Adding Archer A6 to existing AiMesh?

[trevorklat]

I have an Asus RT-AC5300 set up in AiMesh mode with an RT-AC86U as a mesh node. Can I add a TP-Link Archer A6 as an additional Access Point to this mix? That is, I know the Archer A6 won't be an AiMesh node like the AC86U is. Can you mix AiMesh nodes with Access Points?

 

[L&LD]

Yes.

 

[trevorklat]

If the answer is "Yes", then should the SSID's on the Archer AP be the same as the Asus SSIDs?
EDIT:
I got it working finally. I used different SSIDs but not sure that it matters.

 

[L&LD]

Depends.

Do you want the fastest connection possible depending on where you are, or, do you want convenience above performance?

 

[trevorklat]

What I wanted was to extend my wireless internet access to areas of my home that didn't connect reliably. As a caveat, the things I wanted to connect in these areas are fixed (therefore, no roaming). These devices also do not require much throughput. Therefore, I went with a separate SSID so I'd know which devices "should" be on this AP.

Note: At first, I had a difficult time getting the Archer A6 AP to get an internet connection from my RT-AC5300. The AP is behind two switches, however. So, I eventually had to assign a static IP to the AP and then I had to physically unplug the Ethernet cable at the AP and its closest switch and then replug both ends of the cable back in again.in. Finally, that allowed the router to recognize the AP and now all is well.

Not bad for a brand new $15 AP!

 

[HellDiver]

I run an old UniFi access point to fill a hole, and it works fine - it's just set up with the same SSIDs as the AiMesh.