Asus zenwifi ax xt8 review in Spanish (full analysis)

A few weeks ago we made an article where we talked about WiFi 6 and its implementation in the AiMesh Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 system citing its advantages and features. Finally we have had access to this set of two routers working on 802.11ax in order to carry out our complete performance and configuration analysis.

The XT8 package features two exactly the same routers, with tri-band capacity in the new WiFi 6 standard, although the most powerful link will be used for the meshed connection between them. It is oriented to large houses with 510 m ² or more, featuring a much more decorative design than the AiMesh AX6100 and the same expandability and complete Asus firmware. It is not a cheap set, so we expect good performance from you.

As always, we thank the Asus team, who place their trust in us to perform the analysis of this AiMesh system.

Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 technical characteristics

Unboxing

Let's start this analysis of the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 by unboxing the product, which has used a most elegant presentation with a hard cardboard box with a case- type opening similar to that used in high-end boards. This box is completely painted in gray as a background along with images of the routers in all their glory. Back we see some of its features and its compatibility with the Asus router App for its configuration and management

We will see all that later, now what we will do is open this large box that will let us see the kit of two routers tucked inside two transparent plastic bags and perfectly accommodated in a cardboard mold that will help protect them from knocks. We remove this first mold to see that we have another one below, where the rest of the elements are stored.

In this way, the purchase bundle will contain the following accessories:

• 2x Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 router 2x power adapters British and European interchangeable plugs Cat.5E Ethernet cable Warranty documentation Multi-language installation guide

A fairly complete bundle in which Asus has always remembered the useful Ethernet cable to connect a non-wireless client to some of the routers. This cable is certified to support up to 1 Gbps for being Cat.5E, it is not a problem for 2.5 Gbps, but a Cat 6 we would have liked more.

External design

After taking out these two small routers we will see their design features in more detail, being their main difference and strength compared to the manufacturer's AiMesh systems such as the AX6100 that we have already tested here in Professional Review.

They are two exactly the same routers, so what is said for one will be perfectly valid for the other from now on. For them an elliptical design has been used, but with the corners more closed in curvature, leaving a quite sober and elegant set that in turn will decorate wherever we put it. This pack is available in dark gray colors as in our case, or white, being interchangeable and exactly the same.

The area that we consider to be the front of the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 has a completely smooth surface and the Asus logo in the lower central part. Just below we have an LED indicator that will show us the status of the router at all times. On both sides, it has been chosen to place grid areas with longitudinal openings to ensure the expulsion of hot air from the interior. The cooling system of the routers will be totally passive. The LED colors will represent the following:

• Blue: pending configuration or synchronizing with the Mesh network Green: while starting the computer White: online routers with good coverage Yellow: connection between nodes is weak Red: there is no WAN connection or the node is not connected to the Mesh network

The entire area occupied by the vertical faces is built in two parts or housings, although these are very discreetly joined without visible screws and we imagine that they are under pressure. This makes disassembling the equipment very complicated and practically impossible without breaking it. We take the opportunity to see the top of the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8, which consists of a flat face with an opening around the edge once again to expel hot air by natural convection and at the same time to improve the final appearance of the product.

Let's move on to the back and bottom of the routers, this is where we will have the ports and buttons for physical interaction of them. In the lower area we also find the product label with information about the SSID that the router brings from the factory and no username and password, since we will configure this as soon as we first enter the computer as we will see later.

The ports and buttons that we find on both computers are exactly the same, and they will be these:

• DC-IN power port Power button 3x Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports 1x LAN / WAN port 2.5G1x USB 3.2 gen1 Type-A1x port Button for WPS function (base) 1x RESET button (base)

In this case one of the routers yes or yes must have a WAN connection to access the Internet, this must be done through the 2.5G port. The other one will be free to connect high speed clients. A priori it is a possible bandwidth, since the trunk link of both routers is 4 × 4 WiFi 6 at 4804 Mbps.

The truth is that there is not much more to say about the design of these routers, only that we see more decorative ones in white. The measures of each equipment are 160 mm wide, 161.5 mm high and 75 mm thick. Each of them weighs just over 700 grams

Bandwidth and performance

After seeing the exterior appearance of the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 system, it is time to see in more detail what they offer in terms of bandwidth and hardware specifications.

The router equipment has a tri-band connection, which means that they have a total of three independent wireless signals with which to transport the information. But we will have to explain this correctly by putting ourselves in context of the Mesh or Mesh system for which they are designed. And it is that one of these three wireless signals will only and exclusively be used for the trunk link between both routers, and all those that join them.

The maximum performance in terms of bandwidth and operation will be as follows:

• 2.4 GHz 802.11ax band: theoretical 574 Mbps in 2 × 2 connections, that is, client-router connection with two simultaneous antennas. This speed is the one that would be reached in a connection with a frequency of 40 MHz and 1024QAM modulation. Band 5 GHz - 1 802.11ax: 1201 Mbps theoretical in 2 × 2 connections, for this a 160 MHz frequency and 1024QAM modulation in client-router should be used. 5 GHz band - 2 802.11ax: theoretical 4804 Mbps in 4 × 4 trunk connection exclusively for the connection of both routers. Again, this speed would be reached at 160 MHz with 1024QAM modulation.

This clearly means that the WiFi signals available to customers will be 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz-1, thus being the maximum useful bandwidth of AX1800, while the total bandwidth will be AX6600.

Of course, for this we need to use the specifications discussed also in the client, which must be compatible with 802.11ax. As additional information, we indicate that the 2.4 GHz band under 802.11ac will work at theoretical 300 Mbps, and the 5 GHz-1 ac band at 867 Mbps, which is not bad at all if we have clients that are WiFi 5 instead of WiFi 6.

In the event that we choose to use a single Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 router instead of both, we will continue to be unable to use the third frequency (5GHz-2) at least as it has been during our tests and configuration with the current firmware. This being an important difference from the Asus RT-AX92U routers used for the AiMesh AX6100 system, which do support connection in all three bands individually.

Although we have not opened this router, the manufacturer lends a hand to all interested users, indicating that each team has a total of 6 internal WiFi antennas placed around the dome of the router. Two of them, we imagine that those in charge of connecting customers are placed diagonally because they provide better connectivity and coverage.

As is usual and mandatory in new routers under IEEE 802.11ax, we will have at our disposal MU-MIMO technology implemented from 802.11ac that allows information to be transferred with several simultaneous antennas. As well as the new OFDMA technology, which also transmits to several clients simultaneously thanks to sending the information through different carriers called the UK or Resource Unit. To this is added the beamforming function that allows the wireless beam to be centered where the client is, maximizing coverage.

To this are added other technologies inherent to 802.11ax such as BSS Color, very useful for environments heavily loaded with frequencies and data. With it, the router is able to know if the data that is on the air is yours or not, thus being able to send information or wait for the channel to be free. Asus proprietary technologies such as Adaptive QoS are also incorporated to obtain maximum transmission efficiency, Traffic Analyzer through a firmware dashboard and support for VPN server in PPTP, L2TP and OpenVPN protocols .

Internal Hardware

Last and not least we must talk about the internal hardware of each of the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8. At this point we will go quite fast due to the fact that we have not opened any of the two routers due to their difficulty and danger of breakage.

The hardware in each of the routers consists of a total memory of 512 MB that will be shared among the different internal processors, together with an internal flash memory for the 256 MB firmware. The main CPU in charge of general management, firmware and Ethernet is a Broadcom BCM6755 with 4 cores at 1.5 GHz. The NAT function is performed by hardware.

Also for each of the bands we have independent processors, consisting of a Broadcom BCM6755 for the 2.4 GHz band and an identical one for the 5 GHz-1 band with 2T2R capacity. The third will be a Broadcom BCM43684 for the 5 GHz band and 4T4R capacity.

All of them are encapsulated in aluminum blocks which are in turn covered with finned aluminum heatsinks of considerable size, and on both sides of the PCB. These devices do not heat up too much even when we demand them, noting the temperature especially in the upper dome as is normal.

Firmware and configuration

We have yet to see the firmware and configuration part of the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 system, which will be quite simple while important, since the operating system used by Asus is extremely complete, and accessible through a web browser or directly from the application. Asus ROUTER on iOS or Android.

Mesh Configuration and ASUS Router

The application that we will have to download to configure our Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 from an Android or iOS phone is ASUS Router, which will be available in the store of each system for free.

Obviously, to configure the router we need to be connected to your WiFi network so that it can find the router that we want to configure. In addition we must place both routers close to each other to perform the pairing and creation of the AiMesh network.

The configuration process is exactly the same as all Asus routers either from this App or from the browser. We must configure the SSID of the WiFi network, being able to separate the frequencies and add the access credentials. The second router will automatically be paired if we have started the configuration with both. We also recommend having the WAN cable plugged in. Finally it asks us if we want to manage the router remotely, although for this we will need a DDNS associated with a domain with a fixed IP.

From the application we can manage practically all aspects of the router's firmware, since in the configuration part we have a menu almost the same as that of the system itself. From the main screen we will control the state of the network and we can add nodes to it. A very very complete management program where practically everything can be done, although we still prefer the browser interface for advanced management.

Configuration from browser and internal firmware

The steps that must be taken for the initial configuration are exactly the same as those described for the App. The way to add nodes to the AiMesh network here will be in the AiMesh section itself, although to avoid complications we can do it from the main screen by pressing on the button of the same name.

The good thing about the firmware compared to the application is that we have absolutely all the options available. And among the most useful we must mention the advanced configuration of file sharing through Samba if we have a USB installed, or for example that of configuring the WiFi bands, channels and frequencies on which they work.

Among other important functions we have parental control, adaptive QoS especially for gaming, firewall management, of course, the configuration of a VPN among many other actions. Remember once again that the 5 GHz_2 band is only available for the trunking of the meshed network.

In this case and in more AX routers we have had access problems with AC clients towards the router in the 5G network. Sometimes it does not detect it and others cannot connect and that may be due to compatibility with the 160 MHz frequencies. We do not yet know if it is a problem with the router or the Windows operating system or the clients themselves and their configuration. If we have this type of problem, we recommend configuring the network again.

Performance and coverage tests

As it is a meshed network system, the two most interesting parameters of the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 for the user will be its maximum coverage, or coverage within a house, and the bandwidth that the network can give us with two separate nodes and in each router. We will also test the speed of the USB 3.0 that integrates the router.

For testing we have used the Windows 10 operating system on all clients, as well as the Jperf 2.0.2 software to measure bandwidth in Mbps by transferring streams. To make a heat map with WiFi coverage we have used the WiFi Heatmap software on an Android terminal. These are the test clients used, then we will explain when each one will be used:

• 2x Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 routers First device (Wi-Fi 6): Intel AX200 2 × 2 Second device (LAN): Intel I211 Gigabit Ethernet Second laptop (Wi-Fi 5 and LAN): Intel Wireless-AC 7260 2 × 2 and Intel I218 -LM GbE Storage Drive: USB 3.0 Sandisk ExtremeTerminal Android for Heatmap Software: Jperf 2.0.2

Then we have carried out the following tests.

Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 system coverage

We reached a fundamental point in a meshed system such as the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8, where it should offer great coverage. Obviously we have checked it in detail, placing the two routers inside the house at a distance of between 12 to 15 meters with several walls in between and on different floors. The house plan is the real one as well as the floor plans.

The coverage that we have obtained has had no major problem in reaching the complete house, which will be about 100 m ² in plan. To this we can add the entire area surrounding it, which undoubtedly reaches and exceeds 500 m ² with relative ease. It is a range very similar to the AiMesh AX6100 system, being at the level of meshed systems with three routers such as the NETGEAR ORBI and the TP-Link Deco. In the real 3D plane above we can see the location of the routers inside the house for better reference.

If we take the two routers outside, the coverage increases dramatically above 1500 m ² since they will have a complete free path without the need to get around so many thick walls. With this what we mean is that the system is clearly designed for houses of large or very large sizes, and not for a city apartment that with one of these we would have more than enough.

With the AiMesh system in Smart Connect mode

Smart Connect mode links the two 2.4 and 5 GHz bands to provide an automatic connection to the client.

Coverage is complete throughout the home, and we will only see blue regions with low coverage at the furthest location of the two routers. At no time has the connection been lost and the passage from one router to another has been carried out normally and instantaneously. For non-advanced users it is the method we recommend. The average speed is 249 Mbps, so it follows that we use the 5GHz band, and the average ping is fantastic.

AiMesh in the 5 GHz band

We have separated the frequencies of the to check coverage individually with them.

This band has less penetration in the walls and solid objects which we already noticed on the top floor as it has a corner with a slightly lower coverage. If we go down we have fewer red and more yellow areas, which means an average coverage of between 60 and 70 dB. At no time has the connection been lost in the entire house and nearby surroundings except the left corner.

As before, the average bandwidth is 218 Mbps and the ping rises to 31 ms, being equally good and suitable for streaming content playback in Full HD or 4K.

AiMesh in the 2.4 GHz band

Finally we will see the coverage of the Asus ZenWiFi AX in the 2.4 GHz band, the longest range but least bandwidth.

Finally in the 2.4 GHz band we see red and yellow coverage in practically the entire house and on both floors without any problem. This will be the ideal for very large houses due to its excellent range. But if what we want is to watch HD content and streaming in very remote places, we may have latency and bandwidth problems. We see that the average bandwidth is 82 Mbps and the ping is 16 ms, so a priori we should not have problems in our specific case.

Bandwidth testing

The following tests are to see the maximum bandwidth on the two frequencies and the AiMesh mode. We have used Jperf software and file transfer between Windows computers connected to the network. For the 5 GHz band we have used the 160 MHz frequency and 1024QAM.

AiMesh speed (with Smart Connect). Theoretical speed: 1201 Mbps

Here what we do is place the two Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 routers about 12 m between them and in turn a client with WiFi 6 about 3 meters away from the first and a second client connected by Ethernet to the second. Thus we force to use the trunk link and not have the two clients connected to the same router.

And of course the system complies spectacularly, transfers greater than 700 Mbps at such a distance. The WiFi 6 2 × 2 client works excellently as well as the trunking of both routers. It surpasses all the others we've tested so far, even though we didn't have WiFi 6 clients before.

5 GHz band a single router. Theoretical speed: 1201 Mbps

We now test speed with a single router to see its individual capacity on both bands. This time we connect a client via LAN and another with WiFi 6 from close by and then about 10 meters away with two walls in between.

We reached the top of the line with WIFi 6 at almost 1000 Mbps, and also the speed remains at the same level when we move customers away, especially in download mode. The climb already costs you more. The data transfers reflect the above speeds, although it is true that the rise and fall here differs more than in the Jperf streams.

2.4 GHz band single router. Theoretical speed 574 Mbps

The same as before, we connected a client via LAN and another with WiFi 6 from close by and then about 10 meters away with two walls in between.

In the case of 2.4 GHz we see that there are more data losses than in the previous band, reaching approximately half of its theoretical capacity. This bandwidth remains similar when we move away, both in the transfer of streams and files between computers

Ethernet. Theoretical speed 1000 Mbps

Be careful because here we have a 2.5 Gbps port, but the ones we will use will be the normal Gigabit Ethernet. In this case the benefits are fulfilled perfectly and without limitations.

Samba data transfer

To finish we have placed a USB flash drive in the router port and we have checked the transfer speed with the WiFi 6 client. It works on the Samba protocol, although it is possible to configure it as FTP or AiCloud. The maximum drive nominal in Windows is 180 MB / s.

Final words and conclusion about the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 system

If the AiMesh AX6100 system already seemed good to us, this can be said to exceed it, although on the other hand it is normal as it is more expensive. They are not two general-purpose routers sold in packs, but a system specially designed for teamwork, with two or more units in a meshed network. For this reason, the design has been optimized to be primarily decorative as well as functional.

Inside we have nothing different from other Asus routers, with traditional manufacturer firmware and identical user-facing functionality. We can configure it from a browser or from the complete Asus Router application, the most complete of all manufacturers. Configuration and network expansion is extremely simple and all routers compatible with AiMesh can join this meshed network.

As for coverage, it has left us very good benefits, since with only two teams we have covered the entire house more than enough and with both frequencies, 2.4 and 5 GHz. It can cover without problems at least 3 floors or more, and floors of 100 m ^2, so those promised 500 m ^{2 are} easily met with only two units. We have noticed that with separate frequencies it costs us more to move from one router to another while we move around the house.

We also recommend our guide on the best routers on the market

We have already seen that they are tri-band routers, although the most powerful is dedicated to the trunk link. This is great to not lose latency or speed, since with WiFi 6 clients we will reach 1000 Mbps without too many problems. So they are a good option for wireless gaming or to interconnect televisions or equipment with high definition playback. The 2.4 GHz network does work a little below its capabilities, delivering around 300 Mbps.

To this we add a WAN / LAN port on both routers for high-speed clients, of course one of them will already be busy. With the 4804 Mbps link this port will have no problem reaching the actual 2 Gbps. It also has a USB port in each unit, not as fast as other tested Asus equipment, but it is very useful for sharing files over the network.

Finally, the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 is a system composed of two identical routers that have a high cost, 449 euros both in Asus Store and Amazon and PC Components. It is advisable? If we need a lot of coverage and high speed, and we have WiFi 6 clients, it is worth it, but it is not much faster than the RT-AX92U and they are for 350 euros. We have seen the data of both, both are the best in their class, that without a doubt.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ GREAT COVERAGE BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE +500 M 2	-SOME CONNECTION PROBLEMS IN 5 GHz AX ACCORDING TO THE CUSTOMER
+ LARGEST BANDWIDTH IN A MESH AX SYSTEM SO FAR	-Your price is high
+ COMPLETE MANAGEMENT FROM BROWSER AND APP
+ FIRMWARE AS ALWAYS COMPLETE
+ DESIGN MANUFACTURE
+3 GBE PORTS + 1 2.5 G

The Professional Review team awarded you the platinum medal and recommended product

Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8

DESIGN - 89%

PERFORMANCE 5 GHZ - 91%

REACH - 95%

FIRMWARE AND EXTRAS - 95%

PRICE - 85%

91%