Asus ZenWiFi XT9 Review: Premium Mesh Wi-Fi

Worth When Reviewed

1-pack: $269.99 | 2-pack: $499.99

Finest Costs At present: Asus ZenWiFi XT9

$239.99

$399.99

The Asus ZenWiFi XT9 is a Wi-Fi 6 mesh system consisting of a number of routers (nodes) designed to offer quick Wi-Fi in extra of 1Gbps throughout your house. That is one thing you’ll need in the event you plan to improve to a full fibre gigabit broadband connection since you gained’t need your house Wi-Fi to be slower than your web connection.

The usual XT9 bundle consists of two models, however particular person nodes might be purchased individually in the event you want extra protection. Or, in case your wants are extra modest, you possibly can merely purchase a person XT9 unit and have that operate as a standalone Wi-Fi 6 router. Every gadget guarantees as much as 2850 sq. ft (264.77 sq. metres) of protection. 

Do notice the “as much as”, as a result of the protection you’ll get will rely on the construction of your house, and what number of Wi-Fi-impeding objects (resembling thick partitions, concrete flooring, metal joists, folks) are positioned in between the Asus ZenWiFi XT9 models and your units. 

The Asus ZenWiFi XT9 system can be a part of Asus’s AiMesh ecosystem. This implies if in case you have an older AiMesh gadget already, say an Asus RT-AX55, you would simply add the XT9 to that for even broader protection. 

On the time of writing, particular person Asus ZenWiFi XT9 models had been priced at £234.99 / US$239.99, whereas a 2-pack will set you again round £459.99 / US$449.99.

Which will sound like so much, however this can be a quick tri-band system, which signifies that there are 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies out there on your telephones, tablets, and laptops to hook up with the Web on, plus a separate 5GHz band reserved for the Asus ZenWiFi XT9 models to speak on.

The WiFi 6 AX7800 ranking means the ZenWiFi XT9 provides you ‘a high velocity of seven.8Gbps’. Nonetheless, you gained’t truly get 7.8Gbps to any of your units as a result of that’s the mixed high speeds theoretically attainable on all the radio frequencies. That’s like saying that as a result of you will have a moped, a sizzling hatch, and a sports activities automotive, you possibly can journey at speeds of as much as 400mph as a result of that’s the mixed high speeds of these automobiles: it simply doesn’t make sense.

The rationale it’s used is to make it simpler to check networking units. And it partially explains why the XT9 is dearer than different Wi-Fi 6 mesh techniques. The theoretical high velocity attainable on the 5GHz band is 2402Mbps, with the utmost velocity you possibly can anticipate to see on the two.4GHz band being 574Mbps. The second 5GHz band’s high velocity is 4804Mbps – however until you will have Ethernet backhaul arrange, that radio shall be used for the ZenWiFi XT9 nodes to speak with one another.

In the event you can join the nodes with an Ethernet cable (which is what Ethernet backhaul means) each 5GHz bands can be utilized for units, that means sooner, extra dependable connections. It additionally means the models might be positioned additional aside than Wi-Fi would enable.

To see the type of speeds it’s attainable to get out of the ZenWiFi XT9 in the true world, we examined out a 2-pack in a two-up two-down terraced home in London and put it by its paces utilizing a spread of units. 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Design & construct

• Out there in black or white
• No built-in modem
• One 2.5Gbps Ethernet WAN port, three gigabit Ethernet LAN ports

Measuring 160 x 750 x 161.5 mm, the Asus ZenWiFi XT9’s are little greater than the like of the Eero 6 Professional or D-Hyperlink M15 {hardware}, however a bit extra compact than the Netgear Orbi RBK760 and Linksys Atlas 6. 

The XT9 models are equivalent, which implies you get the identical helpful set of ports on each. The presence of a 2.5Gbps WAN port is nice information, particularly if in case you have full fibre broadband delivering speeds north of 1Gbps (or your ISP will be capable to provide that to you sooner or later within the close to future). 

The three gigabit Ethernet LAN ports imply consoles, set-top bins and sensible TVs can profit from sooner connections. One shall be used in the event you reap the benefits of Ethernet backhaul, after all. 

There’s even a USB port, which you need to use to attach a NAS (Community Connected Storage) drive, if you’d like to have the ability to share entry to an exterior arduous drive with everybody in your community. 

As with just about all mesh Wi-Fi kits, there’s no built-in modem so that you’ll want to attach it to your current router or modem with the intention to get an web connection.

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Set up

• Asus Router cellular app
• Set-up took lower than 20 minutes 

The Asus Router app guides you thru every step of the set up course of, so it’s simple even in the event you’ve not arrange a mesh Wi-Fi system earlier than. Together with a firmware replace, it took slightly below 20 minutes to put in two ZenWiFi XT9 nodes. 

The app takes you thru each stage; ensuring that your modem is powered off earlier than plugging the primary router into the mains, scanning the QR code on the bottom of the router to pair it together with your telephone, after which connecting to it in your telephone by way of Wi-Fi, earlier than powering the modem again on. 

Ultimately, as soon as an Web connection has been established, you’ll be prompted to alter the admin password of the house community, in addition to the community title and Wi-Fi password. It’s good that this is among the first stuff you’re requested to do. Safety ought to all the time be the highest precedence, so be sure to decide passwords that aren’t garbage. 

As soon as the primary node is ready up, you’ll be requested to attach the second, basically repeating the method. The app says it’s finest in the event you join the second router to the mains and energy it on someplace in the identical room as the primary router, to make the pairing course of between the 2 nodes occur with none interference from partitions and different obstacles the primary time spherical. 

When that’s achieved and also you’ve bought the mesh community up and operating, you’ll be free to reposition the second router elsewhere in your house – wherever you want it, principally. 

For this assessment, I set issues up the identical approach that I did after I examined out the Netgear Orbi RBK760. Meaning the first node was put in downstairs subsequent to the modem, and the second was put upstairs, in a again room workplace roughly 15 metres away from the primary router.  

The Asus Router app will let you recognize if the connection between the 2 units is powerful or weak. Particularly usefully it’ll additionally let you recognize if connections on the Ethernet ports could possibly be improved by utilizing a sooner Ethernet cable, because it did after I plugged my TV set-top field into the gadget. You’d be stunned by the variety of Cat 5e cables which don’t correctly help gigabit speeds, and there’s all the time that sneaky Cat 5 cable in your assortment that – equally – will restrict the throughput to 100Mbps.

Throughout the app, you possibly can label every node with pleasant location names (‘front room’, ‘kitchen’, ‘workplace’, and many others), so determining which units are related by which room turns into simpler. 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Options & app

• Site visitors administration and community overview
• Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant help
• Free Asus Immediate Guard VPN

The Asus ZenXT9 comes with a laundry checklist of options and settings, lots of which – such because the Visitor WiFi hotspot and parental controls – are frequent to units of this ilk, and others, just like the Asus Immediate Guard VPN, which aren’t. 

Nearly all of the ZenWiFi XT9’s options might be discovered within the Asus Router app you utilize to set the whole lot up. 

Once you open up the app, you’ll be greeted with an outline of your house community, letting you see at a look what number of units are related to which node, and the way robust the sign is between the nodes. A faucet of the ‘Units’ tab on the backside of the display provides you a larger perception, telling you which ones gadget is related to which radio frequency, in addition to in the event that they’ve bought an excellent Wi-Fi connection or not. 

The ‘Perception’ tab provides you a fast overview of the final standing of your community, informing you if there’s any poor connections, if it is advisable improve to a brand new Ethernet cable to enhance efficiency on considered one of your wired-in units, and if the AiProtection safety software program has detected any threats. 

AiProtection, powered by Development Micro, supplies real-time community monitoring, in addition to tips about learn how to make your house community safer – it’ll counsel staple items like altering your password if it’s not deemed robust sufficient, to extra superior issues like disabling UPnP, in the event you actually don’t want it left on. 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

The Household tab enables you to create profiles for relations, and permits dad and mom to implement deadlines, and age-appropriate content material blocks.

The time restrict characteristic is helpful, as you possibly can schedule to the minute when folks can and might’t have entry to the Web. You too can reward children with additional time on-line if you’d like. 

The content material blocking lists are much less helpful, as they’re classes resembling ‘pornography’, ‘playing’, ‘media streaming’. Whereas that’s good, there’s no approach so that you can tailor these lists. Everybody is aware of that block lists aren’t good, with innocent websites being blocked and at different occasions, dangerous stuff not being blocked. The lack to customize these, due to this fact, isn’t nice.

Fortunately, different choices are at your disposal. As a freebie, the parental controls aren’t unhealthy: they’re simply restricted. 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

The app additionally enables you to simply arrange a short lived Visitor WiFi community, so that you don’t have handy out your essential password to guests each time. It’s an anticipated characteristic today, however useful nonetheless. There’s additionally a QoS (High quality of Service) software, which helps you to prioritise work visitors, media streaming, gaming, and different issues, if it is advisable. 

There may be additionally some integration with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice assistants, probably the most helpful instructions are those the place you possibly can ask Alexa or Google to allow Visitor Wi-Fi or powercycle the units. Full lists of instructions might be discovered right here and right here. 

An fascinating characteristic added to the ZenWiFi XT9 is Asus Immediate Guard. This allows you to entry the web by way of your house XT9 system once you’re out and about, providing an encrypted connection – identical to a VPN – when related to a public WiFi hotspot. As a value-add, that’s fairly good. You’ll be able to select between OpenVPN, IPSec and WireGuard protocols. 

Whereas the cellular app is straightforward to make use of and filled with options, if you’d like a greater take a look at the state of the community, you’ll want to move to asusrouter.com and use the desktop interface. It’s right here that you just’ll be capable to do issues like verify to see which Wi-Fi channel the routers use because the default on every band, and alter it if you wish to. The mesh system ought to choose probably the most optimum channel mechanically, but when you recognize that you may get higher efficiency out of channel 100 than, say, channel 60, you possibly can set it manually. 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Efficiency

Wi-fi efficiency right here is corresponding to mesh Wi-Fi techniques such because the Netgear Orbi RBK762s and the (cheaper) Linksys Atlas 6. 

That is largely an excellent factor, because it means quick speeds for all your units, and good protection inside most properties. However, just like the Orbi RBK762s which additionally comes with two nodes by default, you may want a 3rd node in the event you stay in a bigger than common residence and need to get respectable Wi-Fi protection out within the backyard as properly.

As you possibly can see under, protection is nice, however inferior to three-node techniques just like the Atlas 6. In our expertise, you all the time get higher protection with extra nodes, no matter which Wi-Fi customary they help.

Thomas Newton / Foundry

As traditional, I ran numerous velocity exams on a spread of units to provide you an concept of how older and newer tech ought to carry out when related to a ZenWiFi XT9 two-node setup. Keep in mind that though the Pixel 6 has Wi-Fi 6E, the XT9 doesn’t, that means the telephone can’t talk utilizing its additional 6GHz radio.

The primary take a look at (1m) is carried out in the identical room as the first ZenWiFi XT9 unit that’s related to my Virgin Media Tremendous Hub 3 in modem mode, with the telephones held one metre away. The second take a look at takes locations behind a non load-bearing wall, 5m away.

The upstairs take a look at takes is held roughly 15 metres away and one flooring up from the first router in an workplace backroom, the place the second ZenWiFi XT9 is ready up. The ultimate take a look at takes place outdoors within the backyard, in a spot roughly 20 metres away from the lounge, and 5 metres away from the workplace. 

The outcomes under, recorded utilizing the Wi-Fi Pace Take a look at Professional Android app, are averages rounded up:

For probably the most half, I used to be in a position to hook up with the 5GHz band (on Wi-Fi channel 60) virtually all over the place within the residence. 

Curiously, the one gadget which wouldn’t all the time hop on the 5GHz band was the Pixel 6 – each time I used to be out within the backyard, roughly 20 metres away from the principle router, and ten metres away from the second router, I might be moved between the two.4GHz band (channels 5 and eight) and the 5GHz band (Channel 60). Neither of the older units had this downside, therefore why the Pixel 6 speeds recorded within the desk above are decrease. 

Regardless of the specification of the 2 nodes being equivalent, I recorded slower speeds general within the workplace, although the units had been very near the second node. The Asus Router app mentioned that the connection between the 2 nodes was not significantly robust. This is smart, as there are load-bearing partitions, floorboards, and loo mirrors in between the 2 units – a number of beautiful RF-impeding objects. Nonetheless, there wasn’t an identical drop in speeds when testing the Netgear RBK762s two-node system which was arrange in precisely the identical places. 

Sadly, I wasn’t in a position to join the 2 ZenWiFi XT9 models by way of Ethernet to see if efficiency improves utilizing this configuration. 

Getting the quickest speeds out of the ZenWiFi XT9 can be contingent in your units supporting 160MHz Wi-Fi channel bands. The Google Pixel 6 does, and certainly most new telephones and laptops hitting the cabinets this 12 months will. That is why the outcomes above present sooner speeds for the Pixel 6 than the Realme X50, regardless of each supporting Wi-Fi 6. Particulars matter.

This isn’t the XT9’s fault, after all, but it surely’s a reminder that you just do want appropriate units if you’d like one of the best speeds.

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Worth & availability

The Asus ZenWiFi XT9 is in the stores straight from Asus within the UK and the US. The system wasn’t out there in Australia on the time of assessment. 

Within the UK, you purchase single ZenWiFi XT9 models in black or white for £234.99 every, or a two-pack (as reviewed right here) for £459.99. 

Amazon’s costs for single models had been the identical on the time of checking. Nonetheless, a two-pack XT9 from Amazon value £379.99 (black) and £379.99 (white). 

We discovered that Field has single pack and 2-pack white Asus ZenWiFi XT9’s priced at £239.99 and £453.49. You too can purchase them from Scan within the UK.

Within the US you should buy the ZenWiFi XT9 from Asus, with single models in black and white each costing $239.99. 

The 2-pack usually $449.99, however we noticed them discounted to $399.99 throughout testing.

You too can purchase single packs and two-packs from Amazon for US$239.99, and US$399.99. 

Elsewhere, Finest Purchase has ZenWiFi XT9 2-packs in white for US$399.99, and Walmart has the identical however in black, additionally for US$399.99, each down from the same old worth of US$449.99.

Thomas Newton / Foundry

For alternate options, see our roundup of one of the best mesh Wi-Fi techniques.

Verdict

The Asus ZenWiFi XT9 is a good mesh system that’s filled with options, lots of which is able to attraction to energy customers. However you don’t should be a networking geek: this is a superb selection for anybody wanting quick, dependable Wi-Fi even in bigger properties.

If you have already got an Asus router that helps AiMesh, you possibly can pair it with the XT9 and improve your current system and get even greater protection.

There’s no escaping the actual fact the the XT9 is dear, although, and doesn’t help the newest Wi-Fi customary (Wi-Fi 6E) with its additional 6GHz band. For that, you’d want the ZenWiFi ET12 which is even extra costly at round $860 / £800 for a two-pack. Even in the event you don’t personal any Wi-Fi 6E units but, you’ll sooner or later and mesh Wi-Fi techniques aren’t the type of factor you change on a bi-annual foundation. 

Nonetheless, that mentioned, in the event you merely need the quick speeds that the XT9 can ship on newer units (bear in mind they should help these 160MHz channels) then it’s nonetheless good worth.

Specs

• Dimensions: 160 x 750 x 161.5 mm 
• Weight: 740g
• 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) tri-band AX7800 (2.4GHz as much as 574 Mbps, 5GHz as much as 2402 Mbps, backhaul 5GHz as much as 4804 Mbps)
• MU-MIMO & OFDMA
• 1 x 2.5Gbps Ethernet WAN port
• 3 x gigabit Ethernet LAN ports
• Sort-A USB 3.2
• Distant management and administration by way of Asus Router app (iOS, Android)
• Visitor Wi-Fi
• Parental controls
• Wi-Fi administration
• IPv4, IPv6
• WPA/WPA2 hybrid
• WPA3