Good news - AX11000 as extender

[lindros2]

Just installed mine today (see: other threads sold out, too expensive, etc.). Got it at AMZN for $362 before the price jump.

Long story short, for simplicity and giggles, I'm using it as an extender to an AC5300 (not GT).

It's actually working great. Wired and wireless are 250-450mbps (fiber internet).

Took nearly no time to set up as AiMesh node.

Sure, I can "flip" the network and probably get faster speeds, but why bother.
This works great - better than any other mesh I've tested in my home - by far.

 

[mohsha]

Did you receive HW Ver 1.1?

Just installed mine today (see: other threads sold out, too expensive, etc.). Got it at AMZN for $362 before the price jump.

Long story short, for simplicity and giggles, I'm using it as an extender to an AC5300 (not GT).

It's actually working great. Wired and wireless are 250-450mbps (fiber internet).

Took nearly no time to set up as AiMesh node.

Sure, I can "flip" the network and probably get faster speeds, but why bother.
This works great - better than any other mesh I've tested in my home - by far.

 

[lindros2]

Did you receive HW Ver 1.1?

Yes. 1.1 mfg in Vietnam.

 

[wickedny5]

I have Two AX11000 in AiMesh mode, one v1.0 and other is v1.1, does anyone know the difference?? Should I set the v1.0 or v1.1 as primary?? Honestly can’t tell the difference

 

[lindros2]

@wickedny5 - not sure it matters.
My AX11000 (extender/non-AiMesh) is getting -65db, whereas my old (and also current) AC68U are -45 to -51db in the same spot.
So signal strength isn't as strong, or alternatively, it's more sensitive to interference.

 

[sanke1]

I have Two AX11000 in AiMesh mode, one v1.0 and other is v1.1, does anyone know the difference?? Should I set the v1.0 or v1.1 as primary?? Honestly can’t tell the difference

v1.1 models stay 10 degrees cooler compared to v1.0 ones.

 

[lindros2]

v1.1 models stay 10 degrees cooler compared to v1.0 ones.

where can I pull temp data on the AX11000?
(for Merlin devices it's easy...)

 

[lindros2]

with AX11000 as an extender and AC5300 as home/primary, I just pulled nearly 500mbps (both directions) and 3ms ping time.

 

[sanke1]

where can I pull temp data on the AX11000?
(for Merlin devices it's easy...)

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ax88u-hardware-revision-a1-vs-a1-1.60974/page-2#post-540709

 

[lindros2]

UPDATE - I tried "flipping" my AC5300 and AX11000, and that failed miserably. I'm not sure what's wrong with the AX11000 as primary, but WiFi speeds are terrible.
Just spent two hours on this today.

- AC5300 is steady state 350-450Mbps over WiFi (Speedtest.net)
- AC5300 is 740Mbps wired via MacBook Pro (Fast.com) - this surprised me as direct-to-gateway is 980Mbps
- AX11000 is much slower - even 65-80Mbps wireless (250Mbps -max-) from not very far away
(not sure if it's the current implementation of WiFi 6, which is actually negative benefit)
- But AX11000 as extender is 350+Mbps (AX11000 > AC5300 > internet)... so it just doesn't like being "prime" in my house...

Also RSSI is lower on the AX11000 - between 65-70 dBm (my AC68U - further away in my hot attic - is -55 dBm).

 

[coxhaus]

I don't a reason for doing this as they are too expensive. You could almost buy enterprise gear for that much money. For the price of 2 AX11000 routers you can build a really nice network.

 

[lindros2]

I don't a reason for doing this as they are too expensive. You could almost buy enterprise gear for that much money. For the price of 2 AX11000 routers you can build a really nice network.

Totally agree with you. The reason I stay with Asus (for now) is ability to configure - enterprise gear (i.e. Cisco, Ubiquiti, Fortinet, etc) is either more limited or requires enterprise MANAGEMENT software to configure, tune, monitor.
Also i can mix and match, and haven’t spent more than $350 in a single purchase.

 

[coxhaus]

I built my Cisco network for around $500. Those AX11000 routers look like they are selling for $449 at B&H each.

 

[lindros2]

I built my Cisco network for around $500. Those AX11000 routers look like they are selling for $449 at B&H each.

Yeah I got one for $331, one for $361, and I returned one that I paid $399.
It went up to $449 about a month ago.

 

[ng4ever]

Got mine for $299.99 new

 

[lindros2]

Got mine for $299.99 new

based on my experience with it, the AC5300 (not even the GT5300) has a stronger radio and WiFi 6 is junk.
So not sure it's even worth $300, even with all its fancy quad-core crap.

 

[Hexenhammer]

UPDATE - I tried "flipping" my AC5300 and AX11000, and that failed miserably. I'm not sure what's wrong with the AX11000 as primary, but WiFi speeds are terrible.
Just spent two hours on this today.

- AC5300 is steady state 350-450Mbps over WiFi (Speedtest.net)
- AC5300 is 740Mbps wired via MacBook Pro (Fast.com) - this surprised me as direct-to-gateway is 980Mbps
- AX11000 is much slower - even 65-80Mbps wireless (250Mbps -max-) from not very far away
(not sure if it's the current implementation of WiFi 6, which is actually negative benefit)
- But AX11000 as extender is 350+Mbps (AX11000 > AC5300 > internet)... so it just doesn't like being "prime" in my house...

Also RSSI is lower on the AX11000 - between 65-70 dBm (my AC68U - further away in my hot attic - is -55 dBm).

Do you have any sort of QoS enabled on AX1100? Disable it, it slows speed in some cases, lots of complaints here on forums
Another thing that slows WiFi speeds is Smart Connect.

Betetr to use AX11000 as main Wifi and connect the other one as extender, if you can the best way is to connect them with cable, not third wifi band, if you have no cables then get 2 Powerline adapters [Ethernet over power lines, you plug small box into electrical socket and it has Ethernet port and same on the otehr end and so you have Ethernet in hard to reach places] and it will give you 2 points to connect the routers trough cable

P.S. if you have a chance to order RT-AX89X on web sites that have 30 days no questions asked return policy, try it, it has insane coverage and can work as single device solution.

 

[lindros2]

Do you have any sort of QoS enabled on AX1100? Disable it, it slows speed in some cases, lots of complaints here on forums
Another thing that slows WiFi speeds is Smart Connect.

Betetr to use AX11000 as main Wifi and connect the other one as extender, if you can the best way is to connect them with cable, not third wifi band, if you have no cables then get 2 Powerline adapters [Ethernet over power lines, you plug small box into electrical socket and it has Ethernet port and same on the otehr end and so you have Ethernet in hard to reach places] and it will give you 2 points to connect the routers trough cable

P.S. if you have a chance to order RT-AX89X on web sites that have 30 days no questions asked return policy, try it, it has insane coverage and can work as single device solution.

It wasn't a QoS issue - the AX11000 just doesn't have as good coverage - or speed - as primary as the AC5300.
Keeping my setup as-is, I'm getting 400Mbps down / 500Mbps up (wired into AX11000-as-extender).
If I flip it, I get 180/300.
And individual clients also have poor speeds, as well.

Final comment - the RSSI on my AC68U's continues to be -49 to -55dBmV. Even dicking with antennas, positioning, controlling for other WiFI devices... I can't get the AX11000 below -62. It's insane.

 

[lindros2]

today -- getting >500mbps both directions - and 3ms ping - at the repeater. This is crazy.
especially since if I REVERSE it, speed drops more than half.
I can't make this up, and can't explain it.