ASUS ZenWiFi XT9 AX7800 Tri-Band WiFi6 Mesh WiFiSystem (1Pack), 802.11ax, up to 2850 sq ft & 4+ Rooms, AiMesh, Lifetime Free Internet Security, Parental Controls, 2.5G WAN Port, UNII 4, Charcoal

Got this to replace a 5 year old d-link wifi5 (wireless ac) triband 3600 router with an awful Netgear extender (never found a single Netgear networking item that works after 20+ years of giving them chances, so even if you don't go with Asus, do NOT go with Netgear. They truly make some of the worst wireless solutions out there). The D-link router was great (and on its own had a noticeably better range than one of these), but I needed a better whole-house solution, so I went with this.Overall, I am happy with it. It provides solid speeds throughout the areas it covers, remains stable without requiring frequent reboots (the Netgear extender required reboots every few days, so this is a huge plus), has a really nice interface in the android app to easily control everything you would need to control, and supports a very robust smart home network (I have 40+ devices connected, so the older wireless ac router + extender would start dropping devices over 20 or so then crash and require reboots, another huge plus to this upgrade).The only things I have to complain about are two things that are specifically advertised as perks of a mesh network, and this device in particular, that don't really come through, even with latest firmware updates:1. Devices in a mesh network are supposed to seamlessly move from node to node. I always hated having to manually switch my phone from the router to the extender and back as I moved through the house. Unfortunately, that has not changed. This network does NOT move my phone from one node to another automatically. I get "no internet" errors (even though it shows a strong wifi connection tray icon, yet the app shows an awful signal strength but still doesn't switch to a closer node), and have to disable and re-enable wifi on the phone to get it to switch nodes (the asus app has a reconnect option, but this just causes it to reconnect to the same crappy signal node). My phone is a fully wifi6 compatible galaxy s10+, so I am inclined to think it is the network, and not the phone, but I cannot say for sure without other test devices.2. The advertised coverage of 5000 sq feet for 2 units is laugable. Its a lie. I know companies use wordage like "up to" or "under ideal conditions" but it is still a flat out lie unless maybe you are using this outside in an open field, and not inside of your home. I had to get 3 units to cover 4300 sq feet and still have a spot at the edge of the house where I lose signal. I live in the woods with no neighbors or interference whatsoever in a regular modern wood construction home, so I should be getting close to maximum advertised coverage, but it doesn't even come close. I do have 3 floors, so maybe that's it. I needed one unit per floor centrally located to cover almost the whole house and a little bit of the yard outside. The bright side is that you can add however many nodes you need to expand your coverage, but I just don't like such horribly overexaggerated numbers to get you to buy the product then sink more money into expanding it. It is, however, excellent for anything that is within range, and worth the cost of expansion, so that is what you will likely find yourself doing instead of returning it if your coverage is underwhelming. I just get irked by inaccurate or misleading advertising is all, and I know many others do as well, which is why I am making a note of it here.So in the end, I DO fully recommend this system, as it performs extremely well in most ways, and honestly the competition probably has even more small issues (its just the nature of ALL wireless tech). I get my full 300 mbps internet speed, and far higher internal network speeds that are often only limited by the speeds of my hard drives (well, except the m2 nvme, but I do have 2 of the nodes and 2 media/file storing/sharing PCs hardwired to allow full speeds to the wireless devices accessing them). It is excellent for a smart home full of echo devices (or your ecosystem of choice), smart switches, smart outlets, multiple phones, desktops, laptops, smart bulbs, etc. Again, 40+ devices without a hiccup and never having to reboot with full speeds everywhere is about as good as it gets with wireless tech even if there are those couple of small gripes above.Also worth noting is that all of my Asus products have lasted forever in the sense that I only ever have to retire them for new tech. I have never had a single asus product fail in 20+ years of building computers and playing with tech (which is more than I can say about some other companies - looking at you Netgear, Seagate, Western Digital, Epson, Lexmark, HTC, and Optima) so that is also a huge selling point for me as a loyal Asus customer year after year.December 2023 UPDATE - This mesh system is still going strong. I am now up to 120 devices on the network without a hitch and my newer upgraded Verizon gigabit internet that has been solid (Verizon plugs right into this from the box in the basement without a need for one of their routers for internet-only service). I still have issues with my phone properly jumping from node to node causing me to miss WiFi calls sometimes, but other than that, it remains excellent. I have only had to reboot the main router twice in the past 2 years to restore functionality to a couple of dropped devices that couldn't re-negotiate a connection to the network. This is by far the single most stable wireless network I have ever experienced since WiFi began oh so many years ago and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a headache-free wireless networking solution.

I went from a single router setup to this two-node mesh system and the wifi coverage in my house and outside in the yard is excellent now. Wifi speeds have been very good and I've only needed to reboot the router once so far after running for 10+ months. I tried the VPN features a few times and while the VPN did connect on some wifi networks, unfortunately, they ended up being blocked on the networks I wanted to use them on.

I purchased the 2-pack on March 9th and paid full list price ($450) plus tax, nearly $500 in total. It was a mistake. It went out with the trash two weeks ago, less than 4 months later.I had previously been using a pre-Amazon eero router with two satellites. I had been rock solid for four or more years. When I began getting internet dropouts several times a week, I rashly concluded that the router was failing and needed to be replaced. (It turned out to have been a Cox problem.) On the recommendation of the New York Times Wirecutter and other reviewers, I decided to splurge on Asus' XT9.My experience with it was not entirely satisfactory. My wife and I are retired, and we listen to SiriusXM's Symphony Hall channel on the Everywhere group for much of the morning. With the new router, we were getting momentary dropouts every hour or so. The sound would pause and we would hear static for a second or so, and the sound would then return. Also, several times a week we would lose the stream altogether. I initially assumed Cox was the culprit but was becoming increasingly suspicious that it was the XT9. I have since reinstalled the old eero system. It remains rock solid and we've not had any problems whatsoever.After an evening of thunder and lightning storms, the power glitched momentarily in the morning. The power went out and then came back immediately. Not surprisingly, the internet had disconnected. Although my modem showed that it had reconnected, the XT9 reported no internet. I assumed that it was some kind of Cox problem that I just didn't understand. When the internet was still out the next morning, I contacted Cox and learned that it was not an internet outage. The problem was the XT9. (Yes, it had been running on a surge protector.) After 3 or 4 hours of troubleshooting (and resetting the XT9, I managed to get the internet back and most of my devices reconnected. However, it took another hour or more to get my HP desktop to connect. That certainly gave me pause. After lunch, I set out to install the satellite unit and discovered that it would not pair with the main unit. After several more hours of troubleshooting that day and the next, I concluded that one or both units needed to be replaced.Before contacting customer service, I decided to look back at the Amazon reviews. That was truly a revelation. I started with the 1* reviews, reasoning that they would reflect the experience of those who had also encountered problems with the XT9. I found lengthy reports that were by-and-large written by incredibly astute and experienced IT professionals. I encourage you to read these reviews. I wish I had.Among other things, the reviewers speak to their experience with Asus' customer service. They were not able to reach second-tier customer agents without going through hours and hours of troubleshooting with the first-tier and then having to document their problems in writing. I really didn't want to go through that myself. Moreover, as I thought about it, I decided that I wouldn't replace my eeros with the XT9 even if the connection problem were fixed. In my opinion, the XT9 is a beta product that wasn't fully tested and not ready for prime time.

I've mentioned this before. I'm an old network guy of 30 years that's kind of retired now. I was running two networks at the house, one for the house and family and one for my office which I just deprecated, installing MoCA for back haul replacing my Office network. In the house I am running the Asus BQ16 Pro and have been for over a year. One problem in the beginning but it has been rock solid ever since. In my office I am running the Asus BE98U, a beast unit that's been running for over a year with no issues. My office 98U is now part of the overall network mesh but I had a particular use case where both the 98U and BQ16 were a waste and overkill enter the BT6. I received it yesterday, paired it with the mesh and was up in 10 minutes. Great little unit that fits the requirement I had very nicely. Good wireless coverage and worked as advertised out of the box. I have run equipment from TP-Link, Orbi, Linksys and now Asus. The mesh of different routers works flawlessly and being a network person the customization options are fantastic for me. Very happy with the purchase.