Knowledgeable’s Score
Professionals
- Fashionable & compact
- Good efficiency and vary
- A number of options
Cons
- Not the simplest to handle
- Backhaul goes down generally
- Solely two wired networking ports on every node
Our Verdict
Asus’ new mini-mesh is clearly higher at a very powerful issues than its predecessor. It may be a problem to get probably the most out of the router with its many options and inconsistent interface, however when you get the grasp of it, it’s value it.
The primary benefit of Wi-Fi 6 over Wi-Fi 5 is vary. Put merely, a Wi-Fi 6 router can keep excessive velocity communication with a spread 40 to 50 per cent greater than a Wi-Fi 5 router. And this makes Wi-Fi 6 mesh packages notably attention-grabbing. You can get by in a bigger residence with a two-pack as a substitute of three or extra nodes. Much less trouble to arrange, and cheaper.
Nonetheless, Asus didn’t appear to get this. With the ZenWIFI AX Mini XD4 that I examined in early 2022, you bought all the opposite Wi-Fi 6 advantages: quick prime velocity, elevated safety in a trendy and feature-rich small router, however solely about 15 metres of vary per node whereas sustaining acceptable speeds.
Asus has fastened this within the follow-up: the ZenWIFI AX Mini XD5.
Now, I can put a second node two rooms away from the primary unit and nonetheless get steady wi-fi backhaul speeds of over 200Mbps, permitting you to obtain, browse and stream in excessive definition with none issues. The highest velocity of a laptop computer with 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 in preferrred situations, about three metres from the router in the identical room, continues to be round 800Mbps over 5GHz.
Mattias Inghe
Extra bandwidth, however no sooner
When configuring the system, you possibly can select between having a single SSID for two.4 and 5GHz, or break up them up and select which to connect with from every machine your self. Since 2.4GHz bandwidth is proscribed to only over half a gigabit, it is likely to be a good suggestion to maintain them separate, join your good residence devices to the slower frequency, after which join computer systems and telephones to 5GHz, the place you may have extra bandwidth to work with.
Not an enormous quantity extra: this can be a dual-band AX3000 system the place there’s 2,400Mbps of bandwidth for gadgets and the mesh system itself to share. This is a rise from the ZenWIFI AX Mini XD4 which solely had 1,200Mbps on 5GHz. So if the previous mannequin was appropriate for one or two individuals in a two-room condominium, the ZenWIFI AX Mini XD5 will be thought-about appropriate for 2 to 3 individuals in three to 5 rooms. Possibly even a balcony or patio, in case you place the second node in the perfect place. Asus claims 3500 sq. toes of protection for the XD5 two-pack, and 5000 sq. toes for the three-pack.
Throughout a week-long check the place I ran two XD5 gadgets as my predominant residence Wi-Fi, issues went effectively total. On a few events the backhaul between the nodes was interrupted and the system needed to reconnect, which occurred mechanically, however took about two minutes. A bit annoying, however not an enormous drawback. When this occurred, I used to be in a position to connect with the primary router (additional away) and will proceed browsing, albeit at a decrease velocity.
Testing with a Wi-Fi 6E-equipped laptop computer, I measured a velocity of 820Mbps at a distance of 3m from the primary node: roughly what you’d count on from a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 system round this value. And the vary is round 20m / 60ft (with two inner partitions between the laptop computer and node) to keep up a minimal of 200Mbps.
Mattias Inghe
Similar form, new color
A two-pack of the XD5 prices £213 from Amazon, and a three-pack is £315. Within the US, they’re a lot better worth, with Amazon selling the three-pack for $219.99. You’ll be able to’t simply discover the two-pack on the market.
It’s also bought as a single unit, in case you wish to add additional protection afterward. Nonetheless, contemplate what you’ll need, since you’ll save lots by shopping for the best quantity from the beginning, relatively than getting particular person extras and increasing afterwards.
The XD5 models retain the compact design of the XD4: cubes with rounded sides, with all exterior dimensions underneath 100mm / 4in, two gigabit community ports beneath, one in all which can be utilized for a WAN connection (sometimes to attach the primary unit to your present router), and a discreet LED on the backside of the entrance. The XD5 is out there in white in addition to the black of the XD4. Additionally, there at the moment are brackets on the underside that make it straightforward to mount them on a wall, one thing not attainable with the XD4.
Functionally, the XD5 presents the identical wealthy characteristic set because the XD4. Meaning you may have each a VPN server and VPN shopper, detailed QoS management, parental management with scheduling and content material filtering for the youngsters, versatile visitor community functionality, and built-in lifetime virus monitoring from Development Micro. These are the type of options that different distributors cost additional for, however not Asus.
Mattias Inghe
Establishing and administering the whole lot is usually a problem. You are able to do lots by way of the Asus app, with extra detailed community and Wi-Fi settings than many opponents, however for full management you generally must log into the a lot messier net interface. However it’s value exploring and familiarising your self with, so you may get probably the most out of the system.
Specs
Product title: Asus Zenwifi AX Mini XD5 2-pack
Wi-fi protocols: Wi-Fi 6
Frequency band: 2.4 GHz + 5 GHz
Efficiency: 574 + 2400 Mbit/s
Connections per machine: 1 gigabit WAN/LAN, 1 gigabit LAN
Wi-fi safety: WPA/WPA2, WPA3, WPS
Velocity, 3m*: 820 Mbit/s
Vary per unit**: 20 metres
File server/write server: No/No
Different: Visitor community, parental management, qos, antivirus, vpn server and shopper, assist for Alexa and IFTTT
Person interface: Net, app
Distant administration: By way of app
Dimensions. antennas: 9 x 9 x 8 cm
* Measured on the primary unit of the system in the direction of the laptop computer with 2×2 Wi-Fi 6E
** Longest distance, together with two internal partitions, the place a brand new mesh node is required to keep up the browsing velocity of no less than 200 Mbit/s.