CES 2021: Linksys Debuts Wi-Fi 6E Tri-Band Mesh System

[Glee217]

Just bought an Asus wifi 6 router ($300) and felt a little bit of regret when I read the news but then realized, I have nothing to take advantage of those speeds. It won't be until 2022, when WiFi 6e will be standard on all Apple products.

But that's only next year though lol.

I am in the same boat thinking about getting a new mesh trim band router and still thinking of the 6e ones but too expensive right now though. I don't have any 6e clients (devices) but do have a iPhone 12 Pro max but most likely I will not be buying any 6e devices any time soon unless it was a good deal lol.

So can anyone recommend a tri band mesh wifi 6 router? I currently renting a Eero dual band wifi 5 with Sonic for 1 gig fiber and max on wifi it sometimes gets 450 mbps standing next but mainly at 300 mbps avg.

edit
I am considering https://www.walmart.com/ip/Asus-RT-AX92U-AiMesh-AX6100-WiFi-System-2Pack/497581460

 

[Glee217]

Ran Cat6 around my house. I'm the captain now...

So which ethernet cables are minimum for wifi 6e? I have mostly 5e cables.

 

[hmmfe]

So which ethernet cables are minimum for wifi 6e? I have mostly 5e cables.

Cat5e, if properly run and terminated, is good for 2.5GbE up to 100m. Cat6, again if properly run and terminated, is good for 5GbE up to 100m. This is by the standard. In practice, you can probably get by with Cat5e @ 5GbE (and even 10GbE) over shorter distances or if you have used quality cable and paid attention to the quality of your terminations in terms of workmanship and materials.

In short, if you have Cat5e I would not worry too much about it being an issue since I doubt your runs are anything close to 328ft. If you are contemplating running new cable then I'd probably install Cat6a since the price difference is not huge given typical distances and # of drops in a typical home. If you are price sensitive, then Cat6 is good too but I'd tend to stay with quality brands - there is a lot of cheap, very very bad cable out there.

 

[Glee217]

Cat5e, if properly run and terminated, is good for 2.5GbE up to 100m. Cat6, again if properly run and terminated, is good for 5GbE up to 100m. This is by the standard. In practice, you can probably get by with Cat5e @ 5GbE (and even 10GbE) over shorter distances or if you have used quality cable and paid attention to the quality of your terminations in terms of workmanship and materials.

In short, if you have Cat5e I would not worry too much about it being an issue since I doubt your runs are anything close to 328ft. If you are contemplating running new cable then I'd probably install Cat6a since the price difference is not huge given typical distances and # of drops in a typical home. If you are price sensitive, then Cat6 is good too but I'd tend to stay with quality brands - there is a lot of cheap, very very bad cable out there.

Good info thanks. Btw I am also in the market for a router for a two story 900 square feet house. I am renting a eero dual band mesh router from Sonic but wanted to buy one and dont have any wifi 6e clients (only iphone 12 pro max and a laptop with wifi 6) but most likely to add some in the future so should I just buy a cheaper wifi 6/5 router or wait a little longer for a deal on wifi 6e? Thanks.

 

[hmmfe]

Good info thanks. Btw I am also in the market for a router for a two story 900 square feet house. I am renting a eero dual band mesh router from Sonic but wanted to buy one and dont have any wifi 6e clients (only iphone 12 pro max and a laptop with wifi 6) but most likely to add some in the future so should I just buy a cheaper wifi 6/5 router or wait a little longer for a deal on wifi 6e? Thanks.

That is a good question. I suspect that you'll get a lot of different takes on this, but here is mine...

You'll be fine going with Wifi 6 (or even Wifi 5). If you are in the market, I'd not wait. The thing that Wifi 6E adds is a new frequency - thus more non-overlapping channels to chose from. This can be a blessing for those in very crowded Wifi space. If this is you, then you may want to wait. If you don't have any issues with interference on the 5Ghz channels you currently use, then there is no real benefit to Wifi 6E.

It's always nice to have the latest tech and if it's available and affordable when you need to buy, then go that way. But, in this case holding off on a purchase you need to make now would not be worth the limited benefits of Wifi 6E (excluding the lack of open frequency referenced above).

Understand, this is my practical take on things. But, I do this stuff for a living and my house is wired with Cat5e and I am using Wifi 5 with no problems at all (general use, home office, smart home, etc). So, unless you have a specific challenge I'd not worry about the "specsmanship" that inevitably comes up.

 

[Glee217]

That is a good question. I suspect that you'll get a lot of different takes on this, but here is mine...

You'll be fine going with Wifi 6 (or even Wifi 5). If you are in the market, I'd not wait. The thing that Wifi 6E adds is a new frequency - thus more non-overlapping channels to chose from. This can be a blessing for those in very crowded Wifi space. If this is you, then you may want to wait. If you don't have any issues with interference on the 5Ghz channels you currently use, then there is no real benefit to Wifi 6E.

It's always nice to have the latest tech and if it's available and affordable when you need to buy, then go that way. But, in this case holding off on a purchase you need to make now would not be worth the limited benefits of Wifi 6E (excluding the lack of open frequency referenced above).

Understand, this is my practical take on things. But, I do this stuff for a living and my house is wired with Cat5e and I am using Wifi 5 with no problems at all (general use, home office, smart home, etc). So, unless you have a specific challenge I'd not worry about the "specsmanship" that inevitably comes up.

The eero with 1gbps fiber on wifi gives me avg 150mbps which is very low vs the max of 450mbps standing next to the eero but the connection is solid no drops. I am in SF California and there are many neighboring wifi signals but still very solid.

Its just that I want to have greater than averages of 150mbps since I am paying for fiber speeds lol or am I just wasting money then lol

 

[hmmfe]

The eero with 1gbps fiber on wifi gives me avg 150mbps which is very low vs the max of 450mbps standing next to the eero but the connection is solid no drops. I am in SF California and there are many neighboring wifi signals but still very solid.

Its just that I want to have greater than averages of 150mbps since I am paying for fiber speeds lol or am I just wasting money then lol

How many eeros do you have now? Are they doing wireless or Ethernet backhaul? How big is your home and how is it constructed (wood stud/drywall, masonry, etc.).

If you have the cabling in place, or have the option of pulling a run of cable, that would give you the best options. If you can do the work yourself, it would cost maybe $100 total (likely less).

You could, then, keep your dual-band stuff and just add more APs (I think you can get 2nd gen eero of pretty cheap these days).

Wireless backhaul is a nice fallback plan when you can't run cable and there is no cable in place but it's never the ideal solution. Since you were asking about cabling, I assume that is at least a possible solution?

 

[Glee217]

How many eeros do you have now? Are they doing wireless or Ethernet backhaul? How big is your home and how is it constructed (wood stud/drywall, masonry, etc.).

If you have the cabling in place, or have the option of pulling a run of cable, that would give you the best options. If you can do the work yourself, it would cost maybe $100 total (likely less).

You could, then, keep your dual-band stuff and just add more APs (I think you can get 2nd gen eero of pretty cheap these days).

Wireless backhaul is a nice fallback plan when you can't run cable and there is no cable in place but it's never the ideal solution. Since you were asking about cabling, I assume that is at least a possible solution?

Thanks for the reply. I have two eeros and they both are ethernet backhauled (ethernet cable connected to each other). I am not planning on wiring at all just wanted to boost my wifi speeds to greater than 450mbps so thinking about buying a wifi 6e router but it seems it will only have a small gain in wifi speeds?

 

[hmmfe]

Thanks for the reply. I have two eeros and they both are ethernet backhauled (ethernet cable connected to each other). I am not planning on wiring at all just wanted to boost my wifi speeds to greater than 450mbps so thinking about buying a wifi 6e router but it seems it will only have a small gain in wifi speeds?

In your specific case, there would be no difference between Wifi 6 and Wifi 6E. You would see improvement going with a Wifi 6 system over 2nd Gen eero. I think since you have 2 eeros wired, adding a 3rd 2nd gen eero (wireless backhaul) would be the cheapest short-term solution if you want to try to find a used one.

All that being said, I think just buying into one of the better rated Wifi 6 systems, which will give you better throughput on 5Ghz and a stronger signal, would not be a waste of money. Missing out on 6E's additional frequency would not benefit you at all now. It'll be some time before enough end devices support the new frequency and even then it would not have much benefit unless you are in a crowded 5Ghz spectrum (or perhaps using it for the backhaul portion - but you have wired which is preferred).

I hope that helps your decision making process.

 

[Glee217]

In your specific case, there would be no difference between Wifi 6 and Wifi 6E. You would see improvement going with a Wifi 6 system over 2nd Gen eero. I think since you have 2 eeros wired, adding a 3rd 2nd gen eero (wireless backhaul) would be the cheapest short-term solution if you want to try to find a used one.

All that being said, I think just buying into one of the better rated Wifi 6 systems, which will give you better throughput on 5Ghz and a stronger signal, would not be a waste of money. Missing out on 6E's additional frequency would not benefit you at all now. It'll be some time before enough end devices support the new frequency and even then it would not have much benefit unless you are in a crowded 5Ghz spectrum (or perhaps using it for the backhaul portion - but you have wired which is preferred).

I hope that helps your decision making process.

Thanks for the info btw can you recommend a wifi 6 router? I am looking at https://www.walmart.com/ip/Asus-RT-AX92U-AiMesh-AX6100-WiFi-System-2Pack/497581460
Since I have some gift cards but it was $350 awhile ago.

 

[hmmfe]

Thanks for the info btw can you recommend a wifi 6 router? I am looking at https://www.walmart.com/ip/Asus-RT-AX92U-AiMesh-AX6100-WiFi-System-2Pack/497581460
Since I have some gift cards but it was $350 awhile ago.

I've not used that product so I can't give a firsthand recommendation, but it seems to be well regarded. If it's in your budget, then it might be a good choice. I'd check the features closely - especially the ability to have a 2.4Ghz only SSID (or at least disable band-steering) if you are using any smart home devices that operate on 2.4Ghz only.

Good luck and let us all know what you got and how it's performing.