Looking for a router but i can only get it from a specific retailer

[fsrkewd]

Hi there,

I am looking to get a router from Sears because i have rewards point around $250 expiring in a day or two. Since they don't have the biggest selection there, i can only choose from the following model.

EA6400, EA6900, EA8500, WRT1200AC, WRT1900AC, DIR-866L, DIR-890L/R

The router will be placed in the basement, and the majority of the device will be in basement/1F/L , so the range is not a major issue.

I have the following device
2 wired computer
4 smartphones
1 tablet
1 smart tv
1 ps4
1 xbox one

I am using Verizon Fios 50/50 with only internet and phone

 

[L&LD]

I would spend that $250 on anything other than the models you have available from there.

Get a friend that needs something from Sears to give you the cash instead and buy something (Asus, w/RMerlin firmware) that will be worth it.

 

[pete y testing]

DIR-890L/R

certainly nothing wrong with the 890L , its a pretty good router hardware wise

 

[L&LD]

certainly nothing wrong with the 890L , its a pretty good router hardware wise

Hardware is not what makes a router good or bad. Firmware and extended support is what makes a router worth purchasing.

 

[pete y testing]

Hardware is not what makes a router good or bad. Firmware and extended support is what makes a router worth purchasing.

not everyone has your or my high specific needs nor do they need everything , as i said from the list the 890L is fine

i have tested it and it works as well as most other ac routers range wise and its gui is easy to use and quite enough for most standard users

as you can see the 890L performs quite well when compared to others

24 meters away other end of house

5 gig upper band ch 153

dlink dir-880L read 21.1 write 15.5 sync 234M
tp link archer c9 read 20.5 write 15.8 sync 175M
asus rt-ac87u read 14.3 write 12.6 sync 175.5M
dlink dsl-2900al read 19.9 write 17.5 sync 263M
tp link archer D9 read 15.2 write 9.4 sync 117M
dlink dir-890L read 19.3 write 15.1 sync 175.5M
asus rt-ac68u read 15.6 write 17.5 sync 234M
asus dsl-ac68u read 21.9 write 14.8 sync 175M
netgear r7000 read 21.0 write 17.4 sync 234M
asus rt-ac3200 read 14.5 write sync 117M
synology rt1900ac read 1.77MB/s write 4.27MB/s

 

[fsrkewd]

I would spend that $250 on anything other than the models you have available from there.

Get a friend that needs something from Sears to give you the cash instead and buy something (Asus, w/RMerlin firmware) that will be worth it.

thanks for the advice, but it would pretty difficult to find someone in such a small notice.
i forgot about the point until they sent me an email about it, and they have such a crappy electronic selection that you can pretty much get anything cheaper else where, but the router seem to have a similar price compare to other retailer.

 

[L&LD]

not everyone has your or my high specific needs nor do they need everything , as i said from the list the 890L is fine

i have tested it and it works as well as most other ac routers range wise and its gui is easy to use and quite enough for most standard users

as you can see the 890L performs quite well when compared to others

24 meters away other end of house

5 gig upper band ch 153

dlink dir-880L read 21.1 write 15.5 sync 234M
tp link archer c9 read 20.5 write 15.8 sync 175M
asus rt-ac87u read 14.3 write 12.6 sync 175.5M
dlink dsl-2900al read 19.9 write 17.5 sync 263M
tp link archer D9 read 15.2 write 9.4 sync 117M
dlink dir-890L read 19.3 write 15.1 sync 175.5M
asus rt-ac68u read 15.6 write 17.5 sync 234M
asus dsl-ac68u read 21.9 write 14.8 sync 175M
netgear r7000 read 21.0 write 17.4 sync 234M
asus rt-ac3200 read 14.5 write sync 117M
synology rt1900ac read 1.77MB/s write 4.27MB/s

You are right. Nobody needs everything.

But security over the lifespan of the product should be a requirement for a router. They are the first defense against the www after all.

When the price is effectively the same, how can any other recommendation be made?

 

[fsrkewd]

not everyone has your or my high specific needs nor do they need everything , as i said from the list the 890L is fine

i have tested it and it works as well as most other ac routers range wise and its gui is easy to use and quite enough for most standard users

as you can see the 890L performs quite well when compared to others

24 meters away other end of house

5 gig upper band ch 153

dlink dir-880L read 21.1 write 15.5 sync 234M
tp link archer c9 read 20.5 write 15.8 sync 175M
asus rt-ac87u read 14.3 write 12.6 sync 175.5M
dlink dsl-2900al read 19.9 write 17.5 sync 263M
tp link archer D9 read 15.2 write 9.4 sync 117M
dlink dir-890L read 19.3 write 15.1 sync 175.5M
asus rt-ac68u read 15.6 write 17.5 sync 234M
asus dsl-ac68u read 21.9 write 14.8 sync 175M
netgear r7000 read 21.0 write 17.4 sync 234M
asus rt-ac3200 read 14.5 write sync 117M
synology rt1900ac read 1.77MB/s write 4.27MB/s

thanks for the info! so the dir-890l would be something that "just work" without tinkering firmware and stuff?

 

[L&LD]

thanks for the advice, but it would pretty difficult to find someone in such a small notice.
i forgot about the point until they sent me an email about it, and they have such a crappy electronic selection that you can pretty much get anything cheaper else where, but the router seem to have a similar price compare to other retailer.

Take a few minutes to see why right now, a router other than Asus is a bad decision (use search via google with 'site:snbforums.com'. Even if that router is effectively 'free' for you.

 

[pete y testing]

so the dir-880l would be something that "just work" without tinkering firmware and stuff?

the dir-880L is ok but the dir-890L is better but ether would be fine as the dlink setup and gui is pretty much set and forget and is aimed at those that dont need or want to tinker too much

the 890L is cool cause it looks like an old Chevy with exhaust pipes coming out from under the hood

 

[pete y testing]

Take a few minutes to see why right now, a router other than Asus is a bad decision (use search via google with 'site:snbforums.com'.

so your saying no one should ever buy anything but asus , seems a little fanboi type rhetoric to me , a tad of objectivity wouldnt hurt

 

[Nullity]

so your saying no one should ever buy anything but asus , seems a little fanboi type rhetoric to me , a tad of objectivity wouldnt hurt

You missed the part where he told @fsrkewd to read and make up his own mind...

 

[System Error Message]

none of the routers listed seem alright in terms of security.

 

[L&LD]

so your saying no one should ever buy anything but asus , seems a little fanboi type rhetoric to me , a tad of objectivity wouldnt hurt

Not what I'm saying at all. It is objectivity that makes my statements stand.

You or anyone else doesn't have to believe what I say at face value (and I encourage that you don't). But do research on your own and see if you also don't come to the same conclusions as I do in short order.

In many other areas than networking, I have been grossly disappointed when trying to match performance aspects to the cash I needed to spend to get to that (performance) level. I very quickly found out that performance is but one aspect of ownership and in many instances, not the most important at all (if the products were comparable at all in the first place to competently complete the task at hand).

With routers, just as with anything else digital, continued support (for security and stability first and features a distant second) is far more important than raw performance as many posts here and other forums show.

Just over a year ago, I took a few (very positive) posts about various router manufacturers such as in the OP's list above to do my own research into possibly discovering something better than what I had been exposed to so far. In the end, I did not even buy one of those routers even to test. That is what the objective research showed me.

Because of lack of security, lack of continued support past a few short months (should be at least over the expected lifetime of the product) and a lack of willingness of those manufacturers to at least provide to their customers the best defense against security issues at the time when the device was new (by issuing it with broken, outdated and plainly incompetent code bits in the firmware), I do not see how anyone else can come to any other conclusion either.

 

[pete y testing]

Because of lack of security

then define what you mean by lack of security !!! as just saying it means nothing as it has a nat like all routers have making it secure from the www in the first place , wireless security is the latest standard , the admin security is also as is the vpn security etc etc

lack of continued support past a few short months

i can assure you the new dlink gear is well supported the 890L has new beta fw in testing they just dont put it out to public b4 it should be and leave it to proper testers to evaluate

and a lack of willingness of those manufacturers to at least provide to their customers the best defense against security issues at the time when the device was new (by issuing it with broken, outdated and plainly incompetent code bits in the firmware),

i assume you are referring to what merlin is on about with tp link and its coding as there doesnt seem to be a lot broken with the 890L it lacks some features that asus have but then again its not asus is it

I do not see how anyone else can come to any other conclusion either.

because you are making generic sweeping statements covering every brand in existence outside asus without specifically being able to tell us if the statement applies to all of them

having tested and used the 89oL i can assure the OP that out of the list and place of purchase he has stated the 890L is by far the best router of choice and is fine for the standard home user , what you dont seem to understand is most dont care about what you are going on about , they care that it works and they dont have to spend hours setting it up and or swapping firmware every month and it performs well as far as wifi coverage and performance goes and even tim has indicated such in his reviews

You missed the part where he told @fsrkewd to read and make up his own mind

Take a few minutes to see why right now, a router other than Asus is a bad decision

as i said if your going to make such sweeping statement you need to justify them not just send the OP on some goose chase google search he prob wouldnt understand or b bothered about

its simple , not everyone will or want to or will care about buying an asus , and ppl do buy other brands and have no issue at all and we need competition or asus would not push as hard as they do in the first place

dont get me wrong i love the asus gear its great but its also not the only fish in the sea as far as the consumer goes

but its no good for anyone if you run around like chicken little screaming the sky is falling without substantiating the claims and realizing who you are making the claims to , its not a one size fits all market and the user base doesnt have as great an exacting standard and can and will be happy with the alternative , objectivity is being able to see this

if you wish to specify your so called security concerns specifically when it comes to those brands mentioned in the OP and make it clear to the OP why these concerns should merit his decision by all means do so but im not going to debate you on generic sweeping statements , there is a great difference between old or bad coding and insecure or flawed , for the most part as i have mentioned above all router are secure in the important ways end users expect

 

[sfx2000]

I am looking to get a router from Sears because i have rewards point around $250 expiring in a day or two. Since they don't have the biggest selection there, i can only choose from the following model.

EA6400, EA6900, EA8500, WRT1200AC, WRT1900AC, DIR-866L, DIR-890L/R

That's a heck of a choice - given those options - my best recommendation perhaps would be the EA8500 - seems to be better supported by Linksys than the WRT's these days, and it's a bit closer to the Wave 2 edge...

Even discounting MU-MIMO performance - the 4*4:4 config should be a strong performance radio wise...

I really can't recommend any of the D-Link devices due to outstanding security concerns that they seemingly refuse to fix...

 

[sfx2000]

if you wish to specify your so called security concerns specifically when it comes to those brands mentioned in the OP and make it clear to the OP why these concerns should merit his decision by all means do so but im not going to debate you on generic sweeping statements

The DLINK issues are well known with their WebGUI - both for external threats and internal via XSS cross thread attacks - they seem to refuse to fix them, or perhaps just too hard based on the GUI design without a full rewrite..

 

[sfx2000]

@pete y testing - Linksys ain't much better - esp with their "SmartWiFi" implementation...

Things there are rather un-RESTful... but still better than F-Links head in the sand approach...

Of OP's options - the EA8500 is probably the best choice - at least with Linksys, can opt out of their cloud management stuff and lock it down...

 

[fsrkewd]

thanks for the advice everyone! Would some of those security issue be fixed if i install ddwrt on it?

 

[RMerlin]

The DLINK issues are well known with their WebGUI - both for external threats and internal via XSS cross thread attacks - they seem to refuse to fix them, or perhaps just too hard based on the GUI design without a full rewrite..

And let's not forget the Joel backdoor...