Buying an AP such as TP-Link EAP610 to connect to RC-68U Coverted TMO Device

[jmsfll]

I have a TM-AC1900 router that has been converted to a ASUS RT-AC68U. The wifi sucks so I am in the market for a new router.

I live in a 2 BR Apt . No gaming. Currently have 300 Mbps internet

I wanted to replace the router but I don't want to spend $200 for something better than what I have. Ive been reading reviews on recommendations and people recommend getting an AP such as this device or a Ubiquity however the Ubiquity Lite is hard to find for a decent price. The TP-Link is $80-$90.

I would not mount this to a ceiling I would be keeping it on a desk.

Am I better off just buying an inexpensive router or doing the RT-AC68U - EAP610 link? Also do have some concern about governement investigating TP-Link in the past few years for potential malware.

 

[degrub]

How crowded is the wifi with your neighbors ? Is everyone blasting out everyone else ? That is usually a big part of the bandwidth issue around apartments. Adding more wifi via an AP is going to make things worse in an apartment. You are better running an ethernet cable from the ISP router direct to your PC if you want to maximize your bandwidth. Flat ethernet cables (CAT6) are available if appearance is an issue. Just don't fold/crease the flat cable.

With 300 Mbit/s ISP service, you are not going to see any improvement in bandwidth by replacing your router on the wifi side. Maybe some latency issues or possibly CPU that affect effective bandwidth if gaming. Are you a gamer ? Have you checked what the CPU utilization is in the router ?

 

[jmsfll]

How crowded is the wifi with your neighbors ? Is everyone blasting out everyone else ? That is usually a big part of the bandwidth issue around apartments. Adding more wifi via an AP is going to make things worse in an apartment. You are better running an ethernet cable from the ISP router direct to your PC if you want to maximize your bandwidth. Flat ethernet cables (CAT6) are available if appearance is an issue. Just don't fold/crease the flat cable.

With 300 Mbit/s ISP service, you are not going to see any improvement in bandwidth by replacing your router on the wifi side. Maybe some latency issues or possibly CPU that affect effective bandwidth if gaming. Are you a gamer ? Have you checked what the CPU utilization is in the router ?

Running ethernet is not an option. My modem and router are near my PC on one room, on the opposite side of my apartment I use streaming devices. As I mentioned, I'm not a gamer

 

[degrub]

Check the wifi environment with something like Airport utility (IOS) or equivalent to see what the interference looks like near the streaming users. Find a channel with least interference and try that. Set the channel width to 20/40 on the 2.4 GHz band and 80/40 or 40 on the 5 GHz band. Unless there are concrete/block interior walls, an AC wireless should penetrate easily enough with plenty of bandwidth for streaming.

 

[Tech9]

I wanted to replace the router but I don't want to spend $200 for something better than what I have.

I don't understand this statement. Perhaps "not better"? If your RT-AC68U is almost there in coverage a new RT-AX86U Pro will do better, wider coverage with higher link speeds including to your existing clients. You don't need multiple wall/ceiling mount APs in 2BR apartment.

Ubiquiti Lite

U6-Lite was replaced by U6-Plus. The reason it's not available. Not needed for your use case anyway. All you need is a better AIO router.

 

[jmsfll]

I don't understand this statement. Perhaps "not better"? If your RT-AC68U is almost there in coverage a new RT-AX86U Pro will do better, wider coverage with higher link speeds including to your existing clients. You don't need multiple wall/ceiling mount APs in 2BR apartment.



U6-Lite was replaced by U6-Plus. The reason it's not available. Not needed for your use case anyway. All you need is a better AIO router.

I was not planning on mounting it on a ceiling

The wifi sucks on the RT-AC68U, I cant get over 75Mbps on it. I've tried multiple things like changing channels, etc and I am testing sitting right next to the router.

The RT-AX86U Pro was recently on sale for for $184 however its more than that now. Even at $184 I think is over my spend need. The TP-Link I listed is less than half of the cost. Again, if its only use is as a ceiling mount, the device is not for me.

 

[Tech9]

I don't know the range of EAP610. It's an entry level AP with 2-stream radios.

I know the range of RT-AX86U Pro and it's about 30% better compared to RT-AC68U. It also supports more active clients and works better in dense Wi-Fi environments. If new RT-AX86U Pro is too expensive look for used RT-AX86U, the previous model from the same series. It's also very good performer and can be found used around $100-120. Check your local Market Place, may find something good.

 

[jmsfll]

I don't know the range of EAP610. It's an entry level AP with 2-stream radios.

I know the range of RT-AX86U Pro and it's about 30% better compared to RT-AC68U. It also supports more active clients and works better in dense Wi-Fi environments. If new RT-AX86U Pro is too expensive look for used RT-AX86U, the previous model from the same series. It's also very good performer and can be found used around $100-120. Check your local Market Place, may find something good.

Guessing the RT-AX55 would be a downgrade. I just think if it at least has wifi 6 the speeds should be better

 

[Tech9]

Guessing the RT-AX55

Speaking about low-end Asus AX devices - I have one RT-AX58U as well, but don't remember comparing the range to RT-AC68U. I know RT-AX55 is something similar and cheap, but may fall in your "not better than what I have" category and I personally can't recommend it.

 

[Micgang]

Not sure how I feel about or what to make of the US government’s investigation into TPLink. I’ve used their routers in the past and they are capable. I thought they were in trouble for not updating firmware, which allowed certain hackers to take advantage of vulnerabilities and wreak havoc. Not sure there is anything about the hardware itself. I’ll let others with more information chime in…

 

[sfx2000]

I have a TM-AC1900 router that has been converted to a ASUS RT-AC68U. The wifi sucks so I am in the market for a new router.

MT6000 - factory code is pretty nice, and OpenWRT is very good...

Amazon.com

 

[Crimliar]

The wifi sucks on the RT-AC68U, I cant get over 75Mbps on it. I've tried multiple things like changing channels, etc and I am testing sitting right next to the router.

75Mbps over wifi is one of those suspicious numbers! It's a threshold speed that we'll sometimes see on less capable devices connecting to the router using a single stream on 2.4GHz!

 

[jmsfll]

75Mbps over wifi is one of those suspicious numbers! It's a threshold speed that we'll sometimes see on less capable devices connecting to the router using a single stream on 2.4GHz!

Using 5ghz. Newer laptop that supports wifi 6, In addition, I can connect to Comcast gateway with same laptop at 300+ over wifi