The Router Recommendations Thread (Consumer)

Do you have any experience w/the antennas you posted? The reviews seem to be split between they help & they are a waste..Would help if there was a trusted source on whether they make a big difference vs the stock antennas.
 
My one customer went from 2-3 bars. Negotiating at 12-36Mbps to 4 bars at a solid 72 Mbps on a wireless N router. That customer had 25Mbps cable....so it was a huge improvement for them. That was using a dir-655.
 
I'm looking to replace my current router-- Buffalo WHR-G54S currently running Tomato firmware. The WiFi no longer works and you cannot connect to the WiFi network anymore. It's had a good 6-year run. The wired networking part of the router still works though.

Since I can't afford a full-blown pfSense router build at this time, I'm looking to replace my current with one of the following:

I am not looking to spending too much on a new router, anywhere from $50 to $100. My current WHR-G54S cost me $49.99 from Best Buy many years ago, and has been the most reliable since then.

I live in a two-story house so WiFi reception has to be pretty good so I can use a laptop downstairs or in the living room.

Of the three above, which would be best?

If not one of the three, which would be better?
 
Mackintire in your post:are you referring to adding antennas for your client that helped get him an extra bar?
 
Mackintire said:
I think you'll find what you're looking for if you read the last 5 pages in this thread.
Click to expand...

Last 5 pages were router and CFW recommendations. Currently my ASUS router is in my computer room which is essentially a bunker of concrete. So I passed some cat6 around the house to the living room and would like to setup a decent wireless AP there. What's something that functions well in AP mode with ASUS routers? I tried my old D-Link DIR655 but it kept having connection issues and any device in the middle of the home would suffer from dropped wireless connections constantly.
 
NickJames said:
Last 5 pages were router and CFW recommendations. Currently my ASUS router is in my computer room which is essentially a bunker of concrete. So I passed some cat6 around the house to the living room and would like to setup a decent wireless AP there. What's something that functions well in AP mode with ASUS routers? I tried my old D-Link DIR655 but it kept having connection issues and any device in the middle of the home would suffer from dropped wireless connections constantly.
Click to expand...

Ubiquiti Unifi
 
NickJames said:
Last 5 pages were router and CFW recommendations. Currently my ASUS router is in my computer room which is essentially a bunker of concrete. So I passed some cat6 around the house to the living room and would like to setup a decent wireless AP there. What's something that functions well in AP mode with ASUS routers? I tried my old D-Link DIR655 but it kept having connection issues and any device in the middle of the home would suffer from dropped wireless connections constantly.
Click to expand...

Simple:

Netgear WN2500RP


Adv:

Ubiquiti Unifi
 
The Ubiquiti UniFi AP is an Access Point only. You still need a device to handle routing.

I run a pfSense router with Ubiquiti APs and they work great together.
 
Landmine said:
The Ubiquiti UniFi AP is an Access Point only. You still need a device to handle routing.

I run a pfSense router with Ubiquiti APs and they work great together.
Click to expand...

Yes an AP is exactly what I was asking for. I will be hooking it up to my RT-N66U.
 
Note that the base Unifi does not have 5Ghz capability. In most every other way it is a superior device.
 
I ordered a Uniquiti Unifi LR from Amazon, and it should be here tomorrow. I'll let your know how it does in my 3200 sq ft home. I have a D-Link DIR-655 right now that covers most of my home.
 
Hi guys. Looking for a new router. My old wrt54gs died a few months ago, so I been relying on a tmobile wrtu54g-tm since than.

Now our house is single story. Not too big (I dont know the sq footage, but its only a 2 bedroom house), but with the additional wireless capable devices we are getting into, we need a better router. we use devices outside the house as well.

The router is in my room, (which is at the far end of the house, opposite of where most of our wifi devices would be,. Outside patio on the far end where I need some range. besides my desktop pc connected directly to the router) .twc cable internet , typical speeds are like 18mbs.

I want to go dual band, good range and reliability, under $100 if possible. I am open to suggestions, thanks!
 
hypertek: I actually just decided to upgrade from my old trusted wrt54gs. I got the ASUS RT-N16 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320038 It def performs much better than the old linksys. My cable is 25mb DL. With my android phone I usually get around 4-8 mb. The range is also a bit better than the old linksys. My cable/router is in the rear of the home (over 2000sqft) & I can get a signal in the front although its weaker & prob around 1-2mb only. But my old linksys the signal would sometimes go out & when it was working it was more like 0.5mb or less. The phone in 3G performed faster lol
Mackintire should be able to help you more than me as he suggested the Asus to me. I was also looking for something under $100 that would both increase range/speeds
 
I need a wired only for my basement, from there I an ap upstairs. What is a good wired only router? Right now I am running a vm untangle box, but the esxi server is using too much power. I need something that will be as fast and reliable as the untangle vm.
 
Got my Unifi LR installed, and I LOVE it! Installed in the center of my basement up in the floor joists. Covers my two story 3200 sq ft home. Full signal everywhere. Internet and data throughput is a lot better than it was with my D-LINK DIR-655. I highly recommend it. Easy to install and set up!
 
AMD_RULES said:
Got my Unifi LR installed, and I LOVE it! Installed in the center of my basement up in the floor joists. Covers my two story 3200 sq ft home. Full signal everywhere. Internet and data throughput is a lot better than it was with my D-LINK DIR-655. I highly recommend it. Easy to install and set up!
Click to expand...

What are you using as the router? The DLink? I'm considering going Microtik+Unifi pretty soon.
 
trick0502 said:
I need a wired only for my basement, from there I an ap upstairs. What is a good wired only router? Right now I am running a vm untangle box, but the esxi server is using too much power. I need something that will be as fast and reliable as the untangle vm.
Click to expand...

Untangle is a Utm.

What's important to you?

I could say: ASUS RT-16N or the RT-58N, or a Zyxel Zywall 310, or a Ubiquiti Edgerouter, or a Netgear Night Hawk, or a Apple airport Extreme, or something else....all depending on what wants and needs you have.
 
AMD_RULES said:
Got my Unifi LR installed, and I LOVE it! Installed in the center of my basement up in the floor joists. Covers my two story 3200 sq ft home. Full signal everywhere. Internet and data throughput is a lot better than it was with my D-LINK DIR-655. I highly recommend it. Easy to install and set up!
Click to expand...

I rarely recommend the LR model. For most use cases, it causes more grief than helps.

IF...... you encounter a situation where downloads work great but your upload sucks, it is probably because you choose the LR model which created the problem.

the problem is that the AP has enough power to reach your device but your device does not have enough power to cleanly send a signal back to the AP. The fix is to lower the AP s power output and unfortunately range until both devices can communicate cleanly and clearly when in range of each other.

I know this answer sucks, but wireless networking also has the obey the laws of physics.
 
hypertek said:
Hi guys. Looking for a new router. My old wrt54gs died a few months ago, so I been relying on a tmobile wrtu54g-tm since than.

Now our house is single story. Not too big (I dont know the sq footage, but its only a 2 bedroom house), but with the additional wireless capable devices we are getting into, we need a better router. we use devices outside the house as well.

The router is in my room, (which is at the far end of the house, opposite of where most of our wifi devices would be,. Outside patio on the far end where I need some range. besides my desktop pc connected directly to the router) .twc cable internet , typical speeds are like 18mbs.

I want to go dual band, good range and reliability, under $100 if possible. I am open to suggestions, thanks!
Click to expand...

$100 put a dampener on most of your options. The ASUS RT-16N is your best bet, but don't expect your wireless range to increase much. Internet performance and wireless speeds will go up. You can also tune it to make everything run smooth and consistently.
 
Ruoh said:
What are you using as the router? The DLink? I'm considering going Microtik+Unifi pretty soon.
Click to expand...

Verizon FiOS router... had to leave it as my main for my FiOS tv. Didn't feel like complicating the setup.

Mackintire said:
I rarely recommend the LR model. For most use cases, it causes more grief than helps.

IF...... you encounter a situation where downloads work great but your upload sucks, it is probably because you choose the LR model which created the problem.

the problem is that the AP has enough power to reach your device but your device does not have enough power to cleanly send a signal back to the AP. The fix is to lower the AP s power output and unfortunately range until both devices can communicate cleanly and clearly when in range of each other.

I know this answer sucks, but wireless networking also has the obey the laws of physics.
Click to expand...

I havent had any issues with upload or download. But thanks for the info.
 
im thinking about moving up to one of the newer ac model routers. anyone have any thoughts or experience with these. my asus 56u is still doing well, but i need to cover more space now and im thinking of going all out on my next buy. i was looking at a asus ac66 , 68u or maybe the nighthawk.

i been reading some customer reviews and i'm scared to drop $200 on a 68u and not be happy.
 
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toyz72 said:
im thinking about moving up to one of the newer ac model routers. anyone have any thoughts or experience with these. my asus 56u is still doing well, but i need to cover more space now and im thinking of going all out on my next buy. i was looking at a asus ac66 , 68u or maybe the nighthawk.

i been reading some customer reviews and i'm scared to drop $200 on a 68u and not be happy.
Click to expand...

802.11ac will not give you more coverage. It might give you more speed (assuming you have 802.11ac clients)

The routing capabilities are fairly close in ability between the 56 and the 66, the 68 is a little faster.

Consider installing the merlin firmware and seeing what you can tweak from there and or adding a dedicated AP connected to the router by a cable located somewhere else in the house.
 
toyz72 said:
im thinking about moving up to one of the newer ac model routers. anyone have any thoughts or experience with these. my asus 56u is still doing well, but i need to cover more space now and im thinking of going all out on my next buy. i was looking at a asus ac66 , 68u or maybe the nighthawk.

i been reading some customer reviews and i'm scared to drop $200 on a 68u and not be happy.
Click to expand...

I got the AC68U over the 66U because of the transfer speeds are better than the 66U and now that my Note 3 has AC capabilities I say why not. Initial setup problems were mainly because its slow and I dont know why I had to disconnect and turn off my modem and reconnect it to my router for the setup. It took about 45 minutes which was 40 minutes more than what my D-link DIR-825 or 655 took. But after that its been gravy, no restarts, handles the 2 dozen odd devices in my house fine and streaming from my pcs to the many tvs in my house all at once work flawlessly.
 
thx guys for some answers. i plan on replacing the modem to after our house sale is final.i've always wanted my own network gear and nows my chance.

right now i have the triple play though comcast. i wouldnt mind keeping it, but i cant seem to find a modem that has telephone connection? so for now me and a friend are getting ready to run some new lines and a patch panel.

so what are some good chioces on modems?
 
I'm wanting to replace my old router (A/B/G) with a new one, preferably one that supports AC, dual band, and is wall mountable.

What would be the best router or two I should look at buying?
 
I don't think you could go wrong with either the Asus AC68 or the Nighthawk AC1900 by Netgear.
 
I'd go the netgear nighthawk (because I own one and its great), its cheaper than the asus, and gets you the same features and they are pretty much even for performance.
 
What about the D-Link DIR-868L? I was looking at that one and its within the same price range as the ac68 and the night hawk.
 
Just installed a Unifi Edge Router Lite and Unifi AP Pro at a client's house. Setup was super easy, and speed/coverage are awesome both wired and wireless. Looks like I have a good excuse to move away from my aging Linksys E4200.
 
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