AC5300 or AX6000 (RT-AX88U) with 1Gig Internet

[redline122]

I currently am running AIMESH with two RT-AC88U (primary and node) that are supported with a 1-GB circuit. Should I consider purchasing either the AX5300 or RT-AX88U (AX6000) to become my primary and use my RT-AC88U as AIMESH nodes only? I would like to continue running Merlin's latest build and keep some services running to monitor traffic usage and AIProtection. Thoughts?

 

[aurizn]

Skip the RT-AC5300 with the aging SoC. The GT-AC5300 does not support Merlin.
RT-AX88U is your only choice.

 

[L&LD]

I would also suggest pairing that RT-AX88U with another if your budget allows or at least an RT-AX58U instead of the RT-AC88U.

Of course, test with the RT-AX88U as the main and the RT-AC88U as an AiMesh wired node. If it works for you, great! If not, you know what is required to really 'fix' it.

 

[redline122]

Okay...I ended up shutting down my RT-AC88U and my SB8200 cable modem. After resetting the modem and connecting directly with a laptop, I observed near 1 GB/s speeds. I then added the primary node back and slowly stood up the network protection and analyzer features back on without powering up the AIMESH node, still was getting great results. Finally, added the AIMESH node back - and no degradation in speed when a laptop is hardwired into the back of the primary Asus modem. All is good...

However, an ongoing issue is starting to bubble up... WiFi calling doesn't work sometimes...