Looking to replace RT-AC86U

[MDFDoom]

Longtime lurker, so thanks to everyone for the great advice over the years. So my situation is as follows:

- 3-story house, with detached garage
- Base station is an ET12 (in basement)
- 1 ET12 node on the 2nd floor office
- 1 RT-AC86U node on the first floor closest to the garage and backyard (where cameras are).

I don't have the ability to do a wired backhaul. It's all wireless. Old house and wiring at this time isn't possible.
I have a lot of IoT type items around the house (nest cameras, protects, myQ garage, lights etc) and work from home over VPN.
My internet is a 1Gbps up and down fibre.

From time to time my cameras will complain about Wi-Fi, so I'm wondering if there is a suitable replacement, maybe for the RT-AC86U?
It is an older model and maybe time to upgrade to match the ET12s?

Would something like an RT-AXE7800 work with its 6GHz backhaul band?
The 6GHz band seem to work pretty good between the ET12's and I can get close to 900Mbps between my office and the base station.

Open to suggestion.
Thanks in advance!

 

[MDFDoom]

Should have mentioned, also looking at the GT-AXE16000 or GT-AXE11000 as the base station, but might be overkill?

 

[TheLostSwede]

Sorry, but why not just get another ET12? Those are obviously built to work well with each other using AiMesh.

 

[MDFDoom]

Sorry, but why not just get another ET12? Those are obviously built to work well with each other using AiMesh.

It is a good question. I can't find them as a single item. They only sell them in Canada from what I can see as a 2 pack.

 

[TheLostSwede]

It is a good question. I can't find them as a single item. They only sell them in Canada from what I can see as a 2 pack.

Wow, that's bizarre, but explains why.

The RT-AXE7800 might not be a good choice, as it's only 2x2 on the 6 GHz band, with your ET12's being 4x4.

That said, the 6 GHz band doesn't have good wall penetration, so you might end up having to use the 5 GHz band as backhaul between floors.

 

[MDFDoom]

Price wise, the ones I mentioned above:

• RT-AXE7800 - 299.99
• GT-AXE11000 - 399.99
• GT-AXE16000- 649.99

 

[MDFDoom]

Wow, that's bizarre, but explains why.

The RT-AXE7800 might not be a good choice, as it's only 2x2 on the 6 GHz band, with your ET12's being 4x4.

That said, the 6 GHz band doesn't have good wall penetration, so you might end up having to use the 5 GHz band as backhaul between floors.

I'm not sure if it is my setup, but my office gets close to 1Gbps between the 2 ET12 nodes when running a speed test. Maybe the 6Ghz is ok for my situation?

 

[TheLostSwede]

I'm not sure if it is my setup, but my office gets close to 1Gbps between the 2 ET12 nodes when running a speed test. Maybe the 6Ghz is ok for my situation?

Are you sure you're using the 6 GHz band? As normally you can't penetrate more than a wall before the performance drops significantly.
I can't really find anyone that has tested the ET12 not having line of sight between the two units using the 6 GHz band as wireless backhaul, which is why I'm asking.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Price wise, the ones I mentioned above:

• RT-AXE7800 - 299.99
• GT-AXE11000 - 399.99
• GT-AXE16000- 649.99

Out of those, the GT-AXE11000 is the one most similar to the ET12's hardware wise.

 

[MDFDoom]

I believe so. It is the uplink, right? I just did a speed test from my computer which is wired to the office node, and it was getting: 936.38 Down 320.00 Up

 

[MDFDoom]

Out of those, the GT-AXE11000 is the one most similar to the ET12's hardware wise.

Between the GT-AXE11000 and GT-AXE16000 would you have any thoughts?

 

[TheLostSwede]

I believe so. It is the uplink, right? I just did a speed test from my computer which is wired to the office node, and it was getting: 936.38 Down 320.00 Up

View attachment 60130

Ok, quite surprising it works as well as it does, but you're clearly taking a big hit in terms of the upload speed. Might be worth playing a bit with the positioning of the two units to try and get better performance.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Between the GT-AXE11000 and GT-AXE16000 would you have any thoughts?

That I wouldn't waste my money on the more expensive model, as the only thing you really gain is that second 5 GHz radio. Yes, the more expensive model has a slightly better SoC and more RAM, but unless you have need for the 10 Gbps ports, I don't see it being worth the extra money. I'm sure others here have different opinions in the matter though.

 

[Tech9]

GT-AXE11000 is an older model router based on BCM4908 and will not get Asuswrt 5.0 firmware!

 

[TheLostSwede]

GT-AXE11000 is an older model router based on BCM4908 and will not get Asuswrt 5.0 firmware!

Right, that's a fair point. But will the ET12's get it?

 

[Tech9]

But will the ET12's get it?

Has Pro in the name, eventually.

 

[Analog-1]

But will the ET12's get it?

If you mean the XT12 Pro then yes just released yesterday.

ASUS ZenWiFi Pro XT12｜Whole Home Mesh WiFi System｜ASUS USA

Mesh wifi 6 system for whole home signal coverage, network security, parental controls, easy setup and manage. PS5 compatible, supports QoS and app control

www.asus.com

 

[Tech9]

If you mean the XT12 Pro

ZenWiFi Pro ET12 is the same hardware, but with one 6GHz radio. Different model though. Perhaps Asuswrt 5.0 is coming to it soon.

 

[TheLostSwede]

If you mean the XT12 Pro then yes just released yesterday.

ASUS ZenWiFi Pro XT12｜Whole Home Mesh WiFi System｜ASUS USA

Mesh wifi 6 system for whole home signal coverage, network security, parental controls, easy setup and manage. PS5 compatible, supports QoS and app control

www.asus.com

No, I meant the ET12 that the OP has.

 

[Tech9]

I'm not sure how the setup above works. It can't have dedicated wireless backhaul with RT-AC86U in the mix - it doesn't have 6GHz radio. AiMesh page is reporting 6GHz uplink between ZenWiFi Pro ET12, but RT-AC86U must be connected to the 5GHz radio. Something is wrong in reporting or this AiMesh system works in a strange mixed mode with one dedicated and one shared backhaul.