ZenWiFi XD5

Hi everyone, I recently decided to upgrade my home network with a mesh WiFi system. After doing a lot of reading (especially on Tweakers), I went with the Asus ZenWiFi XD5. My setup: • ISP: KPN (Netherlands) • Modem: Sagemcom F 5359 • Plan: 1 Gbit up/down • Wired speeds are just shy of 1 Gbit, which is fine I installed the XD5 last night (main unit + 2 satellites), and setup was super easy. In the Asus app, I set the bandwidth to 160 MHz and ran speed tests in various parts of the house — both before and after the switch. Here’s where it gets interesting (and a bit disappointing): test results (download/upload in Mb/s): • Living room (close to modem): • Old KPN router: 700–800 • Asus XD5: 300–500 • First floor: • KPN: ~400 • XD5: ~200 • Attic: • KPN: 10–20 • XD5: ~300 So the attic performance improved dramatically (which is great), but the speeds downstairs — especially in the living room — dropped quite a bit. I was expecting to maintain the higher speeds I used to get close to the modem, but that’s clearly not the case. My questions: 1. Is this typical behavior for mesh systems? 2. Are these results decent overall, or should I consider returning it and going for something like the TP-Link Deco BE25 (WiFi 7)? 3. Are there any settings I can tweak to improve performance, especially on the ground floor? Any tips, advice, or personal experiences would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Well, i ditched the asus. I’ve tried everything. Setting it to AP mode. Changing the location. Different cable etc etc. it’s giving me 200mb instead of the 800 now. Unbelievable. Ordered a set of TP-Link Deco BE25 with WiFi 7. Reading some positive things about this one.

Mesh itself is fine if you have enough of an unpopulated airspace so that the backhaul isn't competing with a whole apartment complexes wireless interference. I will say though that all of the one's I've tried have had absolute garbage software and die after a year or two. I've had Asus XD5's, Netgear Orbis, and a TP-Link setup. I just bought 3 Eero's just because I haven't had a chance for them to die on me yet. The Asus was my previous mesh set up and it worked fine until it just stopped handing out DHCP on wireless. Factory resets and firmware downgrades didn't change anything. If I had the time, I would go on ebay and get some more enterprise grade gear. Cisco WLCs and Aironet APs have lasted forever when I install them at work. Just a bit more complex to wire and setup at home.

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.

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.