FOUND: AC Router with bridge mode for cheap

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project86

Limp Gawd
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Already have excellent mesh wifi around the house. Long story short, I have a very specific need to provide Ethernet connection to a non-wifi device in the corner of the garage. Tough to run Ethernet to that location, and powerline adapters don't work very well in my home. At this point my best bet is for something like an R7000 or similar (older) router in bridge mode. It will only ever connect to the single device via Ethernet so no worries about cpu speed or anything like that.

I see plenty of TP-Link models on ebay for around $30 but I'd prefer dealing with an H member if possible.
 
If you haven't tried the 'latest and greatest' powerline adapters, I would give those a shot. Moving from 500av to 1200 quadrupled my throughput. (y)
 
My issue is that they just don't work at all. Or at least not in the spot I needed (which happens to be the absolute opposite end of the house from the breaker box). This was a couple years ago, I gave up and haven't tried since.

So far I've got an offer on an R7000 which will probably do the trick just fine. But if anyone else has something interesting, feel free to throw it out there.
 
project86 said:
My issue is that they just don't work at all. Or at least not in the spot I needed (which happens to be the absolute opposite end of the house from the breaker box). This was a couple years ago, I gave up and haven't tried since.

So far I've got an offer on an R7000 which will probably do the trick just fine. But if anyone else has something interesting, feel free to throw it out there.
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It's amazing how much more connectivity the newer ones have. I got some of the first 85Mbps powerlines and 200Mbps powerlines back in the day and they couldn't do anything. And then the 500av units were able to even go between breakers in a commercial installation. And then the newest set to me, which are still not even the newest 2000 standard, increased the bandwidth of the 500av by 4x in the same environment. If you haven't tried them recently, a quick trip to Best Buy and 5 minutes to try them out may be a good investment since you can always return them.

On the off hand that you have coax in the garage, that's an option to get full wired gigabit speeds using moca 2.0/2.5 adapters.
 
Hmmm maybe you are right, I could always give it a try and return if it won't work. But the newer models (1000 or higher) all seem like around $100 and reviews are all over the map... many make it look not much faster than a wifi bridge solution. So I'm not sure I want to bother, even with the prospect of easy returns (I hate best buy).

I do use MoCa for the rest of the house, getting just shy of gigabit speeds even in the farthest rooms. 800+mbps and rock solid reliability is all I could ask for. But there's no coax in the garage, and for various reasons it will be a bear to get a run in there.

I'll think it over but picking up a cheap R7000 still seems like the best idea for the moment.
 
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R6400 flashed with DD-WRT? I replaced it with a R7500v2 maybe $45 shipped as shipping costs way too much (for the "little" occasional shippers)
 
project86 said:
Hmmm maybe you are right, I could always give it a try and return if it won't work. But the newer models (1000 or higher) all seem like around $100 and reviews are all over the map... many make it look not much faster than a wifi bridge solution. So I'm not sure I want to bother, even with the prospect of easy returns (I hate best buy).

I do use MoCa for the rest of the house, getting just shy of gigabit speeds even in the farthest rooms. 800+gbps and rock solid reliability is all I could ask for. But there's no coax in the garage, and for various reasons it will be a bear to get a run in there.

I'll think it over but picking up a cheap R7000 still seems like the best idea for the moment.
Click to expand...
If I was in your shoes, I would just grab a set of these and try them out:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tp-lin...ine-starter-kit-white/5687904.p?skuId=5687904

Worse case, they're just a return away. Best case, you're done because you know how fast powerlines are to install. And the powerlines' ping time will be much better than wireless which is still subject to interference in the air.

As you know moca is awesome, but running wires is a pain--and if you have to run a wire, it's always easier just to run an ethernet wire.

Best wishes in finding the best solution for your situation! (y)
 
I have 2 routers
1- Asus RT-AC68U
1- Asus RT-AC86U
They can be combined in AI Mesh for house filling wifi very easy to setup too.
PM if interested
 
Thanks for all the offers. I ended up with an R7000 which is kinda what I was thinking from the start, and should do the job perfectly.
 
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