Plusnet Router Upgrade

Soldato
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I replaced my Mother's Plusnet router with BT Smart Hub 6. Dirt cheap secondhand (but new in box), and a worthwhile improvement.

Beyond that, you need to have some requirements. What problems are you experiencing with the existing router?
 
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Is the router positioned where it can do the most good? If it's in a poor location for wireless buying a 'better' router might not do you much good. Installing a well-positioned WAP and disabling the wireless on the router could be a better solution.

That said, even the wireless on the Smart Hub 6 is a decent improvement (it's a more modern device).
 
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Do you have a modem or do you need a VDSL router?

No thanks, I have a modem already which I will continue to use as it's been fine so far - unless there are worthy modem/router replacements available.

I replaced my Mother's Plusnet router with BT Smart Hub 6. Dirt cheap secondhand (but new in box), and a worthwhile improvement.
Beyond that, you need to have some requirements. What problems are you experiencing with the existing router?

I have to keep rebooting it every 2 weeks, wifi is attrocious, so I tend to not use it.
I was looking at the Netgear XR500

The WiFi on the Plusnet Hub is absolutely atrocious, so probably that :D
Yeah, it's horrendous to be honest.
 
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Is the router positioned where it can do the most good? If it's in a poor location for wireless buying a 'better' router might not do you much good. Installing a well-positioned WAP and disabling the wireless on the router could be a better solution.

That said, even the wireless on the Smart Hub 6 is a decent improvement (it's a more modern device).

My PC uses CAT5 to the router and the router is next to my TV. However, even at 8-10 feet, the wifi struggles and i normally resort to 4g. Even using 5ghz wifi, it's pretty poor.
 
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If it's that bad it could be faulty. The ones I dealt with weren't great, but they did work.

Have you tried moaning at Plusnet to get it replaced? In my experience, they aren't shy about giving them away.
 
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If it's that bad it could be faulty. The ones I dealt with weren't great, but they did work.

Have you tried moaning at Plusnet to get it replaced? In my experience, they aren't shy about giving them away.

I've had this one for 4 years, maybe longer. I did complain and they connected in to setup the 5g wifi point but it didn't really make a difference.
I'd have more faith in an aftermarket router to be fair
 
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Caporegime
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I wouldn't spend the extra money just to get WiFi 6, unless you have lots of devices demanding loads of bandwidth. Any 'ac' router with 4 x 4 MIMO should do the job.

I like Google Nest WiFi, and you could always add mesh points if needed. If that was too much, something like an Asus RT-AC86U would do.
 
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I wouldn't spend the extra money just to get WiFi 6, unless you have lots of devices demanding loads of bandwidth. Any 'ac' router with 4 x 4 MIMO should do the job.

I like Google Nest WiFi, and you could always add mesh points if needed. If that was too much, something like an Asus RT-AC86U would do.

I don't know what wifi 6 is but will take your word for it. Was just looking at options around my budget.
I live in a 1 bed flat and its just me at the moment but something with a little more punch and resilience would be nice.
 
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WiFi 6 is 802.11ax, before that was 802.11ac which was WiFi 5 but nobody called it that.

It introduces WPA3 and some improvements to how it handles high usage/high bandwidth scenarios. You wouldn't see any benefit unless you had brand new devices that supported it too.

Anything with directional external antennas and MU-MIMO would do the job.
 
Soldato
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This is the one I keep coming back to.

It's a stable, more than capable router for FTTC upto 80Mb connections. Install Merlin on it and you open up a load of new features. Mines just running on stock Asus at the moment as my smart devices are cheap and nasty and only seem to be stable on the stock firmware.

Should full fibre FTTP arrive, i'll probably upgrade it.
 
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It's a stable, more than capable router for FTTC upto 80Mb connections. Install Merlin on it and you open up a load of new features. Mines just running on stock Asus at the moment as my smart devices are cheap and nasty and only seem to be stable on the stock firmware.

Should full fibre FTTP arrive, i'll probably upgrade it.

Thanks for your input. I've gone with the ASUS RT-AC85P Wireless-AC2400. Don't need anything fancy, just an upgrade.
 
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