ASUS ZenWiFi XT9 AX7800 Tri-Band WiFi6 Mesh WiFiSystem (2Pack), 802.11ax, up to 5700 sq ft & 6+ Rooms, AiMesh, Lifetime Free Internet Security, Parental Controls, 2.5G WAN Port, UNII 4, White

I purchased the XT9 2-pack mesh system after having issues getting acceptable service from the Verizon CR1000A and extender mesh. I had an older ASUS router when I was at a different home (and had the Comcast router on Bridged mode) and I had nothing but good experiences. I did a lot of research on mesh systems in general and found the Eero, Google and even the TP Link were lacking in the customizable features and included parental controls that the ASUS still had - so then I did research comparing various ASUS routers. I thought about the XTE12 but that just seemed overkill for me - and at twice the price-point of the XT9, I wasn't biting.At first, I only setup one XT9 router to replace the Verizon CR1000A router and extender I was using - and I noticed an immediate improvement with just a single XT9 router in speed and signal strength (range through walls/floors) vs. the meshed Verizon system.After a couple of days, I setup the 2nd AP using wireless back-haul (dedicated 5-2Ghz channel) and moved the 2nd unit around to figure out where it provided the best overall coverage. What I quickly realized - and ONLY due to where I had the initial router setup - I would actually benefit from a 3rd XT9 and a 3-unit mesh system, so I ordered a 3rd unit. Was it overkill - likely yes :) ... but I have 3 teens with 8-10 devices each and I wanted to ensure things were as good as they could be. Plus it was a combination black-friday cyber-monday deal so I was able to bag all 3 units for less than a single XTE12 normally retails for.With the 3rd unit, I was able to setup units 2 and 3 on opposite ends of the house (router is in the office, which is pretty much front-middle of my house). I kept all 3 units on the main/entry floor - as I noticed the signal to the basement and to the 2nd floor was just fine, especially with 3 units covering both ends and the middle.I receive 1GB service from Verizon - and, depending on the speed test server I connect to, time of day, overall external traffic, etc. - I can see download and upload speeds in every room of the house using the 3-unit XT9 mesh of up to 800MBps - although the usual speeds I'm seeing (on average) are 350 +/- 100. And that's quite acceptable for wireless backhaul and wireless device connectivity.A couple of things I ran into, though. First - I live in a neighborhood with a lot of traffic and I noticed, with the Mesh enabled, the entire network would disconnect for 1-2 minutes randomly, but often (I'd say every 1-2 hours). This was clearly not acceptable. I did some research and found I needed to (a) disable the roaming assistant, and (b) use a downloadable app like WiFi Analyzer to figure out what 2.4 and 5 channels my neighbors were flooding so I could manually change the channels my routers were using - and ever since those two changes, I've had amazing and consistent speed and connectivity for all of the devices in the house.I decided to leave the Verizon CR1000A router broadcasting it's IoT (2.4) signal for all of my smart devices, which also means they don't clutter the view of connected devices when I use the ASUS router app. I also have a Verizon Extender which is wired-backhaul via the coaxial so the wife and I have ethernet connections for work-from-home, and one MoCa adapter that can be used by the kids for wired-backhaul gaming. They can fight over who gets to use it (hahaha).Finally - I didn't like the auto-assignment of some stay-put devices in my home moving from one AP to another, so - for a select few devices like TVs, Echo Dots, etc. that stay in a single room, I bound them to specific AP's so that the bound devices are pretty evenly distributed across the 3 XT9 routers. I also turned on website logging (parental controls), assigned the kids devices to various "family groups" so I could pause one kid at a time if need be, and used the QoS feature to change the bandwidth usage priorities so WFH was #1 (sorry kids). I quickly realized this feature could also be used to push "Gaming" priority way down the list if wife and I were looking to get the kids off the games without them knowing we paused them. Nothing worse than lagging games - and if it's "Verizon's fault" (they have no idea) maybe it's best to just give the games a rest and come watch a movie with us! Sneakily encouraged family time.The kids are happy - nobody is complaining anymore. Next on my list of potential add-on's would be (a) hard-wired back-haul - which should be pretty straight forward in my house; and (b) opening up the 5-2GHz channel for device consumption. I may also consider getting a couple more MoCa adapters so the kids don't have to share for PC-based or console-based gaming.

Review Asus ZENWiFi XT9This is a review of the 2 unit Mesh system: a router and a node. Asus has done an excellent job of making a very sophisticated system easy to use for the novice. But if you are not a WiFi expert you can get into trouble quick. Fortunately, I do have a good deal of knowledge about these things, but I am far from the “know-it-all” status.I consider Asus the Lexus of computers and WiFi systems. In my opinion it is premium quality equipment.If you are buying a product like this there are some things, you should know. The 5 GHz band, from 5.1 through 5.9 it is a wild and crazy world, it is not completely regulated and there are no real solid rules and regulations to live by. Each company making a mesh system has some flexibility on how they can implement their system in this very undefined area, the 5 GHz band. I selected this system because it seems to be the best WiFi 6 and complete Mesh system out there. I did not feel the WiFi 6e, 7, or 8 is ready for me, maybe 6 or more years down the road.Things you need to know:1. Model and serial numbers. The Model and serial numbers are on the outside of the box for the two pack – router and node. Those box numbers are used for warranty and registration.2. Use the Asus Router App on your phone to set it up, you can use the Web Gui later for regular maintenance and adjustments after your system is up and running.3. Intel WiFi Driver fact sheet “Advanced WiFi Helper Tip” – pay attention to it. It may be very important to you, so do not overlook it. There is no mention of it in the instructions or on the Asus web site, that I know of. I recommend using the Intel WiFi Driver check-up from the Intel download center even if your WiFi card is not listed. That automatic checking by Intel seems to work perfectly and it may improve your laptops.First Set-Up out of the box: This mesh system will establish a WiFi backhaul first. That is accomplished with the second 5-GHz Band, it has the 4x4 antenna and it is 100% rock solid and fast. If you can, I suggest you run it that way at least a couple of days before going to ethernet backhaul. I will venture to say most users will continue in that manner; after all it is an exceptionally strong WiFi backhaul, with only one caveat that I am aware of. As I understand it, the first 5-GHz Bank only has a 2x2 antenna (the caveat).I wanted the absolute maximum speed for all WiFi clients that needed it, so I went with Ethernet backhaul. Now WiFi clients that need the fastest speed, have it with the second 5-GHz band.There are way too many “pros” to list for this product, most of them you will see in the sales literature. Some biggies are: Trend Micro built in. 4 ethernet ports on router and node. USB ports on both units, back up media, or print servers, and many more. A GUI interface that is Top Drawer.Cons:No detailed and complete instruction manual, thus nothing is cataloged or indexed. The Asus web site only provides about half what you may search for. I get better results by doing an internet search, which will often take me to Asus for details on the product. It is odd that Asus does not provide that directly. However, the WEB Gui Links for specific support topics will usually answer about 80% of your questions in a detailed manner.It would be nice if both 5-GHz Bands had the 4x4 antenna. I think you can get that in their products that cost a lot more.DFS, this is part of the non-structured, partially regulated, and unregulated, mess of the 5-GHz world. It appears that Asus has done a very good job to work around the madness. So far, I have had only “one” occurrence when the second 5-GHz band went off-line. It could have been a radar (of any source), it could have been a neighbor next door, or it could have been a result of my “fine” tunning. As of now, it appears that the Asus “auto” mode of channel selection has found a way to bypass the radar issues, only time will tell if that is a true statement.I used a defined SSID for each of the three bands, that is I did not use “Smart Connect” after going to ethernet backhaul. This allowed me to “target” my three bands. For your heavy-duty WiFi Laptops using the 4x4 mode this could make a big difference in the speed. YMMV.I strongly recommend this product.