Replacement for netgear nighthawk r7000 router

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sram

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https://www.netgear.com/ae/home/wifi/routers/r7000/


This router served me well but I think it is biting the dust. It requires me to reboot it from time to time so that it works properly. My internet speed is 500 Mbps and it is now capped at 100 Mbps because of it. I have no idea what could be the reason. I rebooted it and power cycled it but it didn't help. I maybe able to fix it but I actually want to replace it and go with something else. It has been more than 8 years I think with this router. What would be a good upgrade? And by a good upgrade I mean a router that has everything this one has + modern features. I want it to be tomato/ DD-WRT/Openwrt compatible just in case. I also want it to have a vpn service feature and good parental controls. No special wifi requirements ( I don't have many wifi 6 devices). No serious gaming. Money is not an issue.

If I buy another netgear, can I load my current configuration file to it?

Care to recommend some?

All comments are really appreciated. Thanks.
 
For those who used circle as parental controls, how is it performing now? I have used it in the past and now it seems like it works differently and you have to physically access each device you want to monitor and load an app into it. Before you didn't need to do this.
 
I prefer written reviews. It will be quite an effort to go through all his videos to determine the best router for me. I don't have that time luxury. I'll try to view some of them though. I also like Asus. I configured many of them for friends. Haven't used one for myself though.
 
I also prefer asus routers, especially with Merlin-WRT.*
I've been using an AI mesh setup for years as well with mostly zero issues. (Zero issues since I updated my router last year).

*I should probably exclusively with Merlin-WRT, as I haven't used stock firmware on my Asus routers in 5+ years.
https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/features
 
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Get some cheap SFF Dell and a dual-port Intel Gigabit NIC and turn it into a pfSense Router. Then turn your R7000 into an Access Point. pfSense routers on Intel hardware are rock solid, and It's unlikely that your R7000 would need constant rebooting if it was only acting as an access point.

Examples:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334701990410
https://www.ebay.com/itm/225497805166
 
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I'm looking at RAXE450 — Nighthawk AXE10000 and RAXE500- Nighthawk AXE1000 because they have parental controls but it seems it is limited as I have seen in one of the reviews. They may be good for the future but without good parental controls they are useless to me. It doesn't even say how parental controls work.

https://www.netgear.com/support/

https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/netgear-nighthawk-tri-band-wi-fi-6e-router-raxe500

Asus RT-AX88U and

Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Pro​

look good but they don't support DD-WRT. It sounds like you can't get everything. I have to sacrifice something. The Asus RT-AX88U doesn't have a vpn service feature also I think.
 
GotNoRice said:
Get some cheap SFF Dell and a dual-port Intel Gigabit NIC and turn it into a pfSense Router. Then turn your R7000 into an Access Point. pfSense routers on Intel hardware are rock solid, and It's unlikely that your R7000 would need constant rebooting if it was only acting as an access point.

Examples:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334701990410
https://www.ebay.com/itm/225497805166
Click to expand...
Hmm maybe. Haven't done it before. I don't have a space though for another pc. My office room is full. I will investigate.
 
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sram said:
I'm looking at RAXE450 — Nighthawk AXE10000 and RAXE500- Nighthawk AXE1000 because they have parental controls but it seems it is limited as I have seen in one of the reviews. They may be good for the future but without good parental controls they are useless to me. It doesn't even say how parental controls work.

https://www.netgear.com/support/

https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/netgear-nighthawk-tri-band-wi-fi-6e-router-raxe500

Asus RT-AX88U and

Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Pro​

look good but they don't support DD-WRT. It sounds like you can't get everything. I have to sacrifice something. The Asus RT-AX88U doesn't have a vpn service feature also I think.
Click to expand...
Asus routers don't use DD-WRT, they use Merlin-WRT and have a plethora of VPN services through that and Entware.

I have Adguard working as a filter and DNS resolver directly off my router personally. Also parental controls.
 
sram said:
Hmm maybe. Haven't done it before. I don't have a space though for another pc. My office room is full. I will investigate.
Click to expand...
SFF you can get pretty small ones, and just get a half-height bracket for the NIC and your good. You can go down to 5th gen i5 for a pfsense box and be golden...
 
sram said:
I don't have a space though for another pc.
Click to expand...

It is run without a monitor, etc, once initial setup is complete. The SFF Dell systems are pretty tiny, smaller than a briefcase. You can just stuff it behind the desk, behind a TV, a couch, closet, or whatever.
 
I'm actually leaning toward the ASUS RT-AX88U but I can't verify whether it can run a vpn server just like my Netgear nighthawk R7000 so that I can vpn into my home network from anywhere. Just like I did here in my other thread: https://hardforum.com/threads/need-...ng-for-security-camera-remote-access.2024768/

I think it should have it but I don't see anything in the manual about it.
https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/wireless/RT-AX88U/E14778_RT-AX88U_UM_web.pdf?model=RT-AX88U

Although this page implies that all of their routers have this feature:
https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1008713/

Can somebody assure me?
 
sram said:
I'm actually leaning toward the ASUS RT-AX88U but I can't verify whether it can run a vpn server just like my Netgear nighthawk R7000 so that I can vpn into my home network from anywhere. Just like I did here in my other thread: https://hardforum.com/threads/need-...ng-for-security-camera-remote-access.2024768/

I think it should have it but I don't see anything in the manual about it.
https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/wireless/RT-AX88U/E14778_RT-AX88U_UM_web.pdf?model=RT-AX88U

Although this page implies that all of their routers have this feature:
https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1008713/

Can somebody assure me?
Click to expand...
https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1008713/

Yet again, I highly suggest using Merlin-WRT. It makes things super easy.
https://www.vpnuniversity.com/routers/how-to-setup-openvpn-asuswrt-merlin

https://dongknows.com/asuswrt-merlin-firmware/
 
TheSlySyl said:
https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1008713/

Yet again, I highly suggest using Merlin-WRT. It makes things super easy.
https://www.vpnuniversity.com/routers/how-to-setup-openvpn-asuswrt-merlin

https://dongknows.com/asuswrt-merlin-firmware/
Click to expand...
Okay, so you are saying Asus RT-AX88U has this feature?

And of course I will use Merlin-WRT for more functionality that's no question. But I need to make sure the hardware supports it.

Why does it mention in the guide you linked that you need a VPN Subscription for this to work? I'm doing it with my current router with no subscription. I'm little confused here.
 
Nah, that one is just trying to force you to get a subscription for money. If you use openvpn or equivalent it'll be free. OpenVPN is baked into Merlin these days.
 
TheSlySyl said:
Nah, that one is just trying to force you to get a subscription for money. If you use openvpn or equivalent it'll be free. OpenVPN is baked into Merlin these days.
Click to expand...
Oh I see. I think I'll just pull the trigger then. I have to do it fast because my router started losing the connection every few hours and you will have to reboot it to get it to work. It is dying. Thanks.
 
I upgraded from the R7000 to the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter 4 and eventually switched to the Dream Machine Pro. The difference was like night and day, to say the least. However, it came with a higher cost and an initial learning curve.
 
CookieFactory said:
I upgraded from the R7000 to the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter 4 and eventually switched to the Dream Machine Pro. The difference was like night and day, to say the least. However, it came with a higher cost and an initial learning curve.
Click to expand...

It does. Two years of uptime and going on my business router though gets you to re-consider fully what the real cost is in more than money
 
CookieFactory said:
I upgraded from the R7000 to the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter 4 and eventually switched to the Dream Machine Pro. The difference was like night and day, to say the least. However, it came with a higher cost and an initial learning curve.
Click to expand...
So which one made the big difference? The edgerouter or the dream machine?
 
sram said:
I prefer written reviews. It will be quite an effort to go through all his videos to determine the best router for me. I don't have that time luxury.
Click to expand...
Finally! Someone else who likes words! (y) I find looking through almost any video a bit of torture, lol. Like being stuck in a room forced to listen to someone who you don't find interesting.

As far as a replacement for your r7000, being locked in at 100Mbs sounds like a cabling issue, which can cause hiccups in consumer routers. I would swap the cable going into the wan port with something real (not a fake cat8 cable, but more like something like a cat5e from your local grocery store that has much more chance of being legit). Once your speeds are normal again, I suspect so will everything else.

While 8 years may sound like a long time, it's really only the wireless standards that have changed in that time, so your router should be fine, even for 500Mbs speeds.
 
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sram said:
I prefer written reviews. It will be quite an effort to go through all his videos to determine the best router for me. I don't have that time luxury. I'll try to view some of them though. I also like Asus. I configured many of them for friends. Haven't used one for myself though.
Click to expand...

Before going commercial my go to for reviews on routers was small net builder. The guy behind it slowed some in the last few years, but the forums and rankings he has are still top notch. https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/
 
SamirD said:
Finally! Someone else who likes words! (y) I find looking through almost any video a bit of torture, lol. Like being stuck in a room forced to listen to someone who you don't find interesting.

As far as a replacement for your r7000, being locked in at 100Mbs sounds like a cabling issue, which can cause hiccups in consumer routers. I would swap the cable going into the wan port with something real (not a fake cat8 cable, but more like something like a cat5e from your local grocery store that has much more chance of being legit). Once your speeds are normal again, I suspect so will everything else.

While 8 years may sound like a long time, it's really only the wireless standards that have changed in that time, so your router should be fine, even for 500Mbs speeds.
Click to expand...

I prefer words too, but actual written reviews are lacking compared to what you can find on YouTube. Probably because it's a lot easier to make money on YouTube.

The good reviews like the one I linked have the sections labeled so it helps a lot jumping straight to what you want to see. Also I use a browser extension that lets me set the playback speed to whatever I want, so I cruise through stuff at 5x speed.
 
SamirD said:
Finally! Someone else who likes words! (y) I find looking through almost any video a bit of torture, lol. Like being stuck in a room forced to listen to someone who you don't find interesting.

As far as a replacement for your r7000, being locked in at 100Mbs sounds like a cabling issue, which can cause hiccups in consumer routers. I would swap the cable going into the wan port with something real (not a fake cat8 cable, but more like something like a cat5e from your local grocery store that has much more chance of being legit). Once your speeds are normal again, I suspect so will everything else.

While 8 years may sound like a long time, it's really only the wireless standards that have changed in that time, so your router should be fine, even for 500Mbs speeds.
Click to expand...
I prefer written reviews because you can read them at your own pace and jump anywhere you want immediately. With videos, it is more time consuming and you have the potential to annoy whoever is next to you.

The wan cable is fairly new. I think it is only few months. Plus I tried the cable with a direct connection to a laptop and I got the full speed. So it is not the cable. In addition to that, the router is experiencing weird outages every ~12 hours. This started happening like a week ago. My LAN will still be up but I won't be able to access the internet. Reboot it and it will come back to life immediately. I don't know but these are symptoms of going bad. I actually lost count, maybe it is more than 8 years.
 
I bought the ASUS RT-AX88U router. It should be here soon. Hopefully I will be able to set it up easily. For my older netgear, I'll load dd-wrt or open-wrt (It supports both) into it and see what happens. I feel like it will get fixed. It will be good to play with it after I configure the Asus as the main router.
 
sram said:
The wan cable is fairly new. I think it is only few months. Plus I tried the cable with a direct connection to a laptop and I got the full speed. So it is not the cable.
Click to expand...
I used to think this type of test was concrete until I discovered a cable that I've had for years taht would work gigabit with certain setups and only 100Mbs with others. Another cable would be full gigabit with both. Turns out that a marginal cable can exhibit 100Mbs speeds on one setup and gigabit on another. And since a high number of cables today are fake, especially if ranked anything above cat6, then I still think a cable swap is in order.
 
sram said:
I bought the ASUS RT-AX88U router. It should be here soon. Hopefully I will be able to set it up easily. For my older netgear, I'll load dd-wrt or open-wrt (It supports both) into it and see what happens. I feel like it will get fixed. It will be good to play with it after I configure the Asus as the main router.
Click to expand...
If your netgear is truly on the fritz, loading any wrt will most likely brick it or make it even more unstable since it is literally not working right.

The best use for your old router is to retire it as a router and use it as a straight ap--much less load and it should still excel in that capacity for many more years. :)
 
If you need help with Merlin-WRT I'm pretty well versed in it.
Otherwise you can always lurk the snb forums, they have threads on every possible scenario.
 
SamirD said:
I used to think this type of test was concrete until I discovered a cable that I've had for years taht would work gigabit with certain setups and only 100Mbs with others. Another cable would be full gigabit with both. Turns out that a marginal cable can exhibit 100Mbs speeds on one setup and gigabit on another. And since a high number of cables today are fake, especially if ranked anything above cat6, then I still think a cable swap is in order.
Click to expand...
That's weird. The cable I'm using is pre-built, and not like others which I built myself long ago and are still kicking it but I think it is a possibility. I'll give it a shot, but if I do it I will need to keep it for sometime to see if it will go offline in few hours. I still think the router is bad though.
 
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TheSlySyl said:
If you need help with Merlin-WRT I'm pretty well versed in it.
Otherwise you can always lurk the snb forums, they have threads on every possible scenario.
Click to expand...
I don't think I will. It should be straightforward. I'll come back here if I need help though. The new router is here, however, I need to find a time when the family doesn't need internet access so that I can install it and configure it. Best time when they are all asleep. Thanks to all.
 
I tried another cable, didn't help. It is too late where I'm and I need to sleep. I will mess with the new router tomorrow and report back.
 
Hi again. So I finished installing the new ASUS RT-AX88U router. The speed is back to normal and there are no outages now. However, two security cameras keep disconnecting I don't know why. I don't think it is related to installing the new router though. It is just a coincidence. Also, I don't seem to be able to find where I can enable vpn server in the router so that I can access my home LAN remotely. Is it this page:



?

This looks different because I don't see where I can download the ovpn file. It is different from what I see here:
https://demoui.asus.com/Advanced_VPN_OpenVPN.asp

Which I was expecting.

I still haven't loaded merlin yet but it should still be there.

Thanks
 
Viola. I did it using my iphone. And yes it does require a username and a password to get in for more security unlike with my netgear. What's left is doing it with my laptop. Hopefully it will be straightforward.
 
I suggest installing Merlin sooner rather than later as it'll give you more transparent and easier to use VPN settings. It literally creates a tab on the web interface that says "VPN." from where you can select your VPN on a drop down menu.
Note: I have a different router, so my settings will look a little different from yours.
1684222450035.png

These are the defaults anyway as I'm not actively using a VPN on the router side of things.
 
TheSlySyl said:
I suggest installing Merlin sooner rather than later as it'll give you more transparent and easier to use VPN settings. It literally creates a tab on the web interface that says "VPN." from where you can select your VPN on a drop down menu.
Note: I have a different router, so my settings will look a little different from yours.
View attachment 570624
These are the defaults anyway as I'm not actively using a VPN on the router side of things.
Click to expand...
Your GUI looks badass ! I envy you ^_^. What's your router? I'll install merlin very soon but I don't know why my brain is telling me to get everything working with the default asuswrt. Guess I like to play with firmwares and do some troubleshooting.

Anyways my laptop is currently dead, I installed some windows updates and it doesn't want to boot after that. Will have to fix it before I can do anything else.
 
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It's just the ROG skin it's the default on all the Asus ROG routers.

I have the stupid expensive AXE16000, which is overkill for pretty much everything, but I wanted to stick with Asus and have dual 10GB ports, as well as having hardware fast enough that I could install adguard and other entware directly to my router.
It's still overkill.

I'm using an AC-5300 as an AImesh second node. I used an AC-68u pair for years before upgrading.
 
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