Is the AX11000U a good purchase in late 2023?

[torstein]

In this thread I tried to get to the bottom of why my WLAN was slower than I expected. Long story short, my AX86U has only one 5GHz radio and my mac mini and macbook pro are both on wireless (wired is not an option, details in the other post if your're curious, but believe me it's not interesting). I keep getting 280-350mbps when sharing over smb in macOS. We have troubleshot this to death, and it is what it is. All my devices are AX-only. No AXE.

I have come to the conclusion that I need a triband to keep my mac mini on one radio and the other macbook pro on the second radio. I want Asus and I prefer to have merlin installed on it. The AX11000U seems like a perfect fit but reading these fourms it turns out it's a very old router - from 2019. And it had a ton of stability problems that may or may not have been fixed.

So to you who have the AX11000U, is it a good purchase in late 2023? Or is it still unstable? Is it approaching EOL? Can you suggest another triband from Asus in the same price segment perhaps?

 

[Tech9]

GT-AX11000 Pro

 

[L&LD]

The GT-AX11000 (pro or not) series are not worth their price when the hardware is based on almost identical parts to much cheaper models.

Instead of either of these finicky products, I would try with the GT-AX6000 or the RT-AX88U Pro while using the RT-AX86U as a Media Bridge for the Mac Mini.

The newest router used as a main will give roughly 20% throughput improvement and the Media Bridge may give a ~2x increase to the Mac Mini. While the Tri-band routers may give slightly more throughput between two wireless clients, they will never be as stable as the suggestion above.

Worth testing, and it may turn out to be a lot cheaper too.

 

[ggp759]

The GT-AX11000 (pro or not) series are not worth their price when the hardware is based on almost identical parts to much cheaper models.

Instead of either of these finicky products, I would try with the GT-AX6000 or the RT-AX88U Pro while using the RT-AX86U as a Media Bridge for the Mac Mini.

The newest router used as a main will give roughly 20% throughput improvement and the Media Bridge may give a ~2x increase to the Mac Mini. While the Tri-band routers may give slightly more throughput between two wireless clients, they will never be as stable as the suggestion above.

Worth testing, and it may turn out to be a lot cheaper too.

Hello. I was about to ask the same question. Considering the AX11000 Pro not for its wifi bandwidth but because i need a 2.5G WAN and a 2.5G LAN port. Are there any other options? Thanks alot.

 

[L&LD]

Yes, the two routers I mentioned above are GT-AX6000 and RT-AX88U Pro.

 

[ggp759]

Yes, the two routers I mentioned above are GT-AX6000 and RT-AX88U Pro.

Thanks i responded too fast to your previous post without checking the specs of the router you mentioned. I wll get the AX88U Pro. Do not like the design of the AX6000. I will have a spare AX86U. Any good way to utilize that? Thanks again.

 

[L&LD]

If you can't use it in wired backhaul mode, Media Bridge mode is what I would use (for any wired-capable clients).

Media Bridge Mode

 

[torstein]

The AX11000 may not peivide much faster speeds, but it does provide triple bands, so that my mac mini can be on one 5ghz radio and my other mac can be on the second 5ghz radio. I tred teo routers and media bridge and it did nothing. Two radios is what i need. i tried kt with tje triple band tplink but had to return it because it was unstable, granted it did give me 500-600mbps instead of 200-300mbps.

What i'm asking is, will rmerlin stop supporting the aging ax110000, and should i just pay 150€ more and get the ax11000 pro? its way over my budget, but i dont want to buy an already expensive ax11000 and then its end of life in one year.

 

[L&LD]

Nobody knows when support will end, by Asus. When Asus doesn't provide RMerlin the GPL for that model is when support will eventually end (sooner rather than later), on RMerlin's end.

I don't see how/where you tested with Media Bridge mode on a spare router and the Mac Mini. But would be interested in your test notes on that.

 

[Tech9]

@torstein

GT-AX11000 has reported issues, look around.

GT-AX11000 Pro will have longer support guaranteed.

Don't waste your time with what Asus calls Media Bridge. It's just a client on your network competing for bandwidth with other clients.

If you want cheaper 3-band solution get one RT-AX58U on sale and run it as AP for second 5GHz band. Renewed units on Amazon are $90.

 

[torstein]

Don't waste your time with what Asus calls Media Bridge. It's just a client on your network competing for bandwidth with other clients.

Despite Asus' own claims that it functions as a "wired" client, it does indeed compete with my macbook pro for the 5Ghz radio's attention giving equally low speeds like all their other modes.

GT-AX11000 has reported issues, look around.

Most of those threads are old, and I was just curious if the issues from when the router was new had been resolved, in case anyone knows? Dongknows has nothing but stellar reviews of the AX11000, so I'm a bit confused - either he didn't review it thoughroughly or he had a newer firmware with everything fixed.

GT-AX11000 Pro will have longer support guaranteed.

That's what I figured, but I wonder how long. I guess the days of 9 year long support on models like the AC68U's are over, and I wonder how comitted Rmerlin will most likely be to continue support of this router.

If you want cheaper 3-band solution get one RT-AX58U on sale and run it as AP for second 5GHz band. Renewed units on Amazon are $90.

The AX58U had terrible wlan performance and dropped speeds significantly within a couple of feet. I also noticed that with the AX1800 I didn't get much improved speeds despite both macs being on separate 5Ghz band (mac mini on AX1800's 5GHz radio and Macbook Pro being on AX86U 5Ghz radio). The only thing that actually worked was the TP-Link AX7800 triband, and gave me 700mbps, albeit super unstable, which made me conclude that a all-in-one-triband router is what I need. Setting up different routers and having to manage interference and free channels etc was just too finicky and clearly I wasnt able to do it properly, since speeds didn't improve except with the TPlink.

 

[Tech9]

I'm a bit confused

I'll go straight, nothing personal. You are confused because you want something you can't afford at the moment, you have doubts about what you can afford, you are steered in wrong directions by others, you ask questions about the future no one can answer and you don't know much about how Wi-Fi works. I've read your other thread about Wi-Fi to Wi-Fi transfer and was surprised it got to 3 pages long before it was clear what's happening. Not sure why your Macs need so much network speed, but it will cost you. Hopefully at the end it has some real benefits for you. If you want performance and stability - get out of the consumer market. It may cost you even more though. Also you expect too much from shared resources in a dense Wi-Fi environment. Your wireless network speed will never be consistent. Others around you want to use Wi-Fi too.

 

[Kingp1n]

Despite Asus' own claims that it functions as a "wired" client, it does indeed compete with my macbook pro for the 5Ghz radio's attention giving equally low speeds like all their other modes.


Most of those threads are old, and I was just curious if the issues from when the router was new had been resolved, in case anyone knows? Dongknows has nothing but stellar reviews of the AX11000, so I'm a bit confused - either he didn't review it thoughroughly or he had a newer firmware with everything fixed.


That's what I figured, but I wonder how long. I guess the days of 9 year long support on models like the AC68U's are over, and I wonder how comitted Rmerlin will most likely be to continue support of this router.

The AX58U had terrible wlan performance and dropped speeds significantly within a couple of feet. I also noticed that with the AX1800 I didn't get much improved speeds despite both macs being on separate 5Ghz band (mac mini on AX1800's 5GHz radio and Macbook Pro being on AX86U 5Ghz radio). The only thing that actually worked was the TP-Link AX7800 triband, and gave me 700mbps, albeit super unstable, which made me conclude that a all-in-one-triband router is what I need. Setting up different routers and having to manage interference and free channels etc was just too finicky and clearly I wasnt able to do it properly, since speeds didn't improve except with the TPlink.

I used the GT-AX11000 for a couple of years now without any issues. In my opinion its the best Asus router I've used even when comparing it to the newer AX models (Pro included). If you shop around, you may be able to find a used one for a decent price. You can check out Amazon too. In the end, get something within your budget. Best of luck.

 

[Tech9]

@torstein is mentioning prices in Euro. He doesn't have two clear channels on 5GHz range. One is in DFS range. What works for you in North America may not work for him in Europe. Channels 36-48 are also limited to 200mW in Europe. You @Kingp1n have 1000mW on both lower and upper channels.

 

[Kingp1n]

Yes but I was simply referencing that I haven't had any issues with this router compared to the older threads here with this specific router having stability issues in the past. Whatever issues it was experiencing previously has been fixed since.

 

[torstein]

You are confused because you want something you can't afford at the moment, you have doubts about what you can afford

400€ for the non-pro and 520€ for the pro is a lot of money, yes, I think for most people not just me, especially considering that I already have the Ax86u (which was 350€ or so, i cant remember when I bought it two years ago) so getting a second router is pushing to replace this at 400-500 euro is a lot, so I want to make sure it's a good purchase from people here who have experience with it, that's all.

you are steered in wrong directions by others

Seems to be the case, yes, they have their setups and their experiences and naturally suggest I follow their setups or their solutions to the problem.

you ask questions about the future no one can answer

Im not asking for definitive answers, but i am asking the experienced people here on this forum to perhaps make some reasonable and educated guesses. Rmerlin also knows which routers he wants to support or not, but I didn't want to bother him. He gets called out too often too many times, and has better stuff to do, I persume.

you don't know much about how Wi-Fi works

You are brutally and ruthlessly honest, but this isn't the first time you've been so with me, but you're also correct. I do not know much about how WiFi works, but I'm intrigued by it and I want to learn by reading these forums, reviews of routers and trying out gear and features. The time I can spend on this hobby is limited though, so I will never become as knowledgable as you or the other "grown ups" here on the forum that perhaps do this as a living, which is exactly why I'm here asking you for help. If I knew how WiFi works, then I probably wouldn't need to ask for help would I? I'm smart enough on the topic of wifi and home networks to have a somewhat reasonable above average understanding of it and definitely smart enough to be dumb and screw things up and create problems for myself. I'm aware of it. but it's also part of the fun, at least for me.

surprised it got to 3 pages long before it was clear what's happening.

It was two pages, but very long posts, so I can understand it must have felt like three pages reading through all of it. If it was so clear what was happening, why didn't you just chime in? No snark intended, just asking. I know from my own experience that you are very smart and have lots of answers to either my or other forum-users networking problems, so it would have been helpful. Again, I have a limited understanding about wlans, lans and wifi, and I'm just learning as I go. The others in that thread helped as much as they could, so I'm thankful for them spending the time and trying to help.

Not sure why your Macs need so much network speed

I don't need 700-800mbps on wifi per se, but I was qurious as to why I'm not getting anywhere close to it, when my WiFi6 router should be able to push it out to my WiFi6 computers, especially since others on this forums apparantly do get those wifi-speeds (supposedly). What I need is just enough bandwith to stream remuxes with 25-50mbps. For some reason the video-player app Infuse (which uses samba) only gets 60mbps and buffers a lot, while the mac gets 200mbps in Finder (samba here as well), but that's a different problem it turns out and a different thread. I thought my "low speeds" was peculiar, and started researching the problem and it took two pages and lots of trial and error and discussing to realise it's because of my wifi-dense and congested neighborhood. Now I know I don't need insane wifi-speeds, I just wanted to find out why I'm not getting anywhere near what my router is supposed to be able to deliver, and now I know why

If you want performance and stability - get out of the consumer market.

At some point when I have learnt enough from this forum and will have a practical use for it, I probably will. Especially if Rmerlin closes down his project. But until then I'm good with my AX86U and perhaps AX11000 Pro if heavily discounted on black friday.

 

[follower]

AX11000 Pro

400€ for the non-pro and 520€ for the pro is a lot of money, yes, I think for most people not just me, especially considering that I already have the Ax86u (which was 350€ or so, i cant remember when I bought it two years ago) so getting a second router is pushing to replace this at 400-500 euro is a lot, so I want to make sure it's a good purchase from people here who have experience with it, that's all.


Seems to be the case, yes, they have their setups and their experiences and naturally suggest I follow their setups or their solutions to the problem.


Im not asking for definitive answers, but i am asking the experienced people here on this forum to perhaps make some reasonable and educated guesses. Rmerlin also knows which routers he wants to support or not, but I didn't want to bother him. He gets called out too often too many times, and has better stuff to do, I persume.


You are brutally and ruthlessly honest, but this isn't the first time you've been so with me, but you're also correct. I do not know much about how WiFi works, but I'm intrigued by it and I want to learn by reading these forums, reviews of routers and trying out gear and features. The time I can spend on this hobby is limited though, so I will never become as knowledgable as you or the other "grown ups" here on the forum that perhaps do this as a living, which is exactly why I'm here asking you for help. If I knew how WiFi works, then I probably wouldn't need to ask for help would I? I'm smart enough on the topic of wifi and home networks to have a somewhat reasonable above average understanding of it and definitely smart enough to be dumb and screw things up and create problems for myself. I'm aware of it. but it's also part of the fun, at least for me.


It was two pages, but very long posts, so I can understand it must have felt like three pages reading through all of it. If it was so clear what was happening, why didn't you just chime in? No snark intended, just asking. I know from my own experience that you are very smart and have lots of answers to either my or other forum-users networking problems, so it would have been helpful. Again, I have a limited understanding about wlans, lans and wifi, and I'm just learning as I go. The others in that thread helped as much as they could, so I'm thankful for them spending the time and trying to help.

I don't need 700-800mbps on wifi per se, but I was qurious as to why I'm not getting anywhere close to it, when my WiFi6 router should be able to push it out to my WiFi6 computers, especially since others on this forums apparantly do get those wifi-speeds (supposedly). What I need is just enough bandwith to stream remuxes with 25-50mbps. For some reason the video-player app Infuse (which uses samba) only gets 60mbps and buffers a lot, while the mac gets 200mbps in Finder (samba here as well), but that's a different problem it turns out and a different thread. I thought my "low speeds" was peculiar, and started researching the problem and it took two pages and lots of trial and error and discussing to realise it's because of my wifi-dense and congested neighborhood. Now I know I don't need insane wifi-speeds, I just wanted to find out why I'm not getting anywhere near what my router is supposed to be able to deliver, and now I know why


At some point when I have learnt enough from this forum and will have a practical use for it, I probably will. Especially if Rmerlin closes down his project. But until then I'm good with my AX86U and perhaps AX11000 Pro if heavily discounted on black friday.

AX11000 Pro was $320 for weeks at Amazon. You could get it for $310 with $10 off Discover promo. I'm pretty sure it will be cheaper than $320 on BF.

 

[Tech9]

AX11000 Pro was $320 for weeks at Amazon.

@torstein is NOT in the USA. Your local Amazon prices and promotions are irrelevant.

 

[follower]

@torstein is NOT in the USA. Your local Amazon prices and promotions are irrelevant.

Oh my.

 

[drinkingbird]

In this thread I tried to get to the bottom of why my WLAN was slower than I expected. Long story short, my AX86U has only one 5GHz radio and my mac mini and macbook pro are both on wireless (wired is not an option, details in the other post if your're curious, but believe me it's not interesting). I keep getting 280-350mbps when sharing over smb in macOS. We have troubleshot this to death, and it is what it is. All my devices are AX-only. No AXE.

I have come to the conclusion that I need a triband to keep my mac mini on one radio and the other macbook pro on the second radio. I want Asus and I prefer to have merlin installed on it. The AX11000U seems like a perfect fit but reading these fourms it turns out it's a very old router - from 2019. And it had a ton of stability problems that may or may not have been fixed.

So to you who have the AX11000U, is it a good purchase in late 2023? Or is it still unstable? Is it approaching EOL? Can you suggest another triband from Asus in the same price segment perhaps?

There is no reason you can't get two separate routers (one acting as an AP) to perform as well as a tri-band router. I think that test you did with the two Asus either had a bad cable (coming up at 100M) or they were just too close together causing interference.

It is a bit messier setup but if it cuts costs and gets you what you need, might be an option.

Media bridge is useless in this scenario, your Mac Mini is still a wireless client just with an extra pointless hop in the middle.

Is there absolutely no way you can wire the Mac Mini? Rather than all this time and money being spent, that is a surefire solution. Even if you have to use coax and MOCA, still cheaper and probably faster.

6ghz is another option, having one connected to that band on an AXe or BE router and other stuff on 5ghz. I know it is still limited in the EU but should still provide plenty of performance, especially since there will be a lot less people using it. Just a bit less range than 5ghz obviously.