ASUS - ZenWiFi XD5

I've been running an Asus XD5 setup with wired backhaul for a couple of years now and it has been solid and basically trouble free. No idea how it would handle extreme environments though or how it works without wired backhaul. But my main primary router is the utility room in the garage where it will get into the 90's in the summer and it is fine with that. If you are already familiar with the Asus routers it would be easy to setup for you. While it has a lot of the options of their upper end routers there are some missing features from what I've read but none that I would ever use.

With a tri-band WiFi 6 mesh system that leverages the 3rd band exclusively for mesh backhaul traffic, speeds should approach wired connectivity performance. Not guaranteed to be as good as wired, but most likely better than a typical dual-band WiFi extender. I know this because I tried a dual-band mesh system (ZenWiFi mini XD5 - 2.4ghz & 5ghz) and saw my internet speeds drop in half (from 300mbps to 150mbps). Used a a tri-band mesh system (ASUS ZenWiFi XT8 - 2.4ghz, 5ghz \[client\] & 5ghz \[mesh backhaul\]) and my internet speeds were consistently right around 300mbps at both the router and the node. BTW the node was 2 floors downstairs. Using wireless backhaul. The XT8 set is also just a 2-pack. The XD5 came in a 3-pack. I tried using just 2 nodes, then 1 on each floor, and still only got 50% of my internet speed with the dual-band XD5 set. The XT8 gives me 100% of rated internet speed. Not certain if all tri-band mesh systems have such performance (I only have experience with this one), but the XT8 works very well in my environment. Logically it seems tri-band would work better than dual-band.

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

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.

Wi-Fi 6 I can personally vouch for the ASUS AX1800 or AX3000 routers. Avoid TP-Link and Huawei Wi-Fi '6' routers for VR gaming specifically, they're know to cause issues. Their Wi-Fi '6e' routers are fine though. In terms of connecting multiple headsets to the same router, do you mean you're playing native games downloaded on the Quests [no PC] and are just using the router to get internet to them? Or do you have multiple PCs setup and doing PC VR gaming?

Good call on moving the router upstairs. Centrally located, an ASUS AX3000 would be good. Any budget you’re on?

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.

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

Spend a little more and get a asus AX3000 .

I got rid of my Asus AX6000 and AX3000 for a single Reyee RG-EW7200BE-PRO and I am thoroughly impressed. Better in every way and way cheaper than the Asus devices.

Asus is terrible. I just got rid of all my Asus routers. I'm using a single Reyee RG-EW7200BE-PRO now. What a difference, the software is a million times better and the performance is far superior for half the price of Asus.

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!