Zenwifi XT8 upgrade?

[tomm1313]

Current have a bunch of zenwifi xt8's running around the house.

i really want the Guest Network Pro and vlan tagging.

1) do we expect it to come to XT8? nothing i have seen makes me think so but it is also newer model (but with less ram) then the ones that are getting it.
2) if i changed my main router to RT-AX88U Pro or RT-AX86U Pro can i still use those features if i am being XT8's as my nodes?

both of these pro's are older then the XT8 which is why im on the fence. but both have double the ram.

AI Mesh is wired on all but 1 of the nodes

 

[RMerlin]

do we expect it to come to XT8?

No.

if i changed my main router to RT-AX88U Pro or RT-AX86U Pro can i still use those features if i am being XT8's as my nodes?

No. Features like VLANs need to be explicitely supported by the node.

 

[tomm1313]

oh damn i didnt realize that about the nodes (it makes sense). that makes me rethink what i want to do

 

[Tech9]

both of these pro's are older then the XT8

No, XT8 is 2020 model, RT-AX86U Pro is 2022, RT-AX88U Pro is 2023. You are perhaps looking at older versions RT-AX88U and RT-AX86U.

but both have double the ram

Double the RAM, much better ARMv8 + AES 2.0GHz quad-core CPU, 2x 2.5GbE ports for RT-AX88U Pro, 3x3 2.4GHz radio (RT-AX86U Pro) and 4x4 2.4GHz radio (RT-AX88U Pro), 4x4 main 5GHz radio for both RT-AX86U Pro and RT-AX88U Pro. The only 4x4 radio on XT8 is used for wireless backhaul.

 

[kildare]

. The only 4x4 radio on XT8 is used for wireless backhaul.

If needed, the 5GHz-2 wifi actually can be used also to connect AX wifi devices while still being used for backhaul.

 

[Tech9]

5GHz-2 wifi actually can be used also to connect AX wifi devices

I know, but this is not the purpose of this radio. This set is 3-band with dedicated wireless backhaul idea behind it.

 

[kildare]

Anyway, this method works perfectly in my 5 XT nodes mesh setup. My wifi 6 AX 160 MHz laptops and phones can connect up to 1200 Mbps to the nodes. And if a wifi 6 AX device is wirelessly connected to one of my nodes that can take advantage of the wired backhaul (in my case running at 2.5Gbps), the improvement of using the 5GHz-2 wifi is substantial.

In my situation, if it's possible, it's good and can be done...

 

[Tech9]

My wifi 6 AX 160 MHz laptops and phones can connect up to 1200 Mbps

By the way, this is 80MHz wide channel link speed for AX 2-stream client. 160MHz wide is up to 2400Mbps.