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[ResurrectedContrarian]

My old wi-fi router is quite ancient, and I don't like using the network provided by my ISP.

Any recommendations on a router that is decent (solid configuration settings if I locally network some IOT devices) but still cost effective?

 

[Susurrus]

Nighthawks are pretty popular. Probably for a good reason. I got mine 6 years ago almost exactly and thing is still beast. There are obviously better versions out as with anything, but like this thing's range is crazy, and I got the R7000 which I think is a lower model.

 

[eddie4]

I use the Linksys AC2600 for now. It does the job very well, easy to configure too. I will upgrade to a controller-based wifi network once I move out of this place.

 

[ThatGamingDude]

Sooooo...
Okay

The best question is

What are you looking for in a router?

 

[TheContact]

I’m a big fan of net gears nighthawk series. Make sure to get one with wifi6 for future proof

 

[Alright]

PS5

 

[Jezbollah]

If you're happy with the functionality of the wired router, then if your preference is to have solid wifi for your IOT devices, look into a Google Nest Wifi setup.

I have one, had it for a few years and it is excellent.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Another vote for Nighthawk here.

 

[M1chl]

I recommend

UBIQUITI UniFi Dream Machine​

 

[INC]

Netduma so u can cheese your ping and location, like all the youtube try hards do

 

[TDiddyLive]

Netgear Orbi. Mesh system so you can add satellites to expand range if needed.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Sooooo...
Okay

The best question is

What are you looking for in a router?

Powerful parental controls Or, more specifically, an ability to easily sequester devices and set their access times;

A decent price;

Solid enough latency performance to continue to play some PS5 games over local remote play to my laptop in bed;

Range isn't a major factor, due to the setup of our house--a moderate range would be fine.

 

[ThatGamingDude]

Powerful parental controls Or, more specifically, an ability to easily sequester devices and set their access times;

A decent price;

Solid enough latency performance to continue to play some PS5 games over local remote play to my laptop in bed;

Range isn't a major factor, due to the setup of our house--a moderate range would be fine.

Any dual band+ router in the ~150-200 range is what you're looking for; AC if you want to go on the cheaper end, AX if you want to future proof

For example:

R7000 Router by Nighthawk | NETGEAR

With the WiFi 5 AC1900 R7000 router you get fast WiFi speeds up to 1.9Gbps and a 1GHz dual-core processor.

www.netgear.com

5-Stream AX4200 Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router - RAX43 | NETGEAR

Discover the RAX43 5-Stream, Dual-Band AX4200 WiFi 6 Router with WiFi speeds up to 4.15Gbps. Experience smooth gaming, UHD video streaming, and faster file transfers. Buy now.

www.netgear.com

Essentially in that price range if it advertises parental controls it's going to be limiting access and maybe keyword filtering and such
inb4 more expensive = more features

 

[Pagusas]

Depends on price. I rocked a R7000 Nighthawk for years and loved it, used third party ASUS firmware on it though as netgears stock firmware is awful.

last year I got an Asus Ax88u, it’s a beast. Well worth the price (and it wasnt cheap)

 

[AJUMP23]

I recommend

UBIQUITI UniFi Dream Machine​

I am about to upgrade my whole new house to the Dream Machine. If only that house had internet......

 

[EverydayBeast]

Unfortunately I have no recommendation you need a wifi booster.

WiFi Range Extender Internet Booster router Wireless Signal Repeater Amplifier | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for WiFi Range Extender Internet Booster router Wireless Signal Repeater Amplifier at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[DGrayson]

Budget?

 

[M1chl]

I am about to upgrade my whole new house to the Dream Machine. If only that house had internet......

It's a great router.

 

[rofif]

I had enough of tp link and got RT-AX56U.
It's great. wifi6 support, great range, don't have to restart it every few days and I am getting my rated speeds

 

[.hacked]

I have tried everything from Apple Airports to Netgear Nighthawk line and in my new home Wi-Fi would always cut out in the bed rooms.

Last xmas I grab a set of Orbi AX6000 mesh routers they have been great. Fastest Wi-Fi I have ever had, 500mbs on 30+ devices

 

[Mistershine.]

I always go for separate access points and a non WiFi router.

 

[Cravis]

I’ve been using Eero Pro Mesh for the past year/year and half and have had no issues.

 

[AJUMP23]

It's a great router.

I don’t understand though why it doesn’t output POE. I know I can get a switch that does it, but I want the router to do it too.

 

[M1chl]

I don’t understand though why it doesn’t output POE. I know I can get a switch that does it, but I want the router to do it too.

Because they basically doing the downsized enterprice stuff when they don't have much combinated devices. I have router, switch and APs. Never had single problem with it and wi-fi 6 on it is basically stable like a cable with 4 AP throughout the house.

 

[V1LÆM]

need to give us more than that to go on. you can get a router for £50 or £400 and everywhere in between. how many devices are in your house? how old are they? do you plan on upgrading your devices soon? do you want the latest tech so you can future proof or are you happy with something a bit older? how big is your house and how much coverage do you want?

i had a crappy TP Link router. this one infact:

cost me £50 and didn't even last 6 months. well it worked but after 6 months it would constantly crash/reboot every day or so. i ended up buying an ASUS RT-AX86U for £230:

had it for 7 months now and it's rock solid. i run Merlin on it over stock firmware. I originally was gonna buy the AC version but went with AX cause I wanted Wi Fi 6 support. I know WiFi 6E is coming soon but if i wait for the latest tech all the time i'll be waiting forever. I had never spent so much on a router before but I wanted to get something high quality and reliable. worth every penny! A good budget ASUS WiFi 6 router is the AX56U. that model is currently £115. or you could go for the AX58U which is a step up and cost ~£180.

I can't really speak for any other brands cause I've not used them. Only TP Link + Asus. I wouldn't touch TP Link again and I've been impressed with Asus. I hear Netgear also make good stuff so look into them. You should look at these lists of best WiFi 6 routers in 2021:

https://dongknows.com/best-wi-fi-6-routers/

The best WiFi routers in 2024: our top picks for wireless connectivity

Stream, game and browse better with the best Wi-Fi routers

www.techradar.com

there are many more if you google them...

Remember, if you think you don't need WiFi 6 (AX) you will probably be quite happy using a WiFi 5 (AC) router but I'd personally not be buying anything but Wi Fi 6 right now. Don't even think about WiFi 6E right now. Not worth it for 99% of people at the moment.

 

[DGrayson]

Ya I am big on Asus routers, I love them.

I have the AX6000 which I got recently. Like a tank I think I only had to restart it once in the 4 or 5 months I owned it. Excellent coverage for my whole apartment which is fairly large with concrete walls.

Amazon.com: ASUS AX6000 WiFi 6 Gaming Router (RT-AX88U) - Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router, 8 GB Ports, Gaming & Streaming, AiMesh Compatible, Included Lifetime Internet Security, Adaptive QoS, MU-MIMO: Computers & Accessories

Buy ASUS AX6000 WiFi 6 Gaming Router (RT-AX88U) - Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router, 8 GB Ports, Gaming & Streaming, AiMesh Compatible, Included Lifetime Internet Security, Adaptive QoS, MU-MIMO: Routers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[V1LÆM]

Ya I am big on Asus routers, I love them.

I have the AX6000 which I got recently. Like a tank I think I only had to restart it once in the 4 or 5 months I owned it. Excellent coverage for my whole apartment which is fairly large with concrete walls.

Amazon.com: ASUS AX6000 WiFi 6 Gaming Router (RT-AX88U) - Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router, 8 GB Ports, Gaming & Streaming, AiMesh Compatible, Included Lifetime Internet Security, Adaptive QoS, MU-MIMO: Computers & Accessories

Buy ASUS AX6000 WiFi 6 Gaming Router (RT-AX88U) - Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router, 8 GB Ports, Gaming & Streaming, AiMesh Compatible, Included Lifetime Internet Security, Adaptive QoS, MU-MIMO: Routers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

you using the stock firmware or got Merlin on it? if you haven't i'd recommend it to be honest a lot of the features are too complicated for me but it has some nice QoL improvements. been using it since it was available on my AX86U and no problems. been running 24/7 with no crashes.

 

[DGrayson]

you using the stock firmware or got Merlin on it? if you haven't i'd recommend it to be honest a lot of the features are too complicated for me but it has some nice QoL improvements. been using it since it was available on my AX86U and no problems. been running 24/7 with no crashes.

jsut the stock firmware right now. I may consider Merlin if I want to implement policy routing and have some wifi networks which tunnel everything through a VPN, but so far I havent made the decision yet.

 

[AJUMP23]

Because they basically doing the downsized enterprice stuff when they don't have much combinated devices. I have router, switch and APs. Never had single problem with it and wi-fi 6 on it is basically stable like a cable with 4 AP throughout the house.

I just want to run their POE cameras directly to the rougher.

 

[M1chl]

I just want to run their POE cameras directly to the rougher.

Buy a POE injector : )

 

[AJUMP23]

Buy a POE injector : )

I’m buying a generic Poe switch.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I had a Netgear Nighthawk R7000 but I got tired of their awful buggy firmwares.

I have a TP-Link WiFi 6 router now. The firmware is considerably more simplistic, but the router seems to work just fine and hasn't crashed or rebooted for the first 3 weeks of ownership. The VPN function actually works properly too.

 

[M1chl]

I’m buying a generic Poe switch.

Why not from Ubiquity, too pricey?

 

[hyp3rlink]

Does anyone have experience with TP-Link Deco mesh?

 

[AJUMP23]

Why not from Ubiquity, too pricey?

I just haven’t decided on their Poe switch. I was going to get 2 5 port switches. One for cameras one for the WiFi 6 disk things. I have 5200 sq ft of house. So a lot of space.
If you want you can come over and help me run cable.

 

[M1chl]

I just haven’t decided on their Poe switch. I was going to get 2 5 port switches. One for cameras one for the WiFi 6 disk things. I have 5200 sq ft of house. So a lot of space.
If you want you can come over and help me run cable.

You are probably too far await, but yeah I got networking tools available.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Raising the best guess router thread here...

Got an optic fibre upgrade coming end of month, installing now. They force supply the modem but the router is up to me. I'm thinking Nighthawk, any recommendations for a brick two storey and two dwelling residence (home office building out the back)? I was trying to compare mesh vs just a great router and maybe one range extender?

8-Stream AX6600 Tri-Band WiFi 6 Router - RAX70 | NETGEAR

Discover the RAX70 8-Stream, Tri-Band AX6600 WiFi 6 Router with WiFi speeds up to 6.6Gbps. Includes NETGEAR Armor™ Advanced cyber threat protection, MU-MIMO and USB 3.0 Port. Buy now.

store.netgear.com.au

Fairly typical needs. WFH, personal, family/kids. Mix of wired devices (fridge, TVs, desktops) and wireless (phones, tablets, surface, doorbell). Must have good rules management, QoS and remote login. Some extras e.g. NAS.

 

[crazepharmacist]

Planning on getting the new Google Nest wifi Pro mesh system when it releases in a couple weeks. It has Wifi 6e. Any other options I should be looking at for home wifi? I have the original Google Nest which came out in 2016 I believe.