When we reviewed the $349.99 Asus RT-BE88U Wi-Fi router back in August, we were impressed with its affordable price compared with the $500 and up that Wi-Fi 7 routers commonly command, but we were less thrilled that it lacked a 6GHz radio band and didn’t support 320MHz channels. Now, Asus has released an even more affordable router, the RT-BE86U ($329.99). You still don’t get 6GHz transmissions or 320MHz channels, and the BE86U doesn’t offer as many ports. On the other hand, it delivered solid throughput performance in our tests, and it comes with parental control and network security software.
If you need an SFP+ port for fiber-optic connections or a quartet of 1Gbps LAN ports, the RT-BE88U is a better choice for only $20 more. If 6GHz bands are a must, the Editors’ Choice-award-winning Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro offers two, plus all-around superior performance, but it will put a $799.99 dent in your wallet. But if you’re looking for a low-cost entry to Wi-Fi 7, the RT-BE86U fills a nice niche.
Design: A Stand-Up Wi-Fi Router
The RT-BE86U has a beveled matte-black enclosure with a black textured grille up top and red grillework along the bottom. It stands vertically and measures 12.4 by 9.2 by 3.5 inches (HWD). The top of the router holds three removable adjustable antennas, while 10 tiny LED activity indicators are along the bottom edge for LAN, WAN, USB, radio band, and power.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The rear panel is home to a 10GbE WAN/LAN port, a 2.5GbE WAN/LAN port, three 2.5GbE LAN ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, a USB 2.0 port, a power jack and power switch, and a reset button. Over on the right side of the enclosure is a button that disables the LEDs, and a WPS button is on the left. The WAN/LAN ports support link aggregation, and one of the 2.5GbE LAN ports is a dedicated gaming port that gives bandwidth priority to gaming devices.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Powered by a 2.6GHz quad-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, and 256MB of flash memory, the RT-BE86U provides up to 2,750 square feet of wireless coverage and supports AIMesh, which lets you create a whole-home mesh network by adding compatible routers to the mix. It’s a dual-band router that can hit maximum theoretical data rates of up to 1,032Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and up to 5,764Mbps on the 5GHz band, for a total throughput of approximately 6,800Mbps—hence its BE6800 rating.
As mentioned, like Asus’ RT-BE88U, this router does not support 6GHz transmissions or 320MHz channels. Instead, channel bandwidth tops out at 160MHz. Supported Wi-Fi 7 technologies include Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Beamforming, Multi-Link Operation (MLO), 4096 QAM, WPA3 encryption, and MU-MIMO data streaming.
(Credit: Asus)
As with other Asus routers, the RT-BE86U allows you to manage its settings using the Asus Mobile app or a web console. The former lets you control things using your phone, but the web console offers more granular controls. It opens to a screen with a network map that displays your internet status, the number of connected clients, and any connected USB devices. Tap the router icon to view system status (CPU, RAM, and port usage) charts in a window of their own.
On the left of the screen is a menu for accessing network settings, which allow you to create guest, IoT, Kids, and VPN networks; AIMesh settings, for creating a mesh network; AIProtection settings, for identifying and protecting against malware; and parental controls, for creating user profiles, assigning age-based web filters, and setting internet time limits. General settings include Adaptive QoS, Traffic Analyzer, Game, Open NAT, AICloud, and USB Application. Advanced settings include LAN, WAN, Wi-Fi, IPv6, VPN, Firewall, Administration, and Network Tools.
Testing the Asus RT-BE86U: Impressive Close-Range Performance
Installing the RT-BE86U was quick and easy. I unplugged my modem, connected the router to it, and powered up both devices. I then opened a web browser on my desktop PC (also connected to the router), and it automatically launched an installation utility. I tapped Create a New Network, created a login name and password, and selected the 10GbE WAN port with DHCP when prompted. I separated the bands, gave each band a name and password, and waited a few minutes for the new settings to be applied.
The RT-BE86U turned in impressive scores in our throughput performance tests. Its 181Mbps in the 2.4GHz close-proximity test was faster than the Asus RT-BE96U (150Mbps), the TP-Link Archer BE800 (175Mbps), and the Asus RT-BE88U (178Mbps). At a distance of 30 feet, the RT-BE86U managed 87Mbps, besting the Asus RT-BE96U’s score of 83Mbps but coming up a little short against the Archer BE800 (88Mbps) and the Asus RT-BE88U (90Mbps).
In the 5GHz close-proximity test, the RT-BE86U delivered 1,589Mbps, beating the BE96U (1,548Mbps) but not the TP-Link (1,880Mbps) or the BE88U (1,661Mbps). In the 30-foot test, the RT-BE86U’s score of 889Mbps topped the Asus RT-BE88U (808Mbps) but not the Archer (978Mbps) or the RT-BE96U (906Mbps).
We measure wireless signal strength using Ekahau’s Sidekick 2 Wi-Fi diagnostic device and Survey mobile app. This combination generates heat maps that show the router’s 2.4GHz and 5GHz signal strength throughout our test home. (Note: Ekahau is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag’s parent company.) The white circle on the map represents the location of the router, and the colors represent signal strength. Darker greens indicate the strongest signal, yellows represent a weaker signal, and grays indicate a very weak or nonexistent one.
2.4GHz Wi-Fi coverage map for the Asus RT-BE86U (Credit: Ekahau)
5GHz Wi-Fi coverage map for the Asus RT-BE86U (Credit: Ekahau)
As shown on the maps, the RT-BE86U did a relatively good job of broadcasting 2.4GHz signals throughout most of the house but showed a spot of weakness in the back bedroom. The 5GHz signal was strong in the main areas of the house but wavered a bit in the garage and around the far edges.
We measure file-transfer performance by moving a 1.5GB folder containing photos, video, music, and office document files back and forth between a USB 3.0 drive and our desktop PC (both of which are connected to the router) and measuring the read and write speeds.
Here, the RT-BE86U’s scores of 38MBps in both the write and read tests were slightly faster than the RT-BE88U’s, which scored 33MBps in both tests. Neither router could match the Asus RT-BE96U, which posted 82MBps in the write test and 83MBps in the read test, or the Archer BE800, which delivered 102MBps and 109MBps, respectively.
Verdict: A Capable, Minimal Wi-Fi 7 Router
If you’re looking to upgrade your network with Wi-Fi 7 technology, the Asus RT-BE86U offers an inexpensive way to do so. It’s provided with 10GbE and 2.5GbE networking ports and free parental control and security software, and it performs competently. It does not, however, have a 6GHz radio band or support for 320MHz channels. If you want those features, along with numerous high-speed networking ports, many gamer-friendly settings, and (most important!) incredibly fast performance, you may want to stretch your budget to our Editors’ Choice winner among Wi-Fi 7 routers, Asus’ ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro.
The Bottom Line
The Asus RT-BE86U is a dual-band wireless router that uses multi-gig connectivity to deliver solid throughput performance, but its lack of some key Wi-F7 technologies may discourage early adopters.
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About John R. Delaney
Contributing Editor
