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.

Update: I bought an AX92U to see if I can get some speed upgrade to the slower spots of the house, especially the office which hides behind 2 corners. It went from 80 mbps to 120mbps. I tried wired backhaul, but not helping much, until I turn 5GHz-2 as dedicated backhaul off and unhide the SSID with name and password. Whah! The office is now over 400mbps both up/down and everywhere inside the house! More update: Found it not compatible with different AiMesh router. Tried to use the ethernet to connect the AX92U to free up the 5Ghz-2 band. But as soon as I plugged the network cable into the 92U, it lost connection, unplugged the 92U, and the internet was very slow. Checked the app, it said the uplink type is 2.4GHz! Reboot, reset all routers, turn on/off dedicated backhaul, nothing helped. So basically the two 5Ghz bands disappeared! Luckily, my backordered AX11000 showed up, so my internet is up and running while I return the ZenWifi. I am WFH, so a good internet is very important and not going to bother to figure out what went wrong. However, I do suspect the hardware may had problem since they were bought from the warehouse as like new. Note that I have a very sophisticated smart home setup with over 50 devices connected from doorbell to fountain pump, and many smart TVs, I so I am happy to get 400mb out of 1Gb internet on any PC or iPad with no streaming going, or 120mb with 1 or 2 streaming video on. But I am still researching on possible improment using 12 stream AX router. I had Eero for about a year or so, although it had been working fine, but I had to use 5 of them to cover a two story home with yards, it doesn’t go through walls well enough. Also being a gadget guy all my life, I think it is time to upgrade to an AX mesh network to validate if it really can cover more grounds with higher speed. Been on Amazon since day one writing/reading reviews, I can say there is no perfect product in the world, so I rarely buy stuffs based on reviews, instead, buy them for the looks or functions they provide. In this case the Asus XT8 got me for its speed and price, not for the bulky look. Setup - easy enough, just need an IOS or Android phone or pad with bluetooth, download the app and follow the instruction. Make sure the two routers are fully linked before running the app, or you will see 2 mesh devices and setup will fail. Once setup is completed, move the node router to where you think it should cover the other half of the area. This involves a little guesswork, but surprisingly easy for me, since the signal is strong even where I left the node at the farthest corner downstairs. You can tell if the link between the two routers are strong if the led is solid white. If yellow or red, then move it around. Connection speed - For my 1gb internet connection, ipad was getting 200/250 up/down on the Eero, now it is 350/400. Even in the backyard, I could get 170/200, with just 2 routers. Coverage - I had not found a dead spot yet. Inside or outside. Although speed may vary, the lowest one been the office at the very corner of the house, on the PC that is 13 years old. Compatibility - with same SSID setting and let the router handle the bandwidth, all smart home devices are working. About the only device not working was the 13 year-old PC the no longer has a updated NIC driver, I solved it using an USB 11ac dongle with updated driver. I still need to figure out how to hang the main router upstairs on the wall, but other than that, I am happy withe the ASUS XT8, the simple setup and management using phone app, and strong signal for internet with just 2 nodes. It is something worth looking at for WFH now and the future.

Per the headline, I simply cannot recommend this product. When it works, it works great. However, I have found it to be buggy and a poor performer overall. It frequently loses connection for seemingly no reason and then it cannot reconnect to the central router. I started with the mesh system with a central router and a single node. That worked fine for 5 months when suddenly and inexplicably, the node was unable to connect to the router. Despite all my efforts, I was unable reconnect. I moved the node closer to the router connection. I did a firmware check/update (it says I'm up to date: Firmware version 3.0.0.4.388_24668). I reset the node (reset button). I did a factory reset (power on while holding down the WPS button) on the node. I removed the node from the app and then attempted to re-add. Absolutely nothing worked. Despite the LED working and the device seemingly functioning, I assumed that somehow the hardware had just failed, so I ordered another node. I couldn't connect the new node to the mesh network. I went through the same steps I tried with the original node and nothing worked. Incredibly frustrating. In an act of desperation, I killed the entire network and removed everything from the app. I then started from scratch. This time, I used a device that was previously a node and configured it as the router. I was able to connect to that device and amazingly, I was able to add a node! Eureka! On a whim, I also then attempted to add the node that I thought had gone bad. I was able to connect that. Fabulous! I now had a mesh system with a central router and two nodes. A bit of overkill for our house but we had a little security. Or so I thought. Flash forward to today. Again, the node in my home office disconnects for some inexplicable reason. I check the app and the other node has also lost connection. I take the node close to the router and attempt to reconnect. No luck. I check the firmware version and the app tells me all is up to date. I reset the node using the reset button and attempt to reconnect. Again, no luck. I remove the node from the app and perform a factory reset of the hardware and then attempt to re-add. Once again, no luck. All that said, I simply cannot recommend this product. I cannot continually reset my nodes, remove and re-add my nodes or kill my entire home network every time a connection is lost. Unless you are a Cisco Certified Network Administrator or similar, I would avoid this product.

Over the weekend I took delivery of the new Asus Zenwifi 6E (ET8) system. I replaced the (unwanted love child) Linksys MX5300 wifi 6 system I've fought with for the last two years. The overall rating is minus a star for the TERRIBLE customer support and documentation. Pros of the ET8 system: • Setup of the main router was not very painful. I plugged it in and used the mobile app to configure. • Coverage (as measured by me) is way better than the Linksys system it replaced. The six Router and mesh units I have working now replaced seven Linksys units. The Linksys still had weak connections even with 7 nodes. • For the most part the plug and play of the mesh worked (more on this later). • Speed is basically ~20% faster than the Linksys system for wifi 6 devices. • The mobile and especially the Web app are outstanding, very configurable. • Price Cons of the ET8 System - Documentation, phone support, Asus product specific web site is horrendous - One of the units I received with DOA I am an OLD networking type having worked at two networking companies, so YMMV. In my installation I have to cover (including the garage) four levels and more than 5000 sq feet. I received the 4 units on Saturday afternoon and tore into the packaging. I looked at the quick start documentation supplied and it was useless. Downloaded the mobile app and got started. For the most part the app was very good and I had the router up and running in under 10 minutes. OK cool, the first part is done. Then I tried to optimize the first unit (there's a button on the GUI mobile page), it brought my cable modem down, which I thought was strange. After bring everything back up, I tried it again with the same results. Note to self, stay away from that function for now. Next was to get the mesh up. I plugged the other three devices in and only two showed up in the app. I configured the two that were discovered and it went well. I struggled with the other unit for the rest of the evening. I updated the firmware of the existing mesh and had a great time with the outstanding web app. One of the things I really like about the Asus is almost everything is configurable (especially look under the professional tab in wifi), a far cry from the Linksys where you can't do much of anything. Next morning I exhausted every option, reset the device (three times), linked the main router through a cable to the DOA unit etc. So I called support, ARG. Support ran me through their checklist, everything I had already done. They had me update the firmware manually didn’t fix the problem. BTW I read the release notes on the firmware update and it had nothing about the problem I was having. Long story short, they said I should send it in for repair. I told them it was new out of the box and to send a replacement, but they don't have stock on hand? They're the manufacturer!. I called Amazon and they sent out a replacement that arrives today. I’ve been living with it for two days and so far so good (of course except for the DOA device and the coverage needed.). I will post an update when I get the new device and the updated mesh up and running. Update: I received the replacement ET8 and plugged it in, it was immediately recognized and was added to the mesh. However things aren't so rosy. When adding the additional node, it brought down the router and when restarting I had to go through part of the initial set up again. I've had one outage in the two days it's been up, a random reboot happened but since then it has been for the most part solid. I have also decided to add the ZenWiFi Pro AXE11000 as the main router. I've noticed some weak spots and poorer coverage in areas of the house especially the garage and think the additional antennas of the AXE11000 will help. My next update will be when those arrive and I have them installed. Last update. I received the ZenWifi Pro ET12 two pack yesterday. Having previously installed the ET8 I had a good idea what I was in for. Actually the installation was easier than the ET8, these units are beasts. Used the phone app (and later the web app) to configure. Both the router and node came up easy. I repurposed the ET8s as mesh nodes and they joined easily.. No more dead spots in the house and after the firmware updates it so far has been rock solid. I have 40 various devices connected. I did a speed test, for reference, I have a gigabit coming into the house and tested at the router, and getting the full Gig. The mesh under my Linksys wifi 6 was ~300 megabits at the nodes, under the ET8 ~600 and change. With the new ET12s I'm getting constantly over 700 megabits. I plan on stressing the system today but so far I'm happy with the results. BTW, I should have bought the ET12s out of the gate but thought I could get away with the ET8s, my mistake. Also for reference I am running a router and 5 node mesh with again a mix of ET8s and ET12s.

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

This WiFi system is excellent. The app is user-friendly and functional. The setup instructions are straightforward and easy to follow. From unboxing to a fully functional system, it took about an hour. The two-unit mesh network covers my entire home and the surrounding yard effectively. The wireless backhaul is fast and stable. In just one month, I haven’t experienced any dropped connections or issues. My wireless (under ideal circumstances) and wired connection speeds are identical to those directly connected to the modem (550/40 Mbps down and up). The modem has become the bottleneck, and it’s time for an upgrade. Initially, I was considering a lower-tier WiFi6 mesh network, but the Black Friday offers made this WiFi7 package a more attractive choice.are identical to those hardwired directly to the modem (550/40 Mbps down and up). The modem is now the bottleneck and due for an upgrade. I was considering a lower tier WiFi6 mesh, but Black Friday offers made this WiFi7 package a better choice.

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.

UPDATED 10/27/22: I'm updating this review to one star. I've had nothing but problems with the router functionality of this box since day one as it refuses to negotiate and hold a 1 gigabit ethernet physical connection to any switch or cable modem. Sometime it will but then later shifts down to 100MB. I've tried it with multiple switches and with my cable modem with some issues each time. I switched out my cable modem even for a new one with a 2.5GigE port that matches the 2.5GigE port on the Asus box and it won't negotiate a 2.5GigE connection either. I discovered there is a command line function with the router and after telnet/ssh into the box you can run an ETHCTL command to set the port speed directly but setting it to anything but 100MB causes the link to go down and become non-functional. I've given up on this and placed my old router back into place and will be returning this unit. It is very unfortunate as it has what seems to be great wireless capabilities outside of the single SSID issue but it just doesn't work as a router. ___ORIGINAL REVIEW___ I'm replacing an old ASUS router that I've had forever and two Ubiquiti wifi devices that just haven't worked well. Primarily I needed to get a better wifi signal and this was cheaper and easier than buying more ubiquiti devices and frankly, out of the box, it is easier to setup and configure. If you want a wifi device that takes a few minutes to setup, has a router built-in and provides what appears to be a very strong wifi signal this seems to do the trick. One big selling point to me was the fact that the two devices (and I assume if you got more the same applies) are identical. There is no "router" and "wifi" box they are just all the same. Out of the box it simply worked and easily provide a strong backhaul signal via wifi to the other device being used as a router. Connetions to client devices are solid and very fast with wifi 6 working perfect. All my devices that are capable get 802.11ax and ac connections and 2.4GHz devices that only support 2.4 work perfectly also. This had been an issue on my Ubiquiti devices previously. I'm not going to get into the details of how it works or the configuration and setup there are plenty of sources out there for that. What I want to point out are some shortcomings that I found that, while not showstoppers, are big let downs. I've spelled them out below: - It says 3 SSID capable. This is misleading. What it really means is that you can assign three SSID's two the three wifi frequencies that are supported. They have one 2.4 and two 5 GHz ranges. They can be used under one SSID or broken into three. This is NOT what I was looking for. I really wanted two SSID's for the entire system with different parameters around each. This simply isn't possible with it. I'm keeping it but had I known before purchase I might have just skipped this unit altogether. - You cannot lock an ethernet port to a particular speed. It is AUTO select or nothing. This is presenting an issue for me the port for WAN is 2.5 GigE capable and is having trouble AUTO negotiating a connection with my cable modem. I'll probably need to replace the cable modem as new cables have made no difference and my cable modem can't lock itself down to 1 GigE. I'm guessing this is the issue but until I get a replacement modem this has caused periodic shifts from 1GigE to 100MB on the WAN port and of course severely degraded performance when I should be getting 300MB+ on my internet connection. I'm giving the Asus device the benefit of the doubt but this could be a showstopper issue if I can't resolve it. - The backhaul connection using a wire REQUIRES it be directly connected to the upstream ASUS deviec/router. The device simply refuses to allow a switch in the middle between the box being used as the extended wifi connection and the one being used as the router. I really don't know what you do if you have more than three wifi devices as there are only 3 LAN ports on the router itself. I'm lucky enough to have a cable available but I had to hop through the wifi device and then connect to my switch vs to the switch directly and then the wifi device. It is basically MODEM<>ROUTER<>WIFIEXT<>SWITCH. (each <> being a direct cable connection) - I'll add that changing this setting was much more confusing than it needs to be to use the cable vs wifi backhaul and NOT intuitive. It should just auto-detect this. - The ASUS iOS app is lacking a lot of functionality vs the web interface. There are some simple things you may want to do that simply can't be done without logging into the web interface. If they make an app it should be the same as the web functionality-wise otherwise what's the point? Outside the 1GigE downshift to 100MB issue I have (which appears to be the modem) I think it is a great box and was much easier and simpler than others I've tried when setting it up. For the less technical this would be a good choice. If I find the box is the issue on the downshift in speed on the WAN port I'll update my comments here.