Asus ExpertWiFi EBM68

Great Value, flawless and fast Wifi (Wifi6) system in a box – Our old Wifi system had become unreliable and so we decided to upgrade to a new system. I am a fan of mesh Wifi systems for seamless connectivity across the home and was pleased to see the Asus Expert Wifi EBM68 mesh system, consisting two AX7800 triband Wifi units, on sale at PLE Computers post Christmas 2024 for $599 (the single unit sale price was $299). Whilst it is marketed for small business use, it is also suitable for home use. The routers use Wifi6 technology. Whilst not the more recent Wifi7, I felt it was a good time to get Wifi6, as it is less expensive now, yet a big step up from the older Wifi5 system I had been using.

Set-up: It is easy to set up the Asus mesh wifi systems out of the box. The trick is to have both routers plugged in and on with a solid blue light before attempting to setup the home network. The main unit should be connected to the modem The second unit should be about 1 meter away from the main unit. The main unit is clearly labeled with a sticker across the front with QR codes for easy download of the Asus Wifi Expert app from the App store or google play store, depending on your device. It was straightforward to access and set up the main unit using the supplied login details and app. You are prompted to update firmware of the main unit when you do this. I suspect this resulted in delay in connection of the second as a mesh node unit. That said, I went for a 20 minute walk and when I came back it was connected as a mesh node. I then updated the firmware of the second unit using the expert app.

Use: Signal strength is strong throughout our home now, without drop off at the edges as there was previously. I have good connection in much of the yard too. Speeds hold up throughout as well.

Having smart wiring in our home I have wired backhaul connection between the units, though this is not necessary to achieve the same speeds.

No more Wifi drop outs around here and no complaints for me, or from any other family members, who are quick to announce when internet connectivity is interrupted! :-)