ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 AXE6600 Mesh WiFi 6E System
The newest addition to the Asus ZenWiFi family of mesh systems, the ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 ($ 529.99), is the company’s most advanced mesh system to date. Designed to deliver seamless house-wide wireless connectivity, this system offers the latest Wi-Fi 6E technology, which allows compatible clients to connect to it via the 6GHz radio band. The ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 delivered very good throughout and signal performance in our tests, was breeze to install, and comes with free lifetime anti-malware and parental control tools.
ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 Feature:
The ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 is a Wi-Fi 6E system, which means it not only supports 802.11 ax (Wi-Fi 6) technologies, but it can also use the 6GHz radio band to deliver faster throughput speeds, lower latency, and more bandwidth than what you’ll get with the more crowded 2.4 GHz and 5GHz bands. Only client devices that support Wi-Fi 6E can connect to the 6GHz band. With Wi-Fi 6, you get 160MHz channel bandwidth, 1024 QAM, Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) data transmissions, MU-MIMO simultaneous data streaming, WPA3 encryption, and direct-to-client signal beamforming.
The ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 is a two-piece mesh system that provides coverage for homes of up to 5,500 square feet. It consists of two nodes that look identical to the nodes used in the previous-generation ZenWiFi AX XT8 system. They measure 6.3 by 6.2 by 2.9 inches (HWD) and sport a white finish with grilles on either side for airflow.
When the satellite node has a strong wireless signal, a small LED indicator on the front of the node glows blue during the setup process and is white. A yellow light indicates a weak signal, and a red light means the signal to the router node is lost. The back panel is host to a 2.5 Gbps WAN port, three 1Gbps LAN ports, a USB 3.1 port, a power port, and a power switch. You can use a LAN port for wired backhaul or let the wide 6GHz band handle it wirelessly.
ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 Spec:
| Model Name | ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 (W-2-PK) ET8 (W-1-PK) |
| Network Standard | IEEE 802.11a IEEE 802.11b IEEE 802.11g WiFi 4 (802.11n) WiFi 5 (802.11ac) WiFi 6 (802.11ax) WiFi 6E (802.11ax) IPv4 IPv6 |
| Product Segment | AXE6600 ultimate AXE performance : 574+1201+4804Mbps |
| Data Rate | 802.11a : up to 54 Mbps 802.11b : up to 11 Mbps 802.11g : up to 54 Mbps WiFi 4 (802.11n) : up to 300 Mbps WiFi 5 (802.11ac) : up to 867 Mbps WiFi 6 (802.11ax) (2.4GHz) : up to 574 Mbps WiFi 6 (802.11ax) (5GHz) : up to 1201 Mbps WiFi 6E (802.11ax) (6GHz) : up to 4804 Mbps |
| Antenna | Internal antenna x 6 |
| Transmit/Receive | 2.4GHz 2×2 5GHz 2×2 6GHz 4×4 |
| Processor | 1.5 GHz quad-core processor |
| Memory | 256 MB Flash 512 MB RAM |
| Ports | RJ45 for 2.5G BaseT for WAN x 1, RJ45 for Gigabits BaseT for LAN x 3 USB 3.1 Gen 1 x 1 |
| Package content | ZenWiFi ET8 RJ45 Ethernet Cable Power Adapter Quick Start Guide Warranty Card |
ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 Performance
The ET8 system turned in very good scores on our throughput performance tests. The ET8 satellite node’s scores of 119Mbps on the close-proximity test and 60Mbps on the 30-foot test were nearly identical to the Atlas node’s scores (61Mbps and 120mbps, respectively). The ET8 satellite node (787Mbps) was a bit slower than the Atlas node (792Mbps) on the close-proximity test, but its score of 531Mbps on the 30-foot test beat the Atlas node by 16Mbps.
Performance on the 6GHz band was solid. The ET8 router’s score of 918Mbps was slightly slower than the Atlas (929Mbps), but it showed much better range, with a score of 371Mbps on the 30-foot test compared to 258Mbps for the Atlas. Results were similar for the satellite nodes: The ET8 node’s score of 580Mbps on the close-proximity test couldn’t quite match the Atlas Max node’s score of 598Mbps, but it came out ahead on the 30-foot test with a score of 333Mbps.
ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 Advantage:
WiFi 6E: The Future of WiFi
ASUS stands at the forefront of networking technology, and always brings you the very latest WiFi standards. ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 features the latest WiFi 6E, an expanded version of WiFi 6 that adds a new 6 GHz frequency band, giving better connectivity and lower latency than previous generations
New 6 GHz Band for Stable Backhaul
5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands are getting more and more crowded with the growing amount of home devices. The new 6 GHz band is reserved exclusively for WiFi 6E devices, so there’s no interference from other legacy devices. This makes it ideal for use as a stable backhaul connection.
WiFi 6E Put Your WiFi into Top Gear!
With a total bandwidth of up to of 6600 Mbps, ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 is up to 2.2 X faster * than tri-band AC3000 (WiFi 5) routers
Whole-home Coverage
The ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 system consists of a pair of ASUS AXE6600 WiFi 6E routers, featuring unique technologies that give you superfast, secure and reliable WiFi connections– inside or outside your home!
Instant Guard Makes Public WiFi Secure
ASUS Instant Guard uses the power of your ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 to add rock-solid VPN security to any public WiFi connections you use. It helps protect your private information like credit card details, business data, emails and more.
Flexible Network Naming
Uniquely, ZenWiFi lets you choose how you name your WiFi networks: a single name for everything, or separate names for each frequency band. The choice is yours!
Smart Looks for Smart Homes
ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 works words perfectly with smart-home services- including Alexa skills.
AiMesh Technology
You can mix different AiMesh-compatible routers, and add new ones at any moment to improve coverage. Even non-experts can quickly set up AiMesh technology, while more experienced users will appreciate the comprehensive advanced networking features.
Verdict: The Best Mesh System So Far With Wi-Fi 6E
Look no further than the Asus ZenWi-Fi ET8 if you’re looking to future-proof your home network with the newest Wi-Fi 6E technology. This two-piece mesh system lets you connect via the 6GHz radio band, is easy to manage and install, and delivers fast throughput and strong signal performance.
