What's new

R7800 SmallNetBuilder Review

  • SNBForums Code of Conduct

    SNBForums is a community for everyone, no matter what their level of experience.

    Please be tolerant and patient of others, especially newcomers. We are all here to share and learn!

    The rules are simple: Be patient, be nice, be helpful or be gone!

Damned :(
Hate that :(
Do you think the Syno 2600 is a downgrade compared to the R7800? I know I'll have to do the whole config also but this is really pissing me off. I save a configuration file everytime I add a device or... and those config files will be useless after I reset the R7800, so what's the point saving them :(
 
Damned :(
Hate that :(
Do you think the Syno 2600 is a downgrade compared to the R7800? I know I'll have to do the whole config also but this is really pissing me off. I save a configuration file everytime I add a device or... and those config files will be useless after I reset the R7800, so what's the point saving them :(
Even Asus routers need factory resets now and then. I agree that Netgear ones seem to need it more often but in the grand scale of things it does not take that long, first world problems really I guess ;) Reading this may help. https://www.snbforums.com/threads/faq-nvram-and-factory-default-reset.22822/
 
thanx for the link :)
I had an Asus router once, I sent it back, I had too many disconnections :(
That's why I was wondering getting a Syno 2600 in place of the 7800, but if it's a downgrade...
 
Just a kind tip:
You can try Voxels latest firmware. No need to reset when changing between Netgear and Voxel FW.
Voxel use more new versions of much, plus bug fixes.
If you don't trust Voxel FW, you can do the change and test it and then change back to Netgear again.
Hello :)

I'm searching what are the benefits of Voxel FWs over the Netgear ones on the net, I might want to try it as it seems to improve stability.
But could you tell me the difference between the FW ending with SF and the one ending with SF-KF? Different router?
You sure I wouldn't have to factory reset the router once I install the Voxel FW over the 1.0.2.52 Netgear FW?

Thanx for your help :)
 
Well, I came home and decided to try the Voxel Firmware. So I downloaded the latest one, R7800-V1.0.2.53SF-KF and without doing a factory reset, I installed it. I have written down on a piece of paper my config before doing so, don't worry :)
I didn't do a factory reset because I wanted to see how the router would behave after the upgrade. And so far, so good. Seems to be working pretty well. Of course, the WiFi wasn't dropping like crazy before so I'll have to see during the coming days how it works and all. But so far, seems A-OK. The GUI is nice too :)
So I'll let you know what I think very soon.
Thanx for the tip by the way :)
Oh, and what do you think about the Syno R2600? Just out of curiosity.
 
Last edited:
Hello :)

I'm searching what are the benefits of Voxel FWs over the Netgear ones on the net, I might want to try it as it seems to improve stability.
But could you tell me the difference between the FW ending with SF and the one ending with SF-KF? Different router?
You sure I wouldn't have to factory reset the router once I install the Voxel FW over the 1.0.2.52 Netgear FW?

Thanx for your help :)

If you didn't find out, iirc the kf build includes a fix for displaying device names in attached devices/QoS from kamoj. Hence the K
 
Oh, and what do you think about the Syno R2600? Just out of curiosity.

Hardware wise it's about the same as the R7800.
But Synology does not - in many's opinion - give a good support for it's firmware.
Google it and see for yourself.

With the R7800 you have the best support - just use the Voxel FW!
It's also nice that you have a choice of at least 4 different firmware makers:
  • Netgear (Stock)
  • Voxel (Based on stock, but much more stable, safe and additional functions as fast OpenVPN client, Entware and Debian - and superb support)
  • DD-WRT
  • LEDE / OpenWrt
 
Last edited:
Hello :)

I'm searching what are the benefits of Voxel FWs over the Netgear ones on the net, I might want to try it as it seems to improve stability.
But could you tell me the difference between the FW ending with SF and the one ending with SF-KF? Different router?
You sure I wouldn't have to factory reset the router once I install the Voxel FW over the 1.0.2.52 Netgear FW?

Thanx for your help :)
For me Voxel's firmware reduced the file transfer to 30 mb/sec on nas even after reset. Stock has better performance. I'm using the latest firmware.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
 
For me Voxel's firmware reduced the file transfer to 30 mb/sec on nas even after reset. Stock has better performance. I'm using the latest firmware.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

Weird. No such problem here. Voxel fw has been perfect for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I wanted to get the R7800 as it seems to be the best of the dual band routers; better even than the RT-AC86u which seems very popular. Unfortunately in Australia we can only buy the D7800 which is the neutered V/DSL version.

Having just bought an RT-AC86u but not yet opened it, is there any substantive reason to reconsider importing an R7800 instead?
I have a selection of 2.4 devices in a 2 story townhouse; my main concern is 5GHz to my notebook which I want improved throughput on from my current AC66u router. I don't have issues of losing the 5G signal... it's just not the best throughput. I do not have a 160MHz capable wifi card in my notebook.

I wondered whether the AC86u having one internal antenna was an issue.... seems like an odd design choice. I assume it's one of the 5GHz ones or does it use dual channel for both 2.4 and 5g?
 
The most reliable way to achieve your stated goal is install an AP or router repurposed as an AP.

If possible run an Ethernet cable between floors. If you don't want to do that and you have coaxial cable try MOCA adapters to connect the router to the AP and if that isn't possible then try Ethernet over powerline.

If budget is an issue then return the AC86 and purchase a less expensive router or AP and use the savings to buy the the other hardware.

A router and an AP will be a better solution because even if your new latest and greatest router has stronger WiFi it won't necessarily speed things up if your laptop's signal is weak getting back to the router's radios.
 
I wanted to get the R7800 as it seems to be the best of the dual band routers; better even than the RT-AC86u which seems very popular. Unfortunately in Australia we can only buy the D7800 which is the neutered V/DSL version.

Having just bought an RT-AC86u but not yet opened it, is there any substantive reason to reconsider importing an R7800 instead?
I have a selection of 2.4 devices in a 2 story townhouse; my main concern is 5GHz to my notebook which I want improved throughput on from my current AC66u router. I don't have issues of losing the 5G signal... it's just not the best throughput. I do not have a 160MHz capable wifi card in my notebook.

I wondered whether the AC86u having one internal antenna was an issue.... seems like an odd design choice. I assume it's one of the 5GHz ones or does it use dual channel for both 2.4 and 5g?

the RT-86u is a good unit. The only quirk is that the 2.4ghz part uses 3 streams, while the 5ghz is 4.

But here's the big thing, neither unit may not help you out. Most notebooks (MacBook pros are exception) use only a 2x2 wifi unit. The RT-66U is already 3x3. So your peak connection speeds aren't going to change any.

AP's with more streams and antenna might give you slightly better range or performance at range, but it's no guarantee. If the return policy is liberal, you can always just install it and try it out, and then return it if it doesn't help.

Walls or floors might be blocking the signal. You can get something that measures wifi strength to try to get an idea (I use netgear wifi analytics on phone app, or there's insider lite for windows.) if the signal drops off, then you can consider getting a second access point. Ideally you could link them with ethernet cable, but you could also look into a mesh system for ease of setup (at the expense of lower peak speed).
 
I wanted to get the R7800 as it seems to be the best of the dual band routers; better even than the RT-AC86u which seems very popular. Unfortunately in Australia we can only buy the D7800 which is the neutered V/DSL version.


Send me a pm, I have an R7800 in Sydney, bought from Amazon, but currently not using it as we moved house.
You can borrow it and test it to see if it’s better.
 
Send me a pm, I have an R7800 in Sydney, bought from Amazon, but currently not using it as we moved house.
You can borrow it and test it to see if it’s better.
Thanks dso much for that - it's a truly generous offer :). I'm set up now with the 86u and it's doing exactly what I need so I'll stick with it.
 
Hello everyone :)

I'm using the Voxel Firmware and I'm really happy with it. My R7800 is very stable, nothing to complain at all.
Everytime I upgrade the firmware, I save the configuration. But just out of curiosity, if I uploaded this configuration file to another R7800 with the Voxel Firmware, would I have a clone, a perfect clone, of the first router? I mean, would that make it the perfect backup in case my prod R7800 would die on me? Like, to be perfectly clear, I could just replace one with the other and all my network devices would continue to function as if nothing had happened?
Thanx for your replies :)
 
Only the user data will be backed-up in the configuration file.
The MAC-addresses not, so wireless clients might refuse to connect if MAC is involved in the security process.
 
Hello :)
Thank you for your reply.
Yup, I thought about the MAC Address too.
I think this is still the best router around. As I said, very stable, Voxel rocks.
I can't find a better router around. I mean, there are routers that offer more bandwith, maybe a better GUI, but the R7800 offers already so much that I don't see the point of getting another model.
I just want a backup, in case something happens. Dunno, faulty power supply, or...
 
Hello :)
Thank you for your reply.
Yup, I thought about the MAC Address too.
I think this is still the best router around. As I said, very stable, Voxel rocks.
I can't find a better router around. I mean, there are routers that offer more bandwith, maybe a better GUI, but the R7800 offers already so much that I don't see the point of getting another model.
I just want a backup, in case something happens. Dunno, faulty power supply, or...
I had Asus AC68U before the Netgear R7800 X4s, and I found the range of Asus AC68U wasn't enough for my 2nd room.

So i had loaded a third party firmware on it and cranked up the power to 1000mW (1 watt), while the signal got stronger, loading a website still took time.

The day when Netgear R7800, came to my house, I couldn't believe that my second room had usable signal and I could even watch 1080p to 4k videos easily.

But I do miss the GUI of an ASUS router, I wish Netgear made something similiar.

It has so much to play around. One firmware even had an option to remove regulatory mode and I achieved 300 mbps link speed on all my devices on 2.4 ghz, now
with netgear the max I saw is 173 mbps link rate in 2.4 ghz.

Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk
 

Latest threads

Support SNBForums w/ Amazon

If you'd like to support SNBForums, just use this link and buy anything on Amazon. Thanks!

Sign Up For SNBForums Daily Digest

Get an update of what's new every day delivered to your mailbox. Sign up here!

Staff online

Top