Customer Ratings & Reviews

Had this router for a few months now and I've been thoroughly impressed with the range and speeds that it pumps out. Reliability has also been stellar -- I've had no random restarts or shutdowns. The AFC feature on this router gives the 6 Ghz band insane coverage; my Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 6e devices get strong 6 Ghz coverage over 30 feet away even with many walls blocking. After some updates, the AFC feature was really easy to enable in the app and I've had no issues with it even after reboots. I work in IT and also homelab a bit and the amount of advanced network management and security settings in the web interface that are included for free is a huge selling point. However, if you just want an easy set-and-forget router it's still very easy and intuitive to set up. Overall, I highly recommend and actually think that it's great value for what you get compared to rivals.

Verdict: The ASUS ROG Strix GS-BE18000 is an impressive, high-performance router aimed squarely at gamers and power users who want bleeding-edge Wi-Fi 7 and multi-gig wired speeds. If you’re building a high-demand home network (gaming PC, consoles, streaming, NAS) and want to future-proof your setup, this is a very compelling option. That said, its premium positioning means you should be mindful of firmware maturity and real-world performance quirks reported by early adopters.

I love ASUS routers and have been using them for years. My last router was Wi-Fi 5 I think. I recently build a new gaming PC that has WIFI7 so I thought id get a compatible router. It was really easy to set up but I have been noticing really inconsistent Wi-Fi speeds and spotty Wi-Fi strength. I live in a small apartment and this router should have no problem in this space. I’m not sure if it’s Wi-Fi 7 that is the problem or the router. But this router isn’t as good or fast as the older router I was using. Also the last asus router I had was $150 compared to this $450 router im using now.

I don't know why there's so many negative reviews. Maybe they don't know how to use routers. So far this router has been working excellent. No issues also, rog customer service has improved tremendously over the last few years. Overall, it's a great value for what you get would recommend it.

It is a quick setup. It is easy to adjust usage possibilities. It visually shows you what is using what in the web interface.

I'm going to say this right of the bat, I have never owned a gaming router before. I wasn't sure how a router could improve gaming and offer more reliable connectivity. I was proven wrong. And I'm glad I was. For those of you who don't know, Asus is a brilliant manufacturer of modern PC components, gaming desktops and laptops, as well as other peripherals and accessories. Their ROG (Republic of Gamers) branding is meant for serious gamers and those who like to enjoy their games in the best possible conditions. As such, a lot of effort is put forward in terms of design, functionality and software support. So, how does the ROG Strix BE18000 perform? Well... As with almost every ROG product, the router comes in a gorgeous box which highlights most of the features. The router itself looks mean (in a good way) and comes with the obligatory RGB logo in the front and sports decorative elements on it's cooling vents. The box contains the router, a high performance braided Ethernet cable and power cord. The leaflets included will get you set up in a flash, especially if you use your smartphone to do it (which you should do as it is the fastest and possibly best way). You can of course opt for the browser interface which is more oriented for power users. I did the setup using the companion app made by Asus and I still find it to be the best way to work this router. Connection-wise, it's a crazy amount of ports. Seven Ethernet ports are available (the 8th port being the WAN port that hooks up to your modem) and a USB 3.x port. Some of these ports have a ROG eye design beside them, which are the ones that will be prioritized for gaming. Once you're done with the setup, you will have two WIFI connections, one being for regular use and the other features the IoT (internet of things) label, which is best used for smart devices around your house. This creates a more manageable WIFI environment, and allows to adjust the allotted bandwidth. Some people might not like the antenna-free design, but the internal antennas do a great job, covering my entire house with a steady signal. As this is a tri-band router, you will have access to the new WIFI 7 protocol (the 6 GHz band), which is compatible with recent devices and gives you a very impressive speed boost and less lag, while still remaining backwards compatible, which will work great on previous generation devices which mostly rely on WIFI 6E protocols. But the most impressive part of this router lies within the software. It combines some AI features with other more traditional options to get the most out of the device. Be it automatic optimizations or blocking access for certain devices, you have total control over your router. While testing, I managed to get the full speed of my high-speed internet connection through the router and it performed admirably in terms of latency and bandwidth. I did run some tests that gave me different results, but overall in-game, everything was smooth with a ping never exceeding 25ms. Now, the question is: Is all this overkill? Answer: It depends. If you're an avid online gamer, then this is definitely a valuable upgrade. If you're a casual gamer, things might be a bit too much, but it still allows you to have a more stable connection and speeds. Of course, you will have to have an ISP (Internet Service Provider) who delivers decent connection speeds and low latency, since the router can only do so much to improve your connection's quality. The pricing conveys the premium aspects and all the technological prowess put into this router, alongside with the software to make it work at its best. It looks steep, but you get a solid bang for your buck and you most likely won't have to replace this router for years to come. Asus has put forth a lot of effort to create this gaming router, improving the security through firmware updates and patches, to deliver a solid high-end product. I recommend the ROG Strix BE18000 to every gamer.

The ASUS - ROG Strix GS-BE18000 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 Gaming Router is focused on superior performance and low latency. It is also meant to use wired in a gaming setting with other local users. The inclusion of 2.5Gbps WAN port and seven 2.5G Gbps LAN ports sets you up for speedy connectivity if your ISP provides 2.5Gbps or greater internet service. My service provider tops out a 1Gbps up/down so I couldn’t realize the true potential of the premium connectivity. This router is Wi-Fi 7 compatible AND Tri-band. There are lesser “Wi-Fi 7” routers out there that are only dual band. The ASUS - ROG Strix GS-BE18000 Wi-Fi implements MLO (Multi-Link Operation) simultaneously to communicate with a device which in itself opens up more throughput than the previous Wi-Fi 5 and 6 standards. Other technology also contributes to less latency and improved speeds which includes a higher-order modulation scheme: 4096-QAM (12 bit vs. 10bit). In addition, a USB-A 3.0 port is at the back of the unit so you can setup a basic Network Attached Storage (NAS) for simple file sharing). Connecting my ASUS ROG Strix G18 laptop via the 2.5Gbps ethernet port on the laptop to the 2.5Gbps port on this router I was able to see some of the fastest network transfer speeds I have ever seen on a home/consumer grade router. File sharing and streaming via the on-router USB 3.0 USB-A port with an equally capable flash drive, easily streaming high bitrate video h.265 video. I have not tried it with lossless video, which will be a true challenge. The unit also has eight internal antennas and two discrete Wi-Fi chipsets 2.4/5ghz and a separate dedicated chipset for the 6ghz band. Setup is fairly simple using the ASUS Router app, you can also access the admin console via the web interface. I am fairly experienced in setting up basic home networks and the mobile app did just about everything I needed including setup of IOT network for devices such as connected refrigerators and thermostats. The concern with IOT devices is they do not receive security updates as frequently as other devices; therefore, they can be a risk living on your network with Windows computers and mobile devices. In addition, many companies abandon IOT devices rather quickly and they no longer receive security updates. So having an IOT or Guest Network is almost mandatory these days. I also like that a lot of the functionality in the mobile app did not require cloud management of the router, which is really appealing as I do not want adversaries to have data about devices living on my internal home network. The only item I did not enable was Mobile Game mode, as then data is collected and then analyzed by Trend Micro. Although it did inform me of this policy, unlike other companies who sometimes bury this information in a licensing agreement, making it easy to miss opt out options. I found some of the metrics in the app useful, including download/upload throughput and CPU (2ghz tri core) and memory (2gb DDR4 RAM) utilization. I also like that you can schedule router reboots, which is a feature my Netgear router did not have. The router also has the AURA lighting effects found on the ASUS ROG family of laptops and the rotating colors were particularly appealing to my kitty, who at first thought we put the Christmas Tree up in the room where I located this router. Overall, there is not much to NOT LIKE about this router, it performs very well, the admin interface and mobile app are well done and there are many more features which I intend on enabling (such as per device network throttling). This router is also compatible with ASUS mesh networking products. >>> Pros >> Wi-Fi 7 compatible, includes 2.4, 5 AND 6ghz bands >> all WAN and LAN ports are of the 2.5gbps variety >> good mobile app. <<< absolutely none so far, this router has been rock solid.

ASUS has released another gaming router with the GS-BE18000. This is a new Wifi 7 gaming router. It’s lightweight, performs well, and doesn’t overheat. Setup Going through the initial setup was simple. I plugged it in to my fiber gateway and powered it on. I also downloaded the ASUS Router app from the Google Play store. While stepping through the setup steps indicated by the app, I had an issue with the Android app recognizing that my phone was connected to the router’s default SSID. Since the Android app wouldn’t get past the screen for the initial connection to the router, I ended up downloading the iOS app on my 7” iPad. It immediately recognized that I was connected to the router. It then performed the initial setup. After the initial setup was complete, I checked the Android app and it connected to the router without a problem. Hopefully ASUS will address that issue with the Android app. The GS-BE18000 worked with my AT&T fiber gateway without a problem. My previous Wifi 7 router, made by a different manufacturer, would not negotiate a connection with it, so with it I had to use different router’s switch to get it to work with the gateway. Thankfully, I don’t have to do that with this router as it negotiated the connection through it WAN port with the gateway. Configuration How far one goes with this is depends on what features one wants to use. On mine, QoS is on and various groups were pre-configured. All I had to do was add systems and devices to the appropriate groups. Groups such as Gaming, Streaming, Work From Home, etc. In the mobile app, I can add something to a group by taping on the device/system in the list of connected systems/devices, then selecting the appropriate group by taping on it. That feature of the app made it easy to do. The router also supports MLO. I can enable MLO for front haul for clients and when I add in another ASUS router at a later time as an extender, I can utilize MLO for backhaul in an AiMesh setup. Since I currently don’t have a second GS-BE18000, I did not go through the ASUS AiMesh setup. Given how simple the router setup was, I would imagine that the AiMesh setup would be similarly easy and simple. ASUS has added an Aura LED light to the front of the router. It’s configureable and can be changed to my preference which I set. It’s a nice touch that ASUS added. There are 8 2.5Gbps wired ports on the GS-BE18000. One is the WAN port. Out of the other 7, two are marked as gaming ports. You can use any of them for any of your systems, but the two marked as gaming ports intended for low latency gaming. My gaming laptop and my gaming desktop are in different rooms than the router, but my Xbox is right next to it which is plugged into one of the gaming LAN ports. I have other devices plugged into a few of the other ports. Those other devices don’t need any prioritization. I also added my Xbox, gaming desktop, gaming laptop, and my Nintendo Switch to the gaming QoS group so all of those get QoS prioritized. I can also create a dedicated gaming network that has it’s own SSID. I can setup a mobile failover connection as ASUS has added this feature so that if I loose my fibre connection, I can work through the router’s backup connection via my phone plugged into the USB port of the router. This will keep me from having to manually change over my work computers to my phones hotspot which is what I was having to do whenever my fiber connection was down. This just makes it faster to temporarily use 5G in that situation. ASUS added in ad filtering as well as malicious site filtering feature (AiProtection) that is backed by Trend Micro. I have the option to set ad blocking or malicious site filtering for one or more devices on my network. I’ve enabled it for a few systems on my network, but others don’t need it as general browsing isn’t done on some of my systems. The peace of mind of added protection is a good thing. The GS-BE18000 supports Alexa and Google Assistant. I could setup Alexa with it to turn on/off my guest network as well as use a few other commands through Alexa to perform action on the router. I’ll keep an eye out for additional commands that are supported in the future to see if any would be ones that I would use. As it stands, I don’t have a guest network setup as I don’t have guests, but it’s good that ASUS added in the feature to support both virtual assistants. My internet connection is a 1Gbps fiber connection. I may be changing it soon to a 2Gbps connection. In my area I have 3 options for fiber. 1Gbps, 2Gbps, and 5Gbps. The 2.5Gbps WAN port on the router will cover the 2Gbps option that I may go to soon. Regarding the 5Gbps option, ASUS has within the app the option for Dual WAN. I didn’t test it as it doesn’t increase speed for me at this time and the 2.5Gbps WAN port negotiates a connection to my gateway at 1Gbps anyway due to a limitation of my gateway and not the router. This Dual WAN feature will likely bond two 2.5Gbps ports. As long as a fiber gateway has more than one 2.5Gbps switch port, then this should be a feature that I could utilize if I ever step up to the 5Gbps option. Parental controls and family groups are configurable in the router. I don’t have kids in my home, so I didn’t need to use that feature. The feature comes pre-configured for groups based on age ranges which makes setup faster for those who may need it. App/Web Interface ASUS has put a lot of time and effort into their mobile app as well as the web interface. The appearance of the mobile app is great and they were able to have the layout setup in an easy to use way. Using the mobile app makes managing the router very easy. If I want a more advanced interface, I use the web interface. The mobile app looks and feels the same on both Android and iOS. The iOS version works on both my iPhone and my iPad. I only had the one issue with the app and that was mentioned above involving the Android version during initial router setup. With the mobile app, I use the Mobile Game Mode feature which prioritizes the particular mobile device. This was helpful when playing a few mobile games on my iPad. The feature is available on whatever mobile device have the ASUS Router app installed on. Whether I’m on my iPad, iPhone, or Pixel 9 Pro XL. It’s a fast and convenient way for me to set the priority of the device and change it back once I was done playing games. I can see realtime bandwidth utilization for all network devices as well as for each individual one within the mobile app. I would like to see ASUS add in metrics options for overall and per device bandwidth used per day, per week, and per month. That would be helpful to me and would likely help others. As it stands, it is just realtime bandwidth usage for all devices and per device. The app also shows me signal strength for all devices connected to WiFi. The app will also estimate what the TX and RX speeds are based on that signal strength. That’s helpful in seeing if I need to move a system/device to a different location in a room. Performance The GS-BE18000 did not get hot once. Not even when I was downloading games to my gaming laptop and also to my Xbox simultaneously. It ended being only a little warm to the touch (a little above room temperature) throughout the time I was doing that. Overall I was getting over 800Mbps download speeds with both systems downloading at the same time. I downloaded over 200GB of games for each system. The router handled it well.

Latency to game servers was low. I was getting as low as 30ms ping times to some game servers and up to 40ms for some others. My previous WiFi 7 router would result in 40ms to 50ms range. I’m also seeing a much stronger WiFi signal for my gaming desktop and my gaming laptop. Both are in a room that is more than halfway along the length of my home away from the router. The previous router was in the same location as the GS-BE18000, so the radios for the ASUS are stronger than the ones in my previous router. Not only does this help with ping times, this also helps with bandwidth between those systems and the router. Performance is much better with the GS-BE18000 than with my previous WiFi 7 (BE-19000) router from a different manufacturer. Final Thoughts I’m very happy with the ASUS GS-BE18000. I’m seeing improvements in ping times to game servers and, due to better signal strength, download speeds for systems that aren’t in the same room as the router. The amount of features in this router are too many to list here. I’m glad to see ASUS is packing in so many features both gaming features and non-gaming features. This router will do all that I need it to do and do it with good performance. If you are looking for a gaming router at this price range, then I would definitely recommend considering the ASUS GS-BE18000. I think gamers will be impressed with both the features and performance.

Things started out a little rocky during the initial setup process. I first attempted to connect using the ASUS app on my smartphone, but unfortunately, it failed to detect the router or initiate the setup wizard properly. After a few frustrating attempts, I decided to switch over to my laptop, and from that point on, everything went smoothly. The web-based interface was intuitive and responsive, making the rest of the setup process straightforward. Once inside the router’s interface, the setup was simple and user-friendly. It asked the usual questions—SSID name, password creation, and a few basic configuration options. A quick firmware update was prompted and installed without issue. From the moment I accessed the setup wizard to the point where the network was fully operational, the total time was around six minutes. It was a fast and efficient process once I got past the initial hiccup with the mobile app. Pros: Excellent Wi-Fi coverage: My 1300 sq ft single-level home is now fully covered with no dead zones, even in corners where signal used to drop. Consistent speed: Both Wi-Fi and LAN connections deliver fast and stable data transfer rates, ideal for streaming, gaming, and remote work. Dual ISP support: The ability to configure a backup ISP is a huge plus for reliability, especially in areas with occasional outages. Customizable aesthetics: The front-facing RGB lighting can be personalized, adding a nice visual touch to the setup. Warranty and support: Comes with a generous 3-year warranty, which adds peace of mind and long-term value. Cons: Bulky power brick: The power adapter is oddly shaped and takes up two slots on my power strip, which is inconvenient in tight spaces. No port LEDs: The network ports on the back lack indicator lights, making it difficult to confirm whether cables are properly seated or active.

As a household heavily reliant on streaming for entertainment and with over 50 connected devices, including computers, mobile devices, streaming boxes, and gaming consoles, our choice of router is crucial. Having consistently positive experiences with ASUS gaming laptops for over five years, I approached this ASUS router with high expectations. I'm pleased to report that the router exceeded all expectations. Setup was incredibly quick, taking only about 10 minutes, with most of that time spent on a necessary update. I particularly appreciated the ability to create separate networks for different bands, especially the dedicated band for IoT devices. This allowed me to easily segregate our numerous connected kitchen and laundry appliances. Initial speed tests showed impressive results, with over 1 GB download speeds and excellent upload speeds. The true test came during a simultaneous multi-device gaming and streaming session: three sons gaming on laptops with music playing, my wife streaming Netflix, and me streaming a game in the living room. Everything ran smoothly, with no buffering or interruptions. What's more, areas of our home that previously had weak signals now boast stronger connections. Our outdoor security cameras, which occasionally suffered disconnections, have shown a consistent medium wireless signal and I haven't received any disconnection notifications since implementing this new network. I was eager to test Wi-Fi 7, a feature my previous router lacked but some of my devices support. While noticeably faster, the Wi-Fi 7 signal isn't as strong as the other bands. In our open-concept living area, the faster signal is accessible, but in bedrooms, the signal weakens, causing devices to switch to Wi-Fi 6. The router's built-in threat protection is a significant benefit. The accompanying app effectively displays blocked threats and their originating devices, highlighting the extent of past vulnerabilities with my old router. Speaking of the app, it's exceptionally well-designed and robust. I've set up individual profiles for each family member, linking their devices, which is fantastic for parental controls. I can now easily set time limits and schedules for my kids' online device access. The app also allows for firewall adjustments specifically for gaming devices. The app effectively organizes and simplifies the management of parental controls, security protections, and band customization. A minor but appreciated detail is the router's aesthetic. Unlike my previous router with its numerous external antennas, this ASUS router features internal antennas, resulting in a cleaner look while still providing superior connection strength. The customizable RGB ROG logo on the front is a nice touch, reminiscent of our ROG laptops, and can be easily disabled via the app if desired. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with our new ASUS ROG router. It delivers a stronger and wider connection than our previous router, which was only a couple of years old. The intuitive app, dedicated IoT network, effective parental controls, and robust security protection offer immense peace of mind. This router would be an excellent upgrade for any household, especially those with gamers or heavy reliance on streaming for entertainment.

As is apparently tradition for Asus RoG products at this point, they come shipped with terrible software. If you turn on any feature related to optimization (some are literally one accidental button press away), the thing starts boot looping and you have to factory reset it.

IMPORTANT! If you buy this router, before enabling any features in this router, PLEASE UPDATE TO THE LATEST FIRMWARE! (June, 2025 firmware version 3.0.0.6.102_38782-g3af9320_1402-g8708e_BB0B) If you do not and you start fiddling with the features with the stock firmware, your gonna run into problems. This is based off reading the early reviews that you may or may not have seen. On to the review... I have been rocking a ASUS RT-X86U (Non-Pro) since May, 2022, personally purchased from here at Best Buy that I upgraded from another older ASUS router, as I been using ASUS Routers for years, seeing this new ASUS ROG Strix GS-BE18000, I figured trying out the ROG Strix line of routers for the first time. I went in, read the early reviews and I think this router may of came out just a bit to early with the stock firmware having problems, however, I knew that ASUS would not let a pricey router like this go unfixed as they will fix it but have to give them a bit of time. -- Packaging -- Right off when seeing the box packaging to unboxing it, they make it look like a premium sleek device that I am purchasing. I have included pictures but in the box is the ROG Strix router, power adapter, ethernet cable and documentation which has the quick start guide, the app setup instructions, a sticker with username/password for getting into the router settings and to connect to the wifi (Can all be changed right when your setting up the router for the first time) support number, FCC Statement, VIP Member Warranty notice, and a important notice to ensure all your devices that are going to connect to this router has the latest up to date wireless network card drivers (Mainly if you intend to use the WI-FI 7) this router has, if your devices do not have WIFI 7, you probably will as time goes on when you may start buying devices such a PC or another device that has a WI-FI 7 built in take full advantage of it. -- Design, Connectivity & Features -- Starting off with the design, upon my first initial thought about the look of it, it looks like a mini compact PC like a thin client of sorts. I liked it. No protruding multiple antenna's to screw on and aim evenly since all the antenna's are inside aimed at different directions. Its a compact box, so lightweight, its designed to stand on a surface, do note, its not mountable. The front features the nice ASUS ROG logo with the ROG Aurora RGB effects which you can go into the router settings and change it to how you please. On the back, there are two rows of (8) 2.5Gbps, one is designated as the default WAN port (Where you plug in your ethernet cable from your Modem). Ports 5 & 6 are dedicated gaming ports, if you connect a console/pc used exclusively for gaming, the router is gonna automatically be prioritized for games. Now on to a new feature I had to study up on, called "AFC". This router is one of the first ones I know to have it and it may or may not make a difference for you, I didn't notice any difference but what AFC is in short terms is it stands for Automated Frequency Coordination, it extends the WI-FI's range in the 6GHz band to be comparable to that of a 5GHz band via special rules. AFC is available only on the 6GHz band, which some regions may have it, while others have only a narrow portion, making it less significant then its potential. When I attempted to use AFC just to test it out, it continues to use its default mode called "Low Power Indoor" until it receives authorization to switch to the higher "Standard Power" mode which boosts the 6GHz bands range and that... I never did get it to go to the higher stand power mode. The router didn't pick up my location of where I live at here in Kentucky as I guess my ISP couldn't give the router a precise location of where my router is located at or maybe its the ASUS firmware not being able to correctly pick it up from my ISP... not sure. I am sure this feature will be improved on as time goes on with ASUS improving on this with future firmware updates. -- ASUS Router Settings Page Interface -- The ASUS router settings page on PC, a upgrade for sure coming from the RT-86U as it has a Cyberpunk design look to it. Looks pretty cool. It has almost the same identical layout as the older ASUS Router I have used but more of a modern gaming look which is expected with this being a gaming router. After setting up the router, you can either go to router.asus.com to get to the settings page or the default IP address is 192.168.50.1. It runs ASUSWRT 5.0, the router has the core features of all ASUS routers. -- Performance -- I have tested this router for a week now and just like my old ASUS RT-86U, I have a family of 4 here in the house, multiples of devices connected wirelessly and after updating the firmware upon first usage and no messing with the settings, leaving everything as default, no devices suffered from any disconnects, slow downs, absolutely nothing. Everything has been smooth sailing so far. I have 500Gbps download/upload from my local fiber company where I live at and it hits those speeds wirelessly & wired with no problem either doing speed test after speed test in various places around the house which is around 2,000 square foot. But depending on your house layout and the walls and all, results can vary of course as all houses are built different. After having the router on for a few days, I felt of it just to see if there was any warmth coming from it as my old router use to always be warm to the touch, and it remained cool to the touch, first time I experienced a cool router with it being on for awhile. -- Conclusion -- This router looks sleek, compact, no antenna's to mess with, sit it on a flat surface, plug it in and go and seeing the nice glowing RGB light. I thought I was going to miss using my old router but this new one has already made me not even miss the old one. I really love it, especially being my first ASUS ROG Strix Router. If your looking for a gaming router that is a solid performer, especially if you have a fast ISP (more then likely Fiber that is capable of getting 1Gbps down or even up to the max of 2.5Gbps, Consider getting this router and for anyone who reached the end of this review and is about to complete your payment on your newly owned router... DO NOT FORGET TO UPDATE THE FIRMWARE AFTER SETUP! Highly Recommended A+++++ - Great Job ASUS.

This ROG Strix router is an excellent router in general, but also became an outstanding upgrade to my home network, with great software and hardware that doesn't take as much space as other gaming routers. Connectivity and ease of use are great, and I have noticed excellent performance, both wired and wireless. - Hardware The vertical design of the router is a nice change from traditional, horizontal routers. This design takes up much less space and makes fitting into your setup much easier. I have the router located in my game room, as I prefer to keep my gaming PC and consoles connected wired for maximum performance. It seems more and more routers are offering fewer wired ports, so I am happy that the ROG Strix has enough to suit my needs. The front lighting is also a nice touch. I do wish that it was maybe something other than the logo on the front, so it could be further customized, but it's still cool, and the different lighting effects look good. They can also be turned off entirely. - App and software The app for the router is one of the best I have ever used for a router. Offering suggestions to improved individual devices, or your the entire network itself. It shows realtime data transfer speeds, to help determine your network usage, as well as all currently connected devices. It also has built in speed testing which is nice to have all in one place. There's also advanced setup options if you need to do some port forwarding, or any other things specific for your setup. The coolest thing about the software so far for me has been identifying some older CAT5 cables I was still using as a potential bottleneck on some of my devices. The router has already managed to block two potentially harmful websites, and notifies me each time a problem is discovered. - Performance The performance both wired and wireless has been far above the other routers I have used. I have been very pleasantly surprised at how much of a difference I am seeing while using this router in both speed and coverage. Pros: easy setup, excellent performance, smaller footprint, great software Cons: a bit larger than other routers, I would like other options besides just the logo as the lighting options on the front.

I’ve been an Asus user for years, laptops, desktops, peripherals and when it comes to gaming routers, Asus is always one of the first brands I look at. The ROG Strix GS-BE18000 router looks great and has an appealing aesthetic, but it didn’t quite deliver the premium feel I expected from a ROG product. It’s mostly plastic and feels surprisingly light. However, it performs. On the back, it features seven 2.5GHz LAN ports (two dedicated for gaming), a 2.5GHz WAN port, and a USB 3.0 port. This is a tri-band router with Wi-Fi 7 support. The setup process, while meant to be simple, initially confused me. You need the Asus Router App to begin, but the hardware labeling threw me off. The WAN port is on the bottom right, labeled in red, while ports 5 and 6 also have red ROG logos. I initially assumed those two ports were for WAN, only to realize the actual WAN port is the one on the bottom. Once I figured that out, the rest of the setup went smoothly. As with most Asus routers, the settings are intuitive, and the app guided me through the process easily. An update was required right away, but that was quick. After using the router for several days, I haven’t experienced any of the random reboots some reviewers mentioned. The signal is strong throughout my 2,000 sq. ft. home, even with the router inside an electronic cabinet in the corner of the house. Wireless speeds consistently hit over 800Mbps, which is impressive. Gaming performance was also solid, with pings ranging between 15–20ms. While not the absolute lowest, it was reliable with no noticeable lag. I experimented with QoS settings and gaming mode to prioritize connections, but didn’t see much difference. The ROG logo on the front does light up, but the lighting effects aren’t particularly smooth. While I expected a more premium feel from an ASUS ROG product, this router delivers where it matters, speed and coverage. With over 40 devices connected to my network, it handles heavy traffic like a champ. It comes loaded with gamer-oriented features, and the setup is easy once you know which port to use. In the box, you’ll find the router, power brick, a braided Ethernet cable and user guides.

I am a huge Asus fan, especially the ROG line, because it’s a premium brand that is known to use top of the line components. The ROG line from Asus (laptop, monitors, routers etc) usually goes above and beyond when it comes to tech, and they have done this with the router. You get 8 ethernet 2.5G hardwire ports (7 for devices 1 for WAN) which are overkill for most but still nice to have. The router has a mobile tethering feature where you can use your mobile data in case your internet is down. Asus offers AI protection for free for all your connected devices and allows you to create a mesh network if you have certain Asus routers. Asus has also packed the router with 8 Wi-Fi antennas along with 2 different chip to handle the 2.4, 5 and 6 GHZ radios and like with all ROG products everything spec wise is top of the line. When comparing to my other Wi-Fi 7 router the speeds were similar and there was no drop off in latency. The area that I did notice a difference was the signal strength, the Strix-GS-BE18000 had a much stronger connection. I have provided a signal strength map and as you can see everywhere in and around my house the worst signal strength I got was 75 dbm, and this was in the corner of my backyard. In some places the signal was better by 20 Dbm which is huge. The only thing that didn’t work correctly was the AFC mode, it is supposed to increase the 6Ghz range. With it being on or off I did not notice any difference. Overall mostly everything worked as advertised, besides the AFC mode. The 7 2.5 ethernet ports are excellent and the range for the router is amazing. The router is made just like most ROG devices, with high end components and future proofed while taking gamers needs into account.

Recently got my gigabit internet and really loving the increase in speeds. I wanted a little nicer router to match with my new internet. The OEM router that came with my service was really wonky so, whilst getting that sorted out, figured a new router would help resolve this issue and get me gaming again. At first glance, it looks like any other normal router. There is some nice RGB on the front along with all the status lights. Router is small-ish but still need some room for this. There are dedicated USB 3.0 slot and WPS button. There are 8 ethernet ports where 2 of them can be dedicated for gaming which is really nice. I have my PC plugged into one of them and a separate wifi extender plugged into the other one. Biggest pro here for me has been the coverage. I live in a 2 bedroom condo so it's not big but there are some weird angles in my place. The reason I had the wifi extender was because of this. However, with this router, I don't really need the extender anymore. I get great coverage everywhere in my place with not a whole lot of speed variance. Speeds have been a bit more consistent as well with this router. I'm able to have my iDevices/TV/PC as well as several other devices connected to the router without any issues in either speed or connectivity.

I’ve been using the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 for a few weeks now, and I’m honestly blown away. This thing is a monster when it comes to speed and reliability. I upgraded from a WiFi 6 router, and the difference is night and day — everything from gaming to streaming to file transfers feels instant. My whole house gets full coverage, and I haven’t had a single dropout since installing it. As a gamer, I love the dedicated gaming ports — I plugged in my PC and console, and the router automatically prioritizes traffic, so no more lag spikes or random disconnects mid-match. Plus, setup through the ASUS Router App was super easy, and I really appreciate the built-in AiProtection security for peace of mind. The only small thing missing is a 10 Gbps port, but the multiple 2.5 G ports more than make up for it in my setup. Overall, this is hands-down the best router I’ve ever owned. It’s fast, stable, and future-proof — perfect for gaming, streaming, and smart home setups. If you want top-tier performance and reliability, the GS-BE18000 is absolutely worth it.

The box the router comes in a branded just like other ROG devices. It’s primarily black with red accents. It gives a very premium feel to the setup. The content of the box include the router, a CAT6 cable, the power adapter and some paper work including the default WiFi and Login information. I was surprised at how large the power adapter is because it takes up more than one outlet on a power strip (depending on the type of power strip). The setup was straightforward and if you have set up routers before, it’s easy. The router comes equipped with 8 Ethernet ports (one of them is the WAN port), which is helpful for connecting multiple devices. I also have a network switch since I have so many devices, but the 7 Ethernet ports for connectivity is definitely an upgrade from the 5 I used to have. It’s generally plug-and-play for setup. I did have to download the ASUS app to work through the for advanced configurations, but it wasn’t difficult to get setup. I updated the firmware during setup and was good to go. I really like the design of this router. It looks like a mini PC box and it’s very easy to reach all the ports on the back. The only thing I don’t like is the size of the power adapter, but the router itself looks really cool. Normally I try to hide my routers, but this one deserves to be seen and I’m currently trying to figure out how to rearrange things so that it can be out for show. I didn’t have any issues with the performance of the router. WiFi signals were strong throughout my house and I found the connection to be consistently good while I was gaming. I have Fiber internet and thought my connection was better using this router over my previous one. Not all my devices are WiFi 7 compatible, but it seemed to do a good job with managing the individual devices as well as my smart devices that have to have a 2.4 Ghz network connection. I didn’t experience the random rebooting glitch that some other users have reported. The ASUS ROG Strix router is a slick, high-speed Wi-Fi 7 router that looks just as good as it performs. I’ve been very happy with its performance overall and if you want a fast, reliable router with some personality, this one’s worth a look.

I’m impressed with this router. After hooking up the GS-BE18000 and getting some basic setup done, I updated the firmware. I don’t do this with a lot of equipment unless I’m experiencing some sort of problem, but anything related to network security should be updated frequently. The setup process was simple. I plugged it into my wired network and powered up. I had some issues getting the app to work, so I connected my laptop via ethernet and followed the included instructions. Initial options for network setup include options to act as a primary wireless router, a wireless repeater, a wireless access point, a media bridge, or an Asus AiMesh node. I wanted this to act as an access point for my existing network, so that’s the way I set it up. You’re given the option to combine or separate your 2.4ghz, 5ghz, and 6ghz WiFi signals into different SSIDs, and also provided an opportunity to set up an IoT network for all your smart home devices. This device replaces an existing access point in my living room, which is central to my home and connects a variety of both wireless and ethernet devices. The GS-BE18000 includes a total of eight 2.5Gb port with one dedicated to the WAN connection and two specified as high-priority “gaming” ports. I used remaining ethernet ports to a PC media server and gaming rig, PlayStation 5, and the TV itself. Enough ports are provided that you could easily use this to set up at your gateway to distribute ethernet across your home. Wireless range is better than average. It’s got a higher reach than the relatively new TP-Link Deco it replaces, but it’s not astonishingly good. Wireless connections seem solid and it’s fast enough that it saturates my gigabit internet. While it’s got a very “gamer” centric appearance, it’s not overwhelming, and the giant RGB logo can easily be set to a dim color or shut off completely. It’s a lot more classy-looking sitting on an entertainment center than one with a half-dozen antennas sticking out of it, and you’d have a hard time making it look out of place. There’s also a USB 3 port on the back that can be used for a variety of functions, from media storage to a time machine backup location to a samba share. You can also use this port to connect a phone for cellular access to the router, should the need arise. In the configuration interface, it’s easy to get lost. There are so many different configuration options available that it’s almost staggering, but at the same time, little of it is necessary to get successful functionality out of the device. It’s easy to set up NAT for outside access, or assign specific IP addresses to specific devices, for example. It also features things like Alexa integration, which I’ll admit is a little beyond me. I can’t fathom a situation in which I’d want to tell Alexa to manage something on my router, but if you’re the kind who likes to be able to turn a guest network on and off with your voice, Asus has you covered here. You can also set parental controls and family groups if you want to restrict hours or usage, and there appear to be content filters available as well, though I haven’t tested any of this. The amount of features, both gaming and otherwise, that have been crammed into this device is very impressive, and I’m looking forward to digging deeper into it when I have more time. But for now, it’s been a very solid addition to my home network, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a reliable device with good performance.

I've paid little attention to most of the wifi routers I've had before. All of my previous ones were provided by my ISP when they were setting up my internet for the first time. Only recently have I started to care about the features of a router, the ease of use when you want to change settings, the reliability of the signal, things like that. So take my input with a grain of salt. I'm not a major power user. There's a number of features this router has that I didn't use, and didn't know how to use. I like to game, I like to stream shows, I like to stream myself playing games to my friends in Discord, and I have an external storage drive connected to my router so I can access the storage from whatever device I feel like. My use case isn't particularly heavy. With that said, I have to say, I was impressed with this router. It's easy to set up. You do need to download and install an app, but you don't need to make any sort of account on it to access the features the router has. You can also use the web GUI things to access the same features you can in the app, so whatever you prefer, you have plenty of options for controlling things. That said, I believe the app may be the only way to update the firmware on the router, and from some of the other reviews, it seems the update is necessary for it to function properly. As for the router's functionality, well, it's a wifi router. It has a strong signal everywhere in my apartment (although it's only a 1 bedroom), the speeds are consistent on every device that doesn't have issues themselves, and the wired connection I have has been rock solid. You can set up a VPN through a variety of servers - I have yet to test this, although I want to. I'm a little worried about doing something wrong or messing something up though. As it's a gaming router, you can prioritize the signal for your gaming devices, to avoid high ping and such. You can set it up to work with Alexa, adjust firewall settings, control which frequency signals it'll broadcast, have a separate network for guests, stuff like that. The app allows you to see a number of things in real time, like the router's CPU and RAM usage, the devices connected to the network, network traffic. You can adjust the color of the RGB light on the front of it, as well as make it change colors, have a breathing pattern, or be turned off entirely. You could certainly buy a more affordable router and get a good experience, but I think this is still a great option if you want a high-end router whose settings you can tweak and customize to your needs and liking. I don't anticipate I'll need a new router for a long time, even if I upgrade to gigabit internet, and that's more than enough for me.