Wanted - reliable AC router

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project86

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
290
Thought I would do the inlaws a favor and get them off their crappy Xfinity integrated wireless modem box. It didn't go as planned.

First try was with a spare Netgear R6300v2 which gave them great speeds but randomly disconnected on the 2.4ghz band. It worked fine when I last used it but old routers do fail so I'm not surprised.

Next came an Archer C7 v4 running DD-WRT that I got from a nice fellow on the forums. It does great on 5ghz but this time 2.4ghz only gives 1 or 2 mbps, even when sitting a few feet from the router. Tried all settings, FW updates, no improvement. Weird.

Now I'm looking to try yet again, hopefully for the last time. Want to spend $50 or less, shipped to 95403. Doesn't need to be blazing fast, AC1750 is plenty, just needs to be reliable in a modest 3 bedroom single story home. Shouldn't be too much to ask right?
 
harbingerofdoom said:
ubiquiti AP series is what im using.
Click to expand...

Not exactly the easiest to set up for the normal user... Yes, I have set up a ubiquity AP for somebody before. Good units, but not for people who just want something that is going to work with no real know-how.
 
harbingerofdoom said:
ubiquiti AP series is what im using.
Click to expand...

Are you offering to sell me some Ubiquiti gear for less than $50? If not I don't quite see the relevance.

cyclone3d said:
The cheapest I can recommend is this TP-Link AC 1750 unit.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079JD7F7G/ref=sspa_dk_hqp_detail_aax_0?psc=1

I have the TP-Link AC5400 and it has never given me issues.

Stay away from Netgear crap except for their small switches. After Cisco bought them, almost all their products turned to absolute trash.
Click to expand...

That TP-Link looks like the latest version of the C7 I already have. Not sure if I want to go down that same road again, though TP-Link has been good to me in the past.


I got a PM suggesting perhaps the "hidden" Xfinity wifi networks they broadcast by default are interfering with the 2.4 band. That seems plausible and I'm going to mess around to see if I can disable it.
 
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cyclone3d said:
Not exactly the easiest to set up for the normal user... Yes, I have set up a ubiquity AP for somebody before. Good units, but not for people who just want something that is going to work with no real know-how.
Click to expand...
if you can handle putting ddwrt on a router you can handle the AP series- its way easier than people make it out to be and even the least technical savvy person can figure out the mobile app to manage it after you just show them the main points.

as for ac5400- thats a triband router. if you're wireless space is just that hammered- its not a bad idea to go tri-band. if its not- its kind of a waste until it does get hammered. its not a bad solution overall but it kinda puts you right back in the same boat you're trying to get out of to begin with so, id be wary too if you're already having problems-

how many networks are visible to you in that wireless space anyway? the xfinity wouldnt be the ONLY culprit if that were the problem, but it sure as hell isnt going to be helping any either...
 
If you want to give old routers a shot, I do think I have an AC-68U or TP-Link Onhub around. Moved to a netgear with wireless AD support so these have been sitting in a box in my closet.
 
harbingerofdoom said:
if you can handle putting ddwrt on a router you can handle the AP series- its way easier than people make it out to be and even the least technical savvy person can figure out the mobile app to manage it after you just show them the main points.

as for ac5400- thats a triband router. if you're wireless space is just that hammered- its not a bad idea to go tri-band. if its not- its kind of a waste until it does get hammered. its not a bad solution overall but it kinda puts you right back in the same boat you're trying to get out of to begin with so, id be wary too if you're already having problems-

how many networks are visible to you in that wireless space anyway? the xfinity wouldnt be the ONLY culprit if that were the problem, but it sure as hell isnt going to be helping any either...
Click to expand...

This is all interesting but again, are you offering to sell me an AP series model for $50 or less shipped? If not, this is a "want to buy" thread with a specific price limitation so you are not being helpful.


rc3ilynt said:
If you want to give old routers a shot, I do think I have an AC-68U or TP-Link Onhub around. Moved to a netgear with wireless AD support so these have been sitting in a box in my closet.
Click to expand...

Either of those would work. Will PM you after I do a bit more fiddling with he Xfinity gateway to try and deactivate the hidden network.
 
project86 said:
Thought I would do the inlaws a favor and get them off their crappy Xfinity integrated wireless modem box. It didn't go as planned.

First try was with a spare Netgear R6300v2 which gave them great speeds but randomly disconnected on the 2.4ghz band. It worked fine when I last used it but old routers do fail so I'm not surprised.

Next came an Archer C7 v4 running DD-WRT that I got from a nice fellow on the forums. It does great on 5ghz but this time 2.4ghz only gives 1 or 2 mbps, even when sitting a few feet from the router. Tried all settings, FW updates, no improvement. Weird.

Now I'm looking to try yet again, hopefully for the last time. Want to spend $50 or less, shipped to 95403. Doesn't need to be blazing fast, AC1750 is plenty, just needs to be reliable in a modest 3 bedroom single story home. Shouldn't be too much to ask right?
Click to expand...

Hey sorry to chime in with a technical line of questioning but have you considered co-channel interference on 2.4ghz? Have you looked at what channels are occupied by other APs and changed your channel to something less used? Are you using a channel other than 1 6 11? If so try switching between 1 6 and 11 and don't use any others (ever). Are other people broadcasting on channels other than 1 6 11? If so it's possible they are creating adjacent channel interference and move more than 5 channels away if possible. It's certainly possible that your current router has a hardware issue with 2.4ghz radios, but 2.4ghz is so congested it just seems to make sense to be certain that it's not the 2.4ghz spectrum that's causing problems before you spend money on another router. Could you make your phone a 2.4ghz hot spot and do a speed test on an associated device? Maybe figure out what channel your phone is broadcasting on and change your current wireless router to use the same channel and see if performance matches then. If you've already done all that then ignore me...carry on.
 
I have a R7000 with 9dbi add on antennae and a larger aftermarket power supply running Kong ddwrt. Had been running it for a couple years just fine (quick reboot when wifi gets funky every 30 days or so but that's been my experience with all ddwrt for some time). Upgraded the whole network to Ubiquiti gear. Have had it listed for awhile here, was trying to get $70, pm me if you're interested further.
 
winuser2000 said:
Hey sorry to chime in with a technical line of questioning but have you considered co-channel interference on 2.4ghz? Have you looked at what channels are occupied by other APs and changed your channel to something less used? Are you using a channel other than 1 6 11? If so try switching between 1 6 and 11 and don't use any others (ever). Are other people broadcasting on channels other than 1 6 11? If so it's possible they are creating adjacent channel interference and move more than 5 channels away if possible. It's certainly possible that your current router has a hardware issue with 2.4ghz radios, but 2.4ghz is so congested it just seems to make sense to be certain that it's not the 2.4ghz spectrum that's causing problems before you spend money on another router. Could you make your phone a 2.4ghz hot spot and do a speed test on an associated device? Maybe figure out what channel your phone is broadcasting on and change your current wireless router to use the same channel and see if performance matches then. If you've already done all that then ignore me...carry on.
Click to expand...


Well maybe a mod needs to move this out of the classified section, but thanks for the suggestion. I have inspected for channel congestion and moved the 2.4 band over to 11 which has the least amount of visible networks. This is in a suburban neighborhood so there are maybe 6-10 other signals at any given time but they aren't terribly strong... I really think I should be able to get a decent speed, and indeed I can when using the older Netgear R6300. If that thing would stop disconnecting a few times daily it would be perfect. It's fast but unreliable while the TP Link is steady but incredibly slow.


They use the Xfinity gateway for phone service, so there's no option to switch to a modem and thus rid them of the "hidden" Xfinity signals, which can be turned off but supposedly reactivate on their own in some cases. Those might be part of the problem but that doesn't explain why the Netgear gets good speed.

My back up plan, if I can't work things out the right way, is to try a range extender in the other room. I need to find one that picks up the fast 5ghz AC signal and then rebroadcasts wireless N at 2.4ghz. Not sure if that's a normal option but seems like it should be possible.
 
project86 said:
This is all interesting but again, are you offering to sell me an AP series model for $50 or less shipped? If not, this is a "want to buy" thread with a specific price limitation so you are not being helpful.
Click to expand...

$78 on amazon is in the ballpark and not unreasonable.
no one is forcing you to do it, im merely pointing out a solution that comes in close.
 
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