razvanbrates
New Around Here
Hi all!
I'm having issues with my ASUS mesh system (and previous ASUS router), so I'm thinking of switching brands entirely. I tested tons of different settings (many off of this forum), but couldn't find a way to make the system stable. It would work impeccably for maybe a few months, then would randomly start to disconnect devices from the internet (WiFi still available and connected) or slow down to a crawl. If I factory reset everything, re-add the nodes, manually put my settings in - it will work fine again for a while. I had the same issues when I only had the ASUS Blue Cave.
This mainly happens with my Apple products, in particular and most often with my MBPs, Apple TV, sometimes with the iPhones, not very often with the iPads - but also with the PS5 and a Harman Kardon Aura speaker. I say mainly Apple, because I could be on my MBP having issues, while my girlfriend works just fine on her HP laptop.
The symptoms are that it will connect to WiFi, internet would work for a few minutes (or seconds), then have no access to anything (including admin page). Sometimes it does it with a correctly assigned IP, other times it reconnects and assigns a weird IP (even after trying to renew the DHCP lease) and sometimes it just won't connect.
I live in a 100 sqm (about 1000 sqf) apartment (that oversees my yard, about 20m away from the kitchen window), with thick brick walls (between 40cm for exterior and 25cm for interior ones) and concrete pillars (with metal bars in them), with my 8x5m living room in the middle of the other rooms. Unfortunately, I can't place the main router centrally, so it sits close to the living room window (apartment's edge), where the optic fiber comes in. Another issue is that it's flanked by two large mirrors, and those block the path directly to the office (PCs, laptops, etc.) and media room (PS5, Apple TV). I've added a quick rough sketch of the apartment layout and current node placement - getting good coverage in this layout. The top and lower left side are covered by other building walls.
The devices are:
- ASUS XT9 - main router (right now it sits on the window sill, so about 1m from the ground - not good, so thinking of mounting it higher, on shelves that are in either of the adjacent corners - but closer to the mirrors)
- ASUS XT9 - bedroom node (high up on a dresser)
- ASUS RT-AX57Go - kitchen node (placed in the window, so it diagonally provides yard access)
- ASUS RT-AX1800U - office node (higher up, needed because laptops would loose connection)
- ASUS Blue Cave - not pictured, in the basement right under the kitchen one (I have some 3D printers and a laptop there)
10G fiber goes into the main router via a converter, and the connection is PPPoE.
All wireless backhaul. I could place one of the routers in the hallway corner close to the kitchen, up in the corner (I have eth and power there).
There are about 30-40 devices connected (laptops, iPads, smartphones, smart devices).
So.. I'm at my wits' end and frustrated that they won't just continue working after being properly set up and left untouched. (But hey, if you have a magic solution to what I described, do tell!)
Now I'm not sure what to get: either start with a good main router to cover my office and media room and add nodes after, or directy get a mid-tier 3 piece mesh system.
I was looking at the Netgear RAX300 - but it unfortunately doesn't support mesh at all, and the extenders that would work with it aren't in stock anywhere around me.
Then I was looking at the TP-Link BE800 (which I'd then supplement with two more nodes - bedroom and kitchen) - but it seems a bit overkill (my fastest device is an M3 Max MBP on 6E, the rest are on 5 at most). It would be "future proof", hopefully, but then again, it's not exactly a proven workhorse right now and has some firmware bugs as far as I read.
I then saw the TP-Link AX95 (but it doesn't yet support EasyMesh, like the BE800 above).
I was also considering getting a TP-Link Deco AX75 Pro set of three nodes or a TP-Link Deco AX95 set of two.
And for the future, I'm also thinking of using an older router as an AP (outside of the mesh system) to connect smart home devices on 2.4, instead of using the main system.
My current budget is around 600€, with the intent of putting in another 300€ (max) in the near future.
Help?
Thank you in advance for any advice!
I'm having issues with my ASUS mesh system (and previous ASUS router), so I'm thinking of switching brands entirely. I tested tons of different settings (many off of this forum), but couldn't find a way to make the system stable. It would work impeccably for maybe a few months, then would randomly start to disconnect devices from the internet (WiFi still available and connected) or slow down to a crawl. If I factory reset everything, re-add the nodes, manually put my settings in - it will work fine again for a while. I had the same issues when I only had the ASUS Blue Cave.
This mainly happens with my Apple products, in particular and most often with my MBPs, Apple TV, sometimes with the iPhones, not very often with the iPads - but also with the PS5 and a Harman Kardon Aura speaker. I say mainly Apple, because I could be on my MBP having issues, while my girlfriend works just fine on her HP laptop.
The symptoms are that it will connect to WiFi, internet would work for a few minutes (or seconds), then have no access to anything (including admin page). Sometimes it does it with a correctly assigned IP, other times it reconnects and assigns a weird IP (even after trying to renew the DHCP lease) and sometimes it just won't connect.
I live in a 100 sqm (about 1000 sqf) apartment (that oversees my yard, about 20m away from the kitchen window), with thick brick walls (between 40cm for exterior and 25cm for interior ones) and concrete pillars (with metal bars in them), with my 8x5m living room in the middle of the other rooms. Unfortunately, I can't place the main router centrally, so it sits close to the living room window (apartment's edge), where the optic fiber comes in. Another issue is that it's flanked by two large mirrors, and those block the path directly to the office (PCs, laptops, etc.) and media room (PS5, Apple TV). I've added a quick rough sketch of the apartment layout and current node placement - getting good coverage in this layout. The top and lower left side are covered by other building walls.
The devices are:
- ASUS XT9 - main router (right now it sits on the window sill, so about 1m from the ground - not good, so thinking of mounting it higher, on shelves that are in either of the adjacent corners - but closer to the mirrors)
- ASUS XT9 - bedroom node (high up on a dresser)
- ASUS RT-AX57Go - kitchen node (placed in the window, so it diagonally provides yard access)
- ASUS RT-AX1800U - office node (higher up, needed because laptops would loose connection)
- ASUS Blue Cave - not pictured, in the basement right under the kitchen one (I have some 3D printers and a laptop there)
10G fiber goes into the main router via a converter, and the connection is PPPoE.
All wireless backhaul. I could place one of the routers in the hallway corner close to the kitchen, up in the corner (I have eth and power there).
There are about 30-40 devices connected (laptops, iPads, smartphones, smart devices).
So.. I'm at my wits' end and frustrated that they won't just continue working after being properly set up and left untouched. (But hey, if you have a magic solution to what I described, do tell!)
Now I'm not sure what to get: either start with a good main router to cover my office and media room and add nodes after, or directy get a mid-tier 3 piece mesh system.
I was looking at the Netgear RAX300 - but it unfortunately doesn't support mesh at all, and the extenders that would work with it aren't in stock anywhere around me.
Then I was looking at the TP-Link BE800 (which I'd then supplement with two more nodes - bedroom and kitchen) - but it seems a bit overkill (my fastest device is an M3 Max MBP on 6E, the rest are on 5 at most). It would be "future proof", hopefully, but then again, it's not exactly a proven workhorse right now and has some firmware bugs as far as I read.
I then saw the TP-Link AX95 (but it doesn't yet support EasyMesh, like the BE800 above).
I was also considering getting a TP-Link Deco AX75 Pro set of three nodes or a TP-Link Deco AX95 set of two.
And for the future, I'm also thinking of using an older router as an AP (outside of the mesh system) to connect smart home devices on 2.4, instead of using the main system.
My current budget is around 600€, with the intent of putting in another 300€ (max) in the near future.
Help?
Thank you in advance for any advice!
