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Basic question on AX router AiMesh setup

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DrFrankenscript

Occasional Visitor
Hi folks,

This is a very basic question that I'm a bit embarrassed to ask. I've got three RT-AX92U routers to cover my house. It's a bit overkill, but think of my house as being "long" in one axis, with a main floor, a second floor over that, and a full basement beneath, with plenty of devices in basement and second floor needing good signal. The main router is centrally located in my office which is on the main floor, and the two other routers (currently set into access point mode) are on the main floor at the extreme ends of the home. The two units being used as access points are connected via cat6 ethernet to the main router. Coverage is perfect and speeds are great. The only problem I have is an issue with certain IoT devices as described here.

That all said, I'd like to set up the system as an AiMesh arrangement for centralized management particularly of my guest networks (one of which is for 2.4 GHz IoT devices exclusively...). However, I may have a fundamental misunderstanding of how that works. On my main router when I go into the AiMesh settings and attempt to add nodes, it doesn't recognize the other two routers (wired in access points) as being available. And, the instructions talk about having the nodes close to each other as though they are going to communicate wirelessly rather than via ethernet. Is AiMesh something done only when connecting nodes via wifi? If so, then I don't want that an the right solution is to keep them as simple access points I suppose, though that means any changes to wireless networks have to be made manually to each of the three devices. Or, maybe I'm missing something fundamental.

Can I get the centralized management benefit when my two satellite routers are connected via ethernet?
 
Simply said, yes.

Being Ethernet connected should be a plus for you. However, you will need to factory reset the AP's before you can add them as AiMesh nodes. Also have your guest network 1 on the main router set to All AiMesh nodes.

The Ethernet cable should be connected to the node WAN port.
 
Simply said, yes.

Being Ethernet connected should be a plus for you. However, you will need to factory reset the AP's before you can add them as AiMesh nodes. Also have your guest network 1 on the main router set to All AiMesh nodes.

The Ethernet cable should be connected to the node WAN port.
Thanks for this. While my "wannabe nodes" are connected via their WAN ports, the secret sauce may be the factory reset of them before attempting to add them as AIMesh nodes. I've never actually done that. Also, I found this link:


An excerpt from that link says:
1. Follow the setup steps to establish a connection between the AiMesh router and node via Wi-Fi first.

2. Place the node in the ideal location for the best coverage. Run Ethernet cables from the LAN port of the AiMesh router to the WAN port of AiMesh node.



38bad824-d45a-40a3-af89-e9a1de4ab43f.png


3. AiMesh system will auto-select the best path for data transmission, whether wired or wireless.

So, it looks like I have to do it via wifi, then plug in the ethernet cable. Something to try, next time I've got the house to myself so that others don't complain about loss of signal during the experiments...
 
Hi folks,

This is a very basic question that I'm a bit embarrassed to ask. I've got three RT-AX92U routers to cover my house. It's a bit overkill, but think of my house as being "long" in one axis, with a main floor, a second floor over that, and a full basement beneath, with plenty of devices in basement and second floor needing good signal. The main router is centrally located in my office which is on the main floor, and the two other routers (currently set into access point mode) are on the main floor at the extreme ends of the home. The two units being used as access points are connected via cat6 ethernet to the main router. Coverage is perfect and speeds are great. The only problem I have is an issue with certain IoT devices as described here.

That all said, I'd like to set up the system as an AiMesh arrangement for centralized management particularly of my guest networks (one of which is for 2.4 GHz IoT devices exclusively...). However, I may have a fundamental misunderstanding of how that works. On my main router when I go into the AiMesh settings and attempt to add nodes, it doesn't recognize the other two routers (wired in access points) as being available. And, the instructions talk about having the nodes close to each other as though they are going to communicate wirelessly rather than via ethernet. Is AiMesh something done only when connecting nodes via wifi? If so, then I don't want that an the right solution is to keep them as simple access points I suppose, though that means any changes to wireless networks have to be made manually to each of the three devices. Or, maybe I'm missing something fundamental.

Can I get the centralized management benefit when my two satellite routers are connected via ethernet?

Is your main router an AP and does it support AiMesh?

OE
 
Is your main router an AP and does it support AiMesh?

OE
All three routers are RT-AX92U, which support AiMesh. The one in my office is in traditional Wireless Router mode; the other two are in "Access Point / AiMesh Router in AP mode"

So, I was surprised when the one in my office wasn't able to add the others as nodes.

It sounds like I need to:

1. Do factory reset on the ones I want as AiMesh nodes
2. May need to do wireless setup into AiMesh mode before reconnecting them via ethernet.
 
You have them in the wrong mode.

Factory Reset via the WPS Button method on both nodes.

[Wireless] ASUS router Hard Factory Reset | Official Support | ASUS Global


After fully resetting them, do not touch them again via their GUI. ;)

Turn them both off and do them in series.

From the main router's GUI, add them via the AiMesh tab.

When one is successfully added, be sure you leave it on for at least 15 minutes before you unplug, and reposition it.

Then, turn on the second one and do the same.
 
OK, as a test I did the "less critical one" first. Did reset via WPS button, didn't bother to unplug ethernet from WAN port, used main Router GUI to search for nodes. It was found, and I added it successfully. Yay, thanks folks. Will do the other one another time.

But additional learning for anyone that is doing this in the future:

In the GUI (of the main router) it shows this under AiMesh:
1661448142086.png


And yet also says this:

1661448172681.png


Definitely don't want it using wireless backhaul. So I went into AiMesh system settings and turned on Ethernet Backhaul Mode. Aha! That extra step made sure that the 5GHz-2 band was opened up for other uses, and constrains the system to wired-only backhaul (which for me is optimum).
 
I had a window of opportunity to update the other node to AiMesh, and it went smoothly. I'm all good now for this. Thanks again for the help.
 
So what would happen with dual band routers when I connect the AiMesh node back onto Ethernet if I followed this procedure?
 
So what would happen with dual band routers when I connect the AiMesh node back onto Ethernet if I followed this procedure?

From my install notes:

o Confirm all WLANs are broadcasting/stable
- confirm WPS is enabled before/disabled after adding node*
- search/add reset node, wait
- leave wireless node Backhaul Connection Priority set to Auto
- set wired node Backhaul Connection Priority to Ethernet/WAN first
- if all nodes are wired, enable Ethernet Backhaul Mode to free WiFi for client use only

If you wire the node and enable Ethernet Backhaul Mode, then all WiFi will be released for client use only.

OE
 
@OzarkEdge Thanks, that's very helpful. If only Asus made it easier to gain that knowledge....
At the moment the second router is an AP which seems to work with the SSIDs the same as the primary but I may get bored during the winter and decide to have a play. :)
 

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