ASUS AiMesh AX6100 WiFi System: ASUS RT-AX92U 2 Pack - The First Mesh For The 802.11ax Standard
ASUS AiMesh AX6100 Wi-Fi System is the world's first mesh system that integrates the next-gen Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) standard to provide excellent WiFi coverage in every corner of your home.
This means that we have had high expectations for this kit since it was announced, shortly before Computex, since we are huge fans of quality routers.
When we first saw the box, the first question was: are there two routers in there? Really? As a parenthesis, all ASUS routers that have passed through our studio recently have one thing in common: they are gigantic, massive and quite impressive.
When we opened the box, this came in mind: look we have two dwarfs in front of us. Literally. 15.5 x 15.5 x 5.3 cm are the dimensions of each liliputan model and a weight of 650g.
But do not be mislead by the size of the two brothers! Inside they have a lion's heart! Specifically, a 64-bit dual core processor, Broadcom BCM4906 at 1.8GHz, and which, with the help of the 512 MB DDR3, ensures that the router will run the ASUSWRT interface properly.
However, we are talking about a pretty stubborn, complex interface, but at the same time intuitive, friendly and with those who have never had an ASUS router.
What is commendable for a Mesh system is that each unit in the kit has top features: four Gigabit LAN ports, a WAN port, a USB 3.1 port and a 2.0 port.
The antennas are not removable, they fold easily, but they "attach" to the body of the router so that it is easy to carry or handle. In addition to the four external antennas, the routers have two more antennas inside. Another important aspect is that they can be mounted on the wall or ceiling.
A few hardware specs
The two RT-AX92U routers are tri-band, one band on the conventional 2.4GHz and two on 5GHz. Obviously, the name of the router signifies the maximum theoretical bandwidth, which is obtained as follows: 400 Mbps offered by the 2.4GHz channel, 867 Mbps from the 5GHz .ac channel and the maximum theoretical 4804 Mbps is offered by the 5GHz channel using the ax standard.
Obviously, in an AC environment the speed of the third channel will also be 867 Mbps.
In contrast, between the two routers the transfer speed is the one offered by the 802.11ax standard, even if you do not have ax devices yet. That means high speeds today and the AiMesh system is already ready for the future.
AiMesh AX6100 Instalation and Configuration
Installing the mesh is very easy, and ASUS did a great job by making things straight forward and simple for everyone, even the non-techsavy users.
After installing the first router as a Main router, connecting to the Internet, checking if it has the latest firmware (always install the latest firmware, for stability, bug fixing and improved speeds), the second router is searched from the router interface and it adds up - everything takes a few minutes, intuitive, extremely simple.
Instead of just writing how to do it here, you can watch the instructions from the official ASUS youtube channel (takes just 2 minutes and you are done)
Testing the AiMesh vs a single router
ASUS RT-AC5300 vs AiMesh RT-AX92U
Due to the fact that we have run many tests, and there are many figures to analyze, we can tell you from start the conclusion: even though our small studio (approx. 68m2) is not suitable for an AiMesh scenario, and the test system is capable of covering a more than double the space without problems, the two dwarves managed to beat the gigantic RT-AC5300 in the most difficult scenarios: that is, in the most difficult areas, in the darkest, most remote corners.
The major differences between the gigantic RT-AC5300 and the AiMesh kit appear in the most hidden corners of the studio like the balcony.
And if in such a small space the new AiMesh kit performed excellent, in a larger space it will start to beat a single router, no matter how big and powerful it is, the more rooms, more walls, a single router will have a lot of difficulties.
Conclusion time
ASUS proved once again that two well-synchronized devices can beat a superior and in theory a more powerful device, if walls, distances, corners come into equation. In this case, the powerful RT-AC5300 router was defeated in all situations. After all this is the advantage of a Mesh system - users will always hit scenarios when they will find themselves positioned closer to a node of the mesh rather than the main router. And then, in that place, the node will guarantee the best Wi-Fi experience.
The new AiMesh is not that affordable price wise, but neither is the RT-AC5300, even now, long after its appearance on the market. So, in this comparison we had 2 titans, the AiMesh variant being the one recommended by us, being much more prepared for the future, when all the devices around it will speak the same language, on the Wi-Fi 6 standard, or 802.11ax, as it is becoming the new WiFi standard.
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