The best gadgets are the ones that are easy to set up, and then you barely have to think about them ever again. The Asus ZenWifi BQ16 is mostly one of those devices. From the simple and elegant setup process, to being generally very reliable, it is exactly what you want from a Wi-Fi router.
Better still, it has Wi-Fi 7, so it’s future proofed for at least a small chunk of the future.
Table of contents
First impressions
I have set up a lot of Wi-Fi routers in my time. There is usually one part of the setup process that I want to stab in the face. And yet the Asus ZenWifi BQ16 had one of the smoothest set ups I’ve ever had with a router. I plugged it in, downloaded the app (there’s always an app), it took me through the important stuff step by step and then it just worked.
Usually there’s at least one moment where I have to power cycle either the router or the phone to try and get them to find each other, but no, it was so smooth and easy with no hiccups.
Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 specs and price
| Network Standard | IEEE 802.11a IEEE 802.11b IEEE 802.11g Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) IPv4 IPv6 |
| Wi-Fi Data Rate | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) (2.4GHz): up to 1376 Mbps Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) (5GHz-1): up to 5764 Mbps Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) (5GHz-2): up to 5764 Mbps Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) (6GHz): up to 11529 Mbps |
| Antenna | Internal antenna x 12 |
| Transmit / Receive | 2.4GHz 4×4 5GHz-1 4×4 5GHz-2 4×4 6GHz 4×4 |
| Memory | RAM 2GB Flash 256MB |
| Product Weight (g) | 1341g |
| Product dimensions | 214 x 174.2 x 72 mm |
| Price (RRP) | $2,499 (set of two) |
| Warranty | Three years |
| Official website | Asus Australia |
The highlight here, of course, is the 802.11be protocol, or Wi-Fi 7, which is the latest standard. If you’re considering paying extra for Wi-Fi 7 (because these routers do cost a pretty penny), make sure you have at least a couple of Wi-Fi 7 devices that will take full advantage of it before taking the plunge.
Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 performance
I was generally extremely impressed with the performance of the Asus ZenWifi BQ16. It has been a device that just blends into the background of my life, rather than a router I have to think about a lot (except for review purposes).
My only gripe with it was that sometimes I didn’t get the download speed I would expect, which was a bit frustrating. My connection is fast enough that a bit of drop off isn’t a problem for me, but it would be a big issue for someone on a regular NBN connection.
Speed
It doesn’t really matter how stable a Wi-Fi router is if the speed sucks. I got some really funky speed tests while using the Asus ZenWifi BQ16.
It is worth noting that I have a non-final unit to test, and was warned that there were some download speed issues with my unit. Other reviewers have not had the same download problems I did, so I am going to largely disregard the download speed and instead focus on the upload speed (but still include the dl speed for completion purposes).
In the app, I confirmed that the speed going into the router is close to what I would expect: 933Mbps down/936Mbps up (shoutout to Pineapple Net).
Plugged into the router directly, I pull down similar speeds of 933/947. Standing next to the router, I get 351/947 using my iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is impressive consistency on the upload speed.
In the living room, about five metres away, which is sometimes a problem area for other routers, it’s 348/947, which is even more impressive for upload speed consistency.
In the worst problem spot of the apartment (my wife’s side of the bed), where there is interference from 70+ other Wi-Fi networks, it’s an almost 75% speed drop-off of 241/243. That is still better than some other routers where I’ve had 95%+ drop-offs. I’ll take what I can get.
Smart home compatibility
What really impressed me was that, during setup, it gets you to put in the name and password of your regular network, and then asks if you would like to set up a smart home network. I very much did want to do that, because none of my smart home devices play well with a Wi-Fi 7 network. Although they should be fine with it, they have decided not to be.
It’s essentially just a guest network wearing a different hat, with just the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands turned on (you can and should also turn off the 5GHz band), but I appreciated that during the set up it makes it obvious for medium-tech-savvy people to know what they need to do and why they would do it. It was a nice, user-friendly touch.
My smart home devices generally played really well with that network, with no issues to report, which is an absolute miracle for a smart home network (I am so tired).
The grumpy electricians who came to fix an unrelated issue with my light switches praised the Asus ZenWifi BQ16 over all the other routers I have on my desk, which I also found encouraging. These guys spend every day fixing problems with smart home networks and have seen everything. That’s a ringing endorsement if I ever heard one.
Coverage
I am really happy with the coverage of the Asus ZenWifi BQ16. It was nice and even across my whole apartment, even though I apparently live in the place where Wi-Fi networks go to die. There is interference in my apartment from more than 70 other Wi-Fi networks, because I live in a building complex that has more residents than the town I grew up in. And yet, somehow, even though there is a significant speed drop-off in the bedroom (as shown above), it still got better coverage than many other routers I’ve tried.
One of the benefits of the Asus ZenWifi BQ16 is that one node will do when people might have previously used two, and two can stand in place of three in a lot of homes. Given how extremely expensive they are, that’s a big help.
Who is the Asus ZenWifi BQ16 for?
This is the router for people who want their Wi-Fi to work quickly and seamlessly, and are willing to pay a premium for that privilege. It’s especially good for people with smart homes who just want their separate 2.4GHz network to work without issue.
If I were shopping for a router, this is the one I would buy out of all the routers I have tried recently.
GadgetGuy occasionally uses affiliate links and may receive a small commission from purchased products.
The post Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 review: Smart mesh for a smart home appeared first on GadgetGuy.
0 (mga) komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento