Router - £250

ShivP

ShivP

ShivP

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Hi,

Looking at a router of roughly £250 in value - what should I be looking at?

It's for home, where the current £20 netgear jobbie doesn't cut it, even with two other routers elsewhere in the house as boosters. Would also like 1/2 Gigabit ports as we will be changing over to Gigabit early next year (yes we are still on 100mbps :p)

Range is very important, as it struggles currently to supply a room which is about 6-7m away!

Any ideas?

Thanks
 
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Virgin Media, 100Mbps atm with 5Mbps upload ( :/ )

DSL

Will be using the Virgin supplied router/modem combo as solely a modem, and straight into the new router (replacing the current Netgear)
 
£250 is a huge budget for a Router if you are talking about standard consumer grade ones as opposed to the likes of a Cisco etc.

If you are struggling with Wifi even with extra routers (as access points), then I wouldn't hold out that much hope that an expensive Wifi router would be any better - be better to spend half the budget on a Router, and the other half on a decent access point (and maybe separate external aerials)
 
Hm, I could disable WiFi on the current router and just buy an access point?

What would you suggest?
 
If you were going to stay with that budget, and coverage actually is that poor as present, then perhaps a couple of Unifi access points (as the roaming between then works very well)

I'm sure others will possibly have better suggestions though.
 
Don't bother with these twin radio type of routers - i.e. Asus RT-AC3200 for example.

Your better off buying something with MU-MIMO support and an extra AP (that's hard wired) for reaching signals out to previously poor wifi locations and some form of future capabilities. Couple of asus AC87U?
 
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Here is a crude illustration. The red router on the first floor at the back is the primary router next to the modem, which will likely have to be moved when the extension (single storey marked in the blue and extending ~4 metres out of the back of the house) is coming in

The two other red spots (front of house and roof at the back) are the two access points (routers with DHCP disabled) and the roof one also acts as a switch, but that can be replaced no problem
home.png

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What would you guys suggest?
 
If I were to get one access point and a new router, what would be the best options?

The router would go downstairs to replace the current, and an access point probably in the loft
 
Currently thinking a RT-AC87U @ £120 ish and a Unifi UAP (bog standard one, not Pro) @ roughly £55

Any thoughts?
 
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AC87U is a great choice. I'd personally pair it with a EA-AC87 access point though. That way you keep the MU-MIMO support around the house.

MU-MIMO is the way forward once we start getting clients that support it! - Think of it this way; a normal router serves each wireless device one at a time. With MU-MIMO it can serve multiple devices at the same time. Its the future (once the flippin clients catch up!) and the biggest performance increase we are going to see from Wi-Fi standard.
 
I've decided to just punt for the AC87U for now, and once I've sorted that out and it's up and running, see what the signal is like - I'll look into that EA-AC87 AP though as an alternative to the Ubiquiti. Thanks for the helps guys.
 
Both

Coverage very nearly reaches through the whole house, only one spot it doesn't reach but for now a cheap netgear router as an AP will be fine

Lots of configuration, guest networks etc etc

However, bear in mind this is coming from a previous £5 netgear user, but it really is very good from the first few hours of use!
 
Shivy011 said:
Both

Coverage very nearly reaches through the whole house, only one spot it doesn't reach but for now a cheap netgear router as an AP will be fine

Lots of configuration, guest networks etc etc

However, bear in mind this is coming from a previous £5 netgear user, but it really is very good from the first few hours of use!
Click to expand...

i have a tp link and at 60% transmit power it reaches the whole 3 floor of the house.

guest networks - be careful, it's one thing in an office block where everyone is there to work and do work related stuff only. But in a residential environment, a guest network opens you up to users in your neighbourhood who might be pedophiles, terrorist sympathisers or internet scammers.
 
Golf1.6 said:
i have a tp link and at 60% transmit power it reaches the whole 3 floor of the house.

guest networks - be careful, it's one thing in an office block where everyone is there to work and do work related stuff only. But in a residential environment, a guest network opens you up to users in your neighbourhood who might be pedophiles, terrorist sympathisers or internet scammers.
Click to expand...

Likelihood is I won't be using the guest networks, and I think I need to rethink the placement of the router also as its currently on the floor next to a metal cabinet + wall, so will hopefully move it in the next few days to somewhere more suitable
 
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