AiMesh with mixed WiFi 6/5 routers?

[ChrisA]

Is there going to be a problem using a new WiFi 6e main router with an older WiFi 5 router using AiMesh with a wired backhaul? I only have a few modern clients. Most are 2.5 Ghz lightbulbs, switches, door sensors, and the like that need rock-solid connections but have low bandwidth. These IOT clients might be in poor locations like electrical boxes.

The other idea I had was to use a second WiFi 5 router to make a totally separate IOT network on a different LAN but I'm concerned with interference between the two

In short, does AiMesh work well if you try to combine different generation routers?

 

[Tech9]

In short, does AiMesh work well if you try to combine different generation routers?

What marketing name AiMesh does best is making you buy more Asus routers thinking you are getting something great and saving money on top. If you have wires why do you want home routers used as APs? Go business class Ubiquiti UniFi or TP-Link Omada and you know you have good Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi 6E is useless today with Wi-Fi 7 coming by the end of the year. Wi-Fi 6E has the same performance as Wi-Fi 6 and shorter range. Why pay more for it?

 

[bbunge]

Is there going to be a problem using a new WiFi 6e main router with an older WiFi 5 router using AiMesh with a wired backhaul? I only have a few modern clients. Most are 2.5 Ghz lightbulbs, switches, door sensors, and the like that need rock-solid connections but have low bandwidth. These IOT clients might be in poor locations like electrical boxes.

The other idea I had was to use a second WiFi 5 router to make a totally separate IOT network on a different LAN but I'm concerned with interference between the two

In short, does AiMesh work well if you try to combine different generation routers?

In short, it does work. I have tested an AC66U_B1 as an AiMesh node with an AX86U and it worked with WIFI backhaul or Ethernet backhaul. There are limitations, however. The WIFI will be limited to WPA2 and the 5GHz may be limited to 80MHz. The guest WIFI works very well!
So, if you've got em use em. Nothing wrong with trying!

 

[OzarkEdge]

Is there going to be a problem using a new WiFi 6e main router with an older WiFi 5 router using AiMesh with a wired backhaul? I only have a few modern clients. Most are 2.5 Ghz lightbulbs, switches, door sensors, and the like that need rock-solid connections but have low bandwidth. These IOT clients might be in poor locations like electrical boxes.

The other idea I had was to use a second WiFi 5 router to make a totally separate IOT network on a different LAN but I'm concerned with interference between the two

In short, does AiMesh work well if you try to combine different generation routers?

I had no issues using a WiFi6 2.4/5.0 RT-AX86U router with a WiFi5 2.4/5.0 RT-AC86U wireless and now wired node. As one might expect, each router/node is restricted to its hardware functionality. Wiring the backhaul and disabling all wireless backhauls eliminates any difficulty trying to integrate say a tri-band router with a dual-band node. And AiMesh seems to work out the differences between mismatch WiFi standards... an ac node is not going to broadcast the main router's ax signal.

OE

 

[ChrisA]

What marketing name AiMesh does best is making you buy more Asus routers thinking you are getting something great and saving money on top. If you have wires why do you want home routers used as APs? Go business class Ubiquiti UniFi or TP-Link Omada and you know you have good Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi 6E is useless today with Wi-Fi 7 coming by the end of the year. Wi-Fi 6E has the same performance as Wi-Fi 6 and shorter range. Why pay more for it?

Maybe I should've added the back story...

I just bought a new Apple Mac and want to use it for video and photo editing. The Mac has WiFi 6e. The data lives on a Synology NAS. I want the best possible connection. (multi-gig ethernet from the NAS to fast WiFi.) I can wait for WiFi 7 But the Mac has 6e. So the plan is to buy a 6e router. But then I have an older router that I can repurpose.

When WiFi 7 comes out and after I buy my first WiFi 7 client I will ask this question again, "does it make sense to repurpose a WiFi 6 router in a mesh or to use it as an access point?

By the time WiFi 7 is common, all my IOT devices will be using a "Thread" network, not WiFi. Thread is inherent "mesh" and based I IPv6

 

[Tech9]

I want the best possible connection.

The best possible connection is not over Wi-Fi.

 

[ChrisA]

The best possible connection is not over Wi-Fi.

Yes. The Mac has built-in 10 Gbe, I could use an Ethernet cable. A Synlogy NAS can actually saturate a 10 Gbe cable. Sometimes that works, sometimes not. Cables limit where you can go.

 

[Tech9]

Your expensive new Mac to the expensive new router may eventually do 1.7Gbps on Wi-Fi and only if you don't go anywhere far or hide behind walls. Wi-Fi 6E has shorter range. If you do video/photo editing professionally as business - move the NAS closer for best possible performance. The NAS is more expensive than Wi-Fi router and you give priority to a slower device trottling your NAS performance. I wouldn't do it this way. It's your choice though.

 

[heysoundude]

Yes. The Mac has built-in 10 Gbe, I could use an Ethernet cable. A Synlogy NAS can actually saturate a 10 Gbe cable. Sometimes that works, sometimes not. Cables limit where you can go.

You should use an ethernet cable, period. Get a qualified low-voltage electrician in to run the wires and terminate to spec.
Depending on the level of data exchange between yourself and up/downstream, you may also want to consider a small foray into data centre-calibre networking, which opens you up to 10Gbps and potentially fibre (which is the direction internet service is going), and that means Asus SOHO kit is off the table.
Wifi is for non-critical stuff...social media, email...data for TV/film/broadcast - if you make your living at it - is a whole other ball of yarn.