Need a bit of advice.

[adamski07]

Hey everyone. This is my very first post in this forum. Obviously, I am here to seek for your help. I am looking for a new router because the one we currently have at homes drops the connection all the time. We have tons of devices at home and I feel like my router/modem cannot handle them all. It is very frustrating that I always have to reboot the wifi so we can all connect back to it again. To start this, I currently have the Netgear C3700 modem/router combo. I had to get this because my ISP offered higher internet speed and we needed a new modem for it. I've decided to do research for a new router. I liked the Asus RT-87U, but I've read couple issues. One is the temperature. According to some users, the temp of this router is high depending on the location. In my location, we barely get sunshine so I don't this is going to be a problem in my case. Secondly, is the 5GHz connection drop. Every reviews I've read, every forum I went into, they all got this problem and I haven't seen one coming up with a solution yet. The reason I came here and created this thread is for a good advice on which router I should get. It should be able to handle at least 10 mobiles devices, 2 PCs, 1 tv box, and 3 laptops. I'm hoping you could recommend me a great router. Thank you so much.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

No matter what router you choose remember to place your gateway in bridge mode or get a stand alone modem not a combo. Never a good idea to cascade two routers.

 

[adamski07]

No matter what router you choose remember to place your gateway in bridge mode or get a stand alone modem not a combo. Never a good idea to cascade two routers.

I believe I can turn off router feature of the Netgear and just use it as the modem. I can then plug in another router that will hopefully solve the wireless disconnection issue.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

I believe I can turn off router feature of the Netgear and just use it as the modem. I can then plug in another router than will hopefully solve the wireless disconnection issue.

Yep sounds like a plan. BTW: The Asus AC-68U is a rock solid performer right now and has a lot of options on what firmware you can run. Right now i have my Netgear R-7000 hooked up and i like this router to has a great 5Ghz signal and throughput. Bottom line the newest is not always and in the case of routers is not the best.

 

[adamski07]

Yep sounds like a plan. BTW: The Asus AC-68U is a rock solid performer right now and has a lot of options on what firmware you can run. Right now i have my Netgear R-7000 hooked up and i like this router to has a great 5Ghz signal and throughput. Bottom line the newest is not always and in the case of routers is not the best.

I did a quick check on AC-68U reviews on amazon and newegg. It looks like it is experiencing connection drops as well, couple times a day. I also saw a video on Youtube for the RT-87U and among the 5 routers he tested including the R700 he had less issues with the RT-87U this is with 20wireless clients and 15 wired clients. I will give the RT-87U a try. I will get it amazon too just in case it doesn't work for me so I can easily return it and try a different router. Thank you so much for your help. I am hoping to see more recommendations here so I can try them all and set which ever works for me.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Good luck with it. I would read around some more the 87U uses the new 5 Ghz Quantenna chipset and there are all kinds of issues with it from over heating to frequent disconnects.

 

[sfx2000]

Well - in the AC1900 class - two recommendations based on personal experience...

1) Apple Airport Extreme AC - reasonably fast, closed firmware, supports all platforms for WiFi - under appreciated by many, but it's fast enough, and totally stable - they just work..

2) Linksys WRT1900ac - very fast, early stability issues, fraked up initial open firmware efforts, but recovered - totally solid HW, and Linksys firmware is finally stable...

and I'll add a couple of more...

3) ASUS AC68 series - tweaker router and more open to 3rd party SW - very good HW, but some issues with heat

4) Netgear R7000 - 3rd party SW is key here according to some... and factory SW is getting better..

Don't have much to say about the others...

What I can say is that watching thru the forums, the Asus AC87U has been particularly problematic, and the AC3200 slightly less so...

 

[System Error Message]

I use the ASUS AC68U and the ASUS AC3200 and have not experienced any wifi drops.

Regardless of which wifi router you choose its important to understand the temperature and power supply related to wifi drops. Instability can be caused by either a bad PSU or the wifi chips running too hot. Ideally you want your wifi chips below 50C, the CPU below 80C and that the PSU's output is stable for the required load. Unstable PSU can be replaced by a better one while high temps can be solved by better cooling such as adding a fan or replacing thermal paste and making sure heatsink is properly seated. Every router is prone to these sort of problems.