topic Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX in Archive

ASUS ZenWiFi AX

Neil.H — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 07:16:51 GMT

Hi All

I've just bought 2 ASUS ZenWiFi AX (XT8) devices. Since upgrading to ultrafast I've found the Sky mesh (1 2TB Q box and 2 minis) wasn't up to the job and the bottleneck when connecting to the internet was the internal network.

I've set them up in access point mode for now, and the WiFi speed is amazing compared to the Sky WiFi, however I am finding I get frequent dropouts. I suspect this is down to the two mesh networks conflicting as running an optimise on the ASUS mesh resolves the issue for a few hours.

I am thinking I'd be better off disabling the Sky mesh and connecting the Q boxes to the ASUS mesh. Which has then led me down the route of thinking well if I am doing that do I even need the SR203 anymore, I don't have a phone connected so I don't need VOIP, and I believe the ASUS in router mode supports DHCP option 61.

Aside from VOIP, is there any benefit in leaving the SR203 in place with WiFi disabled, or is it just adding an extra layer of complication that isn't required?

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

TimmyBGood — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 07:42:29 GMT

@Neil.H wrote:

I am thinking I'd be better off disabling the Sky mesh and connecting the Q boxes to the ASUS mesh.

Unfortunately Q boxes will not stay connected to non-Sky mesh nodes unless it's by ethernet.

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

Neil.H — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 07:47:44 GMT

Thanks @TimmyBGood so I'd need to either place the ASUS nodes near the Q boxes so I can connect them via ethernet, or use powerline to hardwire them?

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

TimmyBGood — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 07:55:32 GMT

@Neil.H

That's what other forum posters have done, yes. You'd probably want to switch off the Q WiFi.

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

Neil.H — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:04:01 GMT

Thanks, so hardwired it is for the Q boxes, that's easily done. I already run powerline for some devices.

So I guess the only other question is; is it worth using the SR203 with WiFi disabled, or should I just replace it with one of the ASUS nodes running in router mode?

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

Neil+Stevens — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:17:15 GMT

I've got exactly the same (wise choice 😁)

I started out with mine in AP mode and left the sky SR203 router for voip but the node kept reverting to 2.4ghz backhaul which made them next to useless. After reading a ton of stuff online I reverted to the 42095 firmware (available on the asus support site) rebooted and then did a factory reset on that firmware. I've not had a single drop since

I tried to figure out how to get round the double nat with the XT8 in router mode but failed so ended up ditching the SR203 (only had pay as you go sky talk so never used the phone) and configured the dhcp option 61 so the XT8 connects directly to the ONT

My main SkyQ box is connected to the Xt8 and picks up an ip address but my 3 SkyQ mini boxes have to connect to the main Q box using the wps button but this appears only to pick up an IP address from the dhcp server running on the XT8

Speed is excellent and I've had zero dropped connections (used to get loads on the skyq mini boxes)

I wasn't sure whether to ditch the SR203 and waited a week or 2 until I decided enough was enough. So glad I did

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

Neil.H — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:20:36 GMT

Awesome thanks @Neil+Stevens so you haven't wired your mini's and they're connected via WiFi to your main Q box?

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

Neil+Stevens — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:25:51 GMT

no they're not hardwired although in the devices list on the XT8 they appear as wired connections because they use the skyq main box wireless SSID as the connection (and pick up an ip address from the XT8). I assumed they would just connect to the XT8 but the minis aren't designed that way so they don't give you an option to connect to any old SSID like a smart tv does

i used 0123456789ab@skydsl|foo as the dhcp option 61 string

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

Neil+Stevens — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:27:07 GMT

also it means you can use google or another dns server so you aren't affected when Sky have issues 😎

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

TimmyBGood — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 09:19:49 GMT

@Neil+Stevens wrote:

My main SkyQ box is connected to the Xt8 and picks up an ip address but my 3 SkyQ mini boxes have to connect to the main Q box using the wps button but this appears only to pick up an IP address from the dhcp server running on the XT8

That's correct: although the main Q box is the network 'node' for the Mini boxes, it doesn't have its own DHCP server as that would obviously be problematic.

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

beastlove — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 14:33:16 GMT

Any chance you could share your settings screen. I have just got sky fibre and cannot work out how to select option 61 to enter my password etc on the XT8. I must be making a school boy error.

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

Neil+Stevens — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 14:37:20 GMT

it only works on Sky FTTP where you have an ONT provided by Openreach

In WAN settings on the XT8 just use this string in DHCP option 61 0123456789ab@skydsl|foo

i can post the screen but it's moderated so won't be shown straight away

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

beastlove — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 16:07:15 GMT

Sorry, a bit new to this. What should the WAN connection type be? I cannot see DHCP Option 61 at all.

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

beastlove — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 16:21:29 GMT

@Neil+Stevens Thanks for your help. Your suggestion worked. I just needed to change DHCP qeuery frequency to normal mode

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

Neil.H — Sat, 18 Sep 2021 13:24:06 GMT

All sorted thanks for your help @Neil+Stevens

I didn't need DHCP option 61. I guess because my exchange has only just been enabled so is using IP6 DHCP.

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

mae-3 — Sat, 18 Sep 2021 15:56:42 GMT

@Neil.H

Even though DHCPv6 PD works on its own it is highly recommended that you fill in the details for DHCP Option 61 as well for this Asus router per Sky's recommendation.

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

Neil.H — Sat, 18 Sep 2021 22:34:42 GMT

Hi @mae-3

I did try the dhcp option 61 but the router refused to connect and kept retiring saying there was an issue with my isp's dhcp server. As soon as I removed it, the router connected first time.

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

mae-3 — Sun, 19 Sep 2021 07:39:08 GMT

@Neil.H

For DHCP Option 61 and its parameters should be as follows and DHCP should be 123abc@skydsl|123abc

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

Neil.H — Sun, 19 Sep 2021 09:40:20 GMT

That sorted it, thanks @mae-3. I didn't need to change anything other than the DHCP string, so maybe I'd copied and pasted it wrong before...

Either way it's working now and I'm getting so much faster speeds than I was before on the Sky Q WiFi.

Re: ASUS ZenWiFi AX

mae-3 — Sun, 19 Sep 2021 09:47:17 GMT

@Neil.H

Great that it is working fine, any further questions concerning any settings on this Asus router don't hesitate to ask... 😀