Bulletproof Wi-Fi Router (vs. Max Performance)

[Retailgeek]

I'm looking for a router for my home use. I'm in a 1600 ft sq condo w/o any significant wi-fi coverage issues. I do have a lot of wi-fi devices (approx 35) on the LAN.

I've been running an ASUS RT-AC68R w/o much trouble the past 4 years. This month the 2.4G radio seems to have crapped out. So after reading a bunch of reviews, I bought a Netgear
Nighthawk X4S R7800. But it's having a number of intermittent problems (dropping various wifi clients for short periods of time).

Did I just get a lemon? Is there something I can do to troubleshoot? Is there a better router if I want to prioritize reliability over performance? As someone that doesn't spend a lot of time on network products, it's suprising how old all the recommended products seem to be, and how bad a lot of the firmware still is.

Even though I really don't need a mesh network, should I look there just for a more modern/updated product? I'm not super price sensitive. Is there a better option, I just haven't found?

 

[Internet Man]

I'm looking for a router for my home use. I'm in a 1600 ft sq condo w/o any significant wi-fi coverage issues. I do have a lot of wi-fi devices (approx 35) on the LAN.

I've been running an ASUS RT-AC68R w/o much trouble the past 4 years. This month the 2.4G radio seems to have crapped out. So after reading a bunch of reviews, I bought a Netgear
Nighthawk X4S R7800. But it's having a number of intermittent problems (dropping various wifi clients for short periods of time).

Did I just get a lemon? Is there something I can do to troubleshoot? Is there a better router if I want to prioritize reliability over performance? As someone that doesn't spend a lot of time on network products, it's suprising how old all the recommended products seem to be, and how bad a lot of the firmware still is.

Even though I really don't need a mesh network, should I look there just for a more modern/updated product? I'm not super price sensitive. Is there a better option, I just haven't found?

Sounds like interference to me. If the interference is from your large number of devices then maybe you could set up multiple access points on non-overlapping channels to spread the clients out. If the interference is from your neighbors devices then you might have to just avoid 2.4GHz as much as possible.

 

[CrystalLattice]

It's elementary, but try different channels manually before giving up on a fine device like the R7800. Delay before purchasing, fantastic new stuff is coming out!

 

[hedly]

Download one of the many wifi analyzer apps for your cell phone. You can see all the local access points/routers around you. Try picking a channel that isn't as popular with the other routers. It may be difficult in a condo. Even on my street most channels have one to three local houses on them. And we're 50 - 200ft away from each other.

Be sure to check both the 2.5 and 5GHz frequencies. They are usually on different pages of those analyzer apps.

Once you find a somewhat empty channel, you log into your router and go to the wifi page and there should be an option to select the channel. This may help limit the interference (like @Internet Man mentioned above).

regards

 

[Trip]

If you're fixated on another SOHO all-in-one, you'll want to find an old and popular enough model to have a solid firmware reputation. That's the primary reason why, for many use-cases, you continue to see certain models recommended; most new SOHO networking stuff is quite simply a flake-show in the first months or even years on market. The makers are simply more concerned about pushing these products on time than they are about hitting any requisite level of quality assurance in the firmware reliability department. Sucks, but it is what it is.

That said, one of the best bets out there might be an Asus paired with Merlin's firmware, which, if I may speak on behalf of @RMerlin, focuses primarily on stability and bug fixes, with added features only in places that fill glaring functionality holes.

Beyond that, IMHO, you can get the most solid behavior by running discrete components (for example, a Ubiquiti ER-X plus a TP-Link EAP225 v3 AP), but it requires more setup work and a bit more knowledge. Nothing too difficult, but more involved nonetheless, and I completely understand if that's not appealing at this point. I would feel remiss by not at least mentioning that approach, though, as that's what I and many others have done, with much success.

 

[XheliPilot]

Do you happen to have ipv6 enabled? If so try disabling. Ipv6 should be off be default. I have the same router and was constantly loosing wireless connections every few days with ipv6 enabled. I have spectrum internet.