Asus RT-BE88U review

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 a 6GHz radio band and 320MHz channel transmission. The dual-band router is loaded with networking ports, including six multi-Gig ports, and comes with Asus’ AIProtection software, which offers network security and parental control tools. The RT-BE88U also performs well, achieving strong results in our throughput and signal strength tests. It’s a good choice if you need numerous I/O connections and can live without 6GHz Wi-Fi, but you’ll get better all-around performance and two 6GHz bands with its more expensive Editors’ Choice-winning sibling, the Asus ROG Rapture. GT-BE98 Pro

Design: Old-school router look

The RT-BE88U has a matte black finish and a beveled angular top with a textured grill and a shiny gold Asus badge. The router uses four adjustable, removable antennas and sports several small LED activity indicators along the front edge for WAN, LAN, USB, power, and both radio bands.

At 2.3 by 11.8 by 7.4 inches (HWD), the 2.3-pound RT-BE88U isn’t nearly as big and heavy as the 4.1-pound Asus RT-BE96U (8.6 by 13.7 by 13.7 inches), but it still manages to offer more I/O. port. On the back are a 10GbE WAN/LAN port, a 10GbE SFP+ port for fiber-optic WAN connectivity, a 2.5GbE WAN/LAN port, three 2.5GbE LAN ports (including a dedicated gaming port), and four LA 1GbE ports. Here, you’ll also find a USB 3.2 port, a power jack and switch, a reset button, and a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button.

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 the 6GHz radio band. However, it supports 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. This router supports 160MHz channel transmission, but unlike Asus Rapture GT-BE98 Pro and Asus RT-BE96U routers, it does not support 320MHz channel.

Powering the RT-BE88U is a quad-core CPU clocked at 2.6GHz, 2GB of RAM and 256MB of flash memory. As a BE7200 router, it can hit maximum data rates of up to 1,376Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 5,764Mbps on the 5GHz band, for a total of approximately 7,200Mbps. It’s also an AIMesh device, meaning it can be used as a mesh router or a node in a whole-home mesh network if complemented by other Asus AIMesh devices.

You can install and manage the RT-BE88U using a web console or using the same Asus router mobile app used to control the RT-BE96U and Rapture GT-BE98 Pro routers. The web console offers more advanced settings, but the mobile app lets you manage the router using your phone. When you open the app, you’ll see the home screen, which displays LAN IP and Quality of Service (QoS) icons at the top, with bandwidth-priority presets for gaming, streaming, working from home, learning from home, web surfing, and file transfer.

A large circle in the center of the screen displays real-time traffic graphs, network band names, CPU and RAM usage, and how many clients are currently connected to the router. Tap the arrows on either side of the circle to scroll through the different screens

Below the info circle are buttons for internet status, AiMesh Wi-Fi system and mobile game mode The Internet Status button takes you back to the aforementioned screen, while the AiMesh Wi-Fi System button lets you add nodes to a mesh network and optimize the system. When you tap the Game Mode button, you’ll open a screen where you can view ping and packet loss statistics and optimize your mobile device for online gaming.

Below the screen are five function buttons. The home button returns you to the home screen wherever you are in the app, and the device button takes you to a screen where you can see a list of every connected client. You can view the client’s IP and MAC address, limit its bandwidth, and assign it to a family profile. The Insights button lets you view security threats, share Wi-Fi settings, enable remote access, and search for fake nodes. To access parental control settings, tap the Family button. Here, you can create profiles, assign age-based web filters, and schedule access.

Use the Settings button to configure guest networking, run network diagnostics, block access to client devices, enable local file sharing (Samba) for USB drives, and configure Wi-Fi, LAN, WAN, and VPN settings. You can update the router’s firmware, link the router to your Alexa and Google accounts, and check your Internet upload and download speeds.

RT-BE88U tested: fast throughput, slow file transfer

Whether you use the web console or the mobile app, installing the RT-BE88U is quick and easy. I used the mobile app, already downloaded from the previous review, tapped “Set up a new network” on the opening screen, and selected the Asus Wi-Fi routers on the next screen. I used my phone to scan the QR code on the bottom of the router, and it was detected immediately. I tapped “Get Started” and followed the instructions to create a network name and password for the Wi-Fi 7 network and the IoT network.

Next, I created a local login account and waited another 60 seconds or so for the app to apply its settings and set up the new network. I disabled Smart Connect so I could test both radio bands, checked that my firmware was up to date, and finished the installation.

The RT-BE88U delivered fast throughput in our performance tests, especially the 2.4GHz test. Its close proximity test score of 178Mbps 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 scored 90Mbps, also taking first place.

In the 5GHz close proximity test, the RT-BE88U scored 1,661Mbps faster than the RT-BE96U (1,548Mbps) but not faster than the GT-BE98 Pro (1,828Mbps) or the TP-Link Archer BE800 (1,8Mbps) at 30-feet. In tests, the RT-BE88U achieved 808Mbps, a good score but not as good as the RT-BE96U (906Mbps), GT-BE98 Pro (911Mbps), or Archer BE800 (978Mbps).

The RT-BE88U didn’t fare as well in our file transfer test, where we measured 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 our drive. Desktop PC (both connected to router). It scored 33MBps in both the write and read tests compared to the RT-BE96U, which scored 82MBps in the write test and 83MBps in the read test. The GT-BE98 Pro scored 89MBps in both tests, and the Archer BE800 scored 102MBps in the write test and 109MBps in the read test.

To test Wi-Fi signal strength, we use Ekahau’s Sidekick 2 Wi-Fi diagnostic device and the Ekahau Survey mobile app to create heat maps that show the router’s 2.4GHz and 5GHz signal strength across our test home. (Note: Ekahau is owned by Ziff Davis, the parent company of PCMag.com. To learn more, read about our ethics policy in the editorial mission statement.) The white circle on the map represents the location of the router, and the colors represent signal strength, with darker green. represents the strongest signal, yellow represents a weak signal and gray represents a very weak or non-existent signal.

As illustrated in the map, the RT-BE88U did a good job of broadcasting a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout most of the house, but signal strength on both frequencies weakened near the back (kitchen) door.

Verdict: Wired excellence, but mixed Wi-Fi 7 support

With the Asus RT-BE88U, you get fast throughput speeds, strong signal strength and a boatload of high-speed wired connections. What you’re not getting is a 6GHz radio band and the wide 320MHz channel transmission that you get with every other Wi-Fi 7 router we’ve tested. If you don’t have a 6GHz client device and don’t plan to add one anytime soon, the RT-BE88U is a solid value, but it doesn’t offer the performance and future-proofing that comes with our Editors’ Choice pick. For Wi-Fi 7 routers, the Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro.

About John R. Delaney

Contributing Editor

I’ve been working with computers for many years, starting with a multi-year job in purchasing for a large IBM reseller in New York City before finally landing at PCMag (when it was still in print). PC Magazine) I spent over 14 years on staff before hitting the freelance circuit as a contributing editor, most recently as Director of Operations at PC Labs.

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