Designed for medium and large homes, the Asus ZenWiFi BT8 ($849.99) is a midrange, tri-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh system that offers 6GHz data transmissions, a pair of 2.5GbE networking ports, 4G and 5G mobile tethering, and Trend Micro-powered network security and parental control software at no additional cost. It delivers solid throughput and good signal-strength performance according to our testing, and as with most mesh systems, it is easy to install. That said, you’ll get better performance (but slightly less coverage) with the $799.99 TP-Link Deco BE63 three-pack, our Editors' Choice winner for midrange Wi-Fi 7 mesh systems.
The BT8 three-pack has three identical nodes that provide up to 8,850 square feet of coverage. For smaller homes, the $579.99 two-pack covers 5,900 square feet, and the $299.99 one-pack covers up to 3,000 square feet. The nodes stand 7.3 inches tall, 6.2 inches wide, and 2.8 inches deep. A strip of air vents around the entire enclosure helps keep internal components cool, and a small LED indicator on the front, near the bottom, tells you what is going on with the system. A blue LED means the system is ready for setup; a solid white LED means everything is connected and working correctly; a solid yellow LED indicates a weak signal between the router node and the satellite node; and a red LED indicates no internet connection.
Around the back are a 2.5GbE WAN port, a 2.5GbE LAN port, a pair of 1GbE LAN ports, a USB 3.0 port, a power port, and a power switch. Each node contains seven internal antennas. Unlike the Editors' Choice-winning Asus ZenWiFi BQ16, this model is not equipped with 10GbE ports, but it does support link aggregation. Reset and WPS buttons are located on the base.
The BT8 is a tri-band system that can hit maximum theoretical speeds of up to 688Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, up to 4,323Mbps on the 5GHz band, and up to 8,643Mbps on the 6GHz band. It supports all of the latest Wi-Fi 7 technologies, including Multi-Link Operation (MLO), 4x4 MU-MIMO streaming, WPA3 encryption, direct-to-client beamforming, Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) data transmissions, 4K-QAM, and 320MHz channels. It also supports mobile tethering, which lets you use your phone to turn the BT8 into a 4G/5G hotspot. Intelligent MLO multi-band wireless backhaul and wired backhaul round out this system's technical capabilities.
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The BT8 comes with AIProtection software powered by Trend Micro. It lets you perform network-wide scans for malware and viruses and protects clients against cyberattacks. It also includes Instant Guard and Fusion VPN services, as well as Safe Browsing, which filters unwanted content from search results. AIProtection also offers parental controls that let you create user profiles and assign age-based web filters, create access and block schedules, and grant extra online time as a reward for things like completing homework and chores.
You control the BT8 using the Asus mobile app (which allows you to manage things using your phone) or with the web console (which offers more advanced settings).
When you open the mobile app, you’ll see the home screen with a panel that displays the LAN IP address. Off to the right is a button that lets you prioritize bandwidth for gaming, web surfing, media streaming, working/learning from home, and file transfers. Below the map are CPU and memory usage stats and buttons that take you to a network map where you can optimize the system and add new nodes. Swipe to the left to view real-time traffic charts and connected client information.
At the bottom of the screen are Home, Devices, Insight, Family, and Settings buttons. The Home button returns you to the Home screen from wherever you are in the app, and the Devices button opens a screen where you can see a list of all connected devices and which node each device is connected to. Tap the Insight button to see what’s going on with your network. Here, you can view security scan results, check for firmware updates, search for compatible mesh devices, and register your system.
Use the Settings button to access network settings. Here, you can search for available mesh devices, configure WAN, LAN, and Wi-Fi settings, scan for possible security threats, run network diagnostics, view network traffic charts, configure parental controls and Quality of Service (QoS) settings, and update the firmware. VPN options let you enable PPTP, OpenVPN, IPSec VPN, and WireGuard VPN settings, and additional options let you use Alexa and Google voice commands to do things like enable and disable the guest network.
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Installing the BT8 was easy. I plugged in the node marked Main Unit, connected it to my modem and to my desktop PC, and tapped the icon to set up a new network on the app’s welcome screen. I tapped ZenWiFi Series, selected the BT8 from the list, and used my phone’s camera to scan the QR code on the base. After a few seconds, the BT8 was recognized, so I tapped Get Started and created a network name and password. I skipped past the screen to create an IoT network, created a local admin account, updated the firmware, and waited a few seconds for the settings to be saved. Once the router rebooted, I placed the satellite nodes in their respective rooms and powered them up, and after a minute and a half, they were automatically added to the network.
The BT8 turned in solid scores on our throughput performance tests. The router node’s score of 2,279Mbps on the close proximity test was faster than the eero Max 7 router (2,149Mbps) and the Netgear Orbi 970 Series router (2,209Mbps) but came up short against the TP-Link Deco BE63 router (2,288Mbps). The Asus BQ16 Pro router beat them all with a score of 2,917Mbps. On the 30-foot test, the BT8 router scored 775Mbps, beating the Max 7 router’s score of 770Mbps but not the BE63 router (780Mbps) or the BQ16 Pro router (855Mbps). The Orbi 970 Series router led with a score of 916Mbps.
The BT8 satellite node managed a score of 1,516Mbps on the close proximity test. That score was faster than the Orbi 970 Series node (1,470Mbps) but slower than the BE63 node (1,922Mbps) and the Max 7 node (1,795Mbps). The BQ16 Pro node beat them all with a score of 2,229Mbps. The BT8 node delivered 995Mbps on the 30-foot test while the Max 7 node scored 1,062Mbps, the Orbi 970 Series node scored 1,040Mbps, and the Deco BE63 node scored 999Mbps. Once again, the Asus BQ16 Pro node led, here with a score of 1,133Mbps.
We test wireless signal strength using an Ekahau Sidekick 2 diagnostic device and the company's Survey software. (Disclosure: Ekahau is owned by PCMag.com's parent company Ziff Davis.) This combo generates a heat map that displays Wi-Fi signal strength throughout our test home. The circles on the map represent the router and node locations, and the colors represent signal strength, with dark green representing the strongest signal, lighter yellow representing a weaker signal, and gray representing a very weak or no measurable signal.
As illustrated in the map above, which shows combined strength across the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands, the BT8 had no trouble delivering a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout the entire house.
If you're shopping for a mesh system that will eliminate Wi-Fi dead spots in your home, put the Asus ZenWiFi BT8 on your short list. Available in a one-, two-, or three-piece kit, the BT8 uses Wi-Fi 7 technology, multi-gig wired connectivity, and 6GHz radio transmissions to deliver solid throughput performance and wide signal coverage. It also comes with included parental control and network security software.
At $849.99 for a three-pack, the BT8 is much cheaper than Asus' deluxe ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro, which is $1,099.99 for a two-pack. But the BT8 can’t match the BQ16 Pro’s performance or feature set, which includes 10GbE networking and two 6GHz radio bands. The BQ16 Pro is our top recommendation for high-end Wi-Fi 7 systems.
Meanwhile, if the BT8 is still out of your price range, the Editors' Choice-winning TP-Link Deco BE63 is a less-expensive alternative with slightly better performance and similar features.
