ASUS - ZenWiFi AX6600 Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System (XT8)

If you want to reuse your RT-AC86U, you would need Asus to make it easier. I have the XT8 and it was bad during the 1st year but after a certain firmware update, it just worked fine. (or maybe it was just our devices having more Wifi 6 and less Wifi 5). I now have the Asus Rog GT6 and they are also good. I have no experience on other brands but any tri-band router should be good. Just check the reviews for the specific model you are looking at.

I did not replace the XT8 due to performance issues. I just saw the GT6 on sale and thought they were going to be phased out since Wifi 6e and Wifi 7 were coming out. With the price of Wifi 7 routers then, I thought I was saving money. So I use the GT6 as main router and the other GT6 and XT8s as nodes. They do work well together. Sometimes more devices connect to the XT8 node. I have the XT8 connected to my desktop and NAS so I have a direct LAN connection to the NAS even if the backhaul is wireless.

Reviews only go so far. In my experience, you have to live with kit for weeks if not months to see how it’s truly going to perform for you. I banged my head on the wall for months with an ASUS XT8 setup. Most reviewers loved it. I won’t ever get an ASUS again. Regarding the paywall, do any consumer grade systems NOT have a paywall of some sort? If that’s a dealbreaker for you, consider Ubiquiti or Omada…but they too have their own issues.

Asus has worked fine here.

WiFi Mesh in my experience is great if there are good sight lines and few thick walls! Can you wire the house for Ethernet backhaul? My wife won’t let me wire the flat (which twists and turns and has very thick 19th century walls - and has the internet intake in absolutely the farthest corner from where I’d want it) so I’ve finally just gotten a decent mesh going with two Asus BQ16s and two Zen XT12. I found the high end processors in the 12 made a huge difference when I upgraded from the XT8. The BQ16 are a really good upgrade but not absolutely necessary: I could have stayed with an all XT12 set up but the XT8’s were simply not powerful enough for my set up. Obviously I have a long daisy chain going but it now works well and is fast. In a consumer/prosumer set up you won’t get the monitoring/notifying you seem to want - they all are pretty much set it up and hold your breath.

Har XT8. Hadde trøbbel i starten men etter en FE-oppgradering og litt omlokalisering av node (kjører backhaul via 5Ghz) så har den vært dønn stabil hele tiden. Jeg måtte flytte noden pga en pipe og et bad med omfattende varmekabler, vannkabler og styr som kom i veien for signalet.

You are right they are apples and oranges but they are complementary tech …. However afaik you’ll not get 802.11r on consumer gear unless you can set up a radius service on it. My mesh setup ASUS AX as far as I know uses 802.11k & 802.11v in its implementation. I can actually see in the logs where it boots clients off the network when it detects they’ve a weak signal from their connected AP and I can then see the client reconnecting on another AP. This is all managed from the main node.

I replaced powerline (nightmare) with 3 ASUS XT8’s (been rock solid). I suspect my house is a lot smaller and newer but had similar challenges (thick wallls with steel beams…… bison slabs/concrete floor upstairs). The powerline never really worked 100% with intermittent dropouts and had to manually switch APs as we moved around the house. Even tried 2 brands separately; TP link and Netgear. Our sockets are distributed on separate electrical circuits so I suspect that it might have influenced it. My guess in OPs case is his setup might just be too complicated for ASUS and something like Ubiquity might be better. A mate of mine has it and he swears by it ……. but he’s over-provisioned IMO, slower broadband connection, smaller house, no concrete floor upstairs.

Har to XT8 med ethernet backhaul og er kjempefornøyd. Veldig god dekning, god hastighet, veldig stabilt, kanskje 2 nedetider på 4 år som løste seg med reboot. Ikke noe spesielt vanskelig oppsett av dem heller.

I’ve been running the Asus ZenWiFi XT8 for a while now and it’s been solid. No dead zones, handles streaming and gaming without breaking a sweat, and the setup was dead simple. Plus, it gives you a decent amount of control if you’re into tweaking settings. Would totally recommend if you don’t need Wi-Fi 7 just yet.

It’s definitely holding it back. Moving to a wifi6 setup or greater would be ideal. I swapped out our google wifi pucks for a dual asus xt8 setup and it’s night and day in throughput for us in the further locations. The problem with the google wifi was the lack of customization. I can map out the signal strengths and place the pucks correctly but not being able to pick the channels or assign devices to a specific puck really does limit your ability to manage the coverage the way you want it to be. You want to be able to force a band for the backhaul. Google was constantly swapping to 2.4ghz as a BH so that alone will gimp your 5ghz fronthaul to 2.4ghz like speeds. Having more control of your network topology is a must.

Just need a more robust and customizable mesh system. Some wifi6 deco units have the ability to dedicate a backhaul band but its only if the firmware allows it and some deco hardware revisions have it and others dont. All have the option on their wifi7 mesh. Asus aimesh has it too. Honestly the cheapest and best thing you can do first is position your google pucks in optimal locations and see how that goes. Get a laptop and use something like netspot or use a phone and wifiman to map the signal strength so you can place your first satellite puck. Then after the first 2 pucks are going go ahead and do the same for the 3rd puck. You want the pucks spread out enough but also not too far that the 5ghz connection between them breaks or else itll default back to 2.4 on the mesh backhaul. Its a fine balance to find but it’s what you gotta do.

I have a mesh network that is a complete router setup downstream of the AT&T network and prewired Ethernet in the house. So it helps there with pushing networking to all rooms that I have. The nice thing is the whole house has a single SSID with multiple WiFi access points. The problem would be the costs. For my place at 2800 sq ft and 2 stories. I have about 6 XT8 devices to make up the home router. Cons: costs each XT8 pair is about $260. Each pair is supposed to be good for 5500 sqft but my IoT stuff has weak WiFi antennas. To compensate I just spread the shit out to cover nearly 90% of the house and outside.

I am on Asus, much better than the Hawaii stuff beforehand (their USP was power line backup, but they weren't great on the whole). Asus is rock solid and fast so far.

Totally agree! It depends on the house layout and router placement, but XT8 packs are doing their thing!

From your list, I'd strongly recommend the Asus ZenWiFi XT8. I've been running a 2-node setup for about a year and it's an absolute beast.

In that case, you may want a more powerful mesh model then. You'd want to look for something with dedicated backhaul channels in the marketing. The asus zenwifi xt8 is an example, or the eero pro 6 if you're fine with them.

This is the answer. I’ve got three of them spread out and they are all hard wired to a router in my basement. I’ve never had an issue with mine in 4 years. Updates have been good and it’s still going strong. Will definitely get new ones if and when these die.

I have this set, and added a third one off eBay for \~$80, and it covers a two story house with full basement (my office is in the basement) and have no issues. Best money ever spent. [https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-ZenWiFi-AX-Whole-Home-Tri-Band/dp/B083Q45V1V/ref=sr\_1\_3?crid=XJYLTVTKPM44&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HzvEzx5TmccBdPdKLdemZVy59WgQY6W1NjKd9dsChp6julqqerKzLsffcC4qV8ol6H0mdGRR-T8aVfk-1CnUW4cgDzKWfog9CFVb1EY9dv0uY6nPlow4GyJ6BTq0tz7iYLqXDaH\_yidyb3infZBLnpWU-IGFkHisW31vJc73Ze41\_CMkGh0AxH6NH9Az2TpQgug1x\_1Ya\_VpiQ3dNTEzTxl8rDBc9rgtf1gKwA4h380KbPKL8Qm5\_Hzhv63vFP-T0C53HHfT\_Vh-ro3fFldX5r7v6Dyq5Tpq4CVQiCPcVBlSkiJRL5IYoJIAlPXuFLqJuJyeP\_vAnIjkfn-UIS-QQvU4FC5y9KD0BYBrmzOoQo4.qxX4sNNGHhuQ5\_\_E5vTm4WfvnGFZktCN7kaTT9Bb0eA&dib\_tag=se&keywords=asus%2Bmesh&qid=1738346725&s=electronics&sprefix=asus%2Bmesh%2Celectronics%2C123&sr=1-3&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-ZenWiFi-AX-Whole-Home-Tri-Band/dp/B083Q45V1V/ref=sr_1_3?crid=XJYLTVTKPM44&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HzvEzx5TmccBdPdKLdemZVy59WgQY6W1NjKd9dsChp6julqqerKzLsffcC4qV8ol6H0mdGRR-T8aVfk-1CnUW4cgDzKWfog9CFVb1EY9dv0uY6nPlow4GyJ6BTq0tz7iYLqXDaH_yidyb3infZBLnpWU-IGFkHisW31vJc73Ze41_CMkGh0AxH6NH9Az2TpQgug1x_1Ya_VpiQ3dNTEzTxl8rDBc9rgtf1gKwA4h380KbPKL8Qm5_Hzhv63vFP-T0C53HHfT_Vh-ro3fFldX5r7v6Dyq5Tpq4CVQiCPcVBlSkiJRL5IYoJIAlPXuFLqJuJyeP_vAnIjkfn-UIS-QQvU4FC5y9KD0BYBrmzOoQo4.qxX4sNNGHhuQ5__E5vTm4WfvnGFZktCN7kaTT9Bb0eA&dib_tag=se&keywords=asus%2Bmesh&qid=1738346725&s=electronics&sprefix=asus%2Bmesh%2Celectronics%2C123&sr=1-3&th=1)

Yes. That’s what I did. Twice actually. First time I got XT7 model (older) but I didn’t like that it was black and it always lagged behind its XT8 friends when doing any changes to my network, so I got another XT8. Easy peasy. The phone app is GREAT!!!

I've had 2 Asus ZenWiFi meshes, the XT8 and now the BT10, used with wireless backhaul. Both have been great, but we have sheetrock walls and hollow doors :-). About the only good thing with the flimsy construction in our house. The current ZenWiFi BT10 works exceptionally well, with MLO backhaul "channel". Very fast. However, if you have walls that are thick or have metal in them, you're going to need to wire your backhaul or use MoCA if you happen to have coaxial cable in your walls from having cable TV installed. That's just physics, wifi signals are attenuated by thick walls, or walls made of lath and plaster, etc. And if you're going to wired backhaul for a mesh, you might consider using wired AP's instead of a mesh. Just a thought :-).

May be overkill for them, but I have the Asus xt8 system in my home. 2 units covers from the basement to 3rd floor. Whatever you choose, do yourself a favor and make sure it is a tri band system. That 3rd band transfers all the data and leaves the 2.4 and 5ghz bands open for maximum data transfers.

Asus xt8 units in my house. They work flawlessly. All 3 of my kids game with zero issues. They are hardwired into the nodes on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

Hi there! I have a similar setup at home where I have mesh nodes wired together via coax. I swap out the mesh nodes once in a while between our picks for long term testing. I had noticed that behavior when long term testing the Asus XT8, certain versions of the firmware had issues with roaming clients. Since you’re experiencing issues after installing the third node, I’d take it offline while you try to figure out the issue. The third node seems to be complicating things. For placing the nodes, try to use two-three walls as a gauge: if your devices are more than three walls from a node, then you could use another node. Installing too many nodes creates cross traffic that could confuse the device. A quick fix might be to turn WiFi off then on for the troubled devices, so it reestablishes contact with the nearest node. One other suggestion is to move the nodes closer or further apart to find the sweet spots in your home. I use phone apps like wifiman or wifisweetspots to help. Worst case scenario is to segment the network by using the guest network or use a different SSID name for devices that seem to connect to the “wrong” node. Have a problematic device connect to that SSID exclusively

Im really disappointed but I know technology constantly changes. I have 3 Asus XT8 routers. They do not handle 6e or 7. Been debating going with Orbi 770 or 960. I feel the 770 having wifi 7 would be best. Im open to other ideas. I have roughly 80 wireless devices connected to my current mesh and have xfinity gig service. Thinking of switching to frontier fiber 2 gig. Anyways what router would you go with.

Another vote for ASUS's mesh system. Just seems to work. Upgraded from the XT8 pair linked below to 2xROG GT-AX6000 routers as I needed a bit more 5GHz range and more ethernet ports on the devices. I have them linked by ethernet and they cover a 5 bedroom house (2 floors) and a 25m long garden.

I tried a bunch of different brands. The only one that I found to be consistently reliable is the Asus XT8 series. I've had them for 4-5 years and they still perform like absolute champs.

I have asus xt8 mesh, 3 devices. They are connected with ethernet,even tho it supports 160mhz uplink between them, and it generally works great. However i have a scheduled weekly reboot in 3am. I have also used openvpn long time that is built in and ddns

Well sometimes i did face strange behavior so weekly morning reboot cant harm. Even twice a week is just fine, you forget about it anyways😄

Go for Asus, do not go for TP link.

I bought an Asus zenwifi system but eventually hardwired the satellites to a switch plugged into the main unit. Works great.

Yep, my ASUS XT8s (two) work perfectly.and I think I provide wireless and wi-fi to over 25-30 devices at any given time. IoT devices, Xbox, computers, tablets, phones - you name it!

hold deg langt unna xt8 hvis du ikke er ekspert på å configurere ting. det hjelper ikke å kjøpe nytt utstyr fordi problemet ditt er rekkevidde på meshutstyr.

Jepp men unngå Asus sin XT løsning, den er elendig. Har hjelpet flere som har hatt de boksene og de skaper trøbbel hver gang. Dårlig roaming løsning, kræsjing pga bugs osv. De som sier at den løsningen er ikke spesielt vanskelig og fungerer bra, vet ikke hvordan ordentlig satt opp wifi fungerer.

I have an Asus XT8 system with wired backhaul and it works great, 4 nodes. I setup a Deco XE75 Pro at another place and it works well with wireless backhaul. It definitely extended the network well to the 2nd floor and no dropouts.

I have the asus xt8 mesh system and I love it

You plug it in and run the internet cable too it, and then you plug the other node in somewhere else. Easy as that really. There's an app that does the setup with you. Pretty simple really

Also I want to add that you can plug a pc into one of the nodes and basically have a wired connection. I have the same size house as you and my internet comes in on the second floor top corner. I have my pc on the other side of the house plugged into one of the nodes and I get 20 ping and literally like 90% of my speed that I pay for

This has some good recommendations. I use the Asus XT8 and like it. [https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems?test\_uuid=03HYOxRLHSGDXtTLiJKLr6U&test\_variant=B#](https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems?test_uuid=03HYOxRLHSGDXtTLiJKLr6U&test_variant=B#)

Not typically the case that speeds halve with a tri-band mesh system, which can use a wireless band for back haul traffic. True, each node hop can add latency and reduce speed, but in my experience I get full speed with tri-band using wireless back haul. Asus XT8 mesh. With a dual band system I have seen speed drop in half.

If you want an easy setup, nice user interface and ability to tweak options/configurations down the road, ASUS ZenWiFi is a good option. Another bonus with ASUS is you can use a mobile phone app \*or\* a web interface on a laptop/computer to manage the system. Many other mesh systems from TP-Link, Netgear, Eero only let you manage them with a mobile phone app. That is fine if you have basic needs but if you want to get more control over settings, often not an option. For example TP-Link may not let you select WiFi channels for its wireless networks. With ASUS you have control over a multitude of settings. Or just leave it on the defaults and if you ever wish to dive into the config, it will be ready and waiting for you. I asked Google Gemini for some thoughts too (another poster used Ai so I gave it a try too). I see ASUS ZenWiFi is in the list along with others. Since your needs don't seem very complex any of these should work pretty well. Unfamiliar with Eero, but you stated they are "difficult" to move into AP mode, no idea why but if you know that to be true then I suppose you could remove Eero from your consideration list. Have fun! Click below image to make it larger... https://preview.redd.it/q9mu50skxxrf1.png?width=925&format=png&auto=webp&s=1fb6721ce7d5fb1ded5fee09f45ed12ce365b752

I agree 100%. Skip WiFi 7 (I think it's still too expensive, firmware is too new, may be bugs/issues). u/PursuitOfMeekness, as mentioned by u/CitizenDik previously, a tri-band mesh system should be on your shopping list. Do NOT buy a dual band mesh system as it will provide much worse performance (you will see speed drops of at least 50% for clients using the mesh node(s)). A dual band system would require clients and mesh system management to share the 5ghz band (in most cases) so clients will have less bandwidth available for data. I have an ASUS XT8 (WiFi 6) mesh system. Works very well. First unit on top floor of home, 2nd unit two floors below. House construction is standard wood/drywall, no concrete. For about 3.5 years, ran the XT8s with wireless backhaul (not connected via ethernet) and with 400mbps internet plan got full speed from router and mesh node two floors below. Once or twice a year the mesh node may have needed a reboot (lost connection to router), but other than that it worked flawlessly. About 5 months ago I upgraded the home network to MoCA so can now connect the router and mesh node via ethernet. No perceptible difference in performance (works as good as it did before), but I suspect the mesh node will stay more durably connected, as wired is always better than wireless. But for a wireless mesh backhaul setup, I've been very pleased with this system. The only negative I can think of is the hardware is getting a bit old. The XT8 system was released in 2021, so not sure how much longer ASUS will release firmware updates for it. Here's some other systems you may wish to consider. Not an exhaustive list; you can do more searching on the internet to find other options. [https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems?test\_uuid=03iF1uOjHbmoZSTXr58OMhT&test\_variant=A#](https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems?test_uuid=03iF1uOjHbmoZSTXr58OMhT&test_variant=A#)

As u/Cyan005 mentioned, "hardlining the nodes" (connecting them to one another with ethernet cables) will improve speeds on your network, for any device accessing the deco nodes via WiFi. Why this is an issue: Your Deco mesh system is dual-band (2.4ghz and 5ghz). When the mesh nodes are connected wirelessly, they will need to use one of the bands (generally 5ghz) to transmit mesh traffic between nodes and to the main Deco, and then to the router. The issue is that the 5ghz band is also needed by your clients (phone, TV, streaming device, etc. - whatever is using your 5ghz WiFi network). There is a limited amount of bandwidth provided by the mesh system, and that bandwidth "pipe" is being clogged with data for the mesh overhead/management for the mesh system as well as client traffic. The only way to increase your speeds with the current Deco mesh system you have, is to connect the Deco units to one another with ethernet (wired "backhaul"). I am surprised the Deco mesh units let you configure them as Access Points yet still leave them wirelessly connected. Typically a network device which is configured as an Access Point is ethernet-connected to the router (or to its upstream mesh node). Another option, if you cannot connect the mesh nodes with ethernet, is to buy a tri-band mesh system. For WiFi 6 this will give you 2.4ghz, 5ghz and another 5ghz band (5ghz-2). 2.4ghz & 5ghz will be used by clients. 5ghz-2 will be used by the mesh network for its management and overhead, so that other client traffic can use the full bandwidth provided by the 2.4ghz and 5ghz bands. If you get a WiFi 6E tri-band mesh system it will have 2.4/5/6ghz bands and the 6ghz band is usually used for wireless mesh backhaul (though some systems let you configure whether 5ghz or 6ghz band is used for wireless backhaul). If you get WiFi 7 tri-band system, the recent trend I've seen (with Asus as an example) is to use all 3 bands (2.4/5/6) in "MLO" (multi-link operation) to provide the wireless backhaul. I have an ASUS XT8 WiFi 6 mesh system, which is tri-band and has 2.4/5/5 ghz bands (so two 5ghz bands, one for clients and one for mesh backhaul). It has worked very well for me in wireless and wired backhaul. Some recommended mesh systems, if you trust PC Magazine: [https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems#](https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems#) The Asus XT8 is on that list and I can confirm it is an excellent system. Hope that helps, ask us if you have more questions.

PC Magazine has an article on best mesh systems: [https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems?test\_uuid=03HYOxRLHSGDXtTLiJKLr6U&test\_variant=B#](https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems?test_uuid=03HYOxRLHSGDXtTLiJKLr6U&test_variant=B#) I have the ASUS XT8 and if you are sticking with WiFi 6 it might be worth a try (it's also ranked as the best WiFi 6 mesh system at PC Mag's site). When I first got it I had a bunch of problems as the product was a new release and firmware was new too. Issues included network drops and mesh node going offline requiring reboots for it to rejoin the mesh. But after about 6 months ASUS finally stabilized their firmware. After that was stabilized I ran them in wireless mesh backhaul for over 3 years and they worked very well. Earlier this year I switched them to wired backhaul (set up MoCA cable network, it's similar to ethernet performance, using coaxial cables with cable jacks) as I wanted to have wired connectivity between the units. The system performance is very good with wired backhaul too. The XT8s have excellent wireless backhaul strength. For the years I ran them in wireless backhaul I had the router on the top floor (hooked up to cable modem in office) and the mesh node two floors below where I needed additional wired/wireless connectivity. My property doesn't have brick or concrete walls, just drywall, so that's something to note. The system worked very well in this setup. Signal strength with this system might be strong enough for your home configuration/materials, or it might not. I have my router and mesh node two floors apart, whereas you'd only have them a single floor apart, so that is another potential benefit in your situation (signal doesn't need to travel as far). The only way to know how well they'll work is to try the system and see. There is a slightly upgraded version ASUS released, the XT9, but I don't know if it is worth the additional cost. It is only a marginal upgrade. If you have gigabit internet service then the XT8 should be powerful enough. You can read a comparison review here: [https://dongknows.com/asus-zenwifi-xt9-review/](https://dongknows.com/asus-zenwifi-xt9-review/) To give you an idea of pricing on Amazon, the XT8 2-pack mesh system (white color) is $253.38 new or $173.19 in "Used, like new" condition. The XT9 2-pack system (black color) is $279.99 new, $204.18 in "Used, like new" condition and I also see an "Amazon Renewed" kit for $199.99. Might be worth trying the XT9 for the additional minimal cost, as the XT9 does have a few upgrades. Prices fluctuate often for the "Used, like new" items so by the time you check it could be more or less. I usually roll the dice on "Used, like new" products as they are often simple customer returns for reasons as basic as customer didn't like the product or it just didn't work for them. In the case of the XT8 the savings is good for "Used, like new" but if you want to buy brand new that is of course your choice. Used products have the same 30-day return policy with Amazon (as long as shipped by Amazon) so you could always return it if it doesn't work or it is in a condition other than "Used, like new." I've never had an issue with that but you never know the condition until you receive the product. If you are interested in WiFi 7 then ASUS does have some WiFi 7 mesh systems. Not sure I could recommend them as I have no experience with their WiFi 7 mesh, and I have been burned by ASUS's "new product" firmware hiccups in the past with the XT8. I wouldn't try an ASUS WiFi 7 mesh system yet but it's because I'm pleased with the current setup and think I can wait a year for WiFi 7 prices to drop a bit more. But the XT8 has been solid for me in recent years so I can recommend it. There are other mesh systems and TP-Link has some affordable options too, but since I don't use TP-Link I can't share an opinion on it. And as u/wolfansbrother mentioned you'd need to put your exiting cable/router in bridge mode so that the routing function is handled by your new mesh system's router. You only need one router running in a network. Hope that info is helpful and would be very interested in learning what decision you make and how it works out. Thanks!

If you want more control over the configuration, ASUS ZenWiFi wins (using the web interface you have access to a ton of options). If you want ease of use and "set it and forget it," I think TP-Link Deco wins. If you want the cheapest \*initial\* solution, TP-Link Deco wins again. However if you want the security features TP-Link charges for via subscription fees, do the math and see if it makes sense to purchase ASUS ZenWiFi instead (it comes with Trend Micro Ai security protection for free, for the life of the product; if you own the product several years it will probably be cheaper over the long-term than TP-Link). Additionally, if you value your privacy, I think ASUS ZenWiFi wins because you don't need to create an account to use the mobile app. TP-Link requires an account, which means all your data is associated with your identity and account. Up to you if you trust TP-Link with that data. ASUS also seems to provide longer firmware support for their routers than TP-Link. Disclaimer: I own and use an ASUS XT8 system. Satisfied with it, works well in wireless or wired backhaul. Had used with wireless backhaul for about 3.5 yr before recently configuring MoCA (multimedia over coax; uses coaxial cables like ethernet) in the home. Now I use the XT8 system in a wired backhaul over MoCA.

TLDR: Yes, you could use an older router as an access point with a new router. And if all the routers are from ASUS & support AiMesh you could use them in an AiMesh setup. If new router isn't ASUS, no big deal, you could just connect the other access points via ethernet to the main router. Furthermore, be sure to set up those other routers as access points, as you must have only ONE router in your network (the router is connected to your ONT, cable modem, etc.). I'm using ASUS XT8s (mesh) in a wired backhaul setup, with a Netgear Nighthawk R7000 connected as a wired access point. The Netgear router is very old, perhaps released in 2013 according to this review: [https://www.cnet.com/reviews/netgear-nighthawk-ac1900-smart-wi-fi-router-r7000-review/](https://www.cnet.com/reviews/netgear-nighthawk-ac1900-smart-wi-fi-router-r7000-review/) This setup works well for my network. The Nighthawk is EOL/has no firmware support from Netgear anymore, but not a concern as one of the ASUS XT8 is still supported by ASUS and is the router connected to the cable modem. I decided to set up the Nighthawk as a wired AP (with a configured 2.4ghz wireless network) as I have some very stupid "smart" devices that would not maintain connection to the ASUS XT8s. They would drop off, reconnect, etc. I suspect they don't like WiFi 6, because they work fine with the R7000 (which is a WiFi 5 router). I spent weeks fiddling with settings on the XT8s and couldn't find a combination that worked, so went with the R7000 setup. No issues in almost 2 months.

I agree completely but I do have a tiny bit of experience with Deco systems and Asus XT8 systems. (I was happy with Deco systems for many years but decided to develop familiarity with another similar brand in case of any supply chain disruption when I needed to get my hands on a system.) I like both but the Deco app is nicer than Asus’. Otherwise I’ve been satisfied with both after having deployed a handful of each in the past few years.

For solid Twitch streaming in a 3-story house, go with a tri-band mesh system with Ethernet backhaul. Top picks: TP-Link Deco XE75, ASUS ZenWiFi XT8, or Eero Pro 6E. They’re fast, reliable, and great for wired PC connections.

I would upgrade to better mesh system. ASUS makes nice mesh routers. I have zenwifi AX they are great get WiFi all over the house and good bit in tho the yard around the house. House location has no cell phone service.

I have a 2 ZenWiFi AX’s on each floor of my house. WiFi everywhere, including a bench at the back fence of the property kicks butt. I’m using wired backhaul over coax between the two and another wired to living room entertainment center that has a lot of smart home hubs. I have 1gig up and down fiber to the house and the 1gig coax adapters I use work well. The entertainment center that is after two coax connections gets 650 gb still.

I bought that same mesh system you posted from Costco last month for $399 Although I prefer Asus, I didn’t want to spend $800+ for wifi7 speeds and Costco doesn’t sell Asus. Costco also has an unlimited return policy on WiFi routers. I previously had the zenwifi ax system and was getting 400-500mbps around my house. Now I get 700-1000+mbps with the BE11000 on my 6e and 7 clients

Not sure why you’d want to stay away from mesh. It’s a great system especially if you use a wired backhaul (even over a MOCA network) like I do. I have over 100 devices in my HomeKit/HomeBridge home with 3 Asus ZenWifi AX APs/Routers. Totally rock solid connection 95% of the time (sometimes I have to reset a couple Meross light switches when I reboot/update the WiFi). How many Sq Ft in your place?

please!! Don't spend 1.6k on Wifi 7 Eero. EERO is great, but 600 dollars great lol. Go with Ubiquity Access points. No way is a wifi 7 mesh worth 1.6k. Let alone most of your devices being able to use it. Asus mesh 6E networks are nice. A bit of a pain to first set up. I connected 4 together for a buddy. Basement, 2nd floor main floor and backroom. Wifi reaches far into his back yard and front. That was at best 600 ish in total.

I had Netgear (with an external firewall and generic access points) before they acquired Orbi, then tried Orbi which did not have enough info/options. Then went to at least 4 different types of AX Asus units for the longest time (10+ years with plenty of options and info but started to become unstable), then recently switched to Gryphon AX due to the need for parental controls for kids. I am thinking of going to Unifi next in a year or 2, as I miss the options/info that Asus provided, and get more with Unifi.

You can connect mesh nodes through Ethernet. OP has an Asus router, so they can buy more WiFi6 Asus Routers and connect them through Ethernet to set them up as AiMesh Nodes. My house network is set up like that, and I only have issues when streaming to my phone when going downstairs because it changes nodes, so it lags for like two seconds, and then goes back to normal. Other than that, it's a great experience all around.

It's called a wired backhaul mesh. Look it up. The point of using mesh nodes connected through ethernet is to keep the "seamless" transition between nodes without having any network degradation between them.

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

my asus tri-band does really well. i get hardwired speeds on 5G using the dedicated 6G backhaul but the 6G band does not penetrate well, so it's important to not put too much distance or material between the main router and the mesh units

Asus Zen wifi is trash. I've tried everything and can't get the node to maintain a connection. I'm not the only one, plenty of people report the same issue.

I've had success with Asus Zen Wifi and Amplifi; but I think Asus is a better product personally. I have Ubiquiti in my home right now and don't particularly like it.

EERO is popular because of cost - that is it. I tested them out and they are HORRIBLE in a highly dense area (ie Lots of neighbors with Wifi). UniFi is the best mesh- its what businesses use, but more complex to setup and maintain; not friendly for the consumer market. Depends on your requirements Out of the others I have tested: Orbi - easy to get started; great mesh; CON: Subscription for parental or added security; Not the best speeds (but generally good). Netgear - Same as orbi ASUS ZEN - Fantastic speed; Unbelievable configurability/features; No subscriptions for parental or added security; CON: Milage varies because of quality. Asus notoriously has issues with their firmware and new products. ASUS ROG - Same as ZEN; has more Gimmicks I ended up with the ASUS ZenWiFi BT10 - replaced the Orby Mesh. Very happy . I needed parental and added security; Needed VPN; Needed 10gig / 2.5gig WAN

Avoid tp-link and any other CCP networking equipment. Don't intentionally put stuff with backdoors in them just to save a few bucks. Unifi is great but it's expensive and you really should use it wired. If you're just looking for plug and play mesh Asus has good offerings. Their AI mesh system works well

I do t know which is the best bit I sure know that Asus AI Mesh is terrible. The backhaul will start great and then about 20 minutes later drop to 50% or less. It's quite common, Google it

Since you have cable Internet and it runs into the basement, you hopefully have coaxial cables available to you throughout the house, and usually in key locations. Just look at the area where all the coax ends should meet, likely in the basement where your modem/router is at and plugged into. If you do find this bunch of coax, you can use it with MoCA Adapters to build a wired Ethernet network inside your home. If you can achieve that, then getting good WiFi everywhere will be easy, as well as providing wired capabilities for other devices in needed locations. MoCA Adapters can be a bit expensive, but worth the cost. If you can build this MoCA network, then whatever you choose as the router and Access Points will work very well, including a 3 pack of a reputable mesh brand. For mesh, I use and can recommend eero. But ASUS Zen mesh is also praised a lot, and has more configurability. If you want to go higher end, you can get an Ubiquiti Cloud Gateway router, a Ubiquiti PoE switch, and some Ubiquiti Access Points. It's more expensive, but very capable of advanced setups, and is very stable. I use Ubiquiti at another home and in my office location, and I can recommend them personally as well.

Bingo. So many of us are essentially engineers either by profession or by hobby, so a general list on popularity or even satisfaction is going to be worthless. I love my ZenWifi, but I also chose my particular model based on the availability and features of open source firmware (Merlin). I considered Eero with the thought that I'll give up the tinkering, but found the feature set too limiting.

You must have gotten a dud. Deco BE95 system. Simply amazing. Had it for 12 weeks now. Zero drops. 5800 sq ft home. ISP 6 Gig up and Down. Wired backhaul. 121 connected devices. Wired devices that can handle multi gig speeds - 6 GIG WiFi 7 - 2.5-4.3 GIG WiFi 6E - 1.8-2.4 GIG WiFi 6 - 1.1-1.6 GIG WiFi 5 - 600 mbps - 900 mbps WiFi 2.4 - 200-500 mbps The consistency, reliability and speed blow every simple competitor out of the water in my experience! Amazing system and have tried them all! Eero Max 7, Orbi 970s, Asus ZenWifi

Yeah I like the ASUS approach as well. Mine just works, and it is so easy to add another node anytime I want since their stuff is all interoperable with the AiMesh setup.

The folks suggesting Omada and Unifi aren't wrong. Those are *great* systems, but they're pretty "pro". If you don't need advanced networking features (e.g., VLANs beyond isolated guest networks, traffic rules)/want something that's more plug-and-play, a mesh system that supports wired backhaul might be a better fit. Asus ZenWiFi performs well, supports wired backhaul, and offers some useful advanced settings. It's not as configurable as Omada or Unifi or MikroTik, but it's simpler to manage and "good enough" (multiple isolated guest networks, band-specific networks, QoS) for lots of home users. Eero also performs well but doesn't support as many advanced features as Asus.

Eero (Amazon), tp link Deco, and Asus ZenWifi are all well-reviewed and perform well. If you've got to go mesh, look for a tri-band system with a dedicated backhaul channel (Eero, Deco, and ZenWifi all have models). Eero and Deco are a little more "plug and play". ZenWifi is also easy to set up, and some models give a few more config options/control than Eero or deco. The tricky part is that you don't know how well mesh will perform until you set it up in your place. Two nodes might be enough, but you might need three (or four). A 6 ghz backhaul channel might work, but, if the walls and floors in your place cause a lot of interference, you might see better perf with a 5 ghz backhaul. So buy from a place you can return it, maybe start with three nodes, test how coverage and speeds look, go from there. All three have 2.5 Gbps ports. 3 gig is a *lot* of bandwidth for a residential setup. Unless you're regularly downloading gigantic files (video, game updates), you probably won't exceed ~300-500 Mbps, and WiFi will de facto limit the perf on any device to ~200-600 Mbps. For most homes, 200 Mbps is plenty. If the 3 gig price isn't much different than ~300 Mbps (if you're in the US, it's hard to find service under ~300 Mbps), go for it, but if you're paying a premium for 3 gig, you can save some coin and you almost certainly won't notice a difference in performance. If you're in Europe, you rule!, fiber away because you're prob only paying like €40 for 3 gig.

I had a lot of issues with the google nest wifi- for the past year or so I have used an Asus ZenWifi which works better for me, and I do have usable network access from my shed which is about 100 Ft away from the house. My biggest issue is getting a signal past the walls/siding in our house- there is 'double' siding because the house originally had asbestos siding, and a former owner put vynil over it. I get by this with a small enclosure holding one node just out side the walls of the house.

To echo what plenty of others are saying, but also provide links to specific items to Do-It-Yourself and save money but still get good finished product. Assuming you have roof/attic access above the rooms and can run power to the attic: * buy bulk CAT6 cable, shielded twisted pair, not CCA (CCA stands for copper coated aluminum). [Get good shielded copper wire, like this](https://a.co/d/ijNWYa0). * buy a [crimper toolkit like this](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7GRX9DW) * watch a few youtubes on terminating Cat6 cable. * buy a mesh wifi system like Amazon Eero, tp-Link Deco, Asus Zen Wi-Fi, etc. [Here's a good article / review of mesh systems and what to look for](https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/best-mesh-wifi-routers/) **NOTE:** mesh wifi is the consumer grade solution. If you can afford it, you're better off getting Wifi Access Points (APs) - the business grade solution - Ubiquiti is the best known of the AP options. Connection works similarly, with one key difference -- APs require power over ethernet (POE) instead of an electrical outlet / power supply. There are pros and cons of installing either Mesh or APs. * buy at least one [Unmanaged Ethernet Switch like this](https://a.co/d/88WLwNn) - this one is 8 port (1 connection in, 7 out). * You'll run an ethernet cable from your Comcast box to your wifi mesh router. Then you'll run a **long** ethernet cable down toward your L-corner dead zone. You'll plug that long ethernet cable to the Unmanaged Ethernet Switch. Then you'll run another ethernet cable from the Unmanaged Ethernet Switch to one of your mesh wifi satellites. BAM! Good internet within reach of that mesh satellite. You'll need to estimate/experiment with how many satellites the system needs (get multiple people to watch netflix on iPads, and spread them along rooms close to the mesh satellite -- see how many people / how many rooms you can cover before you need to add another mesh wifi satellite). I did a low-key simplified version of this at my house. Reply here if you have questions / need help. # You can do this yourself.

I have had nothing but problems with 2 generations of this mesh system. No devices connect to any nodes, only the primary access point. One of my nodes constantly disconnects from the main access point despite being 40 ft away with 2 walls between. It's driving me insane.

I installed 3 of these at my parent's lake place. We had one room opposite of the router that would not get any signal because it was a renovated screen porch (exterior wall and door to get into the room). I essentially made a path from just outside the room with the router, to the room with the signal issues. Every repeater had a minimally restricted line of sight to the next. Worked amazing. At my house I have an Asus ZenWifi Mesh system that I set up as a wired backhaul to the main router. That's the best option, but my house was already wired for ethernet so it made sense and was easy to do.

Rog gt6 here. Don't allow the iPhone devices (which have mac randomization) to join the wifi at all. It would flood the wifi with bunch of crap, causing all sorts of diaconnects, even with other devices. and indeed, logs aren't verbose enough. Never ever asus again

Never ever asus for me anymore. What a piece of junk. 1200 dollar down the drain here..

I'd avoid TP-Link out of security concerns, Asus ZenWifi or Alta Labs AP's with the Route10 is the way I'd go.

Hello! I have an asus zen WiFi mesh net with two of the three nodes set up. I have Ethernet over coax and have the downstairs node connected via Ethernet. I should (based on the range of these routers) have excellent coverage in the house. I have noticed however my devices sometimes get confused which node it should connect to, resulting in sub par speeds. The nodes are very far apart. When I did add the third node I felt I was getting crazy interference. Any suggestions?

I don't think any of the products out there have an upper bound limit you would run into. The only one I saw was ASUS ZenWiFi with a limit of 9+router, and that's still plenty for your setup. What made you think there were low maximum node limits?

Upgraded our RT-AC68U router to a Wifi 6 capable RT-AX86U Pro.  Ran an ethernet cable for wired backhaul, put the AC68U as a mesh node.  The Asus mesh system works really well. 

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.

I've been using AiMesh since the beginning, and it was rocky at first, but now I'm currently quite happy with it. One solid main router and two APs outside. What unifi did you get to replace your setup and do you think it was worth the cost?

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

Most mesh systems will support as many nodes as you wish. But not all nodes are created equal. You’ll obviously need fewer nodes with a high powered node vs a cheap node with little range. I would HIGHLY suggest wired backhaul if possible, no matter the hw you ultimately decide upon. Ubiquity has a good solution for your use case at attractive price points. Asus’ AIMesh setup also works well, allowing you to easily tailor the hw for your home’s needs

ASUS aimesh is the best option besides true ap based systems.

I've been using Asus Aimesh for years. 3 nodes and seamless switching when walking around. There does seem to be a client limit at about 75-80 wifi devices whiche forced me to move iot devices to a separate wifi network. Asus is great to start with but unifi likely my next system

Asus AiMesh can be configured without an app and uses local credentials for management.

100%. Just make sure you reboot the doorbell once your mesh is set up. It will then hop on to the WiFi node with the strongest signal. You should be able to configure your mesh so that the doorbell remains connected to that node, probably by assigning its MAC address to that node. I have two regular ASUS routers that have their own proprietary mesh called AiMesh. I’ve connected them to each other via an Ethernet cable that runs up through the attic (single story home). It also supports a dedicated WiFi connection between nodes, but hard wired is the way to go if at all possible.

It can be great. I assume there isn't interference from your neighbours. I love Asus's AImesh system, as you can choose from many different options. Also, you could pick some used devices for cheap, maybe to test them out. Is there COAX in the house?

For gaming use cable, for wifi coverage of this size, you can do well with asus aimesh, you can pick two routers of your choice, cheaper than ismesh system and many settings available.

I went from DD-WRT for years to ASUS AiMesh and have been on Unifi equipment for a good four years now. I never have any issues with roaming (3600+ home) and I can fine tune whenever necessary (rare). I love the Unifi and don't plan on moving away any time soon. If you want peace of mind, I definitely also recommend Unifi.

Asus' AiMesh works with both wired and wireless backhaul. I will always recommend wired backhaul, but if you have a good signal from one to the other, you can setup wireless. Have done so for a work shed not attached to the main house. I have also used both powerline and MoCA adapters as wired backhauls with success. Powerline may not be fast, but when it works it can be very reliable.