ASUS Zenwifi BT10 - port questions

[cafesociety]

I have just migrated from an Asus XT8 3 node mesh system across to an Asus BT10 3 node mesh system.
It's not been easy... in facts its been very difficult.

I was tempted by the price drop on amazon just before Christmas and have ended up spending a large amount of time over Christmas trying to get the system to perform as well as its predecessor.

I have 3 floors in my home, with a BT10 on each floor. The fibre internet comes into the attic and connects to a Zyxel router provided by the ISP.
I have an ethernet lead going from Zyxel to BT10 and providing acces to internet.

My system is not setup to use ethernet backhaul.
I am confused as to the ports on the back of the BT10's - I have devices around the house such as desktop Mac in the kitchen, Philips hue bridge and EUFY Homebase [for security cameras] connected via ethernet.
Are all the ethernet ports equal on the back - does it matter which of these I use for specific devices? I seem to be having mixed speeds and responses depending what devices I plug into which port. Sometimes even causing the system to require rebooting after changing ethernet cables / devices?
Should I be using a simple switch to allow more ethernet devices to be connected and which port should be used for this?

I only have one wifi 7 device [iPhone 16] - is there any benefit to keeping the MLO option enabled? I can see on the ai mesh network diagram via the app that MLO is used to speak to the nodes. However these often turn yellow.

my last question refers to the 'reset' button on the base of the units. I have read that many people do a factory reset after updating firmware - will this reset button accomplish a factory reset or do I need to use another method?

I am so grateful for any help that the forum could offer.... it's been a tough few days,, I'm scared to death the wife's TV stops working again .....

thank you.
Jon

 

[Deleted member 66500]

I am confused as to the ports on the back of the BT10's - I have devices around the house such as desktop Mac in the kitchen, Philips hue bridge and EUFY Homebase [for security cameras] connected via ethernet.
Are all the ethernet ports equal on the back - does it matter which of these I use for specific devices? I seem to be having mixed speeds and responses depending what devices I plug into which port. Sometimes even causing the system to require rebooting after changing ethernet cables / devices?
Should I be using a simple switch to allow more ethernet devices to be connected and which port should be used for this?

I only have one wifi 7 device [iPhone 16] - is there any benefit to keeping the MLO option enabled? I can see on the ai mesh network diagram via the app that MLO is used to speak to the nodes. However these often turn yellow.

my last question refers to the 'reset' button on the base of the units. I have read that many people do a factory reset after updating firmware - will this reset button accomplish a factory reset or do I need to use another method?

For the ports, they are noted in the specs for their speed. If you have slower devices, you can use 1 G port, and the faster devices on the 10 G ports. I have used a cheap $ 5 Tenda unmanaged switch to gain 5 additional ports to connect a TV and some other slow-need devices on the 1 G port. That way, I effectively gain 5 physical ports for these slow devices. I'm only using a single BT10 as my main router for now. I connected my NAS to the 10 G port, and the WAN/modem to the other 10 G port. The ethernet cables need to support 10 G as well, which I have ensured.

I don't need the MLO option for now, and kept it disabled - it has been buggy across many Asus routers, and firmware updates have kept fixing those bugs. I might buy a second BT10 next year, when most bugs are fixed, and only then turn on MLO. As you've noted, there is hardly any benefit to keeping the MLO option on if critical client devices don't support it - and if you don't need the speed.

You can read the manual and factory reset the router if you are finding stability issues - by using the reset button. In my use case, I have updated firmware twice (once after buying a month ago, and again yesterday) and I did not have to factory reset the single BT10 I have.

 

[Tech9]

I am so grateful for any help that the forum could offer.... it's been a tough few days

If this system is not working as advertised right now at the moment of purchase - send it back immediately! Otherwise you'll miss the return window and end up with some expensive beta testing equipment relying on future fixing promises. Wife issues on top and make sure you have a very good explanation why this change was needed. Play with it for some time and decide what you are going to do.

 

[cafesociety]

If this system is not working as advertised right now at the moment of purchase - send it back immediately! Otherwise you'll miss the return window and end up with some expensive beta testing equipment relying on future fixing promises. Wife issues on top and make sure you have a very good explanation why this change was needed. Play with it for some time and decide what you are going to do.

You've hit the nail on the head Tech9. Yes, of course I don't want to be stuck with a dud piece of kit. I've been requesting advice from more technically minded people in forums to advise what changes or settings are required to maximise performance. I do now think the mesh system has settled down and appears to be performing as I need. I'm sure Asus will continue to make improvements to the system going forwards.