need the longest ranged and best signal router?

[GODSPD]

Hi all,

I am looking into buying one or two new routers, my biggest requirement is widest and longest overall coverage area... I need something that will transmit my gigabit internet connection as far and strong as possible with minimal signal or speed loss... I am happy to get two routers and set the 2nd as a wireless AP (signal via cable)

I am very well familiar with the entire Asus product range, but need advice from actual users not just reviews...

Secondly the entire AiMesh, is it any different from setting up a Wireless AP's???

Also to consider which router will also be best for file sharing/streaming across my home network? possibly just plugging in my usb3 hdd into the router for content sharing?

THANKS

 

[ColinTaylor]

I am looking into buying one or two new routers, my biggest requirement is widest and longest overall coverage area... I need something that will transmit my gigabit internet connection as far and strong as possible with minimal signal or speed loss...

You'd probably be best served by looking at the SmallNetBuilder reviews rather than relying on anecdotal evidence. The SNB reviews are carried out in a controlled environment with professional equipment, something no home user can replicate (let alone them having access to all the routers for comparison).

 

[GODSPD]

id rather hear back from owners as I have read many of the published reviews and it didn't help me narrow down my selection, especially with my above questions...

 

[coxhaus]

Isn't it cheaper to buy wireless APs rather than 2 routers?

 

[avtella]

id rather hear back from owners as I have read many of the published reviews and it didn't help me narrow down my selection, especially with my above questions...

Netgear R7800 range and performance wise on 5Ghz, it’s siblings using the same hardware include the Synology RT2600AC and Asus BRT AC828. The AC86U and GT5300AC are also close performers to that.

But seriously you may be better off with APs like coxhaus mentioned. Don’t expect Gigabit speeds at the signal edge of any device, by which point real world throughput would drop to single digit Mbps or lower. This is depending on the distance being covered that is. Building materials also affect signal penetration as I can get 800-900 Mbps (HT160 mode) on my laptop even 15ft, one floor directly below the router (R7800) because my home is mostly wood/drywall interior. Granite flooring, concrete interiors, chicken mesh all will cause a huge hit in range/performance plus placement. That is also another reason you can’t necessarily go by other people’s experiences alone as your home may not / will not provide the same environment & characteristics causing drastic differences in experiences from person to person.

 

[GODSPD]

im more interested in the best and longest ranged model, could someone please be kind enough to read and answer my original questions? so far every reply has been off topic and not helping me at all

 

[ColinTaylor]

im more interested in the best and longest ranged model, could someone please be kind enough to read and answer my original questions? so far every reply has been off topic and not helping me at all

My original reply directly addressed your questions. The SNB reviews (unlike other reviews) will show you Throughput vs. Attenuation which is equivalent to "range". It will also show you the Storage Performance which you also asked for. You can use the Router Charts to rank all the devices by any criteria you choose.

 

[MichaelCG]

I agree that the best recommendation for speed and distance will be the SNB charts. Otherwise everything will just be opinion based on someone who used the device in random location that gave crappy or great performance that has no comparison at all to how it will perform at your location.

Please keep in mind even if you AP can transmit a long distance, your clients may not be able to reply back at the same distance. If going through multiple walls with multiple clients and trying to get anything anywhere near gigabit, you will want to look at having multiple distributed APs. And even then, the majority of clients will be lucky to get in the 200-400Mbps range. But with properly distributed APs and clients, you can easily have multiple clients doing 200-400Mbps at the same time.

And yes AiMesh is different than wired APs. Mesh is generally using wireless backhaul. You should always attempt to get wired backhaul when possible.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hi all,

I am looking into buying one or two new routers, my biggest requirement is widest and longest overall coverage area... I need something that will transmit my gigabit internet connection as far and strong as possible with minimal signal or speed loss... I am happy to get two routers and set the 2nd as a wireless AP (signal via cable)

I am very well familiar with the entire Asus product range, but need advice from actual users not just reviews...

Secondly the entire AiMesh, is it any different from setting up a Wireless AP's???

Also to consider which router will also be best for file sharing/streaming across my home network? possibly just plugging in my usb3 hdd into the router for content sharing?

THANKS

Drive to the closest Micro Center and pickup two RT-AC86Us for $300 (normally $400). The 86U is a relatively current build with WiFi chipset Range Boost (~20%), a beefy processor and memory, and hardware VPN acceleration.

AiMesh is a WiFi system for extended coverage, centralized management, and extended use of routers as mesh nodes. It uses proprietary methods for node steering and node band steering to aide wireless client roaming.

The ISP speed/bandwidth your wireless clients enjoy will depend on many factors relating to their wireless connection and your WLAN traffic, but will likely be very respectable with a 2x86U AiMesh with a wired backhaul.

You can connect a USB drive to the 86U router, but I have not tried it.

OE

 

[Grisu]

so first to know is your location/country!!!

Otherwise you compare apples with pears ...

My 86U got good range in US-region, but absolutely unusable if you set for EU.
But with US I loose channnel 12+13 and all channels 36-140.
On the other side EU devices cant use the really strong ch. 149-165, all others are weak and/or not settable fix DSF 52-140.
Auto in US will allways take ch. >149 (useless for me) and no other fix ch. available.
And EU ch. 1-13 have very very poor coverage, more than 10dB less compared to US.

So you can say its 2 devices in one hardware, regarding how you can use in and how it is set to.
Yes, I can change region on my internat. version (from gearbest only 156€ incl. tax and posting).
But it doesnt really help me.
US setting is good for 2G for strong signal to cover large area (not possible with 5G, only good nearby)
But 5G I need EU/Asia to get ch. 36-140 (>149 not usable with our devices).
BUT you cant mix region setting, its for both

At the end my 86U (region Asia) is good for 2G all channels and very poor in 5G with ch. 36-140.
My 68U is (set to all region) nearly as good (-3dB) in 2G all channels and much better in 5G about 8dB and I can use all channels 36-165.
They are standing side by side for this test.
Of course 86U is much faster if you use USB or VLAN.

So if you are US the 86U will be a relative good choice, rest of the world get nothing (coverage) for much, I am very disapointed.

 

[psychopomp1]

im more interested in the best and longest ranged model, could someone please be kind enough to read and answer my original questions? so far every reply has been off topic and not helping me at all

Dude, you might as well ask "what do you recommend I eat?". People have already told you that the top end routers are going to make a difference of diddly squat if you have 1 metre thick walls and you will therefore need a mesh wifi network. Otherwise if you have wafer thin walls then something like the Netgear R7800 will be an excellent choice.

 

[doczenith1]

Myself and @maxbraketorque have each done some comparisons with new RT-AC86U router that can give you results from actual users.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/86u-vs-68u-wifi-throughput.42754/

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/ac68u-vs-ac3100-vs-ac86u-wifi-testing.43055/

If I'm not mistaken I believe the AC86U also does very well with read/write speeds to a USB drive but don't quote me on that. Do some searching on the forum as it has been discussed.

 

[maxbraketorque]

Myself and @maxbraketorque have each done some comparisons with new RT-AC86U router that can give you results from actual users.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/86u-vs-68u-wifi-throughput.42754/

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/ac68u-vs-ac3100-vs-ac86u-wifi-testing.43055/

If I'm not mistaken I believe the AC86U also does very well with read/write speeds to a USB drive but don't quote me on that. Do some searching on the forum as it has been discussed.

I have been very happy with my AC86U. I am now using two in main/AP mode (not AiMesh) to cover both floors of my house at high speed.

There is much more to a wireless router than just range. Some features are important to have, and to have working well. I think ASUS does a pretty good all around job on functional router features. However, for all out speed/range, the R7800 may be the best router out there based on the SNB website tests. But if there is a plan for two routers, the extra range of the R7800 may not matter. As others have said, it will depend greatly on your house.