Fewer mesh nodes = better client performance?

[neil0311]

Had 3 AX88U Pro units in a mesh (main router and 2 nodes) in my 3 story house of approximately 5600 sq ft. One unit on each level.

The first floor unit died and I removed it from the mesh and to my surprise it seems like some devices are using weaker signal but the overall performance is better and more consistent.

Is this to be expected due to interference? Is mesh better when signal is stretched more?

I’m debating now whether to do the warranty claim and then add the 3rd node back or just keep the two.

 

[Tech9]

A new RT-AX88U Pro died already?

Use 2 routers only, more Wi-Fi is not necessarily better.

 

[neil0311]

A new RT-AX88U Pro died already?

Still powers up and can be reset, but started doing weird things. WiFi throughput was coming to a crawl for devices associated with that node and latency was spiking to more than 1000ms and going up and down.

I swapped in the first floor node for the bad node on the 2nd floor using the same cables, power adapter, etc and all was fine. Consistent normal WiFi speed and low latency. Only variable was the AX88U Pro unit itself.

Removed and re-added the bad node from the mesh and re-added it back, and same issue. Very slow WiFi speed on 5GHz and very high and fluctuating latency.

I did another complete factory reset on the unit and plan to do some more tests before contacting Asus for an RMA.

 

[Tech9]

If two units cover your place don't add another just because you have it. AiMesh doesn't have per node power control nor roaming assistant. Very limited manual tuning options. You plug it and hope it plays nicely. Too many nodes too close and Wi-Fi quality starts deteriorating.