Which router to buy? Newbie

[Mrcool79]

I have a house of 200 square meters over 2 floors and would like to have good wifi both outside and inside. There is a garage approx. 5-6 meters from the house which also needs wifi for the use of the garage smart function.
For several years I have used Ubiquiti Amplifi HD with 2 repeaters. I have 500/500 Mbps speed and a number of clients which cause the speed to decrease and I therefore have to restart the router. I want to upgrade to a better Mesh system with maybe more repeaters if needed so that I can also get good coverage throughout the house, outside and in the garage. The outside is not that big.
Can you recommend what is new and easy to use with multiple extenders? I have been recommended Asus but I don't understand the model numbers. Will ASUS RT-AX92U 2PK be good enough or what do you recommend of the simple plug and play type? Thank you

 

[Tech9]

RT-AX92U is an old End-of-Life model. Amplifi to AiMesh is not really an upgrade. Replacing one set of issues for another. Go UniFi or Omada as low cost SMB options. Not as easy to setup, but better. You have to choose between easy and better. Best - someone does it for you professionally with best fit for your requirements and environment equipment. Do it once and forget about it.

 

[microchip]

I would also get rid of the repeaters as they halve the bandwidth due to constant need back and forth to be in connection with the main router.

+1 for seperate APs like the Omada's. They have a very nice software Controller to easily manage them.

 

[Mrcool79]

I would also get rid of the repeaters as they halve the bandwidth due to constant need back and forth to be in connection with the main router.

+1 for seperate APs like the Omada's. They have a very nice software Controller to easily manage them.

Thank you. So TP-Link is easier to manage? I did have several unifi earlier but it was difficult to set them up. A

 

[microchip]

I've used the Omada's stand-alone firmware UI and the Omada Controller one. Both are easy for me, though the controller has much more options you probably won't need or use the defaults.

 

[Tech9]

it was difficult to set

If you have zero/low networking knowledge your only DIY option remains consumer over the counter mesh sets and time for trial and error, returns, refunds, etc. Google Nest, Amazon eero, TP-Link Deco, Netgear Orbi… all “easy button” and it is what it is, better or worse, not guaranteed. Asus AiMesh is similar, just exposing more settings, in my opinion for no good reason. Location EU, obstructive Wi-Fi buildings, limited channels, limited power - for guaranteed results needs site survey, proper infrastructure and proper equipment.

 

[Tech9]

stand-alone firmware

Omada with no controller - limited features, no roaming assistance, no wireless mesh.

 

[Mrcool79]

If you have zero/low networking knowledge your only DIY option remains consumer over the counter mesh sets and time for trial and error, returns, refunds, etc. Google Nest, Amazon eero, TP-Link Deco, Netgear Orbi… all “easy button” and it is what it is, better or worse, not guaranteed. Asus AiMesh is similar, just exposing more settings, in my opinion for no good reason. Location EU, obstructive Wi-Fi buildings, limited channels, limited power - for guaranteed results needs site survey, proper infrastructure and proper equipment.

Unfortunately, I am a complete amateur in this area so I need something that is easy to understand. I was hoping to find the best in plug and play, but if it doesn't exist then I might have to contact professionals to set this up. It is strange that good products are not made for the private market.

 

[Tech9]

Plug and Play in different and constantly changing environments is hard to achieve. What you can get is good enough. The difference is similar to when you drive around and you know the city and when you drive around guided by Google Maps.

 

[Tech9]

By the way, in some countries mesh sets with PLA backhaul are available. You may want to look around. PLA is power line adapter, uses the existing power cables for data transfer.

 

[degrub]

Just don't expect the PLA part to provide anything near their advertised bandwidth unless you are very lucky.. If you have arc fault breakers on your house power breaker panel, forget it. They don't play nice with each other. If you have any spare coax in the walls, you could look at MOCA 2.0+ for extending the ethernet backbone. MOCA is mainly a US option as it is designed for RG6 (RG59 will work) 75 ohm impedence cable systems.

With the plug and play approach, just make sure you can return after trying with no $ penalty.

 

[Tech9]

Just don't expect the PLA part to provide anything near their advertised bandwidth

True.

With the plug and play approach, just make sure you can return after trying with no $ penalty.

Amazon.