Which Router for new Fibre connection?

superleeds27 · 4 Apr 2018 at 23:05

Hi all,

I had fibre to the house installed today. The router I was provided with isn't great, ZyXEL of standard model.

For the time being I've put back on my Archer D9 in Wireless Mode PPoE which works better than than the ZyXeL.

I'm thinking of replacing the router, I've had my eye in the R7800 or the AC86U.

Question is, would I see much of an improvement in terms of speed/signal with either of them, over the Archer?

I have a 350/30 line which is currently giving:

398Mb Download
30Mb Upload.

Any advice would be appreciated

BigT · 5 Apr 2018 at 10:47

Define 'not great' and what you want to improve.

You mention improved speed/signal but you're getting 398/30 on a 350/30 line which is better than perfect.

superleeds27 · 5 Apr 2018 at 11:27

BigT said:
Define 'not great' and what you want to improve.

You mention improved speed/signal but you're getting 398/30 on a 350/30 line which is better than perfect.

Apologies. Was late!

I was provided with a ZYXEL VMG3925-B10, which gave me the following speeds:

Speedtest Upstairs using ZyXel

Pixel 2 on the 2.4GHZ band.

3MB download
12 MB upload

Laptop on the 2.4Ghz

4.38MB Download
14.97 Upload

I then reverted back to my old Archer D9 in wireless router mode for now. PPoE

Pixel 2 on the 2.4GHZ band.

35MB download
30MB upload

Laptop on the 2.4Ghz

15MB Download
25MB Upload

I'm looking to try and increase the 5Ghz coverage if i can, or, for it to give better throughput then i currently have with Archer D9.

DIABLO · 5 Apr 2018 at 12:27

No ethernet cable or a 5Ghz signal upstairs?

superleeds27 · 5 Apr 2018 at 12:45

DIABLO said:
No ethernet cable or a 5Ghz signal upstairs?

I can just about get a 5Ghz upstairs.

Pixel 2

5.8MB Download
12MB Upload

Laptop

15MB Download
4MB Upload

I currently have a powerline too for the PC/PS4/NAS Upstairs which is roughly getting 40Mb Down and 35Mb Up. (I'll be looking to cable from the router to this room via outside, i think...)

BigT · 5 Apr 2018 at 16:22

OK so wifi is the issue? I mean even the Archer is only using 10% of your 350Mbps. I assume with a cable straight into either router you get the full 350Mbps?

That suggests to me that the placement of the router, and more specifically the fact it provides your access point, is going to be the limiting factor here. No replacement router, being located where it currently is, is going to get you anywhere near saturating your internet connection. So best two choices:

1. Run a couple of ethernet cables from your router to strategic points in the house, add access points on the end of them and turn off wifi on your router.
2. Introduce a wireless mesh system, also turning off wireless on your router.

Given you are wisely ditching the powerlines for a cable it seems you'd be up for option 1 which is the cheapest.

superleeds27 · 5 Apr 2018 at 16:49

BigT said:
OK so wifi is the issue? I mean even the Archer is only using 10% of your 350Mbps. I assume with a cable straight into either router you get the full 350Mbps?

That suggests to me that the placement of the router, and more specifically the fact it provides your access point, is going to be the limiting factor here. No replacement router, being located where it currently is, is going to get you anywhere near saturating your internet connection. So best two choices:

1. Run a couple of ethernet cables from your router to strategic points in the house, add access points on the end of them and turn off wifi on your router.
2. Introduce a wireless mesh system, also turning off wireless on your router.

Given you are wisely ditching the powerlines for a cable it seems you'd be up for option 1 which is the cheapest.

Yeah, cable in or 5Ghz in the same room or within X amount of feet gives the full 350Mbps.

Suppose, if I cable from the router to the upstairs room (Via outside), then, add an access point here too. I have a 8 port switch so that shouldn't be an issue.

What sort of Access Point would you suggest? Is it still worth replacing the Archer D9 too?

DIABLO · 5 Apr 2018 at 17:56

The default answer is a Ubiquiti AP AC Lite or LR

https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap-ac-lite/

BigT · 5 Apr 2018 at 18:00

What @DIABLO said. Lite’s should be fine for you.

You’re going to be relegating the Archer to routing duties so unless you’re finding it can’t cope with the amount of devices on your network or it’s lacking in some feature you want, like network wide VPN, then there’s no need to replace.

superleeds27 · 5 Apr 2018 at 19:26

BigT said:
What @DIABLO said. Lite’s should be fine for you.

You’re going to be relegating the Archer to routing duties so unless you’re finding it can’t cope with the amount of devices on your network or it’s lacking in some feature you want, like network wide VPN, then there’s no need to replace.

Could I potentially use two of these with the Archer?

One upstairs off the switch
One straight from the router

If so, would these act as separate SSID's? Or would it be able to act as one 2.4ghz and one 5ghz?

BigT · 5 Apr 2018 at 19:40

Yes of course. You can use as many as you like. If you go with Ubiquiti then you can set them to use the same SSID on both APs and across 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz channels. Your devices will just seamlessly work as you roam around without interruption.

Or you can make everything different or mix and match. They will support up to 4 SSIDs each so you can do some fancy things like having guest networks and kids networks etc.

This is a snapshot of some of my setup. The colour signifies 5Ghz or 2.4Ghz, the grey words at the end identify the physical AP the device is connected to but notice the same SSID “Old Forge House”. Every one of those devices just has the one set of WiFi credentials and they take care of themselves connecting and roaming automagically

superleeds27 · 5 Apr 2018 at 19:50

BigT said:
Yes of course. You can use as many as you like. If you go with Ubiquiti then you can set them to use the same SSID on both APs and across 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz channels. Your devices will just seamlessly work as you roam around without interruption.

Or you can make everything different or mix and match. They will support up to 4 SSIDs each so you can do some fancy things like having guest networks and kids networks etc.

Might look at getting two of them then. Adding them in and using the same SSID on both for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz.

Are they easy to setup and configure?

BigT · 5 Apr 2018 at 19:58

If you have a modicum of understanding of networks then yes they are. The controller software to configure them is loaded onto a PC and accessed via a web browser. If you’ve setup your own router you should be fine. Once done you don’t have to leave the controller software running. I do and use a client on the iPad but it isn’t necessary. You can just turn it on again when you want to change the config or upgrade the firmware.

superleeds27 · 5 Apr 2018 at 20:12

BigT said:
If you have a modicum of understanding of networks then yes they are. The controller software to configure them is loaded onto a PC and accessed via a web browser. If you’ve setup your own router you should be fine. Once done you don’t have to leave the controller software running. I do and use a client on the iPad but it isn’t necessary. You can just turn it on again when you want to change the config or upgrade the firmware.

Think i might look at two of these then and leave the Archer Wireless switched off.

Do they automatically select the best frequency when a device connects? So if 5Ghz is strong, it will connect to that rather than 2.4ghz?

BigT · 5 Apr 2018 at 20:20

Yes they do. Basically set and forget and it just all works automatically.

DIABLO · 5 Apr 2018 at 20:39

superleeds27 said:
Think i might look at two of these then and leave the Archer Wireless switched off.

Do they automatically select the best frequency when a device connects? So if 5Ghz is strong, it will connect to that rather than 2.4ghz?

A client will connect to the first frequency it can pickup and stick with it. There is a setting in the Unifi software that will steer the clients on to the 5Ghz signal after a time for best performance though if you want to use the same SSID for both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz.

superleeds27 · 5 Apr 2018 at 20:49

DIABLO said:
A client will connect to the first frequency it can pickup and stick with it. There is a setting in the Unifi software that will steer the clients on to the 5Ghz signal after a time for best performance though if you want to use the same SSID for both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz.

Ahh okay, that's good to know then.

superleeds27 · 6 Apr 2018 at 15:43

DIABLO said:
A client will connect to the first frequency it can pickup and stick with it. There is a setting in the Unifi software that will steer the clients on to the 5Ghz signal after a time for best performance though if you want to use the same SSID for both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz.

BigT said:
Yes they do. Basically set and forget and it just all works automatically.

Hi again guys,

I ordered one to see how it went. I'v set it up downstairs, a few feet closer to the center of the house. I've disabled wireless on the Archer, and have the AP running.

Done a few speed tests up close to it and the speed was less than the archer was pulling. (I managed 393mbps down on the Archer 5Ghz with my Pixel 2)

I managed 224mbps with the AP.

I've noticed that upstairs it's connected to 2.4ghz but continuously drops the wifi connection

Are there any settings i should be looking at to maximize performance?

Mariusz · 6 Apr 2018 at 16:54

What version access point have you ordered? Are you on the latest controller/firmware?

BigT · 6 Apr 2018 at 18:02

So can I just take stock of the numbers you're quoting. I had, perhaps wrongly, assumed earlier in your posts that you were interchanging Mb and MB freely between posts but you meant bits at all times. If that's not the case can I confirm:

You have a 350Mbps download internet connection
Earlier in a post your maximum quoted download speed over wireless to the Archer was in fact 35MBps = 280Mbps or 80% of your internet bandwidth?
In your most recent post you say devices can download connected to the Archer at 393Mbps = 112% of your internet bandwidth?

I'm asking because while the suggestion of upgrading to the latest controller and UAP firmware is pretty wise, I'm not sure you had that much of a problem in the first place and so the best course of action might be to send the Access Point back