WiFi router or AP advice around $200 ish...

[Jesse Lamba]

Hey Guys,

As the title says, I need a router or an access point for our home. My budget is around $200 ish. Here is what I'm currently running-
Buffalo 1750DHP

Our house is 3 stories (including basement), and each floor is about 1200 sq ft. The WiFi router is currently almost in the middle of the house on the main floor. The coverage from the Buffalo is okay at the best, and we seem to be having lot of random disconnects lately. Also the more I play with the firmware, the more I'm starting to hate it. We have about 15 devices in our household that support AC, and I'm struggling to get decent reception at upper and lower corners of our house.

Also have a firmware that allows me to do a great job monitoring and fine tuning would be nice as well.

So in order of preference here is what I want from a router:
- 5GHz Range
- Speed
- Customization options

After reading and reading (and most likely confusing myself), I have shortlisted the following router:

Asus RT-AC3200 ($161 @ Jet.com after 15% coupon SHOP15)

Is there anything else that you guys would like to recommend that I should consider around the $200 price tag?

Or am I better of just getting ubiquiti AC access points like the UAP-AC-LR, and running those around the house?

Thanks

 

[sfx2000]

Going from the Buffalo to the Asus isn't going to do much for you - Wifi range is generally limited by Physics...

Have you considered going down the DD-WRT path on that Buffalo - it's directly supported by the DD-WRT group, and Buffalo actively encourages them.

(BTW - Buffalo is excellent stuff, very well built and high quality - they don't spend the advertising money that many others do, so they don't get as much press coverage)

 

[Jesse Lamba]

Going from the Buffalo to the Asus isn't going to do much for you - Wifi range is generally limited by Physics...

Have you considered going down the DD-WRT path on that Buffalo - it's directly supported by the DD-WRT group, and Buffalo actively encourages them.

(BTW - Buffalo is excellent stuff, very well built and high quality - they don't spend the advertising money that many others do, so they don't get as much press coverage)

I looked into that, and reading up on all the horror stories regarding the 1750 getting bricked does not give me the confidence that I would like. And also from what I'm reading it seems there is better community and 3rd party support for Asus and other bigger brands.

I guess I can just bite the bullet and try going down the DD-WRT route with mine before giving up on it.

I do agree with you regarding their build and over quality, I feel a lack of any external antennas does not help it with range at all.

 

[sfx2000]

I do agree with you regarding their build and over quality, I feel a lack of any external antennas does not help it with range at all.

The internal antennae on the Buffalo are pretty good - whether internal or external, all have to hit a design spec to work properly.

The vendors see this as a marketing item for reasons you directly mention above, and have convinced the buying public that external antennas (and lots of them) are better, just like bigger numbers are supposedly faster..

(side note on antennas - back in the old pre-3G days, a popular cell phone OEM used an internal antenna for the first time - the carrier's acceptance group demanded an external whip antenna before they would accept the device for evaluation and acceptance.

So the OEM put a whip on it that wasn't actually connected to anything and had no effect on the RF performance of the device (plastic material) - the field test guys immediately saw a 20 percent improvement in performance, which is something we call 'confirmation bias', and then the OEM showed them what they actually did - in objective testing in the RF chambers, followed up by more objective field testing, not just subjective use...

The device hit the market with the internal antenna only - I know, I was there, I was part of the OEM's engineering group at the time)

 

[sfx2000]

I looked into that, and reading up on all the horror stories regarding the 1750 getting bricked does not give me the confidence that I would like. And also from what I'm reading it seems there is better community and 3rd party support for Asus and other bigger brands.

OpenWRT and DDWRT have excellent community support - the deal with possible bricking a device when flashing is that most folks can't follow directions - before jumping in, review their documentation, and review it again

 

[Jesse Lamba]

The internal antennae on the Buffalo are pretty good - whether internal or external, all have to hit a design spec to work properly.

The vendors see this as a marketing item for reasons you directly mention above, and have convinced the buying public that external antennas (and lots of them) are better, just like bigger numbers are supposedly faster..

I guess those are very valid points. I have been using Asus for GPUs and Motherboards, and I know how they get about marketing.

I shall give DD-WRT a shot tonight once I get home.

OpenWRT and DDWRT have excellent community support - the deal with possible bricking a device when flashing is that most folks can't follow directions - before jumping in, review their documentation, and review it again

Don't get me started on that. It's like reading reviews online on things and realizing that it's an ID10T error. Or when a review starts with - "I'm a seasoned industry expert..........."


Thanks for your advice, and not telling me to throw money on a problem. I shall report back with how DD-WRT installation goes.

 

[sfx2000]

To improve coverage on the other floors, might consider using a couple of low-cost router/AP's and convert them to AP's, connecting them with ethernet (preferred) or perhaps powerline (Homeplug).

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/basi...onvert-a-wireless-router-into-an-access-point

 

[sfx2000]

And here...

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/basi...w-to-add-an-access-point-to-a-wireless-router

 

[Jesse Lamba]

Awesome guides, I have a Buffalo N600 sitting around that I might play with. I had it running as an AP before, but after the most recent firmware update on the 1750, started having major disconnect issues and had to stop using the N600.

Do I have to connect the AP directly to the router or can I go router > switch > AP?

 

[sfx2000]

Do I have to connect the AP directly to the router or can I go router > switch > AP?

Yes, as long as it has connectivity to the main router - doesn't matter if there is a switch in the middle or not.

 

[Jesse Lamba]

Yes, as long as it has connectivity to the main router - doesn't matter if there is a switch in the middle or not.

Perfect. Thanks again for your help, it is much appreciated.

 

[thiggins]

Multiple access points or routers converted to APs are the best solution for getting good 5 GHz range.
AC3200 class routers are more for capacity, not range or throughput. AC1900 remains the best combination of price/performance.

 

[Jesse Lamba]

Multiple access points or routers converted to APs are the best solution for getting good 5 GHz range.
AC3200 class routers are more for capacity, not range or throughput. AC1900 remains the best combination of price/performance.

Good to know. Currently I'm at 15 devices, and pretty soon it will be up to 20 as I get the home office going. But I do like the idea of using low cost routers/APs around the house as I'm already in the middle of running CAT6 all over the house. Will most likely just add a AP on each level of the house.

 

[pete y testing]

Will most likely just add a AP on each level of the house.

by far the best solution and you can upgrade them as needed , wireless N is still ok for browsing etc , you might want to consider wireless AC if streaming to portable devices

 

[Jesse Lamba]

by far the best solution and you can upgrade them as needed , wireless N is still ok for browsing etc , you might want to consider wireless AC if streaming to portable devices

Thanks, I'm going to stick with AC as family members do like to stream media around the house. The N600 will do for now. Great point regarding easy upgradbility as needed in the future.

 

[sfx2000]

@Jesse Lamba - see, wouldn't steer you wrong - thee are better things to do with that $160 you would have spent on the AC3200, and you'll have a better network/user experience for it.

Good luck with the project

 

[Jesse Lamba]

@Jesse Lamba - see, wouldn't steer you wrong - thee are better things to do with that $160 you would have spent on the AC3200, and you'll have a better network/user experience for it.

Good luck with the project

Main reason why I decided to ask before pulling the trigger and dealing with the hassle of buying and returning.

Thanks again.

 

[Jesse Lamba]

DD-WRT was a success. Was able to get Buffalo's version installed.

 

[sfx2000]

DD-WRT was a success. Was able to get Buffalo's version installed.

For the win!

Cool!

 

[Jesse Lamba]

For the win!

Cool!

Thanks for the encouragement.

It's just really nice to see signal quality for each device and adjust things accordingly. Next step - finish running the CAT 6 upstairs, and installing a AP. Already took care of the basement.