ASUS - ZenWiFi AX6600 Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System (XT8)

I can tell you what NOT to buy. I upgraded my wifi router as I am eagerly awaiting my 10g Firewalla. The ASUS GT-BE98 - $1000!!!! Absolutely shit. In AP mode behind my FW Gold, it allows the creation of guest networks BUT WILL NO allow user connection. You can set a static IP on the device but doesn't route to the FW. Works fine in router mode, just not AP Mode. Written to ASUS support, no resolution yet. Previous ZenWiFi-AX worked perfectly! 😱

Use opn or pfsense, and use WiFi routers as AP. Much more reliable. - super cheap: Cudy. Cheap Chinese routers, can mesh, can repeat, a 3 box is around 100€. - ASUS. I’ve been using XT8 as mesh for a couple years, AP only. Pretty reliable. - unifi : currently planning to migrate everything on these. The « wall » série is discrete. All are very powerful. Needs a controller software tho.

Use opn or pfsense, and use WiFi routers as AP. Much more reliable. - super cheap: Cudy. Cheap Chinese routers, can mesh, can repeat, a 3 box is around 100€. - ASUS. I’ve been using XT8 as mesh for a couple years, AP only. Pretty reliable. - unifi : currently planning to migrate everything on these. The « wall » série is discrete. All are very powerful. Needs a controller software tho.

Asus has worked fine here.

You need to wire ethernet to 2-4 spots in the house and set up acces points or a mesh system with Ethernet backhaul. Try not to fall for the marketing hype of a mesh system without a hardwired backhaul if you want full reliability. In my case, basement plus 3 floors, I have Asus XT8s in each floor, all wired with 2.5G to the basement switch. I'm getting 600 - 1000 Mbps reliably across the whole house over WiFi.

I have 1GB service and in my area they stopped using the NEST gear many months ago. For 900 sq ft you only need the router (Google 6E - rebranded from Actiontec). It’s not full of bells and whistles settings wise, but it is better than the ASUS router (XT8) it replaced.

In apartment living you'll run into the same issue I have which is an oversaturated wifi network. You could consider supplementing your wifi network with these coax Ethernet adapters so you don't lag while gaming. But IMO the Asus Zenwifi AX XT8 mesh wifi is probably one of the better options out there if you're looking for straight wifi. For me personally I have the Unifi Dream Machine which I crank up my wifi power to max and drown out my neighbor's but that's overkill for most people.

I get >900 on my wifi connection using a Asus GT-AX11000 Pro and XT8 mesh connection. It uses 5ghz backhaul.

I use a 2-pack Asus ZenWifi XT8 for this setup in wireless backhaul mode for a 2-story 20x65 sqft house.

I use an ASUS XT8 mesh system. It mostly works. I say that because updating the firmware can break HomeKit unless you factory reset the system after updating and restoring your setup from a backup.

My Asus XT8 does have separate bands. A number of their other systems do as well.

I have a 2 ZenWiFi AX’s on each floor of my house. WiFi everywhere, including a bench at the back fence of the property kicks butt. I’m using wired backhaul over coax between the two and another wired to living room entertainment center that has a lot of smart home hubs. I have 1gig up and down fiber to the house and the 1gig coax adapters I use work well. The entertainment center that is after two coax connections gets 650 gb still.

You dont need wifi E router, only one that has 160hz channel support like asus ax58u or asus ax59u. Asus xt8 or xt9. Lock the 160mhz channel to your headset.

I initially purchased a 2 pack of Asus 6600ax xt8s. At this point you may be able to find them cheap. 2 worked to cover my entire home from basement to 3rd floor BUT once 2 of my kids started gaming on the 2nd floor i had to buy a 3rd one and hardwire their consoles into it so they could have great performance.

ASUS xt8 has this option.

I tried a bunch of different brands. The only one that I found to be consistently reliable is the Asus XT8 series. I've had them for 4-5 years and they still perform like absolute champs.

I have asus xt8 mesh, 3 devices. They are connected with ethernet,even tho it supports 160mhz uplink between them, and it generally works great. However i have a scheduled weekly reboot in 3am. I have also used openvpn long time that is built in and ddns

I use Wifi 6, no issue with Ultimate on my Mac mini m1 with my ASUS XT8 router

I've got Asus XT8 mesh with two APs one in the garage one upstairs. Large set up with around 50 devices on it. The main issue has been because the hub would jump from apple tv to homepod or our flakey internet which has finay been upgraded to fibre after a year of waiting which has improved the reliability. There's a wifi 7 version out now too - still expensive but not as bad as Ubiquity gear unless you go for XT12 which has two 2.5g ports and looks like an art piece.

I’m not sure if I recommend ASUS.. I have an ASUS wifi mesh system set up and it gave me constant headaches for the first 2 months. I have the ZenWifiAX combo and could never get the second one to work properly. It worked for about a week, then would switch to 2.4ghz backhaul and no matter what I could not get it to switch back to 5ghz. I even tried the Merlin firmware and nothing fixed this issue. So basically I have one ZenWifiAX which is basically a paper weight. I now run one ZenWifiAX as my main router, two ZenWifiXD5’s as nodes in the house and a final RT-AX55 in the garage. After months of configuration issues and tons of trial and error, my network is mostly stable. Even with 4 routers in the home, I still have some dead spots though, which is unbelievable. There’s also issues with the roaming where your device won’t connect to the closest router and therefore won’t give you the best speeds. For example, my iPhone when I’m upstairs constantly tries to connect to the XD5 in my basement on the 2.4ghz band.. obviously this isn’t ideal lol Another issue is some devices in the garage won’t connect to the garage router unless I force them to via the app. If I were to do it all again, I’d probably go with something else. Since I must be on wireless backhaul I’d probably go for the Amplifi line by Ubiquiti. EDIT: Not sure why I’m getting downvoted for this lol

I have two houses, each with an ASUS 58u (also sold as the AX3000) as the main router and two XT8 or ET8 mesh nodes connected via 1Gbps wired back haul. The nodes run the stock ASUS firmware while the main routers run ASUS Merlin [open source firmware](https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/) and have each been rock solid for years. I don't know specifically about the XD5 units you have but these recent ASUS models are mostly pretty similar and usually at least as reliable as other major brands. Before spending more money on something different, first check online that there aren't any known or widely reported issues with the particular model or firmware you're running. It seems like there's always some percentage of people who encounter mysterious intermittent issues similar to you with a new setup but this tends to happen with about the same frequency across most brands. People usually default to buying something else, which often ends up working and they just blame whatever brand they happened to pick the first time and move on. But in reality, the issue is often not due to the brand but rather your current configuration, setup or environment. While switching out for some other model and/or brand may appear to "fix it", that's often just due to randomly changing things up. It's likely the issue could be addressed faster, easier and cheaper with some basic troubleshooting and understanding what's going on. I always prefer trying to identify, at least in general, what aspect isn't working before just blindly "shaking the box" by buying something new.

Asus ZenWiFi mesh system (2pk)... Thread closed... 😉

I bought an Asus zenwifi system but eventually hardwired the satellites to a switch plugged into the main unit. Works great.

Yeah, extenders don't work in big houses. For 3500 sq ft, get a mesh system like TP-Link Deco or ASUS ZenWiFi.Covers everything, no dead zones, no 5G or 2.4GHz.

I'm no expert at all in networks. I use Asus tri band routera running Merlin firmware. I have one router at the far end of the house on the 1at floor and the second router at the opposite end on the second floor. The signal extends to the yard and fully covers the house with Wi-Fi 6. House is close to 3k square feet. I have the routers hardwired since that provided the best connection. If you go the Merlin website you'll see what routers are supported.

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

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.

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)

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