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Forum Discussion
AX4200 vs Asus ZenWiFi XT8
Been an Orbi user and fan both at the office and home for a long time. Due to an impending need to extend connectivity for a new addition we completed, I'm wondering what people are thinking about t...
Only some further considerations besides that I've already posted:
ZenWifi Pros:
- cheaper
- no difference between router and satellite: the devices are all identical, you choose which you want to use as a router and which as a satellite. So you can easily extend your mesh, don't have to look for extra satellites, you can buy any existing kit (1, 2 o 3 pieces) and choose to use all the included devices in the kit as satellites
- compatible with any already owned Asus Wifi 6 AiMesh router or access point
- access control：parental control, network service filter, URL filter, port filter (already included and free)
- USB 3 ports for sharing external disks, enhanced media server (AiPlayer app compatible)
Much faster than the Orbi AX 4200, it's to be correctly compared to Orbi AX 6000.
I've actually used both the RBK752 and the XT8. They're pretty similar in terms of coverage and speed wise they were also pretty similar. The one area where they both fail is the handoff of clients between the router and the nodes, both aren't very good with it.
Biggest difference is the XT8 has a lot more settings to tweak if you feel the need, the 160mhz channels and better port selection. The RBK752
is designed like all Orbi to set it and forget it. I will say I've been running the Orbi for about three weeks with no issues at all other than the too sticky clients mostly iOS.
I think it boils down to personal preference and what's available right now.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your valuable feedback, it's really appreciated.. I do like the set and forget it. Do you have to change much with the Asus?
-Steven
CallPaul
I've actually used both the RBK752 and the XT8. They're pretty similar in terms of coverage and speed wise they were also pretty similar. The one area where they both fail is the handoff of clients between the router and the nodes, both aren't very good with it.Actually the ZenWifi AX has a specific setting that controls the roaming between router and satellites.
In presence of a wireless mesh system it's very likely that, when the device's current wifi signal level falls under a certain threshold, a stronger signal from another AP/satellite might be available,
Through the "Roaming assistant" setting it's possible to set the threshold under which the wireless devices is "suggested" to search for a better AP, for ex. when signal level falls below -50 dBm.
In my experience with the Asus AX mesh system I use "Roaming assistant: Enable" and the signal threshold "Disconnect clients when RSSI lower then: -50 dBm".
I have a very large house (> 5000 sq.ft, 3 levels) with 1 router and 3 satellites, and when moving around the floors on my OnePlus 7TPro I immediately get 867 Mbps when in view of the floor's satellite, no latency.
So changing the threshold from -70 dBm (the default) to -50 dBm in my case gives very good roaming support.
I've used the feature when I had an Aimesh setup with two Asus routers and the XT-8. Unfortunately the Orbi
doesnt allow changing the default setting on roaming assist. I've found location and distance between nodes has a lot to do with how clients switch. In my case it's not a concern because most of my clients are in two main areas and even if say I'm on an iPhone 11 I'm still getting 300-400 mbps even though I'm not connected to the closest node when moving around. Changing power levels and lowering transmit power also works when the nodes are not capable of being moved farther apart.
The biggest issue is the clients themselves. I've found iOS devices will hang onto a signal for a long time no matter what parameters are set.