🛒
Today, Asus exhibits a host of dual-band Wi-Fi 7 hardware at CES 2025, including the ZenWiFi BD5, the ZenWiFi BD4 Outdoor, and the AiMesh-ready RT-BE58. There’s more, but with these alone, the Taiwanese company’s dual-band Wi-Fi 7 lineup is complete.
Let’s find out more!
ZenWiFi BD5 and ZenWiFi BD4 Outdoor from Asus at CES 2025: The variants of the ZenWiFi BD4
As the names suggest, the ZenWiFi BD5 and ZenWiFi BD4 Outdoor are both variants of the ZenWiFi BD4, which was launched over a month ago. The former is a slightly different version, and the latter is the same in hardware specs but designed for outdoor use, rivaling the recently announced Deco BD65-Outdoor.
Due to the complexity of the 6GHz, dual-band Wi-Fi 7 hardware has been available since mid-2024. Asus’s first dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router is the RT-BE88U.
Without the third band, these products don’t have the same Wi-Fi bandwidth as their tri-band counterparts, but they make life much easier while still offering Wi-Fi 7’s benefits, including MLO, which is excellent for backhauling in a fully wireless setup. However, like all dual-band mesh hardware, it’s best to use them via wired backhauling.
Backhaul vs. fronthaul
When you use multiple Wi-Fi broadcasters—in a mesh network or a combo of a router and an extender—there are two types of connections: fronthaul and backhaul.
Fronthaul is the Wi-Fi signals broadcast outward for clients or the local area network (LAN) ports for wired devices. It’s what we generally expect from a Wi-Fi broadcaster.
Backhaul (a.k.a backbone,) on the other hand, is the link between one satellite Wi-Fi broadcaster and another, which can be the network’s primary router, a switch, or another satellite unit.
This link works behind the scenes to keep the hardware units together as a system. It also determines the ceiling bandwidth (and speed) of all devices connected to the particular broadcaster. It’s the backbone of the system.
At the satellite/extender unit, the connection used for the backhaul—a Wi-Fi link or a network port—is often called the uplink. Generally, a Wi-Fi broadcaster might use one of its bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, or 6GHz) or a network port for the uplink.
When a Wi-Fi band handles backhaul and fronthaul simultaneously, only half its bandwidth is available to either end. From the perspective of a connected client, that phenomenon is called signal loss.
A Wi-Fi connection between two direct parties occurs in a single band, using one fixed channel, at any given time. This principle applies to all existing Wi-Fi standards, up to Wi-Fi 6E.
When a Wi-Fi band functions solely for backhauling, it’s called the dedicated backhaul. Often, that means no other band will do this job, though that depends on the hardware.
In a mesh system, only traditional Tri-band hardware—those with an additional 5GHz band—can have a dedicated backhaul band without ostracizing clients of the same band.
Generally, it’s best to use network cables for backhauling—wired backhauling, which is an advantage of mesh hardware with network ports. In this case, a satellite broadcaster can use its entire Wi-Fi bandwidth for front-hauling.
In networking, network cables are always much better than wireless in speed and reliability.
The table below shows the hardware specs of Asus’s current three dual-band Wi-Fi 7 ZenWiFi broadcasters. There will be more. For example, Asus told me that there will also be a ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor. However, the three below remain the core representatives of how the vendor has been taking on dual-band Wi-Fi 7.
Hardware specifications: Asus ZenWiFi BD5 vs. Asus ZenWiFi BD4 vs. Asus ZenWiFi BD4 Outdoor
| Asus ZenWiFi BD4 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh System | Asus ZenWiFi BD4 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh System | Asus ZenWiFi BD4 Outdoor Extendable Mesh Router | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | |
| Model | ZenWiFi BD5 | ZenWiFi BD4 | ZenWiFi BD4 Outddor |
| Pre-Synced Hardware | Yes | n/a | |
| Possible Dedicated Backhaul Band (default) | No | ||
| Wired Backhaul | Yes | ||
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 5.51 x 2.76 x 5.51 in (140 x 70 x 140 mm) | 4.17 x 4.17 x 7.87 (106 x 106 x 200 mm) | |
| Weight | 1.21 lbs (549 gram) | 2.29 lbs (1040 gram) | |
| Processing Power | Quad-core 1.5 GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, 128MB Flash | ||
| Wi-Fi Bandwith | Dual-band BE5000 | Dual-band BE3600 | |
| 1st Band (2.4GHz) | 2×2 BE: Up to 688Mbps (20/40MHz) | ||
| 2nd Band (5GHz) | 4×4 BE: Up to 4323Mbps (20/40/80/160MHz) | 2×2 BE: Up to 2882Mbps (20/40/80/160MHz) | |
| Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) | N/A (only applicable to the 6GHz band) | ||
| Multi-Link Operation (MLO) | Yes | ||
| Backward Compatibility | 802.11ax/ac/n/g/a/b | ||
| Self-Defined Network (SDN/virtual SSDs) | Smart Home Master via AsusWRT 5.0 | ||
| Mobile App | Asus Router | ||
| Web User Interface | Comprehensive | ||
| AP Mode | Yes (as a router or a mesh) | ||
| USB Port | None | ||
| Gigabit Port | None | ||
| Multi-Gig Port | 2x 2.5Gbps Auto-Sensing | 2x 2.5Gbps Auto-Sensing PoE | |
| Dual-WAN and Link Aggregation | No | ||
| Firmware Version (at review) | Not yet tested | ||
| U.S. Release Date | January 2025 | December 2024 | 2025 |
| Power Specs | Input: 100-240V | Input: 100-240V, PoE | |
| Real-World Power Consumption (per 24 hours) | TBD | ||
| U.S. Launch Price | $349.99 (3-pack) $249.99 (2-pack) $139.99 (single router) (buy now!) | $299.99 (3-pack) $229.99 (2-pack) $129.99 (single router) (buy now!) | TBD |
As shown in the table above, all of these new ZenWiFi hardware devices have two 2.5Gbps ports, but those of the BD4 Outdoor are both PoE-enabled. The BD4 Outdoor shares the same hardware specs as the BD4 but has an outdoor design. The BD5 shares the same physical design as the BD4 but has more bandwidth on the 5GHz band.
It’s safe to say all of these hardware units share the same features and settings as the ZenWiFi family. The BD4 Outdoor (and the future BD5 Outdoor) will be available as a single unit designed to complement the other two or any Wi-Fi 7 ZenWiFi or AiMesh system.
RP-BE58: Asus’s first Wi-Fi 7 range extender
The RP-BE58 is the Wi-Fi 7 version of the previous Wi-Fi 7 RP-AX58. Both are Wi-Fi extenders (or repeaters) that can also work as access points.
As a standard extender, the RP-BE58 can work with any existing Wi-Fi network, preferably one hosted by a (dual-band) Wi-Fi 7 router. However, since it features AiMesh, it can also work as a mesh satellite of an AiMesh system.
Considering its specs, though, it works best with a dual-band AiMesh router, especially the ZenWiFi sets mentioned above.
Asus RP-BE58 vs. Asus RP-AX58: Hardware specifications
| Full Name | Asus RP-BE58 BE3600 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 7 Repeater | Asus RP-AX58 AX3000 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Repeater |
| Model | RP-BE58 | RP-AX58 |
| Processing Power | Quad-core 2.0 GHz 64-bit CPU, Flash 128MB, DDR4 RAM 512MB | undisclosed |
| Dimensions | 5.91 x 3.43 x 2.83 in (15 x 8.71 x 7.18 cm) | |
| Weight | .49 lb (224g) | 0.42 lb (190 g) |
| Wi-Fi Bandwidth | Dua-band BE3600 | Dual-band AX3000 |
| 5GHz Wi-Fi Specs (channel with) | 2×2 BE: Up to 2882Mbps | 2×2 AX: Up to 2.4Gbps (20/40/80/160MHz) |
| 2.4GHz Wi-Fi Specs (channel with) | 2×2 BE: Up to 688Mbps | 2×2 AX: Up to 574Mbps (20/40 MHz) |
| Backward Compatibility | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| Wireless Security | WPA, WPA2, WPA3 | |
| Mobile App | Asus Router | |
| Web User Interface | Yes | |
| Available Operating Mode | Access Point (AP) Repeater (Extender) Media Bridge AiMesh Node | |
| Mesh-Ready | Yes (AiMesh) with wireless or wired backhaul | |
| Gigabit Port | 1x LAN | |
| Multi-Gig Port | None | |
| Release Date | 2025 | February 2023 |
| U.S. Launch Price | TBD | $99.99 |
Availability and pricing
Of the hardware above, the ZenWiFi BD5 is available immediately. The ZenWiFi BD4 Outdoor and RP-BE58, per Asus, will be available later this year, with their pricing unknown then.
Check back for more information, including potential hands-on reviews.
Asus website lists that ZenWiFi BD5 “5 GHz” is 2×2 (not 4×4). However you have listed in your article above, that the BD5 “5 GHz” is 4×4. Can you please confirm whether it is 2×2 or 4×4?
If BD5 “5 GHz” it is indeed only 2×2, then what is the difference between BD5 and BD4, as they both seem to have the exactly same technical specifications?
Asus USA: ZenWiFi BD4
https://www.asus.com/us/networking-iot-servers/whole-home-mesh-wifi-system/zenwifi-wifi-systems/asus-zenwifi-bd4/techspec/
Asus USA: ZenWiFi BD5
https://www.asus.com/us/networking-iot-servers/whole-home-mesh-wifi-system/zenwifi-wifi-systems/asus-zenwifi-bd5/techspec/
Either it has to be 4×4 or have a higher channel width. Otherwise, it can’t have higher bandwidth. So the specs you saw on the site of the latter are wrong. I picked what makes sense for now, I haven’t tested it. My guess it 2×2 but with 240MHz. We’ll see.
Why wouldn’t they put a 2.5GHz port on the RP-BE58 ??? Pointless having those WiFi 7 speeds if you can only feed it at 1GHz.
Good question.