toob users, what router did you get given by them? Just been installed, they left me a Linksys Velop MX4200

[BananaDunka]

I'm wondering if I should just use that since my Asus RT-AC68U is getting on a bit now and does not support WiFi 6 whereas this Linksys does. Previous to this I read that toob supply a Sagemcom router which wasn't great, so looks like they have changed what they supply on new installs, at least in this area anyway. It feels like a good bit of kit,a nd the price of it isn't cheap either at £119 on Amazon with 4 star reviews so just curious if anyone else has been given one and actively uses it?

Thanks.

Edit*
I've decided to try it out for a few days, the config and performance seems the same for wired as the Asus, but wireless is obviously faster. Neat. Will see how stable it remains over a busy week.

 

[Mercurial]

I'm still using a RT-AC68U as an access point albeit on a 500mb/s connection (from memory it does run out of steam on >750mb/s connections), simply because you can alter the TX strength via a fork of the Merlin firmware from the snbforums (Merlin Fork 43_2 LTS) as for Europe/UK it is set to the lowest common denominator (and also now TX adjustment is outlawed on newer WiFi devices by US FCC regs on later models). I haven't set it to anything excessive or illegal for the UK indoor use, just higher than what it comes with as default (90% TX as opposed to the default 80% in the WiFi settings of the firmware without getting too geeky). Positioned in the loft it covers a 90s 5 bedroom house, and sat in my office (groundfloor diagonally the furthest point away) i'm still getting an nperf of 440mb/s using proof.ovh.net on my phone (bear in mind the laws of physics apply, but modern WiFi is deliberately hampered by US legislation and cost to develop firmware for different regulatory regions as well as the receiving device).

So maybe consider repurposing as a AP, i've yet to find anything to better it.

Edit: For clarity & also fair warning, there is some ssh & command line involved in the getting the best out of it.

 

[BananaDunka]

Hmm I have used Merlin on it in the past, early versions so little buggy here and there, think I even tried Tomato on it at one point but went back to stock once Asus started implementing various features etc over the years that I was using at the time.

Not got a need for it as an access point really though, 4 bed house here, but I guess I could keep it for future use if needs be but given that I'll probably be sticking with toob, the need for it again in future would be zero anyway. I did a house wireless walkaround survey using a hidden mode I discovered in Samsung's OneUI on the phone and it found no weak spots and I was getting 470Mbps at the lowest, 1200 at the maximum. That's with the Velop of course, the Asus stock FW wifi power isn't high enough to reach those sorts of speeds and I'd average around 250 in the areas the Velop gets 470, and the max is around 800Mbps.

 

[Mercurial]

Sounds like a good one then, maybe it is time for me to look into a replacement again. I've also done some edits to my original post for clarity.

Out of the box I remember being disappointed with the RT-AC68U, hence why I used the fork, it is based on an ancient Merlin version before all the extra features got added, but was updated until fairly recently. As to reliability (with the fork) I can honestly say I've never been forced to reboot it (current uptime 64 days and thats only because of a powercut ).

Edit: Your top speed sounds right for the 68U, it does come from a time when gigabit speeds were hardly the norm and is a limitation of the chipset iirc.

 

[BananaDunka]

The main thing I recall firmware hopping back then was I once forgot to note down my port forwards and static IP reservations for various LAN devices so had to spend ages putting them all back one by one dancing around the house getting MAC addresses as the network identifier in the UI wasn't showing details that would determine what that device actually was etc. That was rather annoying and one of the reasons I decided just stick with stock

 

[BananaDunka]

As a side note, I was looking at the hardware they installed in and outside of the house, Adtran kit, both have 10GbE interfaces, so this leads me to assume that toob will be offering faster speeds down the line.

 

[Mikey]

Parents received a Linksys Velop MX4200 and it didn't stay plugged in for more than a day.

 

[BananaDunka]

Parents received a Linksys Velop MX4200 and it didn't stay plugged in for more than a day.

How come?


Edit*
Out of interest what NICs do people use? I've noticed this in the past but didn't really think much of it but when maxing out 1Gbit, the CPU usage is quite high no thanks to the Realtek 8125 most mobos come with these days using high CPU resources. I don't mind buying a PCI-e NIC that lowers this CPU usage.

That above was just doing a run on speedtest.net...

 

[Mikey]

Other kit as spare and pfsense. Two APs with wired backhaul.

Always Intel.

They moved to Toob due to costs as BT wanted near double that for internet. If I move to Toob (if they build), it’ll be for costs. My Virgin connection is fine for speed, latency if bufferbloat dealt with and reliability. Have VPNs etc configured, watch “4K” content all fine.

Wil ditch O2 as signal quality is rubbish compared to Vodafone who I was with for 25 years. £300 per year cheaper though for two numbers.

 

[Kenai]

Edit*
I've decided to try it out for a few days, the config and performance seems the same for wired as the Asus, but wireless is obviously faster. Neat. Will see how stable it remains over a busy week.

How are you finding it?

I currently have an old(ish) Orbi Mesh AC3000 setup and pondering whether to try whatever toob deliver, the existing Orbi (probably a waste of the speed toob can deliver) or get a newer AX mesh setup.

I think range is my biggest concern going back to a single router based setup

 

[BananaDunka]

How are you finding it?

I currently have an old(ish) Orbi Mesh AC3000 setup and pondering whether to try whatever toob deliver, the existing Orbi (probably a waste of the speed toob can deliver) or get a newer AX mesh setup.

I think range is my biggest concern going back to a single router based setup

I've been very impressed really. Range doesn't appear to be a problem at all and upstairs my phone speedtest results are:

And whilst downstairs they are up to 840 down and 824 up depending on where I am downstairs. Phone connects on WiFi6 at 1200Mbps, so these speeds seem nominal for that connection rate factoring in the overheads etc.

As for wired, no problems at all, being able to upload at +100MB/s is rather a massive plus lol, have no problems with FTPing those upload speeds to servers that aren't throttled like my http etc, youtube seems to fluctuate depending on how busy it is but I kind of expected that.

 

[Kenai]

Thanks @mrk - i'll probably give it a go then to start with and if I get frustrated with the range (as I did with VMs old superhub), i'll look into a new mesh solution I think

 

[BananaDunka]

Yeah VM's wifi is pretty pants tbf, this is very different though and as far as I can tell, is 1:1 to the retail Velop MX4200, just running a toob firmware.

 

[Kenai]

Not brave enough to actually can VM until it's all installed and up and running though

 

[WJA96]

Upp also supply the Velop MX4200 and if you need mesh they just supply more of them. I don’t use it myself but if you like the main unit the others will probably work just as well.

 

[Mikey]

I've been very impressed really. Range doesn't appear to be a problem at all and upstairs my phone speedtest results are:

And whilst downstairs they are up to 840 down and 824 up depending on where I am downstairs. Phone connects on WiFi6 at 1200Mbps, so these speeds seem nominal for that connection rate factoring in the overheads etc.

As for wired, no problems at all, being able to upload at +100MB/s is rather a massive plus lol, have no problems with FTPing those upload speeds to servers that aren't throttled like my http etc, youtube seems to fluctuate depending on how busy it is but I kind of expected that.

Very nice, I wonder if these units support wired backhaul re connecting a 2nd unit.

 

[WJA96]

Very nice, I wonder if these units support wired backhaul re connecting a 2nd unit.

Yes.

 

[Kenai]

Hooked up this morning, speeds varying on different devices so far - anything with half decent line of sight is 500Mbps over Wifi which is great, couple of devices in awkward locations are only managing 50-60Mbps. I'll need to have a fiddle about with aerial placement etc. and give it a trial for a while but may well end up going back to a mesh solution to sort out blackspots like this

 

[Mikey]

Yes.

Dug out the specs and yup, might have a look at an additional one. It's for my parents. Unifi Express is on the radar, but will wait for UK stock and further reviews. Shame I haven't got a 2nd spare FlexHD/U6-Mesh.

 

[BananaDunka]

Yeah it's a pretty well specced mesh router I gotta say. I'll be getting one again in future even if toob isn't available in the area of a new house etc as I really like it's simplicity and performance.