ASUS - RT-AX3000

I have both. 86 is main and 3000 is my aimesh The 3000 is a great router. I paid $7.99 at Goodwill for the x86 got really lucky. Get the 3000 should do you well.

I can confirm I'm pretty happy with my mesh system. I use a RT-AX 3000 as main router and RT-AC1900P as wifi extender using AiMesh. Only issue is that I only get around 300 Mbit between one end of my property and the other, where I both have computers. But I think that's because that's a few walls and doors between the two routers. In the near future I will connect them with a LAN cable. However initially I had some issues with setting up the AiMesh because one router was running the Merlin custom OS and the other one the native.

Here’s a breakdown of the best router options for your 300-400 Mbps connection in a 2-3 BHK home, with a focus on future-proofing, reliability, and performance. I’ll also clarify whether Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 6 is the better choice for your situation. Should You Choose Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, or Wi-Fi 7? 1. Wi-Fi 6 is sufficient for most homes and supports high speeds, excellent device management, and widespread compatibility with current devices. • Your iPhone 11 and MacBook Air 15” (2023) don’t support Wi-Fi 6E, so Wi-Fi 6 will be optimal in the short term. • It’s also budget-friendly and works well for 2-3 BHK homes. 2. Wi-Fi 6E adds the 6 GHz band, which provides higher bandwidth and less interference. • However, it’s only useful if your devices support 6 GHz (future upgrades will). • It’s worth considering for future-proofing, especially if the price difference isn’t too high. 3. Wi-Fi 7 is emerging but not necessary right now. Few devices support it, and the routers are expensive. Key Features to Look For • Speeds: Look for routers rated for at least 1 Gbps to handle your connection with headroom for upgrades. • MU-MIMO and OFDMA: Ensures smooth handling of multiple devices like your phones and laptops. • Coverage: Ensure coverage for your 2-3 BHK space (mesh systems are unnecessary unless walls are very thick). • USB Port: Useful for storage or printer sharing, though optional. • Built-in VPN Support: Some routers offer built-in VPN servers, but many require a subscription. Recommendations 1. TP-Link Archer AX73 (AX5400) • Wi-Fi 6: Dual-band router with up to 5400 Mbps speed. • Devices: Handles 30+ devices with MU-MIMO and OFDMA. • USB Port: Yes, supports file sharing and media streaming. • VPN Support: Built-in OpenVPN support. • Price: Around $170. • Why It’s Great: Affordable, reliable, and offers great range and speed for a 2-3 BHK. 2. ASUS RT-AX58U (AX3000) • Wi-Fi 6: Dual-band with up to 3000 Mbps speed. • Devices: Strong MU-MIMO and beamforming for device management. • USB Port: Yes. • VPN Support: Built-in OpenVPN server support.

Asus AiMesh - Yea TP-Link Deco - Yes TP-Link Easy Mesh - Not sure

>Asus and long term support in the same proposition is something not realistic Depends on what is meant by “long term”. My 6 year old RT-AX3000 is still getting firmware updates

Just get the RT-AX3000. I have used both, and they're both fine for normal use like you've described. Might as well save some money. My parents still use the AX3000 and it's been fine and rarely has issues. I used the 86U myself and rarely ever had to reset it. I really liked it. Not sure if it was worth the money, but it was a rock. These days I'm learning a bunch of network stuff, so I have a pfsense router with Ubiquity APs. That's overkill for most people.

The RT-AX58U (first one) is the best out of the 3.

We just signed up to the same plan and this is what we went with. https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/asus-ax3000-2nd-gen-dual-band-gigabit-router-black-rt-ax58uv2-asax58u

Ok, you don’t need anything to flash then. I got this one: https://www.asus.com/nz/networking-iot-servers/wifi-routers/asus-wifi-routers/rt-ax3000/ Mesh capable if you need it (you shouldn’t with 100m2) wifi 6 which is fast enough for the type of use you’re describing. Has a bunch of the handy ASUS inbuilt features . You will probably get 5- 7 years out of a modern router before they stop doing firmware upgrades etc so consider that when you buy.  . Wifi 7 is only worthwhile in super busy areas and if you have devices with it otherwise wifi 6 or even wifi 5 is fine, Mesh is only needed if you need to extend coverage etc. most people massively over buy when they get a router. Your limited to what your fibre plan allows you to download so if your plan only lets you do 500mbps no point having a 10,000mbps router. 3000mpbs is more than enough for 99% of users 

This. I have the RT-AX58U. It's OK, but I'm moving to a Flint 2 soon. I miss OpenWrt.

The AX86U will future-proof you for a looong time with max performance even as Internet links go into multi-Gbit. The AX3000 (basically an AX58U) has more or less the same features with less horsepower — like the same car with a V6 vs V8 engine, to oversimplify a bit. The AX86U is a good choice if you have a small/medium area to cover and want max throughput/minimum ping for one or two devices. Consider gear like the UniFi if you have a larger area to cover with multiple satellite APs.

Thank you for the detailed review! How well does the WiFi 6E perform? I have several WiFi 6E devices, but my main focus is using it with the Meta Quest 3 for higher bandwidth in Air Link and PCVR. Currently, I’m using the ASUS AX3000 v1 (tri-core version) and find it not enough.

I own the ASUS RT-AX1800 and RT-AX3000. I like them both. I don't use either of them as my gateway anymore though. I upgraded to a sg-1100 pfSense gateway recently and have both the routers running in AP mode now. One for upstairs coverage and one for downstairs coverage. I, as others have said, encourage you to install Merlin firmware if you choose ASUS. Just make sure your model has Merlin firmware available. The RT-AX3000 v2 was my gateway before the sg-1100 and I had to install forked third-party Merlin firmware because there weren't any current versions that supported the v2 model.

I have the ax3000 and it’s fine. The only thing I wish it had natively was port mirroring. I never use the mesh or security insights etc. I do like that you can set up a guest network with timed access for when we have friends over. Another device with custom firmware and a laptop dedicated to network monitoring helped solve other concerns

AImesh can do the job, but it will do it much better with wired backhaul if you can, especially because the AX3000 is only 2x2 dual band and has no dedicated radio for meshing, so if you mesh wirelessly, you end up halving the 5GHz bandwidth.

Both AX86U and AX3000 have 2 radios: a 2.4GHz one and a 5GHz one There can't be a dedicated channel for mesh becaue there is no extra radio for mesh communication. AX86U does 4X4 MIMO on 5GHz instead of 2x2, so its radio can beamform a 3dB stronger signal to the AX3000, which helps with the bandwidth, especially in case of otherwise weak connection between the 2 devices. Still, every 5GHz device in this case is broadcasting on the same channel, so every client connected to the AX3000 will have at best half the bandwidth available, because of its data having to be repeated on the same 5GHz channel to the AX86U.

Gotta be the tried and true asus ax3000. I’ve had mine for 5ish years now and it’s a tank. I left Netgear due to puma chipset connection-drop issues. The next step imo is OPNSense on a mini pc. Edit: forgot to add - for modems, whatever you do, do NOT get a modem with a puma chipset. Research the firmware issue for more detail, but lots of packet loss and dropped connections baked into it.

Just upgraded to 1gig with spectrum and they threw one in for free, so i'm selling my Asus AX3000. DM if you're interested.

Spend a little more and get a asus AX3000 .

Hey! Go with the ASUSAX3000. It's fast, reliable, has Ethernet ports, and you can manage it in a browser... Perfect for fibre, basic streaming, and 2.4GHz devices. The Netgear RS90 is nice but kind of overkill (and pricey) for what you need. Under $50 is tough unless you go used or refurbished. AX3000’s your best bet!!

Hey! WiFi 6E is a good call, 6GHz is nice if your devices support it. Try these: TP-Link AXE75 – Fast, solid, affordable. ASUS AX3000 – Reliable and easy to use. Eero 6+ – Super simple, just works. No mesh needed. All three are great picks!

Most consumer grade Wi-Fi 6 routers are basically just fancy 5GHz routers anyway. that being said, the range is actually reduced with a higher frequency but if you're reasonably close to your a router A Wi-Fi 6 Device will let you stream at a much higher resolution and frame rate without drops. But it's something you should just test. Maybe 2.4 GHz is stable enough for 1080p 60fps gaming. You just have to try. Personally, I think it's a worthwhile investment. I got the Asus ax3000 and I'm never going back lol

I have an AX3000 that I use as an AP and it works great. Do you even have any WiFi 7 devices?

Edit: to clarify. I posted what I've used in the past, not what I want to use next. The first two were recycled. I added an image of what I've used over the years (Linksys WRT54G, Westell 7501, Asus AC-1900). I feel like the 3 primary routers I've used have been great and reliable. I think I got lucky. I'm looking for a moderate upgrade, even though I don't really need it. My current Asus is pushing 10 years and I'd like to retire it and keep it as a backup. My wishlist: ~$75 (I can wait for a sale), super reliable and automatic, dependable, WiFi6 or 7 just to keep up, would work well with older WiFi tech. A mesh system is not required, but my parents have a 2story house so it might help. I've got the ability for wired back-haul. Honestly a single point would be fine for us i think I want this for my family, my parents, and my grandparents. None of us are power users. All 3 of us have the same AC-1900 router, which makes management super easy for me. In-fact, besides powering off and on occasionally, they've been very reliable for the non-tech-saavy. Just looking for something to continue that tradition. Last year, I bought an ASUS AX3000 WiFi 6 Router, but I returned it. I used it for ~3 weeks, but it was super unreliable compared to my current Asus AC-1900. I never figured out why. I thought it would be an upgrade, but it seemed slower and had tons of connection issues. I have some older tech that was the primary connection problem, but even newer ~4 year old tech was having trouble. Maybe i screwed up the configuration, but it was also more complicated than my current Asus. Hoping to avoid that again. Need something the other family members can handle without any input, like we currently have. Thank you!

I bought a spool of cat5e cable before my house renovation thinking that 1 gigabit would be enough forever. The cable turned out to be utter crap and barely skirting the edge. Wont negotiate above 100 mbit. After many-MANY hours of making new jacks and trying all kinds of magic I just bought 3 ASUS wifi 6 routers and the AImesh is actually perfectly fine. 600 megs in my living room via mesh and my computer is the only device with a gigabit connection as the ONT is in my office. Spent 150 euros on a 3 pack of ASUS routers. Works just fine until I move on to some Ubiquiti wifi7 mesh.

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've had zero problems with M1 for many years. Only went down once, and that was for scheduled maintenance in the middle of the night. Also, it's not just your internet plan that could be the cause of any issues. If your router isn't good enough, or is in a terrible position, or is overheating, or the bomb shelter is between your laptop and the router, you are gonna have issues no matter what plan you have. I have a standard 1Gbps plan but an Asus gaming router with ethernet cables going to the 3 heaviest users in the home – PS5, living TV and bedroom TV. I also set up a second router using Asus AImesh to provide wifi signal to one of the further corners of the house.

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?

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

I use Asus routers in my Ai mesh network and it gives me complete control over everything and I've loved it. I use that coupled with family link from Google and I feel like I've done my job as a parent blocking as much bullshit as I can for my kids.  But don't worry, their friends who's parents don't care about a single thing they consume will come along and ruin your hard work. Or your kids will be kids and find loop holes, which they always do. But you still tried. 

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

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.

As has been said, plug in everything you can. For a basic option, the Asus routers with AiMesh are a pretty simple solution. Start with one on the second floor centrally located and see if you need more. Use inSSIDer to see how your signal strength is as what kind of interference you have and set settings accordingly. If you’re not reaching all corners, add another compatible Asus and put them on floors 1 and 3 (both wired connection to WAN jack)

ASUS AIMESH Stable and cheap.