ASUS - RT-BE88U

Asus ftw. I’ve got 4 in my apartment. 3 are wired and one is on the 5Ghz mesh wireless and I still get 500Mbs from that one from the opposite side of the room from it. I have two x BE88Us, my router is set to pass through mode so one of my BE88Us does the PPPPOE for my internet connection too. Also don’t use stock ASUS firmware, flash Merlin. It’s super easy. They only support the latest ASUS routers though.

Have been running Asus and AIMesh for over 10 years.  Consistently excellent.   Currently have a RT-BE88U (Wifi 7) and a RT-AC86U ( wifi 5) in mesh and zero issues.  All the iot devices are on their own network.  Homeassistant server runs on main.   About 50 devices total 

I've been using Google Nest WiFi Pro (6E) for several weeks now and found it having zero issues. Paid $220 for Open Box deal with three units. A coworker, who has been heavily using Nest WiFi for four years, recommended the system, My house is a two-storey one, with an attached garage and several Ring cameras outside. Once I've installed the three Nest WiFi Pros -- all connectivity issues are gone. My Rings are up and running, with streaming starting right after opening a live view. It takes a couple of seconds to see up-to-date snapshot in Ring app's dashboard -- I've never had that kind of performance with any of below mentioned setups. I'd had TP-Link AX5400 Pro (wifi 6) with three extenders and briefly Asus BE92u (wifi 7) with BE8s as mesh nodes. I'd tried Asus BE8 (wifi 7) mesh (of three) as a sole system too -- second and distant second to the Google's. I'd tried Asus BE10 (wifi 7) mesh (of three) -- complete mess with Verizon's Fios. Unreliable and super-slow upload speeds. No fix. The Nest WiFi Pro is better in every respect, expect it has very basic feature set. Tried Verizon Fios (wifi 6E) router. They do not even offer wireless backhaul for their extenders! As a separate router it is exceptional, with the best coverage area, but won't cover all I need without extenders -- a no-go for me. IMO the best option is Google Nest WiFi Pro (6E). Do not pay more than $250 for three units. Last but not least -- Netflix 4K (and others) streaming is instantaneous, WFH is stellar too.

Go for a WIFI 7 Mesh system. I Love ASUS, excellent software,frequent firmware updates. Good Luck!

When my Nest wifi was finally on its last life, I purchased a much more expensive Asus mesh router setup that supported wifi 7. For whatever reason the more advanced features of MLO didn't work with my TV. So basically I had to cripple my expensive setup to work with the device I use all the time. I ended up returning that and switched to the Nest Pro and have had no issues. Been about a year now. Solid connectivity and speed. I bought the 2 pack for 250, not on sale.

Asus with Ethernet back haul. Router + 2 APs. Works great, gigabit access all over the house!

I have been using the Asus AI-Mesh system for years. Seems very robust, to me. Devices seemlessly switch between the nodes. It handles 2.4ghz and 5ghz fine. Sonos works without a hitch. I am definitely using wired ethernet backhaul, however, from the remote node. Currently two of the Asus RT-AX55.

Hey OP. I've been living with wireless backhaul mesh for the last few months in our new place and with a few tweaks, it's been fine. I'm using Asus AiMesh with two remote nodes, plus a couple of old OpenWRT routers purely as bridges for wired devices. I'm in the process of running cable just now just to make the most of my FTTP connection but some generic tips that seemed to help me, if you do go down the wireless route. - Choose a system with multiple radios in each node, so you can dedicate a channel to the backhaul. - Look for mesh nodes that allow you to plug devices into them and position them accordingly. The "wired" devices will obviously still be using wireless via the mesh, but keeping their own radios quiet keeps the spectrum free for the mesh nodes and wireless-only devices to talk. The mesh nodes will almost certainly have better antennae and radios than the client devices. - Try to position the nodes so they are all talking with the main router rather than hopping via each other. On consumer gear this can be more of an art than a science but it boils down to finding different locations with the same signal strength to the main router so they link directly. - Although not acting as mesh nodes, I've repurposed a couple of old routers running OpenWRT + Relayd in the office and games room, so my PCs and old consoles without wireless can get internet. - Some mesh systems allow you to lock clients to a particular node. Play around with this - you can steer dumb devices to their nearest node rather than them trying to pick up a faint signal from a further one and shouting over everything else. Smart speakers and displays are particularly bad for this. In my office, about 25 metres and 1.5 floors (it's a L-shaped split level house) away from the main AP, my main PC wired into a mesh node can pull around 400Mbps down on a 990Mbps fibre connection. Previously with the PC and laptop using their own radios, I'd be lucky to see over 150 on either. Good luck!

Netgear isn’t who I’d recommend. Not only are they expensive but they need a specific base station router rather than all the satellites being capable of running the whole thing. ASUS with AImesh is the most versatile as it will work with any of their own products even older ones and you can mix and match freely. I don’t think you can mix and match TP link but at least they don’t require a specific base station so you can use the routers in any location/configuration and extend/replace as needed without a worry that it’s not compatible because it’s only a satellite/base station. TP-Link/Netgear software and features are worse than ASUS and far more basic/limited. Eero requires a subscription for stuff you get for free/default on ASUS, also MerlinWRT is a god send.

Unifi is not the way for WiFI mesh and even if you don’t need mesh it’s not for the average joe either. They are expensive but the easiest setup and most feature rich for the average consumer is ASUS.

Older ASUS AiMesh user here, and similar story. Portal plays shockingly well, and my PS5 isn't even hardwired.