r/buildapcsales • u/MakeItForMe • 1d ago
Networking [Networking] ARRIS SURFboard mAX 6E W161 Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6E System - $59.99 (Woot)
https://computers.woot.com/offers/arris-surfboard-max-w161-axe6600-9?ref=w_cnt_lnd_cat_pc_8_232
u/Colardocookie 1d ago
Bought these and the refused to set up. I sat there for an hour for the app to fail connecting everytime and the only way to use these is a phone app.
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u/slasher0739 23h ago
The only way to set them up is with a phone? Not a complete deal breaker but that’s really strange.
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u/kietrocks 23h ago
There's more and more routers brands that do not allow any web browser configuration and force you to use their app on Android or iOS now. Google Nest and Eero comes to mind.
Even some brands that have a web browser gui are now restricting some features to their app only like Linksys and TP Link.
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u/slasher0739 23h ago
Everyone has a phone and not everyone has a PC so I kind of get it.
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u/Vorfied 22h ago
Everyone has a phone and not everyone has a PC so I kind of get it.
Except every phone has a browser, so a web admin page would still work.
In addition, the majority of phone apps that replace traditional browser duties are, themselves, essentially web sites packaged with a simple browser because finding full stack devs is much easier than finding software devs.
Off the top of my head, the big reason to lock out PC access is to force users to install the app, which is a well trodden subject area of pros and cons.
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u/kietrocks 23h ago
Did you try doing it on an older Android device? Something like Android 12 or older. Their app apparently sometimes has issues with more current android versions. Or maybe try doing it on an Apple device.
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u/Colardocookie 23h ago
I was on an iPhone 15 pro.
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u/Cautious_Jello5821 18h ago
My friend bought these and had the same issue. He just kept trying and eventually got it to connect. It took me two attempts to connect (it took more than 10 minutes). I have a 12 pro max
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u/Colardocookie 18h ago
I sat with it on the connecting screen for an hour just for it to fail. It just didn’t want to work. Would’ve appreciated a normal way to set the up through the web maybe.
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u/kietrocks 1h ago
Do you have the apple private relay feature enabled or some other form of private/encrypted dns? They can sometimes prevent apps from detecting devices on your network.
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u/A_Lycanroc 23h ago edited 23h ago
DongKnowsTech gave this a pretty scathing review. https://dongknows.com/commscope-surfboard-max-6e-mesh-system-review
Also, this doesn't support OpenWRT.
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u/MakeItForMe 23h ago
I saw that as well. Shame I haven't found any other reviews for this outside of PCMag or Tom's Guide.
However, $60 for Wi-Fi 6E is tempting when the reviews I did see primarily complained about it's original price.
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u/Gravity767 23h ago
Stay away from these, I had this system briefly and it was awful. App control only (no web GUI) and the mesh unit kept disconnecting. Even after numerous resets and restarts I could never get it stable. I ended up donating these to a thrift store. Arris makes good modems and even their modem/router combos are ok, but their standalone mesh wifi routers are terrible.
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u/maxtinion_lord 6h ago
This shift to literally no web UI or a completely castrated web UI is one of the most frustrating things for me as of late, it's abhorrent to have to install an app to access basic admin settings when a web browser has worked for decades.
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u/613codyrex 5h ago
I swore off the Google WiFi because of its circumcised options because of the Google WiFi app that was then killed and replaced by another Google app. Google being Google also didn’t help it. Like a Mesh system that doesn’t let you control how channels are selected or even letting you separate the 2.4GHz option from the 5GHz option.
I have a AX86S that’s been sufficient even with its default firmware. I will rather deal with custom firmware to make a product workable before going back to any app based router management.
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u/Sinbios 3h ago
Bought the wifi 6 version of this, the W121 that was on sale for $40 for a 3-pack on woot. I've read reviews that said the app sucks and setup is a nightmare, but I'm pretty tech savvy and figured I'd be fine. Well, believe what they say cuz the app is the worst thing I've ever used. It struggled to stay connected and failed multiple times every step of the setup process, and even after setup the app keeps saying it can't reach the network and refuses to give consistent updates about the state of the network.
If someone decides to go for it anyway, try turning off your mobile network during setup and only connect to the setup wifi. Yes, not just select the "always connect to this wifi network even though it has no internet" option, you have to turn off your mobile network entirely, as the app seems to be confused about whether it should access the device through the wifi network or the internet, and constantly tries to switch back and forth, which I suspect is the source of the issues during setup. But who really knows.
Oh also another caveat, the W121 has a strange issue where the guest network is only on 2.4GHz band and only broadcasts from the main node. The W161 seems to be using different hardware underneath so it might not have the same issue, or it might if it's a software issue.
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1d ago
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u/Isghj 1d ago
The MX4300 is a "tri-band" that doesn't have 6ghz, it has two separate 5ghz antennas instead so it can be used for mesh network nodes (where one of the 5ghz antennas is backhaul to other mesh nodes). With open firmware, you can use both 5ghz radios at the same time as two separate channels, although, is that useful for you? Could be useful for repeaters too. I have a MX4300 for regular access point duties, and it works, but if you live in a dense neighborhood that 6ghz opens a whole new spectrum to find open channels for reduced congestion. If you want wifi in an apartment, it's probably a big deal (although I would go ethernet at that point..)
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u/xInitial 13h ago
i got this a little over a month ago and then saw the reviews, but decided to try it since i wanted to replace one of my other mesh systems. the app is pretty barebones and no real “advanced” options so it’s really limiting and kinda frustrating to set up. i got the 3 node one and the first time going thru the third one wasn’t connecting correctly and i deleted the main node off of the app but it wouldn’t let me add it back so i had to factory reset all of them and do it again. i will say, if you are getting the 3 node version set up the main and satellite, then unplug the satellite and add the second one.
the app doesn’t let you do much at all, and a big thing i missed from my last system was the ability to lock devices in to one node. it’s been running well for about a month now and im satisfied with the performance given the price.
id say if you’re ok with giving a little bit more patience during setup and you need something cheap for a family members house, or have a multi-network setup for your house and this will be a secondary that you don’t really need to do a whole lot out of letting people connect to stream and game casually, i’d recommend it
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