Just wanted to say thanks for all the input in this thread, particularly the detailed info from @sgmlaw - I am looking to do an upgrade myself from an AC68U and N56U (as a downstairs access point) which have always worked perfectly with my Squeezeboxes (1xTouch, 1xBoom and 4xRadios). I am in a bit of a dilema overall actually because in 2020 I did some research and chose an AC86U to replace my 68U as the main router with the idea of using the 68U as an improved access point (replacing the N56U). But for one reason or another I never actually got around to doing anything with the AC86U and it sat on a shelf for almost two years!
Now we are going to be moving a study from the first floor to the ground floor in our house (UK 1930s semi with loft conversion) I need to re-think the network setup because the new study location isn't very well served but will need to support two essential PCs via wifi - so I thought this was a great chance to do something with the AC86U finally. However, when I do some reading around on the SNB forums I see a lot of stuff about how the AC86U has a big failure rate and most of the knowledgable people there advise to replace it. In particular it can have problems with the 2.4G wifi which would be no good for us - the Squeezeboxes and an IP camera use 2.4 and they are most definitely essential. Which hardly makes me want to use it as my main router, I can't be doing with having to reboot it all the time and/or diagnose problems - two of us work from home now and a rock solid main router (as the AC68U has been) is paramount. But the AC68U doesn't quite have the coverage unfortunately. In addition to the AC86U issues I have also learned that the AC68U has a few issues working as a media bridge (my original plan for the new study) and also an issue working as an AiMesh node - and I've also seen advice against using the 68U as an AiMesh node due to its age and not great compatibility with AiMesh 2.0. So although it goes against my usual preference, I am considering replacing all of my existing hardware for something completely new (I will have to find some way to repurpose the old stuff, maybe even Freecycle). I considered just going with an XT8 system but the issues with Squeezeboxes scares me away from that idea - although I know that they won't last forever I don't really feel like there is a replacement for the SB radios in particular right now (if there ever will be). Yes you can get a Roberts radio that will work via DLNA and maybe the radios could be replaced with Bluetooth speakers but I love my LMS BBC Sounds plug-in and I've always preferred having a dedicated device for one function as opposed to using a phone for everything - I can't say I've had completely positive experiences with Bluetooth even recently. So then I thought about having two AX86Us in an AiMesh - sledgehammers to crack nuts you might say! My main concern with this is that it is overkill for our house (I gather there is such a thing as too much wifi) and also that the AX86U might not pass muster in the living room - the N56U does pretty well at this but I imagine that chunky aeriels etc. might not win approval. Then I came across the idea of a single ZenWifi ZD4 in the living room instead - it seems to be proven in a mesh with the AX86U and from what I have read will do a great job, certainly enough for our needs. And in addition it looks pretty smart so I'd hope that I wouldn't have any objections when putting it in the living room. However.... I'm now wondering with the XD4 would have the same problems as the XT8 with it being a ZenWifi device, especially given the experiences recounted above. What a shame that devices which claim to have full backwards compatibility with a/b/g don't actually seem to have at all, it is pretty disappointing. Would welcome any thoughts! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ slurmsmckenzie's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=69467 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=112167 _______________________________________________ Radio mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
