ASUS - ZenWiFi XT9

I'm running a couple of XT9s myself, and am very pleased 6 months in.

Have got the ASUS XT9s and to be fair they’ve been solid for me.

I'm using a set of ASUS ZenWiFi Xt9. I bought it a few years ago and it works well with SimpliSafe. There may be better options now.

I have the same. Been far more solid than my previous Nest WiFi setup. I've set up some presence detection automations using it too.

I’m testing a set of 770’s right now and it’s probably one of the best mesh systems I’ve had in the house! Massive issues at first - but I was having that with every system I was testing due to a faulty ONT. After that was swapped out, it’s been smooth. Might keep them, not sure yet, replaced a set of XT9s that started having lots of dropouts.

Recently installed ASUS XT9, works 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.

Third this. I've had Asus minis before and currently 4 XT9's. No issues.

dedicated wireless backhaul? buy something with 2 5ghz band, or 2 6ghz band asus bq16, bq16pro, xt9,xt12,xp4 if you know for sure you are using same phase. xt8 cheapest.

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've never heard of "Portal Routers"; do you have a model number you could provide or any specifications for them? Are they 802.11ac for example (WiFi 5)? If there's a model number I could try to look them up to get the specs and perhaps figure out how only those two super routers can cover 7000 square feet. That sounds impressive. How old are these Portal routers? If they are working well, maybe it's not necessary to upgrade/swap them out? If your primary motivation for upgrading is faster speed, I have a comment. I'm not asking this to second-guess your internet needs, but do you really need 1gigabit speed? Most households won't maximize/saturate 500mbps unless they have many people living in a home, doing concurrent high-bandwidth tasks simultaneously. If you are not doing a lot of high-bandwidth activity, you'd likely be paying more for a service speed (1 gigabit) you couldn't fully utilize. But assuming you may need 1 gig speed or want to upgrade for other reasons (perhaps the routers are starting to fail, they're very old and no longer receiving firmware updates so there is concern they may be vulnerable to hacks/exploits/bugs, etc.), there are a few options. The very best option is to have a primary router ethernet-connected to your cable modem, with additional wired Access Points distributed throughout the property wherever wireless access is needed. Wired=connected to the router via ethernet. If that's not a practical option and you can't use ethernet, Powerline (ethernet over electrical lines in the house) or MoCA (multimedia over coax alliance; uses cable TV cables with MoCA adapters) are other options to get faster speeds. MoCA is usually a very good option, can give gigabit or higher speeds. Powerline, generally much slower - depends on how the power wiring is set up in the house. The easiest option is to get a mesh system. Connect main mesh unit to cable modem via ethernet cable. Then the other mesh nodes are placed throughout the property (in close proximity to other nodes) to provide a "mesh" of wireless network connectivity. The mesh nodes use "wireless backhaul" in this setup, which means they wirelessly communicate with one another. If you are going to use a mesh system, do yourself a favor and get at least a tri-band system. This reserves a separate wireless band for wireless backhaul traffic, so that the other bands can be used just by the clients, helping them achieve better speeds. While a mesh system in this configuration is generally not as fast as a wired backhaul setup, if a quality tri-band system is used, and housing materials are "wireless friendly" (no concrete walls/floors, mesh nodes are placed strategically to maximize functionality, etc.) it can provide very good performance. I see you asked about an ASUS RT-BE82U as the main router, with the two Portal routers as "wireless bridges/access points." I don't believe that would be possible with the ASUS, as I suspect the ASUS would only allow its own products (made by ASUS) that are "AiMesh compatible" (that's ASUS's proprietary mesh technology) to be used with the BE-82U in a wireless "AiMesh" mesh network. And please note the RT-BE82U is a dual band router.. so if you use this as an AiMesh "primary router" then you will run into the dual-band mesh issue already mentioned above (i.e. speeds will not be very fast, and it's a lot of work for no improvement in your speeds, in my opinion). For some ideas on good mesh systems you can check this: [https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems#](https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems#) I think WiFi 6 is still worth investing in, even though WiFi 7 is the latest technology. WiFi 6 is stable, reliable and firmware is solid. WiFi 7 is bleeding edge, brand new and more expensive. Hope that helps!

Happy to share the info! I checked Amazon: A two pack of XT8s is $199. A two pack of XT9s is the same price, $199. Between the two I recommend the XT9 as it gives you slightly improved performance (a bit faster CPU), and more channel width on the 1st 5ghz band. Nothing earth-shattering, but if they are the same price, definitely get the slightly improved version. They are both WiFi 6, but I think WiFi 6 has lots of life left and the technology is very stable in my experience. More info on the XT9 and XT8, if you want to geek out and learn more: https://dongknows.com/asus-zenwifi-xt9-review/ I think the XT8 (or XT9, as it’s nearly identical config, slightly improved) would work well in a wireless backhaul configuration. You may even see improved speeds at the fringes of your current coverage areas, where it may be a bit slower speed with the Portal routers now. But do you *need* super fast speed everywhere? As long as you get the speed and coverage you need where it counts - computer, streaming device, fill in the blank - then everything else will be more than happy with modest speeds of 50mbps (such as 2.4ghz devices, smart plugs, etc.). Even a streaming device technically only needs about 25mbps for 4K video. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” makes a lot of sense sometimes. Any time you make changes there is the potential of increased performance, but also the risk of introducing new variables that could break things. It’s a cost/benefit analysis you’ll need to complete, to determine if it’s worth the change.

I'm confident someone will suggest the best solution is not a router or mesh, but router + APs (access points) -- and I'd agree with them. To set that up you'd need to connect the APs via ethernet to the router. If that is possible, it will give you better and more reliable speeds throughout the home. If you can't cable everything together with ethernet, then a wireless mesh system is an option to consider, but performance won't be as good as a wired setup. When considering router or mesh, for a residence of that size you will need mesh. A single router isn't going to cover the whole house. Here are some options under or around $200 US I would pick for myself. Prices are what I see as I write this on [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) * **WiFi 6:** $199 - ASUS XT9 Tri-Band Mesh (2 pack covers \~529 square meters/5700 square feet). I already own and use the slightly less powerful XT8 system. Works well when my XT8 units are connected wirelessly or wired (via ethernet). I have router on top floor of house and mesh node 2 floors below with strong signal. Impressive. The XT9 is a slight upgrade from the XT8. Since XT8 & XT9 products are the same price now, I'd recommend the XT9. Like the XT8 it has a dedicated band (2nd 5ghz band) for mesh communication so client speeds are less affected by mesh traffic. WAN port has max 2.5GB and LAN ports max 1GB. Since your internet speed is less than 1GB this system wouldn't throttle your internet speeds. * **WiFi 6E:** $259 - ASUS ET8 Mesh (2 pack for \~510 sq meters/5500 sq ft). NOTE this is **only recommended** if you can connect the router and node **via ethernet**. While it's tri-band (2.4ghz/5ghz/6ghz) the 6ghz band used for backhaul is also shared with clients and it doesn't have as much range as 5ghz band. So **if you need to use the mesh in a wireless config, skip this one** \- performance over wireless won't be as good. WAN = 2.5GB max and LAN=1GB max. Unfortunately I don't have any experience with/knowledge of any other WiFi 6E mesh systems so can't suggest any (hopefully someone else can share suggestions). * **WiFi 7:** $255 - It's hard to beat TP-Link pricing for their WiFi 7 mesh systems. The Deco BE63 (BE10000) Tri-Band WiFi 7 system covers up to \~538 sq meters/5800 square feet. WAN & LAN=2.5GB max. I haven't used this unit personally but have read favorable reviews/comments from folks about this system. * The only WiFi 7 mesh system ASUS has that comes close is the BT8 but it's $420 and has 1/2 the 2.5GB ports of the TP-Link unit, so TP-Link gets the nod for this category. FYI RE: TP-Link: If you want extra security features/parental controls, TP-Link makes you pay extra each month. Something to be aware of (perhaps $50/yr, you can check tp-link's website for details). ASUS includes all security features for free. Hope that helps and good luck.