I'm jumping in late here, but here's my experience:
1. The GT- (especially the AX11000) models do not have Merlin, and (according to him) will not. Too big a pain in the butt for him to do it, and I can't disagree.
2. Wi-Fi 6 is a complete waste right now. Show me devices which take advantage of it, and compare with Wi-Fi 5. My iPhones and a test laptop with WiFi 6 have been crap, both with the AX11000, my AT&T BGW320-500 (WiFi 6), and other test routers.
3. My GT-AX11000 (obviously not the all-new case AXE11000 - too similar names...) has wireless issues (signal/noise/internal home performance). That is, if I set as main, my performance is crap compared to my AC5300, and if I use it as main with extenders (AC68U and aforementioned AC5300) I cap out at lower speeds.
4. Want evidence for #3? I'm getting over 600Mbps to the internet, and 1053 Mbps internally, on my AC68U <> AC5300. My AX11000 has higher noise and caps out at 750-850Mbps internally, but damn near close to that to the internet (desktop/laptop > switch > AX11000 > AC5300 > AT&T Fiber residential gateway > internet).
Regarding a UPS...
I have an APC home office (prosumer) grade backup in my home office, but just use a $99 Costco UPS (Cyberpower) with my AT&T residential gateway.
When my power goes out (which it did for 30 hours earlier this year, and twice since), my internet is still lit up, but I just use a AC68U (preconfigured but powered off) to extend the AT&T BGW320 until we get power again.
My desktop and laptops all connect to it, and performance is adequate (100-200Mbps) instead of normal (250-550).
1. The GT- (especially the AX11000) models do not have Merlin, and (according to him) will not. Too big a pain in the butt for him to do it, and I can't disagree.
2. Wi-Fi 6 is a complete waste right now. Show me devices which take advantage of it, and compare with Wi-Fi 5. My iPhones and a test laptop with WiFi 6 have been crap, both with the AX11000, my AT&T BGW320-500 (WiFi 6), and other test routers.
3. My GT-AX11000 (obviously not the all-new case AXE11000 - too similar names...) has wireless issues (signal/noise/internal home performance). That is, if I set as main, my performance is crap compared to my AC5300, and if I use it as main with extenders (AC68U and aforementioned AC5300) I cap out at lower speeds.
4. Want evidence for #3? I'm getting over 600Mbps to the internet, and 1053 Mbps internally, on my AC68U <> AC5300. My AX11000 has higher noise and caps out at 750-850Mbps internally, but damn near close to that to the internet (desktop/laptop > switch > AX11000 > AC5300 > AT&T Fiber residential gateway > internet).
Regarding a UPS...
I have an APC home office (prosumer) grade backup in my home office, but just use a $99 Costco UPS (Cyberpower) with my AT&T residential gateway.
When my power goes out (which it did for 30 hours earlier this year, and twice since), my internet is still lit up, but I just use a AC68U (preconfigured but powered off) to extend the AT&T BGW320 until we get power again.
My desktop and laptops all connect to it, and performance is adequate (100-200Mbps) instead of normal (250-550).