The Asus RT-BE88U ($349.99) is the most affordable Wi-Fi 7 router we’ve tested so far, but it sacrifices some key features found on more expensive Wi-Fi 7 routers, such as 6GHz radio bands and 320MHz channel transmission. It’s a dual-band router, packed with network ports, including more than six multi-gig ports, and comes with Asus’ AIProtection software, which provides network security and parental control tools. The RT-BE88U also performs well, achieving excellent results in our throughput and signal strength tests. It’s a good choice if you need lots of I/O connectivity and can live without 6GHz Wi-Fi, but its more expensive Editors’ Choice-winning sibling, the Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro, offers better overall performance and two 6GHz bands.
Design: Old-fashioned router style
The RT-BE88U has a matte black finish with a beveled, angular top that features a textured grille and a shiny gold Asus badge. The router uses four adjustable, removable antennas and has several small LED activity indicators along the front edge for WAN, LAN, USB, power, and both wireless bands.
(Photo by Joseph Maldonado)
At 2.3 x 11.8 x 7.4 inches (HWD) and 2.3 pounds, the RT-BE88U is not as big or heavy as the 4.1-pound Asus RT-BE96U (8.6 x 13.7 x 13.7 inches), but it still offers more I/O ports. On the back, you’ll find a 10GbE WAN/LAN port, a 10GbE SFP+ port for a fiber optic WAN connection, a 2.5GbE WAN/LAN port, three 2.5GbE LAN ports (one of which is dedicated to gaming), and four 1GbE LAN ports. Also here are a USB 3.2 port, a power jack and switch, a reset button, and a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button.
(Photo by Joseph Maldonado)
The RT-BE88U is a dual-band router that operates on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio bands. It has the distinction of being the only Wi-Fi 7 router we’ve tested (so far) that doesn’t offer a 6GHz radio band. However, it does support most other Wi-Fi 7 technologies, including orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), beamforming, multi-link operation (MLO), 4096 QAM, WPA3 encryption, and MU-MIMO data streaming. The router supports 160MHz channel transmission, but does not support 320MHz channels, unlike the Asus Rapture GT-BE98 Pro and Asus RT-BE96U routers.
(Photo by Joseph Maldonado)
The RT-BE88U is equipped with a quad-core CPU running at 2.6GHz, 2GB RAM, and 256MB flash memory. As a BE7200 router, it can achieve data rates of up to 1,376Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 5,764Mbps on the 5GHz band, totaling approximately 7,200Mbps. It is also an AIMesh device, meaning it can be used as a mesh router or a node in a whole-home mesh network when combined with other Asus AIMesh devices.
The RT-BE88U can be installed and managed using the web console or the same Asus Router mobile app used to control the RT-BE96U and Rapture GT-BE98 Pro routers. The web console allows for more detailed configuration, while the mobile app lets you manage the router using your smartphone. When you open the app, you’ll be greeted by the home screen, which displays your LAN IP and Quality of Service (QoS) icons at the top, along with bandwidth-priority presets for gaming, streaming, working from home, learning from home, web surfing, and file transfers.
(Credit: Asus)
The large circle in the center of the screen displays a real-time traffic graph, the network band name, CPU and RAM usage, and the number of clients currently connected to the router. You can scroll through the different screens by tapping the arrows on either side of the circle.
Below the information circle are buttons for Internet Status, AiMesh Wi-Fi System, and Mobile Gaming Mode. Clicking the Internet Status button will return you to the screen shown above, while the AiMesh Wi-Fi System button will allow you to add nodes to your mesh network and optimize your system. Tapping the Gaming Mode button will open a screen that shows you ping and packet loss statistics and allows you to optimize your mobile device for online gaming.
There are five function buttons at the bottom of the screen. The Home button takes you back to the home screen from anywhere in the app, and the Devices button takes you to a screen that lists each connected client. You can see the client’s IP and MAC addresses, limit bandwidth, and assign them to a Family profile. The Insights button lets you view security threats, share Wi-Fi settings, enable remote access, and search for mesh nodes. Tap the Family button to access the parental control settings. Here you can create profiles, assign age-based web filters, and create access schedules.
Using the Settings button, you can configure a guest network, run network diagnostics, block access to client devices, enable local file sharing (Samba) for USB drives, configure Wi-Fi, LAN, WAN, and VPN settings, update your router’s firmware, link your router to your Alexa and Google accounts, and check your Internet upload and download speeds.
Testing the RT-BE88U: Fast throughput but slow file transfers
Whether you use the web console or the mobile app, installing the RT-BE88U is quick and easy. Use the mobile app already downloaded from our previous review and on the start screen[新しいネットワークをセットアップ]I tapped and selected my Asus Wi-Fi router on the next screen. I used my smartphone to scan the QR code on the bottom of the router, which was instantly identified.[開始]and followed the instructions to create network names and passwords for your Wi-Fi 7 and IoT networks.
I then created a local login account, waited another 60 seconds or so for the app to apply my settings and set up my new network, disabled Smart Connect so I could test both wireless bands, ensured my firmware was up to date, and then completed the installation.
The RT-BE88U delivered fast throughput in our performance tests, especially in the 2.4GHz test. Its score of 178Mbps in the close-range test was faster than the Asus RT-BE96U (150Mbps), Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro (148Mbps), and TP-Link Archer BE800 (175Mbps). In the 30-foot test, the RT-BE88U recorded 90Mbps, also taking first place.
In the 5GHz close-range test, the RT-BE88U scored 1,661Mbps, faster than the RT-BE96U (1,548Mbps) but not as fast as the GT-BE98 Pro (1,828Mbps) or TP-Link Archer BE800 (1,880Mbps). In the 30-foot test, the RT-BE88U earned a good score of 808Mbps, but not as fast as the RT-BE96U (906Mbps), GT-BE98 Pro (911Mbps), or Archer BE800 (978Mbps).
The RT-BE88U didn’t fare much better in the file transfer test, which measures read and write speeds by moving a 1.5GB folder containing photos, videos, music, and office document files between a USB 3.0 drive and a desktop PC (both connected to the router). The RT-BE88U recorded 33MBps in both the write and read tests, compared to the RT-BE96U, which recorded 82MBps in the write test and 83MBps in the read test. The GT-BE98 Pro recorded 89MBps in both tests, while the Archer BE800 recorded 102MBps in the write test and 109MBps in the read test.
To test Wi-Fi signal strength, we used Ekahau’s Sidekick 2 Wi-Fi diagnostic device and the Ekahau Survey mobile app to generate a heat map showing the 2.4GHz and 5GHz signal strength of routers throughout our test home. (Note: Ekahau is owned by PCMag.com’s parent company, Ziff Davis. For more information, read our Editorial Policy Ethics Policy.) The white circle on the map represents the router’s location, and the color represents signal strength: dark green represents the strongest signal, yellow represents a weak signal, and gray represents a very weak or non-existent signal.
Asus RT-BE88U 2.4GHz Wi-Fi coverage heat map (Credit: Ekahau)
5GHz Wi-Fi coverage heat map for the Asus RT-BE88U (Credit: Ekahau)
As the map shows, the RT-BE88U broadcast a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout most of the house, but signal strength on both frequencies weakened near the back (kitchen) door.
Verdict: Excellent wired connection, mixed Wi-Fi 7 support
With the Asus RT-BE88U, you get fast throughput, strong signal strength, and plenty of fast wired connections, but you don’t get the 6GHz wireless band and 320MHz wide channel transmission that you get with every other Wi-Fi 7 router we’ve tested. If you don’t have any 6GHz client devices and don’t plan on adding any soon, the RT-BE88U is a solid value, but it doesn’t offer the performance and future-proofing that our Editors’ Choice for Wi-Fi 7 routers, the Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro, offers.
Strong Points
Show more
Cons
Conclusion
The Asus RT-BE88U is a dual-band router that uses Wi-Fi 7 technology and a great high-speed wired port to deliver high-speed internet, but it lacks support for the 6GHz wireless band and 320MHz channels, so it might not be suitable for early adopters.
What did you think when you read it?
sign up Lab Report Get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered straight to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain ads, deals or affiliate links. By subscribing to our newsletter, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time.
About John R. Delaney
Contributing Editor
