R7800 SmallNetBuilder Review

[WASD]

Hi thiggins, I am trying to buy it in Australia, however I noticed it is listed as D7800 and the specs shows a 1.4G processor only. Can you give me an advice why is the difference from your tested R7800 router?
Is the R7800 a new model or it is specifically made for the US market?

 

[avtella]

Hi thiggins, I am trying to buy it in Australia, however I noticed it is listed as D7800 and the specs shows a 1.4G processor only. Can you give me an advice why is the difference from your tested R7800 router?
Is the R7800 a new model or it is specifically made for the US market?

The D7800 is a VDSL modem/router combo using an older WiFi chipset (QCA9980). The CPU is also clocked 300 MHz less. Main improvement on the R7800 is that the WiFi chipset (QCA9984) supports 2 dual antenna devices concurrently in MU-MIMO mode and also it supports 160Mhz width on 5Ghz band. In general performance should be similar however as there aren’t many 160Mhz supporting clients anyway at the moment other than some new gen laptops with Intel 9260ac cards (ie Dell G7)

 

[WASD]

The D7800 is a VDSL modem/router combo using an older WiFi chipset (QCA9980). The CPU is also clocked 300 MHz less. Main improvement on the R7800 is that the WiFi chipset (QCA9984) supports 2 dual antenna devices concurrently in MU-MIMO mode...

Do you recommend buying the D7800 now or should I wait until the R7800 will become available in Australia?

I am replacing my Asus RT-AC66U.

 

[kamoj]

Do you recommend buying the D7800 now or should I wait until the R7800 will become available in Australia?
I am replacing my Asus RT-AC66U.

D7800 is not FW compatible with R7800.
If you want a selection of different firmwares, you should wait for the R7800, or IMO rather order/buy the R7800 online.

 

[WASD]

Thank you. I ordered the R7800 from Amazon and installed it last night. I quickly learned one issue though.

In Australia, the R7800 is not available, only the D7800 version (modem+router) and there must be a specific reason why, which I don't know yet.
However, the R7800 model I purchased is locked to North America as per its region code and I cannot change it. Do you know if this will cause any issue for me in the long term?

So far its performance is much better than my previous Asus RT-AC66U I am replacing with.
I am using it in AP mode and I noticed that some of the menu points are greyed out (QoS for example), is that normal?

 

[RogerSC]

Thank you. I ordered the R7800 from Amazon and installed it last night. I quickly learned one issue though.

In Australia, the R7800 is not available, only the D7800 version (modem+router) and there must be a specific reason why, which I don't know yet.
However, the R7800 model I purchased is locked to North America as per its region code and I cannot change it. Do you know if this will cause any issue for me in the long term?

So far its performance is much better than my previous Asus RT-AC66U I am replacing with.
I am using it in AP mode and I noticed that some of the menu points are greyed out (QoS for example), is that normal?

Yes, that's normal. Some functions are associated with the router, including Q0S, DHCP, DNS, etc. An AP is just that, only an access point for your network. If you want the R7800 to do router functions, it has to be in router mode...and should be connected directly to a modem with no switches or routers in between *smile*.

I should add, though, if your ISP has given you a "gateway" (modem plus router) rather than just a modem, normally gateways can have the router part in "bridge" or "transparent" mode, so that they only act as a modem. That isn't always the case, but if you want your R7800 to be your router and do things like Q0S, then you need to disable the router part of your gateway (if that's what you have *smile*).

 

[kamoj]

In Australia, the R7800 is not available, only the D7800 version (modem+router) and there must be a specific reason why, which I don't know yet.
However, the R7800 model I purchased is locked to North America as per its region code and I cannot change it. Do you know if this will cause any issue for me in the long term?

I'm wishing you high satisfaction with your new R7800, and that you are using the Voxel Firmware with it!

Netgear routers for the Japan, Russia and US regions, have locked settings.
Probably Netgear has not paid the Australian authorities to certify the R7800 .

For Australia the EMC Sectoral Annex covers electromagnetic compatibility of equipment regulated
under the Australian Radiocommunications Act 1992. Under this Act the Australian Communications
Authority (ACA) *) has developed the Australian EMC scheme. The ACA is also responsible for the
regulation of telecommunications terminal equipment. http://www.aca.gov.au

*) Other agencies with a role in EMC management in Australian and the products covered by their
regulatory arrangements are:
· Therapeutic Goods Administration: listed and registered electromedical and implantable electromedical devices - for immunity only;
· Department of Transport and Regional Services - Vehicle Safety Standards: road vehicles;
· Civil Aviation Safety Authority: avonics and aviation ground facilities;
· Airservice’s Australia: VHF airband;
· Commonwealth Department of Defence: Defence equipment.

If you have wrong Region the router might use illegal radio frequencies,
wrong time zone and time server a.o.
Maybe you also have the drawback of lower allowed transmit power/shorter wifi-range.
(Australia might allow higher transmit power than in US)

If you are interested in correcting your region to Australia, I can give you a detailed instruction how to do that.

Just let me know here or in private message.

 

[WASD]

If you have wrong Region the router might use illegal radio frequencies,
wrong time zone and time server a.o.
Maybe you also have the drawback of lower allowed transmit power/shorter wifi-range.
(Australia might allow higher transmit power than in US)

If you are interested in correcting your region to Australia, I can give you a detailed instruction how to do that.

Hi Kamoj, thanks for your reply.
The router is using 2.4 and 5 GHz frequencies, which are not illegal in Australia. The difference would be the number of channels the router use, but I found out from a local expert that it is not an issue.
Also the transmit power should be similar so that shouldn't be a problem too. I already tested the performance of the new router and it has a much bigger coverage and better performance than my previous ASUS router so overall I am happy with it.
I am not exactly sure how wrong time zone and time server in the router would be an issue as it does not impact anything I do at home, i.e. gaming, watching Netflix, etc.

I am interested in your instruction how to change the region code for this router, please send me in a private message, many thanks.

 

[Sachb]

I must say the Router can handle loads of traffic easily, just yesterday I tried to download a movie with a speed of 2800 kb/sec and at the same time stream 1080p without any problems.

On the Asus AC68U the Blu ray would buffer in between if i was downloading something on my laptop, doesn't happen with NEtgear X4s.
Best part is the File transfers go upto 70 mb/sec or say (560 mbps) with a single file.

Asus AC88U being (3100) is not even close to this speed, max I got was 40 MB/sec for NAS transfers.

Although NETGEAR's range could've been better and also basic options such as changing the Wifi mode should've been present in the firmware with Repeater and OPEN VPN client support just like ASUS would make this router the best of best.

 

[kamoj]

Best part is the File transfers go upto 70 mb/sec or say (560 mbps) with a single file.

So why do you in in your thread https://www.snbforums.com/threads/p...t-merlin-firmware-on-netgear-r7800-x4s.46453/ state the following:

Voxel Firmware: Slightly better GUI but performance on NAS transfers slowed down from 60 mb/sec to 25 mb/sec.

Voxels FW is known for extremely high speed,
I get 80+ mb/sec write and 110 mb/sec read speed to my cheap Zyxel NAS,
so maybe you should start looking for other bottle necks.
And these 2 GUIs are identical except from Voxels enhancements,
so what do you mean is slightly better?

Although NETGEAR's range could've been better and also basic options such as changing the Wifi mode should've been present in the firmware with Repeater and OPEN VPN client support just like ASUS would make this router the best of best.

"NETGEAR's range could've been better":
Wifi range? 2.4/5 GHz?
Yes, but still it has one of the best you can get.
Try to change channel e.g. if you have a range problem.

Wifi mode:
This is selectable in the Netgear/Voxel GUI at:
Basic : Wireless : Mode:

About Repeater:
I suppose Repeater and Extender are similar, and that the difference from Bridge Mode is that in the latter you (can) get a another SSID.
Netgear/Voxel FW has Extender Mode/Bridge Mode (s) that you might use:
Advanced: Advanced Setup : Route /AP / Bridge mode : Router Mode : Learn More
or : http://192.168.1.1/rae_learn.htm
Here Netgear describe the Extender Mode under the subject: Router vs. Access Point vs. Extender
However the choices in the normal GUI are: Router Mode / AP Mode / Bridge Mode
You can also look at http://192.168.1.1/rae_extender.htm.

OPEN VPN client:
The Voxel FW support this, but not with a GUI - yet.

ASUS:
Yes, I totally agree, they have much more features in general, and Merlin has done a fantastic job.

 

[Sachb]

So why do you in in your thread https://www.snbforums.com/threads/p...t-merlin-firmware-on-netgear-r7800-x4s.46453/ state the following:

Voxels FW is known for extremely high speed,
I get 80+ mb/sec write and 110 mb/sec read speed to my cheap Zyxel NAS,
so maybe you should start looking for other bottle necks.
And these 2 GUIs are identical except from Voxels enhancements,
so what do you mean is slightly better?

Voxel's UI has some nice looking Icons, it made it more pleasing and desirable to look at.
Regarding the speed issue, as soon as I changed m firmware from stock to Voxel's firmware my NAS speeds dropped in wifi 5GHZ. Do you think i should perform a reset after switching from one firmware to another??

"NETGEAR's range could've been better":
Wifi range? 2.4/5 GHz?
Yes, but still it has one of the best you can get.
Try to change channel e.g. if you have a range problem.

My home has concrete walls but it's only a 2 bhk apartment. The moment I go to the next room closest to my Hall my speeds are dropped drastically, and the wifi speeds and signals are further dropped in the 2 nd room making it difficult for streaming 4k videos.

I had bought a Range extender (TP-LINK RE450) which covers the 2 nd room happily but I'm disappointed the Netgear X4s isn't stable for my 2nd bedroom for mobile devices.

Wifi mode:

This is selectable in the Netgear/Voxel GUI at:
Basic : Wireless : Mode:

It only selects the speed and not the Wifi Mode. I want to enable wifi N only because I don't have G wifi client nor do i have the old b clients. It is said that selecting to N only mode improves performance

About Repeater:
I suppose Repeater and Extender are similar, and that the difference from Bridge Mode is that in the latter you (can) get a another SSID.
Netgear/Voxel FW has Extender Mode/Bridge Mode (s) that you might use:
Advanced: Advanced Setup : Route /AP / Bridge mode : Router Mode : Learn More
or : http://192.168.1.1/rae_learn.htm
Here Netgear describe the Extender Mode under the subject: Router vs. Access Point vs. Extender
However the choices in the normal GUI are: Router Mode / AP Mode / Bridge Mode
You can also look at http://192.168.1.1/rae_extender.htm.

Repeater mode, as in Wifi repeater mode. I want to manually search for Wifi and connect to them just like the Asus, which finds an AP and just connects to them wirelessly.

 

[avtella]

Voxel’s firmware should be no different than stock in terms of NAS transfers as the WiFi Chipset/Switch firmware is the same. Maybe slight improvements if IRQ balancing between cores were done, but you shouldn’t see any major differences in that aspect. Yeah do a factory reset.

 

[BUFFBOY]

Hi all,

Sorry to cut in, Could someone advise me how many devices can this router support in terms of connected via WiFi ?

I have around 20 wireless devices around the house and at times friends and guess come etc.

thanks

 

[RMerlin]

Hi all,

Sorry to cut in, Could someone advise me how many devices can this router support in terms of connected via WiFi ?

I have around 20 wireless devices around the house and at times friends and guess come etc.

thanks

Will depends on what type of traffic these generates. Smartphones that do nothing but check for new mail every few minutes won't use any real bandwidth. Having five devices streaming from Youtube at the same time will present more challenge. Keep in mind that wifi is a shared network, so total bandwidth has to be divided between all connected devices that are actively transferring.

 

[coxhaus]

To talk about connected devices, it should be divided into the number of connected devices and the number of active users per radio. Active users per radio will be less than connected devices.

 

[2Dutch]

Do you recommend buying the D7800 now or should I wait until the R7800 will become available in Australia?

I am replacing my Asus RT-AC66U.

Wanted to reply since I have a ac66u but had to replace it due to compatibility issues with my wife's work vpn/proxy (don't ask, I am pretty pissed about it), and I was able to borrow a R7800 untill I can find a new router. Sadly, I cannot go for another RT Asus Here's what my experiences are after a few days:
- the Asus has better 5Ghz speeds, but slightly less 5 GHz range (not an issue for me)
- the Netgear has every so slightly better 2,4 GHz speeds, and better 5 Ghz range. But as we all know, 5Ghz speeds drop to almost unusable when you are barely in range (I am talking about my attic).

The most annoying part about the Netgear? Its interface and 'bootup' speed.. I am used to Merlin firmware for my Asus, and that is snappy fast and has a decent UI, the Asus is up and running in no time, the Netgear takes a lot longer. The Netgear UI is horrible, and S L O W. It seems like it needs to reload everything after pressing a button/switching option. I am using the Netgear official firmware. Can't say I am that impressed with the options either, but I shouldn't complain about that too much since I don't use all that much 'fancy options' wise.

Is it bad? Nah, wouldn't say that. Is it as good as my Asus? Nope, not to me. I certainly do not consider it an upgrade. I am going to use the Netgear for a little bit longer, if anything comes up that is worth mentioning I'll edit my post or make a new one.

 

[avtella]

In terms of 5Ghz almost unanimously most reviews show the R7800 having better 5Ghz range/performance at all ranges vs its competitors and even over the R9000 which uses the same chipset, best in the consumer space currently (5Ghz performance wise). It’s Asus equivalent using the same Qualcomm hardware is the Asus BRT-AC828. Synology RT2600AC also uses the same hardware. Granted you may have different experiences based on your own testing environment. But yeah UI wise Asus is better and they do offer more settings for fine tuning.

 

[2Dutch]

In terms of 5Ghz almost unanimously most reviews show the R7800 having better 5Ghz range/performance at all ranges vs its competitors and even over the R9000 which uses the same chipset, best in the consumer space currently (5Ghz performance wise). It’s Asus equivalent using the same Qualcomm hardware is the Asus BRT-AC828. Synology RT2600AC also uses the same hardware. Granted you may have different experiences based on your own testing environment. But yeah UI wise Asus is better and they do offer more settings for fine tuning.

Thanks for the info, I'll look into those routers also..well, not the Asus I'm afraid due to the whole vpn/proxy thing..sadly.
I'll certainly re-test (not as good as professional testing of course, but the results in my home are those that count for me) and will try to re-adjust the antennas also. I did see that the 5Ghz pushed a bit further, but for me it was of no use since it was like 1,2 megabit or something. Not that I plan to download anything sitting in the corner of my attic covered in dust, but still It isn't an upgrade for me at this time, but then again wifi/range can only do so much. For one person the range and speeds matter, for another it's also about stability and functions.

And let's face it: a lot of countries don't offer affordable 50Mbit+ internet, so the router can be as fancy as can be, you won't be able to use the speed.
Wifi is another thing entirely, since you need equipment (laptops, pc's) with 3 antennas to maximise the speed. Smartphones are limited by hardware (flash memory). Funny when you think of it..

 

[umarmung]

If you are used to running custom software on the Asus, why not just slap DD-WRT, e.g. Kong's Build, onto the R7800?

 

[avtella]

Thanks for the info, I'll look into those routers also..well, not the Asus I'm afraid due to the whole vpn/proxy thing..sadly.
I'll certainly re-test (not as good as professional testing of course, but the results in my home are those that count for me) and will try to re-adjust the antennas also. I did see that the 5Ghz pushed a bit further, but for me it was of no use since it was like 1,2 megabit or something. Not that I plan to download anything sitting in the corner of my attic covered in dust, but still It isn't an upgrade for me at this time, but then again wifi/range can only do so much. For one person the range and speeds matter, for another it's also about stability and functions.

And let's face it: a lot of countries don't offer affordable 50Mbit+ internet, so the router can be as fancy as can be, you won't be able to use the speed.
Wifi is another thing entirely, since you need equipment (laptops, pc's) with 3 antennas to maximise the speed. Smartphones are limited by hardware (flash memory). Funny when you think of it..

You are right about most high end routers being OP for most end users who merely use them for internet. I too only have 70 Mbps internet but the biggest reason for a fast router in my use case, is LAN throughput as I have a NAS. I get 800-900 Mbps with my Dell Inspiron 7577 (Intel 9260ac @HT160) so it’s great for LAN transfers.