ASUS ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro Review

The ASUS ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro is the second Wi-Fi 7 mesh system I’ve tested, and like the NETGEAR Orbi kit before it, I was thoroughly impressed with the performance—but only after I made some adjustments.

Truth be told, I had speed issues when I first started testing the 6 GHz band using my Wi-Fi 7 client. The lower-than-expected close-range speeds didn’t make sense given that the 6 GHz realm is practically a new frontier. I usually don’t need to change channels, but that was the case for this system. Ultimately, I recorded a good 3,326Mbps at close range to the router unit, and 832Mbps at my marker across the street. Not bad for a mesh system after a bit of tweaking!

Like with the standalone Wi-Fi 7 routers I’ve tested, I recorded great speeds using the 5 GHz band—no channel adjustments were necessary. The control channel was set to 100, meaning the router dipped into radar-laden DFS channels that, until Wi-Fi 7 came along, made super-wide channels almost unusable where I live.

I also recorded great speeds on the 2.4 GHz band. It’s the oldest and most crowded of the three, but Wi-Fi 7’s higher modulation combined with improved interference management makes it a great alternative to the other bands. I recorded 356Mbps, which is a little slower than what I’ve seen on other Wi-Fi 7 routers, but far better than the 120Mbps or so seen with Wi-Fi 6. Of course, you need a Wi-Fi 7 device to enjoy those higher 2.4 GHz speeds.

Finally, we purchased a 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapter to test the backhaul connections between the router and satellite units. I recorded the fastest speed when I placed the satellite unit in the TV room, clocking at 7,064Mbps, followed by 6,850Mbps when I put it in the dining room. That’s more bandwidth than my gigabit fiber internet plan.

The only difference between the ZenWiFi and the RT-BE96U’s features is that this system doesn’t have the gaming and VLAN features found on the RT-BE96U. Otherwise, it’s just as feature-packed.

• Mesh networking (AiMesh only)
• Free security powered by TrendMicro (AiProtection)
• Free profile-based parental controls
• USB-based media streaming and sharing
• USB-based printer sharing
• USB-based 4G/5G tethering
• Free VPN tools (server, client, and a mobile-based connection)
• Multiple SSIDs (I created at least 5)
• Cloud-based file sharing (AiCloud 2.0)
• Dual WAN connectivity with Fail Over and Load Balancing support
• WAN Aggregation connectivity (up to 2Gbps)

ASUS doesn’t lock any of these features behind a subscription. The only added cost you may see is the optional AdGuard DNS Personal plan for $2.49 per month.

What the ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro could do better

• One interface for everything

My biggest beef in interacting with routers and mesh systems is that you generally need two interfaces to manage your home network fully. For example, with the ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro, the parental controls in the web interface are limited to blocking websites and apps, scheduling on and off times per device, and signing in to an AdGuard DNS account. All the real parental controls, like device assigning and content filters, are only available in the app. Why can’t we have one ring to rule them all?

You certainly get what you pay for with the ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro. This system isn’t cheap, but its design is as loaded as it can get. Each unit resembles a compact Xbox console, packing four Wi-Fi radios, a handful of LAN ports, and three options for internet: 10Gbps, 1Gbps, and 4G/5G via the USB port. It even has link aggregation and Dual WAN support. Kaboom!

Setting up this system was a quick and easy eight-step process—easier than baking a cake. You don’t have to look up settings on the internet to find out what they do. There are no questions to answer. Just set the first unit up and then turn on the second one—it automatically joins the network.

You don’t even need a cloud account to set up and use this system unless you want to manage your home network remotely.

First, I like that there’s a real web interface you can actually use, instead of one that only displays basic information and settings you can’t change. Some competing systems focus on app use only for simplicity’s sake, which I’ve never liked. But then I think about Mom trying to use a web interface to customize her mesh system, and it makes me cringe. “Can you come over and set up this monster Wi-Fi thing for me?” she’d ask. Sometimes simplicity is a good thing.

Regardless, I saw a near-identical setup with the standalone RT-BE96U router. There’s a lot packed into the web UI and the ASUS Router app, so expect lots of customization at the cost of digging deep into either interface. Everything you need is categorized on the left in the browser version, while settings are divided into five tabs in the mobile app. With the latter, the Settings tab is where the meat of your network customization takes place.

I can’t really complain about the design of either interface. The mobile app feels a little busy, and you can simplify it a bit by changing themes. I’ll have to admit, however, that I prefer the ASUS gray and black web UI design over the TP-Link white and blue layout—but I gravitate to dark interfaces anyway.