Help needed to make a decision with new WiFi at home

[bullet0770]

Hi All,

I need some help with new router, my previous Asus RT-AC88U is not working and showing red light on front. I have been reading here and looks like the most recommended is Asus AX88U. Should I just buy that or look into AP network and utilize my ethernet wires? I would really appreciate your help.

Few Details about the house and needs

• I live in two story house approx. 3800 sqft.
• I have ethernet and coax cables iwire throughout the house
• My PS5 is hard wired with port forwarding
• I have home theater room where I would like to take hard wired advantage as well.
• We both work from home.
• Router location is center of the house under the stairs. I never had any issue with the coverage in my house.
• I have 1000 MBps internet from spectrum
• We have 15-20 devices connected.

Thanks!

 

[bullet0770]

Or try this second setup?

UniFi Express Gateway
Lite 8 PoE Switch
U6 In-Wall WiFi

Thanks!

 

[Tech9]

If Ubiquiti system fits your budget and you know how to set it up properly - sure, go for it. Cloud Gateway Ultra though, not Express. The Lite 8 switch is okay plus the needed number of In-Wall in right places... up to Gigabit capable system, but step up from consumer gear. Expandable, configurable, well supported, In-Wall APs have extra LAN ports for wired devices. Clean, invisible.

 

[bullet0770]

If Ubiquiti system fits your budget and you know how to set it up properly - sure, go for it. Cloud Gateway Ultra though, not Express. The Lite 8 switch is okay plus the needed number of In-Wall in right places... up to Gigabit capable system, but step up from consumer gear. Expandable, configurable, well supported, In-Wall APs have extra LAN ports for wired devices. Clean, invisible.

Thanks for your reply. So, I would need at least two of the Wifi in-walls (ground and first floor)?

 

[degrub]

They are intended for limited coverage since they are modest to low power. You will have to play with placement to avoid too much overlap.
If you have a large open area, one may cover it. But if going through walls and other obstacles.....

 

[Tech9]

So, I would need at least two of the Wifi in-walls

I don't know how many do you need. Multi-AP systems work best with more APs on low power. Start with two, add more if needed. U6 In-Wall can go up to 400mW on 5GHz band.

 

[degrub]

reference by country for max transmit power by bands

Maximum wifi transmission power per country

w.wol.ph

 

[tiddlywink]

• Router location is center of the house under the stairs. I never had any issue with the coverage in my house.
• I have 1000 MBps internet from spectrum

RT-AX88U Pro. 2.5G WAN allows you to take advantage of overprovisioned gigabit and you have no issues with a single router. If you want to splurge, get a BE88U.

 

[Tech9]

reference by country

@bullet0770 must be in the US... Spectrum ISP.

 

[bullet0770]

Thanks for your inputs, appreciate it.

They are intended for limited coverage since they are modest to low power. You will have to play with placement to avoid too much overlap.
If you have a large open area, one may cover it. But if going through walls and other obstacles.....

Got it, I have a loft and then rooms around. Maybe 1 will cover or I can get a dream router (Always out of stock) for ground floor and in-Walls first floor.

I don't know how many do you need. Multi-AP systems work best with more APs on low power. Start with two, add more if needed. U6 In-Wall can go up to 400mW on 5GHz band.

After reading it looks like, In-Wall are less powerful and are meant for one room. U6+ would be better but would need to move the wires in the attic, doable but should I do it lol.

Looking at the Patterns of the AP's.

RT-AX88U Pro. 2.5G WAN allows you to take advantage of overprovisioned gigabit and you have no issues with a single router. If you want to splurge, get a BE88U.

I do not want to spend more if I don't have to. Do you think I should buy the BE88U and will benefit from it?

 

[bullet0770]

@bullet0770 must be in the US... Spectrum ISP.

True.

 

[tiddlywink]

I do not want to spend more if I don't have to. Do you think I should buy the BE88U and will benefit from it?

You've listed no problems that need to be solved. You are happy with one single AC router. I don't know why you are looking at Ubiquity stuff.

The only benefits you will see:
2.5G WAN = extra 100-300Mbps overprovision on gigabit
BE88U = 8 ports total so you can remove a switch; 4 2.5G ports allows for faster transfers.


If you want white gear, the expertwifi series exists and you can use your old AC88u as a wired aimesh node:

ASUS ExpertWiFi - All Models｜Business Network Solutions｜ASUS Global

In ASUS ãASUS ExpertWiFi - All Modelsã - Networking / IoT / Servers , you could find most appropriate Networking / IoT / Servers based on product features, specification or price. And you also could get product's detail information and comparsion, even add it into the wish list in buy page.

www.asus.com

 

[bullet0770]

You've listed no problems that need to be solved. You are happy with one single AC router. I don't know why you are looking at Ubiquity stuff.

The only benefits you will see:
2.5G WAN = extra 100-300Mbps overprovision on gigabit
BE88U = 8 ports total so you can remove a switch; 4 2.5G ports allows for faster transfers.


If you want white gear, the expertwifi series exists and you can use your old AC88u as a wired aimesh node:

ASUS ExpertWiFi - All Models｜Business Network Solutions｜ASUS Global

In ASUS ãASUS ExpertWiFi - All Modelsã - Networking / IoT / Servers , you could find most appropriate Networking / IoT / Servers based on product features, specification or price. And you also could get product's detail information and comparsion, even add it into the wish list in buy page.

www.asus.com

Thanks for your reply.

I had no issues with the previous router. It is dead now (mentioned in my OP) and cannot use it as mesh node.

I just want most of the connection through Ethernet.

• PS5
• Living room NVidia Shield
• Home theater streaming devices. (I like the flex switch with Unifi)
  • Blu-ray player with Amazon, Netflix apps for Upscaling & HDR processing
  • Apple TV

I really don't care about the color of the router as it would be under the stairs. I would prefer white, if I use the Unifi devices on the walls.

 

[Tech9]

After reading it looks like, In-Wall are less powerful and are meant for one room.

Not really. Ubiquiti knows what they are doing. Increasing the power over 400mW doesn't increase the range. Wi-Fi is 2-way communication. The client devices have to able to reach the AP with their weaker radios through the same obstacles. Most client devices are 20-50mW. Start with 2x APs positioned closer to both ends of the house and see how it goes. You may find they are good enough.

 

[bullet0770]

Not really. Ubiquiti knows what they are doing. Increasing the power over 400mW doesn't increase the range. Wi-Fi is 2-way communication. The client devices have to able to reach the AP with their weaker radios through the same obstacles. Most client devices are 20-50mW. Start with 2x APs positioned closer to both ends of the house and see how it goes. You may find they are good enough.

Thanks!

So, this system would be a good start? Better than single router for longevity as I can upgrade the AP's?
UCG-Ultra
USW-Lite-8-POE
2 X U6-IW-US or U7-Pro-Wall (Which one?)

 

[tiddlywink]

It appears you have already convinced yourself you need Ubiquity devices and Wifi 7 AP's for some reason. Wifi 6 only doesn't help:

I do not want to spend more if I don't have to.

$334.52 is less than $596.00. Your money and your choice.

 

[bullet0770]

It appears you have already convinced yourself you need Ubiquity devices and Wifi 7 AP's for some reason. Wifi 6 only doesn't help:
View attachment 61528


$334.52 is less than $596.00. Your money and your choice.

Not yet, I am just thinking if I buy Ubiquity which one's should I get. I may just buy AX88U for $239 - (Additional Best Buy $30 rebate I have)
The LAN ports would be needed as my AC88U had 8 ports. Quick questions, can I use the ethernet connection in loft and add a switch there?

 

[Tech9]

I personally would go with Ubiquiti without thinking twice. Yes, it's more expensive. Yes, the setup is not as user friendly, needs some networking knowledge. Yes, it's up to Gigabit system. Yes, it's better than All-In-One home router with perpetual beta firmware and advertised, but non-working features. Your money, your choice. I'm out of this conversation, enough information provided.

 

[tiddlywink]

Yes. You can also use the free ethernet ports on any airmesh node as an unmanaged switch. So you could wait for the BE88U to go on sale for $299 in two months, buy two, have 7 ports free on each, have 10G support, have SFP+ support, have 2.5G support, four years of guaranteed support, and that ridiculous upgrade is only $6 more than what you plan to spend on Ubituity gear that is only gigabit. You also get merlin support on top of that.

Be wary of what certain people here recommend.

 

[degrub]

and be aware that most internet facing servers are not going to give you over 100 Mbit/s irrespective of your link rate to the ISP. The rest is buffering. So you have to have a local use case for all that bandwidth . Watching uncompressed 4k, HDR isn't going to touch it.