Need advice on new router and/or access point

[Val D.]

@Val D. please don't pretend to know what I know.

You demonstrate what you know all the time, you are unstoppable. Every local computer repair shop has a few of you. A lot of ideas, low knowledge how things work on a hardware level, don't care what the customer actually needs. They just apply what they know, over and over again. Because this is all they know. And this is all they sell. Naming self-invented useless procedures makes some of them look smart. I've seen it before, no worries.

Properly setting up an Asus router (if in doubt; a Nuclear Reset highly recommended), installing amtm, formatting a cheap USB drive and setting up a swap file and installing scripts as needed/required, is the pinnacle of 'set and forget' for a parent's network. Until the next time, when you visit them and update as needed, then.

OMG, WTFast... @grat_master, you know exactly what to do now. Don't forget the swap file, very important. And the cheap USB too.

P.S. Let me put some smileys so the post looks more convincing... here you go ->

 

[coxhaus]

If you want an appliance type system cheap which would run a long time without a reboot you could buy a Cisco RV320 router and a Cisco WAP571 AP. You would need a power injector for the wireless AP. Buy used off eBay and install the latest firmware. This system would run for months or years without requiring a reboot. You can buy this for $200 or less.

PS
Cisco has wizards on the router and wireless AP make setup fairly easy.

 

[L&LD]

You demonstrate what you know all the time, you are unstoppable. Every local computer repair shop has a few of you. A lot of ideas, low knowledge how things work on a hardware level, don't care what the customer actually needs. They just apply what they know, over and over again. Because this is all they know. And this is all they sell. Naming self-invented useless procedures makes some of them look smart. I've seen it before, no worries.



OMG, WTFast... @grat_master, you know exactly what to do now. Don't forget the swap file, very important. And the cheap USB too.

P.S. Let me put some smileys so the post looks more convincing... here you go ->

No, I'm not here to demonstrate what I know. You may be speaking about yourself.

I'm here to help where I can.

 

[Val D.]

I'm here to help where I can.

I know that too and I do like your posts where you really help.
One thing I would like you to understand is there is no "one size fits all" solution for every case.

Peace.

 

[L&LD]

I know that too and I do like your posts where you really help.
One thing I would like you to understand is there is no "one size fits all" solution for every case.

Peace.

Peace!

I don't believe there is a one size fits all solution for everything either; I don't usually answer in those posts though.

But I do still read every single post made on the entire forum(s) here. Even if some are above my current capabilities.

The ones where I answer is where I've seen positive results with others in the same/similar situation.

 

[Poseidon]

I know that the Asus 86U is very popular here and L&LD swears by it but from my experience it's a very over-rated and subpar router.

I would get constant buffering watching streaming apps and I would often have to reboot it. Sometimes page loading would just hang and take a long time to load. On a 400 down internet plan (max cap @ 458) - I would only get 310-330 download speeds. And this is with 2 different 86U routers.

I swapped it out for the Netgear R7800 and for 2 months now not a single buffering issue when streaming and I've only rebooted it once when I updated the firmware. I'm now getting 440-457 download speeds every time.

 

[L&LD]

@Poseidon, the R7800 is also twice the price of the RT-AC86U though.

And with none of the RMerlin/amtm magic.

Glad it works better for you in your network environment (it is better hardware, I admit), but for myself and my clients, I get very similar performance and much better overall results with Asus+RMerlin+.

 

[grat_master]

I hope I'll get my 450 Mbps download with 86u as this is what I get with my 10 years old wndr3800, single core 680 mhz and like 32 mb of ram, on a 400Mbps connection.

I think I'll install the Archer 2300 at my father's house and save him 60$. What worry me a bit is the last firmware update goes back to september 2018, vs the Asus that got an update 2 days ago to fix the latest DDoS vulnerability.

Initially I wanted a R7800 but it is impossible to get around here.

I know that the Asus 86U is very popular here and L&LD swears by it but from my experience it's a very over-rated and subpar router.

I would get constant buffering watching streaming apps and I would often have to reboot it. Sometimes page loading would just hang and take a long time to load. On a 400 down internet plan (max cap @ 458) - I would only get 310-330 download speeds. And this is with 2 different 86U routers.

I swapped it out for the Netgear R7800 and for 2 months now not a single buffering issue when streaming and I've only rebooted it once when I updated the firmware. I'm now getting 440-457 download speeds every time.

which one would you recommend besides the R7800 ?

 

[Poseidon]

I got my R7800 from Amazon for $176. Don’t think that’s twice the cost of the 86U but I could be wrong.

The GUI on the R7800 is outdated and bare bones, especially compared to Merlins f/w (which I loved btw). And if you use vpn, QoS and other scripts then yes the 86U might be the way to go.

But I don’t use any of that stuff and just wanted a beast router that would get me as close to my advertised speeds without any buffering or constant reboots and the R7800 has exceeded all of my expectations. I’m just hoping that I could find a similar AX router when I’m ready to upgrade when those routers are ready for prime time.

 

[L&LD]

@grat_master as long as you don't enable every bell and whistle on the RT-AC86U, it should be a welcome upgrade over the NG.

 

[Poseidon]

@grat_master. What country are u located?

I’ve tried the Asus86U, Synology AC2600 and a TP Link AC router (model number escapes me at the moment) and the R7800 blows them all out of the water.

 

[coxhaus]

Having firmware from September 2018 is not good, that is pretty old. There have been a lot of hacks in the last 2 or 3 years.

 

[grat_master]

@grat_master. What country are u located?

I’ve tried the Asus86U, Synology AC2600 and a TP Link AC router (model number escapes me at the moment) and the R7800 blows them all out of the water.

I'm from Canada. I can't seem to find it anywhere as this is exactly the model I wanted. I like my netgear experience.

 

[grat_master]

Having firmware from September 2018 is not good, that is pretty old. There have been a lot of hacks in the last 2 or 3 years.

Yeah that's what worries me the most. But on the other hand, I am on an old firmware on my wndr3800 and I don't have any problems right now.

 

[Poseidon]

I'm from Canada. I can't seem to find it anywhere as this is exactly the model I wanted. I like my netgear experience.

Amazon does not ship to Canada?

 

[coxhaus]

I would not run a Linux based router with that old of software.

 

[L&LD]

Yeah that's what worries me the most. But on the other hand, I am on an old firmware on my wndr3800 and I don't have any problems right now.

"I don't know of any security problems right now". Fixed it for you.

This is one of the biggest reasons to recommend Asus, particularly for non-techy parents/users.

 

[grat_master]

Amazon does not ship to Canada?

304$ to ship it at the current price. Might as well buy a XR500 currently at 280$ + taxes.

I would not run a Linux based router with that old of software.

I will return it and get the Archer C7 for 80$ + taxes at Staples next to my work. I'll return the second Asus too. Val D recommended the C7 a few post back. The firmware is also way much recent.

edit 0 : I got a 25$ off coupon at staples, bringing the price down to 63$ total. That will be it for my father.

edit 1 : maybe get one for myself and return both asus ?

 

[Val D.]

@grat_master as long as you don't enable every bell and whistle on the RT-AC86U, it should be a welcome upgrade over the NG.

OMG! WTFast again... and again... and again...
Are you going to stop ever demonstrating how limited your experience is? No, seriously?
You are not helping in this thread. No one here is going to buy another RT-AC86U from your garage, just stop the constant BS.

Some smileys ->

I will return it and get the Archer C7 for 80$

It's more than enough router for your parents' needs, even if you upgrade their ISP line to something much faster. And don't worry about the firmware, no one has interest to hack your parents tablet or TV. Don't forget to take your parents out to a restaurant with the saved money. I'm really happy you managed to filter all the BS from the reality. It's getting harder and harder to do that in some threads here on SNB.

 

[Val D.]

edit 1 : maybe get one for myself and return both asus ?

Keep whatever you think is best in your case. It's just a router, it doesn't matter. Most consumer routers now are disposable cheaply made junk. If your business grows, get a real network gear. Focus on programming, it may get you a Porsche. Wasting your time tweaking an ASUS router won't get you much. You may become an Internet forum hero at best. There are much better software/hardware replacements for every "advanced" feature some routers offer. I'm sure you know.