The ASUS ZenWiFi XT9 is a tri-band Wi-Fi 6 router with a 2.4GHz band and two 5GHz bands. It's designed for use in a mesh system and is available in a one-pack or two-pack. It uses ASUS's AiMesh technology, so it's also compatible with any other AiMesh-enabled ASUS access point. It supports 160MHz channels on its primary 5GHz band for faster potential speeds. We bought a white two-pack and tested it in dual mesh mode.
Our Verdict
The ASUS XT9 is a great router for use in an apartment, condo, or single-story home. It has good coverage across a single floor and provides suitable speeds for downloading large files quickly and high-bandwidth 4k video streaming. It also has a sleek, compact design that easily fits into your living space. It has a USB 3.0 port and a WAN port rated for 2.5Gbps speeds.
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Sleek and compact design available in black or white.
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Impressive top speeds.
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2.5Gbps WAN port.
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Wi-Fi 6 won't take full advantage of new Wi-Fi 6E or 7 devices.
The ASUS ZenWiFi XT9 is a great router if you live in a multi-level home with a backyard. It has excellent coverage throughout a multi-story home and provides speeds fast enough for 4k video streaming and high-speed downloads. Since it's a mesh router, you can easily add another unit for better coverage. It also has a sleek, compact design that easily fits into your living space. It has a USB 3.0 port and a WAN port rated for 2.5Gbps speeds.
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Sleek and compact design available in black or white.
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Impressive top speeds.
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Great range.
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Can add additional mesh access points to further improve range.
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2.5Gbps WAN port.
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Wi-Fi 6 won't take full advantage of new Wi-Fi 6E or 7 devices.
The ASUS ZenWiFi XT9 AX7800 delivers impressive speeds suitable for a gigabit internet connection. It supports DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection), so it can use less congested DFS-only channels, which helps give you better speeds in noisy wireless environments.
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Impressive top speeds.
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Wi-Fi 6 won't take full advantage of new Wi-Fi 6E or 7 devices.
The ASUS XT9 has great range. It's a mesh router, so you can add supplementary access points to improve your range and help maintain consistent speeds over long distances.
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Great range.
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Can add additional mesh access points to further improve range.
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Wi-Fi 6 won't take full advantage of new Wi-Fi 6E or 7 devices.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The ASUS ZenWiFi XT9 is available in a one-pack or a two-pack and comes in black or white. We bought and tested a white two-pack. Here's a photo of our unit's label.
Compared To Other Routers
The ASUS ZenWifi XT9 is a tri-band mesh Wi-Fi 6 router with a 2.4GHz band and two 5GHz bands. It supports the 160MHz channel bandwidth on one of its 5GHz bands for faster top speeds. It notably supports configurable backhaul, so you can choose whether the main router and satellite connect to each other using a dedicated 5GHz band or an Ethernet cable. You can also leave the backhaul in automatic mode and let the router decide.
Despite this router being Wi-Fi 6 and not supporting the faster 6GHz band, it delivers similar top speeds to Wi-Fi 6E mesh routers in its price category, namely the eero Pro 6E and the TP-Link Deco XE5300.
Test Results
This router's USB port supports USB 3.2 Gen 1 data transfer speed of up to 5Gbps.
We tested this router in dual mesh mode. While there's a slight speed penalty when initially connecting to the satellite unit, this is expected, and it helps deliver faster speeds over longer distances. For more information about the mesh penalty, check out our R&D article here.
We tested this router in dual mesh mode. While there's a slight speed penalty when initially connecting to the satellite unit, this is expected, and it helps deliver faster speeds over longer distances. For more information about the mesh penalty, check out our R&D article here.
