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I have been eyeing a travel router from either GL.iNet Beryl 7 or UniFi Travel Router (UTR). Connect the travel router to the hotel Wi-Fi once, go through the captive portal login once, and every device I carry connects to the travel router instead.

On top of that, I can run WireGuard VPN (Virtual Private Network) at the router level, tunneling everything back to my UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber (UCG-Fiber) at home. In this way, my iPhone, laptop, iPad, and Li Xiang’s phone are all protected without having to manage a VPN on each device separately.

It was a coincidence that Asus reached out to me to review the Asus RT-BE58 Go Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router. Before they reached out, I didn’t even know Asus manufactures travel routers.

The Recommended Retail Price (RRP) for Asus RT-BE58 is $170. But you can get it for around S$145 on Shopee during the sales day.

Specifications

• Wi-Fi Standard: Dual-Band Wi-Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be)
• Wi-Fi Speed: 688 Mbps (2.4 GHz) + 2,882 Mbps (5 GHz) = BE3600
• CPU: 2.0 GHz Quad-Core
• RAM: 1 GB DDR4
• Flash: 256 MB
• Ports: 2.5G WAN, 1G LAN, USB-A Tethering, USB-C Power
• Power: 18W USB-C Power Delivery (12V/2A or 9V/2A)
• Operating Modes: Router, Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) aka Public Wi-Fi, Repeater, Access Point (AP), Range Extender, AiMesh Node
• VPN: WireGuard (Client/Server), OpenVPN (Client/Server), L2TP, PPTP, IPSec
• Dimensions: 99 × 111 × 36 mm
• Weight: 232 g

Unboxing

• Asus RT-BE58 Go
• 1m Flat Ethernet Cable
• 24W USB-C Power Adapter With Travel Plugs
• Warranty Card
• Quick Setup Guide

The power adapter included outputs at 24W.

Design
The RT-BE58 Go is compact. It should not come as a surprise that it feels plasticy and lightweight (232 g).

It has two foldable external antennas that fold flat for packing, and a physical slider on the body.

The slider’s functionality can be customized in the settings. By default, it does nothing.

There is only one LED indicator, located at the front.

At the back are the ports: 1G LAN, 2.5G WAN, reset button, USB-C port for power, and USB-A port for tethering.

Setup
I used the Asus Router iOS app to set up the router.

During setup, I encountered a slight complication: scanning the QR code at the bottom of the router doesn’t work.

I don’t know whether this is a used or brand-new review unit, but I notice the SSID broadcast differs from what is written in the quick setup guide. Mine was broadcast as ASUS_Guest1, while the documentation lists ASUS_78. So I ended up with the manual connection way, and it works.

In WISP mode, which you will use most when traveling, select the hotel’s Wi-Fi, enter the password, and the router creates a private network behind it.

WireGuard setup is under VPN -> VPN Fusion. You import a .conf file or paste/type your configuration directly. I always go with the .conf file approach as it is much easier. I have WireGuard configured to use my UCG-Fiber at home as the server.

As mentioned earlier, you can customize the slider’s functionality. Asus called it the multi-function button.

If the front LED is too bright and is affecting your sleep in the hotel, you can turn it off using the app.

Not everything is in the app. Some settings require you to log in to the router’s web interface in your browser, like changing the MAC address or your router IP address.

WireGuard VPN
The main reason I use a travel router over just running VPN on my devices individually is that one WireGuard connection at the router level, with everything behind it tunneled back home. No managing VPN on each device separately.

The RT-BE58 Go supports WireGuard as both client and server.

As a client, it connects to your WireGuard server at home. As a server, you can remotely connect to the router itself.

The headline caveat is WireGuard throughput. Asus does publish a figure of up to 300 Mbps via Ethernet in VPN client mode. But interestingly, they did not surface it as body text on the product page. It is embedded in the alt text of an image, and the image is only on the US product page. The Singapore page does not mention it. That is an odd choice for a spec that directly affects your VPN experience when traveling.

In my tests, I managed to get more than 300 Mbps.

The difference between WireGuard on and off is about 140 Mbps.

For context, on paper the GL.iNet Beryl 7 delivers 1,100 Mbps over WireGuard, nearly 4x that of Asus. However, in a hotel scenario where you are lucky to get 50 – 100 Mbps from Wi-Fi, 300 Mbps is more than sufficient.

WISP Mode and Captive Portals
WISP mode is the core feature for hotel use. The router connects to the hotel Wi-Fi as its upstream WAN, then broadcasts your own private network. Your devices connect to the RT-BE58 Go, not directly to the hotel network.

Captive portals are the login pages hotels use to authenticate you.

Since I am not traveling anytime soon and I have a deadline for this review, I tested this at a Starbucks. I can log in fine with my MacBook Pro on the captive portal.

However, when testing the RT-BE58, I was unable to get it to work.

Since this is my first time using a travel router, I expected the login page to appear after connecting it to the Wi-Fi network via the Asus Router app or the router admin webpage. But sadly, nothing happens.

It connects to the Wi-Fi network successfully, but I got stuck after that because authentication isn’t possible.

I tried cloning the MAC address on my MacBook Pro, but it still didn’t work.

Both GL.iNet and UTR (under FAQ) explicitly state that they support captive portal. But I can’t find anything on the Asus RT-BE58 page.

Random MAC Address
One feature that advanced users use is the ability to change the Media Access Control (MAC) address.

When you connect to a public hotspot, the hotspot operator can see your device’s MAC address, which is a unique hardware identifier. Some properties use it to track returning devices and limit your free access time. A random MAC address lets you connect as a fresh, anonymous device every time.

Most iPhones already have this feature by default when connecting to Wi-Fi.

The RT-BE58 Go does not support random MAC address generation. However, you still can manually change the MAC address in the settings, but you’ll need to dig into the router’s web interface and not use the app.

Conclusion
The RT-BE58 Go is a competent Wi-Fi 7 travel router that covers the core travel use case: connecting to hotel Wi-Fi and running WireGuard back home.

Asus is one of the most popular router brands in Singapore, and that familiarity counts for something. If you are already an Asus household, the RT-BE58 Go makes a lot of sense. You are already familiar with ASUSWRT; the app is the same one you use at home, and when you are not traveling, it can double up as an AiMesh node to extend your home network.

However, not being able to handle the captive portal is a deal-breaker for me because it is the most common way to log in to the hotel’s Wi-Fi network. Hence, I feel the GL.iNet Beryl 7 is a better buy.

The fundamental difference is philosophy. GL.iNet started out doing travel routers. Every feature decision is meant for traveling. ASUS built a competent home router and added a WISP mode. The RT-BE58 Go is not a bad travel router, but it is a home router that travels, not a travel router.

As for me, I am on UniFi and still waiting for the UniFi Travel Router (UTR) to come back in stock. It should be available in July 2026. When it does, the seamless Teleport VPN integration with my UCG-Fiber is hard to ignore, even with the Wi-Fi 5 hardware. That is a different trade-off I will cover when I get my hands on one, as I need to return this review unit.