Asus brings new life to old routers by adding mesh networking support

[Greg S]

A simple home networking setup may involve a modem and one or more wireless routers. For larger homes, mesh networking has become popular to simplify the process of maintaining consistent connectivity and speeds in all areas. Asus has decided to implement mesh networking features in a variety of its existing routers to bring new life back to older hardware.

Asus is issuing a firmware update to allow pairing of several different routers using AiMesh. Normally, all access points in a mesh network are the exact same model and run the same software. In this case, mixing and matching any of the supported models is possible.

An upgrade to a full mesh system can be a few hundred dollars depending on how many access points are needed.

Several different models are eligible for new firmware; the RT-AC5300 and ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 will be added later this year. Additionally, the Asus Lyra home WiFi system will be receiving AiMesh support even though it already has its own mesh networking system.

Routers that currently have AiMesh support

• RT-AC86
• RT-AC88U
• RT-AC1900
• RT-AC2900
• RT-AC3100

For those with Asus routers on hand, setting up an AiMesh network is relatively simple.

Choose the best piece of supported hardware to be the primary router since all other nodes will inherit the features from the main router. Factory reset all routers that will be used as secondary nodes and then simply add them to your mesh with the Asus Router app. It is helpful to keep all secondary nodes close to the main router during setup. Once all nodes are added, location labels can be added to each node to make it easy to reconfigure in the future.

Not everyone has old hardware lying around ready to be turned into a new mesh network but this is a welcome feature from Asus. These firmware updates can help get several more years out of older hardware and greatly improve the overall user experience.

For the latest firmware and list of supported routers, check out the full details of AiMesh.

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[tipstir]

Sounds interesting... I taken two Cisco Linksys Routers with 6 ANT in each one. That gives me 12 ANTs. 6 ANT for 2.4 GHz and 6 ANT for 5 GHz band. New cells phones uses 5 GHz band up to ac level but I have to still use 802.11 N still at 40 Hz for 5 GHz and 802.11 N at 20 Hz for 2.4Ghz band. Both routers on 12 mm cooling pads used for laptops which are connected via USB power. Keeps them from overheating. Only one uses Linksys SmartWIFI App for Android the other one is the old way through Web UI. Either one can use it. The mesh idea can be expensive for some of us. I still feel using N450 plus N900 routers from the same company brand can work in pairs. Same SSD for 2.4GHz and the same SSD 5GHz does work. I only use them as AP (access points) I also use Dual WAN Enterprise Business managed Router and managed Switch connected on mini rack system with non-power loss power strip. Been running this system Since 2012 without issues. Not cheap spent close to 1K along with $200 each Cisco routers ouch $400. But they still function after all these years. Just keep them cool is the secret!