The Router Recommendations Thread (Consumer)

I think I'm going to go with the TP-LINK TL-WDR4300 Wireless N600. What is the difference between the TP-LINK TL-WDR4300 Wireless N750 and N600 version? I can't seem to find anything except that one has one more antenna in the middle of the device.
 
No sane person would go for the WNR3500L over the TP-Link TL-WDR3600/WDR4300 or WD MyNet N600/N750. The difference between WDR3600 and WDR4300 is the radio, if you have devices with three antennas N750/WDR4300 will be faster otherwise its pointless.
//Danne
 
What do you mean devices with three antennas? On my wifi I have my cellphone, laptop and chromecast, none of them have any antennas that stick out. Should I go with the TP-LINK TL-WDR4300 Wireless N600?
 
If you're in US you're likely to find the WD MyNet N750 cheaper than both TP-Link @ Amazon (slightly older radios but more flash which is good and wireless performance is pretty much the same). In your case the WDR4300 is a waste of money and the WDR3600 will just as good.
//Danne
 
Hulk said:
What do you mean devices with three antennas? On my wifi I have my cellphone, laptop and chromecast, none of them have any antennas that stick out. Should I go with the TP-LINK TL-WDR4300 Wireless N600?
Click to expand...

It's just a faster 802.11n radio. It's not going to make a huge difference, but you may see a couple MB/s difference on the faster one. I can recommend TP-Link gear, too. I use some of their rack mount gear (router, gigabit switch) in my home LAN and I like it. I have also used their wireless gear in the past ... it's generally OK but I have had to restart their WAPs a lot on several client sites (I do managed IT for small businesses).
 
If anybody is looking for cheap used routers, check out the Belkin N450 and N600. You can get both for under 20 bucks on eBay and they're both great routers. They're even dual band. I have had one of each, I seem to get slightly better speeds on the N600 and slightly better range (I have a 60Mbps connection). Also, the browser interface is better on the N600 and it has a USB port. So overall I'd reccomend the N600 over the N450 any day espially since the N600 is usually only a few bucks more.
 
JYeager11 said:
I have to decide today, but literally can't make up my mind between these two.

On the one hand, it's just a $30 price difference for the added 11ac capability. On the other, I plan to move within the next 2 years and my needs might require another change at that point, making this a short-term solution.

I've visited all the review sites, and both models seem well-appreciated. I've only ever experienced Linksys, so either way, it will be a new company for me.
Click to expand...
Read a couple reviews at SNB and see what fits your needs NOW and not worry about that move in 2 years until you need to.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...r3500-n600-wireless-dual-band-router-reviewed

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...c1200-dual-band-gigabit-cloud-router-reviewed
 
Can anyone recommend me a router that has Vlan (802.1q) Port management, QOS.

I already have a couple of Cisco switches which I like a lot but when I ordered a Cisco RV180-K9 I was sorely disapointed the feature set was very nice but the performance was the pits :( my crap linksys ea4500 smoked it. I checked Ebay at some real Cisco routers but they're still kind of expensive and I don't feel comfortable dropping $400 bucks used equipment.

Can anyone help?
 
@ JYeager11
If you can do without any kind of 3rd party firmware support it's probably pretty good but I can't say that I've had great experience with Realtek based WIFI-products in the past... (which is what the D-Link uses according to wikidev)

@ Modboxx
If I'm not mistaken about any recent Atheros platform have support for it (11n that is) so as long as you go with something supported in mainline (OpenWRT would be a good place to look at). WDR3600 and WDR4300 supports it but I think WDR3600's documentation is a bit dated as WDR3600 uses the same switch controller AFAIK (check the wiki for confirmation). MyNet N600+N750 shouldn't be an issue either, if you feel that Mikrotik is any better they also have it since they use the same hardware platform. That said, without knowing your performance requirements its hard to give you recommendations.

//Danne
 
Could use some help guys. My Netgear WNDR3700 just died. Worked solidly for three years and was quite happy with it. Looked around on the internet, but still undecided about what to pick. Any recommendations on a modern and better replacement? What I'm looking for is:

-Stability - I hate frequent reboots. My Netgear WNDR3700 was always very stable.
-Wireless speed - Range not an issue, but speed is. Main wireless device is an iPad.
-Wired speed - For my three desktop computers. I've got 200 Mbit/s cable internet.
-Saveable settings - Most routers probably have this, but I mention it to be sure.

I'd like to see the biggest improvement in my wireless speed, because that's the main problem. I get just ~25 Mbit/s with my Netgear WNDR3700 and that seems really bad. People report 60 Mbit/s or higher on their iPads, so mine is very slow. Not sure what an iPad Air is fully capable of, but ideally I'd like to maximize the speed of the internet connection to it.

Was looking at the Netgear Nighthawk R7000 as a superfast replacement, but the stability issues that many people report scare me a bit. Is that still a problem, or is that already fixed in the latest firmware?
 
What's the issue with your WNDR3700? Usually it's the PSU that goes bad but not the unit itself.

Anyhow, TP-Link TL-WDR3600 would be a slight upgrade in terms of hardware. Faster CPU (SoC) and faster/newer radios so WIFI will be a bit better. Keep in mind that if you have much interference there's not much you can do except switch channels and use 5Ghz which usually is less crowded but also has a shorter range.

If you want something newer the TP-Link Archer C7 v2 is the next generation with 11ac support. It's also features a slightly faster CPU (SoC) than the WDR3600.

Both have good support in OpenWRT if you want a 3rd party firmware, the 11ac driver is still under heavy development so you might not get optimal performance yet but AFAIK it works fine.

//Danne
 
diizzy said:
What's the issue with your WNDR3700? Usually it's the PSU that goes bad but not the unit itself.
Click to expand...
Lots of random lockups. I have to reset the router twice a day or so, but before it worked for months on end. Also, the wireless part of the router doesn't properly work anymore. The 5GHz transmitter seems entirely dead. If I try to turn it on in the menu, nothing happens. The router just refuses to save the setting. I can't even turn it on with the button that's on the front of the router. There's a problem with the 2.4GHz transmitter, too. Unlike the 5GHz, it works, but I lose my wireless connection to it very often. This is not a problem of my iPad, my iPhone also loses the connection. I've tried many factory resets and a full manual re-configuration, but it doesn't change anything. These issues make the router as good as dead for me.

I must say though, I haven't tried a firmware change. Do you think it would change anything? Looks like a hardware problem.

Anyhow, TP-Link TL-WDR3600 would be a slight upgrade in terms of hardware. Faster CPU (SoC) and faster/newer radios so WIFI will be a bit better. Keep in mind that if you have much interference there's not much you can do except switch channels and use 5Ghz which usually is less crowded but also has a shorter range. [...] If you want something newer the TP-Link Archer C7 v2 is the next generation with 11ac support. It's also features a slightly faster CPU (SoC) than the WDR3600.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I will look into these routers. I also saw the Asus RT-AC68U. It gets raving reviews on the net. What do you think of it?
 
Sounds like a PSU related issue but it might as well be a hardware failure (there are reports of the 5Ghz radios dying). If you have a 3.5" external HDD you can probably use it temporary, just make sure that it's the same voltage and at least the same or higher ampere ratings.

As for the Asus ones, as I prefer OpenWRT (3rd party firmware) and Atheros SoCs having the best open source support by far I prefer products that uses their SoCs and are supported in OpenWRT. Running stock firmware they're at least equal but my own experience says that Atheros radios have better compatibility than Broadcom and Ralink (which Asus uses in their current lineup) so I prefer those. In this case, the two TP-Link products mentioned above both use Atheros SoCs but not all of their products does and/or are supported by 3rd party firmware so don't go blindly shopping by brand in that regard.

That said, some swear by the modified firmwares for Asus routers (Merlin etc) but keep in mind that they're all based on vendor provided ones so once they're EOL there's no updated software available unless someone decides to reverse engineer the hardware (unlikely) and/or Broadcom/Ralink decides to release full sources (given their current stance this is not going to happen).
//Danne
 
diizzy said:
If you want something newer the TP-Link Archer C7 v2 is the next generation with 11ac support. It's also features a slightly faster CPU (SoC) than the WDR3600.
Click to expand...

I'll second the Archer. Good unit. Not currently running one myself, but I have in the past, and it worked beautifully.
 
Ordered an Archer from Amazon today. Hopefully it's as awesome as everyone says. Thx for recommending it. Going to use it to Steam in home streaming.

Thanks again.
 
Hello all,

Looking for a nice router that has longer range than a DLink 605L (Wireless N 300). I need a little more range, maybe less than 10 meters tops in every direction for a 2 story house with quite a few walls. I don't need 802.11AC as our gadgets are pretty old (mostly wireless N stuff) and our internet is only good for 8mbps. I'd prefer something with gigabit ports though.

Main router/ISP duties will be a DLink 655. The wifi on this sucks though so I have it turned off. There is a LAN cable from the router room to another room where the wifi signal is broadcast from.

Choice of wired/wireless extenders are pretty bad in my country, so I'm pretty much resigned to getting another router with powerful wifi. Since this is outside the USA, Amazon/Egg is unfortunately no go.

What are available:
DLink DIR 820L - 87$
DLink DIR 850L (gigabit LAN) - 93$
DLink DWR 112 - 52$
DLink DWR 116 - 52$
Linksys E1200AP - 39$
Linksys E1700 (gigabit LAN) - 58$
Linksys E2500AP/AU - 68$
Linksys EA2700 (gigabit LAN) - 92$
Linksys EA6200 (gigabit LAN) - 124$
Linksys EA6700 (gigabit LAN) - 203$
Asus RT AC68U (gigabit LAN) - 278$
Asus RT N14UHP - 100$
Asus RT AC66U (gigabit LAN) - 223$
Asus RT N66U (gigabit LAN) -171$

Hoping you guys have some input on these units. :D

Thanks!
 
maw said:
I got a Mikrotik Routerboard RB2011UAS-2HND-IN.

Those crappy consumer routers don't even start to compare to this thing in terms of power and features. I'm now seeing very strong wireless signals in parts of the house that were once complete black holes.

This is a very serious piece of kit though. It's not going to give you much hand holding and it expects you to already know a fair bit about networking. Getting it up and running seemed really daunting at first, until I discovered that there is a quick set option called "Home AP" mode that automatically enables all the settings needed for regular home use and brings up a menu that should be familiar to anyone used to setting up consumer type routers. I thought this was a great feature to get the router up and running quickly before I started drilling into all the other features of the router.
Click to expand...

Went ahead and just picked up this router myself. Going to use for a small business I'm currently working with, 90% of their devices will be wired so I also am getting a Netgear ProSafe for the wired.
 
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I need a not-too-expensive wifi router for using in apartment complex in the middle of a very large city. Preferably high-power, dual-band, external antennas. Also, would prefer something other than Netgear, as their firmware absolutely infuriates me.
 
I looking to upgrade from my Linksys CM100 and Linksys WRT54GL w/ DD-WRT setup. Right now I have 18 Mbps cable but will upgrade to 30 Mbps when we cut the cable cord sometime in the near future. I'm upgrading because wireless devices and my desktop can barely connect to the internet if someone is playing a YouTube video. It gets very, very slow. I've recently had to reboot more times than in the past. The new setup will need to handle two Moto Gs, one laptop, one Dell Venue Pro 8 and a wired desktop. My cable provider lists the Motorola 6140 and 6180 as consumer approved modems, so I'll just pick from those two. Now for the router or AP, I was thinking of going with the Unifi AP and a Ubiquiti switch. The top two floors of my house measure around 4,000 sq.ft. but with an open floor plan. My house is wired with a speaker system for music and voice with RJ-45. Is there a way to tap into that pre-run RJ-45 cable so I can avoid running more cables? I also have Greyfox equipment in the basement but it doesn't have Gigabit ports so I don't want to use that.
 
Just ordered a ASUS RT-AC68W. Tired of laggy video streaming on ATV3 with a WNR3500. I needed a bit more pep for this 100Mb Comacast connection.
 
hi, i need Cisco router & switch recommendation for my work server room
i have a 2 racks with about 20 dedicated servers for web hosting
will expand to 6 racks in next few months, current average traffic is ~700mbit/s
 
My wife and I are in a new apartment. We have Comcast and we are on a 50mbps plan, but the tech said our line can support the 150mbps plan (Ha, I wish) if we decide to upgrade to that later. Speedtest shows that we are getting excellent speed.

That being said, I'm not confident the integrated gateway/router in the modem is sufficient. What would you guys recommend? Both of us are gamers and we do plenty of online multiplayer/MMO's.

I'd like to keep it to wireless-N. AC is not something we'll be stepping up to for a great while.
 
Noob question. Where does the latest Apple Extreme (not the smaller express) AC router fit in the scheme of things? Yes it's expensive but it in line with many of the top tier router recommended here.
 
It's pretty much a plug 'n play device, downside is that you need (at least according to Apple) to install software to admin it and don't expect it to have much to configure. The only real advantage is the "Time Machine" functionality that probably works a bit better than the open source alternatives (compatible alternatives). Looking at the performance its at the upper end and is quite decent. That said, it's limited (if you want to hack around) and expensive for what you get.
//Danne
 
Really sure...?

Source: dell.com (US)
Code: 
Latitude 15 3000 Series			 - Just single band WIFI, no upgrade
Latitude 14 5000 Series (E5440) 	 - Intel Wireless 7260 802.11AC (2x2), no upgrade
Latitude 15 5000 Series (E5540) 	 - Intel Wireless 7260 802.11AC (2x2), no upgrade
Latitude 14 3000 Series			 - Just single band WIFI, no upgrade
New Latitude 12 5000 Series (E5250)	 - Intel Wireless 7265 (2x2), no upgrade
New Latitude 14 5000 Series (E5450)	 - Intel Wireless 7265 (2x2), no upgrade
New Latitude 15 5000 Series (E5550)	 - Intel Wireless 7265 (2x2), no upgrade
Latitude E6440				 - Intel Wireless 6235 (2x2), no upgrade
Latitude E6540				 - Intel Wireless 6235 (2x2), no upgrade (6300 (3x3) listed in tech specs though)
Latitude 12 7000 Series Ultrabook 	 - Intel Wireless 7260 802.11AC (2x2), no upgrade
Latitude 14 7000 Series Ultrabook	 - Intel Wireless 7260 802.11AC (2x2), no upgrade
New Latitude 13 7000 Series 2-in-1	 - Intel Wireless 7265 (2x2), no upgrade
Dell Latitude 13 Education Series Laptop - Intel Wireless 7260 802.11AC (2x2), no upgrade

Source: hp.com (US)
Code: 
HP ZBook 14 - 2x2 only (various models)
HP ZBook 15 - 2x2 only (various models)
HP ZBook 17 - 2x2 only (various models)
//Danne
 
diizzy said:
Really sure...?

Source: dell.com (US)
Code: 
Latitude 15 3000 Series			 - Just single band WIFI, no upgrade
Latitude 14 5000 Series (E5440) 	 - Intel Wireless 7260 802.11AC (2x2), no upgrade
Latitude 15 5000 Series (E5540) 	 - Intel Wireless 7260 802.11AC (2x2), no upgrade
Latitude 14 3000 Series			 - Just single band WIFI, no upgrade
New Latitude 12 5000 Series (E5250)	 - Intel Wireless 7265 (2x2), no upgrade
New Latitude 14 5000 Series (E5450)	 - Intel Wireless 7265 (2x2), no upgrade
New Latitude 15 5000 Series (E5550)	 - Intel Wireless 7265 (2x2), no upgrade
Latitude E6440				 - Intel Wireless 6235 (2x2), no upgrade
Latitude E6540				 - Intel Wireless 6235 (2x2), no upgrade (6300 (3x3) listed in tech specs though)
Latitude 12 7000 Series Ultrabook 	 - Intel Wireless 7260 802.11AC (2x2), no upgrade
Latitude 14 7000 Series Ultrabook	 - Intel Wireless 7260 802.11AC (2x2), no upgrade
New Latitude 13 7000 Series 2-in-1	 - Intel Wireless 7265 (2x2), no upgrade
Dell Latitude 13 Education Series Laptop - Intel Wireless 7260 802.11AC (2x2), no upgrade

Source: hp.com (US)
Code: 
HP ZBook 14 - 2x2 only (various models)
HP ZBook 15 - 2x2 only (various models)
HP ZBook 17 - 2x2 only (various models)
//Danne
Click to expand...


My point was I've opened them both up. The 3x3 antennas array is in place presently.
 
Doesn't matter as it isn't used and/or if it ever can be used as both Dell and HP are known to use whitelists/blacklists for WLAN cards.
//Danne
 
I can confirm that on the HP's

I haven't seen any blacklisting on the dell (business class) laptops in a long time.
 
@dizzy For stock firmware, do you still recommend the TP-Link TL-WDR3600? I have pretty simple needs: 2x Ethernet clients (PC & NAS), maybe a couple WiFi clients (5Ghz) from time to time.
 
Yeah, it's still good but you might want to consider the Archer C5 instead by TP-Link if you want 11ac.
//Danne
 
Hey guys, I'm shopping for a friend who needs to extend his business' wireless network. This is a rough idea of what I'm trying to achieve:

-> FIOS WIFI router at office (current network)
---> AP logged as client to FIOS router (50ft from office)
-----> AP provides new network under different SSID/channel for the shop location
-------> All AP traffic bridged back to the FIOS router

I know a 'universal repeater' will easily extend the existing network under the same SSID, but if possible I'd like to get him set with a MIMO device that can avoid the slowdown inherent to typical repeater setups. I know we could just drop ethernet, but it isn't really feasible here considering the state of the property between the buildings.

Is this sort of wireless bridge possible? What hardware would be a good choice for reliable 24/7 operation with minimal interruptions? Budget is around $200, but this is flexible if its a very reliable device. We don't need anything thats built for a lot of users, just reliable uptime for 3-4 logging devices and a couple computers.
 
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