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With Wi-Fi 6 and a tri-band design, it's one of the best mesh routers we've tested, and it's currently marked down to $377. That's an all-time low.
Senior Editor / Reviews - Appliances
Originally hailing from Troy, Ohio, Ry Crist is a text-based adventure connoisseur, a lover of terrible movies and an enthusiastic yet mediocre cook. A CNET editor since 2013, Ry's beats include smart home tech, lighting, appliances, and home networking.
Making the switch to a mesh router that uses multiple devices to provide better Wi-Fi coverage throughout your home is one of the best ways to upgrade your network. And, given how much more we're all leaning on our home networks these days , going with a top-rated system capable of making the most out of your internet speeds is a smart investment. With a tri-band design that uses an additional 5GHz band as a dedicated wireless backhaul and full support for Wi-Fi 6 , the Asus ZenWifi XT8 fits that bill -- and right now, you can score a two-piece system for $377, which is as low as I've ever seen it selling for.
The ZenWifi XT8 was able to deliver terrific speeds throughout my entire home when I tested it out last year, with performance that falls just a bit shy of the top-tested Netgear Orbi AX6000, which costs $700 for a two-pack. At a retail price of $450, I already thought the ZenWifi XT8 sat right in the sweet spot for a mesh router upgrade pick -- now, at $73 off, I think it's an absolute steal.
$377 is as low as the ZenWifi XT8 has ever sold for on Amazon, and it's lower than you'll find at Best Buy or B&H Photo, too.
In addition to the tri-band design and the support for Wi-Fi 6, the ZenWifi offers a nice bit of future-proofing with a multi-gig WAN port that supports incoming wired speeds as high as 2.5Gbps. That's a nice luxury to have, especially with ISPs like Comcast Xfinity and Google Fiber starting to roll out internet plans with multi-gig speeds to more homes in the US.
The ZenWifi XT8 comes in black, too. It's on sale for $381, but the only difference is the color.
At $377 on Amazon -- which, again, is an all-time low, and $73 less than you'll find it for at other retailers like Best Buy and B&H Photo -- you're saving about 16% off the XT8's current retail price, and getting a two-piece setup for less than you'd spend on other tri-band Wi-Fi 6 systems we like. That includes the Eero Pro 6 , with a two-pack that's currently marked down to $399 . I like both systems quite a bit, but if all costs were equal, I'd still prefer the XT8 for my own home. In this case, you're getting it at a discount.
Oh, and the ZenWifi XT8 comes in white and black, both with identical specs and speeds. Right now, it's the white version that's marked all the way down to $377, but the black system's marked down, too, with a sale price of $381 . If you like that dark design better, it's just an additional $4, and still a very good deal.
One last point of note: Asus recently released the ZenWifi XD6 , which is a similar-looking, less expensive mesh system that lacks the XT8's third band and multi-gig WAN port. The XT8 is the more powerful of the two, and at its current sale price of $377, you can get it for less than $20 more than the XD6.
There's a lot of interest in the mesh category right now, so it's likely that we see other systems marked down ahead of the holidays -- and it's a safe bet that we see lots of big sales in the run-up to Black Friday , too. If you want to wait to see what sort of discounts are available next month, I wouldn't blame you, but there's no guarantee that the ZenWifi XT8 will be in that mix. If it's the system that you want, then this is a deal you can go ahead and pounce on.
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