In which cases does the Asus make sense? The Asus has 4 external antennas. Is this an advantage if it is used as main access point? I want to connect 3 devices via ethernet and mobile phones, but the Asus itself is connected wireless to an upstream router.
I actually have the same question. I can get 3 WSM20 for about £55. I can get an Asus RT-AX53U for £40. I probably don't need 3 units but likely 2 is needed. So about £80 vs £55.
The Asus seems to have a weaker 2.4 Ghz hardware but the 5 Ghz is better (basing this solely on the numbers lol). I know most people here are only thinking about OpenWRT but as an example curently the RT-AX53U has WAN problem on OpenWRT so it's always handy to have a router that has good stock firmware to fall back on and switch back after fixed. This seems good for Asus.
I can't say the same for the WSM20 if that ever had a problem on OpenWRT. The stock Zyxel firmware is apparently just awful. Likely why they are so cheap.
It's probably better to fork out for the Asus for this reason but curious to hear any other opinions.
I have both and they are similar in performance. What WAN problem are you refering to? They both have WAN connected to gmac4. I have not seen any differences in performance between the two.
I just booted a spare AX53U and spare WSM20 with 23.05.2 and they have exactly the same hardware (dmesg log is identical aside from USB 3.0 port on the Asus and different partition layout). WiFi settings were completely broken on 23.05.0 but that is fixed in .2
The only "WAN problem" i can think of is WAN with PPPoE and VLAN that was broken in 23.05.0-rc4 and I'm not sure if it is fixed but that issue is not hardware-specific.
Brand name does matter, also their default firmware is also very different.
You use OpenWrt that's why you feel them the same and not worth to pay more.
Because of the specs or do you have other reasons?
I have now both both and the similar D-Link DAP-X1860 too.
When it comes to flashing openwrt, I think the Zyxel, is the easiest, then the D-Link (checksum problem with all browsers, so flashing again with sysupgrade -n after copying with scp) and at the end the Asus (because you need internet and registratiton). But I think this is not a reason to buy one or not.
The D-Link can be put directly into the socket. The Zyxel has to stand vertically, while the Asus has to be placed horizontally. The Asus has visible antennas, so maybe this is better by design.
Sorry, don't find the link. There is a thread here in the forum, where a few said, it works with 23.05.2, but others disagreed.