ASUS ZenWiFi AX6600 Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System (XT8 2PK) - Whole Home Coverage up to 5500 sq.ft & 6+ Rooms, AiMesh, Included Lifetime Internet Security, Easy Setup, 3 SSID, Parental Control, White

Update: 3-28-2020. Still having issues with the primary router always connecting with the 5 g network, particularly when it is in the ax mode. Supposedly this system is backward compatible with other adapters but by switching it off the ax mode and then back on a few minutes later then it seems work ok. Shouldn't have to do this Asus. Try to fix it, I can't be the only one who has this issue. Devices generally will connect to the node without any issues. Update: 3-8-2020 I'm finding that some of devices will not connect to the 5 G network when the system is in ax mode. Even if I'm but 5 ft. away. Switch the ax mode off and it will connect both the 2.4 and 5 networks. Go figure. Occasionally I have to switch the ax mode back on to get some other device to connect properly. I often take the device into another room some 15ft or more away and it will connect with the 5G without any issues.??? Update: 3-2-2020 My Blue Cave node was inconsistent on wifi but excellent with the ethernet so I tried a RT-AC68A as a node and it works great. Both the ethernet and the wifi provide excellent speeds in the basement some 25 feet away. I don't plan on sending it back since I'm very happy with it so far. Have had to make a few adjustments here and there because not all digital devices are "equal". If you don't mind paying up for a system it is pretty hard to beat for setup and performance. One thing to add: when I set up the node I used an ethernet cable from the main router lan to the AC68A wan. For some reason it would not locate it wirelessly. Update: 2-24-2020 Went into the wireless in the menu and enabled WIFI Agile Multiband for both the 2.4 and 5g networks. (I disabled the smart connect right out of the box.) It will ask you to change the Protected management Frames also. Did so not knowing what the outcome might be but these changes seemed to help with the issue of the mesh switching between the nodes and the primary router. Also, my phones would not hook up to the primary router sitting 5 ft. away but since the afore mentioned changes that issue is gone and the speeds have been excellent. I added a star to my orignal review since the system is working much better. I sure as hell would like a manual to look at rather than just a quick setup document. If someone out there has some ideas or additional adjustments that can be made I'm all ears. FIRST REVIEW: This is an early impression of my experience so far. 2-pak setup was very easy and straight forward. Had to reset once but couldn't find the reset button until I looked on the very bottom of the router. By the way the wps button is there also. I'm paying for 200 mgb and will get 200 to 260 with my desktop 7 ft away. My motorola z3 play generally gets 140 to 170 depending on where I am. I was getting 160 to 200 in the basement 25 ft. away on a desktop. The all those scores are on wifi. I setup an additional Blue Cave node in the basement (which was another story) and connected to two different desktops with ethernet cables. At times they are ripping along at 230 to 260 or may drop off to 80 to 90 for no apparent reason. I disconnected the cables reconnected and the speeds went up again???? (This issue has vanished after making the above mentioned changes). The app will sometimes show the blue cave is offline yet it is working. I have some similar questions as a few others have had about bothersome issues that have arisen. Will address these later. I finally disabled the ax mode for 2.4 and 5g and it seemed to put some of these issues to rest for awhile. I have had ASUS routers for years and love them along with the menu. These two have me considering going back to my older routers because they were more reliable. I'm not a computer guru but I can handle most of the basic computer issues and projects. We don't buy the hardware to continually reboot, reconnect, and try work arounds to make the systems work. Update: 9-22-2020 Additional thoughts on the zenwifi routers. I've found that I need to keep it in the non-AX mode so all of my cameras, wall plugs, etc will remain connected all of the time. ALSO, THE RESET AND WPS BUTTONS ARE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE ROUTER. Nothing in the instructions that I could see regarding their location so if you are looking for them check the bottom. The wifi range is excellent; the speed is excellent; and the app works very well setting the routers up. I'm paying for 200mbs but I get 260+ download with wifi in the same room and 200+ downstairs in the basement. One additional point: Since the recent updates adding my Blue Cave router to the mesh was much easier than when I first started using the zenwifi XT8 mesh system.

Night and day coming from a Ubiquiti AP in terms of setup and performance. I've only been using this setup for a day, so longer term performance is still TBD, but everything has been excellent so far. Worth noting that my use cases and infrastructure might be simpler than many folks but even then, some of the negative reviews are a bit baffling given my experience. Pros: - Stupid-simple setup. The entire network with both devices was up and running within ~15 minutes of opening the box. I'm probably more technically inclined than others, but a child could figure this out. As simple as connecting the router to your modem, turning it on, and then walking through the in-app setup. The mesh node was about as plug-and-play as it gets, at least when using ethernet backhaul. It was recognized and configured almost immediately as a secondary node in the network. - Mobile app. Used for initial setup and management. Could probably be done through the web-ui but I don't really see a reason to do that on initial setup. Save time and just download/use the app. - Web UI. The router management web UI is more robust and a bit easier to navigate than the mobile app. Will likely use this going forward for more detailed configuration and monitoring. - Performance. Both speed and coverage are incredible. I pay for 1000/20 and consistently got ~930/~25 with the speed test in the Asus app. 5Ghz WiFi speed tests (fast dot com) on newer devices averaged ~750/~25. 2.4Ghz varied but was consistently fast and reliable. Full signal on various devices throughout the house and outside on both bands. - Wired backhaul. Worth mentioning specifically because I saw some reviews that complained about this not working very well or at all when a switch was in between the two units. It worked immediately and works well for me. There's also multiple physical connections between the node, the wall and the switch itself and there still aren't any problems. if you run into problems, its probably worth double-checking your cabling (CAT 5E+), hardware (switch compatibility/1G+ ports), and Asus config Cons: - Asus UI/UX. Very minor issues just getting used to and understanding how to navigate the UI both on the mobile app and on the web. It seems simple enough now though after poking around. Not worth docking the rating. - 2.4 Ghz. Noticed in some instances where the speeds were sporadically low on 2.4 Ghz, but I generally don't use that and it isn't consistent enough to dock a star. Most of the connected devices on the network default to or have to use the 2.4 band, so it could just be some basic congestion. As of this writing, I'm getting 150/22 on my laptop while situated near the secondary node, which is more than acceptable. I'll look deeper into the settings and report back if there are problems. - SSID management. Fairly negligible but worth mentioning like others have. The default configuration uses a single SSID for both 5 and 2.4 Ghz bands which I immediately turned off. I assume most folks would want the delineation of the two like me. The other knock here is that it will broadcast the alternate 5 Ghz channel used for wireless backhaul. I don't intend to ever use the wireless backhaul, but, unless I'm missing something, Asus seems to force it to be left on as a fallback in case the wired connection ever drops. I'm fine leaving it on as a fallback but I'll at least see if I can hide the SSID without causing problems with the network, since it should never be used by regular clients. TBD: - Long-term performance. Very satisfied at the moment but I'm sure most would agree that a huge percentage of the value is how these things hold up over time. I'll report back as needed. - Advanced features. I haven't spent enough time with the router management software to really understand the pros and cons here quite yet. - IOT connection stability. Saw some reviews that dinged connection drops for connected devices. No issues to report yet. I used the same SSID and passwords as before. Everything connected seamlessly and appears to be working. I'll keep an eye on this as well. - Wireless backhaul. I have not tested wireless backhaul and I don't really intend to. In fact, I don't really see the utility of using wireless backhaul if you can avoid it. For the XT8, it relies on an alternate channel on the 5Ghz band. This is obviously going to be slower than ethernet from the jump but the 5Ghz band is much more "fragile" and can quickly become very limited by physical distance and obstructions between the two nodes, even if the actual channel is dedicated strictly for backhaul instead of regular traffic. Misc. Notes: Physical setup: - Cable connection from the street comes into the basement, which is where the modem and the main router are situated. - The house is fully wired via ethernet. A 10-port gigabit switch also sits in the basement with the modem and router, which feeds the wall ports in various rooms throughout the home. - Only a handful of the wall ports are actually used consistently. One for the entertainment center, one for a PC and one for an AP on the second floor of the home. - Various connected and personal devices throughout the house. Smart speakers, smart TVs, Nest thermostats, a camera, dog collar, wireless printer. Personal devices include cellphones, laptops, and tablets. Previous hardware: - Netgear Nighthawk 6700 running DD-WRT, located in basement. Older model but the reputation precedes itself. Worked fairly well on stock firmware for a little while. Decided to switch to DD-WRT after cord-cutting and increased bandwidth needs for remote work and more IOT devices. DD-WRT improved things for a little while. I toyed with various setups but ultimately wanted the router to feed all connectivity in the house, so it remained in the basement. - Ubiquiti AP on 2nd floor for better coverage. The house is a recent reno but is originally ~200 years old. Whether the older construction materials of the innards of the house or just physical distance of having the router in the basement, it was difficult to get solid coverage throughout even with relatively modest square footage. The single AP worked well for a little while but UI/UX for Ubiquiti products is clunky at best and annoyingly difficult to configure. Performance degraded slowly over time and required lots of hand-holding just to remain stable. It also seemed impossible to get a true "mesh"-like network without having to purchase a second AP and completely turning off wifi on the main router. This didn't seem appealing given the dissatisfaction with the Ubiquiti ecosystem as a whole. Current hardware: - Main AX6600 router in basement, replacing the Netgear 6700. Modem feeds the WAN port, single LAN port feeds the main switch for ethernet wall ports. - Secondary AX6600 on 2nd floor as secondary AP Mesh Node, replacing Ubiquiti AP. Strictly uses ethernet backhaul via wall port

XT8 purchased: September 17, 2022 (1 item) - 2 units AX Mini purchased: May 22, 2023 (1 item) - 3 units 3,800 sq ft Main modem and router - 2nd floor Main office - basement (beneath 1st floor) Distance: 30 ft between XT8, 10-15 ft between AX Mini's When I first bought the XT8 AX6600 pair, they worked great for the first year. Strong signal, very minimal downtime, good asus interface on both browser and via app. After the first year, started having connection issues. After the first year, there was a small increase in occasional bottle necking, but I attributed it to the possibility of the XT8's and the MX (mini versions) having wifi overlapping. Still would work for weeks, even months, between any noticeable issues. After updating them at the start of May 2024, though, v. 3.0.0.4.388_24621-g9054e31 for the XT8 and v. 3.0.0.4.386_49599-g8352df7 for the AX Mini's, the performance of both units SEVERELY went downhill. The update was security related. Everyday, every hour - sometimes between 4-5 hour spans, but still every day, all nodes would disconnect from the mesh (from each other) and then try to reconnect themselves. Downtime is about 5-10 seconds, but when it happens, it's VERY noticeable, annoying, and f**king stupid. I'd either be working from home, on a call, browsing, streaming, or playing games - especially when in a competitive game - and disconnects would happen randomly at any point in the day and night. If I pay for something that's $300, plus the $200 cost of the mini's, I expect them to last AT LEAST 3 YEARS, preferably 5 years, before any major issues or any need to upgrade. My opinion of ASUS routers and (at least) these routers has gone down the drain and I do not and WOULD NOT recommend them to anyone at this point, despite them being WiFi 6 and fairly powerful routers. ASUS Ai-Mesh is nice... when it works. I tried running the XT8's solo and the AX Mini's solo - same connection issues. Also confirmed that it's not a modem problem, as I ran tests for a couple days via hard-line only from the modem, having it act as the router; no connection issues, couldn't see any problems like with the routers. My daily traffic is about 30 GB. Pic related to when disconnect starts to happen. When it does, it's either you restart and reconnect the whole system, or you wait it out until the issue resolves itself - whatever it is. I've tried: - resetting the whole network from default - swapping main routers between both XT8 and AX Mini - run with AND without Adaptive QoS (prioritization of apps on network) - run with AND without backhauling Same result, still happens. I blame the May 2024 update - these blow now.

Straight up was an upgrade from the Nighthawk RAX78. The RAX would not allow me to use DNS servers of my choice. I'm not sure if that was the reason why my webpages wouldn't load and after getting this product, I don't care. I placed a unit upstairs and down, backhauled by ethernet (cable is always more solid than WiFi imo) and everyone's signal throughout the house is full bars. No more lags or pages or Google TV apps that don't load. A little background: I had a Nighthawk RAX75 that was decent and was happy with and one day, it just started randomly rebooting, or the ethernet ports would randomly reset. Called Netgear support, and although the people were nice, it was kind of a hassle due the outsourcing of the support (it's interesting waiting on the phone and you can hear roosters in the background, kinda unexpected) and being asked to pay for support for a product that was still under warranty (this is a recurring theme with Netgear). I assume the firmware updates broke it, but I'll never know. Support was kind enough to send me a RAX78 and I had nothing but problems since I got it. Signal throughout my house was not as solid, but it was ok, but the worst of it was that no one could ever connect to webpages on the first try. You'd have to reload or retry multiple times. We dealt with this for almost a year. It was painful (first world problems amirite). Open HBO Max, yeah, GL. It would rarely load (mostly never). Had to cast from my phone. Open Amazon video? LOL. "Error connecting" screen that would eventually connect after 2 or 3 mins. Voice search? Pfft, not gonna happen bud. Considered purchasing an ORBI which, based on reviews, is a solid product, then I realized, "oh, this is a Netgear product" and based on my previous customer experience, it was a non-starter for me. This product was a close second to the ORBI (based on some reviews, but I'm sure that's dated by now) for considerably lower $$$. Set it up fairly quickly using the app (the firmware update was solid, zero issues), but for a better, more thorough setup, I used my web browser. Decent amount of customization if you want it w/out having to be an engineer. Now everyone's webpages, apps, and throughput is SO MUCH BETTER and so much faster. Just a more confident experience. Full bars throughout the house. I wish I'd done it sooner, but 4 C notes is a lot for me to drop (especially with inflation) but an Orbi was even more. I didn't wanna risk a dud (unlikely) or having to deal with Netgear customer service. I would definitely recommend this product to anyone who can get together the money. If you're strapped like me, I understand the hesitation, but it's worth it so far. I'm writing this review, day one, but the difference to me was so apparent, I felt it important to share my experience.

Believe me: I hemmed and hawed for months about buying this mesh system. "Too pricey," I told myself. And I was right about that. But I tried everything short of spending on this: experimenting with newer, more central router locations. Buying a new, conventional, modestly priced (and decent) ASUS router. Subsequently tried to pair that new conventional ASUS router with an old one (what a exhausting failure that was!). I thought about drilling holes for an ethernet cable to connect a main router with one or two satellite access points. Complained to my spouse about what I was dealing with. Patiently (usually) absorbed spousal complaints about dropped wifi connections. My sanity-- and my spouse-- told me to SPEND THE MONEY. I had already read multiple technical reviews of this product (and it's newer, more expensive 6E cousin). Pored through comparative reviews of mesh systems. I was tempted to bite when Amazon announced that new and recent Echo devices would act as Eero mesh nodes. But then I read the ASUS mesh reviews again. They all agreed that this product was the best of the field. One review saved me about $100 and foregoing the 6e product for reasons I will explain below.* I am satisfied-- no, relieved-- that I bought and installed this mesh system. But as with many things in life, you only get the best results if you put in the work. So read on if you want to know what that entails. Read the tips below. If you are overwhelmed by them and you live in an urban environment: don't buy something this sophisticated. The automatic features may not cope well with congestion and if you don't feel comfortable with the tips, this mesh system won't yield everything it's capable of. If you live in a rural environment with a low likelihood of contending wifi signals from neighbors, then the automatic features may be sufficient. (But I still recommend assigning IP addresses as in my tip below. You might get away without doing it. And you certainly could postpone doing it unless/until you determine you need more trouble-free wifi connections.) POSITIVES: - Smooth initial setup: possibly the smoothest I have experienced in 20 years of home networking experience. You plop down one unit (either one) and let the app do the initial setup. When the app asks for the satellite node, you plug it in on the same table and let the app take it from there. Within minutes, they are paired. - Very powerful signal for both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands - Better choice than the (shinier and more expensive) 6e model at the moment in late 2022 (for more see below*) - 3 ethernet LAN ports on the SATELLIT unit- so you can bypass wifi for some devices in a remote area of the house (of course the satellite is using wifi.) Very few mesh systems have this generous feature. - OPTION to use a wired ethernet backhaul instead of wireless for even more reliable interaction between base unit and satellite. NEGATIVES: - Only 3 ethernet LAN ports on the main unit. Most conventional routers have 4. If you don't need more ports, you don't need to buy an ethernet switch and you won't care. (This is not a major drawback; you can always buy a modestly priced ethernet switch to add more ports to your network.) - system is most reliable if you "do the work." Assign IP addresses to routinely used wireless devices (smart home devices, etc.) - your results may vary but I am finding that occasionally Google Assistant and Alexa voice commands and routines get a somewhat more laggy response than with my previous routers. Not dramatically so. (I'd rather have this minor inconvenience than the poor coverage I experienced with previous systems.) TIPS: - DO USE the mobile app for INITIAL SETUP. It's pretty smooth. But don't assume your work is done when the setup phase completes on the app. - use the web interface for the detailed configuration tasks after the setup phase. The tips below depend on using the web interface. (And if you have ever owned an ASUS router, you'll be using the same familiar web interface.) - Unless you live in a rural area with very little potential for conflicts with neighbors' systems, you very well might want to turn off automatic channel assignments and choose an unused channel (preferable) or less popular channel (if they're all taken) for both bands. - in the web interface: assign IP addresses for as many of your wireless devices as you have the patience and information for. (Most devices will have their MAC address right on the device. Often with the tiniest font size. If necessary use your phone camera to capture a picture of the MAC address for devices and then zoom in the picture for legibility.) Don't leave it to the router to keep assigning ad hoc IP addresses (DHCP). Don't get me wrong; this system will consistently assign unique IP addresses. I realize most people just want everything to automatically fall into place. But if you read customer reviews complaining, you're seeing the results of avoiding the work that precludes problems down the line. Do you have to assign absolutely everything? No. But I would strongly urge you to do so for all smart home devices and streaming devices, smart TVs and the like. (But you certainly can let the guest network take care of itself.) For best results with Smarthome items, set up the 2.4Ghz band to use the narrower channel. This reduces potential overlap with nearby neighborhood routers. - I do not like the default setting on most of today's routers that assigns the same SSID (wifi network name) to all bands. If you have smart home devices this becomes more significant. Many/most smart home devices like smart plugs, wifi bulbs, smart wall switches, etc. ONLY work on the 2.4Ghz band. You are asking for setup hell and possible future disconnections if these devices get confused when searching for that single, shared SSID name and can't find the 2.4Ghz band. So unless you have a really good reason: use separate names for each band. (The 2.4Ghz band gets a name like "priscilla" and the 5Ghz band is named "priscilla5".) Of course you can enter both SSIDs on your phone. And you can even use the same password for both bands. - BONUS TIP FOR ANDROID mobile users: on your device(s), look at the "View More" or "Advanced" link(s) for the wifi SSID. Instead of DHCP, select STATIC and specify the same IP address you assigned to that very same device on the router. (As recommended in the previous tip.) This might be overkill, but in our case our rather new Samsung phones were very stubborn about logging in to the 2.4G band without doing this. Even if this doesn't happen to you, having static addresses on both ends, dramatically reduces finicky connection problems. *Why not buy the 6e version of the ASUS mesh system? They are designed to use the 6Ghz band for communicating between base station and satellites (backhaul). But a bit of physics here: the higher the frequency, the shorter the transmission distance. So you'd have to place the satellite(s) closer to the base unit than you would for a 5Ghz-based system like the XT8 I'm reviewing. In some cases this might force you to buy one more satellite. But it gets worse: if you have marginal-to-poor communication on that backhaul channel, the devices step down and start using the 5Ghz channel-- which otherwise would be dedicated solely to your video streaming, etc. One reviewer pointed out that the result is you'd have bought a (more expensive) 3-band system and ended up with a more congested 2-band system. And because 6 Ghz has an even shorter transmission distance than 5Ghz it's probable that even your 6e-capable phones, tablets, etc. won't be close enough in the far reaches so they will also tend to depend on 5Ghz anyway. I hope I've given you a solid foundation for your purchase decision and possibly your wifi future.

I have had several different types and brands of WiFi routers over the past several years. Each time I bought a new one, it was intended to fix one problem or another that I had been experiencing with dead spots or speed issues. Before purchasing this ASUS Ax6600 - XT8, I was using a Ubiquiti Amplifi mesh system. It was a big step up from my Apple AirPort Extreme, but I was still having trouble with dead spots and huge speed issues. I was resetting my router multiple times each day and even had my ISP out to my home. After banging my head against the wall for months, I broke down and spent the money for this 2-unit kit, on my son’s recommendation. I’m so glad I did. While this unit is far from inexpensive, when compared to other WiFi 6 capable units, it is a couple hundred dollars cheaper, but it also rivals those competing units in performance, based upon laboratory tests. And, more importantly, it solved both of my problems. I no longer have any dead spots. I’m now able to get coverage in all areas of my home, including the perimeter of my home, where I have several connected security cameras. I also have no speed issues. I’m getting in excess of 300Mbps in all areas of my home. The only negative experience I have had with this unit was a self-inflicted problem. I was advised to hide my SSID to make my network more secure. That is accomplished through the ASUS WiFi app. However, doing so caused several connected devices in my home to have problems automatically reconnecting to the network. I attempted to reverse the action and unhide my SSID, but kept getting error messages. I attempted to get help through ASUS user support. The call took about 30 minutes, including hold time - do not bad there, by comparison to other companies’ customer support services. They requested a lot of technical information, which took me about 30 minutes to gather and send. Then after two days passed, I received an email from a different technical support tech, which was completely unrelated to my issue. I responded, again explaining my very simple issue. The next day, I received yet another email, from yet another support tech, again completely unrelated to my issue. I ultimately got help from a family member, who has more advanced networking experience than I have. To say that ASUS’ technical support service is terrible, would be a huge understatement. It was a complete fail in my book. But, setting up this router is very straightforward and easy if you follow the simple instructions. And, this router is fantastic. So, don’t let the horrible technical support stop you from buying this router. I highly recommend this product.

If you're considering a home mesh network system, you've probably looked at ASUS and NetGear and similar mesh systems. With this system, I’m replacing a (very expensive) NetGear Orbi mesh system (router + 5 satellites). The ASUS system in my home (6,600 sq ft) is a router and 4 satellites with the same or better coverage (whole home, plus attached 3-car garage and everywhere in the front and back yard, 80+ attached devices). Not only are the individual units less expensive than the Orbi, but you need less of them - many homes would be completely covered by two units. The Orbi was a great system for coverage and speed - in fact one of fastest systems I've used. It's Achilles' Heel and downfall was/is stability - not only inherent stability but INstability introduced by NetGear itself. Virtually every firmware update caused the system to develop disconnects, power outages would render it inoperable on restart, and the latest firmware update has caused users to be locked out of their router, unresolved for months with no sense of urgency by NetGear, and no fix in sight. My Android phone would lose its Internet connection regularly, and require activation of the Guest Network to even get access. Tired of the constant system repair and tweaking with Orbi, I switched to ASUS and am delighted. The pros and cons compared to NetGear's Orbi: Pros - ASUS stability. Rock solid from the beginning, no dropouts or blank zones, anywhere. - Any unit can function as a router (similar to LinkSys). Orbi requires a dedicated and specific router, so if your router goes out you will need to purchase a router PLUS satellite(s): it doesn’t come any other way. - Individual units are cheaper than equivalent Orbi units. Everything is included with your one-time purchase, including lifetime internal network security through Trend Micro. With NetGear, you’ll need to purchase a pricey annual subscription to maintain your network protection with NetGear Armor. - Ergonomics - lighter weight and approximately 2/3 the size of an Orbi unit, and more ergonomically shaped (with the weight and the tapered, smooth exterior of an Orbi satellite, you risk dropping it - about $400 of delicate electronics - every time you move it). - A front LED indicates status - white indicating that the router/satellite is on and operational. When the Orbi is on and functional, all lights are out - the same as if the unit was off, which was always to my thinking a bizarre design. You can tell just by looking whether an ASUS satellite/router is working or not. - Speed. As in consistent speed at the far ends of the mesh - very similar to Orbi but consistently faster, at or just over a Gigabit on my Internet speeds everywhere, as opposed to just slightly over with Orbi in some locations. More than enough for any online device or task, and individual satellites can be positioned further from the router in the mesh with ASUS. - Fully configurable software for attached devices. Devices can be individually throttled or protected, or really any aspect of a network can be configured with the software or online through the router. - Better unit design - each unit has an actual on/off switch, as opposed to Orbi which requires you to actually unplug the unit to turn it off. Minor, but indicating some engineering thought went into ASUS vs construction shortcuts with Orbi. - Once you do have it set up, it’s set and forget. The automatic features of the ASUS system will take care of everything, unless you really DO want to go into your network and configure everything individually, which you can do (as above). - Like Orbi, the ASUS mesh has a backup of all your settings and configuration, however to restore it is a matter of minutes, unlike Orbi where even with a backup you will spend as much or more time recovering it as you did setting it up. Which you will need to do, as above, probably more than once. Cons - Less intuitive software app than Orbi, and more complex setup. Individual satellites need to be within a meter or so of the router to initially set up, and some sections of the software are clearly "pending," without much explanation of what they do. And satellite setup can take some time for each satellite, so setting up your network, depending on size and your experience, can take an hour or two. That’s it. Hands-down, ASUS is the choice for a simple or complex home mesh network, whether you are experienced or a novice. Highly recommended.

Friday 22-January-2021 Shipping: Item received via USPS as promised. Typical Amazon packing job... item shipped in an oversized box with 10 or 12 “air pillow” packing pieces thrown in. No damage though. Unboxing: Items box was undamaged. Shrink wrap was sealed and undamaged. All contents were in factory sealed packaging, and all items were included, including warranty paperwork and quick start guide. Setup: Went surprisingly well. Registration via barcode scan from iPhone app failed. Had to input manually. Main node setup fine via the iPhone app, updated itself, and WiFi came online easy peasy. Hooked in my switches via the onboard 4 port switch no problem. Second node took awhile to “register” in the app. I used Ethernet backhaul to another floor of the home. Once it did register, I was able to update it via my browser on my Mac. At that point, also via the browser on my Mac, I turned on all the TrendMicro protection, turned off the 5ghz WiFi backhaul (setup secondary SSID and connected my iPhone to it no problem), changed the IP address on the LAN adapter on the primary (automatically adjusted the DHCP scope for me, schwing!) Overall impression: WiFi signal throughout the home is super strong, and rock solid. Node pass off is unnoticeable on devices moving from one part of the home to another. Nice piece of kit. Looks cool (not like it matters to me, no one will ever see it.) Super feature rich for those (like me) with advanced knowledge/skills. However, there are good doc’s, and I even found videos out there walking you through setup of the more advanced features if you’d like to take advantage. I’m coming from a Gen1 Google 3 node mesh. I was getting a lot of pauses and stutters on smart TV app’s, and streaming video. None of that so far... but it’s only been a few hours. My ISP is is Spectrum 1g down, 35 meg up. WiFi Speedtest on my iPhone 11, iOS 14.4, comes in at 818 down, 37.1 up. I NEVER saw speeds like that on a WiFi device on the previous Google Mesh I had. I’ll add more information to this review as time passes. So far, I’m impressed.

The best mesh system I’ve used so far.

Consistently fast 600+ mbps. Never lost connection anywhere in the condo. 3 lans on the side, good enough for anything that needs to be plugged in. Otherwise wireless is just as easy and reliable. You have the option to bind ip to any device to like so the ip never changes even if have to reboot the router. You can choose different ssid for the 2 5Ghz network, or keep the same name. Totally up to you. This router is the most secure out of all the ones I’ve used in the past. I bought a single, since I don’t have a big space. If I need an upgrade on figure, configuring a node for the extra space is easy enough.

Ya habia probado varios aparatos para poder sostener e "incrementar" la velocidad de mi WIFI en toda la casa, estos aparatos en verdad impresionan, en cualquier punto de mi casa de 2 pisos, la señal llega y alcanza casi lo mismo que cuando estas a lado del modem, mi caso tengo 500 MB, hemos logrado en horarios nocturnos alcanzar 800 MB de velocidad en el segundo piso, es increible el aparato en general extraordinario, durante el dia siempre por arriba de los 300 MB, consideren claramente que tengan un plan de internet que les brinde esta capacidad, hoy dia ya no es tan caro. :)

It’s much bigger than what I had imagined it to be. Was hoping for even better wall penetration though it’s already good.

connected two new nodes without problems. seller really helped with the delivery. thank you for everything