Move away from ASUS Routers / Mesh

[razvanbrates]

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!

 

[tiddlywink]

..

 

[tgl]

4 APs in 100 sq m does seem like a lot. I wonder if your problems reduce to clients connecting to some other AP than the closest one. Have you experimented with fewer APs? Have you experimented with turning down their transmit power?

As @tiddlywink says, you'd be way better off if there's a way to run ethernet to all the nodes. But I recognize that with brick interior walls that's going to be a problem, especially if you don't own the place.

What I'd try given the no-holes-in-walls constraint is to make the node-to-node connections not require max Tx power. A possible sketch is (1) locate the main node on the living room south wall, opposite the hallway entrance; (2) place a node in the hallway, with clear line-of-sight to the main node, and rely on that one to cover kitchen and office; (3) place bedroom node near NE corner, not much more than wall-width away from main node; (4) place the node you freed up in step 2 in the media room NW corner, again within a meter or so of the main node; (5) turn all the nodes' Tx power down as far as possible while keeping the backhaul links stable.

As far as equipment replacement goes, I agree with the thought that ASUS gear works best when all the nodes in the mesh are the same type. I'm not sure that moving to another brand will help you much. There are brands I prefer to ASUS, but they are designed for wired-backhaul situations and are unlikely to beat ASUS as long as you're stuck using wireless backhaul. Your simplest answer may be to standardize on the XT9 and replace your other nodes with XT9s. If you do choose to jump to something else, do not buy something that wants to do its wireless backhaul on the 6GHz band, because I bet you'll find that that band doesn't go through brick walls for squat. I suspect that that lets out the BE800, though I didn't study its specs in detail.

 

[kuki68ster]

1. You're mixing models.
2. You're mixing broadcom and mediatek
3. You are 100% mesh.
4. "thick brick walls" - 4 AP's and 1 router to cover 1000 sqf??????

I would invest in ethernet to wire up the nodes. You can pick the color, choose thin, and non-destructively (glue/tape?) attach it to the brick walls.

This....

Mesh works better with exclusive Ethernet backhaul...

And using many mesh points can have a detrimental effect

 

[razvanbrates]

Hi all!

First off, thank you all for taking the time to read my short novel and reply, it's much appreciated!

@tiddlywink - it never even crossed my mind that mixing same brand models or even going as far as WiFi chips had any influence. In my mind, it was "hey, they're made by the same brand and share the same features, so they should work together". So I learned something new, thank you! I was also a "victim" of promo materials - if you read product pages and paid reviews, they all seem to magically work perfectly over wireless.

@tgl - it's not that devices are roaming or connecting to a distant node, because I even bound some of them (the static ones) to the closest node and disabled "quick roaming". And while what you suggested as a schematic isn't really doable in my case because of some constraints I have, it does give me a better idea on how to work with what I have. Thank you so much for taking the time to analyze the layout! And also, the main reason I posted here was exactly because I was afraid I'd run into the same issues with a different brand as well.

@kuki68ster - yeah, I figured as well that adding too many might actually not help, but the ones that I added were one for specific purposes, like getting yard acces, another for having a stable office connection, and the last one for getting basement access.

I was trying to avoid ethernet - I do own the place, but it's an older building and holes through walls are a complicated and destructive process, so I'm trying to avoid that. But it seems that it's necessary, so here's my new plan (given my limitations):

The two XT9 are now in blue, and will be wired together for ethernet backhaul: those two rooms are the most critical for fast and reliable access. I will connect the PCs / laptops in the office wired via a docking station, and the PS5 and Apple TV in the media room will also be wired.

The yellow one in the living room window will be an older b/g/n TP-Link that will be wired into one of the two XT9 as a separate AP with its own SSID on 2.4 exclusively (will select channels as far apart as possible), to be used for IoT devices, so it'll take them off the main WiFi.

The green ones will remain on wireless backhaul (it's very inconvenient to cross cables to that side of the apartment, either way I look at it), but they are less critical: the one in the living room will need to cover a couple of phones browsing news while in bed or on the loo, the one in the kitchen will provide yard WiFi, and the one in the basement has about three devices connected to it.

For now I'll still use the ones I have (RT-AX57Go in the kitchen, RT-AX1800U moves from the office to the W of the living room, Blue Cave stays well, in the "cave"), but I'll wait for some Black Friday or local used deals to get a couple more XT9 and replace them.

What's your opinion on this type of setup? Specifically about mixing wired and wireless backhaul (critical on wired, less important on wireless), as well about separating IoT on a dedicated AP & SSID?

I'm also considering getting a better / faster "main" router (that would sit in the media room), something that would have a 10Gb WAN, for instance. What would work best with my existing XT9s, in this case?

EDIT: also, if there are too many nodes, I'm thinking of removing the wireless one in the living room, replacing the kitchen one with another XT9 (or even a dedicated exterior one) in order to get yard access, and wiring another AP just for the basement devices.

Thanks again for all the great advice,
Raz

​

 

[degrub]

If all of those dots are wifi APs/routers, you have way too much RF power in the building. You should be able to use just two consumer type APs or wifi routers. You may have to turn down the transmit power as well. Use a tool like Apple's Airport utility, set to allow wifi scan to measure signal strength throughout your place. Any signal greater than -65 dB should be adequate ( less negative is stronger signal power e.g. -55 dB is stronger than -65 dB) . Yes, wire everything you can. Use an outdoor rated AP mounted on the exterior roof eave for the backyard if you don't get enough leakage out the window. A seoarate AP for the basement is probably needed.

 

[tgl]

If all of those dots are wifi APs/routers, you have way too much RF power in the building.

My first reaction to the new map was also "way too many APs", but after reading the text it makes more sense. The two APs in the living room will be broadcasting different SSIDs on different channels, so they are not really conflicting. (Maybe with more flexible gear those could be replaced by one unit, but it makes sense given the desire to re-use what's there.) And IIUC the apparent two units in the kitchen are really one in the kitchen and one in the basement below. Maybe the one in the basement could be dispensed with, but I imagine the OP already found that the kitchen unit doesn't cover the basement well enough. (I wonder what the floors are made of.)

In any case, I think we're in agreement on "measure signal and turn down all the APs' Tx power as much as feasible".

 

[razvanbrates]

@degrub - thank you for the Airport Utility tip!

I turned the TX power down to "good" (from "performance", the max). Right now I only have the living room, bedroom and office APs powered (as per the original schematic) and I did a scan at the furthest point from all three (bathroom, side closer to the kitchen) and I'm getting on average -60, -64, -77 from these three. Should I go even lower?

@tgl - indeed, I may be able to eliminate the basement one: when I first installed it, the kitchen router was placed deeper inside. The floor is reinforced concrete (metal bars) and I have a couple of smart plugs, a camera and a resin 3D printer in there. The plugs worked fine, but the printer and camera kept going offline until I put the Blue Cave in. Now that I have the RT-AX57Go in the window, it just might be enough - I haven't tested.

Also, the yellow one in the living room is just an idea at this point: my intention is to use it just for IoT, to remove clutter from the main network. Do you think it's a good idea? Or should I rely on the main network? (around 40+ devices total, and about half of which are IoT)

@cristian.vasile - I originally had the Blue Cave as my main and single router, and it worked fine for a while, but then I had issues with some of my IoT devices and it also started having issues with WiFi staying on, but no internet connection - only solvable by a factory reset and re-config. I then got the two XT9 and used them for a while (living room + kitchen) but (because of the mirrors, I'd assume), the office connection was unstable, so I added the RT-AX1800U in the office. Then I added the Blue Cave in the basement, because my devices kept going offline. And finally, I moved the kitchen XT9 in the bedroom and added the RT-AX57Go in the kitchen (stuck to a window) so I could get WiFi outside.

I was also considering adding a faster "main" router (in the media room, so the PS5 and Apple TV, wired, would benefit) and then use only the two XT9s (wired in the office and wireless in the kitchen - almost line of sight with the office one). Plus the IoT one, if really needed (will test without, first).

So here's what it'll look like (ideally) once I'm done:

A future WiFi 7 / 10G WAN main router will sit in the media room, wired to the office XT9. Another XT9 will sit in the kitchen window (might get replaced by an outdoor rated one). And finally (only if needed) the IoT AP (with separate SSID and channel) will sit in the living room.

I'll be wiring on the exterior, with outdoor rated CAT6A S/FTP, so I have one more question: the fiber comes in through the living room wall, about where I placed the blue arrow. So I'd need to have a wire routed from there to the media room for the main router, then another would go back from the main router to the office one. I might try to get the cable guys to move my fiber in the media room, if possible. So I'd have to run a single long cable between the main and office, instead. (EDIT: moving the fiber won't work, I forgot I also have coax there for the living room TV)

Thank you!

 

[razvanbrates]

Hi @cristian.vasile - the ONT will need to stay in the living room (where the blue arrow is shown), I realized I can't move it, unfortunately. The main router will sit in the media room (blue, marked as "10G WAN"). The one in yellow will be the IoT AP (lower spec, and I'll install it only if my initial setup of 3 nodes still feels bogged down by IoT devices) so it wouldn't be ideal. I might even decide to have it in the media room as well.

I think the longest cable will be around 20m, so I should be fine.

Thank you!

 

[degrub]

i have my ONT separate from the ISP router. i use a dedicated coax homerun between them with GoCoax 2.5Gb/s MOCA modems. Gives full bandwidth both directions with no issues so far. Both ends are powered through APC UPSs. MOCA can share with other cable signals as long as they are outside of 1125 Mhz - 1675 MHz. MOCA 2.5 uses all five channels between those numbers to get 2.5Gbit/s total.

 

[degrub]

@degrub - thank you for the Airport Utility tip!

I turned the TX power down to "good" (from "performance", the max). Right now I only have the living room, bedroom and office APs powered (as per the original schematic) and I did a scan at the furthest point from all three (bathroom, side closer to the kitchen) and I'm getting on average -60, -64, -77 from these three. Should I go even lower?

@tgl - indeed, I may be able to eliminate the basement one: when I first installed it, the kitchen router was placed deeper inside. The floor is reinforced concrete (metal bars) and I have a couple of smart plugs, a camera and a resin 3D printer in there. The plugs worked fine, but the printer and camera kept going offline until I put the Blue Cave in. Now that I have the RT-AX57Go in the window, it just might be enough - I haven't tested.

Also, the yellow one in the living room is just an idea at this point: my intention is to use it just for IoT, to remove clutter from the main network. Do you think it's a good idea? Or should I rely on the main network? (around 40+ devices total, and about half of which are IoT)

@cristian.vasile - I originally had the Blue Cave as my main and single router, and it worked fine for a while, but then I had issues with some of my IoT devices and it also started having issues with WiFi staying on, but no internet connection - only solvable by a factory reset and re-config. I then got the two XT9 and used them for a while (living room + kitchen) but (because of the mirrors, I'd assume), the office connection was unstable, so I added the RT-AX1800U in the office. Then I added the Blue Cave in the basement, because my devices kept going offline. And finally, I moved the kitchen XT9 in the bedroom and added the RT-AX57Go in the kitchen (stuck to a window) so I could get WiFi outside.

I was also considering adding a faster "main" router (in the media room, so the PS5 and Apple TV, wired, would benefit) and then use only the two XT9s (wired in the office and wireless in the kitchen - almost line of sight with the office one). Plus the IoT one, if really needed (will test without, first).

So here's what it'll look like (ideally) once I'm done:
View attachment 61811
A future WiFi 7 / 10G WAN main router will sit in the media room, wired to the office XT9. Another XT9 will sit in the kitchen window (might get replaced by an outdoor rated one). And finally (only if needed) the IoT AP (with separate SSID and channel) will sit in the living room.

I'll be wiring on the exterior, with outdoor rated CAT6A S/FTP, so I have one more question: the fiber comes in through the living room wall, about where I placed the blue arrow. So I'd need to have a wire routed from there to the media room for the main router, then another would go back from the main router to the office one. I might try to get the cable guys to move my fiber in the media room, if possible. So I'd have to run a single long cable between the main and office, instead. (EDIT: moving the fiber won't work, I forgot I also have coax there for the living room TV)

Thank you!

Which band were you on - 2.4Ghz ?
Devices will have a hard time deciding between the -60 and -64dB signals, which may be fine, but they will have to be on separate channels well apart. The -77dB , which i assume is the media room AP, should be ok for clients letting go and switching to another AP. You need to walk around and find where the signal level drops below -67dB as that is a level where clients should ( not all will) start thinking about switching to another, stronger AP . Adjust you power for the APs so that overlap is minimized and preferably much lower than that. Your living room is likely to be the area of most overlap between the three.

Your 2.4GHz band should be on 20/40 to help reduce overlap between APs. IOTs usually don't need a lot of bandwidth. If you get security cameras, hardwire them with POE ethernet cable or power over coax back to a NVR instead of to the cloud somewhere, if at all possible. Solves both security (cloud) and wireless issues.

5GHz should be 80 MHz to reduce potential overlap. In your situation with concrete walls and floor it, may not matter and you can go wider on channels for specific use cases on one AP.

Start with the power on the lowest setting in 2.4GHz and raise it from there. You need to walk around and generate a dB "heat" map showing where /what the signal levels are from each AP. Do the same for the 5GHz band. Then you will have to test how well clients roam between APs and possibly adjust the power level. Some clients are very "sticky" and will not jump to a stronger AP 802.11 k,r , and v implementations are supposed to help

Fast Roaming with 802.11k, 802.11v, and 802.11r - Windows drivers

This section describes improved WLAN roaming experiences with 802.11k, 801.11v, and 802.11r.

learn.microsoft.com

Wi-Fi roaming support in Apple devices

Supported Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers with Apple silicon) and Cisco networks recognize each other, allowing the devices and network to use the latest Wi-Fi technologies to optimize the experience.

support.apple.com

IEEE 802.11 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In many commercial installations, the focus is on more APs at lower power with coordinated "roaming". TP-Link Omada line is one example.

i had to turn off the 2.4 GHz band in my house due to overlap. i have gypsum wall board and wood construction. i run 4 Cisco 371 APs on 5Ghz only. Roaming is seamless and bandwidth is plenty for streaming and internet. Serious client devices are on lan cables. 2 work from home, 1 gamer, and total of 3 college students at the peak. Ran that through a 38/3 DSL link ( the gamer was throttled) . Finally upgraded to Gbit fiber and unleased the gamer ;-)

 

[razvanbrates]

Hi @degrub - thank you for the detailed info, I'm learning lots of new stuff - love the welcome in this community!

The ONT is connected to (what I think is) a modem, or at least not a "full" router: it's a tiny box that only provides a 10Gb ethernet.

Would there be any advantage to using coax instead of an S/FTP cable? I'm estimating I'll have one 10m and another 20m (CAT6A - so could even run 10Gbps). Some good quality outdoor rated cables would cost me around 40€ - not sure I could go that low for outdoor rated coax cable and three (or even four?) MoCA adapters - and only get a max of 2.5Gbps. Wiring any of the two options will be the same effort (will need to go through the outside of the building).

Those averages I mentioned were on 5.8 (was looking for best bandwidth) - so now that you ask the question I realize that had I checked on 2.4, I would've gotten even higher values, since 5.8 penetrates less.

Is the roaming negotiation done client-side? I'm asking because I think I remember having a cut-off dBi setting on the router's settings.

2.4 is set on 20/40 currently, but 5.8 was set on 20/40/80 - so I'll set it locked on 80 instead.

Walls are (thick) brick, BTW.

Thank you for the testing methodology, I'll go around and test 2.4 on lowest TX power first and 5.8 after (I do need 2.4 for the IoT devices, most don't work on 5.8). The logic here would be that anywhere I am around the house, I should have at least one AP at -65 or higher, correct?
Also, AFAIK, the TX power setting on the ASUS firmware is per band, not per router - this could be problematic, because I'd still like the kitchen AP to have a higher TX power, in order to have viable backyard WiFi.

Should I keep 2.4 and 5.8 SSIDs separate on the main system, or enable "smart connect" and have a single SSID? Or should I directly go for the separate AP, wired, on 2.4 only, dedicated to IoT devices? (I can easily install it in the NW corner of the media room, so about central to cover all smart devices)

Thanks again!

 

[degrub]

Hi @degrub - thank you for the detailed info, I'm learning lots of new stuff - love the welcome in this community!

The ONT is connected to (what I think is) a modem, or at least not a "full" router: it's a tiny box that only provides a 10Gb ethernet.

Would there be any advantage to using coax instead of an S/FTP cable? I'm estimating I'll have one 10m and another 20m (CAT6A - so could even run 10Gbps). Some good quality outdoor rated cables would cost me around 40€ - not sure I could go that low for outdoor rated coax cable and three (or even four?) MoCA adapters - and only get a max of 2.5Gbps. Wiring any of the two options will be the same effort (will need to go through the outside of the building).

If you are planning to run 10Gb/s ethernet, your hardware costs are going up and i wonder why you are using ASUS gear. Short of some specific use cases (like editing video across the ethernet) it is difficult to saturate even a 1Gb/s link rate. But if your are planning to be there long term while the tech reaches the consumer level, sure use fiber for your ethernet lan. If you have to go outside, then the runs will be in conduit, long radius elbows with pulling boxes. i am surprised that you don't have suspended ceilings inside and hollow concrete block interior walls which are easy to penetrate. I have been told that it is relatively easy to anchor cables to a reinforced concrete ceiling, even in explosion resistant buildings.

No need for MOCA that i can see unless you already have coax in place.

If you are planning external security cameras, you probably want to place the camera directly over the hole where the cables come through. You will want to map out your locations for POE ethernet or POCoax runs back to a central NVR for best security and not depend on a cloud solution.

Those averages I mentioned were on 5.8 (was looking for best bandwidth) - so now that you ask the question I realize that had I checked on 2.4, I would've gotten even higher values, since 5.8 penetrates less.

Is the roaming negotiation done client-side? I'm asking because I think I remember having a cut-off dBi setting on the router's settings.

switching of APs is decided by the client. The AP can only encourage the client when there is overlap. APs managed with a controller do a better job if that is important. WIFI calling or video mtg while walking around is one use case.

2.4 is set on 20/40 currently, but 5.8 was set on 20/40/80 - so I'll set it locked on 80 instead.

Walls are (thick) brick, BTW.

Brick or concrete block or aerated concrete block ?
Are they load bearing - ie structural and required to support the load of the ceiling and roof ?

Thank you for the testing methodology, I'll go around and test 2.4 on lowest TX power first and 5.8 after (I do need 2.4 for the IoT devices, most don't work on 5.8). The logic here would be that anywhere I am around the house, I should have at least one AP at -65 or higher, correct?

depends on the sensitivity of the IOT wireless. You may need higher or lower. Also, the IOT device has to match the transmit power to get back to the AP. So you will need to test those devices in the specific environment. Yes, -65 is a reasonable starting point.

Also, AFAIK, the TX power setting on the ASUS firmware is per band, not per router - this could be problematic, because I'd still like the kitchen AP to have a higher TX power, in order to have viable backyard WiFi.

Put the AP in the window directly if you are keeping it inside. Window glass is usually pretty RF transparent. Otherwise, plan to put an outdoor AP outside the wall somewhere. Your kitchen area is small. A lot of the RF signal is going to be reflecting around inside generating noise.

Should I keep 2.4 and 5.8 SSIDs separate on the main system, or enable "smart connect" and have a single SSID? Or should I directly go for the separate AP, wired, on 2.4 only, dedicated to IoT devices? (I can easily install it in the NW corner of the media room, so about central to cover all smart devices)

A smart choice would be to keep an AP dedicated to IOTs and assign a GUEST network to them if one AP will reach. You can assign a/the same guest network to all the APs as well in case you need to keep 2.4Ghz active on them. IF the IOTs are the only 2.4GHz clients, then you can turn off 2.4GHz bands in all the other APs and run 5GHz only in them. IOTs are a security risk and should be kept off of your other lan and clients. You can do the same thing with VLANS, but all the gear - AP, switches, router have to support vlans.

Thanks again!

 

[razvanbrates]

Hi @degrub!

Re/ 10Gbps ethernet - the idea was that I'm getting 10Gbps from the provider, so why not plug it into a 10Gbps port on my main router (I was mentioning I'm thinking of getting one more main that would go in the media room (I'm looking at the GT-AXE16000 - would it play nice with the XT9s?) and eliminating one out of the mesh (most probably the RT-AX57Go) and convert the other (RT-AX1800U) into the separate one for IoT.

So I'm thinking: let the main router get as much internet bandwidth as I can, while I'm at it.

I'm also going to be here a while, so I'm fine with installing 10Gbps rated ethernet cables now, even though I don't have anything to saturate it with (yet).

Got it about AP switching, I'll go around and map / analyze signal to optimize the TX power.

In day to day life, I don't have a real need for efficient AP roaming - I'll rarely move around while doing something that uses up tons of bandwidth. I'll mostly be static in different places throughout the house.

The kitchen AP is stuck to the window right now and it works fine in the backyard. I'm expecting the XT9 will work even better there. And yes, in the near future I'll get an outdoor rated one.

Good idea re/ turning off 2.4 on the main routers - indeed only the IoT devices are on 2.4, and everything else is on 5.8+

Thank you so much for all the good advice!
Raz

 

[degrub]

Good luck with your install. If you do end up using conduit, oversize it and use long radius ells ( or large pull boxes) suitable for pulling fiber ( probably 9 -12 inch bend radius) and leave a pull cord inside for the length.

 

[tgl]

What is the best solution for fixing frequent disconnection issues in an ASUS mesh system, or should I switch to a different brand like TP-Link or Netgear within a 600€ budget?

You should start a new thread rather than hijacking a not-clearly-related one.

Having said that, I doubt that just switching brands will make your life better. All of these multi-AP systems require a certain amount of knowledge and tuning to work well. If you provide some details about your setup and what problems you're seeing, folks here are happy to help.

 

[razvanbrates]

Good luck with your install. If you do end up using conduit, oversize it and use long radius ells ( or large pull boxes) suitable for pulling fiber ( probably 9 -12 inch bend radius) and leave a pull cord inside for the length.

Hi @degrub - I'm actually thinking of going simple: outdoor rated S/FTP cable (-20ºC - 75ºC, UV resistant, braided and foil shielding) that I would set either under the windowsills or some eaves (so not very exposed to the elements). To avoid piercing the walls, I'll go through the plastic part of the double-glazed windows (with custom TPU 3D printed plugs). I'd also leave extra lengths of cable at both ends.

 

[degrub]

Well, that's a different approach. Just curious, how does the ISP service enter the structure ?

 

[tiddlywink]

...

 

[razvanbrates]

@degrub - not sure what you're asking. My ISP is Digi, in Romania, and they have a 10Gbps fiber offering. The fiber is routed underground, and they have distribution nodes every few houses.

@tiddlywink - my issue with holes in walls is that it's an older building and part of the plaster could come off when piercing, requiring repair and re-painting (meaning whole room re-painting, because I wouldn't be able to match the colors I picked 5 years ago), and I'm not ready for such a commitment. A 1cm hole in the plastic part of the window, plugged with a custom TPU piece and silicone (on both sides), won't really affect them structurally or thermally IMHO.