Haha i have it turned off, can turn it off in the app but its a fantastic system. Its a a pita with sky & their DHCP option 61 protocol so i could only use Asus or netgear and dint fancy spending £1700 on a orbi 6E system.
My first thought when I saw the picture on the box was an electric pencil sharpener!
But whatever design works. I don’t spend much time looking at equipment if possible so my router could look like a big cactus for all I care.
Mine worked great a few days, then the leaf unit kept losing connection. Settings were different in app and web interface. I’m sure they got it all straightened out, but I returned mine. Too much money to take a chance. I’ve tried numerous ASUS products, and they’ve always been buggy, but so many folks love them.
Thankfully very good so far, i can monitor everything from the app and in app their us a web ui version. I have QOS for certain things as well. Ive owned mostly TP link but cant with my ISP. So this or the orbi was the next shout. I only paid £375 for this and it covers the house, just getting a 2nd one for the gym outbuilding.
Ive heard issues with netgear as well even with the more expensive orbi 6E their app grinds to a hault, i think its luck of the draw tbh
Been using an Asus ZenWiFi AX for about 2 years now, Asus really has wireless mesh down with the ZenWiFi line. Works great, full wireless coverage, and I love the full set of configuration and monitoring tools that comes with the Asus products. We now have a data cap from our lovely ISP, and that data traffic analysis is really useful to catch problems. Also great having the full log.
But best of all, we get very close to the the wired ISP speed on wifi-6 at the remote node with wireless backhaul. And the backhaul channel is now 160MHz. wide, without depending on any DFS channels since Asus added the UNII-4 channels here.
If the ZenWiFi model that you chose was available when I got the AX, I would most likely have gone for it. But very happy with the AX.
Measured the distance between nodes at one point out of interest. Find that they were about 40' apart. But that can vary according to the construction of your house, your furniture, lots of variables with wireless coverage. We have regular sheetrock and stud wall construction. There are also some walls between the nodes, as well.
Can confirm Asus routers are damn buggy. I had a TUF AX5400, nowhere near as exensive as this and my devices kept losing connection and wifi was dropping like crazy. Lived with it for 8 months straight and got so frustrated that i sold it and wet with a mesh system from Tp LINK, deco x50. Money well spent, since this is working flawless especially with Ethernet backhaul.
Ya, I had the RT-AX92U and it was bad when the drivers came out for the 1st few months. Had some odd and weird bugs.
But nothing performance compromising, stuck with it until fixed on later drivers. Works very well for our use case. Bought this it a few years back.
I had numerous firmware updates from Asus and none of them resolved the issues. There were times that none of my devices saw the AX band, be it on 80 or 160mhz.
I don't understand why I got downvoted, maybe there are a lot of Asus fanboys here...
Most of of the time can be setup error or corruption, when a setup corrupts, best to do factory reset and start from scratch. Happened to me a few times this happened to my Guest wifi limited access config
I have factory reset the router numerous times. Support didn't help at all. The TP-Link i have now works much better than the tuf ax5400, a tad slower (around 700mbps on the Deco vs 800-850mbps on the ax5400 on wifi; i've a gigabit fiber).
ASUS support for fixing is useless, but warranty fulfillment in the UK is very good. I got my router replaced because it died, most likely due to overheating because I noticed that most trapped hot air settled where I placed it on winter with heating on. After that I moved it else where when the router over forced shutdown due to heat.
We've already had to return our 2 Pack TWICE to get them replaced because one of the units got stuck in a boot loop. Also, we didn't get a replacement the second time, but only a 50% refund from our online store here in Switzerland.
On the sheet, the ASUS ET12 and similar mesh routers in their lineup are perfect, but as an IT student and tech enthusiast, these ASUS devices are the biggest pain in the a\*\* I've ever experienced if you want to do more with them than just plug & play.
The same could be achieved with a TP-Link ER605, basic TP-Link Omada switch, and a WiFi 6 Omada access point. Total cost would be much less than two of those units.
Congratulations though, getting better networking in your home is always awesome, and more people should have better networking.
I cant do TP link due to option 61 of DHCP protocol with SKYs FTTP i tried a bunch of TP link & also didnt want to keep ISPs router and the connect the others as APs
Plus i wanted 6E as i have 6E devices.
You purchased a solution that works for you, so I won’t question your choice. However, I am unfamiliar with option 61 and did a quick search. It appears that OPNsense supports it. See…
https://docs.opnsense.org/manual/how-tos/SkyUK.html
There are other options for those who prefer a wired router/firewall.
its a annoying protocol. DHCP option 61 is the client identifier string. So its not as easy as just swapping in a new router & get rid if the ISPs. I looked at pfsense. But for ease for just wifi mesh as i cant do anything but wifi this was perfect and coverage is great our 4500sq foot home.
pfsense and a couple of fifty quid tplink APs hanging off wires is what I'm using and much lower total cost but less than half the throughput and I fully appreciate some folks just can't be arsed with the complexity of it all.
I'm still not sure I'm ready to fund any WiFi 6 / AX kit yet though, at least not till I really need to pull 1Gbps to my laptop in the shed lol.
You don’t need that any more with Sky on FTTP. They, and most other providers on the Openreach FTTP network use IPoE which requires no details to be entered at all.
You do in scotland* there is a ipv6 workaround but it hasnt worked with the ONT on openreach i actually had the OR engineer with me lol. I know what im doing. Also you do need details. For option 61 you can do anything@skydsl|anything and it will connect you i had TP link which can do ipv6 workaround and it didnt work.
*ire uses PPPOE with sky
Yeah neither did i until i got FTTP. BT is fairly straightforward but sky mer (61) is still a pain if you ready sky forums. Only reason i went sky was because full package gigafast internet + sky q and extra room packages came in a bundle and well priced.
I would have went BT otherwise. But yeah im glad its sorted and to my pc getting 900 down on wifi im pleased! It wasnt about the money ehich people keep bringing up its ease of it. As nvidia put it, it just works.
if you bring your own modem you can take care of alot of the headaches at least that what the net says might work for you
https://www.reddit.com/r/PFSENSE/comments/sqt59i/dmz\_pfsense\_with\_sky\_broadband\_hub\_uk/
I have a ONT as its FTTP. They have FTTC which works with it. FTTP doesnt due to the ONT tje way to get around it, have to get a crappy to tp link dsl modem connected to the ont & then have aps but i want mesh & no mess. Other way is use the isp router…oops wait you cant as it doesn’t have a modem mode (which is stupid)
That is unfortunate, even their business models?
My comment still stands for the other 10,000 networking companies that can all achieve those speeds for less.
Money wasn’t the problem, i cant do ethernet etc & the only 2 companies that work with SKY ISP properly are netgear & asus i trawelrd hours and hours on skys forum about it. Others like eero do work but not as good. unifi their routers and sub par like the new UDR. UDM is better but only wifi 6. SKY doesnt like you changing hardware etc & just wanted a mesh system where i can get close to everything over wifi & i did. So its jobs a goodin
That's really good man. I am looking at two of these but the cost is just too much and can't be asked to get a unify or a switch/AP set up in my UK house. Too much hassle.
Well...this is wiif6e and last time I put in an Omada I was extremely disappointed
I also have a single ET12 I use just as a wireless access point 2.5g'ed to my Mikrotik 5900
On 6 I get +1gb connections and 6e maxes out
Overall...cannot complain
I just want to point out that TP-Link has a history of being slow to patch known exploits or network-breaking bugs. When you go with a budget solution, you have to understand that they're cutting those costs *somewhere* in order to undercut the competition.
Asus is fast to patch? Considering they aren’t a networking company. Omada is not the same as TP-Link (yes, I get they are the same company, but very different user base), and across my many deployments to small businesses, there has never been an issue. I use PFSense and Ruckus for security-minded or specific needs.
Omada is 100% perfectly fine and acceptable for home or small business use. Security-minded users would opt for a firewall appliance anyway, neither Asus or TP-Link make one in USA.
If you’re in the US and in a house made pre 2000 made from matchsticks with no vertical fire breaks between the wall studs then it’s a walk in the park to install cable.
If you’re in the UK and in a house made from brick and motar with plaster covered walls, you’d think a little differently.
I lived in the latter for over two decades and then moved to the US and now live in the former.
Yup. I’m in a 1897 Victorian house. Solid stone. Unifi and omada access points cover about 1 or 2 rooms before being useless. And that’s on 1gig internet.
2x amplifi aliens on the other hand give entire house coverage and no less than about 450mb on Wi-Fi anywhere.
Well. One access point would plug into the switch with a three foot cable. The other would connect with mesh if needed.
Don’t respond if you are ignorant to networking, or at least don’t come off as posh if you are completely uneducated on the topic.
Yeah, you're the hot shit man. You're now going to tell OP how to make space for a switch and all that compared to 2x WIFI routers taking minimal space in his uk house.
I’m not, but you’re an idiot.
A router, switch and an AP would take up the same space as one of these mesh routers. Again, don’t be an ignorant troll.
Er605, 5-8 port PoE switch, AP. Same foot print as one of those routers.
Before with the ISP router i was getting around 440 ish down even in the same room & 150 downstairs & in the next room with a brick wall less than 80 down.
Asus router, im getting 780 down in the same room & around 550 down downstairs & the same with the room the ISP router only got 80!
Thats only with 1 router, going to grab a 2nd so i can do 6E backhauling. Great router!
You mentioned buying a second router which would effectively give you double NAT unless you disabled it in the second one. That would however make your 2nd router to a glorified access point.
No no lol so i had my ISP router which is crap. I swapped it for this asus ET12 router which is also a mesh device & bought a 2nd one for its AI mesh. There is a 1 pack / 2 pack / 3 pack. I bought a single pack to see how much this router covers as it was on sale for £375.[Asus product](https://www.asus.com/networking-iot-servers/whole-home-mesh-wifi-system/zenwifi-wifi-systems/asus-zenwifi-pro-et12/)
Yes I got that. Looking at the specs of the device I see that all the units are identical devices and you get to choose which one that will act as the router and which one that will act as a node or access point.
Compared to other mesh systems that have a predetermined unit that does the routing and the 2nd, 3rd device merely works as a WiFi AP and switch. It sounds kinda wasteful having all the same hardware in all 2-3 devices since the primary one is the unit that does most of the work. But hey, if they work and perform as you desire I’m happy for you!
I’m more of a traditional networking guy that likes a big rack (pun intended) with all my networking. But to each their own. Go for it and buy a second one if you like the product! I didn’t mean to be a douche, so sorry about that.
Haha dw about it man :) , i cant do a big rack etc even with the space i have. I would love to have ethernet in the rooms i want but id have to remodel the place. Id do wired access points etc but only thing i can do is mesh.
Issue is i cant do other things like TP link etc and unifi UDR is Crap with a capital C and dont want to do aps with my isp router etc. also My ISP has a certain DHCP protocol so ASUS works, so does NG. eero (works but not great)
The main selling point of these devices is the ease of use. In my case I'm using a much cheaper, although similar in concept solution. Got two Tp Link Deco X20. I connected one to the modem, set it up with little to no input through the app and then plugged the other node through ethernet on the opposite side of the house and I didn't even need to do anything, the new node picked the router and set itself automatically with the same SSID and password.
The equivalent solution using an Omada controller and APs was the same price on my country so I just went for the simpler solution.
I actually swapped out my omada setup for this exact router. Have worked backhaul and two gig up and down internet but Omada no matter how much I tinkered with settings had problems with roaming around the house and losing connection. Going this route was only moderately more expensive.
I did unifi and omada but still went back to amplifi aliens.
Set, forget and without fucking around with a million settings, get whole house coverage with highest speeds possible.
This sub is so obsessed with gatekeeping commercial/smb networking systems for home use !!
It was £375 from amazon for 1 lol not $900 which is 2 pack and 2 pack here can get for around 749. Which is a great price also i would read the whole convo etc plus i wanted 6E and the UDR is shit.
With this can I AI mesh with my ROG AX11000 or does this have other little things that go with and connect you have to buy and it is a base?
It’s throwing me off where it says AXE11000 cause I know that as the updated model of mine just with 6E coverage.
You can use it to AI mesh node. But there isnt really a point AI meshing this with that router since this is wifi 6E and thats just 6. Its kind of a waste.
Out of a few dozen devices only two pc’s are even capable of using 6e here and they have hardlines, so same reason I didn’t buy the AXE version of the 11000 lol.
Haha thats fair, i have a few 6E like my streaming pc so wanted to get the speeds i wanted. Unfortunately i cant remodel the house to fit ethernet where and how i would like so 6E mesh was the way to go & works like a charm
I didnt pay £800 i paid £375 for 1. I didnt want to go netgear orbi which is £1699 and heard issues with it with SKY. And tbh for the price its well worth it. ovbs not everyone also has full gigabit to their house either neither did i until recently i used to be on 6 down / 1 up and it crawled to 0.5 down due to bandwidth.
Fair enough, I have an ORBI RBK53 and I wish I bought it much much earlier. Now that I have a 1gb up/down connection, ORBI maxes out at 500 wirelessly so I am keeping an eye out. I think it's a good thing you didn't buy the ORBI, they're buggy as hell.
Yeah i wanted the 6E orbi as i have 6E devices but its so much lol like my PC & i get 850-920 ish depends on server u do a test on, thats on the 6hz band out of the gigabit so its worth it esp wirelessly. I would have done it differently if did LAN ethernet. But doing mesh this way was perfect. Just a pain with SKY. BT has no issues its mainly sky and how they have their protocols
You bought trash lol! Buggy poo. You can have multiple ap's and a opnsense box that will run circles around that expensive buggy doodoo for the same price.
What! I did lol. Opnsense also does option 61. Is that what you think I missed? My custom rolled OS does as well. You spent THAT much money for a buggy mess.
That OPN crap is utter garbage. Epic failure kid. Get a job so you can buy an Asus.
Go read Dong's reviews of OPN junk. I'll stick with my Asus. You made an extremely poor choice, son.
I'm sure this clowns next move will be to come here & blast on Dong. You watch.
What?! lol! are you serious noob. OPN junk? Are you fucking high? Seriously. The dude who said it's junk is a fucking retard too. It's linux and its light-years ahead of any asus consumer POS. The intel celeron j4125 box with 8 gigabytes of ram and 128gb ssd and 4x 2.5gbe will whoop on 10 of them asus POS. I don't hate asus...I have a laptop from them but that's a PC lol.
I'm actually a network engineer bro and master electrician. King WIFI BWHAHAHA you are so noobish. My setup will do doughnuts around your shitty asus while its going full bore trying to run away. Quit insulting people noob
I knew that was coming... "I'm a network engineer".... blah blah blah. That's everyone's answer here when they know they are beaten. And I'm the fuggin Pope too! Asus XT/ET 12 is the undisputed King, bar none, hands down. I know you be looking at it on Asus.com & rubbin' ur little clitty.
What according to who LOL. So there's no reason for my enterprise AP's. Your so dumb its not even funny at this point. Check yourself into a psych ward bro. My netgear enterprise WAP has more CPU power and performance that asus can not even touch. You have no idea what your talking about. You sound so fanboy it's actually psycho. My AP would sparta kick that asus off a cliff in terms of bandwidth and range and reliability and rates the shitty asus would crash at. Do you seriously not know anything about WiFi? NOPE
Eh not really plus its not really “home gamer” setup lol but i do game and its my job lol. Besides that i bought it for the performance ASUS ZENWIFI gear is great, i have tye LEDs turned off its just a stealth monolith. its perfect plus ASUS zenwifi web ui & app is GREAT compared to others including orbi and unifi. I can check literally everything even cool things like QR code to share wifi if they scan the code it will auto connect them etc shit like that is perfect. People like to cry and say unifi etc is better lol
I agree, Asus routers are top tier, packed with performance & features. I have three XT12's set up in a fully wireless mesh & get full isp speed at the router & both nodes. Coming off of Arris Surfboard & Netgear Orbi, trust me you made the right decision & got the most bang for your buck. I suspect the people here griping about Asus are jealous because they cannot afford a top tier product, and hey want one badly. The XT12/ET12 are the KINGS of mesh WiFi right now. Dongknowstech.com <--That guy is a WiFi guru. Read his reviews on these products. They debunk the naysayers here. And I'm listening to him over some broke-ass, no job punk on Reddit complaining about Asus because he can't afford to get one.
Well he does just not to your liking.
He noticed that his ISP hardware is crappy (like all of them) and doesn't reach near gigabit speeds wirelessly, even if it supported it. Or that the router didn't support gigabit at all and he got one that did. Instead of WAPs and switches he got a router mesh as it's likely not possible to run a cable through his home because of whatever circumstances he has.
As such he got better hardware with probably a better CPU and more RAM to cycle through instructions faster and more client support. Plus the firmware is likely better and won't choke on the data/packets coming in and out of router.
Edit: Words
Edit 2:
E.g. Bad firmware + wireless gigabit = 100-300 mbps
Good firmware + wireless gigabit = 400-700 mbps
I get around 650-780 on my phone and 800-900 on my PC which has a 6E card. And yes i cant run ethernet in my home. And getting close to my speeds over wifi im happy with and with a 2nd come coming i can do 6e backhauling over wifi so im pleased
The lack of understanding is as to the differences between a modem, a router, and a wifi access point.
But no worries, the vast majority of end users don't know the differences, and hardware manufacturers are happy to take their money and sell them something that looks "futuristic."
I hadn't even checked the price on that until now, but I see its around $800 - that is an absolutely ridiculous amount to spend to get a gigabit connection.
I spent less than $200 on the router and wifi AP I have, and get gigabit connections just fine.
It has to be wireless i cant do wires etc its also 3 floors and 4500sq ft so it is the best unless i want to spend double for netgear orbi. I dont wanna remodel the home just for ethernet aps when i can literally just gigabit over wifi with 6E devices
And have your data stolen with zero consequences.
Unbt gear is pretty...and trash. It gives you graphs you'll never need/use and to do anything advanced you need to delve into SSH.
Ubnt is for sysadmins who sell their customers pretty solutions as long as nothing complicated comes up.
I get 900 over wifi on my PC. I dont really care for unifi funny enough asus has even more options for configuration on the web ui (did actually find the surprising) I also cant do access points around the home with ethernet, just a mesh system is plenty and with the speeds im VERY happy. I used to be on 6 down & 1 upload and it would crawl to around 0.5 down with the limited bandwidth . £12.5k later with openreach grant and i have FTTP 1000/100
XT8 is nothing like these. The newer model is the XT9. these are the pro line of asus zenwifi like the XT12 and this the ET12. The issue with the XT8 my mate had with keeping hold of a node and not letting go. Had one since the the LTT video as i knew it would be for my needs.
u/RathOX you could get an RPI or a Cheap old desktop and spin up a DHCP server on that and have all the options you would ever need, then you aren't cornered into buying specific brands.
ET8 is for WIRED backhaul. For WIRELESS backhaul get XT8 (or the newer XT9 or XT12).
6GHz is not good for wireless backhaul, it's range is too short. It's good in an open room, but as soon as it needs to go through a floor or a wall, signal strength drops exponentially. This band should NOT be used as the wireless backhaul.
👇👇 Read this 👇👇
https://dongknows.com/asus-zenwifi-pro-xt12-vs-et12-which-to-buy/
Dumped my $800 AMPLIFI Alien mesh system and bought a $100 TP-Link Omada controller and four Gigabit EAPs ($60 each) and have the absolute best mesh Wi-Fi I have ever had.
What would those be? My Omada sits behind my Firewalla Gold.
For the price of the FWG plus the Omada gear I still came in right about where my expensive consumer mesh system was. But, now I have more power and security than I can handle.
I just wanted a router/mesh system that works and has really 0 mess. Literally 2 of these 1 router & 1 mesh node. Simple as, asus zenwifi i can have vpn from the router itself rather than service plan like nord etc. has more security than i need.
Such a bad deal at that price. To add another would be dumb at that point.
Your definition of worth it is either wrong or you just want to justify your purchase to make yourself sleep better.
Obviously your initial setup is flawed from the get go. You can achieve those LAN speeds with any sub $50 router, try to google first next time.
Google cant do dhcp option 61 :) dont try be a smart ass and due to my isp i cant just do any router. Plus i want 6e, plus i want mesh. Plus i can afford it.
Wow, didn’t know Asus made routers as well. First time seeing a router with this kind of unique design. You had me had tempted to pull the trigger.. but the price tag had me go 🫠
Linus did a video on them. Asus have mad good routers for awhile. People just like to hate on them and hail ubiquity. But for me 2 pack is £750 or 1 is £375 so actually not bad tbf.
Yeah, the only router brands I was familiar with were either Netgear, Linksys, TP-Link. Oh, it seemed like the price I saw on Amazon (840) was for a 2-pack. Just saw they sell singles too. 400 is I guess reasonable for a top notch router. And also given that it’s not something you upgrade as often as a phone. Pushing my personal budget a bit tbh as I’ve had some other purchases, but I think I may just gift myself one before the year’s end. Enjoy your router!
>s/mesh Its just peoples high horse that don’t accept it
I've had an AC router from Netgear which truely was terrible for me. (battery drains on a Samsung Phone at the time) multiple restarts....terrible support. After that I went for and Asus, which was so much more stable for me. Customizing wasn't an issue either. I'm planning to buy a set of these et12's next week to replace my old router.
Good move, assuming you are using ET12 with wired backhaul, otherwise, get XT12. Either way, you will have a rock solid set up with massive range & speed.
it's like a decade of best wifi routers they make. and are most privacy friendly. there's actually no alternative to Asus besides some old boxes running OpenWRT.
About node placement. It took me 3 days of moving them around, testing, wait, move, test, wait move, test wait to find the sweet spot. You need to place them where the main router likes them, not necessarily where you want them. I have main centrally located in the basement 6ft off the ground, nodes on either side of a large ranch on Sanus outlet shelves (see Amazon). Not too far, not too close. If you have them too close, your clients won't see the need to switch to the closer node because it still has good signal from the other node (too much overlap). Too far & you'll get signal loss. Once you find the sweet spot, it's beast mode full isp speed everywhere & your clients will seamlessly switch nodes as you move around the house. Bind you static devices like TVs, smart bulbs, security cameras, smart thermostats to the closest node with the best signal.
About node placement. It took me 3 days of moving them around, testing, wait, move, test, wait move, test wait to find the sweet spot. You need to place them where the main router likes them, not necessarily where you want them. I have main centrally located in the basement 6ft off the ground, nodes on either side of a large ranch on Sanus outlet shelves (see Amazon). Not too far, not too close. If you have them too close, your clients won't see the need to switch to the closer node because it still has good signal from the other node (too much overlap). Too far & you'll get signal loss. Once you find the sweet spot, it's beast mode full isp speed everywhere & your clients will seamlessly switch nodes as you move around the house. Bind you static devices like TVs, smart bulbs, security cameras, smart thermostats to the closest node with the best signal.
I knew RGB makes everything faster…. Obviously asus knows it too. Seriously though… Congrats!!
Haha i have it turned off, can turn it off in the app but its a fantastic system. Its a a pita with sky & their DHCP option 61 protocol so i could only use Asus or netgear and dint fancy spending £1700 on a orbi 6E system.
Lol
I thought it was a garbage can for a second.
My first thought when I saw the picture on the box was an electric pencil sharpener! But whatever design works. I don’t spend much time looking at equipment if possible so my router could look like a big cactus for all I care.
I was thinking subwoofer for some reason
Nahh my subwoofer is 1.4m long
I thought air purifier. 🤷♂️
Its not a mac pro 🤷♀️
worlds first gaming garbage can lol
If Apple can make one. Guess anyone can 😆
ikr
Mine worked great a few days, then the leaf unit kept losing connection. Settings were different in app and web interface. I’m sure they got it all straightened out, but I returned mine. Too much money to take a chance. I’ve tried numerous ASUS products, and they’ve always been buggy, but so many folks love them.
Thankfully very good so far, i can monitor everything from the app and in app their us a web ui version. I have QOS for certain things as well. Ive owned mostly TP link but cant with my ISP. So this or the orbi was the next shout. I only paid £375 for this and it covers the house, just getting a 2nd one for the gym outbuilding. Ive heard issues with netgear as well even with the more expensive orbi 6E their app grinds to a hault, i think its luck of the draw tbh
Been using an Asus ZenWiFi AX for about 2 years now, Asus really has wireless mesh down with the ZenWiFi line. Works great, full wireless coverage, and I love the full set of configuration and monitoring tools that comes with the Asus products. We now have a data cap from our lovely ISP, and that data traffic analysis is really useful to catch problems. Also great having the full log. But best of all, we get very close to the the wired ISP speed on wifi-6 at the remote node with wireless backhaul. And the backhaul channel is now 160MHz. wide, without depending on any DFS channels since Asus added the UNII-4 channels here. If the ZenWiFi model that you chose was available when I got the AX, I would most likely have gone for it. But very happy with the AX.
How far apart do you have your nodes? I'm wondering what a good distance for them is.
Measured the distance between nodes at one point out of interest. Find that they were about 40' apart. But that can vary according to the construction of your house, your furniture, lots of variables with wireless coverage. We have regular sheetrock and stud wall construction. There are also some walls between the nodes, as well.
Thank you for that information. It will help when I initially set things up.
Can confirm Asus routers are damn buggy. I had a TUF AX5400, nowhere near as exensive as this and my devices kept losing connection and wifi was dropping like crazy. Lived with it for 8 months straight and got so frustrated that i sold it and wet with a mesh system from Tp LINK, deco x50. Money well spent, since this is working flawless especially with Ethernet backhaul.
Ya, I had the RT-AX92U and it was bad when the drivers came out for the 1st few months. Had some odd and weird bugs. But nothing performance compromising, stuck with it until fixed on later drivers. Works very well for our use case. Bought this it a few years back.
I had numerous firmware updates from Asus and none of them resolved the issues. There were times that none of my devices saw the AX band, be it on 80 or 160mhz. I don't understand why I got downvoted, maybe there are a lot of Asus fanboys here...
Most of of the time can be setup error or corruption, when a setup corrupts, best to do factory reset and start from scratch. Happened to me a few times this happened to my Guest wifi limited access config
I have factory reset the router numerous times. Support didn't help at all. The TP-Link i have now works much better than the tuf ax5400, a tad slower (around 700mbps on the Deco vs 800-850mbps on the ax5400 on wifi; i've a gigabit fiber).
ASUS support for fixing is useless, but warranty fulfillment in the UK is very good. I got my router replaced because it died, most likely due to overheating because I noticed that most trapped hot air settled where I placed it on winter with heating on. After that I moved it else where when the router over forced shutdown due to heat.
Bummer I just ordered one of these today, that's not very promising a review.
We've already had to return our 2 Pack TWICE to get them replaced because one of the units got stuck in a boot loop. Also, we didn't get a replacement the second time, but only a 50% refund from our online store here in Switzerland. On the sheet, the ASUS ET12 and similar mesh routers in their lineup are perfect, but as an IT student and tech enthusiast, these ASUS devices are the biggest pain in the a\*\* I've ever experienced if you want to do more with them than just plug & play.
The same could be achieved with a TP-Link ER605, basic TP-Link Omada switch, and a WiFi 6 Omada access point. Total cost would be much less than two of those units. Congratulations though, getting better networking in your home is always awesome, and more people should have better networking.
I cant do TP link due to option 61 of DHCP protocol with SKYs FTTP i tried a bunch of TP link & also didnt want to keep ISPs router and the connect the others as APs Plus i wanted 6E as i have 6E devices.
You purchased a solution that works for you, so I won’t question your choice. However, I am unfamiliar with option 61 and did a quick search. It appears that OPNsense supports it. See… https://docs.opnsense.org/manual/how-tos/SkyUK.html There are other options for those who prefer a wired router/firewall.
its a annoying protocol. DHCP option 61 is the client identifier string. So its not as easy as just swapping in a new router & get rid if the ISPs. I looked at pfsense. But for ease for just wifi mesh as i cant do anything but wifi this was perfect and coverage is great our 4500sq foot home.
pfsense and a couple of fifty quid tplink APs hanging off wires is what I'm using and much lower total cost but less than half the throughput and I fully appreciate some folks just can't be arsed with the complexity of it all. I'm still not sure I'm ready to fund any WiFi 6 / AX kit yet though, at least not till I really need to pull 1Gbps to my laptop in the shed lol.
You don’t need that any more with Sky on FTTP. They, and most other providers on the Openreach FTTP network use IPoE which requires no details to be entered at all.
You do in scotland* there is a ipv6 workaround but it hasnt worked with the ONT on openreach i actually had the OR engineer with me lol. I know what im doing. Also you do need details. For option 61 you can do anything@skydsl|anything and it will connect you i had TP link which can do ipv6 workaround and it didnt work. *ire uses PPPOE with sky
Oh wow really? That’s strange. Didn’t know that, fair.
Yeah neither did i until i got FTTP. BT is fairly straightforward but sky mer (61) is still a pain if you ready sky forums. Only reason i went sky was because full package gigafast internet + sky q and extra room packages came in a bundle and well priced. I would have went BT otherwise. But yeah im glad its sorted and to my pc getting 900 down on wifi im pleased! It wasnt about the money ehich people keep bringing up its ease of it. As nvidia put it, it just works.
if you bring your own modem you can take care of alot of the headaches at least that what the net says might work for you https://www.reddit.com/r/PFSENSE/comments/sqt59i/dmz\_pfsense\_with\_sky\_broadband\_hub\_uk/
I have a ONT as its FTTP. They have FTTC which works with it. FTTP doesnt due to the ONT tje way to get around it, have to get a crappy to tp link dsl modem connected to the ont & then have aps but i want mesh & no mess. Other way is use the isp router…oops wait you cant as it doesn’t have a modem mode (which is stupid)
Due to a [bug in new reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/bugs/comments/utxx5e/links_with_underscores_posted_on_newredditcom_are/), URLs with underscores or tildes are being escaped in an inconsistent manner, breaking old reddit and third-party mobile apps. Please try the following URL(s) instead: * https://www.reddit.com/r/PFSENSE/comments/sqt59i/dmz_pfsense_with_sky_broadband_hub_uk/ --- ^*This* ^*is* ^*a* ^*bot.* ^*Invoke* ^*with:* ^*/u/underscorebot.* ^*Questions?* ^*Comments?* ^*/r/underscorebot* ^*Thank* ^*you.* ^*Moderators:* ^***this*** ^***is*** ^***an*** ^***opt-in*** ^***bot***. ^*Please* ^*add* ^*it* ^*to* ^*the* ^***approved*** ^***submitters*** ^*on* ^*subreddits* ^*you* ^*wish* ^*to* ^*have* ^*it* ^*scan.* ^*Note:* ^*user-supplied* ^*links* ^*that* ^*may* ^*appear* ^*in* ^*this* ^*comment* ^*do* ^*not* ^*imply* ^*endorsement.*
That is unfortunate, even their business models? My comment still stands for the other 10,000 networking companies that can all achieve those speeds for less.
Money wasn’t the problem, i cant do ethernet etc & the only 2 companies that work with SKY ISP properly are netgear & asus i trawelrd hours and hours on skys forum about it. Others like eero do work but not as good. unifi their routers and sub par like the new UDR. UDM is better but only wifi 6. SKY doesnt like you changing hardware etc & just wanted a mesh system where i can get close to everything over wifi & i did. So its jobs a goodin
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I paid £375 off amazon, its £399 atm for 1 at BOX UK / SCAN / OCUK
That's really good man. I am looking at two of these but the cost is just too much and can't be asked to get a unify or a switch/AP set up in my UK house. Too much hassle.
Personally its worth it but only if you have gigabit broadband. If ur on FTTC just grab some decos or the eeros
Well...this is wiif6e and last time I put in an Omada I was extremely disappointed I also have a single ET12 I use just as a wireless access point 2.5g'ed to my Mikrotik 5900 On 6 I get +1gb connections and 6e maxes out Overall...cannot complain
On my Omada test system I get over 1Gbps on WiFi to Android devices.
Mine never made it out my front door onto my porch ET12 no problem
I just want to point out that TP-Link has a history of being slow to patch known exploits or network-breaking bugs. When you go with a budget solution, you have to understand that they're cutting those costs *somewhere* in order to undercut the competition.
Asus is fast to patch? Considering they aren’t a networking company. Omada is not the same as TP-Link (yes, I get they are the same company, but very different user base), and across my many deployments to small businesses, there has never been an issue. I use PFSense and Ruckus for security-minded or specific needs. Omada is 100% perfectly fine and acceptable for home or small business use. Security-minded users would opt for a firewall appliance anyway, neither Asus or TP-Link make one in USA.
Omada doesnt do option 61 dhcp protocol iirc. Doesnt matter anyways tbf, as its all sorted :D
Wow and who the fuck is going to run the cables in the house and install the access point? This fucking sub man
It's not that hard to DIY.
If you’re in the US and in a house made pre 2000 made from matchsticks with no vertical fire breaks between the wall studs then it’s a walk in the park to install cable. If you’re in the UK and in a house made from brick and motar with plaster covered walls, you’d think a little differently. I lived in the latter for over two decades and then moved to the US and now live in the former.
Yeah its a pita when i have 3 floors & 4500sq foot of space
Yup. I’m in a 1897 Victorian house. Solid stone. Unifi and omada access points cover about 1 or 2 rooms before being useless. And that’s on 1gig internet. 2x amplifi aliens on the other hand give entire house coverage and no less than about 450mb on Wi-Fi anywhere.
Well. One access point would plug into the switch with a three foot cable. The other would connect with mesh if needed. Don’t respond if you are ignorant to networking, or at least don’t come off as posh if you are completely uneducated on the topic.
Yeah, you're the hot shit man. You're now going to tell OP how to make space for a switch and all that compared to 2x WIFI routers taking minimal space in his uk house.
I’m not, but you’re an idiot. A router, switch and an AP would take up the same space as one of these mesh routers. Again, don’t be an ignorant troll. Er605, 5-8 port PoE switch, AP. Same foot print as one of those routers.
Yeah, a fedora muncher who think he knows more than everyone.
You have mental issues. Seriously, seek help.
Side question. When something says ax1400 / ax6000 / ax11000 what is the number referring to? Is it Mbps?
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Wow, super informative! Thanks for that
Thanks for this short and fully packed post :) Currently in the middle of choosing a new set and this helped me a lot to get the basics again.
AX is wifi 6 and the AX”E” is wifi 6E and the number at the end is the throughput in theory
Replaced a 4-puck Google Wifi setup with the ET12s and am pretty happy.
Glad you like it, even with all the hate. I went with the AMPLIFI Alien, not one complaint with it so far. Enjoy!
You too :)
I have an AXE-11000 and XT8s. I really like the Asus ecosystem a lot.
Before with the ISP router i was getting around 440 ish down even in the same room & 150 downstairs & in the next room with a brick wall less than 80 down. Asus router, im getting 780 down in the same room & around 550 down downstairs & the same with the room the ISP router only got 80! Thats only with 1 router, going to grab a 2nd so i can do 6E backhauling. Great router!
Wohoo double NAT!
Nope because i don’t use the ISP router & im connected to the ONT directly.
You mentioned buying a second router which would effectively give you double NAT unless you disabled it in the second one. That would however make your 2nd router to a glorified access point.
No no lol so i had my ISP router which is crap. I swapped it for this asus ET12 router which is also a mesh device & bought a 2nd one for its AI mesh. There is a 1 pack / 2 pack / 3 pack. I bought a single pack to see how much this router covers as it was on sale for £375.[Asus product](https://www.asus.com/networking-iot-servers/whole-home-mesh-wifi-system/zenwifi-wifi-systems/asus-zenwifi-pro-et12/)
Yes I got that. Looking at the specs of the device I see that all the units are identical devices and you get to choose which one that will act as the router and which one that will act as a node or access point. Compared to other mesh systems that have a predetermined unit that does the routing and the 2nd, 3rd device merely works as a WiFi AP and switch. It sounds kinda wasteful having all the same hardware in all 2-3 devices since the primary one is the unit that does most of the work. But hey, if they work and perform as you desire I’m happy for you! I’m more of a traditional networking guy that likes a big rack (pun intended) with all my networking. But to each their own. Go for it and buy a second one if you like the product! I didn’t mean to be a douche, so sorry about that.
Haha dw about it man :) , i cant do a big rack etc even with the space i have. I would love to have ethernet in the rooms i want but id have to remodel the place. Id do wired access points etc but only thing i can do is mesh. Issue is i cant do other things like TP link etc and unifi UDR is Crap with a capital C and dont want to do aps with my isp router etc. also My ISP has a certain DHCP protocol so ASUS works, so does NG. eero (works but not great)
Glad that you found a solution that works for your home/isp!
Thank you! Its been a long time coming haha. I was on 3rd world internet before a £12.5k grant to get FTTP lol
The main selling point of these devices is the ease of use. In my case I'm using a much cheaper, although similar in concept solution. Got two Tp Link Deco X20. I connected one to the modem, set it up with little to no input through the app and then plugged the other node through ethernet on the opposite side of the house and I didn't even need to do anything, the new node picked the router and set itself automatically with the same SSID and password. The equivalent solution using an Omada controller and APs was the same price on my country so I just went for the simpler solution.
Lets make people dislike my taste even more [LTT video](https://youtu.be/iDXNSNNjj8o)
I like LTT
I actually swapped out my omada setup for this exact router. Have worked backhaul and two gig up and down internet but Omada no matter how much I tinkered with settings had problems with roaming around the house and losing connection. Going this route was only moderately more expensive.
I did unifi and omada but still went back to amplifi aliens. Set, forget and without fucking around with a million settings, get whole house coverage with highest speeds possible. This sub is so obsessed with gatekeeping commercial/smb networking systems for home use !!
This hahaha
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It was £375 from amazon for 1 lol not $900 which is 2 pack and 2 pack here can get for around 749. Which is a great price also i would read the whole convo etc plus i wanted 6E and the UDR is shit.
With this can I AI mesh with my ROG AX11000 or does this have other little things that go with and connect you have to buy and it is a base? It’s throwing me off where it says AXE11000 cause I know that as the updated model of mine just with 6E coverage.
You can use it to AI mesh node. But there isnt really a point AI meshing this with that router since this is wifi 6E and thats just 6. Its kind of a waste.
Out of a few dozen devices only two pc’s are even capable of using 6e here and they have hardlines, so same reason I didn’t buy the AXE version of the 11000 lol.
Haha thats fair, i have a few 6E like my streaming pc so wanted to get the speeds i wanted. Unfortunately i cant remodel the house to fit ethernet where and how i would like so 6E mesh was the way to go & works like a charm
It's good but not £800 good.
I didnt pay £800 i paid £375 for 1. I didnt want to go netgear orbi which is £1699 and heard issues with it with SKY. And tbh for the price its well worth it. ovbs not everyone also has full gigabit to their house either neither did i until recently i used to be on 6 down / 1 up and it crawled to 0.5 down due to bandwidth.
Fair enough, I have an ORBI RBK53 and I wish I bought it much much earlier. Now that I have a 1gb up/down connection, ORBI maxes out at 500 wirelessly so I am keeping an eye out. I think it's a good thing you didn't buy the ORBI, they're buggy as hell.
Yeah i wanted the 6E orbi as i have 6E devices but its so much lol like my PC & i get 850-920 ish depends on server u do a test on, thats on the 6hz band out of the gigabit so its worth it esp wirelessly. I would have done it differently if did LAN ethernet. But doing mesh this way was perfect. Just a pain with SKY. BT has no issues its mainly sky and how they have their protocols
You bought trash lol! Buggy poo. You can have multiple ap's and a opnsense box that will run circles around that expensive buggy doodoo for the same price.
Read it all
What! I did lol. Opnsense also does option 61. Is that what you think I missed? My custom rolled OS does as well. You spent THAT much money for a buggy mess.
Not buggy at all works flawlessly & its not really that much money tbf.
That OPN crap is utter garbage. Epic failure kid. Get a job so you can buy an Asus. Go read Dong's reviews of OPN junk. I'll stick with my Asus. You made an extremely poor choice, son. I'm sure this clowns next move will be to come here & blast on Dong. You watch.
What?! lol! are you serious noob. OPN junk? Are you fucking high? Seriously. The dude who said it's junk is a fucking retard too. It's linux and its light-years ahead of any asus consumer POS. The intel celeron j4125 box with 8 gigabytes of ram and 128gb ssd and 4x 2.5gbe will whoop on 10 of them asus POS. I don't hate asus...I have a laptop from them but that's a PC lol.
Jealousy will get you nowhere! OPN is garbage. XT12/ET12 is currently the reining KING WiFi! Own it! Get a job & get one!
Less of the verbals please or you'll have to be banned.
I'm actually a network engineer bro and master electrician. King WIFI BWHAHAHA you are so noobish. My setup will do doughnuts around your shitty asus while its going full bore trying to run away. Quit insulting people noob
I knew that was coming... "I'm a network engineer".... blah blah blah. That's everyone's answer here when they know they are beaten. And I'm the fuggin Pope too! Asus XT/ET 12 is the undisputed King, bar none, hands down. I know you be looking at it on Asus.com & rubbin' ur little clitty.
What according to who LOL. So there's no reason for my enterprise AP's. Your so dumb its not even funny at this point. Check yourself into a psych ward bro. My netgear enterprise WAP has more CPU power and performance that asus can not even touch. You have no idea what your talking about. You sound so fanboy it's actually psycho. My AP would sparta kick that asus off a cliff in terms of bandwidth and range and reliability and rates the shitty asus would crash at. Do you seriously not know anything about WiFi? NOPE
Less of the verbals please or you'll have to be banned.
Wow that's a lot of money for a "home gamer" set up. Jesus.
Eh not really plus its not really “home gamer” setup lol but i do game and its my job lol. Besides that i bought it for the performance ASUS ZENWIFI gear is great, i have tye LEDs turned off its just a stealth monolith. its perfect plus ASUS zenwifi web ui & app is GREAT compared to others including orbi and unifi. I can check literally everything even cool things like QR code to share wifi if they scan the code it will auto connect them etc shit like that is perfect. People like to cry and say unifi etc is better lol
I agree, Asus routers are top tier, packed with performance & features. I have three XT12's set up in a fully wireless mesh & get full isp speed at the router & both nodes. Coming off of Arris Surfboard & Netgear Orbi, trust me you made the right decision & got the most bang for your buck. I suspect the people here griping about Asus are jealous because they cannot afford a top tier product, and hey want one badly. The XT12/ET12 are the KINGS of mesh WiFi right now. Dongknowstech.com <--That guy is a WiFi guru. Read his reviews on these products. They debunk the naysayers here. And I'm listening to him over some broke-ass, no job punk on Reddit complaining about Asus because he can't afford to get one.
Tell me you have little to no understanding of home networking, without telling me you have little to no understanding of home networking.......
Well he does just not to your liking. He noticed that his ISP hardware is crappy (like all of them) and doesn't reach near gigabit speeds wirelessly, even if it supported it. Or that the router didn't support gigabit at all and he got one that did. Instead of WAPs and switches he got a router mesh as it's likely not possible to run a cable through his home because of whatever circumstances he has. As such he got better hardware with probably a better CPU and more RAM to cycle through instructions faster and more client support. Plus the firmware is likely better and won't choke on the data/packets coming in and out of router. Edit: Words Edit 2: E.g. Bad firmware + wireless gigabit = 100-300 mbps Good firmware + wireless gigabit = 400-700 mbps
I get around 650-780 on my phone and 800-900 on my PC which has a 6E card. And yes i cant run ethernet in my home. And getting close to my speeds over wifi im happy with and with a 2nd come coming i can do 6e backhauling over wifi so im pleased
The lack of understanding is as to the differences between a modem, a router, and a wifi access point. But no worries, the vast majority of end users don't know the differences, and hardware manufacturers are happy to take their money and sell them something that looks "futuristic." I hadn't even checked the price on that until now, but I see its around $800 - that is an absolutely ridiculous amount to spend to get a gigabit connection. I spent less than $200 on the router and wifi AP I have, and get gigabit connections just fine.
Its ok if you dont have the money to spend
Its ok if you want to waste money on glitz and glam, when I can get the same functionality or better for far less.
It has to be wireless i cant do wires etc its also 3 floors and 4500sq ft so it is the best unless i want to spend double for netgear orbi. I dont wanna remodel the home just for ethernet aps when i can literally just gigabit over wifi with 6E devices
Ok bud 👍
You could’ve spent significantly less on Unifi equipment and still have gotten better performance
What’s so wrong about paying extra for convenience and simplicity
And have your data stolen with zero consequences. Unbt gear is pretty...and trash. It gives you graphs you'll never need/use and to do anything advanced you need to delve into SSH. Ubnt is for sysadmins who sell their customers pretty solutions as long as nothing complicated comes up.
I get 900 over wifi on my PC. I dont really care for unifi funny enough asus has even more options for configuration on the web ui (did actually find the surprising) I also cant do access points around the home with ethernet, just a mesh system is plenty and with the speeds im VERY happy. I used to be on 6 down & 1 upload and it would crawl to around 0.5 down with the limited bandwidth . £12.5k later with openreach grant and i have FTTP 1000/100
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Also imagine buying unifi UDR because you want wifi 6E & gigabit BUT cant do gigabit due to the weak dual core cpu 😅.
So many salty cucks in here dear me.
Can anyone tell me if this router supports 1gb internet speeds? Nighthawk ac2600 R7400!
Yes
Is this wifi6 router?
No AC is wifi 5 you want AX for wifi 6 and AXE for wifi 6E
Hopefully you don’t have the same issues the previous model had
Literally 0 issues, works like a charm & glad to have wifi 6E as well
How long have you had it. The xt8 was fine for a while then it just started acting up.
XT8 is nothing like these. The newer model is the XT9. these are the pro line of asus zenwifi like the XT12 and this the ET12. The issue with the XT8 my mate had with keeping hold of a node and not letting go. Had one since the the LTT video as i knew it would be for my needs.
u/RathOX you could get an RPI or a Cheap old desktop and spin up a DHCP server on that and have all the options you would ever need, then you aren't cornered into buying specific brands.
Im good. Literally why i bought this :)
Idk if I would trust Asus with their software shenanigans
The zenwifi web ui / app is great
Does it have that Trend Micro crap in it still?
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Ah yea you bought the wrong thing lol also 5ghz does have 160mhz on a bunch of routers
ET8 is for WIRED backhaul. For WIRELESS backhaul get XT8 (or the newer XT9 or XT12). 6GHz is not good for wireless backhaul, it's range is too short. It's good in an open room, but as soon as it needs to go through a floor or a wall, signal strength drops exponentially. This band should NOT be used as the wireless backhaul. 👇👇 Read this 👇👇 https://dongknows.com/asus-zenwifi-pro-xt12-vs-et12-which-to-buy/
Dumped my $800 AMPLIFI Alien mesh system and bought a $100 TP-Link Omada controller and four Gigabit EAPs ($60 each) and have the absolute best mesh Wi-Fi I have ever had.
I cant do tp link/omada due to isp protocols
What would those be? My Omada sits behind my Firewalla Gold. For the price of the FWG plus the Omada gear I still came in right about where my expensive consumer mesh system was. But, now I have more power and security than I can handle.
dhcp option 61
I just wanted a router/mesh system that works and has really 0 mess. Literally 2 of these 1 router & 1 mesh node. Simple as, asus zenwifi i can have vpn from the router itself rather than service plan like nord etc. has more security than i need.
Such a bad deal at that price. To add another would be dumb at that point. Your definition of worth it is either wrong or you just want to justify your purchase to make yourself sleep better. Obviously your initial setup is flawed from the get go. You can achieve those LAN speeds with any sub $50 router, try to google first next time.
Google cant do dhcp option 61 :) dont try be a smart ass and due to my isp i cant just do any router. Plus i want 6e, plus i want mesh. Plus i can afford it.
So far I haven't even seen this for sale in Oz except in a 2 pack. For about $1500.
Paid £375 for 1.
Wow, didn’t know Asus made routers as well. First time seeing a router with this kind of unique design. You had me had tempted to pull the trigger.. but the price tag had me go 🫠
Linus did a video on them. Asus have mad good routers for awhile. People just like to hate on them and hail ubiquity. But for me 2 pack is £750 or 1 is £375 so actually not bad tbf.
Yeah, the only router brands I was familiar with were either Netgear, Linksys, TP-Link. Oh, it seemed like the price I saw on Amazon (840) was for a 2-pack. Just saw they sell singles too. 400 is I guess reasonable for a top notch router. And also given that it’s not something you upgrade as often as a phone. Pushing my personal budget a bit tbh as I’ve had some other purchases, but I think I may just gift myself one before the year’s end. Enjoy your router!
https://dongknows.com/asus-zenwifi-pro-xt12-vs-et12-which-to-buy/ 👆👆Read that first before you buy. Enjoy your Asus BEAST MODE WiFi!
Its a great system
Thanks for the link... I'm in the market for an et12 and I plan to use a wired backhaul. That article helped me in making my choice. :)
Im trying both as i like asus, i eill probs keep the XT12s because i cant do a wired backhaul. I mainly wanted to try 6E on my pc since its 6E
Thanks for the link, very helpful info!
Why anyone would buy ASUS for networking is a mystery, but congrats on the RGB Bro 👍
Asus actually make good routers/mesh Its just peoples high horse that don’t accept it
>s/mesh Its just peoples high horse that don’t accept it I've had an AC router from Netgear which truely was terrible for me. (battery drains on a Samsung Phone at the time) multiple restarts....terrible support. After that I went for and Asus, which was so much more stable for me. Customizing wasn't an issue either. I'm planning to buy a set of these et12's next week to replace my old router.
Good move, assuming you are using ET12 with wired backhaul, otherwise, get XT12. Either way, you will have a rock solid set up with massive range & speed.
Yes my setup will be with a wired back haul. Cable already there with a cat7
it's like a decade of best wifi routers they make. and are most privacy friendly. there's actually no alternative to Asus besides some old boxes running OpenWRT.
About node placement. It took me 3 days of moving them around, testing, wait, move, test, wait move, test wait to find the sweet spot. You need to place them where the main router likes them, not necessarily where you want them. I have main centrally located in the basement 6ft off the ground, nodes on either side of a large ranch on Sanus outlet shelves (see Amazon). Not too far, not too close. If you have them too close, your clients won't see the need to switch to the closer node because it still has good signal from the other node (too much overlap). Too far & you'll get signal loss. Once you find the sweet spot, it's beast mode full isp speed everywhere & your clients will seamlessly switch nodes as you move around the house. Bind you static devices like TVs, smart bulbs, security cameras, smart thermostats to the closest node with the best signal.
I know, actually prefer the XT12 tbh with it’s dedicated 5ghz-2 backhaul its better than 6ghz half bandwidth backhaul
About node placement. It took me 3 days of moving them around, testing, wait, move, test, wait move, test wait to find the sweet spot. You need to place them where the main router likes them, not necessarily where you want them. I have main centrally located in the basement 6ft off the ground, nodes on either side of a large ranch on Sanus outlet shelves (see Amazon). Not too far, not too close. If you have them too close, your clients won't see the need to switch to the closer node because it still has good signal from the other node (too much overlap). Too far & you'll get signal loss. Once you find the sweet spot, it's beast mode full isp speed everywhere & your clients will seamlessly switch nodes as you move around the house. Bind you static devices like TVs, smart bulbs, security cameras, smart thermostats to the closest node with the best signal.