Routers as AP or true AP

[Jose C]

I have to replace three old routers (N) in a house (family), they have some old wrt310 routers in three different places in the house to get proper wireless across the house.

In my house I do the same with 2 R7000 and 1 EA6500v2, but I did it this way because I already had these routers, I did not buy anything but in this case they have to buy new devices.

I was looking dedicated AP, such as TPLINK EAP245 and maybe thought it could be better and cheaper for them, as they dont really need anything wired, everything is wireless except the pc that is close to the router so no problem there.

so my questions is, would be better just to get AP rather than routers set as AP? let say, will it be better wireless performance to get the TPlink and not the R7000 for example? or any case will be better just to get the routers?

I know it will be cheaper (TPlink$80 / R7000$120+)

 

[L&LD]

Using AP's or a router as an AP, just because you can isn't a good solution, imo.

What is the size of the home? What prevents a single router that is optimally placed from providing adequate coverage everywhere?

I would see if a newer router, I recommend the RT-AC3100, would do the job. If not, then I would look at degrading the network by adding AP's if they're really needed.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/s...-go-with-the-rt-ac1900p-v3.34748/#post-281391

 

[Jose C]

The house is about 3121.5ft² (290m²), it is all made of concrete, so one router is not enough to cover the whole house, that is why there is a 3 routers/ap to cover all the house.

I don't doubt upgrading to a newer router will be a big improvement considering the old routers they have now but I still don't think a new router will be able to cover the house.

Something I didn't mention is that three routers are connected through Ethernet.

 

[MichaelCG]

A dedicated AP or a Router in AP mode really doesn't matter on a functionality level....WiFi is WiFi. What generally will drive one solution over another comes down to price and management overhead. "Usually" an AP will be cheaper than a router. Some AP solutions can be centrally managed as well while others are individually managed no differently than a router-AP is.

 

[L&LD]

If you're able to test a newer router, it may be an interesting experiment (or not!). Did you read the link I provided? The RT-AC3100 performed even beyond my expectations.

But with concrete walls; buying the cheapest (Asus) routers would be how I would proceed. I don't know if the RT-AC56U is still available in your area? If it is and you can get a few at a good price, that is what I would recommend over a dedicated AP.

The house is about 3121.5ft² (290m²), it is all made of concrete, so one router is not enough to cover the whole house, that is why there is a 3 routers/ap to cover all the house.

I don't doubt upgrading to a newer router will be a big improvement considering the old routers they have now but I still don't think a new router will be able to cover the house.

Something I didn't mention is that three routers are connected through Ethernet.