS machines as a compatible Time Machine backup destination.

TP-Link Archer BE9700 Performance

I tested the BE9700 using our purpose-built testing rig, which features an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter (Qualcomm NCM865), and Windows 11 Home. Windows 11 has all the latest software updates installed, while the Herald-BE runs the latest drivers available from MSI’s support website.

I’ll preface the benchmark results with the caveat that wireless performance will greatly depend on the layout of your home, apartment, or office. Home construction, wall thickness, the choice of materials in the flooring, and even the number of walls between the router and clients can affect performance. So while the results that I present are consistent, given that the testing locations and methodology that I use in my home don’t change, the results that I present aren’t guaranteed to align precisely with what you might see in your environment.

With that said, our iPerf3 throughput tests are conducted at distances of 6 feet and 25 feet, with and without network traffic. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube videos across all bands.

Among the group of Wi-Fi 7 routers assembled here, only the BE9700 and the Nighthawk RS600 are tri-band. The BE9700 jumped out to a commanding lead, hitting 2,507 Mbps at six feet and 1,203 Mbps at 25 feet with no traffic on the network. The Nighthawk RS600 was well behind, delivering 1,790 Mbps at six feet and 956 Mbps at 25 feet.

Moving to the 5 GHz band, the BE9700 underperformed relative to the Asus RT-BE86U and the Nighthawk RS600. While the BE9700 was able to break the 1,000 Mbps threshold at a distance of six feet, the lower-priced BE3600 managed 1,121 Mbps. The Nighthawk RS600 led the field at six feet at 1,610 Mbps. Moving out to 25 feet, both the BE9700 and BE3600 underperformed, delivering less than 500 Mbps, while the RT-BE86U led the field with 806 Mbps.

It is worth noting that none of the routers could match the 214 Mbps that the BE3600 delivered at a distance of six feet, although the BE9700 came in second place with 116 Mbps. At 25 feet, the BE9700 took the slight lead over the rest of the field with 54 Mbps.

Switching gears to our congested tests, the BE9700 again put up a respectable number given its price tag. I saw 2,187 Mbps at six feet and 1,157 Mbps at 25 feet on the 6 GHz band with congested traffic. The Nighthawk RS600 could only muster 1,650 Mbps and 732 Mbps, respectively.

The Nighthawk RS600 clobbered the BE9700 on the 5 GHz band at six feet, hitting 1,610 Mbps, more than double that of the BE9700 (803 Mbps). Moving to 25 feet, the Nighthawk RS600 still held an advantage, but the margin was closer (483 Mbps versus 436 Mbps).

For our final test, I examined 2.4 GHz congested performance at six feet and 25 feet. Performance here was a mixed bag. The BE3600 again took off with a commanding lead, hitting 205 Mbps. The BE9700 settled for third place with 80 Mbps behind the second-place RT-BE86U (92 Mbps). At 25 feet, the BE9700 again settled for third place.

Bottom Line

The TP-Link Archer BE9700 is a rather intriguing entry in the Wi-Fi 7 router market. It’s one of the cheapest tri-band solutions available, with an MSRP of $249.99. However, street pricing at Amazon is currently running around $220. If you need a tri-band router, the BE9700 delivers the best 6 GHz performance at the lowest price, hitting upwards of 2.5 Gbps at close range.

Things aren’t as clear-cut on the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands. Here, the BE9700 often found itself in a losing battle against the BE3600 dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router, which is priced at just $99. This performance difference was even more pronounced on the 2.4 GHz band, where the BE3600 more than doubled the performance of the BE9700.

With that said, the BE9700 represents a real value play in the market, as its closest competitor, the Netgear Nighthawk RS600, has a street price of $500. If you’re in a household that more heavily skews toward 6 GHz devices for demanding tasks (i.e., PCs, tablets, smartphones, etc.), it’s hard to say no to the value that the BE9700 offers.

Performance is still respectable for devices that operate on the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands, but you just won’t get the class-leading performance that you see on the 6 GHz band. With a street price of just over $200, I think that’s a fair tradeoff with the current state of Wi-Fi 7 routers.

Mesh routers are among the hottest-selling types of routers in networking, and leading the charge are products based on the Wi-Fi 7 standard. Mesh routers enable you to fully cover your home or office with wireless coverage that would otherwise be impossible with a single, standalone router.

Fortunately, numerous manufacturers are producing Wi-Fi 7 mesh routers, offering a wide range of options to choose from. If you prefer seamless integration with your Amazon account and Alexa services, consider opting for the Eero Pro 7. If you want endless configuration options and no-cost features, such as extensive Parental Controls, the Asus ZenWiFi BT6 has you covered. If you're looking for a delicate balance of performance and features at a bargain price, consider the TP-Link Deco BE95.

• Check out all the deals in Amazon's Prime Day Sale

However, one thing to keep in mind when shopping for a network upgrade is that not all Wi-Fi 7 routers are created equal. While there are speed differences between products that depend on several factors (channel width, total number of streams, etc.), the primary differentiator among Wi-Fi 7 routers comes down to the number of supported bands. There are dual- and tri-band routers, with the latter offering the best potential performance. Dual-band routers only support the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, while tri-band routers support the higher-performing and shorter-range 6 GHz band. The maximum performance of the 6 GHz band is what gives tri-band Wi-Fi 7 routers a significant theoretical speed advantage over their Wi-Fi 6E predecessors.

Some manufacturers, such as Asus, also offer quad-band routers that feature either two 5 GHz wireless bands or two 6 GHz bands.

With that said, check out the extensive list below for all the best deals on Wi-Fi 7 routers from Asus, Eero, Netgear, MSI, and TP-Link.

We are working hard to find the best computer hardware deals for you this Amazon Prime Day. We cover the hottest deals in real-time at our Best Amazon Prime Day Deals Live page. If you're looking for more savings, check out our Amazon Prime Day deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, or CPU Deals pages.

Comcast has recently introduced a new feature to its Xfinity routers that converts them into motion detectors using only Wi-Fi signals. It's called “WiFi Motion" and it works by sensing disruptions in signal strength between your router and nearby devices to detect movement. The idea is that when someone moves through the signal field—say, between your PlayStation and router—it registers that as motion and sends you an alert through the Xfinity app.

Unlike cameras or radar sensors, this setup doesn’t need extra hardware. It operates purely based on signal interference and can even detect small movements, such as a raised arm. Xfinity claims it can distinguish between a pet and a person, and you can customize the system's sensitivity or the frequency of notifications. It supports up to three devices at once, allowing you to link a computer, a printer, and a gaming console to facilitate tracking.

At face value, this sounds convenient, and it would have been fine and dandy if Xfinity hadn't pulled the classic fine print shenanigans. Buried deep within the terms of service, the company has a clause stating that once you enable this feature, you give the company the right to collect and log your data, which can subsequently be sold to advertisers.

But that's not even the scary part. According to Comcast's policy, these logs can be shared in legal disputes or with law enforcement under subpoena, without requiring additional consent. While it’s not tracking you with a camera, it’s still observing patterns: when you’re home, when you’re not, and how often there’s movement in different rooms. This data is exclusively attached to your account, so any alibis are out of the question.

Security researchers have long flagged ISP-owned routers as a black box when it comes to privacy. Most users never change the default settings, and with automatic updates and remote access, it’s hard to say what else your router might be capable of in the future. That's why the concern here isn’t just what Xfinity is doing now, but what it could be allowed to do later.

Reaction online has been precisely what you'd expect. Reddit threads are already comparing this to a low-resolution camera that can "see" through walls, and many users have pointed out that you can’t entirely opt out unless you ditch the Xfinity router altogether. Members of r/technology are particularly concerned about this development and reflect a deeper sentiment regarding the growing surveillance state.

Xfinity just added Wi-Fi-powered motion tracking to its routers — here's why it could be a privacy nightmare from r/technology

TP-Link announced that its EAP772-Outdoor Wi-Fi 7 access point is now available for sale. This heavy-duty wireless router is designed for outdoor use and has an IP68 rating. That means it’s fully protected against dust and can survive being submerged in water more than a meter deep. Although not specifically designed for underwater use (after all, Wi-Fi does not work in that environment), TP-Link built this router for easy, install-and-forget use outdoors. The IP68 rating means it can withstand heavy rain and maybe even snow, ensuring you don’t have to worry about the device getting damaged while it’s exposed to the elements.

Aside from its water-resistant capabilities, TP-Link made installation easier by incorporating Power over Ethernet. That way, you don’t need to worry about routing an extra cable just to deliver power to the unit. A mounting bracket is included in the box, which allows you to install the router on a wall or a pole, and it also includes a bracket with a spiral cover, seals, and an O-ring, ensuring that the router’s Ethernet connection isn’t compromised by inclement weather.

TP-Link produces a vast array of wireless routers, and it can sometimes seem challenging to make sense of it all. In late 2024, we examined TP-Link’s Deco BE65 Pro, one of its mid-range tri-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh routers, featuring 5 Gbps ports. For customers who don’t need the 5 Gbps port and are satisfied with slightly lower maximum wireless speeds, the company has the BE63 hitting a much lower price point.

The BE63 is a less ambitious effort than the BE65 Pro, as it offers 10,000 Mbps of cumulative bandwidth, compared to the 11,000 Mbps provided by the BE65 Pro. The BE63 also features four 2.5 GbE ports versus two 5 GbE ports and one 2.5 GbE port on the BE65 Pro. Despite these slight downgrades, you still get MLO support, support for guest and IoT networks, and an attractive price point. The BE63 is currently available in a two-pack priced at $299. Without additional discounts from Amazon, you can get it for as low as $240, making it a great contender among the best Wi-Fi routers.

Design of the TP-Link Deco BE63 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router

The BE63 shares its design language with the BE65 Pro, meaning that it's a tall white cylinder made of plastic. The top of each satellite has ribbed concentric circles that resemble a raindrop dropping into a puddle of water. There's a central piece that features ventilation slats and the TP-Link logo.

As with other Deco routers, there’s a single LED on the bottom of the unit that shines onto the surface below. The LED flashes blue during the setup and pairing process, and stays solid green during regular operation. If you find LEDs annoying, especially at night, TP-Link gives you the option to disable them using the Deco app.

The main distinguishing feature of each node is the number 7, which is engraved on the front. It's a not-so-subtle nod to the fact that this router fully utilizes the Wi-Fi 7 standard. It's business as usual at the rear of the router; there are four 2.5 GbE ports (one of which is for WAN), a USB 3.0 port (to use with, for example, external storage), and a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button.

TP-Link Deco BE63 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router Specifications

Setting up the TP-Link Deco BE63 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router Specifications

Given my previous encounters with TP-Link Deco routers, I knew firsthand that I needed to download the Deco app to set up the BE63. You’ll also need to sign up for a TP-Link account (if you don’t already have one), as the only way to manage the BE63 is through the app.

To kick off the setup process, I plugged power into one of the nodes and connected the included patch cable to my modem. I then brought my phone close to the primary node, and the setup program began its network search. After a few seconds, the primary node was identified, and the setup program applied my internet settings.

I then configured several wireless networks for testing purposes. I created a single 6 GHz network (Deco_BE63-6GHz), a combined 2.4 GHz/5 GHz network (Deco_BE63), an MLO network (Deco_BE63_MLO), and a guest network (Deco_BE63_Guest). I especially liked the fact that you can further segment the IoT network, limiting it to 2.4 GHz for your low-priority devices and reserving the 5 GHz band for more resource-intensive clients.

There is also similar granularity with the guest network. You can give guests access to both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, or, if you prefer, just one of them. In addition, you can optionally allow guest clients to access the higher-performing 6 GHz band.

TP-Link Deco BE63 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router Software

As I mentioned earlier, you can only change settings for BE63 using the TP-Link Deco app. While you can access the WebGUI using a desktop browser, it only provides status updates and limited controls. For example, you can view available wireless networks, check the passwords for each, and peruse the connected clients. From the Advanced tab, you can perform firmware upgrades (manual or online), change time settings, or reboot the routers -- that's it.

You'll need the app to handle all the dirty work with the router, which might be a detriment depending on how averse you are to tapping away on your smartphone screen rather than using a mouse and keyboard with a large monitor. Luckily, the Deco app is thoughtfully laid out and has a comprehensive array of options to configure.

The home page displays current wireless traffic (download and upload), the number of connected nodes, the number of wireless clients, and the number of smart devices connected (if you have TP-Link branded IoT devices). I have several TP-Link light switches and light bulbs, so I was able to control them directly from the Deco app instead of using the separate TP-Link Kasa app.

The Security tab enables you to scan your network for potential intrusion risks and provides guidance on resolving these issues. You also have Wi-Fi Access Control, Device Isolation (for especially problematic IoT devices), and Camera Security, which offers online and local-only mode access control for smart cameras.

TP-Link offers excellent parental control options, enabling you to secure a device by its MAC address. You can create individual profiles for each of your children and the devices that they use on your home network. The More tab gives you complete control over network settings, from Wi-Fi settings to WPS control, firmware updates, VPN access, and Network Optimization (which optimizes your mesh network by identifying potential radio interference).

Other features include a built-in Speedtest utility, Connection Alerts (the Deco app will send push notifications when a new device accesses the network), and LED Control. That latter feature lets you manually turn on/off the LED on the wireless nodes, or have them turn on/off via a schedule.

Finally, there's a System menu where you can apply firmware updates (either manually or have the router look for and apply updates automatically), backup router configuration settings, reboot the router, or reboot the router on a schedule (for example, every day or once per week at a specified time of day).

Although I prefer to tinker with wireless routers using a web GUI on a desktop browser (and this is especially true for Asus routers, which have an exhaustive list of configuration settings), the Deco app is so well-designed that I didn't mind using it to change settings or monitor client access.

TP-Link Deco BE63 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router Performance

As with all our router tests, we use an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter, and Windows 11 Home (with all of the most recent Windows Updates applied). The iPerf3 tests are conducted at six feet and 25 feet, with and without traffic across the network. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube videos evenly across all bands.

Although TP-Link automatically determines which wireless node will offer the best signal/performance for your wireless client, you can manually configure a wireless device to have a preferred node. For example, my TCL TV in the living room downstairs was experiencing some periodic stuttering issues while streaming season 2 of Andor on Disney Plus.

A little investigative work revealed that the TV was connecting to the primary node, located on the second floor on the other side of the house, rather than the secondary node, which was downstairs, roughly six feet away. Once I set the TCL TV to connect only to the living room node, I never experienced any other streaming issues.

You can also specify what band a wireless device will attempt to connect to by default. For example, the router defaults to combining the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands under a single SSID. However, if you have a client that is 5 GHz capable, and you only want it to connect on the 5 GHz band, you can set it to prefer 5 GHz over 2.4 GHz.

I performed the short-range tests at six feet from the primary node, located on the second floor of my home. The secondary node was placed in my living room, downstairs, roughly 50 feet away. My kitchen is the central point between the two nodes, and served as the testing point for my long-range tests.

The BE63 took top honors in our short-range 6 GHz band testing (uncongested), averaging 1,900 Mbps compared to 1,846 Mbps for the BE65 Pro (which came in second place). The BE63 fell to third place with 786 Mbps when I stepped out to 25 feet, falling behind the Netgear Orbi 770 (1,106 Mbps) and the BE65 Pro (845 Mbps).

Moving to the 5 GHz band testing, the BE65 Pro took the crown at both 6 feet and 25 feet, achieving speeds of 1,530 Mbps and 652 Mbps, respectively. However, the BE63 put up a good showing, coming in second place in both benchmarks (1,287 Mbps at 6 feet, and 523 Mbps at 25 feet).

The 2.4 GHz performance was a mixed bag for the BE63. Here, the Orbi 770 was the top performer with 158 Mbps at 6 feet and 92 Mbps at 25 feet. The BE63, however, could only muster third place (89 Mbps) at 6 feet and came in last (54 Mbps) at 25 feet.

With congested traffic, the BE63 was still a top performer at 6 feet on the 6 GHz band, barely losing any ground at 1,940 Mbps. However, at 25 feet, the Orbi 770 secured the gold at 912 Mbps, surpassing the BE63's 724 Mbps (enough for second place). 5 GHz performance also took just a minor hit at 6 feet, delivering a segment-best 1,197 Mbps and 442 Mbps at 25 feet. Wrapping things up with the 2.4 GHz band, I achieved 80 Mbps at 6 feet and 45 Mbps at 25 feet (putting it in last place behind even the Eero 7 Pro).

I also performed wired testing using the 2.5 GbE ports, and hit an average of 2,240 Mbps.

Bottom Line

TP-Link’s Deco BE63 offers a perfect blend of performance, features, and value. With a sale price of $299 for a two-pack and discounts that take the price down to as low as $240, it’s hard to argue against it. For individuals seeking an affordable Wi-Fi 7 mesh router with a multi-gig connection, the BE63 offers comparable performance to its peers at a significantly lower price point.

You also get four 2.5 GbE ports per node, along with a USB 3.0 for storage. There are comprehensive parental controls, complete control over 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands (across primary, IoT, and guest networks), included VPN integration, and an easy-to-use smartphone and tablet app.

2.4 GHz performance was subpar compared to the competition; however, I add the caveat that the 2.4 GHz band is likely to be primarily used by IoT and smart home devices, and the bandwidth provided should be more than enough to handle those devices.

The BE63 is an excellent bargain among tri-band Wi-Fi 7 routers, with its sub-$300 pricing, and the newly released Deco BE68 will undoubtedly further reduce its street price. Given its value proposition, BE63 is a strong candidate to join our list of the best Wi-Fi routers.

Asus has launched a premium Wi-Fi 7 router under its ROG (Republic of Gamers) lineup, packed with some interesting features. The new ROG Strix GS-BE18000 looks a lot like a gaming mini-PC tower laden with ROG branding and an RGB logo at the front, along with nine 2.5G ports. Announced at Computex 2025, the router was displayed alongside the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000AI, another high-end model featuring a sleek white design and AI capabilities thanks to a built-in Neural Processing Unit (NPU).

The ROG Strix GS-BE18000 router is meant for gamers, enthusiasts, or even a small office setup. It offers combined wireless speeds of up to 18 Gbps across the 2.4GHz (688 Mbps), 5GHz (5,765 Mbps), and 6GHz (11,529 Mbps) bands, and a total of 20 Gbps wired capacity, featuring nine 2.5G LAN ports out of which two are dedicated for gaming, along with a 2.5G WAN port.

The router is powered by a 2 GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of DDR4 memory to handle multiple connections and network tasks. It also includes eight internal antennas and features like traffic prioritization for gaming, Multi-Link Operation (MLO), 4G/5G auto mobile tethering support, pairing with other compatible mesh devices, triple-level network security, and offers coverage of up to 3,300 square feet.

Asus has also introduced an Automatic Frequency Coordination feature, which enables the 6 GHz frequency to go beyond LPI (Low Power Indoors) mode and boost the transmission power based on channel bandwidth to extend mid-to-long range coverage. Additionall,y the router includes carbon-nano-coated aluminum heat plates along with custom vents and heat spreaders to provide cooling to both sides of the internal mainboard.

It can be somewhat confusing if you’re in the market to replace an old wireless router or add a new one in your home or office. Currently, three wireless standards are prevalent in the marketplace: Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, and Wi-Fi 7.

The first Wi-Fi 6 devices arrived in 2019, while the first Wi-Fi 6E devices didn’t arrive until 2021. Wi-Fi 7, the most recent standard, started creeping into the market in late 2023 with a limited number of routers. You’ll want to research the newest high-performance Wi-Fi 7 routers for the fastest possible wireless speeds in your home. However, older routers that use the Wi-Fi 6E standard aren’t exactly slouches when it comes to transfer speeds, and in many instances, you could save some money by staying away from the bleeding edge of router technology.

What differentiates Wi-Fi 6E from Wi-Fi 7?

While Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 both support the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands, Wi-Fi 7 implements some performance-boost improvements to the last band. Wi-Fi 7 doubles the channel bandwidth from 160 Hz to 320 Hz and boosts the maximum number of spatial streams from 8 to 16.

Coupling those advances with a maximum bandwidth of 2,400 Mbps per stream gives you a theoretical data rate ceiling of 46 Gbps in flagship Wi-Fi 7 routers. That is a massive increase in throughput compared to Wi-Fi 6E routers, which top out at 9.6 Gbps.

Wi-Fi 7 also supports Multi-Link Operation (MLO), giving wireless routers the ability to connect Wi-Fi 7 clients across multiple wireless bands simultaneously. For example, a Wi-Fi 7 client can connect to a Wi-Fi 7 router using a single aggregated link combining 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, or 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands. The Wi-Fi 7 spec even allows the bonding of all three bands together for a single client. MLO not only offers improved performance, but it bolsters network reliability through load balancing and can lower network latency.

Be careful of what type of Wi-Fi 7 router you purchase

When Wi-Fi 6 supplanted Wi-Fi 5, we knew to expect greater performance across the board, and that was equally true when Wi-Fi 6E added the faster 6 GHz band absent from Wi-Fi 6. When it comes to Wi-Fi 7, you'll need to be aware of two classes of routers before clicking the purchase button.

Generally speaking, all Wi-Fi 7 routers support 4K-QAM and MLO; however, the similarities end there. On the low end, dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers only support the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz wireless bands. They lack the 6 GHz band that gives Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 routers such good short-range performance. In that respect, their maximum performance potential aligns more closely with Wi-Fi 6 routers than Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 routers. Dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers also often lack the full 320 MHz channels afforded by the Wi-Fi 7 spec, with products like the MSI Roamii BE Lite and Amazon Eero 7 topping out at 240 MHz.

On the other hand, full-featured tri- and quad-band Wi-Fi 7 routers include the 6 GHz band, allowing them to leverage the spec fully. Of course, maximum throughput is largely dictated by the number of streams and channels a router supports. However, all else being equal, tri- or quad-band Wi-Fi 7 routers perform better than their lesser dual-band brethren.

So, if you’re shopping for a new Wi-Fi 7 router, look for words like “Lite” or “Dual-Band,” because that clearly indicates that the product you purchase isn’t a full-spec device. Sure, you’ll pay less given the lower performance, but make no mistake, you won’t realize the true performance potential of the full Wi-Fi 7 spec.

Wi-Fi 6E versus Wi-Fi 7 Performance

The performance difference between the best Wi-Fi 6E and best Wi-Fi 7 routers is quite dramatic. Thanks to the expansion of channels from 160 MHz to 320 MHz and the inclusion of MLO, which allows a router to combine available bandwidth from multiple bands, we've seen some incredible throughput from Wi-Fi 7 routers.

While Wi-Fi 6E routers that we've tested max out at around 1,600 to 1,700 Mbps on the 6 GHz band, the fastest Wi-Fi 7 routers are seeing speeds surpass 3,000 Mbps at close range. For example, the Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro hit 3,500 Mbps in our iPerf3 testing at 6 feet. The Netgear Orbi 970 was no slouch, coming in at 3,340 Mbps. Other top performers include the TP-Link Archer GE800 (2,830 Mbps) and the ZenWiFi BT10 (2,667 Mbps).

On the 5 GHz band, Wi-Fi 6E routers typically flirt with 1,500 to 1,600 Mbps at the high end. In our experience, Wi-Fi 7 routers don’t improve as much on that metric as on the 6 GHz band, but we’ve seen Wi-Fi 7 routers like the Archer GE800 surpass 1,800 Mbps at close range.

Wi-Fi 6E versus Wi-Fi 7 Cost

There’s no question that (tri- and quad-band) Wi-Fi 7 routers can deliver greater sustained performance than their Wi-Fi 6E forebears, so the only real reason to purchase a Wi-Fi 6E router today would be if they are available at a steep discount. If you're looking for a reasonably-priced Wi-Fi 6E router, the TP-Link AXE5400 and Asus RT-AXE7800 are standalone tri-band solutions with street prices of $149.99 and $199.99, respectively. If you prefer a mesh setup, the TP-Link Deco XE75 Wi-Fi 6E mesh router 2-pack costs $169.99, while the Asus ZenWiFi AXE7800 3-pack is $349.99.

Looking at the Wi-Fi 7 side of the equation, you can obtain a tri-band TP-Link Archer BE550 Wi-Fi 7 router for $199.99, while a Netgear Nighthawk RS300 is $279.99. However, when you start looking at mesh setups, prices are significantly higher for Wi-Fi 7 solutions. For example, the TP-Link Deco BE63 is $449, while the Asus ZenWiFi BT8 will set you back $499.

In other words, if you don’t need the expanded coverage that a mesh router would provide, going with a standalone Wi-Fi 7 router doesn’t impart a significant price premium over Wi-Fi 6E counterparts. And given the performance, security, and capacity improvements of Wi-Fi 7 over Wi-Fi 6E, it doesn’t make much sense to go with the older wireless standard today.

Things are murkier regarding Wi-Fi 7 mesh routers, as they still command a significant price premium over the Wi-Fi 6E competition. Sure, you can get the MSI Roamii BE Lite for $229, but you’re getting performance more akin to a high-end Wi-Fi 6 mesh system than something that can compete with or surpass a Wi-Fi 6E mesh router.

Is it worth paying a nearly $300 premium for a TP-Link Deco BE63 over a Deco XE75? In my opinion, absolutely not. Wi-Fi 7 is far more futureproof than Wi-Fi 6E, but that premium is only worth it if you’re willing to absorb the cost just to have the fastest wireless speeds possible.

The opportunities to upgrade to Wi-Fi 7 from older technologies continually increase. For better or worse, many manufacturers are devoting fewer resources to Wi-Fi 6E routers and are shifting the bulk of their attention to dual-, tri-, and quad-band Wi-Fi 7 solutions. As chipset prices drop and production volumes increase, we can expect pricing on Wi-Fi 7 products to fall in response.

For better or worse, the Wi-Fi 7 router market has bifurcated into two distinct groups. On the one hand, full-featured tri- or quad-band routers support 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands to give customers the best possible performance from the latest wireless standard. However, many manufacturers are courting cost-conscious customers with dual-band routers that only support the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. The lower price point comes at the expense of outright performance that we expect from the best Wi-Fi routers.

MSI’s Roamii BE Lite is a dual-band router that is available in a two-pack. Each wireless node has just two 1 GbE downstream ports, and no USB ports are available for adding network storage. However, with a price tag of just $225 and the ability to cover up to 5,800 square feet, the Roamii BE Lite is an affordable option if you want to take advantage of the added capacity afforded by Wi-Fi 7, and not necessarily the speed boosts.

Design of the MSI Roamii BE Lite

Whereas competitive offerings like the Amazon Eero 7 and the TP-Link Deco BE5000 are short and stubby, the Roamii BE Lite takes on a taller tower-esque design. However, MSI switches things up with satellite nodes that have a triangular base, making each a three-sided tower. One of the front-facing sides has a large “7” molded into the plastic, while the other side features an “MSI” logo and an LED strip that displays the status of the network.

The third side is the rear panel, which includes a Sync button to pair the satellites, two 2.5 GbE ports, a 2.5 GbE WAN port, and a proprietary barrel-style port for power. There are also latches on the back for attaching the satellites to a wall with included wall mounts. This is an appreciated and surprising addition from MSI, as satellite wall mounts are often available as an optional add-on from the manufacturer or as a third-party aftermarket accessorIncluding of the mounts in a mesh router system that costs just over $200 is admirable.

The top triangular portion of each satellite is home to ventilation slits to keep the electronics inside cool.

MSI Roamii BE Lite Specifications

Setting up the MSI Roamii BE Lite

MSI recommends that you complete the initial configuration of the Roamii BE Lite using its smartphone app, which is appropriately called MSI Roamii. Once installed, you’ll need to scan the QR code on the back of the satellite. In my case, the app then located the primary router (it doesn’t matter which you choose as the primary gateway).

Once the app identified the gateway, I assigned an administrator username and password. After some additional configuration and optimizations worked in the background, the Roamii app confirmed that the setup process was complete.

The Roamii BE Lite satellites come pre-paired, so you don’t have to go through any additional steps during the setup process. I plugged both units in at the start of the setup process, and both showed up as being online once the installation was complete.

MSI Roamii BE Lite Software

The Roamii BE Lite is configurable using a web GUI or the MSI Roamii app. I preferred to use the former on this review unit, although the smartphone app is just as full-featured. This is a welcome change compared to similarly priced mesh routers like the Deco BE5000 and the Eero 7, which feature app-only controls.

The main dashboard that appears when you first login to the web GUI (accessible via http://msirouter.login/ ) provides a high-level overview of the network. You get charts for CPU and memory utilization along with a traffic analyzer. You'll also see the network topography, connected nodes, and internet status.

There are comprehensive controls for wireless settings, including wireless mode (i.e., 802.11 a/n/ac/ax/be mixed mode), WPA2/WPA3 security, and a "soft" activation for Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS). An IoT network can be enabled, with further settings to only give connected devices access to the internet, with no private network access.

You can even prevent IoT devices from talking with each other on the network. For families, MSI includes a Child Network option, which allows you to schedule times when a child can access the internet on their device. So, if you don't want your elementary-school-age kids accessing content on their tablets after bedtime, you can lock them down here.

When it comes to added security, MSI provides its FortiSecu software, which Trend Micro powers. It allows for remote device management, enhanced parental controls, and additional privacy and data security controls. This security suite comes free of charge with the Roamii BE Lite, which is a nice add-in considering that Amazon required you to sign up for Eero Plus to get this kind of protection on its Eero routers.

MSI Roamii BE Lite Performance

As we mentioned in the introduction, the Roamii BE Lite already has one hand tied behind its back regarding performance – it lacks the high-performance 6 GHz band, which we’ve seen allow some flagship mesh routers, like the Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro, to surpass 3.5 Gbps in our throughput tests.

The Roamii BE Lite also only supports 240 MHz channels instead of 320 MHz for the full Wi-Fi 7 spec (although 240 MHz is still higher than the 160 MHz supported by Wi-Fi 6E). With that said, the Roamii BE Lite does leverage other benefits of the Wi-Fi 7 spec, like 4K-QAM and multi-link operation (MLO).

As always, our Wi-Fi client testbed is a Windows 11 desktop with an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 CPU, 32GB of DDR5, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 PCIe adapter. All these devices use the most recent software, BIOS, firmware, and drivers (where applicable).

The iPerf3 throughput tests are conducted with our Windows 11 server equipped with an onboard 10 Gbps wired network card connected to the 1 Gbps LAN port on the primary Roamii BE Lite node. Wireless tests are then performed multiple times at 6-foot and 25-foot distances. Wireless tests are initially run with the network free of added traffic from other clients. Next, the tests are repeated with simulated traffic from additional users accessing the network (for our testing, we use six clients streaming 4K video from YouTube Premium).

At first glance, the 6-foot iPerf3 tests might seem a little disappointing, with the Roamii BE Lite topping out at 934 Mbps on the 5 GHz band, which fell behind the Deco BE5000 (1,070 Mbps) and the Eero 7 (1,097 Mbps). However, once we extended the test to 25 feet, the Roamii BE Lite pulled into first place at 541 Mbps. The Deco BE5000 fell to 472 Mbps, while the Eero 7 plummeted nearly a third of its 6 feet performance to 346 Mbps. This strong, long-distance performance (against its rivals) would echo in later tests.

The 2.4 GHz iPerf3 test saw the Roamii BE Lite take the gold in the 6-doot and 25-foot tests.

Moving to congested traffic runs, the Roamii BE Lite slipped into second place at 6-feet (825 Mbps) behind the Eero 7 (886 Mbps), but ahead of the Deco BE5000 (791 Mbps). But again, its 25-foot performance put it on top, with 433 Mbps compared to 335 Mbps and 189 Mbps for the Eero 7 and Deco BE5000, respectively.

The 2.4 GHz test again showed strong performance for the Roamii BE Lite. It far outpaced its rivals, hitting 108 Mbps at 6 feet and maintaining 65 Mbps at 25 feet. The Eero 7 and Deco BE500 were far behind in both metrics.

Overall, I saw consistent performance from the Roamii BE Lite, with no hiccups in our testing. No router crashes, no software bugs in the web GUI, and the smartphone app was rock solid.

Bottom Line

MSI’s Roamii BE Lite was a strong performer across the board in our Wi-Fi throughput tests, and it proved to be stable with multiple devices connected (at one point, I had over 40 Wi-Fi devices connected across the two satellite nodes).

My main hangup with the Roamii BE Lite echoes what I’ve said about previous dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers – they aren’t fully compliant with the spec, which leads to confusion among consumers shopping to upgrade their older routers. The Roamii BE Lite is limited in performance by not including the 6 GHz band, although its 5 GHz performance is competitive with its peers.

It would also have been nice if MSI could include 2.5 GbE across the board, not just for the WAN port. Instead, we get two 1 GbE downstream ports. The Deco BE5000 and Eero 7 include at least one 2.5 GbE port for LAN on each satellite.

The Roamii BE Lite is priced at around $225 online. For comparison, the Deco BE5000 is $179 for a two-pack, and the Eero 7 2-pack sells for $279. Given its performance credentials, I’d consider that competitive pricing. If the 1 Gbps LAN ports aren’t a big deal to you, we consider the Roamii BE Lite to be the pick of this dual-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh router litter.

Amazon recently showed much love to its Eero family of wireless routers. Following the Eero 7 Max launch in late 2023, we recently saw the launch of the Eero 7 Outdoor satellite. We recently reviewed the entry-level Eero 7 announced in early February, and now Amazon is completing its Wi-Fi 7 product portfolio with the Eero 7 Pro.

The Eero 7 Pro fits neatly between the Eero 7 and the Eero 7 Max in Amazon’s Wi-Fi 7 lineup. The Eero 7 Pro is a tri-band solution with a 6 GHz wireless band, allowing it to take full advantage of the speed benefits afforded by the Wi-Fi 7 standard (unlike the cheaper Eero 7). With a price tag of $299 for a single wireless node, the Eero 7 Pro strikes a nice middle ground in price and performance, but it will take more than that to rank it among the best Wi-Fi routers.

Design of the Amazon Eero Pro 7

It's easy to see that the Eero Pro 7 takes more of its styling cues from the Eero 7 Max than the cheaper Eero 7. The Eero Pro 7 looks almost identical to its pricier sibling, albeit at about 75 percent scale. The detailing is the same, right down to the placement of the Eero branding, status LED on the front, and the cutout on the top of the unit for ventilation.

The Eero 7 Pro also has the same high-quality plastic construction inherent to all Eeros, with a glossy white finish for the front face of each node, and a matte white finish for the back panel. Speaking of the back, the shrunken size compared to the Eero 7 Max means there is only room for three Ethernet ports on the back instead of four. In this case, both are 5 Gbps ports, and either can be used for your WAN connection. For comparison, the Eero 7 has two 2.5 Gbps ports, while the Eero 7 Max has two 2.5 Gbps ports and two 10 Gbps ports. You’ll also find a USB-C port (only for power input) and a reset button.

I received an Eero 7 Pro two-pack review unit. Included in the box were two Eero 7 Pro units, two 27-watt USB-C power adapters, and one CAT6a network cable.

Amazon Eero 7 Pro Specifications

Setting up the Amazon Eero 7 Pro

I commend Amazon and other router manufacturers for making the setup process for modern routers easy and intuitive. Gone are the days of typing an IP address into a web browser, running through rudimentary setup procedures and hoping for the best. While some enthusiasts might shun the idea of using a smartphone app to set up a new wireless network, Amazon’s approach is accessible and easy to understand for the general public.

After downloading the Amazon Eero app (available for iOS or Android), you must log in to your Amazon account. If you’re a U.S. resident, the chances are that you already have an Amazon account, allowing you to breeze past this step quickly. If you don’t have an Amazon account, you can create one, or log in to the Eero app with your email address or phone number.

Once the account details are out of the way, the setup program will attempt to find the primary Eero 7 Pro node. In my case, I took one of the nodes out of the box, plugged a cable from my server into one 2.5 Gbps port and a cable from my internet gateway to the second 2.5 Gbps port. The setup program asked that I remain near the wired node while it completed the initial configuration.

Shortly after, I inputted an SSID and password, and setup was complete. I was asked to perform a firmware update, which I declined. The next step in the process was to add the second wireless node.

The setup program gave guidance on the best placement for the second node, which I followed. After plugging it in, the setup program found and configured it within about a minute. At this time, I performed the firmware update on both wireless nodes.

Amazon Eero 7 Pro Software

As with all Eero devices, setting up and configuring the Eero 7 Pro is accomplished using the Eero app. I tried both the iOS and Android versions of the app and had no trouble using either. Amazon also updates the app several times monthly, bringing new features and stability/bug fixes.

The home screen presents internet status and all available Eero 7 Pro nodes. Clicking the internet button verifies the status of your wired connection and allows you to enable Internet Backup. Internet Backup allows you to tether your smartphone’s internet connection if your primary ISP goes offline. However, this feature is exclusive to a paid Eero Plus subscription. You can also run a speed test to see how fast your internet connection is.

Clicking the buttons for each Eero 7 Pro node will allow you to turn off the LED status light on the front of the units, identify which ports are active, and inform you which wireless clients are connected. You can also see the current firmware version for the node from this screen. If you have an Eero Plus subscription, you can also access Wi-Fi radio analytics data.

The Devices tab displays and allows you to filter currently connected (and previously connected) devices on the network. Per-device access control is also available here. The Activity tab provides download/uploaded data totals for the entire network along with your most recent speed test information (speed tests are conducted automatically in the background by the Eero 7 Pro, or you can manually initiate them).

The Settings tab gives you additional network options to configure, including enabling a guest network or MLO mode. You can also perform a software update from this menu (which can be scheduled to start during off-peak hours).

The Eero software doesn’t offer much granular control over available settings like many leading router manufacturers, especially at this price point. You’ll find greater flexibility and desktop UI access with competing Netgear, Asus, and TP-Link products.

If you’re not too keen on being relegated to an app for network configuration and maintenance, you’ll need to look elsewhere. One other note: Eeros don’t support Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) via a hardware button or in software. So, suppose you have a device that exclusively uses that method to connect to a network. In that case, you’re out of luck unless you want to use a workaround (which requires briefly connecting the WPS-only client to another wireless router).

However, the biggest downside to this router is that Amazon locks many useful router features behind a paywall. Eero Plus is a subscription service that costs $9.99/month or $99.99/year. It adds the previously-mentioned Internet Backup, DDNS, ad blocking, 1Password integration, Guardian VPN, content filters, and more. With many routers offering similar features at no additional cost, paying a month or yearly fee for those luxuries is a touch pill to swallow.

Performance of the Amazon Eero 7 Pro

We currently use a Windows 11 desktop with an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 CPU, 32GB of DDR5, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 PCIe adapter for our Wi-Fi 7 client testing. All the hardware uses the most recent software, BIOS, firmware, and drivers (where applicable).

The iPerf3 throughput tests are conducted with a Windows 11 server equipped with an onboard 10 Gbps wired network card connected to the 5 Gbps LAN port on the primary Eero 7 Pro node. Wireless tests are conducted at 6-foot and 25-foot distances.

Wireless tests are first run with the network free of added traffic from other connected clients. Then, those same tests are completed with simulated traffic from additional users accessing the network (for our testing, we use six clients streaming 4K video from YouTube).

Things started strong in our 6 GHz iPerf3 test, the Eero 7 Pro hitting 1,607 Mbps at close range (6 feet). This was slightly behind the Netgear Orbi 770 and a couple hundred Mbps slower than the TP-Link Deco BE65 Pro. However, things turned sharply downward at longer distances (25 feet). Performance dropped by over 60 percent, achieving just 585 Mbps compared to 845 Mbps for the Deco BE65 Pro and 1,106 Mbps for the Orbi 770.

With additional traffic on the network, 6-foot performance dipped to 1,217 Mbps while performance at 25-feet remained relatively stable at 544 Mbps.

Shifting over to 5 GHz performance, the Eero 7 Pro again found itself at the back of the pack, but the difference between third and second place wasn’t as dramatic this time. We saw 992 Mbps at 6 feet and 463 Mbps at 25 feet with no additional traffic on the network. With congested traffic, the Eero 7 Pro saw a significant drop-off in performance at close range, falling to 595 Mbps. At 25-feet, performance stayed in the same ballpark (403 Mbps congested, versus 463 Mbps uncongested).

2.4 GHz with and without traffic was unremarkable in this group of competitors. The Eero 7 Pro lagged far behind the Orbi 770 and the Deco BE65 Pro in all metrics. It could only muster 83 Mbps at 6 feet (uncongested) and 73 Mbps (congested). Performance at 25 was equally disappointing, with 55 Mbps (uncongested) at 46 (congested). Interestingly, 2.4 GHz performance fell below that of the cheaper Eero 7.

Bottom Line

The Eero 7 Pro is a mixed bag on the performance front. 6 GHz and 5 GHz performance was competitive at short range, but deteriorated more than its competitors at long range. 2.4 GHz performance also lagged behind the Netgear Orbi 770 and TP-Link Deco BE65 Pro during short and long-range tests.

As for pricing, the Eero 7 Pro costs $299 for a single node, $549 for two nodes (as reviewed) and $699 for three nodes. The pricing for three nodes undercuts street pricing for the Orbi 770 by $100, but is $200 more expensive than the Deco BE65 Pro 3-pack. The Deco BE65 Pro is a slightly better performer all-around, and while configuring that router is also primarily app-only, at least it isn’t a rolling billboard for subscription-only services like Amazon’s Eero app.