Asus XT8 questions on AP vs Mesh setup.

[Caplocks]

I recently purchased a 3 pack BT8 BE14000 mesh system and love and hate it at the same time. I love parental control’s ability and simple dashboard but hate the constant drop of internet.

I am on wired back haul with all the units on Cat6. I have 1GB internet and my computer plugged into the main router will get 1GB download most of the time. Wireless on the other hand can be 980mb or 99mb and never constant like my old net gear AP setup.

I and thinking of switching to AP mode to see if that changes anything. I know that if I do that, I lose some of the built in features of the router, so I have two questions really.

Is there a way to turn just the nodes into AP only and keep the main router as the router? I asked that first because I saw if I flip the system to AP mode it wants to set the whole system to AP and I lose some of the mesh features.

I assume if I set to AP, I would need to buy something like the RT-BE66U as my main router to keep the router features and parentals control using the BE66U as the main unit.

Is setting this system in AP mode going to work better the mesh?

 

[Tech9]

I recently purchased a 3 pack XT8 mesh system

ZenWiFi XT8 is an old model released in Jan 2020 or >4.5 years ago.

- You have to keep 1x router on Router Mode and switch 2x routers in AP Mode
- It may not allow you to do so easily because most ZenWiFi mesh sets are paired

This model generated very long issues related threads here on SNB Forums.

 

[Tech9]

Is setting this system in AP mode going to work better the mesh?

In Router + APs you'll lose Guest Network propagation to the APs, but will gain better stability plus individual AP power and channel control options. Some people running into AiMesh issues prefer this configuration, but it has more manual setup involved. It's not Plug-and-Play and you have to know how to tune your system according to the environment and needs.

Not sure why you have posted your question in BE-class (Wi-Fi 7) subforum. ZenWiFi XT8 is AX-class (Wi-Fi 6).

 

[Caplocks]

In Router + APs you'll lose Guest Network propagation to the APs, but will gain better stability plus individual AP power and channel control options. Some people running into AiMesh issues prefer this configuration, but it has more manual setup involved. It's not Plug-and-Play and you have to know how to tune your system according to the environment and needs.

Not sure why you have posted your question in BE-class (Wi-Fi 7) subforum. ZenWiFi XT8 is AX-class (Wi-Fi 6).

Thank you for the info. I posted the wrong modle. I acutally have the BT8 BE14000. I saw Wifi 7 and didnt click the subform. Please move if needed. I edited my first post to reflect the corret system.

I understand I will lose guest network turing this BT8 into APs. I guess I figure that if I have a Asus router and turn the BT8 into APs the additional router would still function and allow the VPN and guest network features I like now in the mesh setup.