Looking for a new AI mesh node to pair with my new GT-BE98 Pro base

[stilessm]

House is 2700sq-ft across two floors. Wood frame. Detached garage with a nest cam. About 30 devices. Occasionally up to 3 streams going at once with meetings and video.

I just upgraded my old trusty GT-AX11000 with a. GT-BE98 Pro yesterday. I was nervous about the upgrade given all of the issues I've been hearing about. The GT-AX11000 was paired with a AI Mesh connected RT-AX86U. I was getting reliable 250Mb / 30mb throughout the house on a 500/40 service. If I sat very close to the router I could get 400/35-40.

With just the BE98 Pro I'm seeing near 600/45 in standard config. It was a little flaky yesterday, dropping my phone frequently and I was seeing frequent outages with my Nest Cams. I changed one thing -- turning off Wifi7 Mode -- and gave it some time and it seems far more stable today.

I also experimented with adding the RT-AX86U to the mix as the upstairs AI Mesh node because my daughter's room (farthest and upstairs) was only getting 60/20. That upgraded her to 250/30. So, cool. But, the RT-AX started taking over many of the connections and I was feeling like I wasn't getting the most of what I was paying for with the new 98 Pro. So, my question is: what would be a great modern AI Mesh node to pair with the 98 Pro? My goal is full speeds throughout the house.

Note: we have very few wifi6 devices in the house. Basically my iPhone 16 and my spare Android phone. Everything else seems to be wifi5 or downleveling to 2.4. I can only do wireless backhaul. The main reason I disconnected the AI Mesh node last night was because I couldn't figure out how (which radio) it was doing the mesh backhaul and I was suspecting it was using the already heavily used wifi5 band.

I need something "small footprint" like the AX86 U.

That got me looking at:
AX86U Pro or
RT-BE86U. This one seems to be the best match. Wifi6E and 7. I'm guessing it's going to use Wifi6 for backhaul?

I was surprised that the new 98 Pro only has one wifi5 radio and two wifi6. This is a bit of a bummer as the previous base router I had had 2 wifi5 and given wifi5 is 95% of my devices... It feels like I may have jumped the gun a bit

Any advice appreciated! Thanks!

 

[bbunge]

Well, if the AX86U works, use it! I find that when I have an AX86U as an AiMesh node with an AX86U Pro router many of my clients end up on the AX86U. I have Ethernet backhaul so it does not bother me that the AX86U in the basement grabs clients. No one complains.
Might be good to get the node on Ethernet backhaul if possible. The GT-AX11000 should also be a good mesh node as long as you have spent the money for it.
Experience has shown the best AiMesh node is one with the same technology as the router. AC with AC, AX with AX and BE with BE. Other combos work but... And, it is a good idea to not mess with the WIFI settings.

Edit: Maybe you really do not need that $600 + WIFI 7 router. A lot of money to spend with little performance increase...

 

[stilessm]

Oh you're right that I don't "need" the new router

I'm going to take a closer look to see if I could get ethernet up through the floor to the 2nd level.

But, in the meantime I am looking for any insight into how the BE98 Pro handles wireless backhaul and any insight into whether different types of wireless Ai Mesh nodes might be best optimized for the BE98. Example: would a wifi7 capable node (like the BE86U) above be best ignoring cost? Would the backhaul take advantage of the 6ghz channels that are currently pretty vacant?

Thanks!

 

[Lucifinil_Chen]

As long as all of your devices support the 6 GHz channel, you can use a spare 6 GHz channel as a wireless backhaul. However, it is recommended to connect the two routers with an Ethernet cable for a wired backhaul.

However, it’s best to use routers that support the same protocol type; absolutely avoid mixing different ones.

 

[stilessm]

Thanks. While the 86u worked, as far as I could tell it was using the 5ghz radio (given it doesn’t support wifi 6e) and I would rather minimize traffic there. After reading a few reviews last night I have a rt-be86u on the way today to use as the upstairs node. Excited to try it. Will report back.

 

[stilessm]

BTW -- I thought I would run "bare" with just the base be98 Pro for a couple of days and ran into an issue this morning that I thought I'd share -- that had me plub the ax86u back in to tide me over (as a mesh node).

My office is maybe 20' from the router, but up a floor. I have decent signal but the reliability is poor. I was just on a TEams meeting and got dropped 5x during the meeting. It reconnects but it's a huge PITA. The laptop is a Surface Laptop 5. Re-paired the good 'old rt-ax86u and back to rock solid teams meetings in the office.

Grrr.

I sure hope the new be86u node is *at least as good* as old faithful.

 

[degrub]

Do you have any unused coax (RG6 or RG59) in the house that would get you to the mesh Nodes ?
MOCA2.5 modems would extend your ethernet if so.

 

[stilessm]

Unfortunately not where I need it. I may be able to snake some network cable up to this. The upstairs router is probably less than 10 "linear" feet away from the downstairs/main unit. I just need to figure out how to get through the floor without destroying things. Maybe I should call somebody?

 

[degrub]

alarm installers have a reputation of being reasonably priced and have the gear to route low voltage cables.