Wifi 6 - asus features, benefits, implementation and zenwifi mesh systems

The manufacturer Asus was one of the first to launch routers that implement the new WiFi 6 standard. A new connectivity for our personal wireless networks capable of reaching impressive speeds of up to 2.2 times higher than the previous version thanks to IEEE 802.11ax.

Index of contents

We will review everything we know about WiFi 6, the technologies it implements and especially the products of the manufacturer Asus, with the recently introduced ZenWiFi, a mesh or Mesh router system aimed at very large houses.

The new WiFi 6 standard

Wireless connectivity was updated to the new IEEE 802.11ax standard in 2019, but it is still a technology that very few users have. Its advantages are evident as we will see now, but it was not until recently when, in addition to servers (routers), clients have also been linked with network cards that support this communication standard.

WiFi 6 is more than just an update that expands the bandwidth of a connection. It is more than demonstrated its enormous transmission capacity supporting connections of up to 8 × 8, that is, 8 antennas transmitting at the same time. But the most common is to find 4 × 4 routers, which are capable of delivering a speed of 4805 Mbps in the 5 GHz band, while WiFi 5 is only capable of reaching 2167 Mbps 4 × 4.

One of the main advantages is that WiFi 6 works in the two main bands, at least in Europe, both 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz. This last frequency to date only operated through 802.11b / g at a discrete speed of 600 Mbps at most in 3 × 3, while with WiFi 6 we would be reaching 1148 Mbps. The latency of the connection is also greatly reduced, making it ideal for gaming without the need for a cable.

Speed, efficiency and volume of connections

They are the three pillars on which WiFi 6 is based, a technology that for each individual antenna provides a 37% improvement over WiFi 5 in speed.

WiFi cabin

This is done thanks to the increase in the modulation rate from 256-QAM to 1024-QAM, which is the density of information that we can transmit by antenna. To this is added the increase in frequency to 160 MHz for connections in 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz whenever it is available in the country we live in.

The hardware that directs the information has also improved substantially, allowing lower consumption than much slower previous systems. An example of this are the new Asus routers with 1.5 GHz 4-core Broadcomm processors and up to 512 MB of RAM for the new generation ZenWiFi AX.

And if this new update is ideal for anything, it is for use in highly congested environments, where a large number of customers intend to access wireless services. We give as an example a university, public centers, businesses, etc.

First of all, we have the MU-MIMO technology already present in the previous standard and that allows multi-user transfers using multiple antennas. But the big news is OFDMA technology which improves this to transmit data with multiple antennas to multiple users simultaneously. Each receiver in a RU or unit of resources is separated, and with different carrier signals it will deliver the information without mixing the frequencies.

With all these new features, backward compatibility is never renounced, since WiFi 5 and earlier clients will be able to operate with WiFi 6 routers without major problems. Obviously bandwidth will be limited to the slowest link speed.

Quick comparison between WiFi 6 and WiFi 5

Now we leave you a short quick comparison between the two standards, ac and ax to show the most important differences:

Why is it still not widespread?

As is often the case with many other technology changes, implementation does not always take place quickly. This is evident from the fact that our first review of a WiFi 6 router was in December 2018 with the Asus RT-AX88U. Asus was the first manufacturer to launch a router under this standard.

Very soon considering that the first WiFi 6 PC network card was released in mid-2019 with AMD motherboards for Ryzen 4000 and Intel boards. This was the Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 card, capable of supporting AX 2 × 2 connections at 2.4 Gbps in the 5 GHz band and 2 × 2 at 574 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz frequency.

In fact, this is the maximum current capacity of a Wi-Fi 6 client, which is half of what a router is capable of using only two antennas instead of 4. This means that users still do not see great advantages over the above standard, and still are expensive equipment and only available from independent manufacturers. No Internet dealer has WiFi 6 routers yet, and they still maintain very basic and mediocre models.

The creation of customers with greater power and at a lower price should be the usual trend this 2020 so that this new standard finally takes off and can normally reach not only enthusiastic users or gamers, but all kinds of establishments and homes. Fortunately, the telephone manufacturers are providing WiFi 6 connectivity to their new terminals, which is a claim to acquire our routers and consume 4K content.

Thanks to the new generation of Qualcomm, Huaewi and Apple processors, with the arrival of 5G terminals such as the Galaxy S20, iPhone 11 or the next Xiaomi and Huawei, it will be one more reason to acquire one of these new routers.

Asus ZenWiFi, AiMesh and ROG are the biggest bet for WiFi 6

The manufacturer based in Taipei is one of the main exponents of the WiFi 6 that we currently have on the market. It is not the only one, since others such as TP-Link or NETGEAR also have equipment operating under this AX standard, but it is undoubtedly the one with the most models on the market.

What is a meshed WiFi system or Mesh

And among the products that the manufacturer proposes, the most current consist of meshed wireless systems or Mesh. The system is made up of two or more routers that operate simultaneously under a private environment. In such a system, any router will be able to act as the main one, while the rest join as repeaters and amplifiers in the network.

The big difference and advantage with respect to an access point is that the SSID will be the same and common throughout the meshed system. This means that we can move around the entire area without losing the connection at any time, automatically jumping from the connection point without decreasing bandwidth and connection capacity. A Mesh system can also be managed together and supports extensions of more equipment in case we want to expand coverage.

Asus ZenWiFi your new bet for modern homes

Asus ZenWiFi

Asus already had its ZenWiFi AC system which offers us a tri-band connectivity under the 802.11ac / n standard with a total bandwidth of 3000 Mbps. And the update comes through a system made up of two routers very similar in aesthetics, but counting more powerful hardware and capable of giving us a total bandwidth of 6600 Mbps over 802.11ax.

Thanks to having AX connectivity in the two bands, it offers us superior benefits to the previous version in every way, reaching an indoor coverage of about 510 m ² with only two routers, which is a house of enormous proportions. Imagine what we could do with 3 or 4 of them.

ASUS ZenWifi XT8 (2 pack) - AX6600 Tri-Band 6 Mesh Wi-Fi System (ms 510m2 coverage, AiProtection with TrendMicro for life, 2.5 Gigabit WAN / LAN port + 3 Gigabit LAN ports, supports AiMesh)

• Eliminate the areas without wi-fi coverage: this three-band meshed wi-fi system covers every corner of your home with a powerful wi-fi signal and up to 6, 600 mbps speed Next-generation wi-fi 6 technology: ofdma technologies and mu-mimo offer more efficient, stable and fast connections, even if multiple devices transmit data at the same time, hassle-free control: 3-step setup and easy administration with your router application Updated protection: free network security for life with trend micro technology guarantees the privacy of all connected devices aimesh compatible - combines zenwifi with other aimesh supported routers to create a powerful and flexible wi-fi system

409.00 EUR Buy on Amazon

One of the most relevant characteristics is its tri-band connectivity. What does this mean? Well, when we install the system, we will have three WiFi 6 signals to access, specifically one at 2.4 GHz for more modest devices, and two 5 GHz for more powerful equipment. The AX6600 bandwidth will then have to be divided into these three connections, being 4804 Mbps in the 5 GHz_2 4 × 4 band, 1201 Mbps 2 × 2 in 5 GHz_1 and 574 Mbps 2 × 2 in 2.4 GHz.

Normally the 4 × 4 link of the third band is going to be used for the trunk connection between the two routers, thus having two free 2 × 2 bands as in the AiMesh AX6100 system, only in this case its capacity is greater. With a single router installed, we will have all three bands in full, although we already say that today there are no 4 × 4 clients.

The great advantage of this is that we can connect with a large number of clients and have a connection greater than Gigabit per second anywhere in the house. No latency for running over WiFi 6, and no bottlenecks for using a huge trunk link between routers. To this we add a simple management from Smartphone thanks to the Asus App, and other functions such as AiProtecition, VPN, parental control, Amazonalexa, and much more thanks to one of the most complete firmware of a router such as Asus.

ROG and RT series optimized for gaming

Asus ROG Rapture AX1000

Although the ZenWiFi system is perfectly suitable for gaming, the manufacturer has other routing equipment optimized for gaming such as the RT-AX88U and especially in ROG Rapture AX11000 , a beast capable of giving us a combined bandwidth of 11 Gbps.

In the first case we have the first router with WiFi6 that supports a bandwidth of 1142 Mbps at 2.4 GHz 4 × 4 and 4804 Mbps at 5 GHz. While the Rapture expands its capacity with 8 antennas to a double connection in 5 GHz at 4802 Mbps, thus being tri-band.

In addition to our own options such as compatibility with AiMesh, VPN services, adaptive QoS or Traffic Analyzer, we also have specific functions for gaming. Among them we have a Game Boost mode to optimize the exchange of packets in games, Game Radar to find the least congested servers worldwide to play, and Game Private Network to play securely with encrypted connections.

WiFi clients 6 Where to buy them?

This is all very well, but to use them effectively we need clients of the same standard, network cards for our equipment that operate over WiFi 6.

Intel was the first manufacturer to mass market its Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 chips that offer a bandwidth of 2.4 Gbps 2 × 2 at 5 GHz at 160 MHz and 574 Mbps 2 × 2 at 2.4 GHz.. With this we already have what we need to take advantage of the router. In addition, these independently purchased cards have an M.2 slot and can be replaced by existing WiFi on many boards.

We can also choose solutions under the PCIe expansion card such as the Asus PCE-AX58BT, practically the only one on the market with the TP-Link TX3000E, for a price of around 90 euros.

Recommended products offered by Wifi 6 and 802.11 AC

ASUS ZenWifi CT8 (2 pack) - Wi-Fi Mesh Tri-Band AC3000 simple configuration (Coverage of more than 500m2, AiProtection with TrendMicro for life, 4 Gigabit ports, Compatible with AiMesh) 329.00 EUR ASUS ZenWifi XT8 (2 pack) - Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Tri-Band AX6600 (ms 510m2 coverage, AiProtection with TrendMicro for life, 2.5 Gigabit WAN / LAN port + 3 Gigabit LAN ports, supports AiMesh) 409.00 EUR ASUS RT-AX88U - AX6000 Dual Band Gigabit Gaming Router (Triple VLAN, Wifi 6 certificate, Ai-Mesh supported, WTFast Game Accelerator, QoS, AiProtection PRO, OFDMA, MU-MIMO) Next Generation Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11ax standard is more fast and efficient; High-speed Wi-Fi: 6000 Mbps for maximum performance on charged home networks 284.99 EUR ASUS RT-AX92U - Gaming Wi-Fi Router 6 AX6100 Tri-Band Gigabit (OFDMA, MU-MIMO, Triple VLAN, Point of Mode Access, AiProtection Pro with Trend Micro, supports Ai Mesh WiFi) Network control thanks to the mobile application ASUS Router app 170, 00 EUR ASUS PCE-AX58BT - Wi-Fi Network Card 6 AX3000 PCIe 160Mhz with Bluetooth 5.0 (OFDMA, MU-MIMO, WPA3 security, low profile adapter, extendable antenna base) The wi-fi standard: wifi 6 (802.11ax) yields more and consumes less energy; High speed wi-fi connections: 3000 mbps to handle the most saturated networks 81.99 EUR

We always recommend comparing prices in online stores, for example, PCComponentes offers very good deals on networking products. The ZenWifi AX we find it for 463 euros, while the AC version we have it for 345 euros.

Conclusions about WiFi 6 and what we expect in the future

We believe that the advantages of this new standard are evident, and the rest of manufacturers should bet more strongly on it so that it arrives as quickly as possible. We understand that the implementation of new technologies in networks is not as simple as launching a new processor architecture. Let's just look at the example of 5G and the coverage problems it still has.

Although it is true that in the domestic sphere it is not essential, we gain in coverage, latency, bandwidth and versatility, being ideal for the consumption of multimedia content in 4K resolutions and up to 8K without cables. It offers speeds greater than gigabit per second, and network cards are compatible with most computers, either in M.2 or PCIe mounts at affordable prices.

We certainly expect much more from this technology as well as 5G, since they are the near future to improve connectivity in the Internet of Things. Of course, prices should drop to facilitate voluntary updating a bit.

Have you tried or already have a WiFi 6 router? Tell us if you think this connectivity is worth it for the domestic environment today.