ASUS - ZenWiFi ET9

Update - configured this router and the node in wireless backhaul. The router and node are ablut 25 feet apart. Speeds are looking great. Highly recommend!

It’s using the 6ghz band. I couldn’t see an option to use a different band for backhaul. 3 walls between the devices, it’s on the same floor.

I pay for 500mb fiber. Speeds are in that range near both the main router and the node. There is no significant difference in speed between the router and node.

I had the same frustration. I put my 6+s in a drawer and switched to a pair of Asus ET9s which are 6e on prime day. Took about 30 minutes to install. Kept password and ssid the same and all clients connected right up. Can get to almost all settings in app or browser login to router. Extensive log and lots of settings available to review or change. I left mine almost totally as from factory. The ET9s are triple channel and the backbone can either be wired or wireless. Mine are wireless backbone and doing well.

I've used asus for years. They've always been solid and easy set up. I recently got the zen wifi ET9. Came with two routers, set up for mesh couldn't have been easier.

Hardwired is best. If you have extra phone lines or coax cable you can use that. If not you'll have to Go wireless. Ubiquiti is great. But, it's beyond most homeowners without really doing their homework. Therefore, I would recommend an Asus system. All of their stuff works. Just buy two, three, four of their routers in the AI mesh system will work perfectly.(Buy the exact same router for everywhere). You just need to make sure they are tri-band or quad-band routers (one band will be used exclusively for wireless backhaul). For example, et12, ET 8, et9, bt-10 are all recommended. Check out Dong knows--his website is great.

Backhaul is how the routers talk to each other. It's best to do it wired. But, if you can't they will use one of the channels on the router that becomes a dedicated circuit (band) where they talk to each other. That's why you need at least three bands. If you want Wi-Fi, 7 I would recommend the bt-10 or the expensive BE98 pro. If you just want Wi-Fi 6e, any of the routers I mentioned before would work.. et8, et9,xt9,xt12,et12. Additionally, avoid the BQ 16 and the be96u, the firmware on the routers is buggy and has not been updated. I have personally used the et8, xt9 and the be98 pro. They have all been fantastic.

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

Hi u/carrootscaps - I’m a different person than who you replied to but I think I can answer the questions. “True mesh” and “marrying” means a system built from the ground up to be a mesh system, with client handoff between mesh nodes. “Handoff” ensures if you are using a device that moves around the house (like a mobile phone) when it wanders out of range from one node and into another node’s strong coverage area, the phone will jump from the weak node to the strong node, and your connectivity will be fairly seamless. I haven’t noticed issues with handoff, works great most of the time. An example of this is the ASUS XT8 mesh system, which I have been using for almost 5 years. It is WiFi 6 (so not the latest standard, WiFi 7) but still works well. It is a bit over $200 from Amazon. PC Mag called it one of the best mesh systems: https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems Mesh will not give you the fastest speeds in most cases, Ethernet is always better. But if you want a quick solution that is easy to set up (just plug them in and install the software) mesh is hard to beat. Since you didn’t state you need the fastest speeds, but enough bandwidth to open a web browser, discord etc then I think mesh could work for you. It all depends on building materials. If you live in a house with concrete walls then mesh won’t work very well, you’ll definitely need to consider Ethernet. If $200 is too much ASUS is selling their ET9 (WiFi 6E) mesh system for $99 right now on their website. It uses 6ghz for the wireless backhaul by default, which doesn’t have as much range but might work well for you, depends on the house and building materials, as well as distance between nodes. I recently bought a set of ET9s and was shocked that placing them a floor apart, I still get -60 dbm signal strength with wireless mesh backhaul. Translation: Don’t need to use wired backhaul (Ethernet) with 6ghz/WiFi 6E mesh nodes in my house as the wireless connectivity between mesh nodes is strong. It might work for you too. If you want to try the ASUS $99 mesh system, the link is below. ASUS offers a return policy if they don’t work out, though they charge a restocking fee if you return it. But for $99 it might be worth a try. Good luck. https://www.asus.com/us/networking-iot-servers/whole-home-mesh-wifi-system/zenwifi-wifi-systems/asus-zenwifi-et9/

Correct, ASUS mesh does not require an account. And you can use either the ASUS mobile app or a web browser to login to the router for full customization of all the ASUS router features. FYI u/surveypoodle ASUS routers could be worthwhile for you to consider. Unlike TP-Link, Eero and Netgear (which charge you each month for a subscription if you want all security features/parental controls), ASUS includes all features for free when you buy the router/mesh system. And ASUS does not require an account. All you do is set up a local account to manage the router/mesh system on your own network. Since you will be using ethernet backhaul you could get something like the ASUS RT-AX1800S. $69 each, 3 of them for about $207. They support AiMesh (ASUS's mesh technology, allows you to easily roam between mesh nodes) so you just link them together with ethernet and then set up the mesh. These are WiFi 6, and about the same range/speed (AX1800) as the Deco X20 system you bought previously. Link: [https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-AX1800-Router-RT-AX1800S-Subscription-Free/dp/B09M9477NS/](https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-AX1800-Router-RT-AX1800S-Subscription-Free/dp/B09M9477NS/) If you are patient/can wait a week or so, ASUS has been running a sale on the ET9 2-pack ($99); out of stock now but I think it could be back in stock soon. You said you need 3 units so you could get two 2 packs for $198. ET9 is a WiFI 6E system, so gives you the 6ghz band as well as 2.4ghz and 5ghz. Even if you don't need 6ghz now you have it for use later. The only issue is it's out of stock now, but ASUS has been running this sale since December 2025 and they usually come back in stock within a week. So that is another option. These units also look nice (appearance is subjective but I like the design). Link if you want to learn more: [https://www.asus.com/us/networking-iot-servers/whole-home-mesh-wifi-system/zenwifi-wifi-systems/asus-zenwifi-et9/](https://www.asus.com/us/networking-iot-servers/whole-home-mesh-wifi-system/zenwifi-wifi-systems/asus-zenwifi-et9/) I have the previous generation ASUS mesh myself (XT8, WiFi 6). I've been using it almost 5 years and it's a great system, but getting a 3-pack is expensive ($407). But XT8 is only an advantage if you need wireless backhaul as XT8 is tri-band (2.4ghz/5ghz-1/5ghz-2) and has a dedicated 5ghz band just for wireless mesh backhaul. But since you can use ethernet backhaul the XT8 is overpriced and not the greatest option for you in my opinion. Anyway you can always check this out on Amazon too if you are curious: [https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-ZenWiFi-AX6600-Tri-Band-System/dp/B08LPSXNMS/](https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-ZenWiFi-AX6600-Tri-Band-System/dp/B08LPSXNMS/) Side note, I did buy a 2-pack of the ASUS ET9 for $99 last week from ASUS to test out WiFi 6E in my house. It is working well in AiMesh with wireless backhaul (via 6ghz) after about 4 days. Still early in the testing, so I would need to have it working well for at least a month before I could say it is a reliable wireless mesh system. But so far it is looking promising. ASUS offers a lot more customization than TP-Link mesh, which gives you barebones configurability. And if you want even more configurability, have a look at Ubiquti equipment. I see some recommendations have been provided already so definitely have a look at Ubiquiti too if you are interested in exploring other options. Good luck!

First thing about a mesh system, any brand mesh router works better if it is back wired with a cat 6 or 6a Ethernet wire. (Using a cat 7 or cat 8 is a waste of money for the price difference.) Personally I have used two brands. Both have worked well. TP Link and Asus. I just returned by TP Link BE11000 from Costco which worked well. (Most box stores like Sam’s Club and Costco might have the same model number router, but there are differences. The Costco one has a 2.5 GB port for example). I had the TP Link AXE5300 before that which actually worked the best out of any mesh system I had. The reason I returned the TP Link is because of what I read about the potential TP Link ban in the United States. There are many reasons for this from geopolitical reasons to a possible backdoor that would allow hackers to use multiple US based routers to be used as a botnet. My main concern for returning it was if it was banned, there would be a chance there would not be any firmware updates. I could not find any firmware that I could flash onto it if that happened, (I checked OpenWrt, DD-WRT and a few others for alternative open source firmware.) i did not want to take that chance of losing out on that investment, if, the ban occurs. There is no guarantee it will happen. It was me being overly cautious. I was still within my 90 day return window and chose to return it. No one thing I want to be clear on, no brand mesh router is 100% secure, there are security issues that can happen and have happened with any of them. I decided to switch to Asus AIMesh routers for my home. I would have loved to keep WiFi 7, but the prices are higher than TP Link. (I got the TP Link routers on sale at Costco for $399, normally $499 for the price.) I would have loved to get a 3 pack of the Asus BT10, but that was way out of my budget. I ended up getting a three pack of the Asus ZeWiFi AXE7800. It is a 6e system. It works good enough for my home. With Asus there are more options that I like having. I have had some hiccups with it, but worked through them. (For example I have the AI Protection turn on with the malicious sites option turned off because it is too aggressive and there is no whitelist. AI Protection uses Trend Micro’s cybersecurity system at no extra charge. TP Link had a Home Shield Pro, but that is a monthly charge which I chose not to pay. A lot of other mesh routers have security but it comes with a paid subscription model. Part of the reason I chose Asus for no additional charge. I also liked Ubiquiti system the most, but was out of my budget. I would recommend that you check out dongknows.com. He reviews a lot of mesh routers and probably provides too much information. I also watched landpet on YouTube and used rtings.com ) Good luck. (Sorry for the long response. Too much coffee.)

I've used orbi 5ghz 4 nodes in 7500sqf home for years and worked great. I was able to use MOCA since the house got coaxial wired to all rooms. I've downsized and recently bought Asus axe7800 3-pack at bestbuy. Just grab 2 sets and you got a router and 5 nodes to mess around with.

I was actually leaning toward Asus, and actually bought one of the zenwifi units for my mom's house a couple years ago. but saw a lot of people reporting issues that I don't recall seeing back when I bought it last time, which led me to posting this for advice lol

Just an fyi, if you conclude that 6e triband is good enough, Asus is currently having an insane deal on the ET9 two pack on their website right now. $99 for the two pack. You can get 4 units for the same price as the xe70. Also, the Asus has a 2.5gb wan port, and more lan ports. Rtings has a direct comparison between the two if you want to look it up for yourself

I just want to stress how insane the deal is. I bought the 3 pack at bestbuy, on sale, and then got an extra 15% off on top of that, and it was still $300 - that equates to $100 per unit. $99 bucks is crazy. I bought 2 sets myself, which equates to $50 per unit, and I'm making the return to best buy as soon as it comes in the mail.

I bought two identical Asus 6E routers and set them up as a mesh network. It worked so well, I have now bought a third one for my son.

First, trade in your ATT router/modem for a new one,then buy a new ASUS 6E or 7 router that has Mesh capability and use the same network and password as the ATT router. This Mesh system should give you 50-75% of your Ethernet connection which should be plenty fast for your needs. Good luck!