RT-AX86U, RT-AX88U, and GT-AX6000 sitting in an AiMesh -- Need help w/layout and which should be main router

[dizM0nkey]

I don't have wires available except in my office, so wired backhaul isn't available... I'm meshing to my brother's house who's next door. Trying to setup a large footprint. I'm getting decent coverage, but by the time the signal reaches his place, he's down to 50Mbps. The connections between the nodes are "OK" most of the time, but sometimes go to "WEAK" different periods.

Currently, the AX86U is the main router, but I'm open to trying any of them as the main. The GT-AX6000 is on the 3006 firmware, so could go with that, but it's currently placed in the most central position between our places.... I BELIEVE it has the best WiFi range of the 3. PLEASE tell me if I'm wrong.

I also have 3 RT-AC68U routers that could be put into play, but I'm not sure if adding them would weaken the speed or range?

This is my first mesh and I've read several threads here. I can try to draw out a map of what I'm trying to connect to and approximate distances if that would help... Wifiman tells me I'm ~75 feet away from my GT-AX6000 and the GT-AX6000 is ~60 feet away from the RT-AX88U.

Would adding some of the AC68Us in the mix help or hurt? I know fronthaul cuts down on 1/2 the bandwidth (or that's my understanding) and so does adding more nodes continue to 1/2 and 1/2 and 1/2 the remaining bandwidth?

Again, my goals are to try to get ~100Mbps to the far router (currently the RT-AX88U) and try to improve and/or keep signal strength as high as possible

For reference, in case this matters, the RTAX86U is in my office w/the modem on the 1st floor of the house on a high bookshelf, the GT-AX6000 is in my garage near the rafters, and the RT-AX88U is at my brother's place high in his kitchen w/only the garage wall and his kitchen wall separating them.

I guess my last question would be: is meshing these together the best option? I could sell them on eBay and go with something like the TP-Link Deco BE65 (BE11000) or Deco BE63 (BE10000) that's a dedicated mesh system. The Asus mesh systems BE8 or BE10 are out of my price range, though I do have a line on 3 or 4 XT8s I might be able to grab if they would provide better coverage and speed.

 

[bbunge]

All three of your devices are good and likely have the best range of any Asus routers. I would use the AX6000 as the router (newer firmware), the AX88U as the mid point node and the AX86U next door. Set the 2.4 GHz to 20 MHz bandwidth and the 5 GHz to 80 MHz bandwidth no DFS. Setting the 5 GHz to 80 MHz will give the strongest signal for your use. I also recommend Asus firmware for all three.
You would likely benefit from a tri-band router but that could be expensive.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I don't have wires available except in my office, so wired backhaul isn't available... I'm meshing to my brother's house who's next door. Trying to setup a large footprint. I'm getting decent coverage, but by the time the signal reaches his place, he's down to 50Mbps. The connections between the nodes are "OK" most of the time, but sometimes go to "WEAK" different periods.

Currently, the AX86U is the main router, but I'm open to trying any of them as the main. The GT-AX6000 is on the 3006 firmware, so could go with that, but it's currently placed in the most central position between our places.... I BELIEVE it has the best WiFi range of the 3. PLEASE tell me if I'm wrong.

I also have 3 RT-AC68U routers that could be put into play, but I'm not sure if adding them would weaken the speed or range?

This is my first mesh and I've read several threads here. I can try to draw out a map of what I'm trying to connect to and approximate distances if that would help... Wifiman tells me I'm ~75 feet away from my GT-AX6000 and the GT-AX6000 is ~60 feet away from the RT-AX88U.

Would adding some of the AC68Us in the mix help or hurt? I know fronthaul cuts down on 1/2 the bandwidth (or that's my understanding) and so does adding more nodes continue to 1/2 and 1/2 and 1/2 the remaining bandwidth?

Again, my goals are to try to get ~100Mbps to the far router (currently the RT-AX88U) and try to improve and/or keep signal strength as high as possible

For reference, in case this matters, the RTAX86U is in my office w/the modem on the 1st floor of the house on a high bookshelf, the GT-AX6000 is in my garage near the rafters, and the RT-AX88U is at my brother's place high in his kitchen w/only the garage wall and his kitchen wall separating them.

I guess my last question would be: is meshing these together the best option? I could sell them on eBay and go with something like the TP-Link Deco BE65 (BE11000) or Deco BE63 (BE10000) that's a dedicated mesh system. The Asus mesh systems BE8 or BE10 are out of my price range, though I do have a line on 3 or 4 XT8s I might be able to grab if they would provide better coverage and speed.

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With daisy-chained, shared wireless nodes at about max distances and between buildings, you can expect a marginal network... not very good (ok to weak). Adding more nodes/hops/WiFi 'noise'/admin overhead will not improve the daisy chaining and the sharing of the backhaul WiFi with clients and the signal degradation through multiple buildings (AC68Us are slow and too old to include, imo).

You could try relocating your nodes a bit to minimize backhaul distance and to reduce dense material/objects in the signal path like kitchen appliances and garage roofing material.

If you did wire the backhaul between the buildings, you could introduce the problem of having one network of equipment using two different electric ground systems... likely not a common ground voltage and not good for the electronics.

I would probably try the newer 3006 firmware as router first since that's the future of the network.

OE