ASUS - ZenWiFi ET8

Can't speak for others since I switched from the zenwifi et8s and have not had the other units. We then got the BE11000 from costco, which has 3 units and comes with wifi 7. Our house is brick, and our ONT for Fiber is in the basement along with the first unit. My spouses office and my game room have the other nodes. We have not had issues with wifi in or out of the house. All my cameras, robo vacs, and smart appliances connect without issue. Speed tests have been consistent, and we are fairly happy. They are all connected through wifi since I have other projects around the house before I run lines through it. We got it specifically from costco, considering their return policy is extremely generous.

This is the kind of reason I stuck with Asus - they have more "semi-advanced" options like "reboot every X days". Or if they don't, the semi-offically supported Merlin firmware has it. There's dozens of similar not-primary-to-wifi-usage things like that which keep me from using simpler solutions like Google and TP-Link. But I'd love to get away from these underpowered asus ET8s! No range, no memory!

A good in-between are the TP-Link PLC (power line communications) adapters. I have 4 of the 1000mbps ones and for the most part they solved my need-to-run-ethernet-but-it-will-be-ugly problem. While I'd still rather have real ethernet between floors and rooms, this has at least brought sanity to the evenings where 2 laptops are playing online games while a tv or 2 stream shows + all the usual phone issues. I use the PLC devices to bridge my 2 Asus ZenWifi ET8 nodes and put them in hardwired backhaul mode. Much beetter than wireless backhaul. Once like every 6-8 weeks I have to replug them to fix some glitchyness but they reconnect quickly. Unlike my damn ET8 wifi boxes which need a kick in the pants every 2-4 weeks when usage has been high. [https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/powerline/tl-pa9020p-kit/](https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/powerline/tl-pa9020p-kit/)

If you have the XT8 and are satisfied with there performance you can always get the ET8 which is the 6E version. I would avoid the Orbi 770 series they have been firmware nightmares as of late. The Orbi 960 system is very solid and has insane range and speed. I have personally had the all 3 systems I mentioned the ET8 is my backup system just incase the my 960 fails at my summer house. The 770 I had for 3 weeks and returned it as it was very unstable and went back to my 960 series Orbi

Checking in on what's happening now with this router. I own an Asus ET8 and come Black Friday, I am ready to upgrade to Wifi 7 and it came down to this, the BQ16 which is really immensely expensive and I will only consider if it drops significantly for BF or maybe the new BT8. Thanks.

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

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

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.

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.

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?

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

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.

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. 

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 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.

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.

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