Adding to RT-AC86U and RT-AC1900P in AiMesh

[BJBBJB]

I have an RT-AC86U as my main router and added a RT-AC1900P in AiMesh mode a while ago. I have them connected in ethernet backhaul mode and has worked well. Getting them setup was quite the hassle quite a while ago.

I have ethernet in various places but not where I want to extend the wifi coverage a bit more. My question is what is the best performing asus router to add knowing it will not be connected via backhaul but wifi only. I also do not want to impact the performance of my existing 2 AP mesh by adding this third one.

Also, what is the best practices to add a third AiMesh AP? Adding the second one was painful..

Unrelated to this question, and not the reason for adding to system, I got a message that my access point was "full". I of course googled and rebooted and all good but is there an asus setting that would eliminate in future?

Thanks,
BJBBJB

 

[bbunge]

AC86U would be your best choice for wifi backhaul. Ac68u or AC66U_B1 would be OK. Whichever you choose pulling another cable from the AC86U would be recommended. Asus factory firmware I recommend on main and nodes.

 

[L&LD]

@BJBBJB, the RT-AC86U would be the best match for the one you have currently and for use as the most extended coverage. But don't fool yourself, adding a third router in most homes will degrade the performance of the entire network. Depending on how many SqFt the home is, how many floors/levels it has, and how far apart you can put the routers and still have acceptable coverage and signal strength to each wireless node. Adding a wireless AiMesh node is equivalent to having an AP in the 'Repeater' mode. The rest of the network will be slower anytime that node is in (full) use (it will effectively bring the speeds to half, or less, for the entire network). At anything less than full utilization though, it is still beneficial as long as the ISP speeds can be effectively halved and still supply the minimum required for all connected, and concurrently used, devices.

To add another AiMesh node, flash the latest firmware available (first). Perform a full reset to factory settings including clicking the 'Initialize all settings' checkbox and then, don't touch the router you want to add as a node at all.

Go to your main router (RT-AC86U in your case) and 'point' to it from the GUI to add it as another AiMesh node. Let it configure itself and reboot and you should have a second AiMesh node available.

After an hour or so, power down all the routers/nodes. Power up the main router, wait for at least 5 minutes after they have booted up, and then power up the rest of the nodes. Your network should be fast, stable, and reliable at this point.

 

[BJBBJB]

@BJBBJB, the RT-AC86U would be the best match for the one you have currently and for use as the most extended coverage. But don't fool yourself, adding a third router in most homes will degrade the performance of the entire network. Depending on how many SqFt the home is, how many floors/levels it has, and how far apart you can put the routers and still have acceptable coverage and signal strength to each wireless node. Adding a wireless AiMesh node is equivalent to having an AP in the 'Repeater' mode. The rest of the network will be slower anytime that node is in (full) use (it will effectively bring the speeds to half, or less, for the entire network). At anything less than full utilization though, it is still beneficial as long as the ISP speeds can be effectively halved and still supply the minimum required for all connected, and concurrently used, devices.

To add another AiMesh node, flash the latest firmware available (first). Perform a full reset to factory settings including clicking the 'Initialize all settings' checkbox and then, don't touch the router you want to add as a node at all.

Go to your main router (RT-AC86U in your case) and 'point' to it from the GUI to add it as another AiMesh node. Let it configure itself and reboot and you should have a second AiMesh node available.

After an hour or so, power down all the routers/nodes. Power up the main router, wait for at least 5 minutes after they have booted up, and then power up the rest of the nodes. Your network should be fast, stable, and reliable at this point.

Thanks for the great info all!

I am going to relook at wiring and try to wire the third AP. I assume this would stop any network degradation.

I think I will also put the new RT-AC86U where the most traffic is and move the RT-AC1900P to the lesser used area but still wired for backhaul.

When setting up the new mesh node do I connect for backhaul right away or after the initial setup? I vaguely remember something about that dance last time...

Thanks,
BJBBJB

 

[L&LD]

You're welcome! Your new plan is spot-on too.

Wired AP's are always better.

After 'pointing' to the AiMesh node from the main router and letting it reboot and connect properly, go ahead and connect it wired. I would suggest leaving the 'Connection Priority' on Auto, even if permanently connected via wired too.

 

[BJBBJB]

Greetings! I have ben happily using my Aimesh with my RT-AC86U as my main router and now two RT-AC1900P's as my nodes. Works very well.

So of course I want to mess with that! Actually I was looking at adding a guest network for my ecobee thermostats that occasionally disconnect hoping that would help.
I then went down the rathole about learning about how before AiMesh 2 the guest only worked from the main router etc etc......

So here is the question. I am currently running the latest PRE AiMesh 2.0 non-beta firmware on my devices. I see that the initial AiMesh 2.0 firmware was not beta firmware but then there was a later version that was beta to fix a vulnerability. I would prefer to only install stable final software. Should I install the non-beta AiMesh 2.0 firmware? Or I guess if I did that I would not have the vulnerability fix.

I did see some of the other advantages of going to 2.0 although not sure if I would use them. If it matters my backhaul is wired....

I can wait....just trying to get back into this. I have not looked at this in a long time.

Thanks!
BJBBJB

​

 

[bbunge]

Greetings! I have ben happily using my Aimesh with my RT-AC86U as my main router and now two RT-AC1900P's as my nodes. Works very well.

So of course I want to mess with that! Actually I was looking at adding a guest network for my ecobee thermostats that occasionally disconnect hoping that would help.
I then went down the rathole about learning about how before AiMesh 2 the guest only worked from the main router etc etc......

So here is the question. I am currently running the latest PRE AiMesh 2.0 non-beta firmware on my devices. I see that the initial AiMesh 2.0 firmware was not beta firmware but then there was a later version that was beta to fix a vulnerability. I would prefer to only install stable final software. Should I install the non-beta AiMesh 2.0 firmware? Or I guess if I did that I would not have the vulnerability fix.

I did see some of the other advantages of going to 2.0 although not sure if I would use them. If it matters my backhaul is wired....

I can wait....just trying to get back into this. I have not looked at this in a long time.

Thanks!
BJBBJB

​

Best advice is to use the firmware posted on the Asus website. The firmware for the AC68U which is listed as Beta is working well for me. With the exception of power failures the router and two AiMesh nodes have been up since 03 FEB 21.
For the AC68U it is Version 9.0.0.4.386.41994
For the AC86U it is Version 9.0.0.4.386.41994

Both are listed as Beta but work very well. There is more recent Merlin firmware for both routers, 386.2_2, that also works well. But you would need to do factory resets and reconfigure manually.
I am running Guest WIFI on both the Merlin and Asus firmware. And there are Ecobee t'stats on both systems that stay connected.

 

[BJBBJB]

@bbunge,
I always find firmware updates scary! I think due to a fried motherboard years ago.

Anyway, if I download the latest firmware for my router and nodes and upgrade all 3, will the move to AiMesh 2 keep all my prior router settings such as the router fixed IP, all my other settings?

I know you can backup settings, but I am pretty sure if there are significant changes that might not work.

Thanks again,
BJBBJB