What's new

Considering replacing ISP Modem/router in current AImesh setup

  • SNBForums Code of Conduct

    SNBForums is a community for everyone, no matter what their level of experience.

    Please be tolerant and patient of others, especially newcomers. We are all here to share and learn!

    The rules are simple: Be patient, be nice, be helpful or be gone!

kwintex

New Around Here
Hi all,

I am currently struggling to see if my intended improvements to my home network have some detrimental effects on my current setup.

I currently have the following setup (all-wired):

ISP DSL Modem --> Asus XT-8 (Router/AImesh) --> Asus XT-8 (AImesh).



I am currently considering replacing the ISP Modem(/router) with my own Modem/Router because it's sluggish, terrible options, interface, doesn't support bridge mode so it's essentially just a modem, etc.

Since the XT-8 Isn't a DSL modem, I'm considering the following setup:

Asus AX-82U (modem/router?/AImesh?) --> Asus XT-8 (AImesh) --> Asus XT-8 (AImesh), again all wired.

I have selected the AX-82U because as far as I know it's the only DSL Modem router that supports Wifi6 and AIMesh. I am not aware of a DSL modem/router that is triband and has AIMesh.

Since the AX-82 is dual-band and my nodes are triband, in what way does that negatively affect my wireless performance?

The AX-82U and 1st node are not very far apart; would it be useful to disable mesh on the AX-82U?

If so: would it not be more economical to opt for a different DSL modem?

The last alternative could be to just wait for a triband successor to the AX-82U and in the meantime setup a DMZ so that I have to deal less with my ISP Modem/router.

It might be relevant to know how the setup is being used:

I have a fair amount of wired and wireless devices (smart home). I don't have IPTV nor VoIP (so vlan tagging would be limited to internet). House is Three story high so the mesh is really to keep wireless speeds stable and have the nodes provide wired access further up the house
 
Last edited:
The AX-82U and 1st node are not very far apart; would it be useful to disable mesh on the AX-82U?

Just buy a new modem and use your 2x XT8 as before. You don't need this DSL-AX82U combo router. Why pay for features you don't need/use?
 
Just buy a new modem and use your 2x XT8 as before. You don't need this DSL-AX82U combo router. Why pay for features you don't need/use?
Because a modem doesn't come for free either. I don't know if saving money on a modem would be a step up.
 
If your 1st node is close to the the modem, why do you need Wi-Fi on the modem too?
If you want your modem in bridge mode, why do you need another modem + router combo?
Does your current ISP supplied modem provide up/down speeds you pay for?
Is built-in xDSL modem in DSL-AX82U approved on your ISPs network?
Do you have additional services like IPTV or VoIP with your ISP?
What better options you need to have on this modem?
 
If your 1st node is close to the the modem, why do you need Wi-Fi on the modem too?

This opens the possibility to move my 1st node a bit further away, not a requirement but a possibility, but only if it doesn't do more harm in terms of connectivity.

Does your current ISP supplied modem provide up/down speeds you pay for?
Is built-in xDSL modem in DSL-AX82U approved on your ISPs network?
Do you have additional services like IPTV or VoIP with your ISP?

Only internet, I don't intend to use IPTV and VoIP. The AX-82U is approved and compatible with my ISPs specifications. In that sense changing it doesn't affect the service, payment etc.

If you want your modem in bridge mode, why do you need another modem + router combo?
What better options you need to have on this modem?

Because of its inability to work in bridge-mode, I essentially only use it as a modem. I have some connectivity issues that resolve itself after a reset of the modem.. I strongly feel this is not going to resolve by using the modem differently.

In addition, the things I did try to configure were either simply not working or not intuitive to setup. Problems I didn't have with previous ISP-provided modems over the last decade and a half.

So maybe I've already made the decision to replace my modem, but the most important question would be if I should also add the router to the mesh setup or leave that to the nodes: just how bad would adding a dual band router to a tri-band node-system? Would it degenerate connectivity in general, or only to the devices directly connected to the dual band router as node, or would that be something to not be overtly concerned about?
 
Do 2x XT8 provide enough Wi-Fi coverage in your place?
They do. There are corners where I could use a little better coverage but it's not terrible; if increased coverage means overall performance is degrading then I'd prefer not to improve coverage.
 
You don’t need this DSL-AX82U router, save your money. Call your ISP to fix your line issues. Use the modem they provide. Otherwise they may not bother fixing the equipment you own.
 
ADSL is horrible if your stuck with only this as a option went years with line issues every winter. If you have access make sure bitswap is enable and SRA is enabled if supported by your isp. Also some isp’s do a bad job at disabling ssh if sra isn’t a feature you might be able to find the ssh login usually they use telnet. You can manually adjust the Signal to noise ratio yourself to either give yourself more or less stability. More SnR stability = less speed. (Manual SnR isn’t compatible if SRA is enabled)


I’d also look into if they would grandfather you in on the same price except move you to a comparable fibre plan. Once fibre was available in my area I went from 10mbps down / 1mbps up to 15mbps down / 15mbps up same price extra speed. Overall I get reduced latency, more speed, and stability that won’t degrade due to weather.
 

Similar threads

Latest threads

Sign Up For SNBForums Daily Digest

Get an update of what's new every day delivered to your mailbox. Sign up here!
Top