Setup & General Usage of the ASUS RT-BE96U
Getting the RT-BE96U setup is extremely easy. First you want to plug it into power and then connect your modem to the WAN port. From there you can either use the ASUS Router app or set up the router via web browser on either a wired or wireless connection.
For me I used a wired connection to the RT-BE96U and just went to http://www.asusrouter.com. This brings you to the setup page for the router and you just click on Create A New Network.
From there you’ll be asked to select your internet settings, and set up your wireless access points as corresponding passwords for those. When you are done with that the router will check for the latest firmware and install it.
That is it! The router really shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes to get up and running!
The router management page is quite easy to navigate and has all of the settings and options that you would want.
One of the coolest things about ASUS routers is that they have the AiMesh feature, which allows you to use a previous ASUS router and turn it into a mesh network. I was able to get my older GT-AX11000 router set up in AiMesh, although it took a little bit of troubleshooting. Wirelessly sitting next to the RT-BE96U the GT-AX11000 would be detected for AiMesh, but it would not finish the setup for some reason. After doing some searching I found that you can set up AiMesh over a wired connection. So you connect the routers via their WAN connection with an Ethernet cable and the set up went through no problem. So I have the GT-AX110000 in my bedroom working as an access point no problem.
Some other things you might want to enable on the router are the AiProtection, which is powered by TrendMicro. It is always good to have this type of protection at a router level. Also if you do want to take advantage of both 10G ports on the router as downstream ports, you can reassign the WAN port to LAN1. This option can be found in the WAN settings on the router.
The ASUS Router app is pretty useful as well. It provides a real-time look at your network setup, traffic, and connected devices. You can prioritize certain applications like gaming, live streaming, etc. You also have easy access to things like easy WiFi sharing with a QR code, Family controls, and of course all of your normal router settings.
