ASUS RT-BE88U Dual-Band WiFi 7 AiMesh Extendable Performance Router, 4K-QAM, MLO, Dual 10G Ports, SFP+, 4X 2.5G Ports, 4X 1G

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 4,365 ratings

Price: 319.99

Last update: 01-08-2025


About this item

Blazing-fast WiFi 7 tech boosts throughput up to 7200Mbps with Multi-Link Operation and 4096-QAM.
Bolster your wired network capacity up to 34G with one cutting-edge 10G SFP+ port and one standard 10G WAN/LAN port.
Establish always-on internet through AI WAN detection, versatile WAN configuration options, and a convenient USB port ready for 4G LTE and 5G Mobile tethering.
Unleash demanding WiFi 7 and 10G network applications with a powerhouse quad-core 2.6GHz 64-bit CPU.
Easily establish up to five SSIDs with Guest Network Pro for easy IoT device setup and management, instant VPN connections, and convenient parental controls.
Stay secure with commercial-grade AiProtection Pro powered by Trend Micro, one-tap security scanning, comprehensive VPN support, and site-to-site VPN.
Ensure seamless connectivity for all devices with a feature-rich whole-home network powered by AiMesh.

Product information


Top reviews from the United States

  • Mark A. Weiss
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fast, and Easy to Configure
    Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2024
    I was needing to replace an older Linksys router that was rebooting several times a day. I'd tried some other routers, but could not get my webserver to be visible online.
    With this router, I used a laptop to pre configure it offline to minimize downtime and then swapped it in to the network and everything worked--webserver, network attached storage, etc.
    The faster ports make full use of my fiber internet connection and the AI Protection has been stopping malicious attacks on my server BEFORE reaching my server.
    There were some glitches initially--some features didn't work until I enabled other features, but now that it's all configured, everything works as it should.
    The traffic monitor is helpful in finding which nodes are using the most data. I can create virtual networks, trunk networks, and the wi-fi is very flexible. The wi-fi speeds are much faster and beam forming makes the signal reach a lot farther.
    This one is a keeper!
  • Cameron S.
    5.0 out of 5 stars BEST value and performance AX router out there
    Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2019
    I bought a Netgear XR500 last november for the very impressive looking DumaOS... to find a buggy, completely not fleshed out (event he VPN function advertised wasn’t implemented until a late December firmware update), insanely unstable (crashed at least once a week every week, i had to resort to using my 4yr old Netgear R7000 that was perfectly reliable) router with the company that makes DumaOS having an incredibly apathetic, “we’ll fix it when we fix it” and “No ETA’s on fixes, we make updates, Netgear releases them. Ask them” tone on all forums, i gave up on hoping it would be fleshed out at any point soon. So i got rid of it for the AX88u and flashed Merlin on it.

    I was looking for a traffic analyzing, enterprise-functionality router with the XR500 with every nerd knob possible (like Tomato firmware offers), and got a dumbed down buggy experience with barely even basic configuration options. The AC88u was the exact opposite. From a conditional VPN to IPS/traffic analysis/web logging/firewal/features you normally need to outfit a network with separate dedicated devices for, this handles it all with absurd speed and responsiveness in the interface. Everything i thought might be a gimmick (like trendmicro’s ‘aiprotection’) is the real deal and you could not ask for more to secure a home network unless you did go with those dedicated devices. It’s super stable (i changed core router settings that have to restart services in AsusWRT, while transferring 150GB worth of data from a client to an SSD connected to it to test network/USB speeds, and downloading a giant BFV patch on my gaming PC while on a work skype call and never even got a blip of cut-out or noise on my call. The web interface locked up because i made one kinda dumb change while doing this but the call never did!), inSANELY fast across the board (from using it as an OpenVPN client to enabling all the COU-taxing security features to topping out its resources by reading and writing to a USB-connected SSD), i can’t even convey how great this is.

    I wanted to see my clients’ connection rates, which interfaces they were connected to, and very importantly their life bandwidth and traffic- and within a couple clicks i can do this as if i’m navigating a Cisco ASA firewall. Just function after function, it’s all available, and it all works.

    I also got this for increased theoretical AC speeds and eventual AX speeds, along with wanting the fastest chipset available (my R7000 nighthawk was extremely modular, but its dual-core 1ghz CPU definitely struggled to pass VPN traffic at full bandwidth. My XR500 bricked itself after about 5 minutes of use whenever i even tried to configure the VPN. The AX88U has zero issues with that speed or stability there). So far i haven’t been able to bottleneck the CPU with anything yet without the ethernet Gb bandwidth limitation topping out first. Maybe when AX clients come into play and i set up an aggregated 2Gb link the router could start chugging in some cases, but i have no idea and really doubt it would cause a sweat at this point.

    Lordy, even gaming-wise i’ve been casually checking my ping in Battlefield V and Anthem, i’m getting response times i’ve never seen anywhere i’ve lived with any hardware i’ve had before (7-12ms pings, better than 95% of everyone on any server i’m put in).

    I even use this to manually reserve IP addresses for my non-configurable IoT devices so I know where everything is on the network. The XR500 would wipe its memory every few days, destroying the work i did there. This is super stable, leases every IP to every device i tell it on-call and never has an issue. It’s just too freaking good. My R7000 was the king of the mid 20-teens. The AX88u is the successor.

    In summary this thing is an utter beast. If you’re looking to go with a ‘gaming’ router, i was looking between this and the GT-AX11000 when i decided to get rid of the XR500. I chose this because they have the same horsepower, same specs, and the gimmicky 3rd band of 5Ghz the 11000 has id just that... a gimmick unless you have 300 devices in your home. I run about 50 clients in an apartment with plenty of neighbor networks and never have a problem with congestion or needing more bandwidth, especially for gaming, that this extra band ‘gives’ you. Also, the main reason i chose this is because the gaming ROG firmware on thr GT-AX11000 actually IS gimmicky. Read reviews on the GT-AC5300 and you’ll see a lack of Asus updates, constant bugs, broken features (recently an update actually stopped that 3rd 5ghz band from even broadcasting), and poorly implemented gaming functions unique to the router that just don’t work most of the time. I have a friend that runs an AiMesh with an AC88u and GT-AC5300 since Christmas and it has given nothing but issues. The worst part is, NO 3rd party firmware support with the ROG firmware. So if Asus doesn’t fix a bug, you’re out of luck. The AX88u is supported by Merlin which is the snappiest, slickest firmware out there for Asus routers. That’s the key, the firmware- and the AX88u has the one you want with no big compromises to the AX11000.

    Last thing, AX11000 has the 2.5GbE port. Neat, but with the 8x 1GbE ports on the AX88u you have plenty of available ports to run link aggregation on, say, a separate switch with 2.5/5/10GbE support in the future for a 2Gb pipe into any of the direct router clients, while you can put any insanely fast clients on the switch directly later when those speeds start being adopted. It’s all a win-win with this router and any future scenarios you can think of.

    10/10 best router of 2019, true Netgear Nighthawk R7000 successor.
  • Timothy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Router!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2024
    I typically do not write a review this early after purchasing a product such as this. However, felt that one was needed just days after purchase. After receiving, I was excited to hook it up as my last router was a Netgear Nighthawk (consistent network failures). After following instructions in manual, making a few tweaks, I was up and running within 90 minutes (update, reconfigure, etc). A few features that's going for it, is 6G connect, a powerful 1.7Ghz quad-core processor, its memory, and many built-in extras like, added security, lifetime AiProtection and build-in VPN. 6G won't be regularly available until approximately 2030 but its a nice feature to have (ahead of the game). The router is located in my basement (where Verizon box is) and I am on the 2nd floor using 6G coverage. So, I can confirm that it will connect successfully to my Galaxy S23+. When you set up the router, it will provide a different LAN IP address to your clients compared to your old router (192.168.1.1 v 192.168.50.1). You can adjust this to your liking. When setting up the WIFI on the router. Be sure to select WPA2/WPA3-Personal for both 2.4 and 5g to allow more devices to connect. If needed, separate your 2.4G and 5G bands. Leave AES alone. I had difficulty connecting some devices but after a little research. I was able to figure out what adjustments needed completed. Don't forget that since you are replacing your old router, to reset all your devices network settings (e.i. Brother printer, Synology, etc). Clients such as MagicJack or your phone do not require this). I will say that this router is a little more on the advance side of networking. However, works exactly as it was intended with much more bells and whispers than Netgear. More opinions, more features, more security, faster router and state of the art for those looking to upgrade their old existing routing. Highly recommended to anyone interested in such a product. You will not have buyers remorse will this router.
    Customer image
    Timothy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Router!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2024
    I typically do not write a review this early after purchasing a product such as this. However, felt that one was needed just days after purchase. After receiving, I was excited to hook it up as my last router was a Netgear Nighthawk (consistent network failures). After following instructions in manual, making a few tweaks, I was up and running within 90 minutes (update, reconfigure, etc). A few features that's going for it, is 6G connect, a powerful 1.7Ghz quad-core processor, its memory, and many built-in extras like, added security, lifetime AiProtection and build-in VPN. 6G won't be regularly available until approximately 2030 but its a nice feature to have (ahead of the game). The router is located in my basement (where Verizon box is) and I am on the 2nd floor using 6G coverage. So, I can confirm that it will connect successfully to my Galaxy S23+. When you set up the router, it will provide a different LAN IP address to your clients compared to your old router (192.168.1.1 v 192.168.50.1). You can adjust this to your liking. When setting up the WIFI on the router. Be sure to select WPA2/WPA3-Personal for both 2.4 and 5g to allow more devices to connect. If needed, separate your 2.4G and 5G bands. Leave AES alone. I had difficulty connecting some devices but after a little research. I was able to figure out what adjustments needed completed. Don't forget that since you are replacing your old router, to reset all your devices network settings (e.i. Brother printer, Synology, etc). Clients such as MagicJack or your phone do not require this). I will say that this router is a little more on the advance side of networking. However, works exactly as it was intended with much more bells and whispers than Netgear. More opinions, more features, more security, faster router and state of the art for those looking to upgrade their old existing routing. Highly recommended to anyone interested in such a product. You will not have buyers remorse will this router.
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