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Asus Is Turning Its Old Routers Into Mesh Wi-Fi Networks (theverge.com)
Asus' new AiMesh system lets you repurpose your existing Asus routers as part of a mesh network, potentially saving you lots of money since you won't have to replace your whole network with a bunch of new devices. The Verge reports: For now, the mesh support is coming to a few routers today in beta, including the ASUS RT-AC68U, RT-AC1900P, RT-AC86U, RT-AC5300, and the ROG Rapture GT-AC5300, with additional support planned for the RT-AC88U and RT-AC3100 later this year. The setup looks pretty simple, too. Once your main router is set up and updated to the latest firmware, just take your other routers that are going to be the mesh nodes, plug them in near the main router, and run a factory reset, after which they'll automatically pop up in the Asus Router app to add to your mesh.
Yeah, this will really only be useful for those few people who are replacing fairly new ASUS routers with slightly newer models. I think that most people try to squeeze 5 years out of their routers, and don't bother upgrading until a new wireless standard is released.
If you're like me, you probably still have some old 802.11n and 802.11g Wi-Fi routers in your closet that would be nice to add to a mesh network as well. I nope that the DD-WRT guys add this functionality in a way that's easy to set up.
I sympathize with what you are saying, but an all-in-one router/AP has some serious fundamental limits. Sadly, it quickly gets to the economic "smashing point," where it is more efficient to just replace.
Personally, I have migrated to Ubiquiti from Asus. While they do have some cool mesh solutions too, most of the places you have problems a mesh just makes it worse with additional RF pollution. Nothing beats a small access point on low power in each (or most) rooms when you want speed and reliability. With Ubiquity, I end up with a more manageable solution for about $350 including two switches, a router, and two access points.