Recommend me an ASUS reliable low cost router

[Spartan]

My friend lives in a 6-bedroom house. He has some old routers. The plan is to get him set up with 4 GT-AX6000 routers in AiMesh wired backhaul in the future but for now, he just wants a single cheap but decent and reliable ASUS router that he can also use as part of that AiMesh when he gets the GT-AX6000 routers.

With that said, what would you recommend?

 

[Smokey613]

Just get a GT-AX6000 and add more as needed.

 

[bbunge]

RT-AC66U_B1 or an RT-AC68U May be old tech but reliable hardware and still getting updates. Great WIFI also...

 

[Spartan]

RT-AC66U_B1 or an RT-AC68U May be old tech but reliable hardware and still getting updates. Great WIFI also...

And how would the AX53U compare to those?

 

[Spartan]

@L&LD @Tech9 your opinion would be appreciated.

 

[Tech9]

The most ugly Asus model has less than zero chance to get inside this house. I'm seeing an expensive big house, the owner in a dark suite and his wife in a red dress are inviting important guests... and some Teenage Dream thingy with sticking out antennas is hanging off the walls and flashing ROG Aura colors. I'm also seeing two nice sports cars in the garage... one has a Garmin GPS on a suction cup stuck off center on the windscreen with few dirty circles around where it was before, the other has a dashcam from AliExpress on a 3M sticky tape and connected to a cigarette lighter plug with bright red LED on it.

You know my opinion - I would never buy 4x home routers when multiple APs are needed.

 

[Spartan]

The most ugly Asus model has less than zero chance to get inside this house. I'm seeing an expensive big house, the owner in a dark suite and his wife in a red dress are inviting important guests... and some Teenage Dream thingy with sticking out antennas is hanging off the walls and flashing ROG Aura colors. I'm also seeing two nice sports cars in the garage... one has a Garmin GPS on a suction cup stuck off center on the windscreen with few dirty circles around where it was before, the other has a dashcam from AliExpress on a 3M sticky tape and connected to a cigarette lighter plug with bright red LED on it.

You know my opinion - I would never buy 4x home routers when multiple APs are needed.

Well the guy's a cop with many obligations at the moment so he doesn't wanna buy the expensive routers for now. He just needs one entry level router to put in his kid's room for better connectivity that he might still be able to connect to the AiMesh setup when the time comes to buy those expensive routers. So what would you suggest? AX53U or AX58U or are those not good?

 

[Tech9]

I don't like the plan and can't recommend anything around it. Someone else will help you.

 

[L&LD]

@Spartan, I can't recommend the models your friend is considering at all today.

If he needs something cheap for now, a garage sale is where I would be looking to supply something 'good enough' for now.

If he's going to spend real money on a router, better to save and get one GT-AX6000 when he can. Tell him to look for sales, of course.

The home he's in must be huge for 4x GT-AX6000's. I would be hesitant to use more than two (at opposite ends and different floors of a home) of those powerful routers in most 'normal' homes, even 6000 SqFt and larger.

 

[Smokey613]

If your friend is interested in a simple,cost effective, setup and forget wifi mesh solution then I recommend starting with a pair of eero Pro 6 units. They can be purchased for $300 off Amazon and adding nodes as needed is a very simple process. I do not recommend their 6E units as they have had some issues.

If his internet speed is 500Mbs or less then he can get some used eero Pro (2nd gen) units off eBay for much less. I can recommend some sellers I have dealt with in the past with excellent service.

You can do some research into the eero systems and as with any brand, there are plus and minuses. My only real issue is their ”forced” auto firmware updates, but that is a personal preference.

 

[Tech9]

I can recommend some sellers I have dealt with in the past with excellent service.

@Spartan is some 11.000km away from the USA and the equipment purchased has to be local and following local RF regulations. If the house is rented - everything purchased is temporary. If the house is owned - a proper multi-AP Wi-Fi system is the way to go. Instead of ugly home routers with sticking out antennas and hanging power adapters and cords - PoE powered wall-plate, wall or ceiling mounted APs, one router/firewall and one PoE switch with room for expansion. Professionally installed system is preferable instead of @Spartan turning himself into volunteer support for current and eventual future firmware update issues. The only home routers advantage is cheaper hardware, but it comes with cheaper everything around it.

 

[Smokey613]

@Spartan is some 11.000km away from the USA and the equipment purchased has to be local and following local RF regulations. If the house is rented - everything purchased is temporary. If the house is owned - a proper multi-AP Wi-Fi system is the way to go. Instead of ugly home routers with sticking out antennas and hanging power adapters and cords - PoE powered wall-plate, wall or ceiling mounted APs, one router/firewall and one PoE switch with room for expansion. Professionally installed system is preferable instead of @Spartan turning himself into volunteer support for current and eventual future firmware update issues. The only home routers advantage is cheaper hardware, but it comes with cheaper everything around it.

Yes, that does change the equation. That large of house really calls for a more business class solution and installation for best performance.

 

[Spartan]

@Spartan is some 11.000km away from the USA and the equipment purchased has to be local and following local RF regulations. If the house is rented - everything purchased is temporary. If the house is owned - a proper multi-AP Wi-Fi system is the way to go. Instead of ugly home routers with sticking out antennas and hanging power adapters and cords - PoE powered wall-plate, wall or ceiling mounted APs, one router/firewall and one PoE switch with room for expansion. Professionally installed system is preferable instead of @Spartan turning himself into volunteer support for current and eventual future firmware update issues. The only home routers advantage is cheaper hardware, but it comes with cheaper everything around it.

Right, so he ended up getting the RT-AX53U which will be delivered tomorrow. The RT-AC66U_B1 or an RT-AC68U recommended above are not available locally and I don't wanna get them from Amazon through a US reseller. Another issue other than the bandwidth is they come with a US cord not UK plug which we use here in Dubai. Anyway this is just a little router for his son's room so no need to burn so many calories researching about it. Just wanted something from ASUS.

 

[To Infinity and Beyond]

I would recommend the ASUS ZenWiFi XD5 for your friend's needs, which is more affordable than GT-AX6000 that still offers excellent performance and reliability. Its mesh network capability allows it to work seamlessly with other ASUS routers in an AiMesh setup. This means that your friend can start with a single ZenWiFi XD5 router now and add additional units later on to expand coverage and improve overall network performance.

 

[sfx2000]

The plan is to get him set up with 4 GT-AX6000 routers in AiMesh wired backhaul

That's probably a bit too much wifi - you didn't mention how many square feet that needs to be covered, and whether it's one level or many floors for the house/apt/condo

If the plan is for Wired Backhaul - I would suggest having one of the AX6000's as the ingress/edge device, and invest instead in some capable Access Points - will perform just as well at a much lower cost.

Have you considered the TPLink Omada solution?

TP-Link

www.tp-link.com

 

[Tech9]

Have you considered the TPLink Omada solution?

It may not come cheaper, but the same number Omada controller driven EAP660 HD access points will outperform any home "mesh" solution.

 

[sfx2000]

It may not come cheaper, but the same number Omada controller driven EAP660 HD access points will outperform any home "mesh" solution.

Probably - with 4 nodes, would AIMesh scale well enough and still be stable?

 

[Tech9]

Yes, wired AiMesh is actually access points configuration, but how well it will work depends on the quality of Asuswrt updates. The quality control record is not very good. If something goes wrong the reboot and reset game starts. In every firmware release thread half of the questions are about Wi-Fi and AiMesh stability. The new 388 branch firmware didn't start very well. Also, if you mix different hardware/firmware routers in AiMesh the advertised Guest Network propagation to nodes may not work. Omada APs are nicer looking for wall/ceiling mounting, allow cleaner installation with PoE, roaming is one of the best, better quality Qualcomm hardware. The price may jump high though if the requirements are high - 2.5GbE switch with PoE and 2.5GbE port APs.

 

[To the ocean]

cheap one, maybe the AX1800 model now? since the plan is to get 4 GT-AX6000 routers in the future