ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor

I like the ASUS AiMesh line. I've got the RT-AX86U Pro & it meets similar needs at my house. If I buy another ASUS AiMesh product, it would likely be the ASUS ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor - wired or wireless backhaul.

I like Asus since you don't have to go all-in with mesh on day one. Wireless backhaul is an issue with every mesh system. I started with an AiMesh Extendable Router and I can add anything from the Asus line-up if I need better coverage. And, yeah, that RT-AX86U Pro is pretty nice with its 2.5 Gbps port connecting to my Arris cable modem. This computer is wired to a LAN port and works very well, and the wi-fi around the house is very reliable.

That is a terrible suggestion. In one of my two homes, I’ve had the same Nokia wireless router for over a year. Still works like a charm. In the other home, I have a trio of Asus BD5’s. They’re all hardwired. They work absolutely flawlessly. I’ve had them for about 5 months.

I have a 3pk of Asus ZenWifi BD5’s. They were about $300 for the set. They’re all connected with a wired backhaul. They each have two Ethernet ports capable of 2.5G. I just plug my network switch into one of them to get more ports. They’re only dual channel. But that’s not a deal breaker at all due to the wired backhaul. I’ve had them for probably 5 months. They work pretty flawlessly. I have an iPhone and a MacBook Pro. So there’s no trouble using Apple products with them. Asus does make more expensive versions if you really want to spend the whole $1k of your budget.

I’ve have good luck with ASUS. I upgrade my main router every couple years and turn the old one into a wired node. I now run one one each floor and a BD5 outdoor in my backyard

I have always used Asus for as long as I can remember but I just got a TP Link system because I recently tried upgrading my Asus mesh with newer models (2 different ones) and one had constant rebooting issues which they can't fix and the other has 2.4 GHz WiFi issues which they also can't fix. Both are their WiFi 7 models.

I've got that TP-Link and am about to sell it off. Let me know if you want it for a discount, I upgraded to an Asus ZenWifi system for my house now.

Asus Expert Router EBG19P seems to have some benefits over Ubiquiti Cloud Gateway, such as more ports. But it's hard to argue the awesomeness of Ubiquiti UI - I love my UDM Pro. Props to ASUS WRT (Merlin) too. Like others said, just turn off DHCP and WiFi on the ATT Gateway and let your router do the lifting. Couple with Asus Zen Wifi or TP-Link Deco mesh system in access point model for expandable, upgradeable wireless. Eero won't support this setup (no AP mode).

You really just want something that you can control many variables with, and to be more specific, you want one where you can manually select the wifi channel and manually bind a device to a specific access point/mesh node. You cant do this with something like a Google Nest Pro or Eero wifi mesh setups, so I had to rule those out. The reason it's important is because you may have neighbor wifi congestion that varies at different parts of the house, and through testing you've found your ideal channel, but the router is not selecting it. You're SOL in this scenario. Obviously something like Unifi products are great, but if you're on a budget and are looking for simplicity, there's nothing wrong with Asus ZenWifi or TP-Link Deco mesh systems. I settled with Asus and run a pair of XT8 routers i got off ebay to supply wifi throughout the house. The router has some 45 degree angled antennas to beam downwards/upwards too so that helps beam it to our downstairs room directly beneath the mesh node with the router being on the opposite end of the house on the same floor. runs great, i manually select my wireless backhaul channel and all my settings, i can assign my pc to the mesh node if i want to game stream it to the xbox downstairs. it's been very smooth with Asus software so far. anywho. just make sure you pick wi-fi 6e or 7 at this point and that you can select channel and bind to ap. the rest is really determined on your house layout and size which is something you'll just need to be mindful of when placing your routers and using wifiman/netspot to determine if the wifi neighborhood is clear.