ASUSZenWiFi XT9 AX7800 Tri-Band WiFi6 Mesh WiFiSystem (2Pack), 802.11ax, up to 5700 sq ft & 6+ Rooms, AiMesh, Lifetime Free Internet Security, Parental Controls, 2.5G WAN Port, UNII 4, White

We purchased a new, larger house, and I needed to resolve some coverage and speed issues. My AX86U did an admirable job and while I could have just purchased another, we have some Wifi 7 devices so I figured I'd go ahead and futureproof.I read a lot about my options (primarily Wifi 6E and Wifi 7) on several sites, but ultimately, DongKnowsTech is what convinced me to buy this unit over others. My main reason for writing this review is because there are not many reviews yet, and there are a lot of experiences posted elsewhere that were not good. Based on my experience and what I've read, I believe that this is likely related to bad software on release and has been resolved with firmware updates. Perhaps my experience will help you feel more confident about buying this unit if you are strongly considering it.I was nervous about the setup and performance based on experiences some other people had. The only issue that I had during setup was that the node MUST be close to the main unit when setting it up. Even though they can communicate in different areas of the house, it has a difficult time completing setup if they're not close by and will just flash blue. If you experience this and it's in another room, move it in the same room temporarily to complete setup.Once the setup was complete, I updated firmware on both devices, and updated the MAC address on my ATT Fiber modem which was already in Passthrough mode. Once that was complete, I moved the node upstairs and confirmed that it was working.Since I have ethernet in the room that it's in, I plugged in to utilize ethernet backhaul. I also changed a couple of settings in the Asus router app to prioritize ethernet backhaul over wireless backhaul. Once that was done, I confirmed that I still had a connection upstairs, and the app confirmed that it was using wired backhaul.Ran some speed tests on my phone and I was getting 700+mbps on the unit upstairs on 5ghz. Faster than I expected.Wifi downstairs is just as strong. My office and gaming pcs are plugged in ethernet, and I'm capping out at 900-1000mbps whereas I was previously hitting 600-750mbps.NOTE: I switched out all of my ethernet cables to Cat 6A, so this may have had an impact on speeds. Previously, I had Cat 5E and some cables that were not marked and may have been lower grade.One odd thing that I have run into is that my Bravia 7 does not want to connect to any network that has 2.4, 5, and 6ghz available. If I limit it to 2.4 and 5, or one or the other, OR just 6ghz, it will connect fine. But, it will not connect to a network with all 3 active. For now, I have it on it's own network using 6ghz but I'll have to dig into this.I have not had any issues with any other devices connecting. That includes TVs, Hue bridge/bulbs, tablets, game consoles, soundbars, robot vacuum, smartwatches. Everything is working.Overall, I'm very happy with the product. The setup was painless and though I expected good coverage, the speeds are better than expected. It has the same Asus features that I'm familiar with, without extra fees. The only thing that I'm not happy about is the price. I know it will come down and Wifi7 devices will be cheaper in time, but I needed a solution now and didn't want to re-visit again in a couple of years. Since I used Amazon Rewards, in combination with a lower priced Like New unit with Amazon Resale, the price was quite as hard a pill to swallow.

The key strengths of Asus Routers have been its customizability through its web interface (parental controls, AI Security), mesh performance (preferably with a wired ethernet backhaul), signal coverage for about 8000-9000 sq. ft (with 3 nodes) and regular firmware updates. I have had ASUS Wifi routers since the past 8 years through various models (XT8, ZenWiFi Pro AX11000) and they have been pretty reliable and consistence in performance.For those who like to customize their LAN's between wired/wifi and for private cloud uses, this is the mesh router to have but, they are expensive as well. Is it worth it? It totally depends on the value of your setup (security and privacy requirements, external access, running DVR's with external access, so on).Beyond its cost, these are totally worth it. I wouldn't hesitate to get them.

I was very excited about this product as, on paper, it is about the best-spec'd wireless device around. Unfortunately, the reality was an absolutely awful experience for me. I spent hours and tested every possible configuration, but it was unable to outperform a wifi 5 router from years ago.Factory resets, firmware upgrades/downgrade, each band tested individually. MLO/WiFi 7 enabled or disabled. Router mode, AP mode. Nothing I tried could achieve download speeds greater than 500mbps on my 1gb/1gb connection. And that was from two feet away. Upload speeds were often almost normal though! Performance fell off with any distance. The connection would often drop repeatedly during use, sitting 6 feet from the router. I tried testing with multiple wifi 7 and 6 clients that all performed in excess of 1gbps on other wifi networks, but ALL of them ran terribly when connected to the BQ16. Asus support could not offer any solution. If it were not for all the other complaints I've found in forums, I'd suspect my device was simply defective, but there seems to be widespread issues with this model.

I’ve been using Asus routers for 10+ years. These are not cheap, but you get what you pay for. The biggest selling point for me is they support the CenturyLink/Lumen fiber account authentication allowing me not have to pay Lumen for their !@#$y WiFi router. Mine are super stable and loaded with features. WiFi 7 devices are blazing fast and legacy devices are much more stable. I have a VPN setup for use on open WiFi’s. The OpenVPN server is rock solid and very customizable. The included IPS/IDS works great and is updated regularly. The Asus app is good, but doesn’t cover every setup option. You still have to access the GUI for move advanced setups. I would absolutely recommend these!!

This system is a notch above the consumer norm for a home network system. Very powerful radio sections and robust set of controls that allow a lot of granularity for system setup and operation. The setup process was pretty smooth but I have this suggestion. Setup the router unit first and then add the node. This is a variation from the published process but trust me it will go smoother if you do it that way. The only negative that I can share is on connecting the units with a wired (ethernet) backhaul. The connection is quite straight forward but had issues with the guest WiFi's performing correctly when on wired backhaul. I found a post in a forum to connect the backhaul to the router LAN port 3 instead of ports 1 or 2. I did this and rebooted the system and now the guest WiFi's work perfectly. Go figure.One slight addendum: When operating with wired backhaul turn "Smart Connect" off in the wireless config section. Mesh still functions perfectly but this function seems to confuse things when on wired backhaul.