Upgrading to Asus XT9/Keeping Sky Hub ? Wait for Sky Max Hub

[Bundy+Bob]

Hello ALL, I thought I knew a little bit about tech stuff until I started reading a lot of these discussions - now I realise I'm a tech dummy.  Your advise would be greatly appreciated,

So I'm hoping to improve my wifi network and speeds as I think with >30 devices connected devices and more and more UHD Streaming my current old BT WH white discs are struggling.

I have just moved to Sky FFTP Gigafast and have the Sky Hub SR203- I would like to keep it for the Sky talk feature- presently I have  4xBT WH disks offering my meshed Wi-Fi, Sky Q and 3 minis connected with Sky Mesh(Sky Q via powerline, minis via Wi-Fi - I have turned off the 2.4GHz WiFi and have the 5GHz channels on the BT discs and SkyQ mesh well separated). Sky TV is all stable so hoping to leave it untouched as I don't wont to go down the route of hardwiring the minis).

I'm looking to upgrade to perhaps the Asus XT9 with 2 routers - hardwiring one to the Sky SR203 hub and using it AP Mode and the 2nd on the floor above connected wirelessly for AiMesh- I understand not ideal to have the 2 meshed sytems operating simultaneously but seems to be trouble free so far with Sky Q and BT mesh. My queries are - 

1. Some previous posts on here have raised issues/difficulties in connecting the Asus XT9 router to Sky SR 203 Hub as an access point - has this now been done and not too difficult? If so, an idiots guide on how to do it would be grealy appreciated!!

2. Should using the Asus XT9's provide a significant improvement in my Wi-Fi Network to what I'm presently getting (BT WH disc at Sky router provides @ 400mbps, other rooms near additional discs @ 100mbps).

3. Should I wait until the Sky Max Hub becomes compatible for use with Sky Q and get that instead? I've read possibly sometime later this year? If so what Wi-Fi Speeds can the Sky Q's manage if acting as hotspots?

Hope I've given all the necessary information for your help and advice. If anyone feels there is a better option than that offered here then I'm all ears!! Many thanks in advance.

[Chrisee]

@Bundy+Bob changing from your BT discs to Asus kit should improve speeds but by how much depends on the layout and type of construction of your home. To stream UHD video requires under 30Mb/s so out right speed is less important than stability. Indeed despite the hype around network speeds having stability (low jitter) is just as important for most apps and is vital for video streaming and playing games.

Before spending money think about the speeds you need and your devices can use. Just because you have upnto 900Mb/s at the hub does not mean you need wifi kit delivering that in every room. Just as having a car with top speed of 250mph does not mean you get to work quicker in the rush hour.

Connecting wifi access points to a Sky hub is simple and does not require any configuration changes on the hub apart from turning off the hub's wifi but as you have Q minis you still need the 5GHz band as you post. The complication come when using third party kit directly connected to the ONT.. 

The new Sky Wifi Max hub and its pod extenders are expected to support Sky Q within the next three months but Sky are making no promises. In essence while the new hub it is faster than the SR203 as it supports Wifi6 it does not offer greater range. Sky only send out a "pod" if the hub proves to be insufficent and if you need more than one they only supply those after a engineer's visit. The pods do not support wifi6 but do offer reasonable speeds if they have decent backhaul to the hub. 

[Bundy+Bob]

@Chrisee - Thank-you very much for your reply and I understand what you are saying re wifi speeds/latency etc. There are a few areas where I think I could benefit from faster wi-fi and also was thinking to future proof my network.

On the point of connecting the Asus XT9 to the Sky Hub as an AP - I thought the asus XT9 still needed configuring to work this way with the Sky Hub. I'm probably wrong on this! Just to confirm - I have all Wi-Fi switched off on the Sky Hub (the Sky Q box is hardwired to Powerline Adaptor then I'm just using the 5GHz mesh from the Sky Q box to connect with the minis with Sky Q booster to help with any deadspots).

From your post I think you are saying is the Asus XT9's are probably an overkill for my situation. Perhaps I should just wait for the Sky Max Hub to become available for use with Sky Qs and see how that works? I did remove my BT mesh initially when I recently moved to Sky FTTP and was just using the Sky Hub and Sky Q's for my Wi-Fi but the speeds were alarming slow- ie < 30mbps-  in some areas of the house.

I'm undecided as to what to do now really, Many thanks for your help @Chrisee 

[Chrisee]

@Bundy+Bob the Asus units are not overkill they have an excellent reputation and when you consider that Sky Wifi Max costs £10 per month it doesn't take too long to pay for them. It is impossible to "future proof" any tech as the makers are always introducing upgrades and a wifi7 standard is in development. Even when compatibile with Sky Q it looks like Sky Max maybe a cludge - it will connect via a Q booster from whst little we have been told

Adding acess points really is simple you just configure the AP units using whatever system the makers tell you and connect one to the Sky hub by ethernet just as you did with your BT discs.