RT-AX89X

[Galaad]

Have been following this thread for a while now and, if anyone's interested in doing so, I'd really appreciate some owners' current-point-in-time impressions of the AX89X. Does it still feel like a complete oddball in the Asus router lineup with sidelined support? Do its quirks outweigh its advantages? Is it easy to get wowed by specs that don't really translate to real-world performance?

The reason I ask is because I'm looking to take as much of my wired LAN to 10G (or at least >1Gbps) as possible. Right now the speed bottleneck is the router, an AX88U. Both its LAN and WAN aggregation, which are the only ways to eke out speeds above 1Gbps, are resulting in 25% speed drops rather than increases.

My plan is to install a modem with a 2.5G+ LAN port (e.g., a Netgear CAX80, Motorola MB8611) and connect that to the AX89X's 10G Ethernet port. I'd then connect the AX89X's SFP+ port to the SFP+ on a D-Link DGS-1510-28X switch via a fiber cable, which should avoid the heat issues that come from the transceivers.

That should theoretically give me the ability to connect my desired >1Gbps LAN devices (e.g., one 2.5G Mac mini, one 10G Mac mini M1, one 10G ReadyNAS) and also hit maximum throughput from my over-provisioned 1,200Mbps Comcast/Xfinity service. So far the AX89X is the only device I've come across that could give me this capability while also letting me keep the AiMesh setup that I've invested quite a bit in.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on whether this is achievable with the AX89X, if it's just a hobbyist's headache rather than a production-ready router, whether I'd be better off just waiting for the possible successor, etc. Thanks in advance.

I bought this thing for the 10gb ports. I'm sure that 99% of us bought it for the same reason.

The dual band is... ok
The 8 lan ports are great
Obviously the 2 10gb ports are amazing

But

The wan is only 1gb, I really don't understand what were they thinking in building the Optimus prime of modems and giving him only 1gb in the wan side and only dual band.

That is if you use it as a node, which is what I do. If you use it as the master that's another story.

I can't really complain about the unit, it's nice, hasn't give me problems but it would be nice to have more flexibility in using the 10gbe as wan even in aimesh.

I would wait for the successor of this unit if I were you.

 

[NSNE]

The wan is only 1gb, I really don't understand what were they thinking in building the Optimus prime of modems and giving him only 1gb in the wan side and only dual band.


I would wait for the successor of this unit if I were you.

The port labeled "WAN" is 1G, but the AX89X's 10G Ethernet port can be repurposed as the WAN. As I mentioned in earlier posts, my intention—now implemented—was to connect it to the multi-Gig port (2.5) of a CAX80, which enables me to max out my ISP bandwidth (theoretically 1,200Mbps). The AX89X's SFP+ port is connected to the SFP+ port of a 10G switch via a Twinax cable (bonus: less heat than Ethernet transceivers), and that leaves me with three 10G SFP+ ports on the switch for my handful of 1G+ devices.

I was hitting 1,300Mbps down on Speedtest.net on a new M1 Mac mini 10G yesterday and am seeing internal-quality read/write speeds on a networked ReadyNAS 626 10G. The last free 10G port on the switch is reserved for a) a second 10G Mac mini when the M2/M1X comes out OR b) a second 10G switch when needs must.

So while I agree that the AX89X really ought to have had a 2.5G+ WAN port (and 6E for that matter) to start with, there's not a lot about the AX89X that's stopping network speed junkies from getting 10G capabilities to the devices that can make use of it. The beta firmware solved all my issues, and the AX89X is now running as solidly as any Asus router I've owned.

 

[Hydroxpert]

I have an RT-AX86U which I had paired with 3 x Asus XD4 in a mesh but I wasn't happy with the XD4s so sent them back and got an AX-89X to replace the XD4s in the hope the 8 aerials would help with longer range.

I have the AX89X in the exact same space as was previously occupied by the AX86U and I am very happy with the increase in range and speed at range (no real difference when close around 800Mbps on my iPhone 11 from a 1G connection). For example my M1 MacBook Air gets a link of 720Mpbs with an RSSI - 63dBm at my desk in the next room (old house where some wall are 3 bricks thick) where as in the same conditions I got only 288Mbps with an RSSI - 72dBM from the AX86U which was still usable but not making the most of my connection.

I now have the AX86U as a node in AiMesh running from the AX89X and I am very happy but there is room for improvement with the AX89X which I am hoping comes with a future firmware, as many have said on the forum it seems the AX89X is a bit behind other more popular models in firmware updates from Asus but I am running a beta version and it certain is helping.

My reason for purchasing the AX89X was too make as much of the signal as I could in a difficult environment and although most of the house I have wired up with CAT5E (started it 10 years ago) whilst renovating, my wife has made it clear that having multiple APs everywhere isn't something she will tolerate. The AX89X gives me the best speed possible even on a poor connection all the way into the high 70's (dBM) when in the garden.

Hope that helps.

Regards, Ian

Thank you Ian, that's super helpful. Appreciate it. Now I'm thinking I should have an AX89X as AiMesh router and XD4s as nodes at the far end of the house.

Would you be able to share why you were not happy with your 3x XD4s?

 

[Rustoni]

Thank you Ian, that's super helpful. Appreciate it. Now I'm thinking I should have an AX89X as AiMesh router and XD4s as nodes at the far end of the house.

Would you be able to share why you were not happy with your 3x XD4s?

It might be easier to explain about my use case as our house is a bit difficult due to a weird layout, it's around 250 years old and has been extended over that time around 3 times so a number of our internal walls are old exterior walls and are 3 bricks thick with a few 2 bricks thick with the remaining walls being lathe and plaster along with ceilings that are lathe and plaster - part of it is 3 storey and parts are 2 with a single storey lean too - about 3000 square feet in total. Hopefully that paints a picture that our house is a bit tricky with trying to arrange WiFi nodes in a fashion where you don't get dead spots and you don't get too much overlap so your mobile clients roam to the nearest node etc. and any clients that are not wired (I try to wire what I can) stay connected to the right node and don't constantly bounce between A and B because they are caught in the middle of the two with equal signal strength.

The XD4s in the right place would work really well and the speed is very similar to the AX86U When located in the same room but due to the diminutive size and form factor the signal didn't travel as well as I needed it to and so I ended up with a total of 4 access points in the house which caused complications and headaches with roaming, I tried only three but then I had dead spots. Additionally I found 1 of the nodes to be troublesome and it would disappear off the mesh for a while and then come back despite using a wired backhaul on all of the nodes, a reset did make things better but it didn't cure it fully. Once outside of the room they were in, the signal dropped off quickly and I lost a lot of speed, hence why I gambled on the AX89X in the hope that external aerials would help give me decent throughput even in the areas with low signal strength and its a gamble that has paid off imho.

Hope that helps.

 

[DAVIZINHO]

no news about the new firmware? still in closed beta?

 

[Dragnet.nu]

How is the fan noise in the 89x, OK or annoying?

 

[jeffrylp]

How is the fan noise in the 89x, OK or annoying?

For me it's not annoying at all. I have the fan speed set to Auto.

 

[monakh]

Hi Maylyn, was wondering if you've heard anything about a Wifi 6E successor to the RT-AX89X? I was considering the current Wifi 6 model to go with my 10Gbps plan but think it might be a bit of a step back since I'm already using GT-AXE11000s for my AiMesh setup.

Any news on this, guys? Looking to add to the AIMesh currently managed by my Merlin-based AX88.

 

[msallal]

I bought this router last week, and it is the first Asus router I got. I am only interested in VPN route rules that merlin support. I need your advice to decide if Merlin will support this router soon or I have to return it
Thanks

 

[DAVIZINHO]

I bought this router last week, and it is the first Asus router I got. I am only interested in VPN route rules that merlin support. I need your advice to decide if Merlin will support this router soon or I have to return it
Thanks

in my opinion, and is only a opinion, merlin never suppor this router :-(

 

[msallal]

in my opinion, and is only a opinion, merlin never suppor this router :-(

I think i will return it and get something supported by merlin, I am so interested in 10gbe for my Qnap, but unfortunately my priority is the route feature. Thank you

 

[DAVIZINHO]

Asus firmware engineers just shared a beta (9.x) version that seems to solve the SFP+ disconnects I've been experiencing after every reboot. I also peeked at the AiMesh section, and it brings the AX89X up to par with other AiMesh 2.0 routers in terms of features like enforcing system-wide Ethernet backhaul.

So take heart, everyone! AX89X firmware development may be strangely quiet, but progress does seem to be taking place behind the scenes.

hi @NSNE
do you have any problem with this beta firmware of all works fine since you installed?

 

[AOD999]

hi @NSNE
do you have any problem with this beta firmware of all works fine since you installed?

I've been using this beta for awhile and I'm probably one of the very few users that use this just as an AP and have been stable with no issue whatsoever.

 

[DAVIZINHO]

New firmware released

Firmware version 3.0.0.4.386_45120
- Release Note -

Bug fixes and improvement:

1. AiMesh 2.0
- System optimization: one click in AiMesh to optimize the topology
- System Ethernet backhaul mode, all nodes will only connect by ethernet, all bands will be released for wireless clients.
- System factory default and reboot.
- Client device reconnect, make the device to offline and online again.
- Client device binding to specific AP.
- Guest WiFi on all Mesh nodes (all node need to upgrade to 3.0.0.4.386 firmware)
- Access nodes USB application.

Connection priority and Ethernet backhaul mode introduction

[AiMesh] What is Ethernet Backhaul Mode/Backhaul Connection Priority in AiMesh System and how to set up in different scenarios? | Official Support | ASUS Global

How to setup ASUS AiMesh or ZenWiFi Mesh Ethernet backhaul under different conditions

[AiMesh] How to set up ASUS AiMesh or ZenWiFi Mesh Ethernet backhaul under different conditions ? (Advanced setup with network switch) | Official Support | ASUS Global

2. New Family interface in ASUS router App.
ASUS Router App for iOS must greater or equal to iOS v1.0.0.5.75
Android version greater or equal to v1.0.0.5.74

3. The unit of the WiFi time scheduler goes to 1 minute.

4. Support IPSec IKE v1 and IKE v2, and you can use the Windows 10 native VPN client program to connect to the router's IPSec VPN server.
The Windows 10 new FAQ is in https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1033576

5. 2.4GHz and 5GHz on the network map could be configured in the same tab.

6. Captcha for login can be disabled in administration -> system.

7. Printer server port can be disabled on the USB app page.

8. Clients which connect to the guest network can be viewed in the network map -->view list --> interface

9. Fix Let's Encrypt not working properly.

10. Add IPTV supports for specific region.


This version includes several vulnerability patches.
BusyBox
- CVE-2016-2148
- CVE-2016-6301
- CVE-2018- 1000517

curl
- CVE-2020-8169
- CVE-2019-5481
- CVE-2019-5482
- CVE-2018-1000120
- CVE-2018- 1000300
- CVE-2018-16839

lighttpd
- CVE-2018-19052

Linux
- CVE-2020-14305
- CVE-2020-25643
- CVE-2019-19052

lldpd
- CVE-2020-27827

Avahi
- CVE-2017-6519

hostapd
- CVE-2021-30004
- CVE-2019-16275

OpenVPN
- CVE-2020-11810
- CVE-2020-15078

wpa
- CVE-2021-30004
- CVE-2021-27803
- CVE-2019-11555
- CVE-2019-9499
- CVE-2019-9498
- CVE-2019-9497
- CVE-2019-9496
- CVE-2019-9495
- CVE-2019-9494
- CVE-2017-13086
- CVE-2017-13084
- CVE-2017-13082
- CVE-2016-4476
- CVE-2015-8041

 

[Webtank]

This new firmware still has a problem with the sfp module, it seems that they just took this part and moved it from beta ...
sfp still tries to turn on at an incomprehensible speed for it "Link up speed: 10000. eth4: PHY Link is down. PHY Link up speed: 65535. eth4: PHY Link is down. Eth4: PHY Link up speed: 10000. PHY Link is down."
this is part of the log.
this happens even if you manually set in "LAN-Switch Control" limit to 1gbps.
It's a shame ... to spend so much money on a router and they cannot solve the problem they themselves created ... and this is premium ...
however, the previous official and beta 'RT-AX89U_9.0.0.4_386_44150-g49dbf3e_sfp+_ui_wo_fnf_patches' firmware worked correctly. but in this one they took it and broke it!
At the same time, I and nadias-jp wrote feedback on the current betas (9.0.0.4_386_44323), that there are problems ...
I am angry!

 

[DAVIZINHO]

oh, this sucks!
now the release not fixed the SFTP problems and the beta not have the upgrades of other things (aimesh)
:-(

 

[Ukasus]

Hello everyone, this forum is amazing, so much wealth of knowledge. I am a complete novice and was looking for advice from this group. I am planning to buy this router ax89x.
if I attach a transceiver to the sfp+ port and connect it via fibre to my 10 gb Nic card on my pc, will it provide me with internet? Considering that I have already attached an internet connection from my isp to the router.

 

[Galaad]

Hello everyone, this forum is amazing, so much wealth of knowledge. I am a complete novice and was looking for advice from this group. I am planning to buy this router ax89x.
if I attach a transceiver to the sfp+ port and connect it via fibre to my 10 gb Nic card on my pc, will it provide me with internet? Considering that I have already attached an internet connection from my isp to the router.

Yes.

The WAN port goes to the ISP unit and the SFP+ port goes to your pc.

I have that configuration and it works.

Please note that your internet speed WONT go to 10gb per second. and honestly if you dont have a NAS or a switch capable to handle 10gb you dont need to do it.

 

[Ukasus]

Yes.

The WAN port goes to the ISP unit and the SFP+ port goes to your pc.

I have that configuration and it works.

Please note that your internet speed WONT go to 10gb per second. and honestly if you dont have a NAS or a switch capable to handle 10gb you dont need to do it.

Thank you so much for you advice. Really appreciate it.

 

[AlegreTom]

I have a question,

2 months ago I purchased this router but I am experiencing problems with the wifi, especially the 2.4ghz
the speed link does not exceed 204mb in the best of cases (iphone 12) and with 5ghz I have reached 960mb

This does not seem very satisfactory to me, I am coming from an AC-88U and I am getting lower Wi-Fi speeds and worse coverage

If it is true that even if it has fewer Wi-Fi lines, it is more stable and reaches further into the home, but of course at the cost of speed

This is normal? is there something else in my configuration?

I have not touched any configuration all by default

Update today to version 3.0.0.4.386_45120 after having one that put some alpha, when updating I do not remember what it was (sorry)

Thanks