ASUS ZenWiFi Whole-Home Dual-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System XD6 White - 1 Pack, Coverage up to 2,700 sq.ft & 4+ Rooms, 5400Mbps, AiMesh, Lifetime Free Internet Security, Parental Control, Easy Setup

We purchased a new, larger house, and I needed to resolve some coverage and speed issues. My AX86U did an admirable job and while I could have just purchased another, we have some Wifi 7 devices so I figured I'd go ahead and futureproof. I read a lot about my options (primarily Wifi 6E and Wifi 7) on several sites, but ultimately, DongKnowsTech is what convinced me to buy this unit over others. My main reason for writing this review is because there are not many reviews yet, and there are a lot of experiences posted elsewhere that were not good. Based on my experience and what I've read, I believe that this is likely related to bad software on release and has been resolved with firmware updates. Perhaps my experience will help you feel more confident about buying this unit if you are strongly considering it. I was nervous about the setup and performance based on experiences some other people had. The only issue that I had during setup was that the node MUST be close to the main unit when setting it up. Even though they can communicate in different areas of the house, it has a difficult time completing setup if they're not close by and will just flash blue. If you experience this and it's in another room, move it in the same room temporarily to complete setup. Once the setup was complete, I updated firmware on both devices, and updated the MAC address on my ATT Fiber modem which was already in Passthrough mode. Once that was complete, I moved the node upstairs and confirmed that it was working. Since I have ethernet in the room that it's in, I plugged in to utilize ethernet backhaul. I also changed a couple of settings in the Asus router app to prioritize ethernet backhaul over wireless backhaul. Once that was done, I confirmed that I still had a connection upstairs, and the app confirmed that it was using wired backhaul. Ran some speed tests on my phone and I was getting 700+mbps on the unit upstairs on 5ghz. Faster than I expected. Wifi downstairs is just as strong. My office and gaming pcs are plugged in ethernet, and I'm capping out at 900-1000mbps whereas I was previously hitting 600-750mbps. NOTE: I switched out all of my ethernet cables to Cat 6A, so this may have had an impact on speeds. Previously, I had Cat 5E and some cables that were not marked and may have been lower grade. One odd thing that I have run into is that my Bravia 7 does not want to connect to any network that has 2.4, 5, and 6ghz available. If I limit it to 2.4 and 5, or one or the other, OR just 6ghz, it will connect fine. But, it will not connect to a network with all 3 active. For now, I have it on it's own network using 6ghz but I'll have to dig into this. I have not had any issues with any other devices connecting. That includes TVs, Hue bridge/bulbs, tablets, game consoles, soundbars, robot vacuum, smartwatches. Everything is working. Overall, I'm very happy with the product. The setup was painless and though I expected good coverage, the speeds are better than expected. It has the same Asus features that I'm familiar with, without extra fees. The only thing that I'm not happy about is the price. I know it will come down and Wifi7 devices will be cheaper in time, but I needed a solution now and didn't want to re-visit again in a couple of years. Since I used Amazon Rewards, in combination with a lower priced Like New unit with Amazon Resale, the price was quite as hard a pill to swallow.

I'm using this as an AiMesh node with my main BE98 Pro router. ​The initial setup was a pain, but after it was done, it started working great. A quick tip: I'd recommend setting up three WiFi networks at most. Use the main MLO WiFi for your important devices like your phone, tablet, console and PC. Then, put all your IoT devices (surveillance cameras, smart bulbs, smart TV and etc.) on the separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks. ​Also, make sure get rid of any old devices that are still on 802.11ac or older (even some devices using 802.11n). They really do bottleneck your router's bandwidth and slow everything down. ​This router has a lot of great features, and it was easy to set up AdGuard Dns and NordVPN. The speed is super steady and rock-solid. ​The only thing I don't like about these new Asus routers is that you have to reboot the router and all the nodes every single time when you add a new IoT devices. If you don't, it just connects and disconnects over and over. ​ The range for 2.4GHz and 5GHz is really great, but the 6GHz range isn't. If you have a big house with a lot of walls, the 6GHz signal won't be very good. Overall, I recommend this routers. It's pricy but worth to buy it.

SUMMARY: I chose not to listen to poor reviews for this router in favor of more recent reviews that mentioned firmware updates have resolved the issues. I'm on the latest firmware and after 16 days of testing I've finally decided to warn you not to buy this router. Key negative points: terrible stability for smart home devices, mesh coverage is questionable, and a horrible support team. I'd have patience with the network issues if I felt like the support team was keeping me informed of firmware updates their working on, but they have completely ghosted me after I provided all the proof that this is an issue on their end. ISSUE: Anyone spending this much money on a router mesh system is likely doing so because they have a large number of smart home devices. In big letters on the front of the box, it bills itself as a "Worry-free Smart Home Mesh". Those words will sting with painful irony if you go through the lengths I have to try to get this to be stable and reliable. I'm a full-stack developer and work with complicated systems for a living so I'm no stranger to troubleshooting, configuring, researching, etc. I've given it my all and I can't get this to work with my existing network of 2.4 ghz-only smart home devices. PRO-TIP: No support team told me this, this is just something I discovered on my own. If you're having trouble getting devices to even sign in on the 2.4 ghz or IoT networks, then disable MLO and disable the radio bands for the 6 ghz networks. It makes no sense, because that shouldn't interfere with the IoT network or 2.4 ghz bands, but things will magically connect if you do that (so basically disable everything you're paying a premium for). The problem is, after they connect, they will only have a connection lifespan of 15 or so minutes before they lose connection and then take a while to reconnect - even if the signal is excellent (which is not a problem I've ever had with my 8-year-old Netgear routers). HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SUPPORT: I've spent hours in communication with the third-party support teams for my smart home devices (a big chunk of these devices are LIFX - their support team is excellent, btw). After trying all the configuration changes suggested by other experts, I finally reached out to ASUS support to see what they could offer. Their phone support line is a joke... I'd be on hold for 5 to 10 minutes and then it would hang up on me before ever connecting me with a person... It took 6 of these calls before I reached somebody. When I finally did and explained my situation as well as all the troubleshooting steps I'd tried so far. He admitted that I'd already gone above and beyond all the troubleshooting steps that he would've suggested and he'd elevate this to their advanced team. He had me send router logs and comments to get a ticket started... all good, seemed like I was finally going somewhere. 2 business days later, I got an email asking for the same logs sent a different way, plus many different forms and technical information that they wanted to gather... I spent a good hour or two collecting all of that information for them and sent it off... 4 business days later, I got an email asking really low-level questions that would have had me repeating information. I answered the questions and asked if they have reviewed the documentation I've already sent (because if they had, they wouldn't have needed to ask those questions again). After not hearing anything 4 business days later, I reached out again asking if they could let me know if they had given up or were still reviewing my case. And now today, an additional 5 business days later I still haven't received any reply... That's three weeks of the support team stalling me until they ghosted me. I honestly think that there is no "advanced support team" and they didn't expect anyone to have the patience to get this far. Their script doesn't cover how to continue pretending like they're doing something. THE GOOD AND THE BAD: It's unfortunate... I really wanted this to work out as ASUS offers parental controls and other protections that other brands charge a subscription fee for. They've got a *ton* of nice customization options and ways you can set things up. If it *worked*, it would be an excellent choice. That's about as positive as I can be with this router. If I paid $50 for this router, I might give 3 or 4 stars with a "you get what you pay for" kind of review. The value and support is not there for the premium cost which justifies the 1 star review. Ignore my review if you're ready for a "Worry-Filled Smart Home Mesh". First and last ASUS purchase for me and now all this wasted time and effort is going to be returned to Amazon.

This replaced an older Linksys router and extender, providing better coverage over all three floors and reaching outside to our Ring system. Coverage and performance is far better using the mesh routers even though the previous system was also WiFi6. Setup was a bit harder than anticipated, having to individually connect each router to a hardwired connection to update and bring the system online, rather than just bringing them close per the directions. After that it has worked well with a few (perhaps 2-3 in several months) dropouts/slowdowns requiring a reboot. Reboots are typically required after a FW update otherwise speed is degraded. After power outages (all too frequent) the system usually recovers cleanly. Signal strength is now consistent from upper floor office to the basement media room, and connection to the outside Ring devices is reliable (unlike the previous system). I now have four mesh routers rather than a main router, extender, media nodes (WAPs), and powerline nodes so the system is much simpler. The ASUS app is good, allowing me to monitor, set conditions, update, check connections, and verify speed and QoS.

Got the 2-pack ZenWiFi BQ 16 Pro for a 180 sqm (2,000 sqft) apartment of anti-seismic construction and a number of sturdy structural walls. Shipped overseas, arrived in 1 week. First off - power brick is auto 110V-230V, NEMA 1-15 (ungrounded) so I could get away with just an adaptor - great! Setup can be frustrating, and this is the only reason I am not giving 5 stars. Initial setup was quick and easy, everything was working 15 minutes out of the box. Mistake #1 was using a test SSID and not the final SSID for the main network, assuming an easy config change. Not so, changing this this led to a further 3-hour fight including several reboots and factory resets until the very same out-of-the-box was achieved again, now with the final main SSID. Mistake #2 was not paying attention and letting one of the units upgrade firmware, but not the other (big no-no these want to be on the same version). Be patient, each reboot/reconfig may take minutes; connecting both units through a LAN cable helped that initial setup. The flashing LED (green/blue/white) is your only guide through this, if you can zen your way beyond a number of 10-minute reboots, you should have no issue. After initial setup moved the nodes to their permanent positions, one with the WAN port, the other at a central location. I was able to configure the new units to mimic the existing SSID setup (main, IoT, guest). WiFi7 main network on 2.4, 5 and 6-1 GHz bands, IoT on 2.4, guest network with AP isolation, MLO backhaul on 5, 6-1 and 6-2 GHz. No SNMP? Hm. Works like a charm, no issues with stability so far and internet is blazing fast. Coverage is very good and I have not yet found a single of our old devices unable to connect, to the extent that the old APs have remained unneeded and unpowered. Very happy with the purchase, will keep tweaking and testing the limits. As mentioned earlier, setup can be frustrating but if you can muster enough patience, it is a very good unit.

I bought both the XT9 2-pack in Black and XT9 single-pack in white for a total of 3 node AIMesh network. They all set up reasonably quickly and easily, starting with the one in the two-pack which is clearly marked on the front as the one to start with. Then I added the 1-pack white XT9. I'm not using ethernet backhaul, depending instead on 5G wifi for the backhaul. My internet connection is not that great, so I am not able to really test the 2.5Gbps WAN or LAN aggregation features. My clients are a handful of PCs (variously connected via wifi, wired directly, or wired through a switch), a handful of android mobile devices, smartTVs, and a dozen or more IoTs [thermostate, smart bulbs, etc]). WiFi coverage is pretty good, and the system is fairly powerful in terms of features, although the documentation is not that great. It tells you what you can set, but rarely explains why you would want to make one selection over another. I like that you can admin it via a web-browser, which is one reason I did not go with other brands which require a phone app. That being said there are some features which are only available in the app, and others which are only available in the webUI. For example: In the app, you can set some interesting "parental" controls such as ad blocking, malicious content blocking, etc. The way to do this in the webUI is not very clear or perhaps not even possible. In the WebUI, you can "Manage" the different nodes of the mesh and do things like set the USB port for different purposes. As an example, on one node, I have a USB Drive serving uPnP media service. On another node, a different USB HDD is serving files via Samba and (LAN-restricted) FTP. Some features don't seem to work such as the ability to make the WPS button control the LED. And some of my devices (Smart Bulbs especially) don't seem to bind to the nearest mesh node, instead binding to the farthest one, which surprises me. Another thing that baffles me: 2 of the Cat5e-connected devices on my second node show "yellow" in the app (with vague description and confusing "Things to check"). One is a smartTV and the other is a connect AV-Receiver, both purchased this year. The one wired device showing green is a 10 year old Laptop. One thing I really don't like is that you cannot NAME the different nodes for where they are located. Yes, you can label them (as I've done) for Office, Living Room, and Master Bedroom, but when you see them in a list they all say "ZenWiFi XT9". Overall, this is a powerful system, more powerful than the single-node netgear WiFi router I've been using for years. I'm glad I upgraded!

I replaced an 8-year-old Linksys with this Asus ZenWiFi BQ 16 Pro. Nothing wrong with the Linksys, but the new Asus has so many new features and security options. The two-module model covers the entire house and some more. The mesh network reaches everywhere even on the farthest areas on the deck. I have ethernet to the mesh module, so it connected simply. The security settings allow tuning many options to turn off features such as WPS and UPNP which you do not need. You can also set up as many sub networks that you need. I have three: main, IoT and Guest. All devices had no issue except my two Amazon Smart Plugs. For some reason they did not work. After much back and forth with Alexa support including trying two new ones they sent, the solution was to change to Amazon Basics Smart Plugs (cheaper and they work). My old Linksys had 8 ports; this router has only three. No big deal as you can buy a small switch and get more ports with it (see picture). Set up is really simple. I found doing it on my computer easier than on a mobile. All you have to do is to connect the computer to the router. The Asus app is intuitive and after a few minutes you can master it. One trick is to print out the manual before and note all the things you will want to change or adjust when the app is started. Helps not to miss anything. The router is a bit pricey, but when you consider it is for several years, worth it. All in all, quite happy with the choice and the capabilities.

Update: Adding a star as Asus did process a refund which also covered tax. Replaced with a deco and everything is stable. The software is not as well flushed out, but everything is there that’s needed. Speeds are similar. Update: 2-3 weeks after returning the dead router I received an email. They do not have a replacement and are asking if I would accept something different. You know as miss matched hardware in a mesh system works great! And given I have the top of the line I would be getting something less. Please learn from me and avoid this like the plague. I had to pay shipping to send the dead unit back so I am $1k in with a totally unstable system, no mesh, no replacement for the dead unit. And you better know networking well to get it up and running and use a clone MAC address for it to work with at least my ISP. Wish I would have kept the box and sent it back while I had the chance. Update. Set up was not seamless at all. Adding additional networks is easy but unstable. Random drop outs across all networks. If you have something that can only do 2.4 you will need a separate network for this if aggregating the main one (which is a main feature). Used for what 3 weeks and one of the routers is dead. No lights, no body home. For over $900 this is absolutely crazy. Paid the cash so I would have a rock solid system. Threw away the box otherwise I would return this and go through the pain of setting up something else. Like most people buying this the pain is real we have a smart home so maybe 40 devices. Old review: Well I figured this would be plug and play as far as getting the router and node up and running. It was not. Spent 2 hours getting both the router and the node to play nice. Wondering if it threw in a firmware update without me knowing. Finally up and running and the performance so far is good. The mesh is more stable than most looks like it uses the WiFi backbone of you have a cat5 in your walls. I have a g tv in my sunroom that would not work with my prior mesh combo on netgear. Older stuff. With this in the same locations it runs fine. Just hoping it will be stable after the messy setup. I do have the iot running, basically a guest network, with about 20 google devices on it. And unlike others this seems to be working fine. I did add a few things to the static address table too. May update the rating if my confidence goes up in its stability.