Do you remember this? I wrote about the old Mikrotik RB2011UiAS router a while back. The router was given to me years ago by an old friend in the UK and sat in a cupboard until this summer when I resurrected it from the grave and it works a treat – but is old tech and no 5Ghz WiFi never mind WiFi 6 or 7.
So I wrote off Mikrotik to see if they would send me one of their later products to play with – and sure enough, this morning a big box arrived for me here in Spain, from sunny Latvia.
I don’t usually do unboxing blogs, but I’ve never seen anything like this before – so – now is as good a time as any for an exception. Inside this very large box, a much smaller box containing the router and its power supply…
And here it is – a hAP-series (whatever that means) router from Mikrotik.
The MA53UG is a very strange looking router (modem) – the description on the English instruction sheet says MA53UG + HbeH and the first photo on the left shows the front of the unit. On one side is a USB-C connection, the other side has nothing and the back has 4 2.5G Ethernet ports, a PoE in the Internet port, reset button, DC power input and some kind of lock.
There is also a slot on the back whose purpose I have yet to figure out.
The documentation that comes with it contains instructions in every imaginable language, only one of which I understand – and no pretty pictures. The English section, like the rest, consists of a fraction of a sheet of paper – but fortunately ALSO a QR code – I scanned it in my phone and voila – hAP be³ Media – MA53UG+HbeH – just to be sure – this is the link to the manual –
Until I say “end of blurb” the information is straight from the website.
The professional, all-in-one platform for routing, services, containers and modern network workloads. This is a powerful Wi-Fi 7 hybrid router and media hub combining triple-band wireless, five 2.5G Ethernet ports, built-in Matter / Thread Smart Automation / IoT support, and a quad-core ARM CPU for containers, storage, and advanced networks.
Triple-Band 2×2 MIMO Wi-Fi 7
The hAP be³ Media delivers true Wi-Fi 7 performance over the 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands. Expect higher throughput, lower latency, improved security and better spectral efficiency. The wider 6 GHz band provides cleaner spectrum, helping to reduce congestion in busy environments.
Also hAP be³ Media supports Wi-Fi 7 Multi-Link Operation (MLO) in TR-MLMR (AP mode).
Whether you’re running a multi-device setup, a network lab, workstations, VR headsets, NAS backups, cloud synchronization or high-resolution media streaming, everything can run simultaneously without competing for airtime. More bands mean more capacity, smoother performance, and a wireless experience that finally keeps up with modern workloads.
- 2.4 GHz antenna gain: 4 dBi
- 5 GHz antenna gain: 7.5 dBi
- 6 GHz antenna gain: 8 dBi
2.5 Gigabit Ethernet on all ports
That’s right – no more bottlenecks! Ultra-fast ISP uplink, NAS servers, workstations – you can have it all!
A modern hybrid media center
With USB-C, two USB-A ports, and a microSD card slot, hAP be³ Media becomes the heart of your local media storage. Use flash storage for backups, photos, video surveillance footage or a private family cloud.
Self-hosted password managers, documents and services – this is the way to go in 2026 if you care about privacy and security. Store automation data in container workloads without relying on external servers. Everything stays fast, local, and fully under your control. Also, with the MikroTik BTH app and the improved file share functionality in WinBox, you can share large files without worrying about expired links, delays or privacy.
Matter matters: Smart Internet-of-things integration has never been easier
With Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and RouterOS v7, hAP be³ Media provides a solid foundation for modern IoT setups. A built-in Thread Radio and full container support allow users to deploy Thread IoT automation solutions that remain local, private and fully customizable.
End of blurb
I got the hang of it with “Winbox” – an interface program that Mikrotik has been using for many years and which you refer to in my “Back from the Grave” article from September this year.
MORE to come – I published this because I needed the link to a previous post.