SOLVED: Looking for advice

[Prattalot]

I am looking to upgrade my home router now that I have faster service from my ISP (150 down) and my home is a challenge to cover properly given that it is a 4 level split design similar to this.

In the past I've had an Apple 5th Gen Extreme (n) router located in the kitchen on top of the cupboards that provided passable coverage but it lacks AC speeds and in the bedrooms and basement it wasn't very quick. Most of the house has ethernet running to it so my AV gear and servers are all hardwired so they're not the issue its our laptops and mobile devices that I'm looking to improve on.

I did pick up an Asus RT-AC66U and mounted it close to the center point of the house. That location gives me more even distribution of speed and in most locations I'm able to get over 75 meg down via speednet tests. I returned the AC66 last night as a deal came up on a used 87U for less than what I'd paid for the 66 but the 87U turned out to be defective at 2.4Ghz so it was returned to the seller.

So I can pick up another 66U ($130 cdn) or consider alternatives. There's a used but new in box Asus 87R for $140 or a new Dlink 880L for $150. Newegg has refurb 68U's for $140. There's also a used Asus 55U for $50 that I was thinking could be added to a 66U as an AP but I've never been able to get my mobile devices to roam properly when I've tried APs previously (DLinks).

I'm intregued by the used 87R but nervous given the issues so many 87's seem to have and my experience last night so I'm leaning towards going back to the 66U and adding the 55U as an AP.

Thoughts? Should I be worried about the reliability of the 87's?

 

[System Error Message]

its not the reliability thats an issue, its whether you need performance. Its when you need performance that you will run into issues.

 

[Prattalot]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by that?

Non of my devices can use the full potential of the 87U but it does have a faster CPU and stronger transmit power. I just worry it isn't going to be reliable and buying used means no warranty.

 

[System Error Message]

its to do when both wifi and ethernet are used at the same time because of internal designs that have limited internal bandwidth. If using just wired alone with wired disabled than you wont run into this issue. This is if used with 1Gb/s WAN or with LAN transfers.

In terms of reliability its not going to fail, it will only hang/slow when the internal bandwidth problems show.

 

[Prattalot]

So a bit of an update.

I went back to Staples and came across an Asus RT-AC66U that was mixed in with a bunch of older Asus N600's on the clearance rack so I was able to get it for $45 Cdn since someone had attached a markdown sticker on the wrong box. I have the router located centrally on the level up from the basement and with the exception of the master bedroom, it gives me good enough coverage in the places I need it.

I came across a used Asus RT- N66U this morning that was stuck in recovery mode and had a broken power button so I picked that up for $10 and using the recovery tool managed to get Merlin installed to match what I have running on the AC66U. The N66U is now acting as an access point hardwired into the switch in the basement.

I've enabled the same SSID and security on both, manually assigned channels and turn on the Roaming Assistant but as expected my devices don't really want to roam properly but since its really just me that'd ever notice the speed difference I'm fine with me manually toggling over to the AP when I need the extra speed.