This tri-band router (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz) has been delivering dependable Wi-Fi to my entire house for the previous couple of weeks. Video calls, film streaming, and gaming have been silky clean. Stability has been rock strong, with a single firmware replace that took a couple of minutes being the one downtime thus far. The RT-AXE7800 blew away a lot of the competitors for velocity and latency at shut vary on each the 5-GHz and 6-GHz bands, and it turned in respectable outcomes over longer distances. Performance on the two.4-GHz band was common.

Range is a weak spot of the 6-GHz band, as Wi-Fi 6E has restricted energy, so it tends to drop off sharply with partitions and different obstacles. But even with these limitations, the Asus RT-AXE7800 matched or bested most different Wi-Fi 6E routers I’ve examined, together with mesh methods just like the Nest Wifi Pro (7/10, WIRED Recommends) and Wyze Mesh Router Pro. It most carefully matched the efficiency of the costlier Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300 (7/10, WIRED recommends).

One attainable weak spot I discovered with the Asus RT-AXE7800 was file switch speeds, a take a look at the place I copy a 2.2-GB file from one PC on the community to a different. It constantly took greater than 4 minutes to finish this switch, which was barely beneath common. The final system I examined, the Eero Pro 6E, averaged a minute and 14 seconds.

Cost Control

There’s a lot to consider when buying a router, so let’s drill into who the Asus RT-AXE7800 is for. Mesh methods could also be tempting, however a single router usually makes extra sense for folk with modest properties. The RT-AXE7800 provided quicker speeds throughout most of my 1,600-square-foot house than the vast majority of mesh methods I’ve examined. It can’t compete on vary, however I had to enter my yard to really feel that.

While the Wi-Fi 6E support ought to solely tempt you when you have gadgets able to connecting on that 6-GHz band, it might show very helpful in case you dwell in a congested space. In smaller houses or condominium blocks the place your neighbor’s routers might trigger interference, connecting on that 6-GHz band might provide massive jumps in velocity and stability. If you do business from home with a Wi-Fi 6E-capable laptop computer or cellphone and sit near the router (ideally in the identical room), the Asus RT-AXE7800 is an effective purchase.

Far too many routers and mesh methods these days require costly subscriptions if you would like parental controls or community safety. The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300 is an effective instance, the place it prices $170 a 12 months to get each. Asus supplies strong parental controls, enabling you to schedule downtime, filter inappropriate content material, and block particular actions. There’s additionally AiProtection Pro powered by Trend Micro to ship across-the-board safety, together with a firewall, safety scans, intrusion prevention, malicious web site blocking, and extra. Asus contains each totally free for the lifetime of your RT-AXE7800 router, which is nice.

If you will have a bigger property, you might want one thing from our Best Mesh Wi-Fi Routers information, although it’s value noting that the AiMesh help right here makes it simple to attach Asus routers to type a mesh. If you do go this route and use the RT-AXE7800 as your most important router, a wired backhaul is suggested, as you don’t need the routers utilizing your 5-GHz band to attach with one another.

Folks content material to attend just a little longer for Wi-Fi 7 ought to take into account a less expensive Wi-Fi 6 stopgap from our Best Wi-Fi Routers information. While the RT-AXE7800 is sort of dear, it performs effectively, gives greater than equally priced Wi-Fi 6E alternate options, and harbors no hidden charges.