ASUSZenWiFi AX Whole-Home Tri-band Mesh WiFi 6 System (XT8) - 2 pack, Coverage up to 5,500 sq.ft or 6+rooms, 6.6Gbps, WiFi, 3 SSIDs, life-time network security and parental controls, 2.5G port

Deciding between this and an Orbi AX6000 Tri-Band. Decided to get this for several reasons. It is Asus and I've purchased several products from them (Motherboards, Graphics Cards, etc.). I went with this because a person I know purchased the 2 pack version and was ecstatic on how it fixed the WiFi at their house. This is also cheaper than the Orbi and has more stuff to change in the system (customize settings). The Orbi seems to be a more plug-and-play kinda thing than the Asus.I started off with just one of the devices and got it connected to my ISP router. I put it in AP mode and started playing. The signal strength from this one device was so much better than the ISP WiFi. Once I got the main Asus going, I added the other two devices. I added one at a time (keeping the power off on the one yet to "program." When I got them all "talking" they were good. I did notice that upon first setup the third device (second "hub") that it would not connect to the main device (it went through/connected to the first hub --second device; It was bridging through the 2nd device and I could not figure out how to force it to connect directly to the main unit. Kinda weird. The admin login via a web connection to the "main" device did prompt me to download a new Firmware and that was seamless. Took about 10 mins and now both of my wireless "hubs" connect directly with the "main" device. I'm more than pleased.I "tested" this with my Pixel 5 phone for reference. I have a WiFi scanner app thingy that shows signal strength an I also look at the properties of the WiFi connection on the phone, as well as running the Ookla Speed Test to get some sense of real throughput. The Asus and my phone were seamless in the "roaming" and would switch between 2.4 and 5Ghz channels as necessary. There didn't seem to be any long switch-over time when changing to a better freq. The phone never lost connection or "barked" that it could not connect. Maybe band steering works now?The coverage is amazing. I was able to connect via 2.4 at about 100 meters through some trees. 5Ghz comes in well at a distance. My phone would switch from 2.4 to 5 around 50m and the speed picked up the closer I got. Worst 5 speed was something like 36Mbps (at the edge of reception before it falls back to 2.4). The Backhaul can get some amazing throughput as well. From what I can see and have been able to test, the Backhaul in my house is getting 1080Mpbs on one of the nodes and 972Mbps on the other node. I have gigabit fiber so these speeds are exactly what I need to maximize my coverage. Both nodes are about 15-20m (50-60ft) apart and run through the house (walls, staircases, garage, etc.).Separating the Backhaul from the presented 5Ghz is nice. ax encoding seems to work well. I have yet to come across any device that actually uses ax so I figure I've got several years and according to my calculations, I'm pretty much at the limit of my ISP speed so it's all good. 5Ghz N for the presented channel is pretty much standard these days and if the connected device has 2x2 then the speed is amazing. Wifi 6e was another choice, but Asus did have a 3 pack of that system (ET8). I live far enough away from my neighbors that there is no real interference.I can't say this enough...with the dedicated back haul and my set up. I get what this advertised. Basically, a wireless system that can actually deliver gigabit to the nodes and therefore to the client. Even if both nodes are busy, they still have full bandwidth the ISP provides.I am quite pleased with this unit and recommend it to anyone that needs to quickly set up a WiFi system that covers a lot of area. Easily would cover a 350sq/m house (3750 sq/ft) and surrounding area (driveway, front yard, back yard, etc.). You can even connect a WiFi camera for the driveway and out in the yard as the coverage is that good.So, in case you can't tell. I'm pleased with my purchase and would highly recommend.

My Zoom calls did not come in clearly, frequently freezing and making it impossible to hear what others were saying or to be heard myself. I tried a repeater, but it didn't help at all. After some investigation, I decided to try the Asus as it was supposed to be great for video calls. Thank goodness,it works. I can now fully participate in the many Zoom meetings I do from home. Such a relief. Setup was so simple. Unplug current router, plug in Asus units, scan qr code and follow directions on phone app. 5 easy minutes at most.

Prior to the Asus ZenWiFi AX (XT8) AX6600 Mesh Network I had a TPLink router acting as an A/P covering top floor and FIOS G1100 router covering bottom floor. I have owned and used my two node XT8 network for just over month now. The original upgraded firmware when I purchased the set was FW version 45934, I am currently on FW version 46061. Overall, I’m very happy with this mesh system. I have a two-story colonial with a full basement. I have the primary XT8 set up as a router and connected to a FIOS router (double NAT’d). The primary XT8 is at one end of the house on the first floor wired to the FIOS router and the XT8 Mesh Node is at the other end of the first floor connected via Ethernet backhaul (Cat5e). I did run the XT8’s in wireless backhaul mode briefly to test speed and it seemed to work fine, however since I had the Cat5e cabling in place wanted to use that as the backhaul and use both 5Ghz wireless bands on the XT8 for front haul. The XT8 system allows me to do this with Ethernet backhaul. Using the ZenWiFi AX web interface I can see a mix of wireless 5G clients on both the 5-1 and 5-2 bands in this configuration.After one week after obtaining the XT8 mesh system, I did try the Eeros 6 Pro mesh system. I will say the Eero 6 Pro mesh performed very well during the week I used it. And I did like having the 3rd node as I used that node on the 2nd floor to give better signal strength upstairs. Like the XT8 system, I did try the Eero Pro 6’s in wireless backhaul briefly, then switched to Ethernet backhaul since I had the cabling in place. For me the biggest con of the Eero Pro 6 is that you only have the phone app to manage that system (no web tool) and for the most part it’s designed to plug and play so doesn’t have as many configuration options as you get with the XT8 system. The final straw on the Eero Pro 6 system for me was that the enhanced security features required a paid subscription after 30 days. That being said, I think for people that want an easy to set up system that performs well, for the week I tried it I would give the Eeros 6 Pro a thumbs up. Unfortunately, one week doesn’t provide a very long basis for this comment, but it was my experience so passing it along.I use the ZenWiFi XT8 mesh system with around 40-50 clients. Most are wireless. Over 30 are IOT. I’ve had no issues with any of my IOT devices connecting or staying connected on my XT8 system. Using Iperf3 with a wired server on one of my XT8 mesh nodes and the Iperf3 client on an iPhone 13 I get 300 – 833 Mbits wireless download speed in most locations in my home. Speedtest Internet speed varies based on the server I select in Speedtest but I can generally get 300-600 Mbits with a good Speedtest test server that’s not overly busy. My FIOS speed is the 1G service. From the FIOS router this service typically ~930Mbits/930Mbits down/up (using Verizon’s speed test service from a wired host).After one month of experience with this system, streaming, web browsing, and working from home with several MS Teams sessions daily I give this system a very high rating. When I did the FW upgrade from 45934 to 46061, I originally upgraded right from the web tool and the system seemed to be working ok, however there were some system log entries that puzzled me, so I performed a WPS factory reset to get back to factory default configurations. Not a real fan of this method of upgrade as I spent a lot of time naming my connected devices and ended up repeating that process after the upgrade, however it gave me a baseline factory config which I’ve noted for my reference in the event I tweak settings on my XT8 system (like the “Smart Connect Rule” settings that allow you to tweak the triggers and station selection policies for wireless devices).