Looking for Solid WiFi 7 Router with Multi-Gig & More LAN Ports

[Gowtham07]

I’m planning to upgrade from my old Nighthawk AX12 (RAX200) (been rock-solid for over 10 years!) and finally move to a proper WiFi 7 setup. I've started looking at routers like the Asus RT-BE88U and RT-BE92U, but I'm open to suggestions including other brands like TP-Link, Netgear, Synology, etc.

Here’s what I’m specifically looking for

WiFi 7 (802.11be) support with good range and stable throughput

At least 1x 2.5GbE or 10GbE LAN/WAN (RJ45 or even SFP+ is fine)

Ideally more than 4 LAN ports, or a setup that plays nice with a multi-gig switch

A clean, usable web UI or OS, preferably with solid VLAN, QoS, and basic firewall features

Long-term firmware support (I’m not into replacing routers every 2 years)

This is for a mixed home setup a few PCs, NAS, smart TVs, and some WiFi 6/6E devices. I’ll probably add a 2.5G switch later, so flexibility there would help.
Any first-hand experiences or recommendations would be much appreciated. Bonus points if you’ve used any of these with custom firmware or have thoughts on AiMesh vs others.

Thanks!

 

[Lucifer96]

I have recently brought archer BE400. I cannot comment on the things which you mentioned but overall the wifi performance is solid as it is Wifi 7 router with MLO support . I never faced any issues as such . The UI looks clean as you can expect. The only thing which I find odd is that out of 4 ports ,only one supports 2.5gbps while rest is all 1 gbps. They could have gone with 10gbps as the.speeds advertised are around 6.5gbps

 

[Lucifer_King]

GO for Asus. THey have SUPER DUPER long firmware support and unofficial firmwares from openwrt and also Asus merlin (which extends asus firmware functionalities) Currently using RT-ax86u pro and hands down its much better than my previous 2x Deco xe75. Had to RMA the TP-Link decos.

 

[Deleted member 87056]

Lack of 6Ghz band in India due to the regulatory restrictions makes me wonder if it's worth spending so much on a high end router from Asus or Netgear. The delicensing is still under process and may take some time. I suggest you to wait(if your current router is working fine) until the decision comes and buy a 6Ghz enabled router.

 

[Lucifer96]

Have they decided on who will get to use the 6ghz band? If i am not wrong, there is conflict between telecom providers and wifi providers for its use.