Asus ZenWifi XD6 Evaluate: Strong Speeds, however You Can Do Higher for the Worth

At just below $200 for a two-pack, the Asus ZenWifi XD6 is a strong dual-band Wi-Fi 6 router, nevertheless it does not do anyone factor notably nicely. The twin-band design implies that it does not have a further 5GHz band that it may well dedicate as a wi-fi backhaul for system transmissions between the router and the satellite tv for pc, however the sturdy AX5400 construct implies that it is nonetheless able to quick speeds.

In different phrases, the XD6 is the awkward center little one within the ZenWifi household of mesh routers, and with higher-performing mesh routers obtainable for much less, it is powerful to see an entire lot of worth right here. Nonetheless, the efficiency was comparatively sturdy once I examined out the system, with quick common speeds and vary that is strong sufficient to cowl most medium-size houses with out want for a second extender. I would advocate ready for the XD6 to develop into its personal with an excellent sale, however that is nonetheless a system price contemplating if you happen to’re all-in on Wi-Fi 6 and fascinated by making the improve to mesh.

First impressions

Like many of the Asus routers, you may set the XD6 up utilizing the Asus Router app on an Android or iOS system. Accomplish that and you will find streamlined, step-by-step directions to get your system up and operating inside minutes, plus quick access to your router’s settings and options. That blend of app-based options is comparatively sturdy too, together with the standard settings for a visitor community and parental controls, plus entry to superior settings like DNS changes and port forwarding. There’s additionally a full-featured High quality of Service engine that allows you to prioritize site visitors to particular units with only a few faucets.

As for the XD6 units themselves, they’re smaller than final yr’s XT8 fashions, sturdy to the contact, and unobtrusive to the attention due to the inoffensive white plastic construct. There’s nothing show-offy in regards to the design save for the delicate glint of the Asus emblem, however they’re going to mix in properly with most dwelling decor, and so they will not take up an excessive amount of area irrespective of the place you select to place them.

Every XD6 system is equivalent, too, so you should use both one because the router or because the extender. Flip both one round and you will find the ability port, in addition to three spare gigabit Ethernet jacks along with the WAN port that you’re going to use the join the modem to the router. Simply remember that the WAN port is not a multi-gig jack such as you get with the XT8, and there is not any possibility for aggregating two of the ports collectively, so the XD6 will not be capable of deal with incoming wired speeds any sooner than 1Gbps. The two.5Gbps connections supported by the XT8 are a pleasant little bit of future-proofing, so I would not blame anybody for skipping the XD6 and spending up for the XT8 for that motive alone.

Additionally lacking from the XD6: any USB ports in any respect. That is not unusual with mesh routers, nevertheless it’s a small bummer if you happen to wish to wire your printer or an exterior storage system to your community.

Efficiency

I check every router I evaluation at my 1,300-square-foot shotgun-style dwelling in Louisville, Kentucky, with a 300Mbps fiber web connection. It is an admittedly small area for testing mesh routers, however by operating a copious quantity of velocity checks throughout a number of days, I nonetheless get an excellent comparative have a look at how each performs in a real-world setting. Within the case of the XD6, efficiency was principally fairly sturdy.

The one-device check

I began by testing a single system with out the extender and speeds have been remarkably constant in 4 out of the 5 check rooms, every averaging obtain speeds of about 375Mbps. That is nearly as quick as my dwelling’s community can go with out upgrading to a sooner plan. Within the fifth room, a again lavatory that sits on the alternative finish of the home because the router, my common speeds fell to 137Mbps. Nearly each single-point router I check struggles to keep up a robust sign in that room, in order that’s nonetheless a robust consequence. The truth is, with an general common obtain velocity of 326Mbps all through my complete dwelling, the XD6 yielded the perfect speeds I’ve ever seen from a mesh router in that single-device check.

One caveat there: Wi-Fi has made important enhancements over the previous few years, and so too has my check tools. I am now operating my checks on a laptop computer that helps Wi-Fi 6, which is one thing I did not have entry to in 2020 once I examined lots of different high mesh routers, together with the ZenWifi XT8. I plan to retest all of my high picks within the class, however I wish to be conservative with my comparisons till then.

Nonetheless, I am assured that the ZenWifi XD6 is a strong piece of {hardware}. One motive: I used to be in a position to re-run my velocity checks with the AX6000 model of Netgear Orbi, a flowery tri-band mesh router and our top-rated choose for efficiency. In that case, the Orbi completed my single-device check with an general common of 309Mbps, with speeds that dipped all the best way to 101Mbps in that again lavatory and barely in my main bedroom — one thing I did not see in any respect with the XD6.

In different phrases, the XD6 flat-out beat the Orbi AX6000 on this check, which is considerably stunning since that system boasts higher specs and prices a couple of hundred {dollars} extra. Go forward and flex, XD6.

Convey on the mesh

With the single-device check within the can, it is time to carry the extender into play and see how the mesh performs. With every system I check, I preserve the primary router related to the modem in the lounge after which arrange an extender in my dwelling’s main bedroom, which sits towards the again of the home. The actual check right here is to see how nicely that extender boosts speeds to that again lavatory useless zone and to take an in depth have a look at how my speeds maintain up as I transfer about my home, laptop computer in hand.

One other fast caveat earlier than you scroll to the graph that exhibits how all the techniques I’ve examined stack up. Like I stated, I not too long ago upgraded to a brand new laptop computer for testing functions, and to date, I’ve solely used it to run full checks on two Wi-Fi 6 mesh routers: the XD6 and the Orbi AX6000. (I’ve additionally used it to check a trio of off-brand Wi-Fi 5 mesh routers, which you may learn all about right here.)

The remainder of the fashions listed have been examined earlier than I owned that new check laptop computer, so I ran my Wi-Fi 6 velocity checks with these utilizing an iPhone 12 Professional — a special system, however the identical help for 802.11ax. I do not suppose that distinction would skew the outcomes a lot, nevertheless it’s one price noting, so I’ve put slightly asterisk subsequent to the names of the iPhone-tested techniques within the chart beneath. Once more, I am going to replace this put up as soon as I can re-run my checks with the brand new laptop computer for these techniques and others, together with Nest Wifi and the tri-band ZenWifi XT8.

Acquired it? Good. Let us take a look at one other chart.

You are trying on the common obtain speeds for six completely different Wi-Fi 6 mesh routers in every room of my home, all of them related to a Wi-Fi 6 shopper system. The king stays the king right here, with Netgear Orbi AX6000 main the best way with an general common of 367Mbps. In second place, with an general common of 350Mbps is the Arris Surfboard Max AX6600, a robust mannequin that is not considered one of my high picks resulting from inconsistent speeds with previous-gen Wi-Fi 5 units. The bronze goes to the XD6, which completed with an general common of 336Mbps and stored my speeds above 300Mbps in each room of my dwelling. That is excellent for a dual-band system, and higher than the tri-band Eero Professional 6. 

You must also make word of the gulf between the XD6 and the 2 different dual-band techniques listed right here, the TP-Hyperlink Deco X20 and Eero 6. The XD6 gives a lot stronger efficiency than these when connecting to a Wi-Fi 6 system at vary by the extender.

Weaker with Wi-Fi 5

Wi-Fi 6 is nice, however most of us are nonetheless utilizing loads of units in our houses that follow 802.11ac, or Wi-Fi 5. Gadgets like these can nonetheless connect with a Wi-Fi 6 router as a result of Wi-Fi 6 is backward suitable, however they’re going to usually see high speeds which can be as much as about 30% slower. And, as a result of Wi-Fi 6 units use new Wi-Fi options like OFDMA and 1024QAM to attach extra effectively, Wi-Fi 5 units that lack these capabilities would possibly see different efficiency dips too.

That is why I run my velocity checks twice, one set on a Wi-Fi 6 system and one other set on a previous-gen Wi-Fi 5 system (particularly, my earlier velocity testing laptop computer, a Dell XPS 13 from 2015). Because the graph above exhibits, the outcomes have been a bit completely different this time.

First, speeds have been slower throughout the board, which is not stunning provided that Wi-Fi 5 is not as quick as Wi-Fi 6. Nonetheless, the Netgear Orbi AX6000 remained within the high spot with speeds that have been simply as sturdy and constant, albeit about 20% slower general. Shut behind it in second place was the tri-band ZenWifi XT8 from final yr, adopted by the Arris Surfboard Max AX6600 which yielded sturdy averages regardless of the inconsistencies between completely different rounds of checks, and the Eero Professional 6. Notably, all of these high 4 fashions are tri-band mesh routers, and that is smart — with out Wi-Fi 6 within the combine, that third, backhaul band will get to step up and shine.

This brings us to the XD6 — the orange bars within the graph above. It examined far and wide and averaged out to fifth place, delivering blazing quick speeds in the lounge solely to sink beneath 200Mbps within the kitchen and hallway lavatory earlier than rebounding behind the home. 

The averages solely inform a part of the story — for a more in-depth look, try these scatter plots, which present the outcomes of every particular person velocity check I ran with the XD6. The Wi-Fi 5 checks are on the left, and you may clearly see simply how disparate issues have been from check to check. A lot of that was resulting from the truth that I run half of my checks beginning close to the router in the lounge, and the opposite half with a recent connection within the again lavatory, removed from the router. As an illustration, once I began my connection up shut, I noticed a lot sooner speeds within the kitchen, however once I began my connection from afar and labored again in the direction of the entrance, the mesh was a lot slower within the kitchen, seemingly as a result of it was confused about whether or not or to not route my connection by the extender. In the meantime, speeds have been notably sooner within the hallway lavatory and main bedroom with a back-to-front connection.

You possibly can see an identical break up with the Wi-Fi 6 information, although a lot much less extreme. Speeds have been constant within the again half of my dwelling in these checks, however word the break up velocity ends in the lounge and kitchen. The decrease set of speeds in every room is from the back-to-front checks — once I’d make it to the entrance of the home after beginning my connection afar, speeds have been typically decrease than if I began my connection up shut, seemingly as a result of the mesh was leaving me related to by the extender longer than it ought to have.

That form of inconsistency in speeds is strictly what you do not need from a mesh router. Whereas my connection by no means faltered outright, it is nonetheless a noteworthy level of concern, particularly since it is a step down from what we noticed with the XT8. Additionally noteworthy: In the long run, the XD6’s general Wi-Fi 5 obtain common of 232Mbps was mainly tied with the TP-Hyperlink Deco X20 and solely barely forward of Nest Wifi’s common of 222Mbps. These two are good finances picks if you would like sturdy efficiency however do not wish to spend greater than $250 or so.

The decision

If the Asus ZenWifi XD6 is a center little one, then it is an overachieving center little one. It punched above its weight when it beat out the more-expensive Netgear Orbi AX6000 in my single-device checks, and once I added the mesh into the equation with an extender, it carried out extra like a flowery tri-band mannequin than the dual-band mannequin that it’s. I would go as far as to say that the XD6 is the strongest dual-band mesh router that I’ve examined so far.

Nonetheless, I did not see that very same power with Wi-Fi 5 units, and that is noteworthy provided that units like these nonetheless in all probability account for almost all of devices in our houses. That can change over time, and maybe the XD6 will enhance with time too. Proper now, it is tough to advocate at full worth, particularly when well-reviewed tri-band fashions can be found for simply barely extra.